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"I ask, you answer. No tricks. Understood?"
The grunt flinched. "U-understood!"
"First question — where do you store the illegal drugs?"
Still trembling, the grunt lifted a shaking hand and pointed toward the far end of the first floor, to a shop tucked deep into the back of the market complex. "All of it's in there!"
"Corvisquire, keep him close. We're heading over."
The Corvisquire grabbed the injured grunt from behind and half-dragged him along as they moved.
Nova glanced back at Nidoking. "Arno — use Toxic on anyone still breathing in here. I don't want to see a single one of them standing when I come back."
Nidoking let out a low, rumbling cry and set about its task without hesitation. The captured grunt watched with wide eyes, his terror climbing to a new height. Wait — who are the criminals here? Aren't Trainers supposed to hand people over to the authorities? Not only had Nova fought without any intention of holding back, but now he was making sure there were no loose ends either.
This was clearly not the first time Nova had done something like this.
His rule was simple: whatever his enemies would have done to him if the roles had been reversed, he returned in kind — nothing more, nothing less.
Original Team was an organization that operated across every region. They poached and sold Pokémon illegally, manufactured dangerous substances, planned terror attacks, and even attempted to capture Legendary Pokémon. An organization like that left a trail of bodies without a second thought.
Nova saw no reason to extend them any mercy or legal protection they would never have shown him.
You do not get to act without limits when you are on the offensive and then suddenly demand fair treatment when someone strikes back.
With that settled in his mind, Nova turned his attention back to the captive grunt, who had gone very quiet and very cooperative.
Corvisquire kept hold of him as Nova led the way into the storage area where the illegal drugs were kept.
After Nidoking's sustained assault, the market looked like the aftermath of a disaster. Even the warehouse at the back of the first floor had not been spared.
The first problem was the water. Nidoking's earlier Surf had sent floods pouring through the building, and when Nova kicked the warehouse door open, he stepped into water that reached halfway up his shins. There was barely any clear space to walk.
The second problem was worse. The explosions and structural collapses had toppled the stockpiles inside. Containers had cracked and broken open, and the liquid from the illegal drugs had spread across the floor, releasing fumes that fouled the air even through the damage already done.
Nova's gas mask kept him safe, but Corvisquire recoiled sharply from the smell, its feathers ruffling in distress. Nova quickly called out, "Defog!" and Corvisquire beat its wings, clearing the contaminated air.
"This is all of it?" Nova asked, looking around the ruined space.
"Y-yes! Every last bit, I swear!"
Nova gave a short nod. Then he stepped to the side and shouted back across the room, "Nidoking — Flamethrower!"
A column of fire roared through the doorway and the warehouse ignited. The flames caught fast, consuming everything inside.
Some things could be cleaned with water. Others needed fire.
With the stockpile handled, Nova moved on. "Second question — where's your money kept?"
The grunt swallowed. "Second floor, left side. The room with the security door."
Nova followed the grunt's gaze upward. The section of the second floor he was pointing to was one of the few parts of the building still mostly intact. But the staircase had collapsed entirely. The only way up was by air.
Nova had Nidoking stay below and guard the captive while Corvisquire carried him up to the second floor.
The security door refused to budge when he tried forcing it. Corvisquire had to use Peck repeatedly — four, maybe five solid strikes — before the lock finally gave way and the iron door swung open.
Inside was an office used for finances. A large safe sat against the far wall, clearly where the valuables were kept. Nova took one look at it and knew immediately it was beyond what he could get into right now. Even the security door had put up a fight. Cracking a safe like that was not happening with his current team.
He let it go.
But just because he was walking away empty-handed did not mean he was going to leave it for someone else to collect later.
He had Nidoking lay down Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock throughout the finance room. Any Original Team member who came back for that money later would be getting a very unpleasant welcome.
Now came the part of the interrogation that mattered most.
"Where does Taylor live? Does he have an office somewhere?"
The grunt pointed toward another section of the second floor, partially caved in. Nova had Corvisquire carry him up anyway.
Taylor's office was a mess, but it was still standing. Nova searched quickly and found a map pinned near one of the intact walls.
It showed several cities in the northern part of the Norlandia Alliance, including Stone City, which Nova had already been planning to visit. Up near the top of the map, close to the desert, a small settlement called Forest City had been marked with a red cross.
The Tamar Desert stretched thousands of kilometres from northeast to southwest. Harmony City sat on its western border, and Forest City lay due south of it.
A mark that far away — roughly two thousand kilometres from Lune Town — made Nova suspect that Taylor had left for Forest City on some kind of job. He decided to test that theory on the prisoner.
As he and Corvisquire made their way back down, something in the rubble below caught his eye — the pale shape of bones visible beneath a section of debris that had not quite finished collapsing.
Once he was back on the ground floor, Nova directed Nidoking to shift the fallen masonry aside.
What they uncovered was not what he had expected.
This part of the market had once been a seafood section, with a large holding pool used to keep live stock. After Original Team moved in, the pool had been repurposed. It was not holding fish anymore.
It was full of bones. Human and Pokémon alike.
Nova looked at the grunt. "What is this?"
The grunt answered quickly, clearly afraid of what silence might cost him. "It's Taylor. His Arbok needs constant practice — he uses Acid on living things to keep it sharp."
Nova said nothing for a moment. Then, quietly, "So Taylor is in Forest City right now?"
He had never made any effort to hide the intent behind his questions, and the grunt could feel exactly where this was heading.
"If I tell you everything... will you let me live?"
Nova tilted his head slightly. "Hard to say. But you can try."