Attention Outside the Lost Tower

Outside the Lost Tower, Solaceon Town.

As soon as news spread that someone had cleared the Lost Tower challenge and claimed its enormous reward, all the nearby news outlets and trainers flocked to Solaceon Town-especially when they learned that the challenger was Cynthia, a beautiful trainer with a modest reputation in the Sinnoh Region.

Some came for Cynthia, while others came for the Lost Tower's reward.

The former failed to find the elusive Cynthia, while the latter...

They firmly believed that Cynthia was human and her Pokémon were Pokémon. They were human too, and their Pokémon were Pokémon too. If she could do it, then surely they could as well.

A host of confident rookie trainers began challenging the Lost Tower.

The news outlets that had failed to interview Cynthia turned their attention to these subsequent challengers instead, unwilling to let their trip go to waste.

After all, the Lost Tower was a fairly well-known trial ground in the area. If two people cleared it in quick succession, with Cynthia being one of them, riding that wave of interest would just about meet their minimum requirements for a news story.

What they hadn't expected was that, after five whole days, every eligible challenger had failed. The only exception was an older young man who had lied about his age and cleared two floors before being caught. Not a single legitimate challenger succeeded.

When yet another trainer emerged looking bedraggled alongside his Pokémon, the reporters who had been preparing to take pictures lowered their cameras.

"Ugh, another failure. How many does that make today?"

"No idea. More than ten, anyway."

"I thought with so many people here, we might catch at least one who cleared it. Who knew every last one would fail?"

"Maybe they all came thinking the same thing as you. Let the people ahead of them wear down the Pokémon inside, then swoop in for an easy win. Instead, the whole bunch of schemers went down on the first floor."

"I really don't understand how these trainers dare to head out on a journey. Forget clearing five floors-not one of them could even clear the first. Did all that time spent raising and training their Pokémon go straight down the drain?"

One reporter, who had passed up another story specifically to stake out the Lost Tower, couldn't help cursing.

"Enough. We all made our own choices. There's no one else to blame."

An older reporter put away his camera and offered his colleagues some earnest advice. "Take it from someone who's been there: you need to learn when to give up. Sometimes moving on is the best way to cut your losses, rather than stubbornly hanging on. I'm heading to Veilstone City. I hear there's been some strange activity with the meteorites there lately. Maybe I can make up for this wasted trip. Anyone want to come?"

At those words, more than half of them looked tempted.

They had spent five whole days staking out this place without getting anything out of it. Cynthia had most likely left Solaceon Town already, and there seemed little point in waiting any longer. They might as well find another story sooner rather than later.

And so, more than half the reporters, who had already been considering leaving, followed the older reporter away.

Only five or six younger-looking reporters remained, along with the tall reporter who had just cursed after giving up another story to stay here, only to be disappointed.

"You sounded pretty bitter just now. Why aren't you leaving?"

"I've already wasted the time. If I'm going to lose, I want to lose without any lingering doubts. I'm not leaving until the last challenger does."

On the other side of the Lost Tower.

The rather plump mayor of Solaceon Town watched most of the reporters leave, then glanced at the few who remained and shook his head in disappointment.

"Sigh."

Seeing this, the assistant beside him couldn't help asking, "Mayor, it doesn't matter if the other reporters leave. As long as our town's two news outlets are still here, we're fine. They're among the top outlets in the Sinnoh Region."

"I'm not sighing because of those reporters."

"Then... is it the trainers?"

The mayor slowly nodded, his double chin shifting in and out of view as he said wistfully, "I'd hoped to capitalize on Miss Cynthia clearing the tower and have the media give us some publicity, really put the Lost Tower on the map. Once business improved, maybe Solaceon Town could even become Solaceon City. But aside from Miss Cynthia, every other trainer has been nothing but cannon fodder. Sigh..."

On top of that, fewer and fewer people had signed up for the challenge over the past few days, and the trainers' overall ability kept dropping. Even with some of the Sinnoh Region's best media outlets at his disposal, he couldn't make something out of nothing. There was simply nothing to market.

"Mayor, should we have some of the stronger trainers in town do a little something to the Pokémon inside the Lost Tower...?"

The assistant discreetly made a gesture.

"There's no need. That would only give those other fellows a reason to laugh at me."

The mayor let out another long sigh. "Looks like I won't be able to raise Solaceon Town's standing before I leave office. Forget it. Let's go. There's already a mountain of work piled up over the last few days. We should head back and get it all dealt with."

The assistant hurriedly took out a Poké Ball, preparing to release the Dodrio they used for transportation, when he noticed a man and a woman approaching the Lost Tower. The woman in particular looked very familiar.

"Mayor, Miss Candice seems to be here to challenge the Lost Tower. Should we stay and watch?"

The mayor glanced over at those words and stopped.

Although Candice had challenged the Lost Tower before and, like the other challengers, fallen on the first floor, her father was the Gym Leader of Snowpoint Gym in Snowpoint City. It was only right that he show her some consideration.

Besides, in terms of strength, Candice was undoubtedly the one closest to clearing the first floor. If she was in better form or performed a little better, reaching the second stage wasn't out of the question.

"Yes. Let's wait and see how she does."

As he spoke, the mayor's gaze settled on the figure beside Candice. His brows furrowed slightly. "Do you know the person standing next to her?"

The assistant quickly replied, "I've never seen him before. Miss Candice sometimes pesters people with questions about their clothes and accessories. Perhaps this is another one of those cases?"

"Possibly."

After looking him over a few times, the mayor paid him no further mind and returned his attention to Candice.

As long as she clears the first floor, a little publicity should at least recoup some of our initial investment, the mayor thought.

The reporters had an even clearer target. When someone recognized Candice after she paid the fee, they raised their cameras and other equipment and rushed over to interview her, forcibly separating Qingliu from where he had been standing beside her.

Faced with this scene, Candice tried to duck away in embarrassment. She wanted to slip around them, but couldn't escape their encirclement. In the end, she could only look helplessly at Qingliu.

Qingliu raised a hand in an encouraging gesture, then walked straight into the Lost Tower.

The sharp-eyed reporters noticed this, but after a moment's hesitation, they ignored him.

Compared with a stranger of unknown background, interviewing someone like Candice, whose abilities were established, was a safer bet. They had already come up empty once. If this trip really proved fruitless, they would probably be told to pack their things and leave when they got back.

As for whether Qingliu could clear the first floor, they held out no hope, even if he had come with Candice.

Over the past few days, they had seen far too many people enter brimming with confidence, only to wilt shortly afterward. They automatically placed Qingliu in the same category.

The mayor, who had been watching from the sidelines, also noticed what happened and immediately frowned. "What's going on? Why did he go in instead of Candice?"

It would be fine if he was eliminated quickly. But if he had one of those Pokémon that excelled at stalling, the mayor would have to wait much longer for Candice's challenge. That only made his already foul mood worse.

The assistant also knew that several days of waiting without any results had worn the mayor's patience thin, so he hurriedly said, "Perhaps Miss Candice had to let her friend go in first because the reporters stopped her. I'll shoo them away so she can go in."

"No need."

The mayor exhaled at length, his face expressionless. He folded his arms and tapped one arm repeatedly with his index finger.

Since things had already reached this point, there was no need to do anything that would reflect badly on them. They could simply wait for him to fail and come out. This would be their last wait.

But what none of them expected was...

Nearly half an hour passed without a thing happening.