Dissappearance and Pursuit

After Ilima leaving the Verdanturf Gym, Yuga was busy receiving challengers from all over the place for four or five days. He was indeed quite busy, maybe this was the backlash for someone who had not managed the gym for a long time.

On this day, just after Yuga bid farewell to a challenger, he suddenly saw a boy stumbling towards him, crying as he spoke, "Gym Leader Shimizu, please help me find Ilima; he's been missing for two days."

Yuga, puzzled, asked, "Who are you?"

The boy wiped away his tears and said, "I'm Cain, Ilima's classmate."

Cain was Ilima's classmate from a prestigious school in Kalos, who later came to Rustboro City with Ilima for exchange studies. Currently, they were traveling together in the Hoenn region.

Yuga furrowed his brow, "Ilima's missing? What happened?"

Through intermittent tears, Cain explained the circumstances surrounding Ilima's disappearance.

After challenging the Verdanturf Gym, Ilima and Cain found Verdanturf Town was interesting and decided to stay for a couple of days.

However, two days ago, Ilima left and hadn't returned since.

Initially, Cain didn't pay much attention, thinking Ilima might have been delayed due to some business outside. But after waiting a whole day without Ilima's return, he realized something was amiss.

After a day of fruitless search for Ilima, Cain went to the Verdanturf Town's police station and filed a missing person report. The town's police swiftly organized a search for Ilima.

Feeling helpless, Cain anxiously waited at the hotel until today when the police summoned him again. That's when he found out that Officer Jenny discovered one of Ilima's shirts on the outskirts of Verdanturf, the very shirt he wore on the day he went missing.

Officer Jenny warned Cain to mentally prepare, suggesting that Ilima might have encountered an accident.

Upon hearing Officer Jenny's speculations, Cain became anxious and rushed to the Verdanturf Gym seeking Yuga's help.

He had heard of Yuga's achievements and believed Yuga was capable of finding Ilima.

A perfectly fine person going missing without a trace?

After listening to Cain's account, Yuga paused, called Liliana, and confirmed the authenticity of Cain's story. He then asked Cain, "Do you have a picture of Ilima?"

"Yes, I do," Cain replied hesitantly, taking out his phone and showing the photos he took during their travels with Ilima.

Yuga took Cain's phone, glanced at the pictures of Ilima, and said to Cain, "Follow me."

Confused about what Yuga intended to do, Cain could only follow him with a perplexed expression.

Yuga led Cain out of the gym, back to the YoYo Day Care, then shouted towards the shadows. Suddenly, a Mismagius appeared in front of them, nearly startling Cain, who was unprepared.

Yuga briefly showed the photos of Ilima on his phone to the Mismagius, then said something to the Mismagius, which nodded and slowly disappeared.

Then, Yuga called upon the Great Flygon, the Linoone couple, the Persian couple... showing them the photos of Ilima again.

Soon, various Pokémon hidden near the YoYo Day Care, including Xatu, Crobat, Ghost-type Pokémon, and the stray Pokémon under Persian's command, stealthily mingled through the streets and alleys of Verdanturf Town...

After arranging everything, Yuga turned to Cain and said, "Alright, I've made all the necessary arrangements. As soon as there's news about Ilima, I'll notify you immediately."

Witnessing the sudden appearances and disappearances of these Pokémon, Cain nodded dumbfoundedly and then walked out of the YoYo Day Care: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

It must be said that the numerous Pokémon surrounding the YoYo Day Care left a significant impact on Cain. Yet, it also gave him some confidence and eased his worries: hopefully, they would find Ilima soon.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, today, May was still playing around Verdanturf Town with her mother. She particularly enjoyed the town's various delicacies and, spending these days with Swablu, she was growing fonder of the little Pokémon.

As Caroline passed by a perfumery with May, unable to resist, she pulled May into the store.

However, May wasn't interested in perfume. So, she sat by the store entrance waiting for her mother. But at that moment, she suddenly caught a whiff of a familiar scent: the aroma of crepes!

Excitedly, she called out to her mom inside the perfume store, "Mom! I'll be right over there."

Caroline knew her daughter well, turned and said with a smile, "Don't go too far, come back quickly!"

"Got it!" May replied and swiftly ran over, her voice lingering with joy in the air.

The crepe stall by the roadside was doing a bustling business. May had to wait in line for a while to finally get the coveted crepe, taking a satisfying bite.

Just as she was about to leave to find her mother, she suddenly noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a menacing-looking person swiftly hurrying through the adjacent alley, carrying a small child.

The reason she paid attention to that alley was because of the alert from Swablu in her arms.

She found the person suspicious and decided to cautiously follow. As she entered the alley, she discovered not just one person but several of the same "suspicious" individuals.

One common factor among them was that they were carrying unconscious children, all seemingly between the ages of five and ten.

Could these be kidnappers?

With that thought, May immediately felt afraid. She hugged Swablu and covered its beak to prevent any noise, slowly backing away, wanting to leave the alley quickly.

But as she took a couple of steps back, she bumped into someone.

Looking up, May met the fierce gaze of a burly man. Without saying a word, she immediately turned to run. But before she could take a step, the man effortlessly lifted her up into the air, just like holding a little chick.

"Let me go!" May struggled, kicking her legs, but the man held her firmly, making it impossible for her to break free, no matter how hard she struggled.

When Swablu in May's arms saw that its Trainer was in trouble, it immediately screamed and pecked at the Burly man. However, it was only a few days old and its body was very weak. The sBurly man swept it away with his arm, make it hit the alley wall.

"Swablu!" May cried out in alarm, her face filled with worry upon seeing Swablu injured.

