Overgrow Forest

[Hanafuda]

@Flyg0n

Jack flew down to the forest, curious to see if there would be anything worth finding. He was certain that there was more to the island and its festival than met the eye; that was his conclusion from last night. What exactly were Xavian and those Pokémon hiding? Was having the guests meet the Legends that resided on this island part of a scheme? No, he couldn't jump to conclusions. He had to search.

[Foresight]

The humanoid Farfetch'd entered the forest with a determined gaze, surveying the bushes and occasionally jumping to a few trees to see if there were any clues. One piece of the answer had to be there.

 

[Flyg0n]

Foresight revealed something in the brush!

The forest was quite expansive, and had many twists and turns and thick dense brush. Yet if one persisted and searched long enough they would find one thing that seemed a little unusual.

Just off one of the trails in the forest, caught in a bush, was a single feather. The base was white, followed by a thick red stripe and a black tip. Clearly its from the wing of a bird, but what kind? If one is familiar enough with different pokemon, they may recognize it as the feather of a Xatu...

But is it from a wild Xatu, or is it from a trainer's pokemon...?

Further investigation of the area does not seem to yield anything else.

 

[Hanafuda]

Jack took the feather and closely examined it. Indeed, it was a Xatu's feather, specifically one found in their 'coats'. He assumed that it could have just been a wild Xatu, since there were none of them among the guests. Still, were there really Xatu on this island? Or perhaps it belonged to a Trainer that wasn't found among the guests? An infiltrator? Maybe if it was a spy of sorts, Zack would be motivated to investigate. It could have been an individual with a nefarious scheme, after all, and the Pidgeotto would like to take a potential villain down.

Besides, Jack was familiar enough with Natu and Xatu from what Seb read online before coming to this resort. They were said to be able to see into the future, but the Farfetch'd had yet to see one in action. Maybe said foresight would be able to help find the answer to the mystery of the festival?

No, that would be too good to be true. And he didn't have enough leads for a full conclusion. For now, he went back where he came, hopeful that he didn't get lost. All the while, he held the feather in his wing.

"If there's any wild Pokémon around here, sorry for intruding," Jack told no one in particular.

 

[Flyg0n]

The forest remained silent.

<><><>​

 

[Seren]

"She and Xavian should be checking the woods around this time."

Trees. Lots of trees. No ghosts, though, not this time. At least, not as far as she knew...

Stop it. Not every forest is haunted.

Calm, deep breaths. Ease that heart rate down to normal. Focus.

Searching here would probably take more time than she had left in the day if she didn't find Amara quickly. Assuming she could convince herself to actually go in. Maybe she should turn back and find backup...

Olivia pressed herself against her leg, purring soothingly.

"I'm fine," Kimiko insisted. "Really, it's just a normal forest. Look, we can still see sunlight down the path. And it's not like I'm going in alone, I have you with me."

She could practically feel her espeon's disapproval as she frowned up at her. Well, what else was she supposed to do? Most of the other trainers had agreed that Amara was their biggest question mark, yet not one of them made any effort to go and find her. Did they just expect to corner her tomorrow, when she just casually returned to her lunch-planning duties? No, someone had to talk to her now, or they might find themselves down another trainer or two before the sun rose tomorrow. And at least if that next trainer was her, it was less likely to be someone else.

Oh, fuckin' stop. You're not going to disappear.

With a deep breath to steel her nerves, she set off down the path, Olivia trotting at her heels.

"See if you can't sniff her out. Or her hypno. Maybe... feel around for any psychic energy in the air. Or anything else you might notice." She had no way to know if the hypno were even with her, but it couldn't hurt to try. If it sped up her search, it would be worth it.

 

[Flyg0n]

Trees. Lots of trees. No ghosts, though, not this time. At least, not as far as she knew...

Stop it. Not every forest is haunted.

Calm, deep breaths. Ease that heart rate down to normal. Focus.

Searching here would probably take more time than she had left in the day if she didn't find Amara quickly. Assuming she could convince herself to actually go in. Maybe she should turn back and find backup...

Olivia pressed herself against her leg, purring soothingly.

"I'm fine," Kimiko insisted. "Really, it's just a normal forest. Look, we can still see sunlight down the path. And it's not like I'm going in alone, I have you with me."

