The afternoon passed quickly.
Leaning against the bridge railing, Shiro let the sea breeze wash over him as he watched his Pokémon play freely by the coast. The two company staff nearby, seeing him so relaxed, sat down on stone blocks to rest.
When Corviknight returned, it quietly perched at the bridge's edge, closed its eyes, and pretended to sleep.
About an hour later, Haunter came drifting back, dragging along a tired Growlithe. Drakloak followed behind with Bewear, and soon, the group of Pokémon were recalled into their Poké Balls.
Having spent two hours in the ocean air, Shiro no longer felt like training. After recalling Corviknight, he decided to wander around Hulbury instead.
The two staff members immediately stood up and followed.
Hulbury was eerily quiet. Most houses were tightly shut, as if the residents feared being seen inside. The two restaurants that had been open earlier were now empty, their patrons seemingly having fled home to watch or listen to news about the Gym Leader Nathan's disappearance.
Inside the Hulbury Gym's battle arena, the challenges continued. After Raihan and Leon's matches, it was Marvin, Allister, and then Milo, who had just arrived at the town.
Their drawn-out battles carried on until about half past five, finally wrapping up the day's schedule.
The filming crews then boarded Flying Taxis and departed into the evening sky, while Marvin and the others returned with their respective escorts. Shiro didn't get a chance to say goodbye to any of them.
By five o'clock, he had already checked into a local inn.
The two company staff who had been following him didn't insist on tailing him inside. They made a call to report his status, and soon after, another team arrived: members of the same production crew he'd been traveling with earlier.
Host Ryan also showed up later, visibly exhausted as he checked into the inn.
He had stood at the referee's stand all day, serving both as judge and commentator, busier than a guard dog. Originally, the company had planned to send him a partner, but his co-host Lily had reportedly fallen ill, leaving him to handle everything alone.
By six o'clock, Shiro was sitting on the sofa in his room. He opened his laptop and logged into the researchers' network with practiced ease.
Every piece of equipment issued to him by the company was under surveillance.
The website for researchers was definitely monitored as well, but that was exactly what he wanted. If he tried to flee without the company watching, how could he mislead them?
He quickly found Rowan's chat window and began typing.
"Professor Rowan, I don't have much time left in Galar. I need a cruise ship that can travel to international waters…"
The company would see every word of that message he sent to Rowan, and after today's events, this one would surely raise suspicion. But no matter what they thought, once the ship arrived, they'd have no choice but to act and try to intercept him.
Moments later, Rowan replied:
"Mr. Corviknight, not a problem at all. If you're in trouble, I can send two, or even three ships. You can board whichever one you choose. I doubt Galar's authorities could stop all three international liners at once."
"No need to trouble yourself. One will do… maybe tomorrow, or the day after…" Shiro typed, planning to schedule as many departures as possible before the Champion Cup.
Each day would be a potential chance to escape, but he wouldn't actually leave.
Every time he stayed, it made the next day's supposed escape seem more likely.
Oleana would constantly stay on edge, ordering her agents to block the ports daily, but Peony was different. He was a man of action, and his patience would eventually run out.
It wasn't absolutely necessary for him to do this, but as long as he could disrupt the company's focus and judgment, it was worth it.
A faint smile crossed his face as he ended the chat, closed the laptop, and pulled out his communicator to calculate the time.
After today's Gym Challenge in Hulbury ended, the company had sent out the updated start and end dates for the Champion Cup, which were much earlier than before.
A week from now, all Gym Challenge journeys would end, and the challengers would enter Wyndon.
The Champion Cup would last for five days, with every battle already arranged in order. However, the list of participants hadn't been publicly announced yet, just in case something unexpected happened during this final week of Gym Challenge.
"Twelve days left… best to escape on the eleventh or twelfth," Shiro murmured, running the plan through his head as he began digging through the pile of Poké Balls he had taken as spoils.
If he wanted to flee by sea, he would have to prepare thoroughly. It would be best to create some chaos near the port's outer waters to distract the company.
For example…
He pulled out the Dynamax Band he had taken from Nathan.
Use Dynamax to draw Peony's attention.
He already knew how to use the band thanks to Nessa. The biggest problem with controlled Dynamaxing was that Pokémon tended to become overly emotional and sluggish. The band itself wasn't a single-use device; it could be used repeatedly over long periods.
The Dynamax Band served as a channel that allowed Pokémon to tap into the Dynamax energy deep beneath Galar, apparently working in coordination with certain machines the company had installed underground to extract that energy.
The usage conditions were actually quite broad. Unlike Mega Evolution, it didn't require strong bonds or drain the trainer's energy. Because Dynamaxing drew power directly from the Galar underground, it had regional restrictions but didn't cost the trainer anything.
The only real requirement was that the trainer had to be capable of fully controlling their Pokémon. Of course, that tied back to their bond; the stronger the relationship, the more obedient the Pokémon, and the less likely it was to lose control after being Dynamaxed.
But since Shiro wanted to Dynamax a Pokémon only to use it as a distraction, he didn't care about obedience. The more rampaging, the better. Ideally, it would go wild like a berserk bull and attack any trainer it saw.
He could use a wild Pokémon for that... but Nathan's Poké Balls contained something much better.
Shiro soon found a suitable candidate: a Water-type Pokémon, Wailord.
It was level 41, just entering the Gym-level.
This Wailord seemed to have been purchased from outside by Nathan and had only undergone minimal training, still retaining a lot of its wild nature.
Its size was already enormous, and with Dynamax enhancement...
Would it turn into a small island on the sea?
Grinning slightly at the thought, Shiro pocketed the Dynamax Band and Wailord's Poké Ball. He planned to find a chance, perhaps even tonight, to test it out in the open waters.
But it wouldn't be wise for him to leave the inn himself. Ryan and the other TV crew members were staying next door, and they might have tracking devices that could detect whether he was still inside his room.
He could have Unown A take the Dynamax Band and the Poké Ball outside for the test instead. After all, the band didn't necessarily need to be operated by a person.
Still, he had never used it before. If something went wrong, there would be no time for regrets.
Once he made up his mind, he packed everything neatly away, then took out the anonymous communicator he had confiscated from Kabu and dialed Professor Rowan's number.
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