Judging by the invader's route, Dianna concluded it had to be the same person the radar had just flagged.
Two of Team Flare's executives couldn't even take them down. She'd assumed that meant the intruder was something special.
Now, though, it felt more like Lysandre's people were simply incompetent.
Staring at the pile of rocks packed tightly together, Dianna couldn't help thinking that.
With the stone heap showing no movement, Dianna clapped her hands and—just to be safe—moved in to check it up close.
But then…
Crack.
A crisp sound came from within the rocks.
Along with it came a distinct ripple of psychic energy.
"So they even used a psychic shield?"
Dianna frowned, quietly retracting her earlier judgment.
This intruder really did have some skill.
To react in the instant of Teleport and still throw up psychokinesis—reflexes like that were rare.
But unfortunately…
They'd run into her.
A cold smile tugged at Dianna's lips. She lifted both hands, and a bright full moon rose behind her.
Moonlight power.
The glow spilled across the ground, scattering beautiful flecks of silver.
And yet before Dianna could fully unleash the technique, a brighter burst of flame suddenly surged up from behind her, off to the side.
Heat rolled in like a wave. Dianna's expression snapped sharp, and she flung the moonlight power on instinct.
Thump.
A dull impact rang out. Moonlight power collided with searing fire, and the shockwave forced Dianna back several steps.
The crackling heat in the air was so intense that even she—a Rock-type Pokémon—felt a flicker of discomfort.
Seizing the opening, Dianna snapped her gaze toward where the attack had come from.
Sure enough, a Pokémon stood there in silence.
"Delphox?"
The name slipped out.
She knew that species all too well.
Because a few years ago… there'd been an annoying fox just like it, always scheming for a way to sidle up to Elias.
Even though it had vanished later, too.
The thought tugged a thread of sadness through Dianna's eyes.
When she looked up at the Delphox again, her gaze sharpened into scrutiny.
She hadn't expected the intruder's Pokémon to be a Delphox.
Then again, it wasn't exactly strange—Delphox were famously popular in the Kalos Region.
As she considered it, Dianna's eyes swept over the Delphox in a quick scan.
After only a moment, her eyes narrowed. She suddenly realized something was off.
No…
This Delphox wasn't merely the same species as the one from before.
Its build, its presence—even the way it looked at her…
It was almost identical.
A bold guess leapt into Dianna's mind.
Could it be…?
"Don't bother guessing. It really is a Delphox."
Her thought snagged halfway when Dianna suddenly felt someone scoop her up from behind.
Warm palms covered her eyes at the same time.
With her vision blocked, most of her attention snapped to touch and sound.
Holding Dianna close, Elias could clearly feel her body shudder.
Panic spiked. Dianna twisted hard, trying to wrench herself free.
But…
As her brain finished taking in everything around her, the struggle quickly faded.
Dianna went rigid, like her mind had overloaded—frozen in place without moving at all.
"..."
Dianna thought that if she were a Fire-type Pokémon, smoke would be pouring out of her head right about now.
She couldn't understand why she'd believe a ghost—one that was already dead—was holding her.
Not only was his voice still as gentle as she remembered, his embrace was still as warm as she remembered… he even had the body heat only a living creature should have.
That unmistakable scent of life kept drifting into her nose in soft waves, forcing her to relax despite herself.
This… wasn't a dream, was it?
No—if it were a dream, she wouldn't even dare dream something this real.
Dreams couldn't stand up to scrutiny. If she tried to make it this vivid, she'd probably wake up the moment she examined any detail too closely.
When Dianna remained still for a long time, Elias could only hold her quietly.
He had to give the system some time to respond…
Good thing he'd planned ahead and used psychokinesis to lift her.
Otherwise, with his current human body, trying to hold a Rock-type Pokémon like her would've made his arms give out—maybe even dislocate.
"Elias."
Suddenly, Dianna's voice sounded—trembling, rough with dryness.
But even after she spoke, she seemed as if she didn't know what to say next, and no words followed.
As if remembering something, Elias flipped his hand and produced the diamond Dianna had once given him.
It was the diamond from her birth—and also one of the system's rewards after the Simulation ended.
Elias held the smooth, warm pink diamond and gently brushed it against Dianna's soft cheek.
Like a form of verification, the diamond made the anxiety in Dianna's chest drop away in an instant.
She couldn't possibly mistake the diamond that had brought her into being.
Elias keenly noticed that Dianna's trembling seemed slightly worse than before.
And whether it was his imagination or not, she looked… lost.
As the queen of the Underground Kingdom, Dianna had never once shown him this side of herself.
"Elias…"
Dianna spoke again. Her voice was a little less dry this time.
"After a ghost dies… you… you become like this?"
She spoke carefully, keeping her volume very low.
Huh?
Elias blinked, vaguely sensing she'd misunderstood something.
But her voice continued—
"But don't worry. Diancie and I… we'll bring you back soon. Just wait a little longer."
Dianna murmured, not daring to open her eyes, and not daring to move the hands covering them.
She thought she'd heard a Gengar say once that a dead ghost couldn't be seen by the living—otherwise it would vanish in an instant.
That Gengar had looked deadly serious at the time. It didn't sound like a lie.
So even though longing filled her to the brim, Dianna kept her eyes squeezed shut.
By the time she finished, Elias's mouth had fallen open.
So she really had misunderstood…