At the windward side of the mountain town, Tetsuya and Catherine had set up a tent, while the Pokémon continued their training sessions under Miltank's Helping Hand.
Tetsuya simply watched the entire mountain town.
Sure enough, by noon the next day, two police officers arrived in the town. They only stayed for one night. The following morning, they held a meeting with the residents to calm them down, then took away the three bodies.
There was no need to think about it to know that they would never uncover any clues. Of course, in the Pokémon world, this was hardly unusual, because too many people died at the hands of Pokémon. There was simply no way to investigate such cases, and they would only become unsolved mysteries.
They had finally left, and it was time for him to act as well. By now, Will and his mother certainly believed that he and Catherine had already gone far away.
---◓---
Night fell, and the Pokémon had all finished their nighttime training. Everything was the same as usual.
"Tonight, I'll be going to the town."
Tetsuya did not want to hide this matter from Catherine. He still needed her to do many things, and she was the only person he could trust now.
"Mm, be careful," Catherine said.
Late at night, Tetsuya informed Catherine, then rode Golurk down from above toward the town.
After Tetsuya left, Catherine quietly stood at the windward side waiting for him.
These were extraordinary times. Even during the day, few people went outside unless necessary, let alone at night.
Tetsuya went directly to the entrance of Will's house.
"Go inside, use Hypnosis to make the two inside sleep more deeply, then open the door."
With a thought from Tetsuya, Gengar slipped beneath him and entered the house.
A short while later, the door to Will's house opened. Gengar had succeeded, and Tetsuya entered smoothly before closing the door behind him.
He came to Will's mother's room and turned on the light. At this moment, Will and his mother looked no different from dead people.
Tetsuya opened the hidden compartment beneath Will's mother's bed. Inside was indeed a stack of letters. He casually flipped through a few of them. They were all about the bits and pieces of her relationship with the priest of Slowpoke Temple.
Every one of them had been sent to Slowpoke Temple. Although they were signed under different names, it was obvious from the wording. Naturally, someone would verify their authenticity. Most importantly, there was a bank card inside. As long as the deposit records associated with that card were investigated, the truth of everything would become clear.
Tetsuya took all of these things and left without making a sound.
At the latest, by tomorrow night, Will's mother would discover that these things were missing. The day after that, she would certainly write a letter to notify the priest of Slowpoke Temple. She would have to go to the post office in town to send it.
Nowadays, communication was electronic, and letters had long become outdated, nearly obsolete. Therefore, she would certainly use the fastest delivery service available. It would definitely arrive in the hands of the priest on the morning of the third day.
If the priest of Slowpoke Temple learned of this matter, he would undoubtedly destroy the evidence immediately. If that happened, dealing with him would become far more difficult.
In other words, Tetsuya only had four days!
After taking all the letters and the bank card, Tetsuya left. Of course, he also had Gengar restore the door original state. It would be as if these things had vanished from Will's house into thin air.
Riding Golurk back to the tent, Tetsuya found Catherine still waiting for him, and a slight stir appeared in his heart.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Tetsuya asked.
"Oh? Umm… I couldn't sleep. Did everything go smoothly?" Catherine asked.
Tetsuya nodded and said, "Everything went smoothly. However, I'll need to trouble you with something."
"Go ahead," she said.
"Time is short. Tomorrow, I need you to ride Skarmory to Ho-Oh Shrine on Mt. Silver and find the priest of the shrine. Give him these letters and this bank card. When you get there, tell him that time is critical, and whether or not Slowpoke Temple can be brought down depends on him."
Tetsuya then took out a special amulet made by the priest of Ho-Oh Shrine from his backpack and handed it to Catherine. "With this amulet, you'll be able to meet the head priest of Ho-Oh Shrine directly."
This amulet personally "blessed" by the priest had finally proven useful.
"Un, don't worry."
Afterward, Catherine packed all the letters together, carefully stored the bank card and the amulet, and placed everything into her backpack.
"Get some rest quickly. I'll be waiting for you at Slowpoke Temple. Remember… you absolutely must not show yourself! Let the priest of Ho-Oh Shrine handle everything."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Catherine nodded, and they each returned to their tents to rest.
Early the next morning, while the sky was still only beginning to brighten, Catherine got up. Tetsuya did not dare sleep in either. After making some preparations, Catherine departed on Skarmory.
Tetsuya also mounted Golurk and prepared to fly directly over the mountains to Slowpoke Temple.
At Golurk's speed, it would only take half a day to reach the temple from here. As for Skarmory flying to Mt. Silver, it would arrive at the latest around one or two in the afternoon.
At this moment, Tetsuya was already racing against time.
---◓---
Golurk moved at full power and arrived at Lake Slowpoke in front of Slowpoke Temple by ten o'clock in the morning.
Tetsuya took out the Shellder's Poké Ball he had fished up here four years ago. It truly had been a long time. Four years ago, that crooked priest had swindled a large sum of money from him. Now he had returned to collect the debt.
It was time to pay a visit to that priest.
Tetsuya straightened his clothing and walked toward Slowpoke Temple.
"Offerer, may I ask if you've come to offer incense at our temple? Incense and candles are available for purchase within the temple." Before Tetsuya had even stepped through the temple gates, a young deacon came over and began promoting the offerings.
"Aren't you who took me to Lake Slowpoke to fish for Shellder four years ago?" Tetsuya recognized him and spoke up.
"You are… the young offerer who caught a Shellder back then!?" The young deacon also remembered Tetsuya. After all, in more than four years, Tetsuya was the only person who had ever caught a Shellder at Lake Slowpoke, so he still had some impression of him.
"That's right. Please inform the head priest that I've come to pick up my Shellder. The three years of 'incense affinity' have already ended. Although I arrived a year late, I won't be short by even a single Pokédollar when it comes to the incense money that should be paid," Tetsuya said "devoutly".
"Alright, alright, alright… please wait a moment. I'll go report this to the head priest immediately!"
After speaking, the young deacon ran into the temple.
Tetsuya looked around Slowpoke Temple. There were still many worshippers coming and going. Its prosperity was no less than it had been four years ago. The priest of Ho-Oh Shrine was probably already grinding his teeth in frustration.
In truth, a temple also had many elders. Even if the head priest fell, although it would have a significant impact on the temple's reputation, a few explanatory press conferences and some paid reputation-restoration efforts could gradually recover some popularity.
However, once something happened, most temples would certainly seize the opportunity and publicize it extensively. A large temple such as Ho-Oh Shrine would undoubtedly take the chance to suppress it aggressively. Restoring its former glory would be impossible.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, the young deacon who had left earlier ran back out and said, "Offerer, the head priest invites you inside."
Tetsuya nodded and followed him into the interior of Slowpoke Temple.