The moment Pyroar got a clear look at Elias's face, its thoughts turned to mush.
If it remembered right, the human its Trainer was supposed to revive today… was this very person.
Then why would Xerosic order it to attack him?
Was he trying to rebel?
No—Elias being here at all felt like the bigger problem.
In the span of a heartbeat, Pyroar's head filled with a dozen possibilities.
It even suspected the human in front of it might be an impostor.
But that distinct, clean fragrance on him was exactly the same as the one in its memories.
As a feline Pokémon with a sharp nose, Pyroar refused to believe it could be wrong.
But now Pyroar already committed to the leap. It couldn't stop!
THUD—
Under Elias's even more bewildered stare, Pyroar pounced and pinned him to the ground.
Except its weight didn't actually crush him.
Instead, in a comically awkward pose, it twisted mid-landing so its limbs straddled around him—braced wide on the empty ground to either side.
"Gulp…"
Only then did Elias snap out of it.
Staring at the flaming fangs inches from his face, he couldn't help swallow hard.
If he wasn't mistaken, this was Lysandre's Pyroar, right?
It had attacked him, sure—but somehow… not the way he'd expected.
As Elias weighed whether to Teleport out, Pyroar quietly swallowed the Fire Fang.
As a pampered, high-status Pyroar, it was supposed to look imposing and elegant at all times.
But—
At this distance, the scent of Elias's Power of Viridian flooded straight into its nose.
That strange, wonderful aroma hit like catnip.
Instinct took over, and Pyroar shamelessly let a blissed-out expression spread across its face.
Back then, that Fennekin and Diancie had kept too close an eye on him—Pyroar had only ever managed to sneak a couple of distant sniffs before bolting.
A wish it had carried for years was finally coming true, right here, right now.
...
"T-That worked?!" Alain, astride Charizard, stared down at how easily Pyroar had flattened Elias, and something in his head cracked.
He'd wrung himself dry directing Charizard for half the day, and he still hadn't managed to lay a finger on that human.
And Pyroar just charged in like an idiot and—somehow—subdued him?
How?!
When Alain landed with a mess of mixed feelings, a panting figure finally came bursting out of the trees not far away.
"Hah… ha… Pyroar, beautifully done!" Xerosic praised between gulps of air as he ran up.
His round face was practically vibrating with excitement.
It had been worth it—he'd even climbed off Pyroar so his weight wouldn't affect its performance.
And in a single exchange, the intruder was already captured.
Before this, Alain had fought forever without getting results.
After this? The boss would definitely look at him differently.
"The-the person was subdued by me, yeah? No objections?" Xerosic jogged up beside Alain, grinning as he asked smugly.
No matter what, the main credit had to be his today.
Alain understood what Xerosic was fishing for.
He snorted, lip curling, but didn't argue—silent consent.
He still didn't understand how it had happened, but the result was right there.
Besides, he didn't care much about racking up merit, and he had no interest in climbing the ranks of Team Flare.
If Xerosic wanted it, he could have it.
Seeing Alain's reaction, Xerosic nodded in satisfaction.
"Come on. Let's see what kind of intruder this is."
He spoke as he strode forward.
"Pyroar—don't go too hard. Leave him alive."
The intruder might still be useful for interrogation, so Xerosic didn't forget to add the reminder.
But almost immediately, he sensed something was off.
The reason was simple—Pyroar's movements were strange. No, ridiculous.
It didn't look anything like a predator that had just secured its prey.
Worse, it wasn't responding to his command at all.
Xerosic frowned, unease prickling.
"Hey, Pyr—"
He hurried a few steps closer, about to call Pyroar again—then his voice cut off.
Because the so-called "intruder" came into view.
"Pyroar, stop messing around."
Seeing the big cat sprawled on him with that blatantly high-on-sniffing expression, Elias sighed and shoved it off.
To his surprise, it took only the lightest push for Pyroar to go limp and flop onto the ground beside him.
Elias sat up, then stood, brushing the dirt from his clothes.
Then he turned—and nearly jumped at the sight of Xerosic frozen nearby.
Staring at Elias standing there, Xerosic's mind went completely blank.
He was a genius scientist—at least, he'd always believed so—but right now, he had the distinct feeling his brain simply didn't have the processing power.
More precisely… he felt like he was about to grow a brain.
Why was Mr. Elias here?!
When Xerosic finally snapped out of it, he stumbled back two steps, mouth hanging open, pupils trembling.
If Team Flare hadn't cut him out of the loop, then today was supposed to be the day the boss revived Mr. Elias, wasn't it?
And before he'd even come here, Yveltal hadn't been captured yet—never mind activating the Ultimate Weapon.
Then… then…
What was the Mr. Elias in front of him supposed to be?
Hypnosis? Confuse Ray?
When had he gotten hit?!
Watching Xerosic's worldview crumble in real time, Elias began to piece it together.
His eyes narrowed—then a perfectly measured smile curved his mouth.
"Xerosic. Long time no see!"
Like he was greeting an old friend, he walked over and patted Xerosic's round shoulder.
Then, before Xerosic could even react, Elias leaned close to his ear. His tone stayed gentle, almost cheerful, as he asked:
"Were you the one who sent Pyroar to attack me?"
It was a simple question, and his voice was light.
But Xerosic—who'd been staring in a daze a second ago—went deathly pale.
Cold sweat beaded across his forehead.
Even with his brain still crashed and unresponsive, there was one thing he could confirm.
He was finished.
THUMP—
Just like Pyroar, Xerosic's legs gave out and he collapsed bonelessly to the ground.
At that—Alain, who'd just walked up from behind, immediately backed away several steps, staring at Elias as if he were something lethal.
---
Xerosic: If you order your Pokémon to attack your direct superior… what do you do???
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