"Tias, the International Police have a mission tomorrow, so I probably won't be home all day."
Inside the room, Elias spoke to Latias, who was sitting on the bed.
"A mission?"
"Alright, I got it~"
Tilting her head slightly, Latias showed no sign of doubt toward Elias's words.
After all, it had been several months since he was officially recruited, yet in all that time, he had barely been assigned any real missions.
If Elias still had nothing to do, she might have started wondering whether the so-called "International Police" was just a glorified desk job.
"Be careful on the way, okay?"
She sat up, looking directly into Elias's eyes as she spoke.
"I will." Elias nodded, then reached out to gently cover her eyes. "Get some rest."
Elias knew that Latias was very familiar with him, and he worried she might notice something unusual about him.
However, perhaps it was precisely this small act that seemed out of character.
As the slight force guided her to lie back down, Latias let out a puzzled hum.
"Elias, is this your first mission? Are you nervous?"
Being a Psychic-type Pokémon, Latias might not be as perceptive as a Gardevoir, but her ability to sense emotions and thoughts was still top-tier.
Right now, she could clearly feel Elias's tension as he spoke to her.
Narrowing her eyes slightly, she asked:
"Elias, are you really going on a mission tomorrow?"
Hearing the slight suspicion in her tone, Elias's heart sank.
Just as he was about to quickly explain himself, Latias spoke again.
"If you come back tomorrow smelling like someone else, you're dead!"
This time, her voice carried a distinct note of menace.
Elias, who had been ready to defend himself, froze for a moment—then exhaled in relief.
Yep, still the same old foolish mom.
"Don't worry, not even the scent of a Pokémon will be on me."
Making his promise, Elias pulled Latias into a gentle embrace, soothing her with slow strokes.
---
[Perhaps satisfied with your answer, Latias soon drifted into deep sleep.]
[Exhausted from the past few days, you also prepared to rest properly for the night, ready to face whatever might happen tomorrow.]
[However, just as you were about to fall asleep, the communicator by your pillow suddenly began to vibrate.]
Smack!
To avoid waking Latias, Elias silenced the device the instant it rang.
After making sure she was still asleep, he carefully slid his arm out from under her and stepped outside with the communicator in hand.
"Elias, ten minutes ago, the Pokémon on the isolated island you requested surveillance on suddenly broke out in large-scale chaos."
"The security forces suffered heavy losses—the message just came in."
As soon as the call connected, Steven's slightly agitated voice came through.
A significant portion of the security team consisted of Devon Corporation personnel, and now that something like this had happened, he was already overwhelmed with handling the situation.
"Understood."
"I'm heading there now." Elias replied in a low voice, his fingers tightening slightly around the communicator.
Pokémon don't just riot on such a massive scale without reason.
There had to be another factor at play—whether it was human interference or a natural disaster, there was no time to dwell on it now.
He needed to get there quickly and check on Latios.
"One more thing."
Just before ending the call, Elias suddenly stopped Steven.
"I'll handle the situation on the island, but I need you to send someone to watch over Tias at my house."
"Your mom?" Steven sounded confused.
Not knowing Latias' true identity, he couldn't understand why his friend was asking him to guard someone seemingly unrelated to the mission.
"It's complicated. Just trust me and send people to keep watch outside."
"Don't go in and startle her, but also make sure she doesn't leave or let anyone get close."
"Especially that person we encountered last time—'J'." Pausing, Elias added with emphasis.
Though Steven still didn't quite understand, he trusted Elias enough to comply.
As for the Devon employees involved, he believed Elias could handle things on his end.
---
[After finishing the call with Steven, making sure not to disturb Tias, you mounted Salamence and left home.]
[The night sky was thick with haze, obscuring the stars—you had a feeling tomorrow would bring rain.]
[Salamence flew fast. Before long, you reached the airspace above the nearby sea, and the island's silhouette came into view.]
[But unlike the darkness you expected…]
[The island was ablaze.]
[Flames engulfed large swaths of land, the firelight painting the night sky in hues of orange and red.]
"Salamence, head straight for the island's center."
Narrowing his eyes, Elias made a quick decision.
"Roar—!"
With a powerful flap of its wings, Salamence let out a cry and dived toward the island in a steep descent.
However, the charge didn't last long before they ran into a massive flock of Swellow fleeing from the island.
Instinctively driven to avoid danger, Pokémon were scrambling to escape the burning island.
These Swellow were no exception.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam—!
The swarm of Swellow collided head-on with the fast-moving Salamence, producing a series of loud impacts.
Individually, their small bodies were no match for the tough, armored scales of Salamence.
But caught off guard with his focus on the island, Elias lurched backward from the sudden impact, nearly falling off the dragon's back.
Thankfully, his psychic abilities kicked in just in time, allowing him to stabilize himself midair and push away the flock of Swellow surrounding him.
"Salamence, if you sense any Pokémon approaching next time, use [Scary Face] to scatter them in advance."
Smoothing out his ruffled clothes, Elias issued another command.
But as soon as he said it, something felt off.
Swellow, as a species that spent their lives soaring through the skies, should have their own natural "radar."
Normally, they would have avoided a collision well in advance.
Something was wrong.
Before he could think further, a sudden beam of light shot toward him from the distant sky.
"Salamence, [Protect]!"
Sensing danger, Elias reacted instantly.
"Roar—!"
Boom!
A shimmering green barrier flared up around Salamence, successfully blocking the incoming attack.
A deafening explosion rang out, and the force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air.
Cracks formed across the barrier from the sheer power of the attack.
Narrowing his eyes, Elias turned toward the source of the attack.
With the aid of his psychic senses, a figure slowly came into view—completely clad in black armor, standing atop their own Salamence.
---
...
Huh. You really stuck it out all the way to the end.
Didn't think you had the patience. Guess I was wrong.
WiseTL's the one who actually made all this come together. I'm just here putting a bow on it… or, well, shoving it in a backpack and calling it a day. Same thing.
If you had fun, you know what to do:
👉 [patreon.com/WiseTL]
Heads up—Patreon's 50% off for all tiers during May. So if you were on the fence? Now's the time.
And if you're the social type, there's a Discord too. Pretty decent spot to hang out—no battles required.
👉 [discord.gg/wisetl]
Alright. That's enough standing around. Go on—before you make it weird.
—Leaf