One unbelievable comeback story after another in Galar had unfolded just like this, all centered around Rose and Peony.
So what if those two were actually Rose's financial backers and even controlled a Legendary Pokémon?
Shiro reviewed the escape plan from earlier. It seemed that only Sordward and Peony had come to look for him.
Where was Macro Cosmos' main force?
They were underestimating him a little.
At first, he had thought those two were drawn away by a decoy created using the Dragon Tamer family's promise.
But now, it did not seem that simple.
If he truly was the main target, Peony did not need to leave so quickly. He could have stayed longer. Yet he still followed them without hesitation.
That meant Peony had likely received a message from Rose.
Rose was plotting something.
And Shielbert had never shown himself at all.
A bold guess formed in Shiro's mind.
Could it be that Rose had already turned Shielbert to his side through some method, or gained Shielbert's power first, then joined hands with the Dragon Tamer family to stage a whole act?
No wonder Raihan kept asking him when he planned to leave.
Rose wanted to use the moment of his escape to seize power and devour his own master.
When this thought surfaced, Shiro suddenly stood up and paced back and forth. After a while, he let out a breath and sat down again.
Since the company had not launched a large-scale pursuit, Rose had probably given up on capturing him for now.
What they truly wanted from him was likely only the Rusted Sword and Shield. As for the Unown, those were probably what the two nobles wanted.
After all, back in the Wild Area, Hunter G had mentioned that the top authority of the Hunters Guild in the other regions was a group of ancient nobles, very similar to that duo.
The League had only existed for several decades. It was normal for remnants of old powers to still remain.
Regarding what those people needed the Unown for…
Shiro could not figure it out and gave up thinking about it.
Once he confirmed with Professor Rowan in a few days whether Galar had issued a wanted notice for him, he would know Macro Cosmos' current stance.
A bounty would not affect him much, but the company might send assassins.
That was a headache.
Shiro had always preferred steady growth. He liked to build strength first, then act freely. But Galar's environment constantly forced him to take risks.
Under constant pressure, he had raised all his Pokémon to level forty and above in less than a year.
With enough resources, their growth was fast. Even the Gym-level felt fairly easy.
"I wonder how strong ordinary trainers in the other regions are…"
He muttered to himself, a sense of urgency rising in his chest.
He was not sure how big the gap was between Galar trainers and those from outside regions.
Thinking about it, the strongest trainer he had met in Galar was Peony.
The rest were old men and women from a previous era. Most of them were only Elite-level at best, and there were very few of them.
In another one or two years, Leon and Raihan should both step into the Elite-level. They even had the potential to reach Champion-level.
But even then, they still would not be able to beat that Articuno.
Leon might reach a higher level in ten or twenty years. In the games and anime, he could at least fight Eternatus for a while.
Right now, the gap between Leon and a Legendary Pokémon was still far too large.
Shiro sighed softly.
Galarian Articuno was truly terrifying.
At that moment, Unown A slowly floated up from his shoulder. Its black horn-like brow twisted as it spoke.
'That Articuno does not possess authority. It is not the leader of the Galarian Articuno group, and it seems to be under control.'
Shiro asked, "Authority?"
'Yes. The reason true Legendary Pokémon are worshiped as gods by humans and Pokémon alike is because they hold a portion of the world's power. That is authority.'
Unown A continued explaining.
'That Articuno is just one member of the Galarian Articuno group. It is stronger than most of its kind, but that's all.'
"That's all?"
'For example, Mesprit. It has no group and is a Mythical Pokémon. It governs emotion. Its combat power is average among Legendaries, but because it holds authority over emotion, its status is quite high.'
As it spoke, Unown A woke the sleeping Mesprit.
Mesprit heard its name and floated out in confusion. It scratched its cheek with a gray little hand.
'Average?'
'I mean…'
Unown A's single eye spun wildly. It quickly backed away behind Shiro, dodging Mesprit's gaze. It cautiously peeked out half its head and replied with forced flattery.
'I mean that Articuno's strength is average. It is far inferior to Lord Mesprit.'
'Mm, average.' Mesprit crossed its soft waist and said with calm confidence, 'Of course it can't compare to me.'
'Hehehe…'
Unown A laughed along and finally relaxed. After Mesprit curiously flew toward the balcony, it used telepathy to whisper to Shiro.
'Mesprit isn't very strong, but when emotions go out of control, it's terrifying.'
"I can see that."
Shiro tilted his head toward it and nodded.
Unown A looked this scared. Had it experienced that before?
Control over emotion. Emotional overload…
That could probably cause guaranteed confusion in battle, right?
If so, it could fight any Pokémon on even ground.
As Shiro thought deeper, something felt off.
Since Mesprit was a true Legendary with authority, could it really be tricked into staying with him?
Well… this could count as saving a damsel in distress, right?
A beautiful lady offering her companionship for a while sounded reasonable.
'Reasonable,' Unown A muttered in agreement. 'Just not according to the rules.'
"What do you mean?"Shiro asked, snapping back to attention.
Unown A explained patiently, 'The supreme and great Arceus shared its power with some of the Pokémon it created, letting them help maintain balance in the world.'
'That's why Legendary Pokémon with authority all have their own duties. These duties are carved into their subconscious. They can never fully submit to humans. Even if captured by force, once they regain awareness, they will keep trying to escape.'
'Mesprit must return to Lake Verity in Sinnoh. But we can ask for some compensation…'
Shiro's eyes lit up. "Go on."
'Do you remember what I told you before? Your psychic talent is terrible. Even if I help improve it for a while, you'll still hit a wall…'
Unown A chuckled again.
'Mesprit holds authority and is a Psychic-type Pokémon. It can greatly enhance that psychic talent of yours, which is even worse than a Fighting-type Pokémon's.'
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