True to form, Paul had disappeared once again, without so much as leaving a shred of information as to where he was going, or even that he was going on ahead. At this point, it was becoming questionable if Paul was even aware of the confusion his departures spread, or if he even cared. Miette had once again been visibly either upset or pissed off, Serena couldn't actually tell the difference between the two at this point, but she seemed to recovery a hell of a lot faster this time. Ash had been right when he'd said that the group was bound to run into the purple haired trainer again, and they had done so almost immediately after the tournament had ended. So Miette figured that she'd see the Sinnoh native again soon enough.

Récit Town was the next destination for the travelling trio, a far larger town than the place they were currently in. Rècit Town would be like their gateway back to civilisation, and after dealing with the more traditional and laid back town, they were all in a desperate desire to find stores that were younger than a hundred years old, and actually had people who cut the grass and vines from naturalisation in the streets.

Ash seemed particularly thankful to be finally getting out of this quiet town. The lack of stimuli here reminded him of Pallet town a bit too much. He had travelled to get away from home, not be reminded of it and spend days on end in a town just like it. He loved his home town, obviously, but he was the adventurous sort, unable to stay in one place for too long. Especially a place where the most entertaining thing to do was go on a walk.

That was another reason he was looking forward to getting out of Andora town - He might actually be able to take Serena on a date date, not the cheap walk-about date that he'd taken her on, due to a lack of other options.

That was a prospect that excited him.

Her head buried in the paper folds of the traveler's map, Serena suggested a route that the group could take. "See, if we go along this route, we should be able to make it there within a couple of days, if nothing interrupts us." The path she suggested went hand-in-hand with a river that was present on the route, twisting and turning about the place. It was a horseshoe river, a small portion of the body of water cut off from the rest of it, forming a lake, due to a few hundred years of erosion and climate movements. In spite of these facts, and the roundabout route the river took, the scenery would be pleasant, and the route was safe, marked with pathways and footpaths. It wasn't exactly the most adventurous route on the planet, but logically speaking, if you wanted efficiency and safety, that was the route you wanted.

"That looks fine to me." Miette nodded her head in agreement, scanning over the route herself. While Serena's sense of excitement seemed lacking, she had chosen a perfectly viable route.

Slinging his backpack over his shoulders, Ash grinned to his companions. His partner Pokemon made itself comfortable on his shoulder, as trademarked. He would have made a motivated call to arms for their journey.

Had he not been cut off by the sounds the nearby television was making.

"In regional news, the Synthcorp company is under fire from various sources on the ethics of their operating methods."

The mention of that corporation, the name of the employers of a bunch of maniacs of whom the group had suffered a close call with on multiple occasions throughout their journey, caused heads to turn, sentences to be caught in throats, and eyes to widen.

"Those guys?" Ash questioned under his breath, his question sounding more like a growl than it did coherent language. It wasn't a secret that he had developed a hatred of Synthcorp, and considering what had happened to their group, it was a very understandable dislike.

He wasn't alone in this hate either. Serena and Miette shared his anger at them, and justly so. They all shifted their focus instantly to the information being relayed to them from the Television screen - Which, incidentally, was probably the most high-tech thing that this town even had.

"Since their opening just a few months after the Lumiose City incident, the company has spoke of ways to increase the strength levels inside Pokemon, by claiming to gather various data from Pokemon who would volunteer alongside their trainers at their research sites. Recent developments at the Revolution castle tournament held just a few days ago has had many people concerned with the morality of the employees working there after it was revealed that the tournament victors were indeed affiliated with Synthcorp." The new caster read from the papers on her desk. She seems almost uncomfortable, like she was having a problem remaining impartial.

"Many people have called the brutal levels of power and mercilessness of the Pokemon used into question, with, in many cases, the Pokemon whom went up against duo ended up with serious injuries that took several days of recovery time. Several sources even claimed that unethical methods have been used to give these Pokemon huge power boosts, with some accusations such as electroshock therapy and other barbaric practices." Definitely a slip up, but the word 'Barbaric' certainly showed the true colours of the news anchor. She was firmly anti-Synthcorp, no question. "While these allegations have been excused, there have been several incidents across the region regarding individuals claiming to have been attacked by employees from the company.

Since these accusations, Synthcorp heads have reportedly gone missing."

So, the leaders of the company had disappeared after sending their employees to attack and steal Pokemon from trainers they felt had strong partners?

How convenient.

Miette visibly shuddered, a chill having run down her spine. "Creeps."

"If they're attacking other trainers with strong Pokemon... Clearly they're confident... But I don't get it. What is their goal here?" Ash muttered aloud. He couldn't quite figure out what the group was trying to achieve. If they wanted to make their Pokemon stronger, than they had already accomplished that, via whatever sick means they had used to do so. So what did they gain by stealing other people's Pokemon?

"Current Lumiose City Gym leader Clemont will be taking a temporary leave of absence from both his gym, and Lumiose City, in order to investigate what he suspects to be a lead of some description in Rècit Town. He is approximating his stay there at a week."

Had Ash just heard that right? he blinked twice, half expecting the television to melt away and reveal he'd been imagining the last forty seconds of his life. Clemont was headed to Rècit Town too? Not only that, he was still working in investigations?

He glanced between Serena and Miette, whom seemed to be having the same ideas he was.

They needed to speak to the Electric Type Gym Leader. Tell him exactly what they knew. Maybe it would help identify Sierra, Beta and Psi, if nothing else.


I know its pretty short... But there really was no reason to make it long. I got what I wanted put into the story, so extending the chapter for the sake of it felt pointless. Sorry if this upsets you. Next chapter will be longer.

Also, I noticed that its been a year since this story debuted... Wow. Two years since One Day Off as well. What a ride we've had, huh? Thanks for sticking around, everyone ^_^