Adventures Beyond!

Chapter 32: Conflicts in the Grotto

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Forest Grotto, Sinnoh

A repeated thumping noise could be heard as a familiar Scorbunny ran through Forest Grotto. His breathing pattern had gotten progressively more and more shaky as time went on, but he didn't want to stop. He couldn't stop, not until he got to him.

Where the heck was "he", anyways?

Meanwhile...

"Where the heck is he, anyways?" A frustrated Jacob asked as he and Oliver walked through the halls of the Pokémon Center.

Oliver looked around the hallways, "We haven't checked the main lobby, or asked Lucy yet."

"Let's go to Lucy first, I'm getting tired of looking..."

The duo walked downstairs to the main lobby, where they saw the familiar Blissey sitting at the front desk, writing something down on a clipboard.

"Lucy!" Jacob called to her, his voice making a gradually softer echo as they walked up to the desk.

"What can I help you boys with?" Lucy gave a friendly smile, waiting for a response.

"Do you know where Logan went?" Oliver asked, "We needed to talk to him about something."

"Well, I saw him leave earlier this morning..." The Blissey put a paw on her chin, "He was in a hurry, so I couldn't ask where he was going..."

Oliver's eyes shifted over to the clipboard that was placed on the desk right in front of him, "Mind if I borrow this?"

Lucy looked down at the clipboard, "The clipboard? Sure, but what for?"

The Oshawott grabbed the clipboard and began to inspect it.

Jacob watched, a smug smile forming on his face. The Pikachu knew that Oliver was beginning to solve this in his head, a few questions and they would have it down.

Oliver let out a faint sigh, letting himself relax into a focused state. This clipboard was a documentation of every check in and check out from the Pokémon Center since the fight for the Grotto.

Either Lucy was really organized, or she hasn't had much to do after most Pokémon were treated. He suspected the latter.

The Oshawott looked at every name that had checked out of the center in the morning, but even that was a large number of Pokémon. Logan's name wasn't on the clipboard, meaning that he didn't check out to head back to his treehouse, though that would be a good place to check later on.

"When exactly did Logan leave the center?" Oliver asked, his eyes tracing over the clipboard's contents.

"This morning at around seven."

Oliver's eyes immediately traced up the list and began reading down, starting at six in the morning, an hour before Logan left.

His eyes then widened, a small lightbulb going off in his head. Oliver gently placed the clipboard back on the desk before turning around and beginning to walk towards the door to leave the center.

Jacob, a bit confused by this, followed behind his best friend, "Do you know where to find him?"

"Not in the slightest, but I do know what to look for."

"What are we looking for?"

"Pan."

"Pan?" The Pikachu tilted his head slightly, "That Pangoro Logan tried to fight a while back?"

"Yep."

Jacob thought for a moment, wondering about Oliver's methods, "Okay, I'm not getting it, take me through your process."