"Only powerful Pokémon deserve comfortable living conditions. Surely you two understand this much?"
Zoroark spoke proudly, gazing at w and Latias, who stared back at her angrily.
These two troublemakers had naturally been chased away by her and Gardevoir last night.
Hearing Zoroark's words, w and Latias gritted their teeth simultaneously, little faces flushed with indignation. Yet their rather slow minds couldn't imdiately conjure up a retort.
They glanced sideways at Gardevoir—
Who had already brewed herself a cup of coffee, leisurely savoring breakfast with an expression clearly saying this had nothing to do with her.
Helpless, w puffed up her cheeks, turning pleading eyes toward Elias.
"w!"
She knew Elias was the only one who could rein in this annoying fox.
Caught by w's sparkling gaze, Elias unconsciously curled the corner of his lips.
There's sothing oddly amusing about this early-morning drama.
His lingering drowsiness vanished in an instant.
"Zoroark, no bullying w or Aunt Tias," he gently scolded, walking over and lightly patting Zoroark's shoulder.
w's face brightened smugly at his intervention.
"And Gardevoir, you too," Elias added, glancing aningfully toward the indifferent Pokémon.
At that, Zoroark lightly bit Elias's palm, clearly conveying dissatisfaction.
"I was just stating facts—I didn't bully anyone!" she retorted, tilting her head haughtily.
"Facts?" Elias repeated, eyebrows raised.
Seeing Zoroark nod vigorously, he smiled and leaned closer, whispering softly into her ear.
"So, does that an the Zorua who used to hide in my blankets all winter was also a 'powerful Pokémon'?"
It was indisputable.
Raised by Elias since she was a cub, Zoroark was certainly the least qualified to utter the word 'facts.'
Sure enough, Zoroark's upright ears twitched visibly at Elias's whispered reminder, the tips tinting a faint, embarrassed pink.
"T-that was because I was smart," Zoroark muttered sheepishly, voice noticeably weaker.
With Elias's diation, the three Pokémon ultimately decided to draw lots for tonight's sleeping arrangents.
Gardevoir, anwhile, retained her precious permanent spot due to the ticulous care she gave Elias each night.
"If you promise to wake up halfway through the night and cover Elias with the blankets, you can have a permanent spot too," Gardevoir teased, narrowing her eyes at the still-sulking Zoroark.
Once asleep, these Pokémon wouldn't wake until morning.
And so, only Gardevoir had managed this nightly ritual.
...
After breakfast.
Elias glanced at the ti, roughly estimating the schedule.
He'd already contacted Giovanni before visiting the old mansion last night. Upon learning Elias had erged safely from the Distortion World, Giovanni had seed particularly enthusiastic.
In fact—
Giovanni hadn't even waited for Elias to ntion visiting wtwo, imdiately inviting him over first.
Knowing Giovanni as he did, Elias suspected it was because wtwo, released prematurely from her incubation tank, wasn't faring well, prompting the urgent request.
Having already planned this visit, Elias saw no reason to refuse.
By his calculation, Giovanni's person should be arriving any minute now.
"Are you sure you want to co?" Elias asked once more, looking at Cynthia, who was dressed casually in sportswear.
Indeed, upon learning of his planned visit to Team Rocket's base, Cynthia had insisted on accompanying him.
Yet…
A Champion visiting Team Rocket sounded undeniably strange. Even Giovanni, upon hearing of it, had montarily frozen in shock. But perhaps due to his trust in Elias, he had eventually agreed.
"Don't worry," Cynthia reassured with a sweet, compliant smile. "I'm only going as your friend, Elias. I won't cause trouble."
Her intentions truly were innocent. She rely wished to spend more ti with him.
Frankly…
Ever since Elias's return, Cynthia found herself increasingly reluctant to handle her Alliance duties.
"Well then," Elias conceded lightly, "let's just consider it a tourist trip."
Seeing no hesitation from Cynthia, he had no objections.
At that mont, Elias's communicator buzzed twice on the table—the person sent by Giovanni had arrived.
Stepping outside, Elias was greeted by the sight of a sleek, black helicopter marked with a red "H" on its tail.
"Mr. Elias."
From the helicopter erged a woman with short, neatly cropped hair, dressed professionally.
"Matori, it's been a while," Elias greeted naturally, recognizing Giovanni's secretary imdiately.
"Hello," Cynthia softly added.
Perhaps due to Giovanni's oversight, Matori visibly stiffened upon seeing Cynthia, a flicker of panic passing through her usually composed expression.
Clearly, she recognized the Sinnoh Champion.
Only after multiple reassuring glances from Elias did she reluctantly accept that her boss had actually approved bringing an Alliance Champion to the base.
"Mr. Elias, during your disappearance, our boss launched extensive searches," Matori began cautiously once aboard the helicopter.
Hearing this, Elias quickly understood her intent.
"wtwo's condition must be serious, isn't it?" he asked bluntly.
Matori appeared startled, evidently not expecting Elias to have guessed so quickly.
"Yes, precisely. We're hoping you could lend us your assistance."
Quickly recovering her composure, Matori nodded. Giovanni had sent her specifically to persuade Elias to help wtwo.
Initially, she'd intended to soften him with sentintal persuasion—
Yet unexpectedly, Elias had seen through her imdiately.
"All right, tell what exactly is wrong with wtwo," Elias prompted, thoughtful.
If wtwo was rely physically weakened, Giovanni wouldn't have sent Matori specifically to persuade him. Clearly, the situation was worse than anticipated.
---
P.S.: Powerful Pokémon refers to the Zorua who used to get buried under snow just walking through the tundra.
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