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Perhaps because they knew that Luther was about to leave the research lab again, all the Pokémon that he had rescued earlier wanted him to take them with him.
Lairon was demonstrating his rock-crushing jaw strength for the second time, and the Misdreavus had barged into Luther's room countless times while he was half asleep.
Realising he had no other choice, Luther patiently explained that with his current team, he simply couldn't manage to train so many Pokémon at once.
This was true, just making training plans for his current six Pokémon and monitoring their progress already took up a huge portion of his travel time.
The other Pokémon were disappointed by his answer, but thankfully, Luther promised them that once this journey had achieved its goals, he would come back for them.
As he said this, he felt he sounded a bit like Ash. But his memory shouldn't be that bad.
Besides, as long as he had free time before the Lily of the Valley Conference, he could try fine-tuning a second team line-up.
Before leaving, Luther contacted Diantha again.
Mismagius's next evaluation was in a fortnight. If she passed the high-intensity test this time, she could rejoin the team.
Diantha also relayed the advice from the caretakers and doctors looking after Mismagius.
'Mismagius still isn't very skilled with Black Hole. Find a Darkrai to help.'
This again...
Back then, Luther had been agonising: where on earth was he supposed to find a Darkrai? Now, he literally had one hiding under his feet...
However, Darkrai only helped with Evergreen. Whether Darkrai would help Mismagius depended entirely on his mood.
Luther sighed and could only tell Diantha that he would 'try to run into one by coincidence'.
On the morning they left, it was raining lightly. The day before, Luther and Mai had told Professor Rowan that they would leave early precisely to avoid a big send-off.
The researchers understood and didn't show up, but Arcanine chased after them for quite a distance. He stopped by the roadside outside the research lab with a frisbee in his mouth, nudging Mai and Luther with his head.
This was a game that Mai loved to play with Arcanine.
"Next time we come back, I'll play with you again."
She ruffled his head, took the frisbee and threw it hard into the grassy area outside the lab. She smiled as she watched Arcanine leap over the fence and sprint after it with all his might.
To stop Arcanine from catching up with them again, Darkrai had no choice but to use his transportation powers, carrying Mai and Luther as he sped away.
Their route to Sunyshore City would take them through Oreburgh and Pastoria, meaning Luther was also returning to Oreburgh City, the place where he had earned his first Badge.
It looked just the same as before. The Oreburgh Gym was still the place where rookie trainers loved to come and "throw their lives away."
Luther couldn't understand it. Those non-core Gyms were much easier to complete, so why insist on bashing your head against this one?
Candice once said it was probably because of geography. Oreburgh and Jubilife were the major transport hubs of southern Sinnoh.
In the north, the harsh climate meant that few Trainers were willing to travel long distances to challenge Gyms. But in the south, close to the Lily of the Valley Island tournament grounds, many preferred to challenge nearby Gyms and then proceed directly to the island.
Feeling spontaneous, Luther decided to travel through Eterna Forest again.
Houndoom was excited to return, after all, this was where he had stayed longest during his wandering days.
Eterna Forest during the daytime wasn't nearly as eerie as at night. It gave Luther a pleasant feeling of revisiting old places. Unfortunately, Mismagius wasn't there.
There were many Trainers moving through the forest. Luther and Mai frequently saw people battling or preparing to catch Pokémon.
Then, a Pinsir, being chased desperately, burst straight towards Mai. The two, who had just been setting up camp, were momentarily stunned.
But only for a moment. They had seen this kind of thing before. Nothing surprising. They went back to what they were doing.
The Pinsir froze, too, but, remembering his pursuers, he chose to attack.
The Pokémon around the two humans didn't look strong; surely he had a chance to escape?
Using both of his giant pincers, he clamped onto the Slowpoke beside Mai. It was a full-power strike, intended to take out the strongest-looking opponent in their group.
Pinsir had originally wanted to see panic and shock on their faces before deciding his next move. However, Mai simply handed the pancake she was holding to Luther and happily opened her mouth to eat her own.
Meanwhile, standing in the middle, Chansey continued to flip the omelettes in the pan.
The Slowpoke was stuffing food into its mouth as if nothing were wrong, completely unaware of the two horns pinching its forehead.
The scene was bizarre. Suddenly, Pinsir felt a chill run down his back and decided to retreat immediately.
As he took a step, his foot landed on something soft. His body staggered, almost causing him to fall, and a miserable scream echoed from behind him.
Marill stared at the omelette that had fallen to the ground. Ignoring the pain in her tail, she hurriedly picked it up to inspect it.
The side that had hit the ground was already covered in dirt and beyond saving.
"I'll just make another one. Don't eat that."
Mai snatched the omelette from Marill's hand and threw it in the bin to stop her being stubborn.
Darkrai was eating the omelette that Milcery had passed to him when he suddenly sensed a familiar killing intent.
It was the same feeling he had when he tried to test Marill by taking her chips away. Thinking back on it, his cheek still hurt a little.
Pinsir suddenly sensed that something was wrong, as though a terrifying creature had set its sights on him.
His years of experience surviving in the wild told him to run immediately. But just as he turned around, a Marill appeared in his field of vision.
Her eyes burning with fury, Marill swung her little fists and punched toward Pinsir.
What could such tiny fists possibly do?
Pinsir planned to counter with an X-Scissor, knock Marill out, and flee.
But the next moment, Pinsir slid across the ground like an ice puck, crashed into a tree, and sent its tender new leaves trembling down.
Marill, still venting, seemed ready to continue, but Darkrai offered her the omelet Milcery had just made.
Seeing food, Marill immediately calmed down. She returned to her spot with a peaceful heart and urged Chansey to serve the dishes.
As if nothing had happened, Luther and Mai happily continued eating lunch.
The Pokémon trainer who had been tracking Pinsir arrived with his Shiftry; both were stunned.
Although he had been the first to spot Pinsir and had intended to catch it, he hadn't dealt much damage. The situation looked like someone had snatched his target, yet not exactly.
After all, the group before him looked more like they were there for a picnic than to catch Pokémon.
Luther suddenly paused mid-bite. The intruding trainer seemed to have disabled the response function of his Pokédex, but Luther hadn't.
The sound coming from his pocket told him that he had just encountered another Pokédex holder.
(End of this chapter)