Hearsay

Leaf returns to Mount Moon under the guise of writing a human-interest story on the dig site, but her real objective is unraveling the timeline of the Renegade Yuuta's death. Through a painstaking series of casual interviews with paleontologists and ACE security, she triangulates three facts: an ACE trainer named Daniel Levi was guarding Yuuta, Misty was allegedly delayed in a meeting, and Daniel vanished from the staff roster immediately after the incident. A sudden Tier 1 crisis in Celadon City—a massive swarm of grimer and muk—temporarily distracts her, especially when Laura Verres refuses to evacuate in favor of observing the disaster. The event crystallizes Leaf's own growing desire to be on the front lines of emergencies.

Back on the mountain, Leaf's probing draws the suspicion of Director Zapata, who briefly fears corporate espionage before Leaf secures the personnel files. With enough circumstantial evidence, Leaf confronts Ranger Sasaki, bluffing that she knows Misty didn't execute Yuuta. Sasaki stonewalls her, but the gambit triggers a response from the highest level: Gym Leader Giovanni is waiting outside Leaf's door.

In a masterclass of asymmetric negotiation, Giovanni never once gives Leaf his full attention, casually reading his phone while dismantling her leverage. He confirms the broad strokes—Yuuta was murdered before Misty arrived, Daniel is under house arrest, and the killer was a saboteur intending to derail the excavation's funding, not a fellow Renegade. Giovanni frames Leaf's potential article as playing directly into the terrorists' hands and offers to buy her data, effectively bribing her to stay silent for six months. Outmaneuvered and recognizing the genuine risk of compromising an ongoing investigation, Leaf wavers but ultimately concedes. Giovanni departs abruptly, leaving Leaf with the unsettling realization that she has been perfectly managed.