She could practically feel her espeon's disapproval as she frowned up at her. Well, what else was she supposed to do? Most of the other trainers had agreed that Amara was their biggest question mark, yet not one of them made any effort to go and find her. Did they just expect to corner her tomorrow, when she just casually returned to her lunch-planning duties? No, someone had to talk to her now, or they might find themselves down another trainer or two before the sun rose tomorrow. And at least if that next trainer was her, it was less likely to be someone else.

Oh, fuckin' stop. You're not going to disappear.

With a deep breath to steel her nerves, she set off down the path, Olivia trotting at her heels.

"See if you can't sniff her out. Or her hypno. Maybe... feel around for any psychic energy in the air. Or anything else you might notice." She had no way to know if the hypno were even with her, but it couldn't hurt to try. If it sped up her search, it would be worth it.

Picking up Amara's trail turned out to be fairly easy. It crisscrossed all over the forest in a methodical fashion, heading deeper and deeper into the woods. It seemed she'd been working her way in a grid-like fashion through the area.

Every now and then her scent would cross with Hypno scent before diverging. It seemed Honzo had been searching too.

After enough tracking, the scent finally catches to Amara, who was working her way through the forest. Upon spotting Kimiko, she paused and looked towards her.

"Ms Kimiko. You should be in your dorms, not alone out here." Her tone sounded genuinely concerned, and her uniform and shoes were dirtied in places slightly. She seemed to have been out searching for some time.

 

[Seren]

"Ms Kimiko. You should be in your dorms, not alone out here." Her tone sounded genuinely concerned, and her uniform and shoes were dirtied in places slightly. She seemed to have been out searching for some time.

Thankfully, the search had been relatively easy. Olivia had alerted her to the hypno's scent as well, so she definitely wasn't alone out here. She nodded down to her pokemon before they approached their target.

[[ @Flyg0n Actually using power now, and this time Mind Reader. ]]

"I'm not alone," Kimiko replied, gesturing to her espeon. "I was under the impression that you weren't alone out here, either."

She crossed her arms and leaned against a tree, trying to appear casual. "I wanted to ask you something, if you don't mind."

She didn't wait for a reply before she started going off. "I trust you must obviously know what happened this morning, or you wouldn't be out here. Tell me, where were you and Honzo when the incident occurred?"

 

[Flyg0n]

Amara had no time to even say 'go ahead' before the young woman plunged ahead with her question.

She studied Kimiko for a moment, her brow furrowed as if puzzled by the question. "I was on my way to the arena to make sure preparations were ready for the tournament we were going to hold. Of course, its postponed now. I fail to see how thats relevant."

Mind Reader is Active! Its true! Amara was on her way to the arena!

 

[Seren]

Amara had no time to even say 'go ahead' before the young woman plunged ahead with her question.

She studied Kimiko for a moment, her brow furrowed as if puzzled by the question. "I was on my way to the arena to make sure preparations were ready for the tournament we were going to hold. Of course, its postponed now. I fail to see how thats relevant."

Kimiko noted the most subtle of nods from Olivia. So... Amara was on the way to the arena when Reena went missing. She had no idea where the arena was in relation to the beach, but it seemed unlikely Amara could be telling the truth about that if she had been at the scene. Then again, if her hypno could teleport... she hadn't mentioned her hypno's location, either. "So... what you're saying is, you have no involvement whatsoever in the disappearances, other than searching the woods for them? What about Honzo? Where was he?"

She looked around the area, as though expecting the hypno to leap out of the brush. "And why are you searching the forest, anyway? This happened down on the beach. What brought you here?"

She noted the furrowed brow and figured maybe she shouldn't be so hasty. She tried to arrange her expression into something less hostile. "A bunch of the invited trainers are looking around, too. We want to help. If you have anything that might be useful, would you please let me know? Everyone is a little on edge, and I think everyone would feel a little better if they were helping out. So yeah. Anything you know would be helpful."

 

[Flyg0n]

"And why are you searching the forest, anyway? This happened down on the beach. What brought you here?"

She noted the furrowed brow and figured maybe she shouldn't be so hasty. She tried to arrange her expression into something less hostile. "A bunch of the invited trainers are looking around, too. We want to help. If you have anything that might be useful, would you please let me know? Everyone is a little on edge, and I think everyone would feel a little better if they were helping out. So yeah. Anything you know would be helpful."

