Seeing that Mew was motioning for him to continue, Latios took a deep breath.
Now we'll see just how dumb this pink puff really is…
Meeting her eyes, he slowly began:
"Would you say Elias is strong by Pokémon standards?"
"I mean compared to you or Gardevoir."
Mew clearly hadn't expected that question — it seemed completely out of left field. She blinked in confusion for a second, but soon began seriously considering it.
Elias had psychic powers, after all. Among humans, he was one in a million.
Years ago, his telekinesis had even rivaled that of many Pokémon — enough that Mew once wondered if he was a Pokémon in disguise.
But…
When compared to Pokémon like herself or Gardevoir, Elias was still a bit short of that level. And maybe due to the injuries he'd sustained during that battle with Pryce, his psychic abilities had weakened quite a bit since then.
The thought brought a twinge of guilt to Mew's eyes.
It's our fault, she thought. If Gardevoir and I had protected him properly back then, maybe he'd be even stronger now…
With that regret swirling in her heart, Mew shook her head in response to Latios's question.
Seeing that, Latios's eyes lit up.
Bingo!
He cleared his throat and continued:
"Exactly. Elias's strength doesn't quite compare to Pokémon like us."
"But!"
"I've personally witnessed my sister being grabbed by both wrists, pushed down onto the bed by Elias, and not even able to struggle."
"Tell me, doesn't that prove how weak she is? If she couldn't even fight off a human like Elias?"
Latios spoke righteously, as if presenting hard evidence in court.
Right now, his survival depended entirely on just how gullible this pink idiot was.
But…
Mew stared at him blankly for a moment.
Then slowly, a twisted little grin curled onto her face.
Does this jet-brained moron think I was born yesterday?
Getting pushed down by Elias and getting knocked down in a fight are two completely different things!
By that logic, Gardevoir must not be very strong either — after all, she also lets Elias "handle" her freely.
Her glare darkened, and Latios instinctively swallowed hard.
He wanted to flee, but…
Too late.
Mew narrowed her eyes, claws gleaming, and dashed forward with a cold grin on her face — right into Latios's despair.
---
Elsewhere...
Just before sunset, Elias's conversation with Lance had finally wrapped up.
"There's still a lot to deal with back at the League, so I'll get going. Catch you next time," Lance said, finally getting to release his beloved Dragonite now that they were out in the open.
"Sure. See you," Elias replied, not trying to keep him.
As he swung up onto Dragonite's back, Lance pulled out his phone and glanced at it. "Still no word from Cynthia," he said. "But once she gets back to me, I'll let you know. You can ask her about Team Galactic — she definitely knows more than I do."
Elias nodded.
As long as he could pinpoint Galactic's bases and operations, wiping them out would just be a matter of time.
Their overall strength was nothing compared to Team Rocket. Without the help of Dialga or Palkia, they weren't a real threat.
After seeing Lance off, Elias and his two companions, Gardevoir and Tias, strolled leisurely back to the gym.
"Elias, I'm gonna go find my brother."
Latias had suddenly remembered — there was still a certain idiot sibling hiding from her.
Just thinking about how shifty and evasive he'd been when she asked about that tip-off earlier made her blood boil.
"Alright. Latios's room is on the second floor."
Elias helpfully pointed her in the right direction.
"Mm." Tias nodded, then floated upstairs.
But not before shooting Gardevoir a sharp warning glare — a don't you dare try anything while I'm gone kind of look.
"Hmph."
Gardevoir snorted quietly, unamused.
She kind of missed the days when Mew was her only rival. Back then, all she had to do was deal with that dumb cat, and she could do whatever she wanted with Elias.
But now… opportunities were rare.
Elias, watching Gardevoir's sulky expression, couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips.
Still, he hadn't forgotten what he needed to discuss.
After a moment, he organized his thoughts and asked gently:
"Gardevoir, do you still have any intel on Team Galactic?"
"You worked with them before — I figured you might've kept some of it."
At his question, Gardevoir's brow furrowed slightly.
"Gaaarde? (Do we really have to wipe them out?)"
To her, Team Galactic had been a handy tool — and she'd originally planned to keep them around.
If she ever needed to capture Dialga or Palkia again, they'd be useful.
But if Elias didn't like them, then… wiping them out wouldn't be impossible either.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, she suddenly felt a warm hand gently take her own.
Looking up, she saw Elias leading her by the hand toward his room.
"G-Gaarde~ (I-It's not even dark yet...)"
Blushing furiously, Gardevoir stammered, a flustered look spreading across her face.
Elias froze for a beat, then sighed and lightly tapped her on the forehead.
"What are you thinking?"
Under her confused gaze, he led her to his desk, pulled open a drawer, and laid out a stack of documents.
"These are the files I brought specifically for the gym. Remember?" Elias asked.
Gardevoir nodded. She remembered clearly — they were the same materials he'd asked her for back when he was in Johto.
So...
"Gaaarde? (Is there something wrong with these?)"
She tilted her head, puzzled.
The information in those files was fairly straightforward — a complete breakdown of Team Galactic's method for capturing Dialga and Palkia.
She'd even double-checked the process herself. There hadn't been any obvious errors.
Elias wasn't surprised by her confusion.
The documents Team Galactic had given her were indeed detailed — outlining everything from the summoning locations to the necessary conditions for calling the time-space dragons.
Authenticity-wise, they seemed flawless.
But—
There was one thing the files didn't mention: the red chain — the key item needed to control Dialga and Palkia.
Elias didn't believe that omission was a coincidence or a simple oversight.
Team Galactic, he thought darkly, probably never intended to truly cooperate with Gardevoir in the first place.
---
T/N: CYNTHIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
also sorgee updates for friday and saturday are this late teehee
...
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