"Eli.. Elias, it's really you?"
Even though Elias had already admitted it just moments ago, Latios still couldn't quite believe what was happening before his eyes.
His voice trembled, and he carefully reached out a hand to touch Elias's skin, as if afraid the man might vanish into thin air at any moment.
"It's really me."
Elias responded with a hint of helplessness.
Thanks to Lance and Milotic's enthusiastic assists, he didn't even have the chance to deny it anymore—might as well just own up to it.
The good news, though—Latios seemed too overwhelmed with emotion to notice the Gardevoir clinging to him.
And thankfully, there didn't appear to be any shared vision with Latias.
That let Elias breathe a small sigh of relief. Otherwise, this would be a full-blown headache.
On the other side, Lance had walked closer by now, finally spotting the Latios who'd stormed off earlier.
Not only that—he also caught sight of the little exchange between Latios and his old friend.
A spark of curiosity flickered in his heart.
"Elias, you and Latios know each other?" he asked aloud.
At that question, everyone nearby turned to look.
After all, it was pretty obvious—Latios, a legendary Pokémon, had reacted far too emotionally upon seeing Elias.
"Ah... yeah, Latios is a friend I met a few years ago back in the Hoenn region."
"Right, Latios?"
Feeling Gardevoir's narrowed gaze on him, Elias's smile grew stiff. He reached out and patted Latios's wing, returning the question with a smile of his own.
"Hmm?"
Still overwhelmed with confusion, Latios paused.
His mind was drowning in a hundred questions—like how Elias was alive...
Why he was here...
And more than anything, why he hadn't come to find him and Latias.
One after another, each question burned inside him—he needed answers.
But just as he was about to speak, Elias's casual pat on his wing made him swallow his words.
And for good reason—he'd just noticed that Gardevoir. The overpowered one.
She was standing there with her arms crossed and a faint smile on her face, watching him.
But though her lips were curved upward, Latios could sense an unmistakable chill behind those narrowed eyes.
Instinct screamed: Now is not the time to explain too much.
"Latios!"
With that thought in mind, Latios quickly nodded and played along with Elias's explanation.
But even though Latios cooperated, Elias knew Gardevoir probably didn't buy a single word of it.
Resigned, he gently squeezed Gardevoir's soft hand and whispered:
"I'll explain everything when we get home."
At his words, Gardevoir finally relaxed a little—looking quite satisfied, as though Elias's promise had soothed all her doubts.
But as the two of them interacted, Latios found himself growing increasingly bewildered.
For some reason, as he stared at the shiny Gardevoir, a single word popped into his mind—stolen.
And along with that word, a certain name surfaced unbidden—Latias.
Latias got stolen?
When that phrase formed in his mind, Latios frowned, sensing something wasn't quite right.
He mentally rearranged the words—and suddenly jolted in realization.
My sister got outplayed?!
Looking at the scene before him—Elias and Gardevoir standing close together, interacting naturally—it was exactly the image he'd once fantasized about with Tias and Elias.
And as if fate wanted to make it worse, another thought struck him like a bolt of cold lightning.
—If Elias was here, safe and sound, and the Infinity Flute was in his hands…
Then all those flute calls Latios had painstakingly debunked...
Ssssssshhh...
Latios couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
Latias had asked more than once to come check things out herself.
But at the time, Latios had been completely convinced that Elias was gone. He'd written those flute calls off as traps set by poachers.
Not only had he repeatedly turned down Latias's requests...
He'd even made a big show of confidence—promising to share vision with her so she could personally witness him wreck those "poachers."
And yet...
Now it looked like those flute calls were much more likely to have come from Elias.
If Latias found out that he'd blocked her over and over again and mocked the real thing as a fake...
Well, the one who'd get obliterated wouldn't be some poachers.
Gulp~
Latios swallowed nervously.
No—there was still time. This wasn't over yet. He couldn't just sit around and wait to die!
As Elias gave him a confused look, Latios's eyes slowly began to blaze with resolve.
---
Meanwhile, somewhere in Hoenn—inside a two-story villa...
Latias, in her human form, lay barefoot and sprawled across a bed.
This was the home she once shared with Elias—and she'd never abandoned it.
On the contrary, whenever Latios was away and the loneliness crept in, she'd always return here.
As if... coming back could somehow return her to the time when he was still here.
"What's my brother doing?"
Latias frowned, tapping through her phone.
She was browsing the latest League news when one particular article caught her eye:
—"Legendary Pokémon Spotted at Saffron City Train Station"
Latios had mentioned his itinerary in advance, so even without clicking the link, Tias could already guess—the "legendary Pokémon" in the headline had to be him.
Sure enough, once she opened the article, the first image to load was a familiar figure in blue and white.
Confirmed.
She immediately furrowed her brows in disapproval.
She distinctly remembered telling Latios to stay hidden in crowded areas.
But from the looks of it, he hadn't listened at all—and now he'd made the news.
With a huff, Latias turned her eyes back to the photo.
She wanted to know exactly what had prompted Latios to reveal himself.
As she zoomed in on the image, the phone's limited screen size couldn't show the full photo at once.
So she started from the right side.
After a few swipes, the first thing that appeared—
Was a tall, elegant Pokémon, also clad in blue and white.
"…A shiny Gardevoir?"
The image was pixelated from the zoom, but Latias still managed to recognize her.
Her brows pulled tighter.
Not because of Fairy-type versus Dragon-type instinct, no—something else.
For some reason, she feels like a rival...
"Probably just my imagination."
She muttered to herself and kept swiping left.
She didn't have to swipe far.
Because the next figure was practically glued to the Gardevoir's side.
---
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This is a fan translation of 养老婆见多了,第一次见养boss的 by 是阴哦. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!