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Chris turned around to find Sabi and Gaeric arriving on the sixth floor, accompanied by members of the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan respectively.
It was Sabi who had just posed the question about Team Galactic.
Equally confused were Gaeric and Akari—the Team Galactic member who had accompanied Chris to the Snow Peak Temple in the first place.
Facing the probing gazes of everyone present, Chris answered clearly and confidently. "It's not Team Galactic's. It's mine."
Regarding the existence of Noble Pokémon, Chris knew that using their power would inevitably be discovered by members of the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan. After all, the executives of both clans were fundamentally responsible for caring for and managing their respective Noble Pokémon on a daily basis.
Therefore, Chris saw no reason to conceal the truth. So what if they discovered he had a Noble Pokémon of his own? Did they honestly think they could take it from him by force?
He wasn't trying to be arrogant, but the reality was simple—the Diamond Clan? The Pearl Clan? Even if Team Galactic joined forces with both of them, they still wouldn't be his match. Not even close.
On the contrary, it seemed entirely possible that he could claim the Noble Pokémon currently under their care if he so desired.
Wait... now that he thought about it more carefully, the Noble Pokémon that couldn't be found in his own time period actually existed in this era. Perfect.
Consider the Nobles currently being tended by the two clans, for example. There were five in total: Kleavor, Lilligant, Arcanine, Electrode, and Avalugg.
Among these, Chris already possessed his own Arcanine, so there was no need to take theirs. He could simply have his Arcanine challenge their Noble Arcanine for supremacy and claim the title properly.
"By the way, does the Pearl Clan have a Noble Arcanine?" Chris asked Gaeric directly.
Gaeric blinked in surprise at the sudden change of topic. Weren't they just discussing Team Galactic's Noble Pokémon? Nevertheless, he answered reflexively. "Uh, yes, we do."
"Excellent. I'll visit and challenge it sometime soon," Chris said with a slight nod. He then turned to address Sabi. "Let's go. I've obtained all five keys needed to open the underground levels. It's time to explore deeper."
With that declaration, Chris raised his hand and snapped his fingers with casual flair.
The scenery around them transformed immediately.
One moment they stood on the dim sixth floor of the Snow Peak Temple; the next, they found themselves at the brightly lit entrance of the first floor. Wind and snow swirled around them as the sky darkened toward evening—the sun had already begun its descent toward the horizon.
This wasn't an illusion or trick of the light. Mega Gardevoir had simply teleported everyone from the sixth floor directly to the first floor in an instant.
Everyone looked around in bewilderment, struggling to comprehend how they had just been on the sixth floor one second, only to find themselves back at the entrance the very next moment.
Sabi, who possessed more knowledge and experience than most, quickly turned her attention back to Chris. Her expression cycled through surprise, shock, and something approaching awe.
She was at a complete loss for how to describe her current thoughts and feelings. When Chris had instantly defeated Regirock earlier, she'd thought she had a measure of his strength. But judging from how Gardevoir had just as easily defeated that unknown but clearly powerful Pokémon on the sixth floor, and then casually teleported their entire group across multiple floors in a single instant...
The strength she'd witnessed so far was merely the tip of the iceberg. Chris's true power ran far deeper than she'd imagined.
Just how powerful was he, really?
"And... where did he even come from?" Sabi wondered silently. She'd never heard of anyone this powerful operating in the Hisui Region before. It was as though Chris had appeared out of thin air.
"By the way, where's the entrance to the underground levels?" Chris asked, glancing around the first floor. The door wasn't anywhere in the immediate vicinity.
"Well, the underground entrance can't be opened until our leader arrives," Sabi replied, then quickly explained further. "There are actually six keys in total. The key from the first floor is currently with our clan leader."
"I see," Chris said, understanding the situation. He'd been hoping to proceed directly to confront Regigigas and test himself against the colossal titan, but it seemed that plan would have to wait.
Having to delay was somewhat frustrating.
"I apologize for the inconvenience," Sabi said quickly. "We sent an urgent message to our leader as soon as you arrived here. I'm confident they'll arrive as quickly as possible—hopefully by tomorrow at the latest."
"Alright, then I suppose we'll have to wait," Chris conceded. He could afford to wait one day, at least.
