Let's go Pikachu! Part 2

Part three-finding Lillie's mom

Lillie continued pacing back and forth, her face pale with worry. "Three days. It's been three whole days since we've heard from her. Please tell me I'm not hallucinating."

Looker crossed his arms, his expression grim. "Unfortunately, you're not. Mia has vanished without a trace."

Blue, sitting beside Red and rubbing his back in a rare moment of comfort, looked up sharply. "Come on," he protested. "There's no way a ten-year-old girl can just... vanish. Not Mia."

Red's eyes were downcast, his hands clenched into fists. Even without words, his distress was palpable.

The door to the Pokémon Center opened, and Gary strode in, Jolteon trotting by his side, its fur bristling with static. His expression was serious. "Welp," he announced, "I can't find her. And neither can Jolteon."

"Jolty," Rosa corrected absently, her brow furrowed in concern.

Gary shook his head. "Nah. That's just the nickname Mimi gave him."

Rosa blinked. "Wait, seriously? I always thought that was his actual name."

Gary sighed. "Yeah, she just decided one day that Jolteon wasn't cute enough and renamed him. He's been Jolty ever since."

Lillie wrung her hands. "This isn't the time to talk about nicknames! What if she's hurt or worse?"

"She's not dead," Red said suddenly, his voice hoarse but firm.

Everyone turned to him, startled. His rare words hung in the air like a vow.

Blue nodded. "You're right. This is Mia we're talking about. She's too stubborn to go down without a fight."

Gary's jaw tightened. "But where could she be? Jolty and I searched every place she usually goes, and there's nothing. It's like she just... disappeared."

Looker frowned. "Then we need to widen the search. If Mia isn't in her usual spots, that means she went somewhere unexpected."

"Somewhere dangerous," Lillie whispered.

Gary's eyes darkened. "And we're going to find her."

Suddenly the Pokemon Center doors opened.

Paulo hurried inside, his brow furrowed with urgency. "Guys, think," he said, his voice cutting through the anxious chatter. "Who were the last people to see Mia?"

Misty and Rosa exchanged uneasy glances. Misty spoke first, her voice low. "Me and Rosa."

Paulo's eyes sharpened. "Okay, tell us everything you remember."

Rosa swallowed hard. "It was four in the morning. She woke up, grabbed Pikachu and her bag, went to the Aether Foundation building."

"Four in the morning?" Blue echoed incredulously. "Why would she do that?"

"She said she knew the place like the back of her hand," Misty added. "She insisted she'd be fine and told us to go back home. Said she'd be back in an hour."

Gary's jaw clenched. "And you just let her go?"

Misty flinched but stood her ground. "She was determined, Gary! We couldn't stop her."

Rosa's voice cracked. "But... as you can see, it's been three days, and she's still not back."

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Paulo's face darkened. "She went alone. To a dangerous place. In the middle of the night."

Gary slammed his fist on the counter. "I knew she was reckless, but this—this is beyond reckless! What was she thinking?!"