Irida sat cross-legged on the floor, scribbling furiously in her notebook. Every so often, she paused, frowning in concentration.
She was writing a post-match analysis.
To her, the way the tournament ended had been far too abrupt. She'd unexpectedly run into Elias in only the second round—something she hadn't anticipated at all.
But that didn't discourage her.
She'd already made up her mind—next time they fought, she would beat Elias.
"Eevee, you've got to give it your all, too."
"I really think you're not that different from his Lucario."
"Did you see that Zoroark he used today? Amazing, right? But Elias told me that before she evolved, she was even smaller and weaker than you."
Irida gently encouraged the Eevee curled up at her side.
Though optimistic by nature, she couldn't help worrying whether her Pokémon had what it took.
"Buii…"
Eevee let out a helpless little cry.
Forget evolution—even if she evolved, there was no way she could turn into something like Zoroark.
The Eevee line just wasn't built for combat. Unlike Magikarp or Zorua, they didn't undergo dramatic transformations after evolving.
Still, seeing Irida so enthusiastic, she didn't have the heart to dampen her spirits.
But then—
Eevee suddenly shivered.
Her ears twitched, eyes narrowing as she scanned the tent's interior.
Just now… something cold and malevolent had drifted past. She didn't know what it was—but she really didn't like it.
Eevee wasn't strong, but her senses were sharp.
Yet after a few moments, she still couldn't detect anything concrete.
"Eevee? What's wrong?"
Irida tilted her head, sensing her partner's change in mood.
Then, Eevee's expression shifted sharply into fear.
From her perspective—behind Irida—there was a drifting cloud of violet-pink mist… and embedded in it, a twisted green face formed entirely of gas.
It was floating straight toward Irida.
Eevee clenched her tiny jaws. And then, without a second thought, she charged.
"Buiii!"
...
At the same time, in Elias's tent—
"It's here."
Lucario opened his eyes mid-meditation, voice sharp with alertness.
"Mm. Keep track of its position. Don't let it slip away."
Elias gave a quiet nod, calmly issuing the order.
He, too, extended his [Aura] and quickly pinpointed the chaotic energy elsewhere in camp.
The moment he laid eyes on Spiritomb, his expression froze.
"That's… Irida?"
He immediately recognized the one under attack.
"Should we go help?" Lucario asked softly.
Elias considered it… but in the end, he shook his head.
"Spiritomb isn't trying to kill her. We stick to the plan and keep tracking it."
He let out a small sigh.
Irida's luck really was terrible.
Still, he knew Spiritomb—and whoever was behind it—wouldn't go too far. They couldn't afford to.
Their goal was to frame Zoroark, not take lives.
They wanted everyone to believe that the Irida who caused all that chaos last night… had actually been Zoroark in disguise.
That alone was enough to saddle her with the label of monster once again.
And honestly, if they hadn't gotten their hands on the Keystone ahead of time, that plan might've worked.
Even Irida herself would've had a hard time explaining what had happened.
Fortunately, Lucario had already locked onto Spiritomb's escape path—there was no getting away now. The plot was doomed to fail.
And after spotting a Garchomp involved in the clean-up, Elias could finally confirm who the true culprit was.
He ruled out Cynthia immediately—she'd been helping him all along.
That left only one person in camp who also had a Garchomp:
Volo. The so-called Ginkgo merchant.
What did I ever do to him? Elias wondered.
He couldn't quite figure it out yet, but that didn't matter.
What mattered was that he would absolutely be returning the favor.
His eyes turned cold.
...
By the time he made it back to camp carrying Irida—still unconscious—there was already a crowd gathered.
Unsurprisingly, last night's incident had spread like wildfire.
And now, most people believed the "Irida" who'd wreaked havoc all over camp… had been Zoroark pretending to be her.
As soon as the crowd saw Elias returning with Irida in his arms, they froze.
Then, one by one, their expressions began to darken.
Those who noticed Lucario at his side—and the Zoroark following close behind—felt the words stuck in their throats, too afraid to speak.
But whispers still drifted in through the air from farther off.
"Did you see Irida last night?"
"There's no way the clan leader's daughter would do something like that."
"So what does that tell you?"
"…"
Elias, of course, didn't care about the rumors.
In fact, this was exactly what he wanted.
The deeper the suspicion now, the heavier their guilt would be once the truth came out—when Spiritomb was dragged into the light.
After all… he'd said it from the start: the people of the two clans were simple, straightforward.
But while Elias could accept this—
Zoroark couldn't.
She was far more sensitive than he realized when it came to people badmouthing him.
When she heard those accusations—spoken about Elias, all because of her—a violent, uncontrollable rage began bubbling up inside her.
If Elias hadn't been beside her, she might've used illusions to bring everyone here to their knees in forced repentance.
A dark aura began to radiate from her body, heightening the crowd's fear.
"Elias. Come with me."
Just then, the Pearl Clan Chief pushed through the crowd and waved him over.
His expression was grim.
He didn't trust Zoroark—but he did trust Elias.
He knew his student's Pokémon would never do something like this.
Which meant… someone was framing them.
And that meant his daughter had been used. And his most promising student dragged into it as well.
If it were up to him, he'd already have the culprit strung up and offered to the great Sinnoh as sacrifice.