Pokémon Homecoming | A Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 42: A Faller's Sanity

There was strained silence at the lab after Raihan's departure. Leon knew he was to blame. He briskly offered to walk the Pokémon. The suggestion barely left his lips when he was surrounded by most of the Pokémon in the lab. Yamper was attached to his leg. Abbey rarely saw Trainers able to control six Pokémon at once, let alone the 14 he wandered out with, including Zacian. Charizard was like his shepherd's Yamper. Sonia shook her head.

'He's been on his own with Pokémon too long. He's like a crazy Meowth lady.'

She paused. '...Do you think Raihan's alright? He really is worried. I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, but... he got really drunk that night you went to the Wild Area and he was in floods of tears. He was thinking about his mum – you know, she had dementia and died last year – and he felt like Leon was fading the same way.'

Abbey recalled Leon's words that day they met Herman. And I have an apology to make, too. I'm sorry I was so distant. I'm sorry I can still be so distant. I'd like to say that to Raihan, to Sonia, to Janice and Nessa and Malcolm, even to Hop and Victor... but I've still got some pride to swallow before I do that.

To everyone's surprise, it was Anabel who spoke. 'Forgetfulness is common in PTSD... perhaps he's not ready to share the cause yet.'

'PTSD?' Sonia snorted, 'From what? Did someone try to bury him alive under his piles of P10,000 bills?'

'That's not how fame works.'

Abbey didn't mean to sound snappy, but she did. 'You should know that.'

'Anyway,' Anabel intervened, 'Raihan's sighting of that Shadow Druddigon coincides with the notification Leon heard. I've no doubt now that my suspicions were correct. The rest of my task force will be arriving on separate flights throughout the week. I must ask once again for your help... I'd like you to begin simulating battles with these Dynamax Shadow Pokémon.'

She reached into her briefcase to pass Hop a memory stick. 'We'll need to know how our own Pokémon fare... so this is all the data you'll need on each officer's team and the strategies we use, as well as the data Bob's compiled on Piers and Marnie. Hau and Raihan will get back to me later tonight or tomorrow.'

Hop swallowed an anxious lump. Of all the things he was entrusted with throughout the investigation, this was perhaps the most valuable – a window thrown open to the heads of talented Trainers that, in the wrong hands, could be used even by weaker opponents to destroy them.

'I – I hope I'm strong enough to look after this.'

Anabel's smile was warm. 'I wouldn't have entrusted it to you if I thought otherwise. Though perhaps, just for peace of mind, it wouldn't hurt to have another Trainer around...'

Hop nodded eagerly, because he hoped she meant Leon. Anabel's eyes fell on Abbey. She uneasily cleared her throat to speak.

'Could I talk to you a minute?'

'Yes, of course.'

Anabel strode outside with her. They walked through the garden, into the woods by the slushy bank of the river. The day's humidity was interrupted by a chilly nighttime wind.

'I think Leon...'

Her voice trailed off, but Anabel completed her sentence. 'Knows something. That's no surprise.'

'I don't – I don't mean he's in on it, or anything! I know Sonia wonders and I know he must be a suspect, but he'd never – he'd probably kill a person before he'd hurt a Pokémon.'

'Regardless of whether or not he's a suspect... you don't need to defend him to me. I know he isn't responsible. Speak freely.'

'I think he knows who was responsible for the break-in. In fact, I think he knows who the "bad guys" are.'

'So do I... but I'd be glad to hear his thoughts. There's just one problem...'

'That he might blab?'

'No. I knew you'd mention Shadow Pokémon to Leon, because he's such a knowledgeable Trainer... but I'm sharing what I'm about to say as a friend, not a member of the International Police... because I trust you not to speak of it to anyone.'

Bloody hell... what's she going to say?

'I won't.'

'Leon is a suspect. He has been since before you even got involved.'

'What?'

'I know, Abbey. I agree with you... but my superiors weren't impressed when they found out the scientists I employed were working at Rose Tower. The conversation I had with him that day isn't on record... though without it, I wouldn't be so sure of the culprit's identity.'

'Is it because he was so close to Rose or what?'

'I've argued against that... but that's not the only reason. He's been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's said the wrong things, presumably without realising... and he's been deemed bitter about his losing his title, which is obviously ridiculous, given that he won the World Championships multiple times afterwards... but that's how some officers see him.'

'That is ridiculous.'

'Sonia isn't the only one with no faith in me. You know I wasn't taken under the wing of the International Police because anyone believed in me... I was used, under the guise of heading the UB Task Force, as bait because I was a Faller.'

Uneasy, Abbey nodded. 'You should never have stayed.'

'I didn't stay out of duty... I stayed to help people and Pokémon because, to be honest, I'm of more use than most of the "seasoned" officers... and I don't want to see what happened to me happen to anyone else. I don't want to see someone like Leon wrongly arrested.'

'But he can't be. He hasn't done anything.'

'Those who disagree have convincing evidence he has. So far I have no physical proof, only intuition... and, as I was saying, not everyone has faith in me. I'd like to hear Leon's thoughts, but I'm afraid if he's seen talking to me, he'll be accused of trying to get an impressionable officer on his side... and I won't be able to defend him.'

'But you're, like – the least impressionable person I know!'

'Others don't see it that way. In their eyes, I had amnesia once... what's to say it won't happen again?'

'Well, you haven't fallen out of any Ultra Wormholes lately. That's a pretty good indicator you'll be alright.'

Anabel smiled. 'Perhaps when I catch the actual criminals, they'll agree.'

Once Anabel left, Abbey saw the doubt in Sonia's eyes and for a moment, wondered if there was a possibility she was wrong. Whoever orchestrated this weaved a complex web intended to mislead and confuse... and what if Anabel had fallen victim to that? What if the one responsible for that web was... Leon?