Chapter 11 – Elementary, My Dear Meowstic

The sun was slowly painting the sky with its warm colors, announcing a new day for the peaceful people of Bismuth Town. The early birds were the ones who took care of waking up others (against their will) so the world could keep spinning.

Kids woke up and started getting ready for school, while the adults did their part and took care of the preparations for both themselves and their kids, as exhausting as that might be. Families were chaotic as expected, with many pokémon in the same house trying to coordinate on who gets to use the washroom first.

A certain family didn’t have much issue with any of that, as everyone was responsible for their own stuff, or just… don’t do anything. But that’s not the case for the pokémon living on the top floor’s left room. As the sun rays bathed the room, the storm was unleashed upon the world once again.

One… Two… Three… HOP!

Velia the Meowstic jumped off her bed with her arms stretched on both sides. It was time to start a new day full of (golden) opportunities, a day that would bring her one step closer to her brilliant future as a renowned investigator.

She did some stretches and looked at herself in the mirror, to make sure her eyes looked confident enough to go out there and bring comfort to the ones who needed her. She could already hear them say: ‘Look, it’s Velia from Team Riding Star, we’re saved!’ And everyone would know they’d be okay.

Sure, she was an investigator, not an explorer, but aren’t mysteries just another concern for normal people? She had to be there to solve them so everyone could feel safe again. And when there’s not a new mystery in sight, you just have to think hard to notice stuff that others can’t see. It was her duty, after all.

As she stepped outside her bedroom and went downstairs, she was met with the usual sight of her parents preparing breakfast for everyone.

“Good morning, everyone!” She said, voice clear and formal.

“Good morning, Velia!” The other female Meowstic said with a sweet voice. She wore a pair of glasses and looked really cheerful.

The male Meowstic grinned at her and waved. “Hey there, sweetie. With everyone you mean just the two of us, right? Cuz you’re early as always.”

Velia shook her head in disapproval. “Of course, they’re still sleeping, those two…”

“No, I’m not…” A voice called from the stairs.

Velia turned to see her little sister stepping down while rubbing her eyes. The Espurr looked tired, but that wasn’t going to stop her from having her delicious breakfast.

“Oh, you’re here sooner than usual, that’s good. Also, good morning,” Velia said.

The Espurr just yawned as her parents greeted her too. She sat at the dining table and poured some milk into a bowl of cereal his father had already prepared for her. Velia took a bunch of berries, instead, and sat right next to her.

“So, how’s the group project you were doing, Grethe? Any progress?” The mother asked.

Velia’s sister swallowed a mouthful of cereal and grinned. “I already finished all by myself. It was pretty easy.”

“Already?” The father said, with widened eyes. “You should leave something for your classmates, if you do all the work they’re not going to learn anything.”

The Espurr just shrugged. “Eh, if they struggle with exams I’ll just help them study.”

Velia was smart, but her sister Grethe was pretty much one of the smartest students in the academy. She was still in the general education class, but almost every teacher knew her because of her reputation. Still, she didn’t care about an image and just wanted to get things done quickly and help whoever needed it.

Was Velia jealous of her? Nah, she wasn’t aiming to be the smartest out there. Also, it’s not like she was going to become an investigator and steal her spotlight. Fame and fortune aren’t just for the best one, so she didn’t worry too much.

Yet, there was still another family member left.

“Is Terrel ever going to leave his room or what?” The male Meowstic complained.

“Not this again, Simon, please,” the mother sighed in exasperation. This was a common argument in the house. “We already agreed to leave him be.”

“I know, Igni, but he’s been like that for so long and we can barely see him! That’s it, I’m going to talk to him.”

And just like that, he left. Velia swallowed a berry and shook her head. “That’s definitely not going to work.”

“Forcing him like that seems unhealthy…” Igni the Meowstic said as she took her glasses and cleaned them with a tissue.

“But dad’s kinda right,” Grethe added. “He’s not going to ever change if he stays like that.”

Velia knew that. Heck, she agreed with them in some way, but nothing they did was working, so what was the point? Trying to drag him out of his room was useless, so she kept doing the only thing she knew was effective. Or it had been at some point.

Right as she finished eating, she went upstairs, passing by his fuming father, who was muttering something as he left with another failed attempt in his book. She glanced at him with a frown but didn’t comment on it. She reached the door to his brother’s room and knocked twice.

Without waiting for anyone to answer, she opened the door. Inside, there was the same messy room as always, with some books lying on the floor, a desk filled with scattered papers and a pencil, a bed, and a plate with some food left beside it. The curtains were closed, so the room was too dark and it was hard to spot the male Meowstic lying on the bed.

“Of course, you were going to enter anyway,” Terrel said with a tired voice.

He was staring at the ceiling with a lifeless expression, but Velia was used to seeing that already. She moved towards the bed while trying not to step on any book, which made her look like a ballerina. She would have to pick them up later.

“So… How are things today?” She asked.

She waited for a long moment until he heard his brother click his tongue. “Same as always.”

“Hm, I see.”

Velia sat on the floor resting against the bed, and another long silence followed, while she chose her next words. By the number of times she had done this, where his brother told her each time to leave him alone with no results, he eventually gave up and it became a daily ritual. So here she went again.

“I’ve found more evidence of the alien sightings I told you about, you know?”

He sighed. “Again with that conspiracy theory?”

“It’s not just a conspiracy theory, it’s a fact! I talked to this Sandslash guy who claimed to have seen a weird creature falling from the sky. This adds up to the theory I mentioned last time!”

Terrel didn’t have the energy to roll his eyes, so he just kept listening, even if he was uninterested.

“Aliens are out there, and they’re a pretty advanced society. They’re probably inhabiting our planet while disguised as normal pokémon, but they are so much more than that.”

As she didn’t hear any response, Velia turned around to see if his brother was paying attention but found he didn’t move an inch, so she kept talking.

“The aliens I’m telling you about come from a very distant planet and are planning on conquering this world. That’s why we have to find them and stop their plans! That way, we’ll also become famous!”

“Whatever…”

Velia kept rambling about it for a while until she decided it was time to go to the academy. Another day, another success! Now she just needed to observe the world around her to think of another interesting theory to tell his brother tomorrow. It was like that every day, and she didn’t grow tired of it.

She was sure it was working, or at least she could swear he was talking to her more than before… maybe? She knew he liked her stories, how couldn’t he? Even if he didn’t say anything about it, or just express any emotion at all…

Terrel’s depression was a main concern for Velia, and telling him about her conspiracy theories was her way of showing him how much she cared, even if she didn’t specifically say so. That’s why she continued to try day after day, no matter how long it would take.

Anyway, it was going to work. It had to.

 

---

 

As everyone arrived at class, Maia greeted each of her students with her usual warm smile, this time being the first to arrive instead of Velia, who got there next and stood proudly facing the door, awaiting her classmates.

Kyle got there next, and he just waved with a neutral expression like he always did, right before getting to his seat. Right next was Asher, beaming as only he could, and Velia couldn’t help but snort at that. She didn’t usually smile, but that didn’t mean she was soulless or unhappy, she was just too formal (whenever she wasn’t posing dramatically), but still enjoyed the cheerfulness of her classmates.

Then, Mylo came, and soon after, Sanah did too. Velia was as uncomfortable with those two as the rest of the class, especially with Sanah, but she still kept formalities as was to be expected.

