Shadow Team had been wiped out in such a baffling manner. The countless mysteries it left behind were impossible to explain, and with not the slightest clue remaining, they would very likely become an eternal mystery.
Matsuba, Pryce, and the others were all convoked to League Headquarters. They were probably discussing how to handle the aftermath of the Shadow Team "incident".
Naturally, specialists would also be sent to investigate Shadow Team's castle. In his previous life, Tetsuya had never heard anything further regarding Shadow Team after this, and it was unlikely that this life would be any different.
In the end, Tetsuya learned the hard way in his past life that not everything had to be resolved by the very end or in a way that suited him… unlike the novels he used to read during his first life on Earth. Even though he learned that lesson, it still left a bad taste in his mouth.
---◓---
After everything had ended, Tetsuya immediately returned to Ecruteak City. He stayed at home without going out, constantly thinking about Shadow Team. The appearances of those Shadow Admins at the moment of their deaths repeatedly surfaced in his mind.
They had clearly died after having their vitality completely drained before being consumed by Will-O-Wisps. If that line of reasoning was correct, then every Shadow had died in exactly the same way.
Whenever he reached that conclusion, Tetsuya could not help drawing in a sharp breath!
More than a thousand Shadows… living beings!
What did that represent? It meant there had been more than a thousand Gastly, Haunter and Gengar draining vitality, and they had all acted almost simultaneously.
They had to have been highly trained Pokémon that also knew Will-O-Wisp. Who could possibly have raised so many of these variants, and where had they gone after draining the vitality of all those living beings?
It was simply impossible. Tetsuya could say that with complete confidence.
First of all, he had already read in Matsuba IV's notes that, hundreds of years earlier, Matsuba IV had completely exterminated every Gastly variant that fed on vitality. Even Matsuba himself knew nothing about such variant. So who else could possibly know?
Of course, the Matsuba Family had many branch families, such as Raine's grandfather and those people who had dreamed of excavating Matsuba's tomb. Even if some of those branch families knew about the variant that fed on vitality, there was still no way they could capture so many of them.
Moreover, raising and training thousands of Pokémon to such a disciplined level was simply impossible. Even a Champion had only around a hundred Pokémon that could truly be considered highly trained.
If every Shadow corresponded to one Gastly line variant, that meant there had been over a thousand of them. Raising so many Ghost-type Pokémon at once and training every one of them so thoroughly was simply beyond the capabilities of… any… human…?
'Hm? Sigh…'
Tetsuya had considered this question countless times. Every possible explanation had been disproven, and in the end, he gave up. There was no point dwelling on it. Everything would take its natural course. Whatever was meant to happen would eventually happen.
'…'
---◓---
During the few days he spent at home, he personally took care of Slowbro's three daily meals. Sometimes he truly envied this dumb Slowbro. It lived without any pressure, eating when it wanted to eat, drinking when it wanted to drink, and sleeping whenever it felt sleepy. It led a completely carefree life!
Having gone more than half a year without interacting with Slowbro, Tetsuya also tested its psychic power. It was growing at a rate far beyond his expectations. He was completely certain that its future combat power would be no lower than that of Mamoswine or Golurk.
What pleased him the most was that Slowbro could receive the psychic signals he transmitted.
That meant Slowbro still recognized him as its Trainer!
Perhaps that also had something to do with Madeleine talking about him every day in front of Slowbro…
A week later, Matsuba returned to Ecruteak Gym. Under the pretense of paying him a visit, Tetsuya was actually there to ask about the investigation into Shadow Team Headquarters and the aftermath of the "incident".
Matsuba shook his head and said, "No clues… Not the slightest clue! We've used every investigative method currently available, but found nothing. The mysterious destruction of Shadow Team will probably become an eternal mystery. Maybe just a Legendary… no, forget it"
Tetsuya's emotions were also complicated. There was no way he could reveal the condition of the Shadow Admins' corpses that he had seen, nor what he knew about Gastly variant draining vitality. The only thing Tetsuya could do now was keep those doubts buried in his heart forever.
"…So, how was everything handled afterward?" Tetsuya asked.
"Umm… 'officially', we announced that Shadow Team was wiped out through the joint efforts of the Johto and the Indigo League, and that every Shadow had been brought to justice.
The Johto League has now officially taken over Shadow Team's castle. The entire Kaze no Tani has been sealed off by Investigators, and the Indigo League's personnel have all withdrawn from our Johto Region."
After Matsuba finished speaking, Tetsuya could only nod.
There were only three months left in the year, and winter is com… was fast approaching, cough.
Winter was the best time for special training at, you bet, glacier falls. The training plans for his Pokémon had not yet been completed, so it was indeed time for a period of drilling to improve the strength of the Pokémon currently on his team as quickly as possible.
---◓---
After packing his belongings, Tetsuya made his way to Mahogany Town.
Pryce had clearly been waiting for him for quite some time. In the main hall of Mahogany Gym, Pryce wore a serious expression, with Sheila standing beside him.
It gave Tetsuya the feeling that something important was about to happen…
After greeting Pryce and Sheila, Tetsuya remained silent for ten seconds. None of them spoke.
"Tetsuya, you'll be fourteen after the New Year, won't you?" Pryce suddenly asked. Tetsuya did not understand the reason for the question and could only nod.
"Un."
"…The League has a rule that anyone ten years old or older may participate in the League tournaments. Why haven't you made any plans to do so? Do you lack the courage!?" Pryce asked.
Tetsuya understood that question perfectly well and immediately replied, "Participating in League tournaments means spending the entire year traveling. There's simply no way to implement systematic training to my Pokémon, so how could my capacities keep pace?
Rather than suffer defeat in the main arena, I'd rather train my Pokémon until they're truly powerful and then win the championship in one decisive attempt."
Pryce and Sheila exchanged smiles before saying:
"For someone so young to be able to quietly devote himself to training is actually rare. Dreams alone are meaningless! I've already prepared the cabin at glacier falls for you. You'll follow the training schedule you made some time ago. Until you've completed it, you're not allowed to leave.
Since you made the plan yourself, you must complete it. Otherwise, what's the point of making plans in the first place!? I'll make sure all of your logistical needs are taken care of.
Well…? Any objections!?"
"I was planning to do exactly that," Tetsuya said.
"Good! Then tomorrow you'll head to glacier falls. Sheila will take good care of you. I'll also do my best to raise your Ice-type team in the shortest possible time. I'll be making one final… call it, 'research trip', to the Alola Region soon.
If everything goes smoothly, 'that' Pokémon should be ready in about a year. When the time comes, we'll see whether you're worthy of having it, hohoho…"
Pryce said this with a "mysterious" smile.
'…' "I'll do my best." Tetsuya felt a surge of anticipation. While he was planning his Poison-type core team, Pryce was planning his Ice-type one for him.
The road ahead looked brighter than ever!
'Wait! Catherine…'