"Is there way back to the future?"
"You want to know too?!"
Cynthia stared at Elias's face, which was practically glowing with enthusiasm, and began to question her earlier assumptions.
Why is he even more invested than I am…?
After a mont of hesitation, she said softly, "I don't have a way back yet… but if you're willing to help, that would be amazing."
It was a tentative request.
With Elias's abilities, it was almost inevitable he'd one day beco both a powerful [Aura] user and psychic. If she could get even a little help from soone like that—it'd make a world of difference.
Of course, she also had her own little selfish reasons.
On the other side, Elias didn't hesitate for long. He nodded in agreent.
Even if the future didn't particularly interest him, Cynthia was his friend.
Helping her out? That wasn't a big deal.
"So… what exactly do we need to do?"
He tilted his head, curious.
Cynthia smiled, then answered simply: "Explore ruins."
Elias: …
That's… not really new, is it?
---
[After that, you spent quite a while chatting with Cynthia.]
[You learned even more about the world of the future.]
[But when you returned, you noticed Zoroark had slipped out at so point and was only just getting back now.]
[You quickly picked up on sothing off—the fox was unusually energized, eyes narrowing now and then like he was plotting sothing.]
[It made you a little suspicious.]
[But when you asked, Zoroark just shook his head and said nothing, which only made you more certain: he was hiding sothing from you.]
Sitting off to the side, Lucario let out a derisive snort as he watched Elias interact with Zoroark.
My Trainer really is a moron.
Lucario had witnessed the whole thing and already figured out what the fox was up to—and yet Elias still hadn't caught on.
Still, he had to admit, he was a little curious himself.
What exactly did Zoroark go do out there?
Shaking his head to dismiss the thought, Lucario looked down and fiddled with the Evolution Stone dangling from his neck.
The sensation of [ga Evolving] earlier was still vivid in his mory.
That incredible rush of power—like every cell in his body had been supercharged—made him feel like he could go a few rounds with Regigigas himself.
It left him itching for tomorrow's match.
He hoped it would be against one of those ten Gym Leaders Elias had ntioned—or maybe that girl Cynthia. Her Garchomp didn't look half bad.
As Lucario was lost in dreams of worthy opponents, the curtain beside him suddenly rustled.
"Excuse , are you Elias?"
"This is tomorrow's match sheet. Please take it and get so rest."
The staffer handing out match assignnts spoke with visible respect.
After all, Elias's battle today had opened everyone's eyes.
Even the skeptics—people who'd once scoffed at battling with Pokémon—were now excitedly talking about catching their own.
"Just give it to Lucario," Elias said absently, still tugging playfully at Zoroark's fur.
Lucario, already impatient, reached out and snatched the paper with a flash of anticipation.
As soon as the staffer left, Lucario lowered his eyes to the page.
Since I've shown what I'm capable of, tomorrow's opponent has to be soone strong, right?
With that hopeful thought, he scanned the sheet—only to find one glaring word:
Irida.
Riiip—
Lucario accidentally crushed the paper into a crumpled ball.
His head dipped, pupils contracting in disbelief.
He had to be seeing things.
Irida.?! Why is it Irida.?!
As one of Elias's acquaintances, Lucario was more than familiar with her.
If he rembered correctly, her only Pokémon was that bottomless-pit-of-a-glutton… Eevee?
What's it gonna do? Out-eat ?
Lucario felt like the very path of his growth was being blocked.
The Pearl and Diamond Clans must've been out of their minds to match him with soone like her.
"What's wrong?"
Elias, finished wrestling Zoroark into submission, was feeling a bit winded. He took the wrinkled paper from Lucario and gave it a glance.
When he saw Irida's na, he paused.
Each matchup had been selected personally by the two clan leaders.
Given Elias's performance today, it made sense that he'd be matched with a tough opponent.
So why Irida?
Just as that question crossed his mind, Elias narrowed his eyes.
Wait a minute…
Zoroark had slipped out earlier, hadn't he?
Given his illusion powers, tricking the clan leaders into mistaking Irida's na for soone else's wouldn't be hard at all.
He whipped around—
And sure enough, he caught that flash of guilty pride in Zoroark's eyes before the fox could hide it.
Case closed.
Elias let out a sigh.
Foxes really are sly. And Lucario's still completely in the dark.
If he said it out loud, the two Pokémon would probably start brawling again.
"No next ti."
He grabbed Zoroark by the scruff and gave him a sharp warning.
Lucario scratched his head beside them, utterly confused.
...
The next morning.
Elias woke up early. His match was second in the lineup today, so he needed to get ready ahead of ti.
After getting dressed and heading out, he arrived just in ti to catch Cynthia's match.
Her opponent was a mber of the Diamond Clan—a Trainer with a Luxray, a rare and fully evolved Pokémon.
Clearly, he was one of the Diamond Clan's strongest contenders.
Unfortunately for him… his opponent was Cynthia.
Luxray didn't last five minutes.
A single [Stomping Tantrum] from Garchomp, and it was out cold.
It was a brutal match.
Following Elias's stellar debut, Cynthia's overwhelming victory instantly made her another crowd favorite.
After she stepped down from the field, Elias prepared to enter with his… considerably less enthusiastic Lucario.
"Elias, I could end this with a single kick," Lucario muttered darkly.
Eevee wasn't even the size of his foot. He didn't have the heart to hit sothing so small.
"…Just do your best to make it look good. Irida has a lot of confidence in her Eevee—I don't want to crush her too badly."
Elias looked a little awkward as he said it.
Irida's Eevee wasn't so hidden powerhouse. It really wasn't strong.
Elias honestly suspected that if you tossed the thing in a pond, it might even lose to a Magikarp.
Lucario saying one kick was enough… was probably still giving it too much credit.
---
T/N: poor irida
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