“Good morning!” She said with a nod, glancing at the two members of Team Silver.

Mylo passed beside her and waved, smiling as creepily as ever. “Heya.”

He was kinda nice, Velia had to admit, but it was still weird to talk to him. She would get used to that eventually. On the other hand, there was the Zangoose, who was difficult to approach and-

“Uhm… Good morning,” Sanah said, waving weakly.

Velia jumped internally. Sure, Sanah had been less snappy those recent days, but this was the first time she heard her say something nice. Whatever happened to her…?

With a quick glance, she could see Asher was as confused as she was, but he slowly turned that into a smile and took his chance to greet her.

“Hello, Sanah!”

Sanah was surprised by that sudden outburst of joy, but it felt kinda nice to be treated like that for once, so she complied.

“O-oh, hi there…”

Asher’s smile grew wide and Sanah couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that. Like, it wasn’t that big of a deal… Right?

Still, Velia was glad that she was being more approachable now. It only made things easier, especially for the rest of Team Silver. She was still concerned about what happened to the Riolu.

Then, the last three students came, later than usual. Cora was excited to greet her classmates, even if she looked a bit troubled, Nimb was shy as always but he stuttered less than usual, and then Ari was… Huh.

Velia tilted her head at the sight. He looked more tired than the last time she saw him, somehow. His eyes were red by nature, but that was another level.

Nimb was looking at him in concern. He knew Ari was struggling with nightmares, but he didn’t expect them to get worse even after they had that pleasant talk with the whole team plus Maia. He thought Ari should be feeling better, but apparently, that’s not helping with the nightmares…

Ari just insisted that he was okay and that he would eventually feel better. But, when is ‘eventually’? Was he going to downplay it every time?

Maybe he wouldn’t be able to do it this time, as Maia approached him in concern.

“Ari, you should have stayed at home today, as I told you.”

“But I don’t wanna miss any important lesson! If I don’t have all the context, I struggle to understand the following lessons…”

Maia stared at him with a pensive face. It looked like she was trying to find any argument to refute him, but she didn’t find any. She sighed. “If you really think you need to be here… Alright, but don’t push yourself too much, okay?”

Ari nodded quickly. At least, he did look like he still had energy, so he would be fine. Probably.

Meanwhile, Velia listened to the whole conversation with some interest. She knew Ari and Nimb were living with the teacher, so of course she would know what was wrong and care for them. Right?

Murmurs could be heard coming from the other classmates as they commented on their jobs from the previous day, and they didn’t waste any time bringing the topic to the rest of the class as soon as Maia returned to her desk.

“Hey, how did your investigation yesterday go?” Asher asked, looking at Team Silver with excited eyes.

“Oh, uhmm… Well, it went decent, I guess…” Ari said.

Velia crossed her arms. “You don’t sound so convinced. Did you fail?”

“No, we didn’t!” Sanah raised her voice but quickly sagged trying to hide the sudden outburst. “I mean… We did solve the case, it’s just…” She then looked at the Riolu like she was asking for permission to talk about it.

Ari shrugged. “It’s alright. We kinda got betrayed by two friends at once, so to speak.” There was a collective gasp coming from Team Riding Star minus Cora, who was already brought up to date as they walked to the academy. She was still in denial about Lyla’s arrest.

“A-and the criminals escaped in the end…” Nimb added.

“Wow… I’m sorry to hear that,” Kyle said. “Sounds like a really tough start.”

“We’ll manage,” Mylo said and then turned to Ari with a soft smile. “Right?”

Ari smiled back and nodded. He knew he could count on his team to get through this. “What about you guys? How did your investigation go?” He asked the other team.

Velia quickly rose. “We succeeded, of course!”

“Well, we just had to search for a thief at the inn. They had stolen a really valuable painting from the owner’s room,” Kyle said, leaning in the conversation. He then shrugged. “Turned out it was the receptionist all along.”

“Why is it that the culprit is always a member of the staff…?” Nimb said. He almost jumped at his own tone at noticing he said all that in front of the class without stammering.

Cora nodded. “Usually, that would make things easier, but… I wish that wasn’t the case this time.” She looked grim for a moment, but quickly regained her smile, which seemed… kinda forced, as Ari noticed.

Hours passed by and classes finished, but just before everyone left, Maia approached Ari and Nimb once more, and they spoke in a lower tone that Velia couldn’t quite hear. Maia was always observant with those two, and Velia couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous…

Still, she was okay with it. Of course they were close, after all, Maia was the one who saved them from an unknown threat when she happened to be nearby, as they mentioned that one time, and she was the one who gave them a home. She signed them up for the academy, which they were already interested in joining.

Then, somehow, they ended up in the same class that she taught… Another place where they would be close to each other so that she could keep an eye on them, just like… In her house…

Velia’s Mystery Sensors™ started vibrating, telling her there was a new theory to formulate here. Oh, that’s right! This could be something huge! But if she wanted to succeed in this, she needed help.

She looked around her to see that most of her classmates had already left, so she only had one option aside from the two who were conversing with Maia. Velia approached the Cyclizar, sentencing him to be her new victim.

“Asher, I need your help.”

He looked up and beamed. “Yay, what can I do for you?”

The Meowstic looked at the teacher with narrowed eyes and leaned closer to whisper in Asher’s ear, while making sure Maia wasn’t hearing.

“I think Maia might be evil.”

Asher’s smile slowly morphed into an exhausted frown. “Oh, not this again, please…”

“What do you mean ‘again’? This is something new, Asher, it’s serious.” Velia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance.

“Ah… I know this is serious to you, Velia, and I understand! B-but… You know, recently you said there was a zombie infection, and also remember that time you mentioned a mind-controlling monster?”

“And I have yet to be proven wrong. But this time, if I were right, then Ari and Nimb would be in danger. Are you willing to risk it?”

Asher scratched his head, pensive, and glanced at his teammates, who were already leaving, and he eventually sighed and looked back at the Meowstic with a regained smile.

“Alright… Of course I’ll help you!”

Velia nodded and a subtle smile reached her lips. “Great, thank you, my beloved partner. We shall meet with the potential victims and warn them about this.”

 

---

 

“So, umm… What did you wanna talk about?”

The Riolu shifted uncomfortably in a cushion as Velia kept pacing around him and Nimb. Asher soon came with a plate filled with some snacks and left it on the small table in the center, instantly snatching a cookie and stuffing it in his mouth while sitting down.

“Awnd why did whew huf to cawm two my hwuse?” He swallowed. “You could have explained earlier instead of waiting to get here.”

“Because your house is the only one where we have enough privacy to talk about this.”

“Well, I think it’s cozy,” Ari said, inspecting the room with curiosity.

“Thanks!”

It was pretty much what you would expect from a one-mon house, or rather, apartment. Located in a small building, on the second floor, it was quite small but had enough space to fit all of them. Just a living room with a small kitchen near the entrance, a washroom, and a single bedroom.

It was kinda colorful on the inside and the way it was decorated and clean said a lot about Asher. The big guy was making sure everyone was comfortable in his little house and even offered them some biscuits. He was pretty sweet.

Velia observed her classmates as they ate cookies, the Archen devouring as many cookies as the Cyclizar, until all eyes settled on her, and she spoke. “I’ve gathered all of you here to discuss an important matter. Maia is evil.”

