The boy and the girl weren't the only people talking about these sudden night attacks.

All around the town, the same tale of people getting attacked was being passed around with some elements missing and some added drama.

It wasn’t all for the sake of spreading despair and fear, though. A city-wide panic would let him feed upon the people’s fear, keeping his HP Regeneration Rate higher using Fear Absorption Ability. However, it was all in the preparation of the plan he needed to carry out after returning from New Bark Town where Professor Elm was.

A more important reason was the Soul Points. By now, Kai’s nightly adventures had given him 3.3 Soul Points, collectively.

"Let's go," the boy said. "I hope they won't cancel the race."

"Yeah…" the girl trailed off, standing up. Suddenly, she slipped, and fell back. Flailing her hands, she gripped the first thing her fingers came into contact with.

Kai's wrist.

He could have avoided it if it wasn't for the stiffness because of resisting the urge to devour.

For him to master his hunger for the Blood Essences, Kai must remain calm and composed, without making much movement. This was one way the Blood Essence Cultivators used to maser their beastly urges in his previous life. Recognizing that he was going through something like that, Kai hadn't waited to implement his theory.

So when her hand came to rest on his wrist, Kai didn't move and just behaved as a normal person.

"Sorry," the girl said, the boy helping her up. When she let go of Kai's wrist, she brought her hand to her face and touched her cheek. Her green eyes were staring at him hard, Kai could tell. "Your hand…" she whispered. "It's so cold."

Kai lifted his head. Behind the black shades, two hazel reptilian slits narrowed.

Selene sent out another burst of soul-chilling coldness, preventing his skin from becoming red hot, and the scalding steam returned to him as summer sweat.

Boa Constrictor's Blood Essence had gotten no rest in the last three days.

Kai had been using Snake Instinct constantly. Now, he only needed one good battle to level up this Ability to Advance, he knew. Moreover, Kai needed to learn to use his Glitch transformation without being noticed if he would need to.

The answer was to let Selene use Soul Chill from time to time with just enough intensity to bring down the rising heat and color of his body.

The calming of his voracious appetite to devour Pokemon had come as an unexpected but not unwelcome outcome. Now that Selene was resting just left of the thing within his chest, above his heart, her coldness was also positively affecting the sudden hunger pangs of his Glitch.

"Umm, thank you!" the girl said, bowing a little.

Kai smiled at her and nodded. -Go. Follow them.-

A mass of silver mist left his back and disappeared underground. Selene didn't need eyes to follow the prey on the ground. Her Skill, Earth Vibration Sense, let her sense and differentiate between all vibrations in a 100-meter radius using the sensory organ under her head.

-Remember the path- Kai hissed out a warning.

The next target was already set.

*

*

10:00 pm, June 7

Alto Mare

A half-moon stood proudly in the sky and the Water City shone silver under it.

Tonight was a special night.

It was the time of Summer Acqua Alta (High Water), a name for Alto Mare's exceptional tide peaks that occurred biannually. Certain geological and astronomical reasons would cause partial flooding of the city with overflowing canals. The water on the walkways besides all the canals almost reached the ankles during these times.

If someone were to look from the sky, the city would look like a submerged island with houses jutting out of the ocean. The reflection of the moonlight made the town look like nothing short of a celestial city.

Sitting at the top of one of the Guardian Columns of Alto Mare, Kai marveled at the beautiful sight, and the vistas of horror and terror hidden under the moonlit, watery layer over it. The last two days had turned out to be almost uneventful for him. Locals, along with Police, had organized a Volunteer Task Force to apprehend the criminals committing such heinous crimes.

The result was, in the last two days, Kai had only attacked 3 more elderly and careless locals, all with a bug or some flying-type Pokemon, giving him some 1.7 Soul Points. It was another matter of attacking someone without Pokemon, like the first guard. Now that hundreds of people were voluntarily patrolling the laneways with their Pokemon, Kai had to be more prudent about his prey.

Tonight I will compensate for the lost Soul Points, Kai thought. If it all works out as I have planned, then I will also get a Milestone.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

The period of abstaining from speaking had brought some benefits to him. Now at least when he thought to himself he wasn't using Parseltongue. The issues with his Emotions Manipulation and Blood Devour had also curbed substantially. Unlike his fits from the first time, now he could hold his own if he were to be thrown among a crowd of young Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon.

The only thing that had come to him as a surprise was the identity of the boy's big brother.

Ross. A main-storyline character from the movie.

In the movie, he was the reigning champion of the Tour de Alto Mare (the Water Chariot Race) before Misty, with the help of her Pokemon, Corsola, broke his winning streak. Ross then gave Ash and his friends a tour of the city on his gondola (a flat-bottomed rowing boat). But these weren't the reasons for Kai to become adamant about hunting this character.

It was his Pokemon, Wailmer.

In the movie, he had seen it. But the Pokemon Card told him much more about it. Wailmer was a water-type Pokemon, looking like a spherical whale with no tail. With a blue top and tanned grooves on its underbelly, it was a massive Pokemon weighing over 100 kg. It could store water within it and use it to bounce around. Its major attacks were Water Gun, Whirlpool, and Dive.

Kai wanted to devour its soul.

Then he would store it in his Inventory as a long-term food source for Selene.

…

[

Party Member Morning Mist is requesting a Video Call…

]

…

Kai frowned. He had specifically instructed Meg last time to only contact him using Origami. He couldn't afford to talk to anyone right now. Especially not to a Contestant.

