At the Foot of Mt. Silver

"...Got it. Three months, right?"

Muto skimmed through the contents of Clair's letter of introduction, then rubbed her brow as if she had a headache.

Heiduo nodded. There was no need for excessive nonsense; being concise was enough.

Seeing him nod, Muto opened a drawer and took out a roll of beige blueprints and a small box. "This is a map and a locator. The locator can also be used for communication. These are for you. The locator is usually turned off, but if you run into trouble, press this button to call us..."

She went on at length about the precautions.

Heiduo looked at the locator in his hand with a strange expression. "Is the locator mandatory?"

Why did it feel like a dog collar?

Muto froze when she heard him. "Mandatory? What do you mean, mandatory?"

Heiduo met Muto's gaze. Her confused expression did not seem fake, making him feel a little embarrassed. "I mean, do I have to keep this on me?"

Wouldn't carrying the locator mean being monitored by the Rangers? How was he supposed to catch Larvitar then? What if it was inside the preserve?

"It has to..." Muto was not stupid. She immediately understood what Heiduo meant.

He thought the locator was meant to monitor him!

Whew...

Muto took a deep breath. Honestly, if Heiduo had not been young and handsome, and if she had not chosen not to argue with him, she would have cursed out loud already. Even so, she was both angry and helpless. "It's not mandatory, but I recommend carrying it because places like Mt. Silver are dangerous in more ways than just Pokémon. The terrain itself is dangerous too."

Her ability to regulate her emotions was truly impressive. The Rangers' good intentions had been mistaken for surveillance. If Pokémon