"My child is the same—she tends to be a little greedy for snacks. Whenever we go out to play, I usually give her a small backpack and pack it with a few treats."
The mother of the second missing child added her words as well.
Liking snacks wasn't unusual—far from it. Forget children, even Nathan himself, if he had nothing to do, would often munch on something. But that hardly seemed to have anything to do with the disappearance of the two children. After all, out of ten kids carrying backpacks, at least eight of them would have snacks inside, right?
It was impossible to think that some random Pokémon just happened to crave snacks so much that it kidnapped two children because of them.
"You shouldn't lose hope. I'll continue searching for the next few days. Perhaps I might be able to find your children."
Looking at the two families, their faces darkened with grief and despair, Nathan felt a pang of heaviness in his chest. He comforted them with as much warmth as he could muster.
After parting with the two families, Nathan purchased a large bag of snacks and carried it with him as he entered Dream Valley once more.
In his hand, he also held the map the village chief had previously given him.
After searching carefully around the locations where the children had disappeared, Nathan still found nothing.
Helpless, he released all of his Pokémon.
"Take these snacks and scatter them around the valley. When you return, tell me exactly where you placed them."
Nathan pointed to the large bag of snacks on the ground as he gave his instructions.
At his command, each of his Pokémon picked up a portion of the snacks and dispersed across the valley.
Barely half an hour later, they had all returned, having scattered the snacks in different places throughout Dream Valley.
Once his partners came back, Nathan marked each location where snacks had been placed on his map.
As he looked at the growing number of red dots on the paper, he let out a sigh.
"I can only hope these snacks will bring some results."
Saying this, he found a clean spot, leaned against a tree, and quickly fell asleep.
He had been running for more than thirty hours without a moment of rest. At this point, he was utterly exhausted.
But he had only been asleep for about five hours when his body suddenly jolted awake with a start.
The scene he had just dreamed of lingered vividly in his mind, completely banishing any lingering drowsiness.
In his dream, he had seen two children with blurred faces calling him "big brother." He saw them being seized by a ferocious-looking Pokémon.
Even more haunting, he heard them crying out desperately for help—though he could not make out their faces, the heart-wrenching voices left his chest tight with unease.
Nathan rubbed his face roughly with both hands and released his Pokémon once more.
"Go and check if the snacks you placed are still there."
His voice carried fatigue, and after the order, he took out some rations to eat.
Before he had even finished his food, Zeraora came rushing back, her expression filled with tension.
Seeing her, Nathan's heart gave a small leap. Excitement flickered within him, quickly followed by nervousness.
Activating his Viridian Power, he asked, "What did you find?"
"Several of the snacks I left behind are gone."
Zeraora's words tumbled out quickly.
Hearing this, Nathan immediately pulled out the map and marked the spot where she had placed the missing snacks.
When the rest of his Pokémon returned, he discovered that all their snacks were untouched—except Zeraora's.
In other words, only the food she had placed had vanished.
"To think… more than thirty hours of painstaking searching wasn't worth as much as a single bag of snacks."
Looking at the spot on the map, Nathan muttered bitterly to himself.
If he had known earlier, he would have brought food right from the beginning. By now, he might have already found the missing children.
Without hesitation, he led his Pokémon straight toward the marked location.
The trail led them to the base of a small mountain.
Following Zeraora to the spot where the snacks had been placed, he found no footprints—neither human nor Pokémon—only the marks left by himself and his team.
Still, he now had a clear target area. What remained was to comb through it carefully.
As long as the exact location could be narrowed down, he was confident he would uncover something, even if he had to dig three feet into the ground.
The reason he had failed before was simply because he had no precise direction.
Otherwise, attempting to dig randomly throughout Dream Valley would have been impossible without using Volcarona's destructive power. And if he unleashed such devastation, not only would the missing children perish, but the other Pokémon living in the valley would be annihilated as well.
What would be the point of searching then?
Nathan and his Pokémon carefully searched around the mountain, but again, they came up empty-handed.
