Chapter 272: Helpless
Xiu laid out his analysis for Director Bao Ba, detailing Team Rocket's feint towards Viridian City and their likely true objective: Celadon City, with Saffron as the ultimate prize. He finished, then waited for Bao Ba's reaction.
The Director was silent for a long moment, expression unreadable through the video feed. Finally, he spoke, his voice carefully neutral. "Is your source of information for this… credible, Xiu?"
"Not in the traditional sense, Director," Xiu admitted frankly. "This is my own deduction, a possibility pieced together from the available intelligence and an understanding of Team Rocket's methods. There's no hard proof."
A flicker of surprise, then a wry smile, crossed Bao Ba's face. "My, my, Xiu. A stint in the wider world certainly seems to have sharpened your tongue. You speak straight to the point now."
Xiu could only offer a bitter smile in return. "Let's focus on the situation at hand, Director. Can you notify Officer Jenny? Alert them to the potential threat to Celadon City? If that's inconvenient, please, just give me the authorization, and I'll make the contact myself."
Bao Ba didn't answer immediately. Instead, he countered with a question of his own. "You're working with Professor Oak, aren't you? Why come to me? Why not go through him?"
"The Professor has already accepted Nurse Joy's invitation to assist with the defense of Viridian City," Xiu explained. "The main force of the beast tide is heading there.
His attention is focused on that immediate threat. The League, Nurse Joy… their primary concern will be Viridian. If that city is breached, the consequences will be catastrophic.
Forcing the Celadon situation on him now… it would be too much. He's already stretched thin." And sometimes, Xiu added silently, being too kind and too willing to shoulder every burden will leave you open to be exploited.
Fortunately, it's a weakness I don't possess. "As recognized keepers of order, Director, Officer Jenny's network might be more receptive to this information, more capable of acting on it discreetly."
"To be honest, Xiu," Bao Ba said, leaning back in his chair, spreading his hands in a gesture of frustration, "even the Jennys can't easily interfere in Celadon's internal affairs without clear cause. And the League… they're not as oblivious as you might think.
They've already taken action, arranged for defense forces in all the major towns bordering Viridian Forest, including Celadon City, to resist the beast tide."
"Ah," Xiu sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. A feeling of helplessness washed over him. So, it's an open conspiracy then? Even if they know Team Rocket's true objective, they can't ignore the immediate threat of the beast tide.
They have to deploy forces to meet it, regardless of where it's headed. Giovanni has them trapped. He opened his eyes, looking directly at Bao Ba.
"Is there truly no way to resolve this beast tide situation cleanly, Director? To stop it before it reaches the cities?"
A bitter smile touched Bao Ba's lips. "If there were such a simple solution, Xiu, you and I wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?"
"Damn it!" Xiu gritted his teeth, a surge of frustration and anger rising within him. Giovanni, that bastard… this will all be laid at his feet eventually.
"Alright, Xiu, don't push yourself too hard," Bao Ba said, his voice softening slightly. "The situation is still unfolding. We'll investigate. The information you've provided… it's been very helpful. It gives us a new perspective."
"Well, keep me informed if there are any developments," Xiu replied, his voice flat. "This is all I can do from my end." He felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
If the beast tide couldn't be stopped, then all his strategies and carefully laid plans were ultimately meaningless.
Neither of them was in the mood for further pleasantries. The call ended quickly.
The computer screen went dark. The whirring of the cooling fan suddenly seemed deafening in the silence. The sounds of the night outside – the crickets, the wind in the trees – felt distant, muted.
Xiu sat there for a long time, the weight of the situation pressing down on him, a solemn, almost suffocating atmosphere filling the small living room.
The next morning, Xiu had just pushed open the warehouse door when he heard a cheerful voice. "You're late today!"
He glanced over. Daisy was sitting on the grass nearby, a breakfast basket at her side. "Good morning, Daisy," he replied casually. "It was too hot last night. Couldn't sleep."
