Without the Tablets, all of its attacks were nothing but a joke to Arceus.
That was why Giratina remained so fixated on them.
On the other side of the mirror, seeing that Giratina—like last time—showed no signs of hostility, Zoroark lowered her guard a little.
Lucario, however, remained tense and battle-ready beside her.
After hearing Giratina's question, Zoroark stretched lazily and shook her head.
"I'm not planning to cooperate—for now."
"And the Tablets? They're with Elias. Coming to me won't help. You should give up."
The preparations weren't in place yet. She had no intention of agreeing to anything.
Giratina, for once, felt a rare tightness in its chest.
Back in the day, even when Dialga or Palkia provoked it, it always struck back immediately, never letting its grudges fester overnight.
Only that smug llama—Arceus—had ever forced it to endure for so long.
And now... Zoroark had joined that list.
Her nonsense excuses nearly sent it into a frenzy.
Like hell I don't know how close you are to that human.
If she really wanted to, she could've handed over the Tablets already.
"You mean to say… you don't resent the humans of Hisui?"
"I'm sure they've done plenty of awful things to you, haven't they?"
Giratina took a deep breath, trying its best to coax her patiently.
"For now, I'm quite satisfied."
"Run along now. I'll call for you when I need you."
Zoroark flicked her paw dismissively, sounding almost bored.
Giratina fell completely silent.
It was clear now—it wouldn't be able to sway her. Not even Lucario, standing guard nearby, could be fooled.
"…I see."
"I hope... we don't meet again."
With no other choice, Giratina gave a reluctant nod and vanished.
It couldn't afford to linger. The longer it stayed, the more likely someone would sense its presence.
But just before leaving, it tossed something out through the mirror—a Silk Scarf.
No matter how bitter it felt, it hadn't completely lost its mind.
As Giratina vanished, its blood-red eyes narrowed.
This wouldn't do. That fox had no real motivation to cooperate.
I'll have to think of another way.
---
[Not long after, you returned to the house—only to be informed by Zoroark and Lucario about what had just happened.]
[Calmly, you picked up the Silk Scarf, an item that boosts the power of Normal-type moves, and after confirming it was safe, handed it to Zoroark.]
"Item matchups..."
Lucario muttered coldly, using a term he'd picked up from Cynthia.
The pile of handy tools Zoroark had been accumulating was enough to make him envious.
"I'll get you a [Black Belt] next time."
Elias chuckled, patting Lucario's shoulder in consolation.
---
[As for Giratina's appearance—you kept it in the back of your mind.]
[So far, it hadn't shown any behavior worth panicking over.]
[The next day, just as Zoroark had requested, you went to speak with the Pearl Clan Chief.]
"Elias, you're… putting Zoroark in the battle?"
The Chief glanced at the fox resting on Elias's shoulder and swallowed.
"Yeah. Don't worry—Zoroark knows how to hold back."
Since she'd asked, Elias wasn't about to go back on his word.
The Chief nodded slightly and didn't press the issue.
"…Elias, your Zoroark—she's probably strong among her kind, isn't she?"
As if something had occurred to him, the Chief asked again.
When Elias nodded in confirmation, the Chief clearly looked relieved.
"For some reason, a small group of Zoroark has emerged from deep in the Alabaster Icelands."
"Though there haven't been any injuries yet, I'd like you to check it out when you can."
Aside from the Galaxy Team, this was the thing giving him the biggest headache lately.
Elias was surprised.
He knew Zoroark had run away from her clan when she was young. She never talked about it, but the signs were there.
And now, they might have a chance to see her kind again.
He glanced at her instinctively.
As expected—Zoroark didn't look pleased.
No doubt her departure hadn't been peaceful. She had chosen to stay and freeload with Elias rather than go home—there had to be a reason.
Well... maybe the good food was part of it, too.
"I understand. I'll go take a look after tomorrow's battle."
Elias nodded.
He wasn't too worried. Zoroark's current strength left no room for doubt.
If she needed to subdue a few of her own kind, it wouldn't be difficult.
---
[On the way home, Zoroark seemed to shake off the gloom. Her mood lifted, and she even started acting curious about the Origin Ore.]
"Elias, do you think this thing the big giant gave us is really as powerful as the legends say?"
She held the glowing red stone in her paw, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"If there's a legend, there's probably some truth to it."
Elias replied, glancing at the ore.
He'd been studying the so-called Origin Ore himself and had started to form some theories.
If he was right, Poké Balls forged from it might actually awaken its true effects.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had the time to study Poké Ball construction, so the plan had to be put on hold.
Neither of the clans seemed capable of handling such work either.
Zoroark gave a thoughtful nod, not entirely sure she understood—but it aligned with her own ideas about the ore.
If possible, she wanted to use it to catch Giratina.
Then she'd hand it over to Elias as a gift.
But...
"We can study it later. Just don't tire yourself out, okay?"
She nudged her head gently against Elias's arm, her voice soft.
She wanted to become the almighty Sinnoh for one reason only—so she could live a peaceful life by Elias's side.
Naturally, she wasn't about to let him suffer for her sake.
[Zoroark's tenderness warmed you. You couldn't help thinking how right you'd been to bring the little fox home all those years ago.]
[That night, after packing your things, you curled up with her and fell asleep.]
[At dawn, just as promised, you arrived at the battlefield where the three factions would face off.]
[Cynthia, too—seemingly intrigued by certain members of the Galaxy Team—had decided to come along.]
[As soon as you arrived, you sensed the low morale hanging over the Pearl and Diamond Clans.]
[And at the center of the field stood a middle-aged man clad in full armor, dressed like a warrior.]
[Beside him loomed a bulky Golem.]
[Judging from the intel, it was easy to guess his name—Kamado.]