Though Palina had no idea what misunderstanding Irida had, she opened her mouth slightly, then decided to say nothing further.
Naturally, Irida assumed Palina's silence was tacit confirmation.
Holding her fluffy Glaceon tightly in her arms, Irida approached the back door.
Click.
The soft sound of the door unlocking echoed lightly.
Irida squinted, a bit of anticipation flickering in her heart.
Among the three factions, powerful trainers were few, and as leader of the Pearl Clan, she knew most of their names by heart.
As the wooden door opened fully, a moonlit flower garden appeared before her.
Behind this meeting hall lay a lush, thriving garden. Many flowers here had been transplanted from Cogita's cabin.
When Zoroark had entered the Distortion World, she'd taken some flowers but had generously left plenty for Irida.
However…
Irida's eyebrows furrowed deeply when she saw a figure crouched in the middle of the garden.
The person appeared to be trimming something in the flowerbeds under the gentle moonlight, surrounded by several Pokémon.
Clearly, this was the trainer who'd rescued Palina.
Yet the trainer's current behavior caused Irida's impression to immediately drop to rock bottom.
The flowers here were precious treasures to her. Many had even been planted alongside Elias at Cogita's cabin. These blossoms carried her last memories of Elias, so she rarely even dared trim them herself.
And now, a complete stranger brought here by Palina had dared to enter and tend to them freely—allowing their Pokémon to do the same!
In that instant, Irida's anger surged sharply.
"No one's allowed into this garden without permission," she said coldly, stepping forward. "Did Palina not tell you?"
Approaching the intruder, Irida suppressed her anger, refraining from ordering Glaceon to immediately freeze the offender solid, only because they had saved Palina's life.
Even so, her voice was hardly polite.
Nearby, Cynthia leaned casually against a wall, observing with amused interest as Irida approached.
Perhaps it's too dark for Irida to recognize Elias crouching there?
She hadn't even noticed Cynthia standing right next to the doorway.
At the same time, before Elias could even rise to his feet, Gardevoir and Mew immediately turned cautious, fixing wary gazes on Irida. Neither Pokémon recognized her, but her confrontational attitude was enough to keep them alert.
The only Pokémon who actually knew Irida—Zoroark—merely smiled contentedly, nestling comfortably against Elias.
She wasn't going to waste this rare opportunity.
Besides, wouldn't the surprise be ruined if Irida recognized Elias too soon?
Zoroark convinced herself she was doing Irida a favor.
Really, Irida should be thanking me!
Satisfied, Zoroark rationalized her actions, feeling perfectly justified.
Seeing this, Elias softly stroked the Pokémon's fluffy head. Only at moments like these did Zoroark's mischievous, fox-like nature shine through clearly.
In front of them…
"Mew~ (We'll restore the garden later.)"
Dragging her long tail gracefully, Mew floated toward Irida. With their combined strength, restoring a flower garden was trivially simple.
Moreover, they hadn't entered the garden carelessly. Elias had recognized these special flowers he'd cultivated at Cogita's cabin. Only because the garden had grown unruly had they come inside for some gentle pruning.
Irida's brow knitted tighter as she stared at Mew.
A pink…cat-like Pokémon?
What a strange creature; she'd never seen anything like it before.
But for some inexplicable reason, Irida got the impression this Pokémon wasn't very bright.
"Mew?!" (What exactly are you thinking?!)
Mew bristled immediately, noticing Irida's odd stare, and furiously waved her tiny paws at the clan leader.
Suppressing her peculiar thoughts, Irida gave an annoyed snort.
"If you don't leave this garden immediately, I'll remove you myself."
She lifted Glaceon meaningfully, clearly ready to use force if necessary. Despite the opposing group's number advantage, Irida remained supremely confident in her Glaceon's abilities.
Yet unlike her trainer, Glaceon's little face paled upon sensing the intimidating strength of these unfamiliar Pokémon.
We can't win. Definitely can't win.
Meanwhile, behind Elias, Gardevoir and Latias finally snapped back to attention, noticing Zoroark glued smugly to Elias's side.
Something clearly wasn't quite right…
Seeing Mew about to pick a fight with Irida, Elias finally spoke up, smiling gently:
"If a garden goes too long without proper care, the extra growth can drain away nutrients. That's why I brought them here for some pruning."
"So don't blame them, okay?"
As he spoke, Elias calmly rose, walking carefully around his Pokémon toward Irida.
At the sound of his voice, Irida's brows furrowed deeper. Almost instinctively, she opened her mouth to retort—but her voice caught abruptly in her throat before a single word escaped.
Her whole body froze, rooted firmly in place. Her lovely eyes widened slightly, pupils contracting as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
That voice…doesn't it sound a bit familiar?
Impossible!
She instinctively denied it. Yet her heart thudded rapidly, and her legs felt suddenly weak.
Stumbling back a step or two, she steadied herself just as the familiar figure finally stepped fully into view beneath the moonlight.
"Leader, it's been quite a while," Elias greeted gently, voice softly teasing.
Compared to when he'd left, Irida had clearly matured considerably. Both her appearance and demeanor carried the dignity and composure befitting a clan leader.
Yet now, faced suddenly with Elias's return, even she struggled to control her overwhelming emotions.
Staring at this familiar yet distant figure, Irida's breathing grew rapid, her thoughts tumbling chaotically.
Is this a dream?
But it didn't feel like one.
A hallucination?
Possible, but…it felt far too real.
Irida's mind spun in confusion.
The one who should've vanished forever now stood before her again beneath the gentle glow of the moon. His familiar voice echoed warmly in her ears, leaving her breathless.
She nervously rubbed her fingertips together.
She longed to rush forward and embrace him as she'd wished to for so long.
But…
Could she really trust what she was seeing?
As Irida stood frozen, overwhelmed by hesitation, Glaceon seized the opportunity to leap gracefully to the ground.
Sniffing lightly toward Elias, the Pokémon's eyes instantly sparkled with recognition.
It was unmistakably the human who always cooked such delicious food!
"Bui!"
Realizing this, Glaceon leaped eagerly, hopping right into Elias's open arms.
Irida: !
---
P.S. — Glaceon:If you hesitate, you lose!
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