If she is contacting me despite that, then there must be some good reason, Kai thought and accepted the video call.

A holographic video screen appeared in front of him. He could see Meg sitting in her room, surrounded by what seemed like dozens of Origamis. Little birds, bugs, and tiny worms were roaming around her.

She is a dangerous woman, Kai had concluded. He didn't look down on her because she was weak. No Ability was weak, at least not an Advance one. What mattered was how much it suited a Contestant.

"A team of Order's Contestants has joined the Volunteer Task Force" - Meg said.

So? Kai raised an eyebrow. He had no interest in hunting 3rd-floor Contestants. This too, he had let her know.

"I am going for them tonight. If I were to need help, can I count on you?" - the beauty almost requested.

Kai shook his head. Why the hell would he deviate from his plans? He would hunt Ross and his Pokemon, and tomorrow he would leave the town for weeks. Plain and clear.

Morning Mist bit her lips.

"I will pay you. All my experience and knowledge about any world that I know, in exchange for one instance of your help" - Meg said, proudly.

Kai smiled. That was enough for him. Everything had its price, and these days his time was the costliest. As Meg permitted herself a smile, Kai cut off the video call and stood up. He was wearing a white t-shirt, with the logo of Eon Pokemon. This was the wear of volunteers.

He had also joined the Volunteer Task Force, of course.

Kai let out a vile grin, looked down, and jumped.

*

*

Ross was a carefree and passionate young man.

But the events of these last few days had scarred his thoughts and his love for this town's history. He rowed his gondola, followed by his Pokemon, Wailmer, by his side.

"Wail… mer…" the Pokemon came up the canal and expelled a jet of water through the blowhole on the top of its head.

"What?" Ross asked, becoming wary. "Did you see something, Wailmer?"

"Wail… wail…" the Pokemon gave out two low shouts and then swam forward, asking Ross to follow it.

After a few turns, finally, Ross heard it too. A shout. Someone was asking for help. He looked back and noticed that he had stirred off from the other volunteers who were following him. No. He couldn't waste time going back. He gave a hard push using the oar and put the nose of his gondola for a run.

"HELP… HERE!"

Then he saw her. No, he saw them. A boy and girl were stranded on a flooded walkway some distance away and were flailing their hands to catch his attention. The moonlight struck their clothing then, and Ross noticed they were volunteers. Taking a sigh of relief, he rowed towards them, Wailmer already approaching the edge of the canal.

"What happened?" Ross asked. They seemed unfamiliar. Foreigners, maybe? That’s kind of them to help, he thought, noticing the Volunteer Task Force’s t-shirts on them. One was a white-haired boy, who smiled joyfully looking at him. The other one was a blond girl. It was she who had been shouting for help.

"Oh, thank you!" the girl said, smiling. "We saw something off the corner and left our gondola at the bank to take a look. When we returned, it wasn't here anymore. I was so scared."

"Haha!" Ross laughed. "You don't just leave the gondola at the canal's bank. Come. You two are soaking wet." The white-haired boy said nothing, Ross noticed. He just followed the girl and came over into his gondola.

"Thank you," the girl said, cheerfully. "I am Shae. He is my cousin, Arlen. And you…"

For the first time, the girl showed some apprehension. Ross couldn't help but shake his head. What had the times come to? Foreigners hesitating to ask for help in Alto Mare? "I am Ross," he said, coolly. "You must know me from the Tour de Alto Mare… I was the champion from last to last year."

The girl gasped. "Oh! I know you," she said, looking at her cousin. "My cousin is a big fan of the race. That's why we had come to the town. To watch the event."

The white-haired boy nodded. "Just watch?" Ross asked, raising his eyebrows. "Come to think of it, why haven't you two taken out your Pokemon? Officer Jenny said we must have our Pokemon out."

The girl ruefully smiled. "I… I don't have any," she said. "My cousin has one, but it's not a water-type. He doesn't like to keep it in the Pokeball , so it's always out."

"Huh?" Ross was shocked. He couldn't see it. Where was the Pokemon?

"Wailmerrr…" Suddenly Wailmer cried, and Ross lifted his head to the boat's stern. There sat a white snake-like Pokemon, coiled around the boat's curved tip. "Wow! It's so beautiful," Ross exclaimed. "Which Pokemon is this?"

Again, the girl answered. "It's a Ghost Serpent from our village," she said. "My cousin can't speak. So…"

Oh! Ross remembered his manners and didn't prod about it too much.

Suddenly, the white-haired boy leaned over and nudged the girl's elbow. The girl blushed. "Umm," she mumbled, hesitating. "Ross, Arlen is asking if you are interested in a Pokemon Battle?"

Pokemon Battle?! Ross frowned. Now?!!

"See, I told you!" the girl rebuked her cousin. "Ugh! Sorry, Ross. Arlen is a battle freak. He was so excited when we came here. But then, these things happened. And now… Sigh! Too much gloom sometimes rises in his head. Don't worry!"

Ross felt a pang of pain. Why couldn't he see so himself? This was the essence of Pokemon Training, wasn't it? Why should they give up on who they were because of some filthy criminal?

"Of course!" Ross said, finally feeling good. "Let us battle, why not?"

For the first time, the white-haired boy grinned. Even the snake-type Pokemon lifted its hood and hissed.

It, too, looked as if it was grinning.

A creepy, snaky laugh.