Amara seemed to relax slightly at the offer of help and smiled sympathetically. "I appreciate that everyone is so eager to help. But Mr. Montorzi told me he doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt, and I agree. It would really be best to focus on staying safe."

"And given that Jenny and everyone else were already at the beach, I believed it would be more helpful to search elsewhere," she said simply. "The woods here are dense in areas and might hide clues. I'm not sure that I have anything else useful to tell you, unfortunately. We're still investigating, and Jenny is still doing her own investigations. Although if you intend to search anyway, it would be best to try another area of the island. Honzo and I have this covered, and Mr. Montorzi is checking the lake area already."

Mind Reader is Active! Amara appears genuine! ...but is there more she isn't saying?

 

[Seren]

Amara seemed to relax slightly at the offer of help and smiled sympathetically. "I appreciate that everyone is so eager to help. But Mr. Montorzi told me he doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt, and I agree. It would really be best to focus on staying safe."

“Staying safe means catching whoever is responsible for this,” Kimiko said with a sigh. “I don’t think you’re going to find many trainers willing to just sit back and let someone else handle this.”

She thought for a moment. Gods, she as so bad at this. “So everyone else was at the beach. Then why are you here? What made you think there would be clues to find in the forest? Did you have reason to believe someone’s been though here?”

Another pause. “I also notice you didn’t answer my question about your hypno. Was he with you this morning on your trip to the arena?”

 

[Flyg0n]

“Staying safe means catching whoever is responsible for this,” Kimiko said with a sigh. “I don’t think you’re going to find many trainers willing to just sit back and let someone else handle this.”

She thought for a moment. Gods, she as so bad at this. “So everyone else was at the beach. Then why are you here? What made you think there would be clues to find in the forest? Did you have reason to believe someone’s been though here?”

Another pause. “I also notice you didn’t answer my question about your hypno. Was he with you this morning on your trip to the arena?”

"No, unfortunately it seems to be a universal constant that trainers are very stubborn," she said with a humorless chuckle. "I came here to search because it seemed like one of the most likely places to try and hide, other than the caves perhaps. But between Mr. Montorzi and Clink, the caves were already checked, so I came here. Hiding a Drampa would be quite difficult."

"And apologies. Honzo wasn't with me at the time. He was reviewing the menu for the day in the cafe and I told him to catch up with me. It's much more efficient for us to tackle tasks separately at times."

She studied Kimiko for a moment before speaking again, calm yet pointedly. "I appreciate your thoroughness and concern Ms. Kimiko, but I can assure you that you need not worry about me or Honzo."

Mind Reader is Active! Amara is telling the truth so far! But she appears to be keeping her reasons private as well...

 

[Seren]

She studied Kimiko for a moment before speaking again, calm yet pointedly. "I appreciate your thoroughness and concern Ms. Kimiko, but I can assure you that you need not worry about me or Honzo."

There was something about the woman that wasn’t adding up, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Kimiko really wished she’d brought someone else with her. This was always so much easier with Alex by her side…

She considered relenting. Was it worth it to risk making her aware that people were suspicious of her? But Olivia kept staring at her, as though waiting for something more. And she felt her own frustration boiling over now, on top of it.

Well, there was one advantage to being alone.

[[ @Flyg0n intimidate ]]

Maybe it was reckless. Maybe it was dangerous. Who knew. But she’d had enough fear for one trip. “Okay, look. Are you aware you’re actually the prime suspect right now? We know you were at the scizor trainer’s room around the time they vanished. We also know there is a psychic involved in Reena’s disappearance. A yellow one. There’s something not adding up here. Something you’re not telling me. And I need to know what it is. Now, please.”

 

[Flyg0n]

There was something about the woman that wasn’t adding up, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Kimiko really wished she’d brought someone else with her. This was always so much easier with Alex by her side…

She considered relenting. Was it worth it to risk making her aware that people were suspicious of her? But Olivia kept staring at her, as though waiting for something more. And she felt her own frustration boiling over now, on top of it.

Well, there was one advantage to being alone.