Daisy didn't seem to doubt his explanation. She held out the basket. "Here. Breakfast for you and Xiaochun."
"Thank you." Xiu reached for the basket, but Daisy pulled it back slightly, her expression turning serious.
"What's wrong with you, Big Brother Xiu?" she asked, her brow furrowed with concern. "You've been in a trance these past few days. Distracted. Worried."
"Really? I hadn't noticed," Xiu deflected, avoiding her gaze. He released Abra and Scizor from their Poké Balls, beginning their morning routine.
Daisy watched him, a slight frown still on her face. Then, as if sensing something, she turned. Xiaochun stood silently at the warehouse entrance, watching them.
"Good morning, Xiaochun!" Daisy greeted her brightly, holding up the breakfast basket. "Come, eat!"
Xiaochun merely glanced at her, then her gaze shifted to Xiu, and she moved to stand beside him.
The Pidgey, looking noticeably plumper and healthier, hopped along behind her, its bandaged wing still held awkwardly, but its movements more confident than before. After weeks of Xiaochun's patient care, it had adapted to its injury.
They all went through their morning exercises with Daisy watching quietly, a thoughtful expression on her face.
Afterwards, she put down the breakfast basket and, to Xiu's surprise, went back to the warehouse, emerging a few minutes later with the feed buckets for the Pokémon in the backyard corrals.
"Let me," Xiu said, moving to take the heavy buckets from her as she approached.
Daisy, however, simply smiled and began distributing the feed herself, moving with a practiced, easy grace. Xiaochun, after a moment's hesitation, joined her, the two girls working together in comfortable silence.
Xiu watched them, a strange feeling stirring within him. He eventually sat down with his own Pokémon along with their assorted companions and shared a peaceful breakfast on the grass.
After they had eaten, Xiu put down his bowl and looked at Daisy. "Later today," he began, "I'll accompany you back to Pallet Town. You should pack your things, and Gary's. You'll both be staying here for the next few days."
"What?" Daisy looked up, startled. "What's happened, Big Brother Xiu?" She sensed the unspoken gravity in his tone.
Xiu maintained his casual demeanor, though his eyes were serious. "It's nothing major. The Professor asked me to look after you both while he's away.
But I can't keep running back and forth between here and town. It's more efficient if you stay here. Less distracting for my work."
Daisy, however, wasn't fooled. She frowned, her gaze sharp, searching. "Don't try to lie to me, Big Brother Xiu! I know something's wrong. What is it?"
Xiu stared at her for a long moment, then sighed, looking away towards the distant, hazy outline of Viridian Forest. "Alright," he said slowly.
"You know how every summer, the wild Pokémon in the forests become more… active? Territorial disputes, that sort of thing? The losing Pokémon often get driven out, forced to wander. Like those Fearow at Rinko-neechan's place."
He continued, his voice carefully neutral, "Well, it seems there's a particularly large migration happening in Viridian Forest right now. Professor Oak was called away to help manage the situation.
He asked me to ensure your safety. And frankly, with him gone and these disturbances… it's better if you're here, at the institute. Where I can keep an eye on things. It will lighten my burden considerably."
"A migration?" Daisy looked confused. "Why haven't I heard of this before?"
Xiu offered a humorless smirk. "Where do you live, Daisy? In a comfortable house in town. When have you ever truly experienced the wild? In previous years, when these minor migrations occurred, Professor Oak likely dealt with them discreetly, without alarming the townspeople. Without alarming you."
His words hit their mark. Daisy looked stunned, then thoughtful. What he said… it made a certain kind of sense.
Xiu, upon seeing Daisy's expression, knew his half-truths had landed home. Lies are too easily exposed, he reminded himself.
The most effective deceptions are always woven with threads of truth. He hadn't lied.
There were often increased territorial disputes among wild Pokémon in the summer with them being frequently driven out from their established territories.
The annual operations around the outskirts of Viridian City were a testament to that. He'd simply… omitted the scale, and the cause, of this particular migration.