"Where did this little girl come from?" Another burly man approached.

"I don't know, maybe she accidentally wandered in," replied the burly man holding May.

"Let me go! Let me go now!" May angrily kicked and struggled.

The burly man holding May was getting impatient. He swiftly used a karate chop to knock May, who was struggling, unconscious. "What should we do with this little girl?"

The other burly man pondered for a moment, "Take her along, one more won't make a difference."

The man holding May hesitated, "Will this cause trouble?"

The other man glared at him, "Leaving her behind will cause more trouble. No more talking, let's go, quickly!"

He then intended to find Swablu, planning to take it along, but as he turned around, he discovered that Swablu, which was lying on the ground just moments ago, had vanished.

"Where's that Swablu?"

The burly man holding May shook his head in bewilderment, "I don't know, wasn't it just here?"

The other man immediately spoke in a low voice, "No more nonsense, let's leave quickly, or else we might face trouble!"

Meanwhile, just after Yuga had bid farewell to Cain, he saw Caroline rushing in with Swablu, looking worried and frantic.

"Yuga, what do we do? May is missing," Caroline's voice was tinged with a sob.

Yuga's expression changed upon hearing this. "What's going on?"

Caroline couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears, "I don't know either. May told me she was going out to buy some food, but I waited for a long time and she didn't come back. Later, only Swablu that returned."

Yuga immediately turned his gaze to Swablu, which chirped hastily to explain how May was abducted.

It could be said that May's abduction was entirely unexpected, as she must have stumbled upon some secret. But what about Ilima's disappearance? Could the two be connected somehow?

"Aunt Caroline, don't worry. I will help you find May," Yuga said firmly.

Mr. Norman had entrusted him with the care of May, and now she had been taken from under his watch. This was something Yuga couldn't bear.

Caroline was just an ordinary person. At this time, she had no other choice but to believe in Yuga. Fortunately, Yuga's firm tone gave her hope, and she was finally no longer felt panicked.

"Please, you have to find May... If something happens to her... I... I..." Caroline's voice broke, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

After comforting Aunt Caroline, Yuga headed to the Ecopark. Countless Ghost-type Pokémon were released to search for May's whereabouts, including a Mismagius.

Due to the large number of Pokémon from the YoYo Day Care on the move, various types of Pokémon were seen roaming the streets and alleys throughout the town. By this time, the group of burly men on the outskirts of the town began to sense that something was amiss.

Inside a carriage, a bald, burly man turned to his two henchmen and asked, "Where did you grab the little girl from?"

"J-just... just from the town," one of the burly men stuttered.

The bald, burly man raised his hand and slapped him, his expression fierce, "Idiots! Who allowed you to grab people in the town! Don't you know where this is?"

The bald, burly man suspected the commotion in the town might be related to the little girl the two henchmen had brought back. The other children they had were not from the town and wouldn't have attracted attention.

They were just passing through the town and had been keeping a low profile, knowing that the trainers in the town were not to be messed with. They had not expected to cause trouble because of these two fools.

"Right when we're about to leave, you go and stir up trouble for me!" The bald, burly man couldn't hold back and delivered a slap to each of the henchmen, who dared not utter a word.

"In any case, we need to get out of town and meet up with the boss!" the bald, burly man whispered, then instructed the driver to speed up and head out of town.

Not long after their carriage left, an Arcanine and a group of Houndoom came chasing after them with their noses raised.

The Arcanine halted, sniffed the air, then barked a couple of times upwards into the sky. Suddenly, a Xatu appeared out of thin air and nodded at the Arcanine before vanishing again. The Arcanine turned back and barked at the Houndoom behind, leading them to dash off.

After waiting in the shop for a while, Yuga was approached by a Xatu that appeared through Teleport.

"Have you found a clue?" he asked the Xatu.

The Xatu nodded and chirped a few sentences to Yuga.

"Lead the way!" Yuga stood up from his chair and followed the Xatu out of the Day Care.

The group of burly men quickly evaded the extensive search in Verdanturf Town and reached its outskirts. As they left, an Arcanine, accompanied by a pack of Houndoom, stealthily followed them.

At the outskirts of Verdanturf Town, there was a medium-sized green aircraft parked. The burly men drove their vehicle into the aircraft upon arrival.

The pursuing Arcanine and Houndoom hid in the bushes, watching their tracked targets enter the aircraft. Subsequently, they observed the aircraft slowly rise into the sky and disappear from their sight using its invisibility.

However, the Arcanine and Houndoom weren't in a rush. Because a Haunter had quietly infiltrated the aircraft. The Haunter would guide them to continue tracking.

When May woke up, her first thought was, "That hurts." Her neck felt as if it had been twisted. After gathering herself, she remembered being captured.

"You're awake! Are you alright?"

At that moment, a gentle voice sounded in her ear. May looked up and saw a young man with pink hair, looking at her with concern.

Thinking that this person was associated with the one who knocked her out, May cautiously moved back. "Who... who are you? Where am I?"

She covertly glanced around and realized she was in an enclosed room. Besides her and the young man with pink hair, there were many other children in the room, all around her age.

Some children were huddled together, shivering; others lay unconscious on the floor; a few stared into space with empty eyes.

Seeing May's wariness, the young man with pink hair spoke gently, "No need to be afraid. I'm Ilima. Just like you, I was brought here."

This person speaking with May was none other than Ilima, that has been missing for over two days. He decided to engage May because he had seen her at the Verdanturf Gym before.

"O-oh..." May nervously replied and remained silent. She didn't believe Ilima's words because, upon observation, all the captive children were around the age of ten or younger, except for Ilima.