[[ @Flyg0n intimidate ]]

Maybe it was reckless. Maybe it was dangerous. Who knew. But she’d had enough fear for one trip. “Okay, look. Are you aware you’re actually the prime suspect right now? We know you were at the scizor trainer’s room around the time they vanished. We also know there is a psychic involved in Reena’s disappearance. A yellow one. There’s something not adding up here. Something you’re not telling me. And I need to know what it is. Now, please.”

Amara's eyes widened, then narrowed, a deep frown forming on her face. "Pardon me?" she demanded. "I had nothing to do with this!" Her tone was dangerously icy. "And I don't appreciate you accusing my Hypno either. You don't think I know my own pokemon? What reason would he even have to do something like this?" She paused, as if to compose herself.

"Ms Kimiko, you ought to think more carefully before you make accusations." She turned away briefly, seemingly considering leaving. Then she paused. "I truly don't know what happened to her," she said quietly. "I want to find her perhaps even more than you, and the other missing trainers. They were my responsibility."

She slowly turned around, her hands folded behind her back. Her voice was clinical, as if she were forcing herself not to waver. "You obviously know by now about the Scizor and his trainer, Franklin. There was a boy and his Xatu as well. Kalo. When he first vanished I assumed he'd gone home. He seemed nervous to come in the first place, and he's from here. When Hypno also detected a trace of psychic energy I believed he'd teleported home with Xatu. Still, I asked Mr. Montorzi about it, and he told me Kalo had gone home."

Amara looked down. "I believed it at the time. Until Franklin vanished as well. I went to his room because he'd requested a wake-up call but never answered. When I got there and he still didn't answer, Honzo said he couldn't detect any signs of a presence in the room. That's when I realized something might be wrong. But I promise, I had no part in anyone's disappearance. But..."

She hung her head and continued, her voice low. "I did speak to Mr. Montorzi about Franklin. He seemed to be as shocked as I was. He wanted to return everyone home immediately and cancel the festival, but we feared that if someone here had ill intentions, they might strike again if they knew we suspected anything. And we didn't want them to escape either, if we could stop them. So... we said nothing. And we had forged notes to show Officer Jenny and Victor, in case someone asked."

When she spoke again, she met Kimiko's eyes and spoke with great conviction. "Do not waste your anger on me any further. I regret what we did immensely, but trust that the only thing I care about is finding those trainers."

Amara speaks the truth.

 

[Seren]

"What reason would he even have to do something like this?" She paused, as if to compose herself.

Well, that had at least been less confrontational than she had been expecting. Kimiko resumed leaning against the nearby tree, head bowed and eyes closed, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm; again, she could feel Olivia’s concern from down beside her, and she was grateful the espeon hadn't wavered in their task to check on her. They'd talk about it tonight. For now, she had more to press Amara about.

“Believe me, that’s what we all want to know. What reason could anyone have for kidnapping trainers on a vacation?” She looked back up at Amara, her expression softer as she considered another thought. “I don’t suppose you might have any theory on that, while we’re here? Think it could have anything to with the invited mythical Pokémon, maybe?”

"Ms Kimiko, you ought to think more carefully before you make accusations."

“Please don’t misunderstand,” she replied firmly. “I wasn’t making accusations. We all had suspicions. If it were me, I'd want to know so I could clear myself. Wouldn't you?" She held up a hand in a half shrug. "I wanted to make sure I caught up with you because you could easily be mistaken for being a suspect, given then information we have. I'm not the only one to think so, I'm just the only one who decided come and find you. So that way, if you were involved, better to know and deal with it now before you could act again. And if not, this gives you the opportunity to clear yourself.”

There was a boy and his Xatu as well. Kalo. When he first vanished I assumed he'd gone home. He seemed nervous to come in the first place, and he's from here. When Hypno also detected a trace of psychic energy I believed he'd teleported home with Xatu. Still, I asked Mr. Montorzi about it, and he told me Kalo had gone home."

Finally, something worth noting. And it only raised further questions. "Kalo is... from here? What do you mean? From the island? From this universe?" She'd only questioned Montague about the mythical pokemon... she hadn't asked about the other trainers he'd invited. Again, though, there was a flaw in her explanation. "Answer me this, then. You say the host was the one who told you Kalo had gone home, right? How did he know that? Where's he getting his information from? And furthermore, if he knew that, why is he now searching the lake, as you said before?" Probably for signs of Reena or Franklin, she supposed, but then... what of Kalo and Xatu?