Nimb choked on a cookie and started coughing hard, so Ari had to pat him on the back several times until he was fine.

“WHAT?” Ari and Nimb yelled at the same time.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, this is just another one of Velia’s conspiracy theories…” Asher said. “Also, aw, I made that cookie with all my love…”

“A conspiracy?” Ari asked, trying to clean the cookie bits thrown all over the floor. “But why would you think Maia’s evil? She’s like… Super nice and helpful, always caring for us…”

Velia surprised them by slamming both paws on top of the table and turning serious. “Think about it. Don’t you think your circumstances were a bit strange? You were attacked by a pokémon nobody has ever seen before, saved by someone who just happened to be there, in the middle of nowhere, far away from home. She lets you two live in her house and then it turns out she’s also the teacher in the very same class you’re in?”

Ari, Nimb, and Asher slowly tilted their heads as they took that in. It was somewhat far-fetched, but they didn’t have time to interrupt her crazy thoughts as Velia started pacing around and continued talking.

“It feels like she wanted to keep you close… Letting you live with her even if you just met, then being your teacher to keep an eye on you every day…” She turned back to them with arms closed. “Don’t you think it’s all too convenient?”

All three of them wanted to retort, but that theory was somehow starting to make some sense in their heads. It’s not that they believed it yet, but… It sure was a strange situation. It had been exactly two weeks since they met Maia and they hadn’t even thought about it for a second.

“But… Why would that mean she’s evil?” Nimb asked. “If she was planning some evil plot, I doubt we would make any difference in it, she would be doing something different rather than just… Babysit us.”

“Yeah, why us?” Ari added.

“Well, there’s a thing that comes to my mind, and that doesn’t involve both of you, but rather… You, Ari.” He gasped, and Velia smirked slightly. “You already know where this is going, right? You aren’t a common Riolu, that’s for sure. Your appearance and your special power are a clear indication that something’s odd about you. What if Maia wants to get something out of it?”

“That’s… Uh…”

“And on top of that, there’s the pokémon that attacked you. An Armarouge, it was?” Ari and Nimb nodded. “Right, an Armarouge. Turns out this evidence also involves Nimb, as he was attacked by it even before he met Ari. Isn’t it strange that both of you were attacked by it but there’s not a single notice of an attack from that pokémon from anyone else? And no one else has seen it either.”

“I… Haven’t thought of that,” Nimb said, already trembling slightly. This time, both Ari and Asher put a paw on his shoulders to reassure him.

“Wait, that doesn’t mean she’s evil!” Asher said. “Okay, let’s say their circumstances are… Strange. But Maia could be thinking the same, and that could be the reason she chose to keep them close because she was worried!”

Ari nodded. “That’s right! And even if she was keeping us -or me- close because of my power, it doesn’t have to be for evil! What if she’s like a… Secret agent or something?”

Nimb and Asher slowly turned to him with an intrigued look, and the latter spoke with a whisper. “You’re starting to sound like Velia, and that concerns me.”

“Hmm… That doesn’t sound like a bad theory at all, but spying on someone and not telling them a thing isn’t usually done with good intentions. So, allow me to doubt that.” Velia turned her back on them and hummed for a moment. “Whatever the reasons are, this is a matter that we can’t ignore.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Ari asked, tilting his head.

Velia turned back to them and smiled. “What we do best: investigate.”

Ari and Nimb looked at each other, but neither knew what to do. Were they really going to go along with Velia’s theories? But what if she was right in the end? At least they were offered help…

“Would you really do that for us?” Nimb asked.

Asher planned on letting Velia get the lead in this investigation, but now that he was aware of the situation and knew they were worried about it, he couldn’t just sit and do nothing. “Of course! And I wanna help you guys too.”

Nimb wanted to retort, but Asher was smiling at him so warmly that he even forgot his social anxiety. “Thanks…”

“We should start by asking in the police station, there should be some information about Maia that we can use,” Velia suggested as Asher and Ari started picking up the biscuit leftovers on the table and taking them to the kitchen.

“We could ask Brynel and Melly, they seemed nice enough,” Ari said, licking his paws to get rid of the traces of chocolate he definitely should have eaten.

They all agreed on that, so once they were prepared, they went outside and Asher stepped forward, calling for everyone’s attention. He dropped on all fours, which was a weird sight for someone like him (even if it was common with his species) and turned his head to his classmates.

“Okay, guys, hop on!”

Ari and Nimb were surprised for a moment, but Velia nodded in agreement. “Well thought, partner, this will save us some time.”

“Uh… Are you sure you’re okay with it?” Ari asked, rubbing his left arm a bit embarrassed.

“Of course!” Asher grinned. “We aren’t called Team ‘Riding’ Star for nothing!”

“Actually, that wasn’t the intention with the name, but I’ll take it,” Velia shrugged.

With that, Ari, Nimb and Velia climbed on Asher and he trotted onwards. He was quite big, so he carried the three of them easily all the way. Nimb was a bit scared of the speed at first, but he found himself enjoying the ride in the end.

Ari did notice how Asher moved more carefully when Nimb mentioned being scared at first and thought it was really kind of him. The Cyclizar was trying hard to make Nimb feel good all the time, even more than Ari already did.

They soon arrived at the police station and entered without wasting any more time. Ari and Nimb noticed it was filled with many more pokémon than the last time they were there since many of them were dealing with the ferals outside.

Brynel was pacing around his desk while reading some papers, with a cup of coffee on his free paw. As he saw Team Riding Silver approach, he cast a smile at them.

“Hey, it’s you guys! What are you doing here?”

Ari waved cheerfully. “Hi! We just wanted-“

“We need answers!” Velia interrupted, and the Zeraora flinched at the sudden demand. “We’re undergoing a very important investigation and we need information that I’m sure you can give us.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh… Alllllright…?” He tilted his head and dropped the papers on the desk, now crossing his arms. “What is it?”

The aura canine leaned closer and tried to take the lead in the conversation. “Um, i-it’s okay if you can’t tell us anything, and sorry to bother you while you’re working.”

“Ah, it’s okay, don’t worry.”

“Anyway,” Ari continued. “We were wondering if maybe you knew something about… Maia.”

Brynel stopped for a moment and grimaced. “Maia? What’s with her?”

“We have reasons to think she might be hiding something important, possibly evil,” Velia interfered, stepping closer and pushing Ari aside gently. “It was too convenient that she was there when Ari and Nimb were attacked two weeks ago.”

The Zeraora crossed his arms and thought about it for a moment. He already knew of the conspiranoid nature of the Meowstic, but the others too? That was another level of paranoia.

Before he could answer, another voice called their attention. “Woow, you really believe something like that without evidence?”

Melly the Floragato was leaning into a nearby wall in a cool pose wearing a smirk. Velia didn’t appreciate her tone and huffed. “Who says we don’t have evidence?”

“B-but we don’t,” Nimb whispered.

“They don’t know that yet!”

Brynel cleared his throat and everyone turned to him. “The thing is, even if you were right, this isn’t an official investigation and we can’t just give away personal information, I hope you can understand that…”

“Yeah, it was to be expected, don’t worry,” Asher said.

Velia, however, wasn’t pleased with that answer. “But what if she’s actually evil and Ari and Nimb are in danger? You can’t just leave it like this!”

