Fifth Elite of the Pokemon World

Bocci fled into the car under the horrified gazes of his colleagues, he truly didn't want to stay in that villa a second longer.

Having one Sinnoh Champion there was bad enough. But Lance was there too… and even though he didn't know who that last person to come out and take a picture was, he had a gut feeling that if he stayed any longer, someone even scarier might walk out from behind that door.

Everyone in the foyer stared at each other in stunned silence.

"Lance, I remember you said you were dead tired the moment you stepped in and were going to shower and sleep," Someone said.

Lance hoisted his Dragonite pillow. "I got woken up by accident."

Diantha thought for a moment. Given the distance between the room Lance picked and the foyer, it must've taken a pretty loud ruckus to wake him up.

"I remember you, Oleander, saying you rarely feel sleepy and needed to catch up on rest?"

"I suddenly got insomnia."

It was a convincing excuse… except the recording pen sticking out of her shirt pocket made that "insomnia" a bit suspicious.

Cynthia was very honest. She didn't even wait for Diantha to look at her before saying, "I was just passing by with a lollipop."

Mai hugged her Eevee plush. "I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd take some random scenic shots around Diantha's house, hahaha…"

When Luther had been scolding Bocci earlier, he'd tossed his chips and Marill aside. Now Marill was crouched in a corner, happily munching away, until Luther scooped her right up.

"Lilu~ Lilu!"

Separated from her chips, her tragic cry echoed through the foyer.

"I just happened to chase her in here."

"Oh~ So you just happened to chase her in and help Diantha deal with a problem, huh? Got it," Oleander said with mock-serious sarcasm.

"Alright, enough. They've made their move," Diantha said, rubbing her forehead.

"'They' meaning… the rabble?"

"Well, otherwise it'd be too much of a coincidence, rumors started spreading while we were on our way to Lumiose City, and then began to really ferment once we got back."

Lance raised his hand. "I've got a question. If they're going to fabricate rumors, why not just include Luther's name from the beginning?"

"Because the more specific and detailed something is, the harder it is for people to insert their own imaginations into it. They just threw out the roughest version and let the rumors evolve as people embellished them. That way, everyone participates in uncovering the so-called 'truth.' No matter how we clarify or debunk things, there will always be doubters, because everyone's mental picture is different."

Luther had seen plenty of tricks like this online before, so he caught on quickly.

"Looks like us returning directly to Lumiose City was interpreted by them as Shiran having exposed some secret of theirs in the city," Cynthia mused. "Their goal was to delay someone among us, and who in Kalos is more influential than Diantha?"

Everyone broke into laughter at the same time.

"Paranoid fools," Lance said with a grin. "All they did was confirm for us that there is something shady going on in Lumiose City. Looks like there's no trust within their little organization either."

Two pieces of good news lightened everyone's mood. Lance yawned and left, still hugging his Dragonite pillow.

Oleander tossed her recording pen to Diantha. "You'll probably head to the Kalos Pokémon League tomorrow. I accidentally recorded your conversation, don't worry, the part where Luther hit him got cut off because the battery died. Use it freely."

After Mai and Oleander left, Cynthia took Marill from Luther's arms.

"I think we should give Marill an extra snack, don't you?"

The moment "extra snack" was mentioned, Marill plastered herself to Cynthia's chest and clung on for dear life.

"Marill, that reaction makes it look like I've been starving you!"

"It's alright, it's alright. In a way, thanks to her, I've realized a lot of things. Luther, you were right, sometimes, learning how to say no is really important."

Diantha gave a bright, open smile, and Luther let out a long sigh.

The happiest of all was Marill. Diantha took her to the kitchen, dug out a mountain of snacks, and let her pick freely.

Cynthia made an excuse to leave midway, saying she needed to check on Garchomp's condition. Only Diantha and Luther remained in the kitchen.

"…Thank you," Diantha said.

"I've always felt that saying thank you makes things feel distant between people. It's like when a friend helps you out, and you decide to pay them as compensation."

Diantha reached out and patted the bright-eyed Marill, helping her tear open a bag of banana-flavored dried fruit. Marill stuck out her little tongue to taste it, found it sweet, and gobbled it down in one bite.

"You're right, it was a slip of the tongue," Diantha said as she continued unwrapping snacks. "Interested in competing in the Lumiose City Tournament? Don't you like Pokémon with good looks? We have more options here in Kalos than Sinnoh does."

"I will someday, but not now. The Lily of the Valley Conference is still my top priority for the moment."

Even though he said that, apart from Mismagius and Jumpluff, his main team still needed a lot of training and development, there was still much to be done.

Diantha handed over a card etched with metallic patterns. On its surface was an image of a pair of ears. Luther looked carefully, then recognized it.

"This is Moon Eevee?"

Diantha replied, "Yes. The ears of Moon Eevee are the logo of Moonring Commerce. This is a shopping card for their mall, value, ten thousand."

Should he be surprised? Rich people really are generous… just casually handing out a 10,000-credit card.

"Didn't you say before that you wanted one? Lance and the others already got theirs."

Luther had been thinking about turning her down politely, but once he heard that, he quickly accepted the card.

"The Moonring Mall sells a lot of things. Tomorrow, you can try pampering your Pokémon a little, don't worry about the limit. If you go over, I can talk to Moonring for you. Or… would you like a few more cards, just in case?"

Seeing Diantha about to reach into her pocket again, Luther frantically waved his hands.

If you take out more, I won't be able to stop myself, better not even see them!

At that moment, Mismagius poked her head into the kitchen. After observing for a while and confirming she wouldn't be interrupting anything, she flew in with a Poké Ball in her mouth.

She'd originally intended to fly into Luther's arms, but upon seeing Marill buried deep in the mountain of snacks, she used Psychic to grab Marill's tail, still sticking out, and yanked her out.

"Don't bully Marill. She really helped me out a lot today."

Diantha's words made Mismagius release her grip.

Marill still had snack crumbs on her mouth. She picked up a pack of dried berries and proudly offered it to Mismagius like a gift. Mismagius was speechless, feeling like she'd been utterly defeated…

When Marill realized Mismagius didn't want it, she turned around and went right back to ripping open another bag to eat.

Watching Mismagius pick up the Poké Ball that had fallen to the ground, Luther scratched the back of his head. "Who went inside the ball? Ralts, Chansey, or Jumpluff?"

Mismagius shook her head, then placed the Poké Ball in Luther's hand. She gave it a gentle nudge with her head, signaling him to open it.

Diantha was curious now, too, and leaned in to watch Luther.

The Poké Ball hit the floor, and under the curious gazes of Diantha, Luther, and cookie-holding Marill, a small gray, fluffy figure appeared, a figure very familiar to Luther.

Wait a second… things were getting a little confusing.

When did I ever catch an Espurr?

(End of Chapter)

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