"Garde~"
In the room, Gardevoir had already let go of her bite, but her arms were now crossed over her chest, clearly giving Elias the cold shoulder.
To be honest, since that full moon night years ago, she hadn't felt fear like she did today.
Yes—fear.
Gardevoir had believed that, with her current strength, she could protect Elias well enough that he wouldn't get hurt again.
But now… she realized she'd been wrong. There were still powers in the world beyond her understanding, powers that could hurt Elias.
Just thinking about it filled her with frustration and helplessness.
Seeing Gardevoir suddenly deflate like that, Elias had a rough idea of what she was thinking.
He reached out, gently enclosing her small hand in his own, and said softly:
"Don't overthink it. Gardevoir, you're already strong enough to protect me."
"And besides... Pokémon and Trainers rely on each other. You used to understand that so well—but lately, you've been a bit too forceful."
"So how about you let your Trainer shoulder a little of that burden too, hmm?"
While gently rubbing her soft, warm hand, Elias spoke with complete sincerity.
This was something he'd been meaning to say to her for days now.
Since their reunion, Gardevoir had been… a bit too overbearing.
It probably stemmed from a lack of security on her part, but Elias hoped she could learn to lean on him a little more.
At his words, Gardevoir blinked, as if surprised that he'd say something like that.
Then she slowly lifted her head, her watery eyes locking with his serious gaze.
For a moment, it felt like she'd gone back to the days when she was still just a Ralts.
That familiar feeling washed over her, and she instinctively squinted her eyes in contentment.
After a brief pause, she finally let out a soft sound of assent.
"Garde. (Okay.)"
As she leaned her body gently into Elias' chest, her tone grew lazy and drowsy.
Elias didn't move either. He simply held her like that, sitting quietly in place.
After a while, the sound of soft, rhythmic breathing came from his arms—a clear sign she had fallen fast asleep.
---
Meanwhile, across the hallway—
Unlike the serene and peaceful atmosphere in Elias' room, the guest room where Latios was staying was anything but calm.
More accurately… it was Mew talking nonstop, completely fired up.
Latios let out an almost imperceptible yawn, his gaze filled with quiet resignation as he watched Mew ramble on about Gardevoir's weaknesses.
At first, when Mew started explaining the reason behind Elias' resurrection and floated the "Arceus theory," Latios had actually found it pretty interesting.
But not long after that, the conversation veered completely off-course—Mew began trying to recruit him to help drive Gardevoir away.
To that, Latios could only think: Wishful thinking.
So what if you knew her weaknesses?
Gardevoir wasn't exactly a rare species—her vulnerabilities were already public knowledge. One quick search on any battle forum and you'd find countless entries.
The real problem was…
Elias' Gardevoir was in a completely different league.
Take [Dazzling Gleam], for instance—when she used it, it was more like a solar flare. How are you supposed to win against that?
So instead of absorbing Mew's chatter, Latios found himself thinking about something else entirely.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he discreetly sized up the floating feline before him.
This cat… so glib, and on the very first day they met, already spilling so many of Gardevoir's weaknesses?
If his sister—Latias—regained her rightful position, wouldn't she be facing the exact same problem?
And knowing how pure and trusting Latias was, what if this dumb cat actually tricked her?
For his sister's sake… this Mew can't be allowed to stay.
With that thought, a small, unreadable smile appeared on Latios' face as he waved a paw to Mew.
"Mew, I've got a plan for tomorrow. Want to hear it?"
Meeting her puzzled look, he spoke kindly.
"Mew?"
Mew, whose mouth was going dry from talking, tilted her head. Her instincts told her this probably wasn't anything good.
But her curiosity got the better of her—and she nodded.
---
The next morning, Elias slowly woke up in his room.
After Gardevoir had fallen asleep in his arms last night, it hadn't taken long for him to doze off too—still sitting upright.
He didn't even need to guess—his back and waist were definitely going to be killing him today.
Gritting his teeth, Elias slowly got to his feet.
But to his surprise, his body didn't ache at all. In fact, it felt unusually light.
And that's when he noticed—at some point, someone had tucked a blanket over him.
Looking around and not seeing Gardevoir anywhere in the room, Elias could easily guess who was responsible.
"…If you're looking for a wife, you really should pick someone like Gardevoir."
Stretching with a sigh, he muttered to himself in genuine appreciation.
But just as the words left his mouth, the wooden door to the room opened.
"Garde? (Not sleeping a bit longer?)" Gardevoir asked, cheeks tinged pink.
Clearly, she'd heard that last part.
"Morning, Gardevoir."
Elias gave a light cough, his face calm as he greeted her.
Then, glancing at the clock, he shook his head and said,
"No more sleep—I'll end up snoozing past noon at this rate."
He had a meeting scheduled with Lance today. More importantly—Latias was probably arriving soon.
At that thought, Elias' expression grew more serious.
He looked over at Gardevoir and asked gently,
"Gardevoir, when Latias gets here, let me talk to her alone first. Just the two of us."
"Is that okay?"
His reunion with this "mother" figure was something Elias took very seriously.
And he believed Latias likely felt the same.
Upon hearing that, Gardevoir stiffened slightly.
But seeing the hopeful look in Elias' eyes, she puffed her cheeks in protest—and reluctantly nodded.
"Garde garde… (If she even has the guts to show up. Don't celebrate too soon.)"
Seeing Elias break into a smile, Gardevoir added a pointed remark.
The two messages sent to Latias were both written exactly as she instructed.
The point was to see whether Latias had the courage to come looking for Elias—even knowing it might be a trap.
If that alone scared her off, then there was no need to waste time on her.
Even that dumb cat would've shown up without hesitation in a situation like this.
---
...
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