Elias had to admit, when he saw the ssage about Cynthia's disappearance, his brain short-circuited a little.
This was Cynthia they were talking about—the official Champion of the Sinnoh region, a top-tier trainer standing at the pinnacle.
At least on paper, Cynthia was considered Sinnoh's strongest.
And not just in Sinnoh. Even among Champions, her strength ranked among the very best.
How could soone like her vanish into thin air?
Don't tell she ran into another kind of Bertha…?
Still puzzled, Elias shot back a reply to Lance:
[Cynthia's missing? What happened?]
Rather than believe in the unlikely event that Cynthia had actually been kidnapped or injured, Elias was more inclined to think she'd just gotten absorbed in exploring so newly discovered ruins and forgotten to check in.
Lance quickly followed up with the full story.
According to the Sinnoh League, Cynthia had taken her Garchomp and headed out two weeks ago to investigate a newly unearthed ruin site.
And then… radio silence. No contact. Even the communications device she carried had failed to reconnect.
With no other option, the League ford a new search team to explore the ruins—but they found no trace of her.
It was after this that Lance, having received no response to his earlier ssages, called the League directly for answers.
[The Sinnoh League's practically losing their minds over this. A missing Champion? That's a major incident no matter where you are.]
That was how Lance ended his ssage.
After taking it all in, Elias furrowed his brow.
He still found it hard to believe that anyone in Sinnoh could just silently abduct Cynthia.
For starters, her Garchomp alone didn't exactly look like sothing you could ss with and get away unscathed.
But then again… ruins.
Sinnoh's ruins were easily among the most dangerous in the entire world.
One wrong step and you could end up entangled with Dialga, Palkia—or worse.
If your luck really ran out, you might even attract the attention of the short-tempered Giratina.
Cynthia couldn't have provoked one of those three, could she?
Elias thought it was a very real possibility.
He ssaged Lance back with his theory, then pocketed his phone and drew in a deep breath of sea air.
Regardless of whether Cynthia was truly missing or not, he was heading to Sinnoh anyway. It was ti to bring justice down on Team Galactic.
Besides, in this world, he hadn't even t Cynthia yet. Her going missing couldn't possibly have anything to do with him… right?
With that thought firm in his mind, Elias turned to the three Pokémon surrounding him and gave each one a fond rub.
They each had their own feel.
Gardevoir's touch was smooth and silky, Latias had feather-light, glassy plumage.
And w? w felt just like petting a short-haired cat—almost too comfortable.
"Gardevoir? (Are we heading to Sinnoh now?)"
Gardevoir squinted slightly and asked sweetly.
She was the most level-headed of the team and naturally took on the role of household manager when things settled down.
Hearing her, Elias glanced up at the sky, then shook his head.
"No rush. We'll rest here tonight and set off first thing tomorrow."
He wasn't worried about safety—not with his team. But night travel gave him a bad feeling.
Simple reason: in the simulations, he'd died twice—both at night.
"Garde~ (Okay~)"
Using the coordinates Giovanni had given him, Elias led the three Pokémon along the coastline toward their destination.
Along the way, he chatted not only with Gardevoir and the others, but also kept up a psychic link with wtwo.
"Elias, is that the ocean next to us?"
"Elias, Elias, that person we passed was holding sothing—looked delicious, what was it?"
"Elias, that all-yellow Pokémon with the long nose—is that really a Pokémon? It looks so dumb."
Right now, wtwo was like a newborn bursting with curiosity, firing off questions nonstop.
And her tone was getting more and more excited.
For soone who had never left her incubation tank, everything outside was brand-new.
In her imagination, the world beyond must have looked just like the lab—pipes everywhere, sterile tal walls.
But the reality was completely different.
The salty ocean breeze, the star-speckled sky, the gentle nightti wind—
To wtwo, these ordinary sights were endlessly fascinating.
By the end of it, she was practically begging to co out.
"Elias, how about you turn around and co get now? I want to go out and explore."
She was already starting to regret her earlier decision to stay in the tank.
If she'd known the outside world was this interesting, she would've left imdiately.
And on top of that, Elias was out here, surrounded by three other Pokémon—seeing him getting smothered by them sparked an intense wave of jealousy in her chest.
Elias gave a wry smile.
wtwo might look mature, but in so ways, she really was still like a child.
For instance—how quick she was to regret her own decisions.
He comforted her gently:
"Your body still isn't fully stable yet. Just hang in there for a few more days."
"I'll co pick you up myself when you're ready."
After all, Giovanni was covering the cost of the flights. If he had to go back for her, Elias wouldn't feel the least bit guilty.
"…Okay."
Rejected, wtwo's voice instantly drooped, her disappointnt practically visible.
The pitiful tone made Elias's hands itch to give her a head pat.
But just as he was about to offer more reassurance, a familiar voice echoed in his mind—
[Hey, Host. I, uh… got sothing to tell you.]
The system spoke up, tone suspiciously sheepish.
Elias narrowed his eyes.
Was it just him, or did the system sound guilty?
"What is it? Speak."
[It's nothing big! Really. Don't get worked up, okay?]
The system let out an awkward laugh before continuing, clearly under pressure from Elias's glare:
[So… rember how you felt like sothing was watching you last night?]
[I looked into it. And good news—you weren't imagining things. Sothing was watching you.]
Elias froze in his tracks, a surge of irritation bubbling up in his chest.
"…So did you figure out what it was?"
He forced himself to stay calm.
No need to disassemble the system before he got the full story.
[I did, I did! No need to panic.]
The system hurried to reassure him.
Clearing her throat and laying out the data in front of her, she explained:
[Okay, so—turns out this isn't that serious. The main reason is that every ti you run a simulation, it affects reality.]
[And that, in turn, causes ripples in the Reverse World, which is connected to our world.]
[What's watching you is probably sothing from the Reverse World. Just a Pokémon, really… nothing too scary.]
Apart from the slightly guilty tone, the system sounded pretty normal.
Sure, she'd forgotten to warn him earlier—her bad—but at least she'd responded quickly and managed to cover it in ti.
And most importantly—she'd even prepared a compensation gift for Elias!
No way she'd dare show up without one.
What she didn't realize, though, was that as she spoke—
—the waters around Elias had already begun to shift, ever so quietly.
---
T/N: YOU AN GIRATINA?
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