He turned to leave and survey the area. Akari had started to follow him, but after just a few steps, Sabi reached out and gently caught her attention.
"Excuse me, may I ask you something?"
Sabi glanced toward Akari uncertainly.
"I'm going to explore the surrounding area for a bit. I'll be back soon," Chris said, understanding what Sabi wanted to discuss. "You can help set up camp inside the Snow Peak Temple while I'm gone."
"Okay," Akari agreed with a nod, accepting the arrangement.
As soon as Chris departed from the Snow Peak Temple, Sabi gestured for Gaeric to join her, and together they guided Akari to a more secluded corner where they could speak privately.
"Hello, Miss Akari. I'm Sabi, a warden of the Diamond Clan. We've actually met before, if you recall," Sabi said by way of introduction.
Akari nodded with an innocent expression. Hadn't you just introduced yourself when we first arrived on the third floor?
"I also saw you in Jubilife Village some time ago. You've been with Team Galactic for a while now, haven't you?" Sabi continued.
"I've been with Team Galactic for one year and three months!" Akari answered promptly and proudly. She still remembered the exact day she'd first joined the organization.
Sabi nodded slightly, confirming that Akari was indeed the person from her memory. Satisfied with this verification, she moved on to the real topic at hand.
"I wanted to ask—who exactly is this Chris?"
"Why haven't we seen him with Team Galactic before now?"
As three major powers operating within the Hisui Region, the clans and Team Galactic had all investigated and studied the strong trainers among the other factions. They were generally familiar with each other's key personnel and capabilities.
Yet someone as powerful as Chris had never been mentioned in any reports. Sabi had never heard his name before, let alone seen him in action until today.
The situation was highly unusual and raised numerous questions.
"Oh... he only joined Team Galactic yesterday," Akari explained without any hint of guile or deception. "He's a traveler from another region who recently arrived in Hisui."
Sabi's expression cleared with sudden understanding. That explained everything perfectly.
So he was a powerful trainer from another region entirely. No wonder she hadn't heard of him before his arrival.
She was well aware that there were skilled trainers operating beyond the Hisui Region's borders. The world was vast, after all.
"Do you happen to know which region he's from originally?" Sabi pressed for more details.
"I think he said the Hoenn Region, but I don't know exactly where within it," Akari admitted, spreading her hands apologetically. If she hadn't accompanied Chris on this expedition to the Snow Peak Temple, she would never have traveled far from Jubilife Village at all. The fact that she could even remember Chris mentioning "Hoenn Region" once or twice during their conversations was impressive enough given her limited geographical knowledge.
"The Hoenn Region?" Sabi repeated the name carefully, as though tasting the words and committing them to memory. She then turned to Gaeric. "Do you know anything about the Hoenn Region?"
Gaeric shook his head silently, indicating his complete ignorance on the subject.
Sabi sighed softly. It seemed she would have to ask her clan leader about it when they arrived. Speaking of which, that reminded her of something important.
She quickly turned and slapped Gaeric on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hurry up and send a message to your clan leader! Tell them they need to arrive by tomorrow at the latest!"
"Why the urgency?" Gaeric asked, rubbing his shoulder.
"Because your leader has the final key we need! As soon as Leader Adaman arrives tomorrow, we can begin exploring the underground levels immediately!" Sabi explained with barely contained excitement.
"Oh, and make sure to mention in your message that this powerful trainer named Chris appears to have raised his own Noble Pokémon," she added as an afterthought before hurrying off. She needed to relay this crucial information to her own clan leader, Irida, as quickly as possible.
The discovery of an outsider with a Noble Pokémon—particularly one strong enough to capture multiple legendary titans in a single afternoon—was information that the clan leaders absolutely needed to know about immediately.
Gaeric stood there for a moment, processing everything that had just transpired, before pulling out his communication device to compose the urgent message to his leader. Today had turned out far more eventful than anyone could have anticipated when they'd first set out for the Snow Peak Temple.
Meanwhile, Akari watched both wardens rush off in different directions to send their messages, feeling somewhat bewildered by the sudden flurry of activity. She supposed she should probably start setting up camp as Chris had suggested, though part of her wondered what other surprises this expedition might bring before it was over.