If Nova could have heard what Jenny was thinking right then, hoping he would somehow pull off the same miracle and catch Robbin a second time, he probably would have had something to say about it.
"Come on, Jenny. I'm Nova, not Jirachi. If you want a wish granted, go look for the Wishing Star."
Honestly, Nova was not even sure how he had managed to catch Robbin the first time. The most honest answer he could give was that Corviknight had simply done something unexpected on a whim, and it had worked out in a way no amount of careful planning could have produced. Catching her once had been extraordinary luck. Catching her every single time she tried to escape would require something else entirely, and Nova was not that person.
As it turned out, luck was not with either of them.
Nova rode Corviknight back and forth along the border between the Tamar Desert and Harmony City, searching from sunset until the moon climbed up in the east. He found no sign of Robbin, no sign of Magnezone, and no sign of any human being at all.
The Tamar Desert was always this empty. The only reason there had been any life near it recently was Lune Town, which had grown into something loud and filthy in a short time. With Team Origin's operation having leveled the town entirely, the black market traders and everyone who had come to do business with them were gone. The border would probably stay quiet for years.
Those people had brought it on themselves. Even so, Nova found it hard to feel nothing.
Leon, who had once eyed Nova's backpack with open suspicion, had been one of the strongest officers on the Forest City team when it came to tracking and investigation. In Lune Town, it was his work, and the abilities of his partner Zubat, that had allowed Jenny to locate the explosives hidden in the casino. That discovery had been the turning point that led Jenny to approve Nova's plan.
Nova's first impression of him had not been particularly warm. But Leon had been part of the group Nova had worked alongside, and when they had gone their separate ways, he had still been sharp and full of energy. Half a day later, the next word Nova heard of him was that he was gone.
It was the first time Nova had felt so plainly that going up against an organization like Team Origin carried a real cost.
Leon who had been in the back of the vehicle with Pat was also confirmed dead. The only good news was that Pat had survived. He had been driving in the front cab, separated from the rear compartment by the body of the vehicle itself, and that separation had absorbed enough of the blast to keep him alive, though just barely.
The other reason Pat had made it was his Kirlia.
At the critical moment, it had used its Psychic power to contain the flames and shockwave, then used Teleport to move Pat out of the wreckage while he was still unconscious. Without it, the outcome would have been very different.
The incident made Nova think more seriously about visiting the Secret Heart Garden. If he could find a Ralts willing to come with him, it might be worth the trip.
But for now, there was still Robbin to think about. Without knowing her escape route, her destination, or anything about how she operated, flying along the border without a plan was about as useful as searching for a specific Pokémon in the middle of a dense forest. The odds were not in his favor.
After two passes, Nova's patience was wearing thin. Corviknight, by contrast, was in no hurry at all. It seemed to genuinely enjoy this kind of slow, unhurried flying with no particular goal in mind. For once, the impatient Nova was not rushing it somewhere, and it was making the most of that.
Eventually, Nova had to accept the reality. Robbin was gone. When he got Jenny back on the line and she had calmed down enough to think clearly, she reached the same conclusion. With no leads and no support needed, Nova had Corviknight turn and head home.
It was close to ten at night when he landed. Aresdra was still awake, sitting on the sofa in a quiet daze with Torchic settled in her lap. Riolu was running laps around the backyard with its usual boundless energy, and Purrloin was curled comfortably on a pillow near Aresdra's shoulder, its tail swaying in slow, easy arcs.
The moment Nova stepped through the door, Aresdra snapped out of her daze and stood up quickly.
Nova looked at her, a little puzzled. "Aresdra? You alright? You look like you've been on edge."
She shook her head. "I'm not sure how to explain it. When you sent that message saying you had to leave in a hurry, my heart started racing. It felt like something dangerous was going to happen."
Nova thought quietly to himself that her instincts were not wrong. The person he had been sent after was genuinely dangerous.
Robbin and Taylor were nothing alike. Taylor had been cold and methodical, the kind of person whose logic always came before his emotions. Even when he was being cruel, there was a calculated quality to it. Robbin was different. She did not think in those careful, layered ways. She acted. Meet her unprepared, and before you could get a word out, she would have already thrown down a handful of Electrodes and turned the ground beneath you into a crater.
This time, Nova had been the one to interrogate her, which meant he had made an enemy of her. Even so, he was not especially worried about her coming after him the way Taylor had.
The reason was simple. During the interrogation, Nova had been acting as a Security Officer. Robbin did not know who he was. There was no way she would connect a newly active Professional Trainer to the officer who had questioned her in custody.
Taylor had been a different situation entirely. He had come specifically after Nova, knowing exactly who his target was. For Robbin to find Nova, she would first have to learn of his existence through the Security Officers, and right now only three people knew his real role in what had happened: Jenny, Pat, and Sandra. Pat was recovering in hospital. Jenny was trustworthy. Sandra was gone. That line was effectively closed.
Still, Nova intended to be careful.
He told Aresdra everything. The full account of what had happened in Lune Town, without leaving anything out. She deserved to know so she could stay alert, rather than spending her time worrying and guessing without any real information to go on.
After that, they worked out what to do next.
The safest move, for both of them, was to separate for a while. If Team Origin did decide to act against Nova, having him and Aresdra in the same place would put her at unnecessary risk.
As it happened, Aresdra had already made plans to travel to Purple Gold City for the League Girl Group auditions. That worked out well. Nova, for his part, would start his travels early. His first destination was the Valen Gym in Sand River City, where he intended to take on the Gym Leader.
Purrloin would stay behind and keep watch over the house.
Three separate paths. It was not a perfect solution, but it was a reasonable one, and right now that was enough.