With a bundle of green hair tied into a ponytail and his pristine uniform, Officer Jenny looked every part the mascot of the Silín police. Much like the Joys, the look and name had begun as a PR stunt that had quickly lost steam on the official side of things. Not discouraged, some enthusiasts carried on the dress and title with the drive of a legitimised cosplayer. The tradition was far more common with Nurse Joys, their friendly persona a significant benefit in their line of work, and it was also much more common to be carried on by women; the initial stunt had been exclusively women because, apparently, according to whoever made the decisions on these things, they were easier on the eyes. A man taking the role of Jenny was unusual, then, but not unheard of, and I, for one, was glad he was my interviewer. He was kind, and casual enough to not make the situation more stressful than it needed to be as I recounted the events in the Greenforest. Beside him, a Drowzee watched me with half-lidded eyes.

  I told the truth, but not the whole truth. Ducky hadn’t heard any new rumours about her and took it to mean the Metagross guy was keeping her involvement in the case under wraps. She didn’t want her cover to be blown through the police, which, she insisted, were all corrupt. Officer Jenny didn’t seem corrupt. He was patient and encouraging, and even if I knew I was being treated extra gently because he saw me as a child, I didn’t mind as much as I would have a couple of months ago. I was, after all, probably half his age. It was a bit silly to expect him to see me as a complete grown-up. Given my impression of him, I was tempted to tell him about Ducky too, especially since I was still harbouring misgivings about her, but I held back. I was willing to give her a chance to see what she could do, and even if I trusted the policeman in front of me, my statement was being recorded.

  It wasn’t difficult to edit the story without lying. In the parts Ducky was present, I just implied it was an unknown bounty hunter, and to hide the bits that would sound weird without the full context of her involvement, I just said there was a lot happening and acted more childlike than I was comfortable with. If Drowzee noticed anything strange, it wasn’t enough for him to press me on it. In any case, my statement wasn’t the most important one. I expected Elaine was being properly grilled, along with the more adult members of our group. As the youngest, I was having the easiest time.

  The day after the others had arrived – sans Joey, who Ducky had flown off with – we had gone to the police station in Wavecrest to give our testimony. Elaine, who had left for Rondo to meet with important people, had also come back during the night so we could give the story together.

  When I finished, Jenny cut off the recording, put a comforting hand on my shoulder, and asked, in a personable manner, if I was okay.

  “What’s going to happen with all this?” I asked.

  “It’s a hard to believe story,” said Officer Jenny. “But that was a Meloetta I saw. That alone makes everything more believable. Still, the ruins will have to be investigated, and if more evidence is found, this will be a big deal. The ex-champion associating with criminals, and committing criminal acts himself is not something that can be ignored.”

  “But what’s actually going to happen?” I insisted.

  “As with any case, once we build up enough evidence, we will arrest the suspects and take them to court.”

  “Really?”

  “You don’t sound like you have much confidence in us.”

  I hesitated before continuing. I glanced at the recorder, making sure it was off.

  “Some of my friends think the police aren’t strong enough to go after Killian,” I said, deciding at the last minute not to accuse them of corruption to their face. He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t read, then sighed.

  “Do you know why the state places such an emphasis on cultivating Pokémon trainers?” he asked. I shrugged, not sure where he was going with that.

  “The most efficient way of forming a militaristic force is to have everything be uniform. It ensures a consistent quality and direction, and a strong chain of command. There is a large issue with this, however. If, for example, all police are trained the same way, it would have to mean the Pokémon they train with are all the same, or similar species. We do this, it’s why you see so many officers with Growlithe. But if you know that if you’re going to be facing a policeman, you are going to be facing a Growlithe, it is far too easy to set up countermeasures. Being uniform makes us predictable, and no matter what kind of team composition we have, even assuming we could have any species of Pokémon in the numbers needed for the entire police force, we will have weaknesses that can be taken advantage of. Financially, it is more effective for the state to incentivise trainers to form diverse teams that can, theoretically, be called upon in an emergency. For a long time, this has worked well, but as more resources have been funnelled into trainers, and less into the police, or other government bodies, it has led to a situation where there are few policemen who can face the truly strong trainers. This doesn’t mean we’re useless. Being on the run, no matter how sure you are that you’re not going to get caught, is still stressful enough that most choose not to break the law, even if their own morality doesn’t stop them.”

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  “But it does mean you have less power over them,” I said.

  “Maybe so, but I promise we still have enough to bring them to justice if necessary. We still have some powerhouses in our ranks.”

