"By the way…what do you mean earlier about me getting arrested?"
Was that the term used nowadays for enslavement? Cofagrigus thought. From what he recalled, Explorers are these groups of Pokemon who dive inside Mystery Dungeons in search of treasures. Have they expanded their scope of activity to include capturing other Pokemon?
"Just as it sounds like. Before this, I'd probably just knock you out a couple of times and take some of the treasures you've hidden. But after seeing this? Nah, you're going to jail."
Dante glanced at Victini and the other copy of himself. He had created a soft cushion which he propped the Legendary Pokemon in. He also fed him Oran Berries and Max Elixirs, but it seemed that wasn't enough to let his body recover.
"Jail?"
Cofagrigus asked incredulously. After seeing what he could do, they would simply throw him to jail?
"Why do you sound so relieved? What else do you think we're gonna do?"
Dante huffed in amusement. He suspected this Pokemon had a case of paranoia.
"This…jail. What am I expected to do inside?"
"Same as every wanted Pokemon. Depending on the severity of your crime, you'd be forced to stay for a certain period of time."
Cofagrigus had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Just that? This Zorua is so stupidly naive. Now, he even lost the motivation to convince him to his side. He can just quietly stay in prison- waiting for the moment when the Lord returns, maybe even break out if he finds an opportunity.
"Oh, and yeah. Someone there will read your memories. You'd be forced to admit all the crimes you've committed. Hehe, I heard you say earlier that you lived a long life. For your sake, I'm hoping the stupid things you've done are not as many,"
The relief Cofagrigus just felt instantly vanished. The gloating in Zorua's voice didn't even irritate him. Instead, only the words about reading his mind constantly echoed.
In his long years of life, to stave off boredom, he'd done countless experiments. For him, these were done to further pursue knowledge. But he knew that was not how most Pokemon will view it.
And that's not even what he was most worried about. As one of the Lord's close confidants, he was privy to a lot of their organization's plans. If the Pokemon authorities knew about it, their thousands of years of preparation could experience unknown setbacks.
And when the Lord learns he was the cause behind it…
Cofagrigus shuddered. No! He wouldn't allow himself to get taken to jail!
"Hmm? The shaking has stopped. It seems Pikachu and the others have finally taken out all the Regis."
Dante muttered as he gazed at the direction of the battlefield. Without Regieleki, his offensive focused team would have no problem taking down the defensively built Regis.
"...Hey, you said you would take me to jail because I imprisoned this Pokemon, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"What if I tell you…I'm doing it for everyone's good?"
Cofagrigus said in a deep voice. He had decided. Although this would let slip some information about their group, it's better than having it all revealed.
"...Alright. Go on."
Dante's interest was piqued. To be honest, he only knew Victini from the anime and games. He was always portrayed as this innocent Legendary who is always on the protagonist's side. Combined with him being chained and dragged across the floor, Dante automatically assumed Victini was the victim.
But maybe he was being biased? Cofagrigus giving off the mad scientist vibes certainly didn't help.
"Have you heard of the catastrophe that happened 3,000 years ago?"
"Yeah, I heard a bit. