"So… you're telling me… not only did you survive, you went and caught Giratina too?"
After hearing Elias's account, Regigigas stayed silent for a long while before slowly speaking.
"You could put it that way."
Elias answered while gently squeezing Gardevoir's small hand.
At that, Regigigas fell even deeper into silence.
He had always known Elias was anti-human.
But… not to this degree, right?
If the other could even capture Giratina now, didn't that mean—so long as Elias wished—it'd be the same for him, that he too could only play the part of a docile lamb awaiting slaughter?
After all, with [Slow Start] holding him back, his strength wasn't even on par with that Underworld Dragon.
And yet…
When he looked at Elias again, he couldn't help but feel a genuine rush of relief and excitement.
Especially when he thought about how even Arceus had failed—he almost wanted to laugh out loud.
"Ha… ha, good! Very good!"
"I… knew it… that… damn llama… wouldn't dare take you in."
Perhaps because he'd let himself relax, Regigigas had already slipped back into his [Slow Start] state.
The halting, broken speech made Elias frown without meaning to.
And once he pieced together the meaning, he felt his scalp tingle.
If that llama really did get drawn here, it would be a headache and a half.
This wasn't a simulation—die here, and it meant truly dying.
Thankfully, Regigigas seemed to have some scruples, brushing past the topic instead of pressing.
He shifted to asking Elias about other matters.
Off to the side, Cynthia was hiding behind Elias, tilting her head to eavesdrop.
When she first saw Regigigas, she—unsurprisingly—felt a rush of excitement.
But…
Maybe she'd simply seen too many legendary Pokémon while traveling with Elias.
Because after that initial surge, the joy… just never came.
Her gaze toward Regigigas was mostly curious rather than awestruck.
If it were before, she would've been dying to rush over for a close look.
And more than that—seeing him so slow in speech and movement while marveling at Elias, she even felt a twinge of disappointment.
Faintly, she seemed to understand what Elias had meant with that one remark of his.
Still, it was one thing for Regigigas to be like this…
But judging from Elias's words—could it be that Arceus was the same?
No… surely not.
Without meaning to, Cynthia swallowed hard, feeling her worldview starting to crack.
On the other side, by the time Elias finished recounting his story, Regigigas knew he'd been to the future.
"The… future, huh?"
"Sounds… not bad."
Regigigas nodded in approval.
Traveling through time was something he, too, found intriguing.
After all, with only a Normal typing, even with his immense strength, he couldn't do such a thing.
The thought stirred something in him.
When they'd first met, the other had only a freshly evolved Zoroark by his side.
Now, in what felt like the blink of an eye, he'd grown this strong.
Not just Giratina—there was Gardevoir, Zoroark, Lucario, Mew…
Hm?
Regigigas noticed something amiss.
"Mew…?"
"You… too?"
As an ancient legendary Pokémon himself, of course he knew Mew.
He had even once freely handed over the three Regis he'd personally molded, letting them help Mew safeguard the World Tree.
What he hadn't expected… was for Mew to be part of Elias's team.
Wasn't she supposed to be in Kanto?
And with her whimsical, free-spirited nature—shouldn't she hate being bound to a Trainer?
When Regigigas called out to her, Mew waved her tiny paw.
Then, under his gaze, she dove straight into Elias's arms, rubbing against him with a blissful expression.
In that instant, Regigigas seemed to understand why she'd abandoned the World Tree to follow Elias.
Once he'd heard everything, Regigigas grew quiet.
He suddenly realized—he might have to change his plans.
If Arceus had felt so at ease leaving so many plate fragments with Zoroark, and had even forgotten to take them back…
That meant… perhaps the other didn't care about the plates at all.
No matter if he got them, or if some other Pokémon did, it wouldn't shake the Creator's place in the least.
If so… all his past efforts had been meaningless.
But…
Now that even that plan had to be scrapped, Regigigas found himself a little lost.
After staring at Elias for a while, he finally said:
"Elias… why not really try luring Arceus?"
"It might… actually be a female llama—"
Halfway through, Regigigas was forced to cut himself off.
Reason being...
Led by Gardevoir, Zoroark, Mew, Latias… the Pokémon were now glaring at him, eyes bright with lethal intent.
The aura pouring off them was terrifying—each one worse than the last.
And what surprised him most was that even that Gardevoir's power was that strong.
He truly wondered how Elias had managed it.
"I'll keep an eye out for you."
"I'll also think of a way to get you out of these ruins. You can rest easy on that."
It was Elias speaking now.
Of course he understood Regigigas's feelings; for this old friend, he didn't mind lending a hand.
Unfortunately…
Neither of them had any good plan right now.
Regigigas didn't object.
For now, this was the only option. Calling the llama here right away would be pointless—he couldn't win.
And if the attempt to lure the llama failed, and Elias got stolen away instead—then he'd be the one crying.
After chatting idly a bit longer, Elias made to take his leave.
But just as he stepped out of the cave, his whole body froze.
It was like… something terrifying had locked eyes on him. Even though it was only the briefest glance, it left him feeling bristled all over.
Gulp.
Elias swallowed lightly.
Beside him, only Gardevoir seemed to notice—her brows faintly drawing together.
The others, Zoroark included, sensed nothing at all.
"Elias, are you alright?"
Gardevoir glanced around the surroundings. Finding nothing amiss, she simply assumed he was tired.
So she placed her soft hand to his forehead, asking gently.
Staring into Gardevoir's clear, watery eyes, Elias gradually came back to himself.
That gaze—whatever it was—seemed to have passed him by with no intention of lingering.
"No… I'm fine."
Leaning his weight gently against Gardevoir, Elias answered in a warm voice.