[After your conversation with Latios, your life settled into a brief period of calm.]
[Like an ordinary student, you spent your days caught in the monotony of repetitive studies, living a rather dull and uneventful life.]
[During this ti, your friendship with Steven deepened, and with your extensive knowledge as a breeder, you successfully helped his Beldum evolve into tang.]
[You had to admit—its shiny form was particularly striking.]
[Additionally, Zinnia had done an excellent job carrying out the tasks you assigned her.]
[Under her watchful eye, you managed to eliminate a group of poachers before they could even set foot onshore, stopping the problem at its source.]
[In return, you kept your promise and gifted her a large supply of Poké Balls—along with a Salance egg.]
Deep in the forest.
Zinnia stared blankly at the large sack of standard and specialty Poké Balls in front of her.
anwhile, in her arms, she held an enormous Pokémon egg.
"Don't be so surprised. If you sold everything you gave , you'd probably be able to buy just as many Poké Balls," Elias explained matter-of-factly.
"As for the egg—consider it paynt for keeping watch over the forest for ."
He wasn't the type to take credit where it wasn't due.
Aside from the [Shell Bell] and [Mystic Water] Zinnia had given him at the start, she had continued to provide him with various other useful items over ti.
If those were sold in a shop, they'd be worth at least as much as the Poké Balls—probably even more.
"Elias, th-thank you."
Zinnia's voice was soft as she expressed her gratitude.
In her clan, aside from a handful of friends, most people didn't have much faith in her due to her diocre talent.
Her dream of earning the recognition of the Great Dragon God was often t with ridicule, dismissed as nothing more than wishful thinking.
Compared to them, Elias was one of the few who had ever treated her sincerely.
"No problem—you've helped plenty, too." Elias waved off her thanks nonchalantly.
With their business settled, he glanced up at the sky and suggested,
"Want to head into town for so desserts?"
Zinnia, who had still been feeling touched just monts ago, suddenly brightened at the idea.
---
[Zinnia, already familiar with Alto Mare after a few visits, readily agreed to your suggestion.]
[During your conversation, you advised her to ease up on monitoring the forest and instead shift her focus toward the western coastline.]
[The reason? Latios had been appearing less and less frequently. Sotis, he wouldn't even pick up your calls.]
[Your gut told you that his condition was worsening, and that thought left you feeling uneasy.]
[At age twelve, in the early months of the year, your Shelgon finally completed its final evolution—becoming a Salance.]
[As a Salance, its presence beca even more formidable, and its strength was now enough to overpower Steven's tagross.]
In an open field.
"tagross, use [Zen Headbutt]."
Steven, clad in his usual suit, gave his command with a wave of his hand.
In response, tagross was instantly enveloped in a faint blue glow before launching itself forward like a spinning disc, aiming straight for the airborne Salance.
However, despite the full-force attack heading its way, Salance showed no fear whatsoever.
A bright green light began gathering around its claws, solidifying into a massive [Dragon Claw].
At the sa ti, an intimidating aura radiated from its body.
And the mont tagross was about to collide with it—Salance moved.
"Screech—"
The impact was deafening.
The enormous dragon claw clashed violently against the charging tagross, sending out a chilling tallic screech.
Thick smoke erupted from the collision, obscuring the battlefield.
On the ground, Steven tensed.
It had been a long ti since he had managed to win against Elias.
Whether it was Milotic or Salance, he had lost to both ti and ti again.
Today, he had only dared to challenge him because his tang had recently evolved into tagross, giving him a sliver of confidence.
Maybe this ti, I can finally break the streak…
Just as he was caught up in his own speculation, Steven suddenly noticed that Elias was smirking from across the field.
Imdiately, a bad feeling crept into his heart.
He hadn't forgotten—Elias was a psychic. He could see through the smoke.
And if he was smiling…
That can't be good.
The mont that thought surfaced, Steven saw his tagross plumting from the sky, crashing straight into the ground.
The match was over.
"…I have no idea how you raised that Salance."
Recalling tagross into its Poké Ball, Steven sighed in exasperation.
"You an this one?"
Elias patted Salance's rough scales with a grin.
"It's actually the weakest one at ho. There are two stronger than it."
That statent wasn't unfounded.
Though Salance was powerful, it still wasn't strong enough to beat Milotic, who frequently put it in its place with a flick of her tail.
And as for Latias…
While her raw strength didn't quite match Salance's, it would never dare to challenge Tias.
After all, just the thought of getting disciplined by Elias and Latios in succession was enough to make it shudder.
However, Steven, unaware of these details, was utterly shocked.
There are two Pokémon even stronger than Salance?
One of them was obviously Milotic, but… who was the other?
For a brief mont, he felt as though the gap between him and his friend had grown even wider.
---
[At thirteen, your graduation from the Trainer Academy was fast approaching.]
[In truth, for the past year, there had been nothing left for the school to teach you. Whether in theory or battle, you could easily defeat any instructor on campus.]
[If not for your promise to Latios, you would have left long ago.]
[Aside from that, during this year's birthday, you could clearly tell that Latias' cooking skills had improved.]
[Compared to three years ago, you could now actually taste hints of flavor in her cake.]
"Elias, what do you plan to do after graduation?"
Latias' voice carried a hint of nervousness.
From what she knew, most graduates of Pokémon academies set out on journeys across the world with their first Pokémon.
She should be supportive of Elias following the sa path.
But…
The re thought of him leaving her behind, traveling far away, and making wonderful mories with so girl who just happened to show up along the way—
Tias felt an unbearable, clawing frustration stir in her heart.
That stifling feeling had been bothering her for a long ti.
She wanted to talk to Elias about it…
But she was afraid of making him feel pressured.
As soone who wanted to be a good mother, she didn't want to interfere with his choices.
Still, despite herself, her heartbeat quickened.
---
T/N: hehe im backkk from vacation! regular updates is back
...
If you're reading this, then you've wandered all the way to the end. I'm impressed. Stories are like wine—ant to be savored, not rushed. So if you took your ti? Thank you.
Of course, the real thanks goes to WiseTL—the one who turned tangled words into sothing beautiful. I just got asked to wrap things up with a ribbon. Hopefully this counts!
If you enjoyed the journey and want to support the person who made it possible, you can find them here:
👉 [patreon/WiseTL]
Go on. Be generous. They've earned it.
Until next ti—read well, rest often, and maybe co visit at the Hostess of Fertility soti.
– Syr ✨
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