Ardos, Cipher's Grand Master, is in jail. Over 20 years have passed since Snag Machines and the Purify Chamber were needed. A land where the sun outshines the gale of darkness seems too hostile for evil to thrive.
When two International Police offic...
While Aiko chatted the drive back to the lab away with Yan, Kazuki completed analysis of the chip found on Beartic. He sent the results to Jovi. Once they were safely backed up, he destroyed the chip. They knew now why they couldn't detect auras. The chips attached to Shadow Pokémon emitted the signal that once protected the Cipher lab led by Lyndon.
Kazuki was sure he could disable or at least jam them all at once, but although he respected Yan, he didn't crave his presence or approval. Disabling the chips then would only aggravate Cipher. There was no reason for him to remain at work. His Crobat flew him to the field where he and his fellow hobbyists played football in Phenac City. The whole neighbourhood, if not the whole city, knew his face. He was the star quarterback.
His biggest fan, however, was his fiancée Clover. Her bizarre fashion sense, usually comprising of a witch's hat with strange things stuck to her ragged dress and hair, led to her being shoved around in the stands and insulted by fans hopeful they could replace her. It didn't bother her at all. She lived in her own world. She also knew that if Kazuki's fans actually got to know him, they wouldn't like him. He was as weird as she was. So were his parents. People speculated that their date nights at cemeteries and abandoned buildings were her choice, but back when she was a Gym Trainer in The Under and Wyatt told her that a challenger wanted to ask her out, it was Kazuki who suggested exploring the town's unoccupied buildings. His face lit up when he saw her and her Sableye waving their Phenac Falinks banner.
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Their wedding was only a few weeks away. Laila designed Clover's dress. She finally delivered it that afternoon. It was supposedly bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding, but Clover did everything that others believed was bad luck. She couldn't wait to show him.
Once the game was won she waited, as she always did, with Whitby's girlfriend Dixie outside the locker room. Dixie hated football. Clover was indifferent until she met Kazuki, but he cared about everything she cared about, even if he didn't personally get it. It was only natural that she did the same.
'Did you... see that?'
Clover glanced up. She never fell for people claiming there was something behind her, because if there was, she would know before they did; but she trusted Dixie. She was distracted. What was Dixie referring to? That wasn't like her. A hand was suddenly clamped over Clover's mouth. Before she could reach for the Dusk Balls in her bag, a second set of hands seized her wrists. She was gagged. Dixie pulled a bag over her head.
The second attacker, a man, hauled her away by the armpits. They didn't bind her legs. Her heavy platform boots whacked his ankles. Dixie tutted. She emptied a bottle of Sleep Powder into the bag over Clover's head. It smelled of cologne. Clover slept so badly and spent so much time with mischievous Pokémon, she was remarkably resistant to moves that sent others to sleep. The man shoved her over to drag her by the legs instead. She twisted free. Her boot hit him in the crotch. He cursed. His accent wasn't entirely Orrean. It was familiar... but from where?