  Officer Jenny didn’t inspire much confidence, and halfway through his multiple assurances that things were going to go smoothly, I had the thought that he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince me. I walked out of the station thinking Ducky was probably right, and things needed to change.

  As I approached the Pokémon Centre, I heard a song drifting through its doors. It was beautiful, operatic, with intense vibrato and octave jumps. So pleasing to the ear it was that it took me stepping inside and seeing the singer to realise the voice wasn’t human. With a scaly blue tail and whit upper body, the Primarina looked to be straight out of a storybook. Performing with her, on the violin, was a large, muscular woman, playing her instrument with an elegance contrasting with her size.

  I stayed in the lobby waiting for my friends to come, watching the duet as they went from one piece to the next with barely a break in between.

  Rebecca and Sarah came back first, though they looked stressed, and I don’t think they saw me. They went to their room without paying much attention to the music. Luca came next, and though she nodded to me, she too headed upstairs. After that, during a pause in the music, Baltazar entered the room.

  “Baltazar, old man! You really were back,” called the singer.

  “Aria, it’s been a while,” said Baltazar.

  “And whose fault is that? Where’ve you been all these years, tell me.”

  The free concert was over as the two joined in conversation. Baltazar saw me sitting on the couch and guided Aria over.

  “Aria, this is Calla,” he said. “She’s a young talent, you’d do well to keep an eye on her. Calla, this is Aria and her Primarina, Miss Song. I used to go adventuring with them back in the old days, before I left Silín.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, extending a hand which she vigorously clamped and shook. Primarina warbled in acknowledgement.

  “It’s a pleasure,” she said. “If Baltazar speaks highly of you, you must really be something.”

  “Oh, no,” I said. “He’s exaggerating, I’m still a novice.”

  “For now,” said Baltazar. “But young people grow up quickly, especially in this line of business. Speaking of the youth, Aria, there is someone I would like you to meet. Look, here she comes now. Sunny! Come over a minute.”

  Startled, having just stepped inside the Pokémon Centre, Sunny looked over to our group and, as if caught having done something naughty, unlinked hands with Darren. They marched over, a little red in the face, but Baltazar ignored their discomfort.

  “Sunny, Darren, this is Aria, an old friend of mine, and assuming her skills haven’t rusted, one of the best water-type specialists in Silín.”

  “Not so, Mr Black, I’ve only gotten better. I am now the best,” said Aria.

  “Sure, sure. These are Darren and Sunny, Calla’s travelling companions. Sunny here is also on track to becoming a water-type specialist. If you’re not too busy, you could give her a few tips and such.”

  “Of course. It’s always exciting to see the new generation. Sunny, was it? I’d be happy to help. I’m not doing much these days. Just drifting wherever the river takes me.”

  Sunny looked panicked at having all the attention suddenly on her.

  “It, it would be an honour,” she said. “But I’m not sure if I’m worth, I mean, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be an active trainer for. Um, some things happened.”

  “I see,” said Aria. “Regardless, I’d be happy to share any advice you need. And even if you’re only continuing for a short while, these things can last a lifetime. You never know when trainer skills might come in handy.”

  “Exactly,” said Baltazar. “Look at you, for example, still gallivanting around at your age.”

  “Speak for yourself. I’ll have you know I had a nice, steady job as a coastguard not too long ago.”

  “And what happened?” he asked.

  “The storm happened, what did you think? I help evacuate the people from Popplio. Now I can only wait for my hometown to be reclaimed once that storm passes. It’s a strange thing.”

  “It is. Any ideas on what caused it?”

  Aria shrugged.

  “People are saying it's the wrath of some deity or other. I don’t know, but by this point, it’s pretty obvious it's not natural.”

  “Maybe so. We’ve a lot to catch up on, and there are some things I’d like to talk to you about.”

  The doors of the Centre opened, and Elaine and Meloetta entered. Both were wearing hooded cloaks to hide their appearance. They drew many weird gazes, but it was better than having Meloetta out in full view of the public, and Elaine used that as an excuse to hide her presence too. They approached hesitantly, Aria making their steps falter. Baltazar waved them over while putting a hand on Aria’s shoulder.

  “Like I said,” he whispered. “We’ve a lot to talk about. But first, I should introduce you to Elaine.”

  “No need,” said Aria. “She beat me handily in the last Nocturne Championship. But who's the guest? I don’t think it's Mawhile under that hood.”

  “It’s not, and that’s what I’d like to talk about. We should go to my room; it could be a long conversation.”