At the Pokémon Center, in a second-floor conference room.
Five people sat around a broad, round table.
At its head sat a sturdy old man in a simple white robe. He had thick brows, dark eyes, and wild orange hair tied in a ponytail behind his head.
A necklace made of Poké Balls hung around his neck.
He was the current Unova Champion, Alder!
To Alder's left sat the novelist-like Elite Shauntal.
To his right sat Elite Grimsley, dressed in classical Western European black and red. Rumor had it that he had ties to every faction operating in Unova's shadows.
Alder wore a smile, but a trace of worry lingered in his eyes.
Even so, he remained composed. The aging Champion had weathered every manner of disaster. This incident was horrifying, but he had faced its like more than once.
Rumor had it that, in the worst of those incidents, his partner Pokémon had grown weak and died of illness. Perhaps that was why he had lost interest in Champion duties and taken to traveling across Unova.
Shauntal's mind was elsewhere entirely. Her eyes were vacant, as though she were an empty shell—and in truth, an empty shell was all she had brought to the meeting.
All her attention was on Elite Caitlin in the hospital ward. The Unova League had invited several world-renowned users of Psychic powers to assist with her treatment.
Of everyone present, Grimsley had the darkest, coldest expression.
One look at his face left the mayor of Luoxiang City pale, his lips trembling without a word coming out.
Across from them, Dian sat silently in his Pokémon Ranger uniform.
They remained like that for a full half hour.
No one spoke. No one made a sound.
No one knew how to begin, or what to say