Brynel frowned. “I don’t think that’s…”

“Haah,” Melly interrupted. “Yeah, sure, she’s planning on taking over the world with exams and complicated math formulas.”

“Melly…”

The students looked a bit offended by that, especially Velia, so Melly just released her cool pose and approached.

“Sorry, just a little teasing. But look, if you’re concerned about your teacher acting weird, then why don’t you just ask Maia herself? I’m sure there’s a good reason for her to be like that.”

“That… Sounds reasonable,” Ari said with a tilt of his head.

“I-I prefer that too,” Nimb added, and then released Ari’s arm as he noticed he unconsciously grabbed it out of anxiety.

“Really? We can’t let her know we’re suspecting her, otherwise, we could be in danger!” Velia countered, facing the group with a scowl. “Talking to her should be our last option.”

“But do we actually have other options?” Asher asked.

The Meowstic turned around to leave. “We do. Just follow me, we have an investigation to do.”

Ari, Nimb and Asher looked at each other a bit concerned but decided to follow her. Before they could say goodbye, Brynel stopped them.

“Wait!” They turned around as the Zeraora stepped forward carrying a folder in his arm. It was the perfect moment to talk about it, so he took the chance. “Ari, can I talk to you in private?”

The Riolu blinked in confusion. “Huh? Just me?”

Brynel gave a cursory glance at his classmates, staring for a bit longer at Nimb, but eventually locked his eyes on Ari. “Hmmm, yes. It’s important.”

“Oh, alright… Wait for me outside, guys,” he said to the others, and they nodded.

Ari followed Brynel to a private room, an office that looked a bit empty, and they sat around a small desk, one in front of the other. It looked a bit like an interrogation room, but there was no one listening to them from a separate room.

“So, uh… Did I do something wrong?” Ari asked. He had a weird habit of gripping his left arm whenever he was anxious, so it wasn’t just Nimb who had an obsession with Ari’s arm.

“No, that’s not it. Calm down, I just thought there was something you needed to know.”

That caught his attention. “Oh? What is it?”

The Zeraora opened the folder he was carrying and took a sheet of paper from it, placing it on the desk. There was a lot written in there, so before Ari had to read the whole thing, which would have taken a while, he spoke.

“It’s a report. It says there has been a new sighting of Armarouge near Gravel Canyon.”

Ari gasped. It was the first time he got news from that monster since he was attacked.

“R-really? Is it… Actually it?”

Brynel slowly nodded. “It attacked a couple of traveling pokémon, one of them saving the other one from the attack and giving them the chance to escape, even if the first one was never to be seen again. The one that escaped described the attacker and it was pretty much the same as Maia mentioned: white flame, faded skin with a bluish tone mixed into it, and a blank gaze.”

“Ah… Yes, it’s exactly how I remember it.” He sighed, somehow a bit relieved. On one hand, that confirmed Armarouge was still out there causing havoc, and it was horrible to know it killed an innocent traveler, but on the other hand it wasn’t just going for him, and it wasn’t close by at the moment.

“The thing is, I’m starting to notice a pattern here.”

“Huh?”

Brynel stood up and paced around the desk. “We’ve been receiving reports of disappearing pokémon every now and then. More than usual. And all of them happened after they went outside their towns and cities, but without actually going to dungeons.” He stood silent for a moment, letting Ari digest it, and he continued. “Armarouge, at the same time, was never seen close to any town or city.”

“Oh, wait… Do you think…?”

He nodded. “Armarouge is avoiding civilization on purpose, and I think he might be the one causing pokémon to go missing. If there aren’t many pokémon around, they won’t be able to stop it, and there won’t be any witnesses if it takes care of them first, which is why we barely have any reports on it.”

“I see… It makes sense. So it’s not actually looking for me, I guess…? I’m still wary, given that the feral pokémon also went for me that one time, like I was some sort of magnet…”

“That’s why I’m still not discarding that possibility. Given that Armarouge follows a similar behavior to ferals, I’m inclined to think it IS one, or at least something really similar, which makes me think it might be key to the whole feral incident. But that raises another question: why avoid civilization? Ferals didn’t do that. Is Armarouge actually intelligent?”

Ari raised his head in curiosity. He had a point there. “You’re right… But why are you suddenly explaining all of this to me? What about the rest?”

Brynel smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. “Well, you see… This wasn’t being investigated by anyone else because they thought it wasn’t important and there wasn’t enough evidence that something like that existed, but the fact that you were attacked by it and somehow survived makes me a bit curious about you. I mean, you were badly injured by it but recovered so quickly, and… Let’s say I also need help if I wanna investigate this.”

“Wait, you’re going to investigate? And… You want me to help you?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m asking. I have the feeling that you might be key in all of this, only by looking at you, and knowing how you attract both Armarouge and feral pokémon.”

“I see…” Well, that was something… Now Ari had a whole new responsibility to take care of, and also the fear of being caught in the middle of some weird plot involving soulless monsters that wanted to tear his skin off. Was he going to agree to such a proposal…? “Okay, I’ll help you.” Yes, he was.

Brynel smiled. “Great! Thank you, Ari.”

“Anyway, if this is because I was attacked by Armarouge, why didn’t you ask Nimb to come too? He was there as well.”

“Because… I don’t know if he would take the news too well…”

Yeah, that was an issue. He was a bit traumatized after that event, and it took a while for him to actually feel safe in Bismuth Town. He deserved some peace, but what if that peace was to be gone forever?

“I see… I appreciate that you wanted to keep him away from this mess, but… Wouldn’t we need any help we could get?” Ari said.

“That sounds about right… You can tell him if you want, I’ll leave that to you. If you do, then it would be wise to also tell your teammates, since you’re going to work together the whole time. I just wanted to tell you first for now.”

Ari nodded as he took that in. He had a lot of thinking to do, and he was already in the middle of something to even think about that. At the same time, the whole Armarouge plus feral situation was starting to make him feel anxious. He wanted to escape a life of battles and stress, only to find himself caught in something like that out of nowhere.

What was even going to happen to him? Would he have to hide from ferals all the time if they started escaping mystery dungeons? The thought was making him sick, and he didn’t notice he had started trembling a little.

“Hey, Ari.” Brynel snapped him out of his thoughts and approached the Riolu, looking at him in the eyes. “I know this might be a lot, but I promise I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”

Ari’s eyes widened. “R-really? Protect me?”

He nodded, placing a paw on Ari’s shoulder. “I agreed to investigate this, and I can’t just leave you on your own. I’ll make sure to keep you safe, okay?”

“I… Oh, thank you so much, Brynel, that’s reassuring to know.” He smiled. It sure felt good that someone as nice as the Zeraora cared for him already, but at the same time… “But I don’t know, I don’t wanna be a burden…”

“You’re not, I offered to do this myself, so don’t worry.”

He looked him in the eyes trying to find any sign of pity, but it seemed genuine. He didn’t understand why others were even trying to help him, he did nothing to deserve it. Eventually, he decided not to argue about it and just nodded.

“Good! Anyway, you shouldn’t leave your friends waiting much longer, you better go with them.”

“Alright…”

 

---

 

Nimb, Asher and Velia were waiting in front of the main gate, counting the pokémon they saw passing by, and the Meowstic was getting a bit desperate at that point.

