HEARTHOME CENTER, 17:10
"He called himself Looker."
Barry and Dawn simultaneously did a double take at the stupid name. This helped lift Claus's spirits a bit.
"Looker," repeated Professor Rowan, thoughtfully. "I think I may know him. But what did he say to you?"
Claus recounted Looker's words to the professor, being sure to mention the picture they had taken and the strange way Looker's demeanor had shifted after seeing it. Rowan listened silently throughout the explanation.
"I see," he said when Claus had finished. "Well, if Looker is who I think he is, then he would not have told you that without believing it from the bottom of his heart. Do not take it as an insult, or a rude dismissal. It is likely that he simply saw it as an objective fact. You three have certainly been saved from experiencing something beyond any of our understanding today."
The professor had seen right through him. Claus could do nothing but nod and try to take his advice to heart. It wasn't that he didn't think Looker was justified in sending them back. He only wished that he had been strong enough that they didn't have to leave. Helplessness, simply put, sucked.
The conversation was disrupted when Dawn violently recoiled from the sight of something behind Claus.
"Dawn? What happened?" asked Barry, clearly having noticed himself. Her hands had flown to her mouth instantly, but there was disbelief in her eyes.
"I… I-"
"Hello, hello! There you are," the familiar voice of Looker exclaimed. He approached the four of them with his unusually long strides and seized Rowan's hand, shaking it vigorously. "Ah, yes, it has been a long time, Finn! To be truthful, it has been so long since we last met, and our acquaintance was so fleeting, that I would not be surprised at all if you had forgotten me entirely!"
Claus exchanged a quick glance with Barry. Professor Rowan's name was Finn? How did none of them know that yet?
"No," said Rowan dryly, "you made quite the impression. I do not know if I will forget you for as long as I live."
"Ha! You flatter me," replied Looker, smiling. "Well! I have brought you that which you had lost. Here it is!" With a flourish, he presented the stolen bag.
Barry whistled. "That was quick! Well, quicker than I thought it'd go, at any rate."
"I am not a member of Interpol for nothing, young man!" replied Looker, turning towards him. "And it was simply a matter of finding the culprit; collecting the bag was no big issue, as she simply left it behind."
"She?" asked Claus. He had distinctly remembered the culprit looking rather masculine.
"Ah, never mind that," continued Looker hastily. "It is nice to meet you two, however. I trust your friend I spoke to already has told you what transpired at the Cathedral? I must advise you, and you, young lady-" Dawn still looked as if her wits had yet to return to her- "when trying to avoid notice, at least do what would be expected of an ordinary passerby. When in the Cathedral, say, you would pray to avoid suspicion. However, I do appreciate your willingness to help!"
"Uh, thanks," said Barry, deducing from her expression that Dawn would be unable to answer for the time being.
"Did you thank me for the compliment, or for the advice, young man?" asked Looker genuinely.
"Uh," said Barry again, and Claus stifled a laugh seeing Barry so nonplussed. "For both, I suppose?"
"Good!" Looker nodded emphatically. "It is a valuable skill to be able to not only accept compliments with grace, but also to take criticism and use it to better yourself. Now, I must be going. I have other matters to attend to, some of which are related to this very incident! Professor, youngsters, if you will excuse me."
Looker turned about and vanished as quickly as he had appeared, his brown coat trailing behind him. As he departed, Claus noticed that his coat and the back of his pants were coated in a fine layer of red dust.
As soon as Looker was out of sight, he turned around. "Dawn–"
"Are you okay, Dawn?" asked Barry, and Claus's mouth snapped shut. Yeah, that was definitely a more appropriate question, no matter how curious he was. She was still pale as a sheet.
"I… I'm fine, thanks," she replied, "just really surprised to see a familiar face from home all the way out here in Sinnoh. The chances are so small…"
"A familiar face?" questioned Claus. "He didn't seem to recognize you…"
It was Rowan who replied, not Dawn. "Looker is fairly well-known in his home region of Kalos, and not just for his eccentric nature. I have never asked him what the reason was, and he never volunteered the information either."
"I think I know," said Dawn. "It's not confirmed, just what I've heard… mostly from rumors and the tabloids, but they say that he's Favored by a legendary."
"A Favored?" Barry exclaimed. Claus was just as shocked. That strange man had been chosen by a legendary? He would've thought that those who were Favored would be more… well, imposing, or distinctive. Looker, before Claus learned he was an Interpol member, was just some guy. How many other Favored could be hiding in plain sight?
"I see," said Rowan, nodding to himself. "I would be wary of jumping to conclusions, but it is a theory that fits many of the facts. I would not put it past the realm of possibility."
"If he was a Favored, though," said Claus, "is that related to why he was chasing down the professor's thief, or do you think that was just him doing his job?"
The group fell quiet as they considered the question. Everyone knew that Favored generally weren't chosen just because a legendary took a liking to the person in question. Favored were those who were chosen for a mission. Nobody could claim to fully understand the thoughts or intentions of legendary Pokemon, of course, but they had to make decisions with some purpose, and it just felt wrong that a Favored would show up at a minor event like this. What was more, Looker had clearly been alarmed by Claus's picture. Claus had to wonder what was going on here.