With no other choice, he began climbing.
This time, at last, there was progress.
Halfway up, he discovered a cave.
It wasn't the cave itself that mattered, but what was inside: several snack wrappers.
These snacks weren't among the ones Nathan had bought earlier, meaning they must have belonged to the children!
After searching the cave thoroughly, he not only found those discarded wrappers but also small footprints—children's footprints.
Yet strangely enough, aside from the children's tracks, there were no other signs of movement.
"You all, search the area around this cave. See if there's anything else."
Nathan commanded his Pokémon, who quickly scattered. With their numbers and speed, the sweep was completed within just a few minutes.
When they regrouped, and after confirming through Viridian Force, it was clear—they had found nothing else.
"Volcarona, fly above and keep watch on this spot. I'll head back for now. If anything unusual happens, come and get me immediately."
After a moment's thought, Nathan gave his order.
Simply waiting here wouldn't help. He needed to bring the wrappers back to the children's parents to confirm whether they truly belonged to their kids.
If confirmed, then the cave would become the central point of the investigation.
Riding Flygon, it took him less than half an hour to return to the village.
He immediately sought out the parents of the missing children. They were still gathered together, discussing desperately what else they could do.
When they saw Nathan rush in holding several wrappers, they all stood up at once.
"Please, take a look. Are these from your children?"
Nathan wasted no time with pleasantries, directly presenting the evidence.
"This… this is the wrapper of my child's favorite crackers! I remember packing plenty of these into his backpack before we left!"
"And this—this chocolate wrapper belongs to my child! She loved them the most!"
Parents know their children best. The moment their eyes fell on the wrappers, they recognized them instantly.
Hearing their words, Nathan let out a long breath. Finally, he had found a real lead.
If there had been no clues at all, even he would have been tempted to give up.
"You should wait here. I've found a lead that may very well be connected to your children. If I'm right, I'll be able to bring them back within a day or two."
He offered them a reassuring smile.
At his words, the parents burst into tears, overcome with emotion.
They were strangers to him, yet he had been exhausting himself day and night just to help find their children.
From Manager Kerry, they had already learned that Nathan hadn't rested properly for two or three days now.
For someone unrelated to them to go this far—it was proof enough. He was a good man.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you! If there's anything we can do, anything at all, just tell us—we'll come immediately!"
"Yes, don't hesitate. If you need us, just say the word."
…
Leaving behind the parents' heartfelt gratitude, Nathan returned once more to Dream Valley.
"Nothing happened while I was gone?"
He asked Volcarona.
"Nothing. There was no movement."
Volcarona shook its head.
Nathan sighed, then climbed a sturdy tree near the cave. He leaned against a branch and closed his eyes for a brief rest.
Unnoticed, night fell.
The valley was quiet, most Pokémon asleep, with only the chirping of insects breaking the silence.
Time trickled by.
Suddenly, the slumbering Nathan felt something brushing against his face. He opened his eyes instantly, startled, only to find Volcarona hovering beside him.
"It appeared!"
Volcarona said urgently the moment he stirred.
Nathan's fatigue evaporated instantly. He leapt down from the tree and sprinted toward the cave.
What awaited him there was astonishing.
A new entrance had appeared inside the cave—like a mystic realm's portal.
But mystic realm portals always radiated white light. This one glowed with a strange grayish-blue, completely different.
"You only saw the entrance appear? Nothing went in or out?"
He turned to Volcarona beside him.
The great moth shook its head.
Nathan drew in a deep breath, then recalled all of his Pokémon into their Poké Balls.
He had made his decision—he would enter.
If his guess was right, the children were inside. Whether alive or dead, he didn't know, though of course he prayed they were safe.
He thought of the look in their parents' eyes when he last left them—eyes heavy with sorrow, yet filled with hope, as if entrusting all of their faith to him alone.
Steeling himself, Nathan stepped forward into the strange, glowing entrance.
(End of Chapter)