“What’s taking them so long? We have work to do.”

“Come on, it’s only been like ten minutes or so,” Asher said.

“Ten minutes that we could be using to solve this mystery!”

As they saw Ari stepping out from the gate, Velia put her paws on her waist and huffed. “What was so important to keep us waiting?”

“Uh… Sorry, but it wasn’t my fault, you know.”

Velia narrowed her eyes for a moment but sighed. “Fine, I suppose.”

“Well, Brynel told me that Armarouge did in fact attack someone else far away from here, so nope, your theory about me being special isn’t that consistent now.” Ari chose to omit the rest of the information he was given for now, for the sake of Nimb.

There was a collective gasp and Nimb flinched in fear once again but was met with a gentle pat from the Cyclizar.

“So… Something finally happened, huh?” Asher said.

“Hmmm… That’s interesting, but remember that we’re investigating Maia, not Armarouge. That’s still something we can’t dismiss,” Velia said.

“S-so how do we investigate that?” Nimb asked, his anxiety now was more because of the news rather than the fact that he was with other pokémon aside from Ari.

“Elementary, my avian companion,” Velia said. “We’re going to your house, that is, Maia’s cottage! We’ll find clues in there, I’m sure.”

Ari frowned. “W-what? Isn’t that super intrusive?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to trespass on my teacher’s house, also that’s illegal…” Asher added, cringing slightly.

“We’re not trespassing if we’re invited by Ari and Nimb, who also live there, right?”

“I uh…”

Ari waved his arms in panic as he tried to avoid that situation at all costs. “Wait wait, why don’t we just ask the other teachers in the academy? I’m sure they know Maia well enough and they could tell us something!”

“Hmmm… That’s not a bad idea, but we could do that later. Also, what if they’re involved in Maia’s plots too?”

Ari, Nimb and Asher deadpanned. Velia’s conspiranoid nature was truly concerning.

“I… Don’t have the energy to refute that.” Ari sighed.

 

---

 

As always, Maia didn’t go home after classes ended, since she usually had some work to do in the academy besides other stuff she had to attend to. Still, they already wasted enough time in Asher’s apartment and the police station, so they didn’t have much time left until Maia returned home.

Asher carried them on his back once again, but Ari and Nimb couldn’t enjoy it that much knowing they were going to snoop through Maia’s personal stuff while she wasn’t home. Hopefully, it was going to be quick.

“Um… Hey Asher, why do you curl your tail like it’s a wheel if you don’t even use it as one?” Nimb asked.

Asher didn’t stop at that, but he did slow down as he pondered the question, one that he never quite knew the answer to. “Well, I guess it’s… Uh… It’s something I always do by nature, I’m not sure. Maybe that way I don’t trip with my tail or something?”

“Uh huh…”

“Such questions are the first step that leads an investigator to become successful and knowledgeable. Keep it up, Nimb,” Velia stated, drawing some amused looks.

“Well… Thanks, I guess?” Nimb was quite bewildered by the sudden encouragement, but he wasn’t complaining.

It wasn’t long until they found themselves in front of Maia’s cottage. They could feel the tension between them as they were about to do something a little bit illegal, but hey, it was for the sake of knowledge! It was going to be alright.

Ari opened the door and the rest entered right after him, with Velia and Asher taking in the view.

“Oohhh, it looks really comfy!” Asher said and then added with a slight tone of jealousy. “And much more spacious than my apartment, that’s for sure.”

“Hmm. Looks like a pretty normal house, just the perfect cover for a criminal in disguise.” Velia nodded to herself, already tasting the mystery in the air.

“Whatever… Let’s just get this done with,” Ari said, followed by a loud yawn. “Is there something you want to check here? As you see, there’s nothing interesting, and we don’t have our gholdevices with us.”

The Meowstic smirked and turned her back on him, slowly walking away. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. We don’t need those things, and of course, we won’t find anything exposed just like that.” She turned back to face Ari and crossed her arms. “We’re going to check Maia’s room.”

“Oh, great, if it wasn’t intrusive enough…” Ari deadpanned.

Asher laughed nervously. “I, uh… Well, I would prefer not to go in there, if that’s okay…”

“That’s okay, then you and Ari will go check on your bedroom, and Nimb and I will check Maia’s. Because, you know, why would Maia need two bedrooms if she lives alone? That might be important.”

The motorbike lizard opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it and opened it again trying to find words. “Huh. I guess I’m okay with that.”

“Wait, can’t I go with Ari?” Nimb protested.

“Come on, it’s going to be a moment, and we’re literally in the same house,” Velia said.

“But I… Uh…” He looked at the Riolu, who just shrugged, and then let out a deep sigh and sagged. “Whatever…”

With that, Asher and Ari went to check the brothers’ bedroom. It was the same as always with the difference that they didn’t make the beds this morning out of laziness, so Ari had to quickly make them before they started looking for clues.

“So… I don’t even know what to do here, Ari said. “It’s just a normal room with a couple of beds and bookshelves, a desk, and a small closet that we’ve… never checked before. Huh.”

Ari and Asher looked at each other unblinking, before quickly approaching the closet and opening it carefully. It was a bit empty, having just a couple of scarves, a snow hat, a rubber ball and a box with puzzle pieces on it. It looked dusty, like no one had opened it in a long time.

“Hmmm… It’s still weird that this stuff is here, but at least I don’t see anything suspicious. It’s just a normal house,” Asher said, tilting his head while he lifted the snow hat to brush the dust away and take a closer look at it.

“I know, this is a bit exaggerated. I don’t get why Velia is so obsessed by this…” Ari said as he toyed with the rubber ball. “I hope you’re doing well with her in your team.”

Asher turned to him with a smile and put the hat on the Riolu’s head. “Don’t worry, she’s not like that all the time, and it’s still nice to be around her! Also, I had it easier with my team than you did, as far as I’m concerned. Sorry you had to go through so much…”

Ari flinched slightly at the touch, but didn’t take the hat off. “Oh, umm… It’s okay now, we’re getting along pretty well, but thanks for the concern.”

“I’m glad to hear that! Also, that hat looks so good on you, hehe!”

Ari blushed and gripped the hat with his right paw. “Y-you think so? I’ve never worn something that’s not a scarf…”

“Aw, well you should try! Especially if it makes you feel good,” Asher flashed an even brighter smile and Ari couldn’t help but smile too.

“Damn, Asher, you’re one of the nicest pokémon I’ve ever met, you know? I don’t know how you manage to be always like that.”

“Well, I could say the same about you, you know? You’re always so nice to everyone, even when Sanah was like that to you. Me, however…” His smile faded for a moment as he looked away a bit pensive. “I was too judgmental with both Sanah and Mylo.”

Ari blinked twice. He might have more in common with the Cyclizar than he thought. “You… Why would you feel bad about it? You had more than enough reasons to be wary of Sanah, knowing how she treated others.”

He was met with Asher’s confused gaze. “I could ask the same to you, you know?”

Oh, he was right. “Well… B-but we’re not talking about me!”

Asher sighed and decided to comply. “I don’t know, it’s what I told myself to do. I wanna be nice to everyone, is what I would have wanted others to do with me when I was a kid.”

