A Doll with a Faint Presence

Everything had been witnessed by Nemona.

As if infected by Dragonite's strength and Luo Mu's calmness, Nemona's eyes widened, and she involuntarily let out a short, sharp gasp.

So.

This was what a Trainer was?

The helplessness she had felt when the kidnappers took her flashed through Nemona's mind, and she suddenly made up her mind.

Luo Mu did not notice the change in Nemona's state of mind. After taking out his phone and confirming that the message he had sent to the Los Platos Police Station had been delivered, he looked toward the building that was probably the warehouse and muttered, "Things are settled here. Luxray and the others should be about done too."

Luo Mu jumped down from Dragonite, then lifted Nemona down from its back.

With her chin resting against Luo Mu's shoulder, the tips of Nemona's ears turned slightly red. She felt he was incredibly dependable.

Suddenly, as Nemona basked in the sense of safety Luo Mu gave her, she noticed a pair of sharp, terrifying dark-purple claws extending from his shadow beneath the sunlight, slowly creeping toward his legs.

Nemona's pupils constricted, and panic appeared on her face.

Neither Luo Mu, whose attention was on the warehouse, nor Dragonite in the air noticed any of this.

A short while earlier.

The five Pokémon led by Luxray had clearly divided their tasks. The moment they sprang from their Poké Balls, they charged straight toward the warehouse.

As Luxray raced forward, its yellow eyes began to glow until they had turned nearly brilliant gold.

Luxray's golden eyes shone like torches as its species' unique talent, "X-Ray," took effect. The obstacles made of iron sheets and stone bricks could no longer block Luxray's vision.

Looking around, everything inside the dilapidated warehouse was visible at a glance.

Several Pokémon stood guard beside the windows on the east and west sides.

At the center of the warehouse were five people: three children lying on the ground, looking weak, and two adult kidnappers.

Luxray narrowed its eyes and began considering how to arrange their forces to rescue the children without any accidents.

They definitely could not simply charge in. Their size would make them instantly noticeable.

Using pressure like Dragonite to overpower and intimidate the enemy would undoubtedly require the least effort, but one mistake could hurt the children, who were already especially fragile from their fear.

The only option was to distinguish who the pressure was directed at.

But neither Luxray itself, Swampert, nor Ceruledge could control it with that level of precision.

In that case, they could only ask whether Serperior was confident it could do it.

Luxray lowered its voice and conveyed its thoughts with a few growls.

Very soon, Serperior, which had already reached the edge of the warehouse, replied, "Sssper!" (No problem!)

Luxray gave a slight nod, assigning Ceruledge and Swampert to subdue the Pokémon by the western window while it handled the Pokémon by the eastern window alone.

The instant their intrusion drew the kidnappers' attention, Serperior would use pressure to intimidate them, then use Vine Whip to rescue the three children.

The moment the plan was formed, the four Pokémon swiftly began carrying out their duties.

Cloaked in an armor of lightning, Luxray smashed through the wall and window with savage force, directly electrocuting the three Zubat guards into unconsciousness.

Swampert raised its muscular right arm high. Ceruledge leaped onto it, only to be hurled toward the western window by Swampert the next instant!

At the same time, the Flame Greatswords on Ceruledge's arms ignited with resentful fire. Bitter Blade shattered the three Raticate along with the wall, knocking them unconscious and leaving them unable to fight.

The three Pokémon had held back well enough not to make their attacks fatal.

At the same time the bearded man and the tall, skinny man froze in shock, Serperior's pressure surged toward them like a tide, instantly making their bodies stiffen.

Serperior controlled it perfectly, without affecting the three children at all.

Meanwhile, emerald vines cut through the air, wrapping around the three terrified children whom the two men had been dragging along by ropes and carrying them back to Serperior.

Everything proceeded in perfect order.

Only Mimikyu stood dumbly at the entrance, looking around in confusion before realizing it seemed to have been overlooked again.

Though this happened often, and Luxray and the others had not ignored it on purpose, they had subconsciously overlooked Mimikyu due to the faint presence it naturally gave off.

Still, Mimikyu extended a pair of Shadow Claws capable of tearing through steel from beneath its costume. It sadly rubbed claw against claw for a while, then decided to go act cute with Luo Mu, the only one who would never overlook it.

Anyway, Luxray and the others had already resolved the situation.

Mimikyu slipped into the shadows beneath the wild grass, traveling through the connections between shadows until it entered Luo Mu's shadow as he jumped down from Dragonite.

A few breaths later, Mimikyu appeared in Luo Mu's shadow and extended a Shadow Claw, intending to tug at his cropped pants and get his attention.

Then Mimikyu saw the panicked expression on the girl perched on Luo Mu's shoulder. Tilting its head, it hesitantly made a sound.

"Mimikyu?"

"Huh? Mimikyu, why are you here?"

Luo Mu reacted quickly. The instant he heard Mimikyu's puzzled cry, he knew the little one had slipped into his shadow again.

Nemona's panicked expression froze before swiftly turning blank and dazed.

Was this Pokémon that Big Brother called Mimikyu his partner?

Which meant she had panicked for nothing.

Good thing Big Brother had not noticed the change in her expression. Otherwise, she would have embarrassed herself in front of someone she admired.

Yes, in such a short time, Luo Mu had already become someone Nemona admired as much as her father, mother, and older sister.

Mimikyu carefully withdrew the sharpness of its Shadow Claws and climbed onto Luo Mu's left shoulder. The whole Pokémon was so blissful it nearly melted into a puddle, greedily absorbing Luo Mu's "Trainer Energy" to mend its slightly wounded heart.

Then Mimikyu noticed Nemona, who had gotten out of Luo Mu's arms and was holding his right arm while secretly watching it.

For some reason, a subtle emotion it could not understand surfaced in Mimikyu's heart.

Before it could think about what that feeling meant, Mimikyu noticed something strange.

Even Sister Dragonite had only noticed it because of Luo Mu's voice.

But this girl seemed to have noticed it from the very beginning.?

Not long after Luo Mu subdued the three pieces of scum who only dared to kidnap children in secret, the belated police sirens rang out in the distance.

At the same time, an extremely expensive-looking luxury car drove in behind the police vehicles.

Luo Mu looked at Nemona, who was comforting the other three frightened children. The corners of his mouth curved upward before he looked at the trio of kidnappers, who had been tightly bound by Serperior's Frenzy Plant and looked as though they had committed some grave offense.

Serperior had even thoughtfully sealed their mouths shut, so that none of their filthy language would dirty Luo Mu's or the children's ears.

Luo Mu smiled. "Congratulations, gentlemen. You've won yourselves a pair of silver bracelets!"