How could it have been noticed?
No, this was essentially psychic probing. Of course it would be detected.
Shiro felt a tangle of emotions. This time he couldn't read the strength of a Pokémon.
What level was this Drifblim?
He pushed down the unease and called out in his heart, 'A, help me out.'
Unown A answered fast, 'I know.'
A soft wave of psychic energy slid toward Drifblim without a sound. It swept over the ghost Pokémon, scanned every inch, then pulled back.
Drifblim gave no sign it had sensed anything.
When Unown A sent the data, a panel appeared again in Shiro's mind:
[Name: Drifblim
Type: Ghost
Level: 60 (Elite)
Ability: Unburden
Held item: None
Moves: Phantom Force, Astonish, Strength Sap, Gust, Focus Energy, Minimize, Payback, Hex, Shadow Ball, Spit Up, Swallow, Stockpile, Self-Destruct, Destiny Bond, Baton Pass, Tailwind, Explosion…
Status: Healthy
Mood: Sensitive and annoyed]
"Hu…" He exhaled softly after scanning the data, finding it strange.
Drifblim was only level 60. But back in the Wild Area, when he scanned the Dynamaxed Golem, that probe had not reacted at all.
'Because this Drifblim has been specially trained, and is extremely sensitive to psychic energy. That's why it resisted you,' Unown A explained. 'The Dynamaxed Golem before was too dull to even notice you.'
"..."
Shiro had no answer. His current psychic power was too weak, and his control wasn't good either.
Besides, this Drifblim was probably one of the strongest Ghost-types in Edgar's hands, raised with care.
At the moment, the old man was comforting Allister while asking what had happened. But the boy only shook his head, refusing to speak.
Seeing this, Edgar sighed, then turned toward Shiro. He pointed at Kabu, who was still twitching on the ground. "What happened? Tell me."
Shiro recounted the whole thing in plain terms. He left nothing out, except he glossed over the existence of the Unown. He had no reason to hide the rest.
A while later, Edgar gave him a look that was hard to describe and muttered, "An ambush, and that machine… you're saying you killed seven Intermediate-level Fighting-types on your own?"
"Their bodies are still in the woods." Shiro gestured casually in the direction without explaining further.
The old man's eyes widened. His wrinkled face stretched almost flat with shock. He waved his hand and ordered Drifblim to bring the bodies over.
The ghost Pokémon moved with blinding speed, vanishing the instant it got the command.
Shiro turned his head just in time to see four corpses lined up neatly at the edge of the dirt path. Then a dark blur flickered three more times, and the remaining three bodies landed beside the others in perfect order.
'So fast…' He was stunned. Even Drakloak's speed couldn't compare to this Drifblim.
It must have been trained for speed, and with Unburden boosting it even further... In the games, Unburden increased a Pokémon's speed after it lost its held item, but here in reality, it seemed to work even without one.
"Hmm… throat cut, throat cut, skull crushed… the cause of death should be blood loss, right?" Edgar murmured as he inspected the bodies one by one, clicking his tongue.
Ryan and the other staff members turned pale. They backed away toward the other side of the woods, keeping as much distance as possible from the corpses. For them, seeing Pokémon bodies wasn't rare, but those were usually the result of accidents, illness, or old age. To be killed by human hands, lined up neatly like this, that was something else entirely.
Only Edgar had the experience to take this as business as usual.
"Uhh… Drifblim," the old man called lightly. "Take care of it."
At his words, the Pokémon floated closer. Its four trailing arms suddenly stretched and tightened, wrapping around all seven Fighting-types.
A foul stench of blood spread through the tendrils, so strong it made one's stomach churn. Within moments, the seven Pokémon's bodies shriveled, turning brittle, until they broke apart into empty husks that drifted away as dust in the breeze.
"Absorbing life force?" Shiro watched warily.
Edgar, however, simply withdrew Drifblim into its ball, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked toward Kabu. He said calmly, "They had to be dealt with anyway. I've already sent word for the company to recover the machine. This new technology from outside should keep Oleana quiet for a while…"
He paused, glanced back at Shiro, and added, "She's submitted countless proposals to the chairman. Now she's turned it into pushing for a faster Gym Challenge and Champion Cup. You know the reason behind it, don't you? Have you prepared yourself?"
Shiro was caught off guard but still answered, "I'm working on it."
Edgar frowned, studying him with a mix of pity and resignation.
He was an old man. He had joined Macro Cosmos only to pass the rest of his years in peace. Treasures and rare Pokémon meant nothing to him. But he didn't want to see a gifted young trainer destroyed in Galar like this.
His eyes shifted briefly to Ryan and the nervous cameramen before turning away. He said, "Shiro… why is it always you who gets tangled up in these things? Should I call it bad luck or good? Ha… how many gym leaders have already fallen because of you? Maybe 'Gym Leader Slayer' would be a fitting title."
"Does this count as a contribution?" Shiro asked.
The old man smiled a little. "You're with the company. Yes. It does."
They both fell silent.
After a pause, it was Edgar who spoke again. "Thank you… I was on assignment in the south. Too far away to make it here in time."
"Mm." Shiro nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself as he tried to figure out how to leave Galar safely.
* * *
Meanwhile, in Wyndon, at Macro Cosmos' main research lab on the fifth floor, phones were ringing non-stop.
"Yes, yes, I've already ordered the connection set up," Oleana said quickly, her heels clicking sharply on the polished white floor as she strode across the lab. The sound of her steps did nothing to disturb the researchers, who remained busy at their stations.
She made her way to the central platform where a massive screen had been set up. Two researchers were frantically working on the controls.
Seconds later, the screen flickered to life, showing the forest in front of the Galar Mine No. 2 near Motostoke. Several professional cameramen were broadcasting live, following the setup of the cone-shaped device that stood among the trees.
Oleana leaned forward, eyes narrowing, her attention fully fixed on the machine that extracted life energy through psychic power.
Macro Cosmos already had a similar device, one used to imprison Mesprit.
But this one was clearly different, both in its design and its effects.
Theirs worked by using certain materials to hypnotize and control Mesprit, then channeling its psychic power through an extension system to manipulate other Psychic-type Pokémon…
**
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