Ari frowned as he felt a wave of empathy and understanding crash onto him. “Oh, Asher… Did you have it tough as a kid?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, right now it’s not like that anymore! But it taught me to try and make everyone happy, and I admire you for having achieved so much in that regard.”

“I… Well, I kinda did what I thought was best, but you know…” Ari started, pulling off the hat from his head and holding it in his paws. “I’m not that perfect, I even admire you for being always so positive. Even if I’m nice, most of the time that attitude is overshadowed by negativity and intrusive thoughts.”

Asher frowned upon the sight of a sad Riolu, so he did what he knew best. “Well, I guess neither of us is perfect. But we try our best!” He then suddenly embraced Ari with his left arm and lifted him up, pressing him against his neck. “And I’m glad to have such a nice friend!”

Ari blushed harder as he froze in the embrace, but he eventually found himself wrapping his arm around the lizard’s own. “I… Woah, Asher, I’m also glad to have you as a friend, hehe…”

He was so surprised to be called a friend by Asher so soon, even if that’s what he did with Nimb, but he actually liked the idea. He really wanted to get to know the Cyclizar better now, it just felt so warm to be around him, he noticed. And at the same time, he didn’t understand why it happened again. Another pokémon he didn’t know that much actually cared for him. Why?

He couldn’t think about it for much longer, as Asher put him down and returned to the matter at hand. “So, what are we going to tell Velia? There’s nothing useful here…”

“Hmmm…” Ari thought for a moment, inspecting what he already had until his eyes stopped on the snow hat in his paw. He noticed something stuck in the wool, so he took it with his other paw and inspected what looked like a small feather. “Wait, this is…”

 

---

 

Maia’s room looked pretty much the same as the other one, but it only had one bed, and the desk was filled with piles of documents and books. Working as a teacher must been exhausting, Nimb thought. It was a bit weird to be there, and he could feel a pressure in his chest as he invaded the privacy of the pokémon that saved his life.

Velia was already searching on the drawers and checking on every nook and cranny. She took some items in her paws and others were levitated with her psychic powers, like she was checking too many things at the same time. Nimb just stood there making sure she didn’t break anything.

“H-hey, don’t throw it like that… Uh, that book looks fragile… Aaahh, be careful with that!”

Velia stopped and turned around with narrowed eyes. “Are you going to help me or not?”

Nimb flinched, a bit ashamed. “I-I’m sorry, uh… It’s just that I don’t feel good doing this to Maia…”

The psychic cat stared at the Archen as he looked down, and eventually sighed. She wanted to be efficient and fast, but she could understand Nimb’s situation. “Alright, I’ll do it myself then.”

“Oh… Okay…”

She kept searching for a longer while, but as she found nothing, she started getting frustrated. Not even the closet had something interesting that pointed to any evil plot.

“There has to be something… Somewhere… She can’t just be this boring! I’m sure she’s hiding something, I just have to find it…”

Nimb, who was watching the door in case he heard Maia coming home, turned around and sighed. “Why does it have to be that way? You already saw we had no evidence at all, and we were only following a baseless hypothesis. Maia literally taught us not to… Huh?”

He noticed how Velia had gone quiet and still, which was pretty weird for her. Nimb moved to her side and noticed she was holding some kind of book. It was full of pictures and colorful pages, something that caught his attention.

“What is this?” Nimb asked.

Velia took a bit longer than usual to respond. “It’s… A storybook. A children’s tale, it seems.”

“Ah… And what’s with it? Does it relate to whatever we’re investigating?”

She slowly shook her head and flipped some pages. It was a bit old, but beautiful nonetheless. “It’s just… It reminds me of the stories me and my brother used to read together.”

“I see…”

Velia kept reading a few lines in complete silence, as the glint in her eyes turned dimmer with each word. Nimb starting to get concerned and leaned closer.

“Is everything alright?”

Velia didn’t look up. “Hmm. Yes, I suppose. It’s just that… I miss those times when everything was simple and we were happy. Now he’s all wrong and he might never be the same.”

“You mean your brother?”

She nodded, turning another page carefully. “These stories made both of us really excited. There were endless possibilities within them, all kinds of impossible situations that made our minds go wild with imagination. It was… good.”

Nimb stole a glance at that old storybook. It sure looked fun, something he wished he could have enjoyed more when he was little, but he was too worried about everything else to actually focus on it.

Velia continued. “But that eventually changed. We both grew up, and that meant he also stopped reading those. He became depressed and I didn’t know why, so… My only idea was to somehow remind him of what made him happy.”

“You mean the stories?” Nimb asked.

“Yes… If he doesn’t read storybooks because he thinks they’re just for kids, then I had to make up something that filled that desire for fantasy. That’s why I started formulating all those theories, so I could have something to tell him. It eventually became a routine, and now I’m always thinking of wild theories even when I’m not planning on telling my brother, but I guess that’s a part of me now.”

Nimb frowned as he reviewed all the lore he’d just learned. To know Velia was like that because of her brother made him see her differently now, and he respected that. “You really care about your brother, right?”

“How could I not? If I can make him happy by telling him crazy stories, then so be it. Wouldn’t you do the same for your siblings?”

His siblings. Nimb had them, somewhere out there. But… Would he do the same for them? Would they do it for him? It sure didn’t look like it. So, at least there was someone that definitely would. “I would do anything to make Ari happy, so I get you… But maybe that’s not going to work.”

“How do you know that?”

“Maybe he doesn’t like storybooks anymore not because they’re for children, maybe it’s because… They’re just that, stories. They’re not real.”

Velia turned to him in confusion, but she kinda knew what he was referring to, she just didn’t want to accept it. “Then how else am I going to help him? This is my only option right now, this HAS to work.”

“If that didn’t work so far, I don’t see why it would now. You should try something different…”

The Meowstic closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. “I know what I’m doing, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Nimb crossed his wings and stared with a bit of annoyance, but didn’t say anything. He knew Velia was stubborn as hell, so that was a fight he was not willing to have. In any case, that conversation really made him want to read a book together with Ari that night. That was a strange feeling, but warm nonetheless.

His thoughts were interrupted as both Ari and Asher entered the room, which made Nimb jump in surprise as he thought for a moment that Maia had caught them.

“Hey guys, found something yet?” Asher asked.

The feline just shook her head with frustration, but she wasn’t giving up. “No, not yet. There has to be something hidden anywhere… Maybe inside the walls.”

Nimb deadpanned. “You gotta be kidding.”

“I… Really don’t want to tear the planks off,” Ari said, smiling sheepishly.

Velia approached the wall and everyone looked at her in horror as she was about to make another huge mistake. All three of them went to grab her like she was the ball in a sports match.

“W-wait, Velia!” Asher yelled.

“Don’t do it, Maia’s going to be pissed!” Ari begged as he felt the Meowstic trying to escape from their grip

Velia did eventually stop, but she turned to Ari with a judgmental look. “We are investigators, or did you forget that? Why are you so hesitant to do your job?”

Ari stepped back with a frown, feeling a bit tired of the dumb detective game of the day. “I’m not hesitant, I’m doing my job… In a different way. This isn’t what we’re supposed to be doing, we’ve been only jumping to conclusions all the time.”

“How are you so sure about that?” Velia said, crossing her arms.

He stole a glance at Nimb and Asher, who just looked at him with concern, and then he sighed. “Because the only thing that’s suspicious about Maia… Is how she’s been hiding how lonely she felt.

