By the time Cynthia and the others finished cleaning up the scene, dawn was almost breaking.
The storm wasn't nearly as severe as it had been during the night. By morning, only a light drizzle remained, making it much easier for the police from Eterna City and Oreburgh City to reach the mining base.
As soon as they arrived, Roark and Gardenia noticed several Champions standing solemnly around a body covered by a white sheet.
"The Minister of Public Safety for the International Police, Dr. Zishan, arrived ahead of everyone else. He fearlessly held off the members of the Hodgepodge Organization, fighting alone against many enemies until he was ultimately overwhelmed..."
Following the Champions' lead, Roark and Gardenia were deeply moved by Dr. Zishan's dedication and courage. They stood in silence for quite a while before the arriving personnel, under the Champions' direction, began clearing out the underground base. Before long, stories of Dr. Zishan's heroism spread throughout the crowd.
Of course, some people couldn't understand why the Minister of Public Safety would come alone to confront the enemy, or why the Champions hadn't fought alongside him...
Watching numerous Pokémon work together to clear away the rubble left by the explosion, Diantha still couldn't shake a nagging feeling.
It had been too easy. Far too easy.
The Hodgepodge Organization had been destroyed in a single night.
First, a hurricane-level storm, something rarely seen in decades, had prevented the organization's members from gathering properly. Then their internal conflict had been exploited, allowing the League to swoop in and wrap everything up with ease.
It all looked like a chain of fortunate coincidences, but things had gone so smoothly that it felt wrong. And Diantha had found the biggest inconsistency.
Why had Dr. Zishan personally come to the scene? As Leader Zero, was it really necessary for him to risk exposing himself by showing up in person?
He had spent decades building and managing the Hodgepodge Organization from the shadows. There was no way he lacked trusted subordinates. Handling everything himself made no sense and didn't fit the organization's usual methods at all.
"Maybe that's just the kind of mistake made by someone who has fallen behind the times and grown complacent with age." That was the only explanation Diantha could come up with. After all, Dr. Zishan had personally admitted his identity.
The Hodgepodge Organization had lived in the shadows and perished in the shadows. Apart from the handful of people who knew it had ever existed, it would now become nothing more than another file sealed away in the Pokémon League archives.
---
As the excavation of the underground base continued at full speed, Oleana became increasingly restless. Using Steven's communicator, she tried contacting Luther several times in a row, but received no response.
An Altaria assigned to perimeter patrol flew over and handed Cynthia a cellphone, indicating that Luther had accidentally left it tangled in her cotton-like wings when he departed.
Time passed. The entrance to the underground base had already been cleared. Yet Luther still hadn't returned.
"Luther's the new Sinnoh Conference Champion. Taking care of a single Mira should be easy for him. Don't worry." At first, Cynthia had been able to reassure Oleana with words like that.
But gradually, even her own expression grew uneasy.
It was already noon. Ten hours had passed since the nighttime raid on the Hodgepodge Organization. Whether he had caught Mira or not, that was enough time for Luther to make two round trips between Eterna City and Oreburgh City.
Yet everyone was still waiting, and Luther was nowhere to be found. Nobody believed something as ridiculous as him getting lost.
Lance immediately took off with Dragonite. Cyrus headed directly along the route Luther had taken, accompanied by his Pokémon. Cynthia opened her carrying case and released every Poké Ball inside, her Pokémon spreading out to search for any trace of him. Diantha's Pokémon, led by Gardevoir, joined the search as well.
When the Pokémon finally reported their findings, Cynthia and the others rushed to a grassy field marked by a massive boulder.
Five corpses lay scattered across the grass. Another body was found in the nearby forest, apparently belonging to someone who had barely escaped after a fierce battle, only to bleed out from their injuries. No one knew whether these deaths were the result of a chaotic battle that broke out after Luther caught up to Mira, or if Mira had fought the Hodgepodge Organization on her own beforehand.
Beyond this point lay the outskirts of Hearthome City. The dense forests and mining areas were gone. The people living in the nearby mountains hadn't seen either Luther or Mira, nor could they provide any useful clues.
"Late last night, it looked like the sky split open. I could vaguely see a rainbow up there. Does that help at all?"
Oleana didn't have the patience to continue listening to someone who was obviously talking nonsense. She turned and continued searching. A rainbow in the middle of the night? Sure. Maybe in a dream.
The search continued until nightfall. The underground base was gradually yielding useful information as large numbers of Pokémon helped clear it out, but there was still no sign of Luther.
---
Diantha walked over with a boxed meal and motioned for Oleana to eat something. Oleana sat on the ground with her face buried in her hands, her eyes vacant.
"If you starve yourself to death here, who's going to help Minami handle my workload later?" Diantha sighed.
"Diantha..." Oleana's voice trembled. "Did I get him hurt? At the time, I just wanted him to be less involved... Cyrus and I only wanted to feel a little less guilty about dragging him into all this..."
Diantha mixed the food for her and held out a spoon. "Have a little faith in him, would you? We haven't found him yet. Maybe Mira was just really good at running, and Luther chased her farther than expected. Learn from Cyrus. He's already eaten three meals and gone right back out searching every time."
She lightly tapped the spoon against Oleana's lips. "Are you going to eat yourself, or do I need to feed you?"
Oleana froze for a moment before taking the meal and slowly beginning to eat.
Once she had calmed Oleana down, Diantha turned away. The expression on her face immediately darkened.
There was no way Luther had simply chased Mira too far. He didn't have a Flying-type Pokémon, so his pursuit speed and range had clear limits. Mira was nowhere to be found. No body, no trace. And Luther had vanished just as completely.
Diantha tried her best not to think in the worst direction possible, but the unease inside her was growing stronger by the hour.
Nearby, Cynthia was practically shouting into a call from the Sinnoh League. "Go back? Go back for what? I'm busy! Stop bothering me! Whoever wants to attend the celebration banquet can go ahead, I don't have the appetite!"
The banquet, of course, was the customary celebration for the winner of the Lily of the Valley Conference. But Luther was missing. What was there to celebrate?
An irritated Cynthia wanted nothing more than to hang up, but just before she ended the call, the League official on the other end spoke up. "Luther's friend Mai asked us to check with you. Has everything been resolved? When will Luther be coming back?"
Cynthia's body trembled. Her breathing suddenly became heavy. "Soon... it'll be soon..."
She ended the call and lowered herself onto Garchomp's back, her head bowed.
High in the air, Lance looked down at the endless green forests and the mining regions scarred by excavation. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Lance... Mai's asking when Luther will be coming home."
Lance opened his mouth, then stopped himself. After staring into the distance for a long moment, he sighed. "That's the direction of Iron Island, isn't it? If Mira wanted to escape, she'd probably head out to sea. I'll search over there."
Sensing Lance's mood, Dragonite accelerated immediately. In just a few blinks, the pair disappeared from Cynthia's sight.
Cynthia's body shook slightly. If something had really happened to Luther... how was she ever supposed to face Mai and the others again?
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395