Xavier and his Pokémon began their search for Kyle.
"There's no way he just vanished into thin air. There has to be a reason—he couldn't have accessed another realm on his own. I'm certain it's because of an artifact or something similar," Xavier reasoned, his mind racing.
He pulled out his Rotomdex. "Hey, Rotom, I need a map of the museum—right now."
The Rotomdex immediately displayed the museum's floor plan.
"We were on the third floor earlier. He shouldn't have strayed too far from us at that time, but he could have made it to the second or first floor within those thirty minutes. However, if he disappeared *before* all this chaos started, then that means he vanished *prior* to the explosion," Xavier muttered to himself, deep in thought.
He broke into a sprint, racing up the museum stairs toward the third floor. Once there, he prepared himself for a thorough search.
"Chatot, scan the frequency patterns in this museum from thirty minutes ago up until the explosion," Xavier commanded.
"Chatot!" his partner chirped in acknowledgment, taking flight and emitting sonic waves that began reconstructing audio-visual records of the events that had unfolded earlier.
*"If I remember correctly, Z, Nora, Rayne, and Kyle were in Room 1 before Kyle disappeared. I'll start there,"* Xavier thought.
He made his way to Room 1 and reviewed the reconstructed footage. Adjusting the timeline, he watched as Kyle exited the room, followed by Z, Nora, and Rayne entering the digital room because of Taylor.
Xavier and his Pokémon continued tracking Kyle's movements through the recordings—until the trail ended abruptly. Kyle had vanished on the first floor at exactly 9:15 PM.
Now standing on the first floor, Xavier surveyed the museum's main hall, now reduced to rubble and debris. There, Xian was locked in battle with Vera, Metagross facing off against her Starmie.
"Hand over the painting, and I'll let you walk away. That's my final offer," Xian declared, electricity crackling around him as he fixed Vera with a deadly serious stare.
Vera gripped her Poké Ball tightly, weighing her options. *"If I give it up now, the mission fails—and all my preparation will have been for nothing."*
"I won't surrender it. In fact, I should be the one saying that to *you*. My backup will be here any moment, and I'll give you one chance to leave," Vera said with unwavering confidence.
"Starmie, Shadow Ball!" she commanded.
Starmie, still locked in combat with Metagross, conjured a massive shadowy orb wreathed in violet energy and launched it toward the steel-type. Metagross tried to dodge, but the attack expanded mid-flight and struck it directly, sending it flying across the hall.
Starmie gracefully returned to Vera's side.
Vera allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. *"This isn't as difficult as I thought. I just need to hold out until reinforcements arrive,"* she mused after watching Metagross tumble away.
Xian's expression remained utterly unreadable. "Fine. So you're not going to make this easy."
He recalled his Metagross into its Poké Ball.
"Metaaa!" Metagross roared as it emerged again—but this time, from a completely different angle.
*"Wait... how?! He should have been thrown far away—there's no way he could have teleported back into the Poké Ball!"* Vera's mind raced in confusion. She glanced toward where Metagross had been struck—and saw the fallen Pokémon shift and shimmer, revealing itself to be a Zoroark, completely unscathed.
"It's... a Zoroark?! But how—if that's a Zoroark, how did it use Meteor Mash?" Vera's confusion deepened.
Meanwhile, Xavier, who had been observing the battle, suddenly realized the trick. *"He used Copycat,"* he thought. *"Wait—why am I even thinking about this? She's an Esper, isn't she?"*
Before he could reflect further, he was grabbed and dragged aside by a dark-haired man accompanied by an Alakazam.
"I don't know if you're foolish or just careless, but why are you standing there analyzing when your opponent is clearly an Esper?" the man scolded.
"Ren, help Xian. I'll handle this kid for now," he said, shoving Xavier toward the wall.
"Understood," Ren replied, walking toward the injured Ellen and her Gallade.
"Sorry about that," Xavier mumbled as he was dragged away, his Chatot still circling overhead.
The man simply slapped his own forehead in exasperation. "What are you even doing here?" he demanded.
"I'm looking for my friend," Xavier answered.
"Who?" the man pressed.
"Kyle. I last found traces of him on the first floor," Xavier explained.
"I'm certain your friend has already been taken hostage by members of the New World Association," the man said grimly.
"How do you know that?" Xavier asked, startled.
"Because I'm an intelligence officer from the Investigation Division. That's how they operate," the man replied.
"So how do I save him?" Xavier asked urgently.
"Then... I'll help you," the man offered.
---
Vera, having overheard Xavier's thoughts, quickly reformulated her strategy. *"If that's the case, I'll need to use Gallade,"* she thought.
"Gallade, Sacred Sword—target the Zoroark!" she ordered, commanding Ellen's Gallade.
The Gallade responded instantly, materializing a blade of psychic energy along its arm and lunging toward the Zoroark. But before it could land the blow, it was intercepted and sent flying by a Psycho Cut from *another* Gallade—one that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
*"Wait—who else is here?!"* Vera's panic spiked.
"Like I said, she's not giving up, Senior. Let me handle this one," a voice said calmly. Its owner dragged an immobilized Ellen across the floor.
"Good work, Ren," Xian acknowledged.
Ellen's Gallade lay motionless, unable to continue fighting.
Vera watched the scene unfold, her composure crumbling. "There's no hope. I can only hold out here—how could they have prepared for all of this? This is too much... too much..." Her thoughts spiraled into frustration. She tugged at her hair, her eyes growing glassy. "This plan has failed."
But then—a Line portal ripped open behind her. And the overwhelming pressure radiating from the figure stepping through made even Xian tense.
The old man emerged from the portal, flanked by several subordinates. He still wore his white robe and signature pendant.
"Vera—did you secure it?" Alvion's telepathic voice echoed in her mind.
"Yes. It's in my Inventory Box now," she replied mentally.
Vera reached for her Inventory Box—but as she patted her pockets and searched her bag, her blood ran cold. It was gone.
Alvion caught her panicked expression immediately. "Did you lose the Inventory Box?" he asked telepathically.
"No—no, I'm certain it was stolen," she replied, her voice trembling.
Xian burst into laughter, loud and triumphant. "Our plan worked perfectly," he declared, pointing directly at Alvion. "And now—you're right where we want you."
"This is the end of your schemes, Team Epitaph. You will return everything you've stolen—including Alcrypna," Xian said, his gaze burning with resolve.
Alvion slowly produced a Dusk Ball from within his robes, clutching it tightly. His expression remained calm, but his eyes held a dangerous edge.
"It seems you're not going to make this easy for us," he said quietly.