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When Mai returned to the campfire, Luther and Dakota were already sharing stories about their training experiences and travels.
"You've been to Galar?"
Dakota's lips lifted slightly. "Yeah, I heard news about a certain Pokémon that I was very interested in, so I went to Galar specifically to track it down."
'He went there just to search for one Pokémon? Was he looking for Eternatus?'
Everyone called him "the legendary-catcher guy," but judging from Dakota's current team, he seemed more interested in exceptionally high-potential Pokémon.
He took out a Poké Ball, ready to release it, but suddenly thought of something and glanced at Mai.
"Your Corsola is shiny, right? This one looks a bit like hers. So I am not sure if you'll like it."
Mai was holding her Corsola by the horn and cleaning it. Hearing this, she looked over with curiosity. The Poké Ball hit the ground and out bounced a Corsola, completely pale with a lifeless, gloomy expression.
Mai's Corsola jumped in fright and immediately hid behind her.
"This is...a Corsola?" Mai was surprised.
"Strictly speaking, it's a form unique to the Galar region. It's similar to how Alola has regional forms," Dakota explained.
No wonder he was a competitive battler; he had traveled all the way to Galar just to get a Ghost-type Corsola.
Mai wanted to reach out and touch it, but Dakota stopped her.
"She still can't fully control her Ability. If you touch her recklessly, you might feel fatigued or numb where you touched."
Ghost Corsola tried very hard to smile at Mai, but it was basically just her gloomy face forcing the corners of her eyes upward, making her look even creepier.
"I thought Galar Pokémon weren't..."
"Allowed to be exported," Dakota finished for her, smiling. "I got her through special channels. If the Pokémon League saw her, they'd bombard me with questions and probably confiscate her."
"Normally, I never show her to anyone. But you're like me in that you have your own special channels, so it's fine."
Dakota stood up and poked the Milcery sitting on Metagross.
Luther immediately clarified, "My Milcery is from the Kalos region. A group of Pokémon egg merchants mixed up their batches and included a Galar-region egg by mistake. That's the only reason I have her."
Dakota nodded. "That's a good excuse. I think it would convince the Pokémon League. Mind if I borrow it? It never hurts to be prepared."
Luther held his forehead. "I'm telling the truth, and you still don't believe me?"
"Didn't you participate in the Galar Pokémon League tournament?"
Dakota scoffed. "Once you've met some of the Galar League's upper management, you'll see... they're arrogant. I didn't feel like staying there."
Luther felt like he had heard something similar from Cynthia before.
Was there some kind of geopolitical rift in the Pokémon world? A hierarchy of disdain within the Pokémon League?
Corsola felt as if she were looking into a mirror. The only difference was that the Corsola in front of her was just too miserable.
No matter how hard Mai's Corsola tried to cheer her up, the ghost Corsola's expression always remained gloomy. Even when she smiled, it looked like she was about to cry.
Salamence was helpless, too. The Ghost Corsola had been on the team for a long time, yet Salamence could never read any emotion on her face, only sorrow.
As the big brother of the team, Salamence had tried to communicate with her many times out of concern. She always spoke positively, but one look at her face made Salamence feel like she was brushing him off.
Chikorita on the other hand wasn't afraid of Ghost Corsola at all.
Carrying Milcery, she left the giant "toy" Metagross behind and stared at the pale, gloomy-looking Corsola glowing faintly in the dark as if she had just found a new treasure.
Milcery wanted to pounce on Ghost Corsola and snuggle with her, but Ghost Corsola pushed her away with a gentle burst of psychic energy, shaking her head desperately.
Noticing Milcery's confused expression, Ghost Corsola tapped the Poké Ball beside her and quickly hid inside.
Although Luther and Dakota were chatting, they noticed the whole scene.
Dakota sighed before speaking. "Can't help it. She just needs more experience. Until then, she still can't control it properly."
"Is it really that hard? My Milcery can control the scent coming off her body perfectly." Luther was puzzled.
"I've heard from people who are experienced in raising Corsola in Galar that it's usually not this difficult. But this one just can't do it, no matter what. I don't know why. I can only give her more time. What else can I do? I'm really quite fond of her."
Luther had expected someone as selective as Dakota to say, "If she can't handle it, I'll just leave her at home," or even, "Then I'll release her."
But giving a Pokémon time was a kindness Ghost Corsola rarely experienced.
Luther and Dakota talked late into the night. Mai couldn't fight her sleepiness and went to bed first. She briefly woke up once, hazy-eyed, and saw the two of them still talking with the same energy they had when she fell asleep... laughing and exchanging stories.
The two Darkrai stood guard quietly for both trainers.
The next morning, Luther's eyelids felt impossibly heavy. A nutritious egg from Chansey rolled across his face, and he couldn't help but yawn and want to fall back asleep.
Dakota wasn't planning to travel with Luther. He wanted to resume searching for Latios.
"I found his trail on an island near Sunyshore City and tracked him for a long time. I finally predicted his route and had my Pokémon surround him, but he escaped."
"Looks like this time, luck wasn't on my side. Maybe I underestimated how strong Latios's instinct to avoid humans is."
Luther only remembered now. Hadn't he essentially erased Dakota's Latios from existence? Was one of Pikachu's classic "slay-the-legendary" moments rewritten because of him?
'Forget it. He had already changed so many things in this world. What was one more?'
In reality, Dakota saying he was going to chase Latios again was almost self-deception. With Latios's speed and tendency to avoid humans entirely after being targeted for capture, it was definitely on high alert.
"The Lily of the Valley Conference starts in about four months. The gym near Sunyshore is actually pretty easy. If you send out Darkrai, you can sweep through it and have more time to polish your team."
Luther smiled silently. Using Darkrai to sweep through Gyms would be fast, but it wouldn't help Luther develop his battle system.
Besides, he hadn't even properly caught Darkrai yet. Having him storm gyms was probably not a good idea. It would be better to keep him as a trump card against the Rabble.
After breakfast, Dakota and Luther gave each other a quick fist bump and headed off in opposite directions.
(End of this chapter)