So... he'd told Amara that Kalo had gone home. How he knew that was a mystery. But he was surprised when Franklin vanished, too. "So, does he still think Kalo had gone home? Or does he think there's something more going on there, too?"

And we had forged notes to show Officer Jenny and Victor, in case someone asked."

"Wh-?!" And there it was, likely the detail she was determined to hide. Kimiko just stared blankly at her for a moment. "That's... Okay, so you were trying not to cause a panic among the remaining trainers by covering up the disappearances? Do you even have any idea what a stupid idea it is to forge anything in an investigation like this?" That complicated things. She looked down and got a subtle nod from Olivia; Amara was being honest about this. "Why would you cover this up? From the rest of the trainers, fine, but from the officers?? That's... " She didn't know what else to say to that, throwing her hands up in frustration, instead.

When she spoke again, she met Kimiko's eyes and spoke with great conviction. "Do not waste your anger on me any further. I regret what we did immensely, but trust that the only thing I care about is finding those trainers."

Yeah, that was rich considering what she'd just been told. She felt plenty validated over feeling anger right now. Besides, it had worked, didn't it? Amara told her what she'd been keeping secret. It wasn't spectacularly useful, though, and Kimiko wasn't comfortable clearing Amara of anything just yet. "Believe me, I'm working on controlling it," she said with a sigh. "But that doesn't mean it was a waste. If it gets us one step closer to solving this mystery, it's worth it."

As if to punctuate her point, she didn't hide the irritation in her voice as she added, "Maybe from now on don't do anything shady like forging notes or anything, alright? If you're honestly innocent, we all need to be able to trust you, and each other. Shit like that doesn't help."

And then she sighed, as Olivia pressed against her leg, now looking directly up at her, and she decided to tone it down. If Amara was being honest, then she could be a good ally in helping to solve this, able to get close to their host, or pretty much anyone, without too much suspicion. It was going to be hard to convince anyone else she was innocent enough to trust after this, though... perhaps if she had something to contribute? "So, what's the bottom line here?" she asked. "Have you done any real investigating besides just walking the forest? You said Honzo detected a teleport. Where? The beach? Here? Do you have any suspicions of your own?"

 

[Flyg0n]

“Believe me, that’s what we all want to know. What reason could anyone have for kidnapping trainers on a vacation?” She looked back up at Amara, her expression softer as she considered another thought. “I don’t suppose you might have any theory on that, while we’re here? Think it could have anything to with the invited mythical Pokémon, maybe?”

"That's just it Ms. Kimiko. This doesn't make sense. I am of course, aware that Reena's family is quite wealthy. But there's been no ransom. And if someone did this for money, then how do Franklin and Kalo fit in? Neither of them are wealthy." She rapped her fingers against her leg. "Unless someone was desperate enough to try to eliminate competition for the tournament? But still," she sighed and shook her head, clearly unsatisfied with her own theories.

"Perhaps this is tied to the mythical pokemon? Though I can't imagine how..."

Finally, something worth noting. And it only raised further questions. "Kalo is... from here? What do you mean? From the island? From this universe?" She'd only questioned Montague about the mythical pokemon... she hadn't asked about the other trainers he'd invited. Again, though, there was a flaw in her explanation. "Answer me this, then. You say the host was the one who told you Kalo had gone home, right? How did he know that? Where's he getting his information from? And furthermore, if he knew that, why is he now searching the lake, as you said before?" Probably for signs of Reena or Franklin, she supposed, but then... what of Kalo and Xatu?

So... he'd told Amara that Kalo had gone home. How he knew that was a mystery. But he was surprised when Franklin vanished, too. "So, does he still think Kalo had gone home? Or does he think there's something more going on there, too?"

"He is from this universe," Amara confirmed. It's the reason I initially believed Kalo had simply gone home. But Reena isn't and Franklin isn't."

At Kimiko's next question, Amara paused. She stared down, as if thinking. "Hm. Honestly, I'd simply asked him if Kalo had gone home, and his response was something like 'I suppose he must have'. We truly didn't think much of it at the time. But when Franklin disappeared, we were both concerned. That's when we realized perhaps something worse had happened. And that's why we're both searching the island now. There's still no way to know for sure but we no longer believe Kalo went home, we're believe now its connected to these other instances."

