Evening.
Since he'd already talked it over with Irida earlier, after dinner Elias got ready to head for the Crimson Mirelands.
"Cynthia, you're not coming with me?"
Seeing Cynthia all packed up yet clearly not intending to walk with him, Elias asked in puzzlement.
At that, Cynthia gave a slightly embarrassed nod and said:
"There are a few ruins… I want to take the chance to have a look."
During the day, while some parts of Regigigas's behavior had not matched what she'd imagined.
The fact that he was the creator of the ruins was beyond doubt.
Before she left, when Regigigas learned she was a friend of Elias, he'd generously told her the locations of quite a few ruins.
Most were ancient; in the Sinnoh of hundreds of years later, some had already collapsed into ruin.
While she was still in Hisui, she meant to visit them all.
Elias nodded at that, not forcing her.
He was only going back to Cogita's cabin to stay one night and tidy the place.
Since Cynthia had her own plans, there was no need for her to tag along.
But…
"Mew, you're coming with me."
Catching hold of Mew by the scruff just as she was trying to slip away, Elias said in a tone that left no room for refusal.
This silly cat—only after they'd returned to the clan did she realize her camera battery was dead.
She'd immediately put on a stricken look and, that very night, was ready to go bother a whole Rotom colony.
Her goal: to make them charge her camera.
Naturally, Elias didn't agree to that.
Aside from worrying she'd get lost, Mew's behavior after getting the camera was hardly "well-behaved."
If anything… she'd gotten even more mischievous than before.
In addition to taking normal scenery shots, her greatest joy was catching other Pokémon in blackmail-worthy moments.
Like Gardevoir just after waking up, with a little trail of drool at her lips.
Because of this, Gardevoir had more than once wanted to smash the camera in secret.
Now that it was finally out of power, if Mew got her hands on a Rotom again, Gardevoir might just explode.
"Bear with it—once we're back in the modern era, I'll charge it for you, and I'll even buy you a new one. Alright?"
Looking at Mew with her arms crossed and her "I'm mad" face, Elias said helplessly.
Her expression softened just a bit at that.
Only after forcing Elias to hook pinkies and swear did she finally let go of the Rotom idea—for now.
By the time the sky was fully dark, Elias had reached the Crimson Mirelands.
Cogita's cabin sat beside a small stream; compared to other areas thick with swamp, its environment was downright pleasant.
Pushing through a stretch of lush green forest, a house came into view.
He'd arrived.
Looking at the familiar building, Elias felt a wave of warmth.
"Garde?"
Beside him, Gardevoir tilted her head.
Seeing Cogita's cabin, she puffed out her cheeks unconsciously.
She really wanted to live here for a while with Elias—like Zoroark and Lucario had.
In a place like this, on a wild, ancient continent, living in seclusion together meant Elias's three meals a day would all be made by her.
And when there was nothing to do, he'd only be able to play with her.
Realizing this, Gardevoir rubbed her hands together, a strange excitement bubbling up inside her.
The same thought had crossed Latias's mind too.
The cabin's surroundings reminded her of those days on the lonely island when she'd been looking after Elias.
Crossing the wooden bridge, Elias came to the front door.
Click—
With a soft sound, the door swung open.
Inside, the layout was just as he'd left it—no real changes.
Only, with no one living here for so long, it lacked the warmth of life and felt more like a cold, empty inn.
Once Elias switched on the lights, the place regained a hint of vitality.
Just as Irida had said, she had come by to clean whenever she could, so there wasn't much dust.
A quick sweep of the room showed that Cogita hadn't taken most of his belongings.
Even his once-beloved tea set still sat in the cabinet, right alongside items Elias himself had used.
But Elias quickly noticed that anything he had given Cogita… was gone.
The vase he'd made by hand, the portrait he'd spent an entire afternoon painting—
Even a handmade Poké Ball pendant.
It was clear Cogita hadn't left in a rush—she'd deliberately taken only certain items.
"At least take the tea set too…"
Elias muttered, helpless.
Thinking of how Cogita used to need him to make every meal, like some helpless invalid, he couldn't help but worry.
With Cogita's abilities, could she really take care of himself…?
"Garde…"
"Latia~"
Just then, Elias felt a tug at his sleeve.
Turning, he saw it was Gardevoir and the others.
Meeting his gaze, Gardevoir pointed at a Poké Ball on the display rack.
It was the second Poké Ball Elias had ever made, kept as a memento.
The first had been given to Cogita as a pendant.
Elias immediately understood what she meant.
They wanted their Poké Balls swapped for handmade ones too.
He certainly wasn't going to refuse.
It was already something he'd planned to give his Pokémon as a gift—he just hadn't had the time to make them lately.
Finding nothing else of Cogita's in the cabin, Elias felt a headache coming on.
Cogita had a Tornadus.
With that kind of power, he could take Cogita anywhere—
Kanto in this era, Johto, Unova…
The possibilities were endless.
Even with Gardevoir and the others helping, searching such a vast range was obviously impossible.
Ding—
As Elias was deep in thought, a soft chime sounded in his head.
He narrowed his eyes—recognizing the system notification at once.
[System update complete. Rebooting…]
[Rebooting… 1%… 2%… 35%…]
[…100%]
When the reboot finished, the familiar voice spoke again in his ear.
[Host, host, I'm done updating!]
[You're still in Hisui, right? You haven't gone back yet?]
Hearing the faint urgency in its voice, Elias nodded.
No, I haven't. What is it?
He hadn't forgotten—while it was updating, the system had even messaged him not to go back.
For this usually useless system, that was practically a historic moment.
Hearing that, the system first sighed in relief, then lifted its head proudly and said:
[I went big this time!]
[This time, I fought for a rare benefit!]
And it had even remembered to tell him about it.