At this mont, Cogita was filled with regret.
She really should have just taken Elias and left, instead of hanging around to watch the commotion.
And now look—Elias had gone and revealed so unheard-of psychic ability, and the Pearl Clan was trying to snatch him up.
"Chief," she said, forcing a smile as she addressed the man in front of her, "we had an agreent. You're not thinking of going back on your word, are you?"
He might not be willing to give up Elias—but there was no way she was letting him go either.
She'd raised this boy for two years. Why should she hand him over to anyone?
The chief rubbed his temples, clearly sensing her unyielding stance.
He had agreed far too quickly earlier, and now trying to take it back would definitely seem underhanded.
But still...
A human who could teleport? He'd never seen anything like it in his entire life.
If soone like that could be brought into the clan, there was no way they wouldn't thrive.
"Miss Cogita," the chief began after a short pause, "how about we head back to the tent and talk things over calmly regarding Elias?"
Though reluctant, Cogita eventually nodded.
"Let's go."
The group began heading back toward the tent they'd co from.
But just as they were leaving, Elias suddenly felt a chill crawl down his back.
As if sothing—or soone—was watching him.
He turned around and spotted a tall, slender figure standing on the far-off cliff.
Sneasler again?
Frowning at the familiar silhouette, Elias couldn't help but notice how unusually common these Pokémon were becoming around the Pearl Clan.
Shouldn't agile Pokémon like Sneasler be hiding in the crags of deep mountain ranges?
And what struck him as even stranger was that this Sneasler, upon sensing his gaze, actually shrank back timidly.
Before he could take a closer look, it crouched and disappeared over the cliff's edge.
Given the notoriously aggressive nature of Sneasler, this kind of behavior was... exceedingly rare.
===
[After lengthy negotiations, Cogita eventually managed to wrest you back.]
[But as part of the compromise, you're now required to return to the Pearl Clan every so often.]
[To outsiders, it's still claid that you're one of the Pearl Clan's own.]
"Co on, let's go ho," Cogita said cheerfully as she stepped out of the tent, taking Elias's hand.
"Alright," Elias replied.
The result didn't surprise him.
That culturally clueless chief was never going to win an argunt against soone as well-read and sharp as Cogita.
From the start, this had been a thoroughly lopsided negotiation.
As for those so-called terms the chief tacked on at the end? Elias was sure Cogita didn't care in the slightest.
And he was right—on this desolate Hisui frontier, "public declarations" ant little to nothing.
Outside of the Pearl Clan, the only other major human settlent was the Diamond Clan over in Crimson Mirelands.
---
[As they were leaving, several clan mbers offered gifts of berries and ore in thanks.]
[Irida, the girl you'd saved earlier, ca along as well.]
[Though you hadn't spoken to her much, she seed genuinely reluctant to part with you.]
"Where do you live?" she asked softly, stopping in front of Elias.
She was currently practicing how to play the Celestica Flute.
According to the elders, once she had mastered it, she would be able to summon Pokémon to serve as ride mounts.
When that day ca, she wanted to ride one to go find Elias.
Elias had no idea what she was thinking.
When she asked the question, he looked up at Cogita as if asking for her permission.
Cogita waved a hand dismissively, not bothering to intervene.
In her mind, from the snowbound Alabaster Icelands to Crimson Mirelands was most of the Hisui region apart. Even if Irida had the address, what could she do with it? At her age, she couldn't possibly make it all that way alone.
---
[With Cogita's silent approval, you gave Irida your location.]
[She took note of it very seriously—and looked downright delighted.]
[After that, you and Cogita returned the sa way you had co, riding on Wyrdeer back toward ho.]
[The scenery along the way hadn't changed much.]
[But there was one strange thing you couldn't help but notice:]
[There was always a Pokémon following behind your Wyrdeer.]
[And not just one specific Pokémon—every so often, it would change to a completely different species.]
[This odd pattern continued until you crossed into the Crimson Mirelands, where the following Pokémon finally vanished.]
Glancing behind him, Elias looked thoughtful.
For so reason, the ones that had been trailing them felt eerily similar to that timid Sneasler from earlier.
Almost as if... it were the sa Pokémon.
"Cogita, do you think there are Pokémon that can change their appearance?" Elias suddenly asked.
"Hmm?"
Sleepy from the day's journey, Cogita yawned at his question.
"There probably are," she replied lazily.
"There are so many kinds of Pokémon, and to this day no one's managed to catalog them all. It wouldn't be strange if a few had bizarre abilities."
She paused.
Then a mischievous smile curved her lips. Her pale arms reached forward and wrapped lightly around Elias, who was sitting in front of her on the Wyrdeer.
"Why the sudden interest? Don't tell ..."
"You're one of those Pokémon, aren't you?"
She narrowed her eyes and leaned close, her chin almost brushing his neck as she whispered.
Elias jumped a little, startled out of his thoughts by the sudden teasing.
Once he processed what she was implying, he gave an exasperated reply.
"That's impossible. There's no way a Pokémon could actually turn into a human."
"You say that," Cogita said airily, clearly unconvinced.
Then, as if sothing occurred to her, she added:
"I heard the Pearl and Diamond Clans have been working on developing so kind of ball that can capture Pokémon."
"If you are one, I'll catch you with one soday."
Elias: ???
---
[Once you returned ho, life resud its usual rhythm.]
[The only change was that now, every half-month, you had to return to the Pearl Clan.]
[Although a bit of a hassle, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Cogita was brilliant with theory, but not so great at hands-on instruction.]
[In that regard, the chief—physically strong and pragmatic—was the perfect complent.]
[Thanks to his open-handed training, your survival skills and psychic abilities rapidly improved.]
[At the sa ti, you and Irida grew noticeably closer.]
[The chief didn't seem the least bit opposed to this developnt.]
At the edge of the Pearl Clan's territory—
"Elias, look!"
Irida had been waiting for him, and as soon as she saw him arrive, she raised her chin proudly and pointed to the Wyrdeer standing beside her.
She had just successfully summoned it using her Celestica Flute.
---
T/N: checckky out my patreon -> [patreon/WiseTL] currently at like idk chapter 215 for breeding simulator
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