"Professor," said Dawn, breaking the silence. "What was in your bag? I know you said it was incomplete research, but can you tell us what it was about, or if there's something else in there? It's all right if you don't want to, of course."
"I can tell you," Rowan replied, pulling out a folder. "The research was on certain qualities of everstones. I must first ask, do you three know the primary effect of these stones on Pokemon?"
"Exposure to them can delay evolution, and sometimes even stop it during the process," answered Claus, and Rowan nodded.
"That is correct. One of my former students and I worked together recently on a study that delves deeper into their effects on Pokemon after their observation that everstones were sometimes held by wild Pokemon, and even some which were evolved. This either implies that they found the everstone after their evolution or that they evolved despite the influence of the everstone.
"Well, during the study, we followed a population of wild Roggenrola and Boldore in a deep region of the Oreburgh mines. A good number of them made their homes around deposits of everstone. Sometimes, they would even incorporate the everstone into their own bodies. These things didn't necessarily mean anything by itself. Everstone is a fairly common and inexpensive mineral that miners generally leave untouched when discovered, so these locations are safe bets for these and other Pokemon to live. However, further observation showed that the Pokemon even took chunks of everstone with them when they left the area, suggesting that it was for the everstone that the Pokemon lived there and not necessarily the safety.
"Finally, we were lucky enough to watch the evolution of one of these Roggenrola. It joined my student's team soon afterwards, which allowed us to conduct some tests on it, and from those tests, we determined that though it had evolved somewhat later than expected for its species, the boost in strength, vitality, and overall constitution was greater due to the everstone's presence in its body and influence on its evolution."
"Huh," remarked Barry. There was a short silence as the three of them took in the information.
"Well, while that is interesting," Dawn said, "all we can really guess from that is that whoever took your research may now try to use everstones to increase the strength of their Pokemon, right?"
"There's little point in trying to make assumptions," said Rowan. "The bag was found abandoned, which likely means that either the thief didn't find what they were looking for, or already got what they wanted and no longer needed the bag. Either way, there's little left for us to do here, other than rely on Looker to try and determine who took it and why."
The uneasy silence fell once again. Claus wasn't sure about the other two, but he really did feel like he'd been useless. Sure, he'd shown the picture to Looker, but he hadn't even been the one to take the picture. Would anything have even changed had he been absent?
After a few seconds, Rowan stood and turned around to leave. Not facing the three of them, he spoke. "Thank you, all of you. It means a lot that you were willing to help me in a matter such as this. You are brave and kind, and smart when it comes to not needlessly endangering yourselves. I am glad to find that my decision to entrust you three with the Pokedex was not misplaced."
With that, the professor departed.
Yet another silence fell, this one the most awkward yet. Dawn and Barry looked at one another, concerned, and then at Claus. He decided immediately that it was time for him to leave.
"Well," said Claus breezily, slapping his hands on the table. "I'm gonna–"
"Claus," interrupted Barry. Claus shut up.
"Are you feeling all right?" Dawn asked, the worry in her eyes making Claus wish Groudon would conveniently open a crevice nearby so that he could hop right in, and not have to deal with… whatever this was. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to; I just that I couldn't help but offer. After all, you two have been so nice to me even in our short time knowing each other."
"She's right," said Barry seriously. "I won't make you cry on my shoulder or whatever, but you don't have to pretend you're fine. Everyone has their off days."
"I'm fine–"
"And if you tell us you're fine when you're clearly not," continued Barry with a glare, "I'll roast your eyebrows off. I'm not dumb."
Claus should have known better than to lie to Barry. He sighed. "Look, I know what you guys are gonna say. I know there's nothing more we could have done, and I know it turned out well enough in the end. My brain knows that, but the rest of me is still bummed about it, and I think some time training with my team and playing with Calypso will help me get my mind off of it."
Dawn and Barry both relaxed. "Calypso is cute as hell," agreed Barry. "You're probably right."
"She is truly an angel," said Dawn solemnly, and the three of them cracked a smile. The young Makuhita had grown on the three of them instantly whenever she wasn't sleeping. "We're always here to talk to you if you need it, Claus. And, of course, if there's ever something you want to just talk to Barry about, I wouldn't feel bad."
"That's not an issue," assured Claus. "I like you better than Barry anyways."
"Sure you do," drawled Barry, his concerned expression giving way to a smirk as he winked. Claus had really set himself up for that one. He flushed and prayed to Arceus that the two of them didn't notice. Those prayers seemingly went unanswered, however; Dawn tried unsuccessfully to hide her laughter as some sort of terrible coughing fit, while Barry didn't even try. His smirk had grown until it spread across his face.
"Whatever," Claus growled, spinning around, but his heart was already feeling lighter. "I'll see you guys later, when you're not bullying me."
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Here's a cooldown chapter after the stuff that went on in the last few. Looker and Rowan so fun to write, too. (Sorry for not shutting up about everstones, lol. If you didn't notice I do that sometimes.)
Barry is emotionally intelligent! also CLAUS AND BARRY SITTING IN A TRE G
See you next time for... a new POV character?