"Wh-?!" And there it was, likely the detail she was determined to hide. Kimiko just stared blankly at her for a moment. "That's... Okay, so you were trying not to cause a panic among the remaining trainers by covering up the disappearances? Do you even have any idea what a stupid idea it is to forge anything in an investigation like this?" That complicated things. She looked down and got a subtle nod from Olivia; Amara was being honest about this. "Why would you cover this up? From the rest of the trainers, fine, but from the officers?? That's... " She didn't know what else to say to that, throwing her hands up in frustration, instead.

"Perhaps it seems stupid to you, but consider this. We are on an island, far from mainland. For an event that was supposed to be no more than an extravagant festival of trainers and a vacation. Once we realized something was going on, we were stuck. Tell me please, what would you have us do? Announce there's a kidnapper on the island so they can flee, never to be seen again? Alert them to our knowledge of them so they can hide? We had no idea who could be trusted, officers included. And we didn't want to risk word spreading and mass panic happening." She adjusted her glasses. "As you can see plenty of trainers are already starting on witch hunts and exposing themselves to danger."

She shook her head. "It was a bad situation we were unprepared for."

"Believe me, I'm working on controlling it," she said with a sigh. "But that doesn't mean it was a waste. If it gets us one step closer to solving this mystery, it's worth it."

As if to punctuate her point, she didn't hide the irritation in her voice as she added, "Maybe from now on don't do anything shady like forging notes or anything, alright? If you're honestly innocent, we all need to be able to trust you, and each other. Shit like that doesn't help."

And then she sighed, as Olivia pressed against her leg, now looking directly up at her, and she decided to tone it down. If Amara was being honest, then she could be a good ally in helping to solve this, able to get close to their host, or pretty much anyone, without too much suspicion. It was going to be hard to convince anyone else she was innocent enough to trust after this, though... perhaps if she had something to contribute? "So, what's the bottom line here?" she asked. "Have you done any real investigating besides just walking the forest? You said Honzo detected a teleport. Where? The beach? Here? Do you have any suspicions of your own?"

Amara stared at her evenly, but decided to ignore the comment. "I came to the forest to search for precisely the reason I told you. This is the most likely spot on the island to try and hide. And the last spot Honzo detected Kalo was at the forests edge, on the path to the Main Hall. By all intents it seemed he'd stopped, turned around, then vanished a few steps later with his Xatu by teleporting. I supposed that if the trainers were taken or being hidden, it might have been here. Truly, that is all I know. And as for suspicions..." She stared into the distance for several seconds.

"None of this adds up," she said finally. "I can't see any connection between the missing trainers, other than perhaps the fact that they're somewhat strong. And they vanished without a trace. There's no trace of them on the island as far as I or Jenny can tell so far. No demands have been made. And I haven't found anything suspicious from the other trainers yet. I'm sure they're all connected but... There's something missing here, and I don't know what..."

 

[Seren]

"Unless someone was desperate enough to try to eliminate competition for the tournament?”

“Then why wouldn’t they have gone after someone like Blue or Wallace?” Kimiko pondered. “We have actual champions here. Unless one of the missing trainers is also a champion in their universe? Or they thought that a champion going missing would draw too much attention… but it’s not like everyone ignored Kalo’s departure either.”

Tell me please, what would you have us do? Announce there's a kidnapper on the island so they can flee, never to be seen again? Alert them to our knowledge of them so they can hide? We had no idea who could be trusted, officers included

“I don’t know, but it certainly isn’t… that.” She supposed she did feel a little bad for Amara. It really did sound like this was a shock to her and they scrambled to find a solution. “You’re so worried about us putting ourselves in danger. But the way I see it, whether us trainers are sitting in our dorms, or out here in the woods, we’re already in danger. Franklin was taken right out of his room. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m not just going to sit around and hope nothing happens to me while everyone else is trying to get to the bottom of this.”

Something Amara said did strike her as curious though. “It may have made the culprit harder to find, but if they knew you were on to them, it may have also prevented further disappearances. Besides, isn’t stuff like this why you have officers here in the first place? Do you have reason to suspect them?”

