It worked?!
Staring at Yveltal's pained expression, Delphox gazed at her wand in disbelief.
She couldn't grasp why that last Fire Spin had actually hurt Yveltal.
After all, compared to moves like Blast Burn or Fire Blast, Fire Spin was in a completely lower league of destructive power.
But before she could figure it out, a black energy wave as thick as a tree trunk shot straight toward them.
DARK PULSE!
BOOM—!
They barely dodged in time. The Dark Pulse tore across the ground, carving a vicious trench through it.
Seeing this, Elias narrowed his eyes. Far from discouraged, he glimpsed a chance for success.
His goal had never been defeating Yveltal—or capturing it.
All he needed was to make it truly furious.
The angrier Yveltal became, the stronger its attacks—and the more likely it was to force Xerneas out.
Right now, its rage was clearly building.
Compared to before, Yveltal looked even more terrifying.
If there was anything Elias couldn't relax about… it was Delphox by his side.
Before Yveltal lost control entirely, he needed to find a way to send that foolish fox away.
...
Meanwhile, beneath the arcade in Shalour City—
BANG—!
With the heavy slam of a door, Xerosic climbed down from a truck, wearing a grim expression.
He'd originally followed his boss's orders to retrieve something from the library.
But shortly after leaving, he'd been called back again.
"Boss, everything's ready. We can move anytime."
Xerosic glanced uneasily at the truck behind him.
It was loaded with large-scale Pokémon capture equipment.
This equipment was expensive, and far too noisy—typically even poachers wouldn't consider using it.
But his boss… had prepared an entire convoy of it, intending to deploy it all at once.
The commotion it would cause—unless the League was blind, there was no way they wouldn't notice.
What exactly was the boss planning…?
"We're leaving. Move."
Lysandre didn't explain. He threw down those two words and climbed into the truck bed first.
Celosia had already reported on the situation at the scene.
Upon hearing that Elias had actually engaged Yveltal head-on, Lysandre felt an icy chill flood his chest.
He'd seen Elias's Delphox—she was strong, certainly. His own Pyroar couldn't match her.
But even that didn't justify provoking Yveltal…
Without relying on technology, Lysandre simply couldn't imagine anyone winning against a Legendary Pokémon like that.
"Boss, Mr. Elias's Pokémon keeps calling. I haven't picked up."
After climbing into the truck bed, Xerosic gestured at the communicator beside him, reporting quietly.
Lysandre glanced over. When he saw it was Diancie, he frowned, then waved his hand.
"Ignore it for now."
He'd already guessed—everything Elias was doing was undoubtedly for that Diancie.
And he was clearly doing it behind her back!
If the truth emerged now, it would only make everything more chaotic.
"Yes."
At that, Xerosic muted the communicator and stowed it away, silently watching as the truck rolled out of the garage.
...
BANG—!
Once again, nobody answered. Diancie slammed her tiny hand onto the table, her chest heaving.
Her eyes were already rimmed red, making her look pitiful and fragile.
"Mm…"
Diancie rubbed fiercely at her eyes with the back of her hand, wiping away sparkling tears.
If Elias were here, he'd have gently pulled her into his arms and soothed her.
But right now, she could only wipe away tears alone.
Looking at the two Poké Balls neatly placed on the table, Diancie still couldn't believe it.
She'd discovered them under her pillow this morning.
When she woke up, she'd reached underneath and felt a few smooth, icy round objects.
At first, she'd thought someone had put diamonds there.
But when she pulled them out, she found two well-maintained Poké Balls.
And…
They belonged to her and Dianna!
In that moment, Diancie's heart thundered, her face paling instantly.
A Poké Ball was a Pokémon's home—and the chain that bound a Pokémon.
Elias had always been careful with every Pokémon's Poké Ball.
Before this, hers had never left his side.
Even if he had to leave briefly, he always took both hers and Dianna's with him.
But now…
Their Poké Balls had been deliberately placed under the pillow.
And their careful arrangement—neat and intentional—made it clear he hadn't simply forgotten.
That meant Elias had deliberately loosened the chains that bound her.
A terrible premonition began surging through Diancie's chest.
When she panicked and called him, all she heard was a recorded message saying the line was temporarily unavailable.
No matter how many times she tried, the result was the same.
Even…
Even calling that red-maned lion yielded nothing different.
Thinking about it, Diancie's eyes filled with tears again.
"Elias…"
Did he… no longer want her?
Anxious guesses swirled endlessly within Diancie.
Deep down, she still believed he'd never abandon her.
But when she thought of the difficulties she and Dianna faced—and how stubborn she could sometimes be...
Elias choosing to leave… didn't seem that surprising.
For a moment, Diancie went pale, her body trembling.
"I-I guess… this is fine."
Diancie murmured quietly through tears.
She was weak, and still had to spend vast amounts of time managing her tribe's affairs.
Day after day, Elias prepared her meals and training plans.
He even handled many of the tribe's most challenging problems for her.
Besides giving him some colorful ore, she seemed to have no value at all.
That foolish fox was stronger than her, too.
Perhaps… him leaving her like this… wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Curled up at the foot of the bed, Diancie silently thought it over.
Yet the way her eyes kept drifting toward the communicator—then turning away in disappointed defeat—revealed her true feelings.
---
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