Velia blinked. “Huh?”

“Think about it. An old wooden house in the middle of a town where most houses are already made of bricks, an extra bedroom that wasn’t being used when we came, toys, tabletop games and clothing for small pokémon, including a small feather…”

He directed his gaze towards the desk, noticing the storybook that Velia was reading before. All the pieces started fitting together in his silly little head.

“This cottage has been Maia’s home for her whole life, that’s why it’s so old. She probably lived here with her parents, they played with her, read books together, all that stuff that families do… But she’s grown up. And, as you can see… Her parents aren’t here. It’s very likely that they passed away already.”

“Oh, that kinda makes sense…” Asher said, a bit melancholic. “So maybe she was willing to have you two living here because she felt alone…”

“So that was it, huh…?” Nimb said. He was sad as well, but there was something else in his mind and his anxiety was winning over his empathy. “Well, so there’s no reason for us to be here now, right? We should just leave.”

Velia tensed. “No! We still don’t know why Maia was there when you were attacked by Armarouge! We need to investigate further!”

“Velia…” Asher called out.

“I don’t think I want to go on with this,” Ari said.

“Are you giving up now? What about your job? You’re an investigator!”

Ari flinched hard. “W-why are you so aggressive all of a sudden? I just… I…” He found no words, maybe because he was worried about upsetting her. Nimb, however, was a bit fed up with that.

“Why do we always have to do everything your way?”

There it was, another surprising moment of Nimb being unexpectedly brave to tell someone off. Everyone turned to him in surprise, but Velia could only find herself frowning at that.

“That’s not true! I never… Huh, you think I…?”

Nimb extended his wings sideways in exasperation. “Yes! You refused to accept any of our ideas and just forced us to act exactly the way you wanted all the time. That’s not how a team works!”

As soon as he finished that sentence, he could feel the courage leaving his body and deflated. Oh, now they were looking at him… What if they didn’t agree and he was making a fool of himself?

“I think I agree with him…” Ari eventually said in a bit of sorrow, which made Nimb relax a little. “Even if it sounds a bit harsh, you didn’t let us decide anything…”

“Yeah… I think you’re taking this a bit too far, Velia,” Asher added. He put a claw on the Meowstic’s shoulder, hoping it would help release some tension. “Can’t we just ask Maia directly?”

Velia was at a loss for words. She wasn’t supposed to fail, not so soon! She needed to finally prove a theory, something to tell her brother that was actually helpful. But, aside from that, she also needed to become a great investigator, she was destined for that! How would she get that far if she failed that easily?

“I… We can’t leave it like this… There has to be…”

“Velia,” Ari called. Both of them locked eyes and his expression twisted into a sad smile. “I know how badly you want to prove you can do this, but… There are plenty of other opportunities. Please, do this for us…”

She looked away and thought about it. This wasn’t just about her own gain, right? She was doing this for his brother, but in the process, she had forgotten about her classmates. Her… friends? Was all of this really worth it?

“… Alright. I’m sorry, we’ll do this your way, I suppose. If you want to talk to her, then… So be it.”

They all relaxed and smiled in relief. Nimb wanted so badly to finish this ridiculous investigation, but he had to admit it was fun before they entered Maia’s room.

“G-great…” He found himself still tense after snapping at Velia before, but he was slowly calming down. “I-I’m sure Maia will be fine with telling us about this, and she doesn’t need to find out that we have been-“

“Find out what?”

Everyone froze as Maia’s voice cut the conversation from behind the door to her room, as she entered wearing a scowl. She was carrying a cloth bag beside her usual satchel, but that wasn’t important as the tension returned once more.

“What are you all doing in my room? Besides, Ari, Nimb, you didn’t ask me for permission to invite anyone today!”

“Uh… W-we’re just…” Nimb stuttered, as he slowly leaned towards the Riolu and gripped his arm.

As the Decidueye locked eyes with Ari, he flinched. “I’m sorry, Maia! We were trying to prove that… Uh… It’s just a-a bit of an investigation gone wrong, and…”

Asher lowered his gaze in shame. “Yeah, we’re sorry, we shouldn’t have been so intrusive.”

“You were searching my room? Why would you do that?” Maia was getting angrier with each passing second, and they had no way to escape that.

Ari tried to fix it, but he felt too bad about it and it only made him shake. “I-I’m sorry, Maia, we let this happen, I’m… I’m s-so sorry…”

Maia started taking some steps towards the Riolu and Archen duo. “I can’t believe you actually did this, I never expected this from you two!” And then, when she was close enough to Ari and Nimb, she stopped herself as he saw the Riolu reacting by covering his own head with his arms while cringing. “Huh? Ari, what are you doing?”

He looked up and saw everyone staring at him in concern, so he slowly lowered his arms and let out a nervous laugh. “Oh… Hehe, it’s uh… Sorry, a reflex.”

Maia tilted her head in confusion but decided to not ask about that for the moment. “Anyway, you’re going to have to do more housework today as a punishment, and you also have some explaining to do.”

“Aww…” Nimb pouted.

“Housework? So… Just that? And you’re not, like… Kicking us out of your house or anything?” Ari asked visibly surprised.

“What? Why would I kick you out? Don’t be silly!”

Ari’s eyes widened. “So you’re not angry at us?”

The Decidueye chuckled, smiling softly, and responded without changing her expression. “Ohhhh, no. I am angry.”

Oh, welp. There goes the happy ending.

“Wait, this is all my fault.” All eyes turned to Velia, who stood with a serious expression as she finally decided to explain everything. “I wanted to prove one of my theories, and I dragged them with me, even when they didn’t want to. I’m the one to blame.”

Maia frowned and crossed her wings. “You did this, Velia? What for?”

The Meowstic took a deep breath and started spilling the beans. “I had the theory that you were evil because it was too convenient that you were there when Ari and Nimb were attacked by Armarouge, and then also turned out to be their teacher and let them live with you as if you wanted to watch them. So… Are you evil?”

The Decidueye stared with a dumbfounded expression, something really funny to see from her. “…What?”

“It just doesn’t make sense! Your situation is highly suspicious, so we had to investigate. It’s our thing, after all. Can you blame us?”

Ari, Nimb and Asher flinched at the blunt tone with which Velia said all that, fearing a negative reaction. Maia looked at her in the eyes and then gave a cursory glance at the other three. She pondered that for a long moment while her expression shifted from anger to irritation, to resignation, and then she sighed.

“Okay… You wanna know why I did all that?”

The four investigators looked at each other until they turned to their teacher again, giving a reluctant nod.

“Alright, then come with me.”

 

---

 

They’d been walking for a long while now, going in the direction where Ari and Nimb were found by Maia in the first place. The walk was mostly silent, uncomfortable and tense, and it was starting to make Velia really nervous.

If Maia wanted to show them something, leading them to a remote location where they couldn’t call for help and nobody would find them was truly suspicious. The fact that Maia didn’t explain a thing before going there didn’t make it any better.

They had been walking for an hour already, and they were now surrounded by thick and tall trees which limited the sunlight that reached the area. Some trees even had intertwined branches and leaves, creating a kinda mystic ambience.

At some point, they reached an area with a slightly bigger tree that was near an area with a dense blueish fog that they recognized well: a mystery dungeon. They had to be careful not to walk further or they could get lost in the dungeon.