“I can't see any connection between the missing trainers, other than perhaps the fact that they're somewhat strong.”

Well, at least Kimiko wasn’t the only one struggling to find a connection between the missing trainers. She wasn’t sure whether to take that as a comfort or not.

Was their a connection between their Pokémon? Xatu, scizor, drampa… none that she could see at first glance. She’d bring it up with the other trainers when she returned.

As she turned to leave, she addressed Amara one more time. “If you’re going to keep searching out here, watch your back. For all we know, the culprit isn’t only targeting trainers, or even only incited guests. I’m going to keep searching. Thanks for answering my questions.”

 

[Flyg0n]

“Then why wouldn’t they have gone after someone like Blue or Wallace?” Kimiko pondered. “We have actual champions here. Unless one of the missing trainers is also a champion in their universe? Or they thought that a champion going missing would draw too much attention… but it’s not like everyone ignored Kalo’s departure either.”

"Perhaps whoever is doing this is only just getting started," she said quietly, as if just considering the thought. There was genuine fear in her words. "If this is about competition for some reason, perhaps stronger trainers are next? But even then, surely whoever did this would realize that wouldn't last..." she mused. "There must be more to this than money or competition."

“I don’t know, but it certainly isn’t… that.” She supposed she did feel a little bad for Amara. It really did sound like this was a shock to her and they scrambled to find a solution. “You’re so worried about us putting ourselves in danger. But the way I see it, whether us trainers are sitting in our dorms, or out here in the woods, we’re already in danger. Franklin was taken right out of his room. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m not just going to sit around and hope nothing happens to me while everyone else is trying to get to the bottom of this.”

Something Amara said did strike her as curious though. “It may have made the culprit harder to find, but if they knew you were on to them, it may have also prevented further disappearances. Besides, isn’t stuff like this why you have officers here in the first place? Do you have reason to suspect them?”

"That was the problem. Whoever did this was on the island with us. The only people on the island when guests began arriving was ourselves, the staff, and the officers. It was... poorly handled. But we truly never anticipated anything like this."

For a moment, she seemed to be realizing something, then she spoke again, "You see, our world, or rather this reality, is probably quite different than many of yours. You could probably find a few history books in the lounge about it, but its been decades since we've had to deal with any true threats. This kind of thing... evil... its just been so long since we've seen anything bad like this."

Well, at least Kimiko wasn’t the only one struggling to find a connection between the missing trainers. She wasn’t sure whether to take that as a comfort or not.

Was their a connection between their Pokémon? Xatu, scizor, drampa… none that she could see at first glance. She’d bring it up with the other trainers when she returned.

As she turned to leave, she addressed Amara one more time. “If you’re going to keep searching out here, watch your back. For all we know, the culprit isn’t only targeting trainers, or even only incited guests. I’m going to keep searching. Thanks for answering my questions.”

"Thank you Kimiko," she said wearily. "Please be careful yourself as well. And if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I promise I'll be honest from now on."

After Kimiko left, Amara wearily returned to her search. A short time later she met up again with Honzo.

"Find anything?"

"No," she said.

"Amara, what's wrong?"

"I... we really messed up. Xavian and I should have said something sooner. I only hope we can find those trainers before..."

"Before something terrible happens."

Amara made no reply.

<><><><>​

 

[IFBench]

Coleane was feeling marginally better! After her conversation with Kimiko and Wes, she felt renewed hope and optimism, excitement and wonder anew. There may be bad humans...but nobody here seemed to be one.

She flew through the forest, smiling brightly as she felt the sunlight on her wings. They'd find the missing people, and then they'd all be able to have fun!

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

<Lone pokémon sighted. I do not know the species.>

Laura peered down from Malachai's back, braced firmly with both hands grippiing his fur. Enormous, tree-like... There was no mistaking that creature.

"Tropius," she called, above the wind. "Grass/Flying, tropical, herd herbivore. You hungry?"

<Perhaps.>

"I was kidding, Mal! They're probably someone's partner 'mon, I think I saw them out of their ball at the banquet. Their human could be missing, let's find out, maybe help them search!"

<As you wish.>

They descended together, Laura's stomach lurching at the drop, until they were matching the tropius' velocity.

"Hey there!" yelled Laura. "Everything alright?"