"Uncle Zhuge, why are you here too?"
Zhuge Ziyu smiled faintly. After recalling his Talonflame, he said, "Of course I had to come. Mystery Zones fall under official administration."
"Right. That must be tough."
Auron Vale responded verbally, though in his head he was thinking, I know Mystery Zones are officially managed—you don't have to tell me that. I meant, is the official side really only sending you?
"Xiao Ze, do you know where the Silver Feather is right now?"
"It should be with Soren Li. From what we heard, Soren Li obtained the Silver Feather. And based on his movements after that, the Silver Feather is definitely with him."
"Oh~"
After Auron Vale finished, Zhuge Ziyu nodded, a look of understanding crossing his face.
"Based on what you're saying, it sounds like this student named Soren Li stole the Silver Feather from someone else, and the people who got robbed are now spreading the news, trying to track him down—is that right?"
"Yes."
Auron Vale nodded. He didn't know all the details of how things had unfolded, but Zhuge Ziyu's assessment wasn't far off from his own understanding.
With that, Zhuge Ziyu clapped Auron Vale on the shoulder. "Alright, Xiao Ze, you just came out of the Black Mystery Zone. Go find somewhere to rest."
"Alright. If you need to ask me anything, you know where to find me."
"Rest assured, I will."
Zhuge Ziyu nodded at Auron Vale with an easy smile, and Auron Vale led the group toward the military rest area.
Once Auron Vale was out of earshot, Zhuge Ziyu's expression cooled back to neutrality. After a moment of thought, he gestured to a nearby soldier.
"Call the people from Shangqing. Get Soren Li's contact information and report back to me."
"Yes, sir\!"
On the way to the rest area, Su Tingxi asked curiously, "Aren't we going to the Poké Mart?"
"No. We should probably stay put in case they have more questions for us. Just answer honestly about what you know."
Auron Vale shook his head, then entered the military rest area.
This matter was far from over. Even if he couldn't be of much help, he wanted to do whatever he could.
Besides, Auron Vale had his own motives—he wanted to use the nation's hand to round up every Church operative who had invested in him.
For now, all they could do was wait quietly.
"Pii~"
"Ah, sorry—I forgot to prepare food for you all."
After Mini nudged Auron Vale's cheek and let out a plaintive cry, Auron Vale smacked his own forehead.
It was already getting dark. Back home, this was about the time dinner would be starting. No wonder Mini was hungry.
Auron Vale released all the Pokémon, then started pulling food from his backpack.
"Kabuu..."
"Hm? What's wrong, Snorlax?"
Looking at the aggrieved Snorlax standing in front of him, Auron Vale asked, puzzled.
"Kabuu..."
Snorlax plopped down directly in front of Auron Vale, shooting him a pointed look of accusation.
Auron Vale couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to pat Snorlax's head.
"There, there, don't be upset. It's just that your body is too big, and everyone else was doing ranged attacks—so what, did you want to come out and be a target?"
"Kabuu\!?"
Snorlax gave Auron Vale a suspicious look, then glanced down at its own prodigious belly.
"Kabuu\!"
"Fine, fine—you're big and strong, not fat. Are you hungry?"
Snorlax looked down at its belly again.
"Kabuu~"
Mm. A bit hungry.
"Alright, I'll get your food ready right now."
Auron Vale laughed and ruffled Snorlax's fluffy head, then went back to pulling various foods out of his backpack.
A short while later, all the Pokémon were eating at the table in the rest area. Even Snorlax seemed to have let go of its earlier resentment over not being released.
But even as Snorlax ate contentedly, a thought was still turning over in its mind.
During the battle, Auron Vale had worried Snorlax might come out on its own—so he'd simply locked Snorlax's Poké Ball.
When a Poké Ball is locked from the outside, a Pokémon inside can't open it. The only way out would be to bust the ball apart from the inside using sheer force.
That kind of power was generally something only particularly powerful Pokémon possessed.
As for Snorlax right now—setting aside whether it had that kind of strength—the Poké Ball it was in was a Heavy Ball. Not even most Legendary Pokémon could break out of one of those.
There was, however, another special method for opening a locked Poké Ball.
Pokémon like Auron Vale's Deoxys and Farfetch'd could open a locked Poké Ball from the inside.
But even though Auron Vale knew they could do it, no one knew exactly how they managed it.
And what Snorlax was thinking now was: it wanted to learn from Deoxys how to get out of a Poké Ball on its own.
If something like this happened again, it wanted to be able to appear outside immediately to protect Xiao Ze.
With that thought, Snorlax's gaze drifted toward the empty space behind Auron Vale.
That was where Deoxys was.
"Xiao Ze, come out for a moment."
Lu Xing Guo pushed open the door. Seeing the Pokémon eating, he paused—then gestured for Auron Vale to step outside.
"Coming."
"You all keep eating. I'll be right back."
Auron Vale nodded, explained the situation to his Pokémon and friends, then followed his grandfather out.
"Is there anything you need us to help with?"
"We'll call you when we need you."
Auron Vale waved off the offer and walked to the doorway outside.
"How's it looking?"
"A lot of people have come out, but most of them are saying the same thing you did."
Lu Xing Guo knew exactly what Auron Vale was asking. He shook his head ruefully.
Auron Vale pressed further: "Have the Church operatives shown up?"
"No sign of them yet. That's why I'm asking you to come take a look."
"Let's wait a bit longer. Once more people come out, I'll bring my friends along to help identify people. I might miss someone if I go alone."
"That works."
Lu Xing Guo nodded, then glanced at Auron Vale and asked, trying to sound casual: "So—are you okay? Everything go smoothly?"
"Nothing happened. I know my limits."
Auron Vale said it with a mysterious smile: "After we get back, I have a surprise for you."
Lu Xing Guo walked on without expression: "Tch. What surprise could you possibly have for me? Don't tell me the Silver Feather is in your pocket."
Auron Vale helplessly twitched the corner of his mouth: "Of course not. If the Silver Feather was with me, I would've just told you straight away."
"But I can guarantee—this surprise will make your heart race even more than the Silver Feather would."
Lu Xing Guo glanced back at Auron Vale, then kept walking, still unconvinced: "Oh? Did you capture a Legendary Pokémon that you want me to study?"
———
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