Velia was starting to think of many possible scenarios where Maia just took care of them right there so nobody would find their corpses. Why else would they go that far? And on top of that, they were right at the entrance of a mystery dungeon, of all places. She was going to dispose of them! She had to be prepared, everything could spiral into madness at any moment, and it was up to her to-

Maia stopped. She was right in front of the big tree, staring at it, and everyone else stopped as well and glanced at the sight. There were a few colorful scarves and tissues tied to the branches of that same tree, and right below it, there was a basket with a couple of wilted nanab berries, one of them half-eaten, probably by a wild pokémon. On top of it, there was a single note, written in big letters.

 

My dear Evette: wherever you are, I’ll always be waiting for you. If you find this, please, come home. I want you to know I never stopped looking, I did all I could, but it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.

I love you.

Maia.

 

Below that, there were written directions to get to Bismuth Town from there. Maia bent down and opened her cloth bag, taking a few nanab berries from it and placing them inside the basket, removing the wilted ones. She got up and stood silent for a moment, not looking back at her students until she finally decided to speak.

“This is where I come on this day every week, the same day I found Ari and Nimb near here.”

Ari finished reading the note from where he was standing and frowned deeply. “Maia, this is…”

Maia nodded. “I lost my only daughter to a feral pokémon. I got distracted while we had a walk, and she went inside the dungeon. I went after her, but before I could reach her, I watched a feral Noctowl take her and fly away.”

Everyone gasped in horror.

“I was too slow. I lost sight of them, and no matter how much I searched, I never found her again. I asked for help, and some rescue teams and explorers went to look for her too, but it was fruitless. She was gone.” Maia gave a shuddering sigh and continued. “After that, she was left for dead, but I couldn’t accept that. I kept coming every week to leave her favorite berries here, so maybe she’d be attracted by the smell and find this note. But it never happened.”

So, in the end… Both Velia’s and Ari’s theories were wrong. They wanted to say something but felt it wasn’t the right moment yet. They weren’t expecting such a sad moment all of a sudden.

“Two weeks ago, I heard sounds of battle when I was coming to bring more nanab berries. When I saw you being attacked by that thing… It reminded me of what happened to my daughter. I couldn’t let anyone go through such hell again, so I desperately went to save you. When you told me you didn’t have a home, I knew what I had to do. Maybe I did it because I felt alone, maybe because I couldn’t bear the thought of a couple of children being lost and homeless like my daughter is right now, I don’t know…”

“Maia… I’m sorry…” Nimb eventually said. The Decidueye just shook her head slowly.

“How long has it been? Since… You lost her?” Asher asked, fearing the answer.

“… Two years.”

Ari slowly put his paws on his mouth, and everyone else just looked down. She had been like this for all that time? And after all, she kept coming here, even if she…

“I know. She’s probably gone for good.” Maia started tearing up. “But… I couldn’t accept it. She just has to be somewhere out there… If she somehow made it out of the dungeon, then she could find this tree and…”

She couldn’t hold it any longer, and broke into tears, desperately trying to wipe them with her wings. Ari and Nimb didn’t hesitate and went to hug her, and she bent down and wrapped them with her wings, now crying harder. Asher and Velia watched the scene, unsure of what to do.

“I’m sorry for everything, Maia, I get it now…” Ari said, a bit muffled by the feathers pressing against his face in the embrace, both from Maia and Nimb.

“No…” Maia said between sobs. “I should have explained everything before…”

Asher placed a claw on Maia’s back, hoping it would do anything, but didn’t say anything. Maia was still crying a lot, the weight of her lost child never truly leaving her. Two years of suffering for such loss were probably something that would last way too long, but she had Ari and Nimb now at least.

Velia didn’t lean closer, she just watched with an emotionless face. But, in fact, she was overwhelmed with feelings. Guilt, sadness, empathy, understanding. She had gone too far, and she had been wrong all the time. All because she wanted to prove herself and have something to tell his brother.

Was it worth it?

 

---

 

Velia entered Terrel’s room once again, without waiting for a response, as it was a tradition.

“Fine, go ahead, whatever,” she heard his brother say.

She sat on the floor beside the bed, and let out a sigh. “How are you?”

“I don’t know.”

Velia nodded. “Hum. I see.”

The male meowstic didn’t move, still lying on the bed without facing his sister. He spoke with an exasperated tone. “What are you going to tell me now?”

“Well… I wanted to prove that my teacher was evil since she had some suspicious behavior, so I went to investigate.”

Terrel sighed. “And what’s the nonsense this time?”

Velia pondered that for a long moment. Nimb’s words resonated in her mind, and he eventually sighed and let her arms fall limp beside her.

“… Nothing. Turns out she was just lonely because she missed her daughter, who was taken by a feral two years ago. She’s not evil.”

Terrel stirred slightly on his bed. He wasn’t expecting that answer coming from his sister. Still, he kept quiet.

Velia continued. “I thought she was planning on using my classmate Ari’s powers for some evil plot, but I guess I was wrong.”

“Huh…” Terrel thought for a moment, but then frowned and asked reluctantly. “Okay, and now you’ll tell me that your classmate is some kind of biological weapon created by an evil corporation, right?”

The female Meowstic opened her mouth to discuss that, but she closed it and thought for a longer while until she responded. “I… Can’t know that. For now, he’s just my classmate and… friend, but who knows?”

Terrel tilted his head slightly, confused by this sudden change in her thinking. “Huh…”

“But I still think those powers are really interesting. He was already useful with his aura powers when he used them to detect there was no one in that ghostly figure that attacked us in the mansion.”

“The mansion? What do you mean?”

“Oh, right, I didn’t tell you about that. We went to investigate a mansion a few days ago, because of some paranormal activity, according to the owner. We separated in small groups and some of us were attacked by some figures.”

Velia could feel his brother stirring a bit more behind her but didn’t look back. Instead, she continued.

“Turns out there was a whole hidden basement with many different corridors that connected with the main floor from many different rooms, and there was an alcove down there where the culprit used to hide.”

“Oh… So it was like a secret hideout with hidden passages?” Terrel asked.

“Yes… Sanah was the first to find it, while we investigated the first floor. We found some prints and were also attacked by this ghostly figure, right before we heard a voice telling it to stop.”

Velia could feel his brother breathing close to her neck and turned around to find he was actually facing her now, leaning a bit closer. He looked… Interested.

“How was something like that possible? Was someone doing that with some move or anything?” Terrel asked.

Velia blinked. His brother looked somewhat different now. It was really subtle, but it was enough for her for now. She couldn’t hide the subtle smile that was forming on her lips.

“Well… We theorized about a ghost or psychic type pokémon, but it all was clear to us as soon as we…”

Velia continued narrating the tale of her first investigation, not leaving any detail, and his brother kept listening, this time actually looking at her while she explained with a somewhat excited tone. Something she wouldn’t usually show to anyone.

Terrel asked questions, and she would answer all of them with delight. She would answer anything he wanted to know, all day if needed, whatever that was necessary to fill his dreamy mind. Maybe this way he could eventually return to his cheerful self and go have some adventures.

She could introduce him to her friends, and he could help with their investigations, or even have his own team to go see the world. He could find a purpose in life and be happy again. She would keep dreaming that it’d happen eventually.

Someday.