Leon glanced at the two of them but didn't pay much attention. Raihan, however, looked at Shiro with curiosity, wondering what he had done after the match to avoid being caught by the company.
Unbeknownst to them, the camera briefly swept past and captured the four of them standing together. The footage was transmitted straight to the headquarters of Macro Cosmos.
* * *
Wyndon. Fifth floor of the Rose Tower.
A group of surveillance staff stared at the screen showing Shiro's figure, breaking into loud chatter.
"He really didn't leave?"
"I thought the message he sent to Marvin was fake..."
"Mr. Peony didn't notice a thing. Maybe he never boarded the ship at all."
"So we were tricked?"
"Not sure... what is that guy even planning?"
Their voices overlapped noisily until Oleana's sharp tone cut through the room.
"Silence!"
All the complaints instantly vanished. The researchers turned back to their stations, quietly recording data and taking notes.
For the first time, Oleana felt genuinely exhausted. She held the report from the company's communication logs, a record of the message Shiro had sent to Marvin, and compared it to the live feed showing the two.
In that message, he'd claimed to have seen the Dynamax phenomenon at the edge of Hulbury. That was a message meant for her.
Controlled Dynamax technology was still new, and every activation consumed enormous energy. High-level Pokémon, in particular, required astronomical amounts of Watts.
That was why the company had been constantly buying up Watts across the Wild Area for years.
Oleana sank into a nearby chair and rubbed her temples. Shiro had the biggest headache for her now. He carried both the Rusted Sword and Shield and the Unown, and he could disappear at any time.
The worst part was that the company couldn't openly send people to capture him.
The Champion Cup was just around the corner, and every day's Gym Challenge battle was broadcast live. His strength wasn't weak either, so capturing him quietly, without public disturbance, was very difficult. And even if they tried, the Unown's powers made the outcome uncertain.
Until the Champion Cup ended, every one of his escape attempts would cost the company tremendous manpower and time to contain.
The cost of being deceived once by Shiro was too high, yet she could never tell which time he truly planned to leave.
"And then there's that Professor Rowan..." she muttered under her breath, her head throbbing harder.
"Before, Shiro said he'd contact Professor Rowan by phone, but we couldn't find any record of that call," one of the researchers added. "He probably has a private communication device not made by the company. The data we saw on the terminal must have been to throw us off."
The researcher hesitated, then said, "Though technically, it wasn't a complete lie... the ship really did arrive."
The moment she heard the words the ship came, Oleana's entire body tensed. Just hearing them filled her with irritation.
The ship came. Again.
Now that the Gym Challenge had reached Hulbury, there was still a week until the Champion Cup, and the Cup itself would last another week. Even if the schedule was cut short, it would still take at least three days.
Peony had said he'd return in half a month, so everything had to be finished by then.
But if Shiro called another ship before that?
Would they have to mobilize half the lab to monitor him again? Most of the company's capture units were already assigned to urgent missions, and none of them could actually stop him.
As for Shae and Edgar, their stance toward him was too ambiguous. If she really ordered them to arrest Shiro, who knew what would happen?
And Peony was the chairman's younger brother. He couldn't be treated like some ordinary subordinate either…
"Damn it."
Oleana slapped her forehead and leaned against the desk. The crisp sound echoed through the silent lab, and the staff exchanged glances. They could tell she was getting another headache.
Most of them didn't really care whether Shiro escaped or not. They were just employees, after all. As long as they could one day earn the title of "Professor" and stand alongside Magnolia, the only company-recognized professor in Galar, all their years under Oleana would be worth it.
Still, one overly eager researcher stepped forward, offering what he thought was a useful reminder. "Ma'am, Shiro might not even need a ship. If he has a Water-type Pokémon and a sea chart, he can sail off on his own at any time. The ship could just be a distraction."
"...I know that!" Oleana snapped coldly. "Go prepare for the next Gym Challenge segment, and contact Nathan. We still haven't reclaimed the Dynamax Band from him!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the staff answered in unison.
Moments later, more voices came one after another.
"Report! We can't reach Gym Leader Nathan!"
"Report! His communication device seems to be damaged!"
"Report! Neither the company's nor the League's people in Hulbury have seen him. Based on the last camera feed, he left the Gym right after his battle with Lina!"
Silence filled the room. Then Oleana rose abruptly, slammed her palms against the desk, and barked, "Find him! We have one hour until the next Gym Challenge begins. Start searching!"
She tried to sound composed, but an uneasy feeling crept up her chest.
That man had been desperate to keep his gym leader position, even working with the company to stop Shiro and leaking his own daughter's Pokémon data.
But now that his daughter's team was exposed and his own battle had ended in failure... Nathan had left the gym in haste. What would he do next?
Attack Shiro? No... attack Nessa?
But right now, Nessa was still battling Lina!
* * *
Outside Hulbury, on Route 5.
"My goodness! Roadblocker Nessa's Drednaw has already defeated three of challenger Lina's Pokémon! Two at the Gym-level and one at the Advanced-level! Does challenger Lina still have another high-level Pokémon left, or is this match already over?" Ryan shouted passionately, imagining his lunch after the match.
Work, work, and more work. Just finish this match, then food. Get through the next couple of weeks and he could finally rest.
He kept his commentary lively, trying to stir up the audience.
But Lina's emotions were a mess.
Sweat drenched her face, soaking her short brown hair. She held the Poké Ball containing Cramorant, her heart pounding as if struck by a hammer.
Cramorant was supposed to be her trump card, meant to take down one of Nessa's Gym-level Pokémon at a critical moment. She had thought she wouldn't need to use it…
And because this Cramorant was rather disgraceful after all, with her own strength, battling against Nessa, she should have been able to crush her opponent easily…
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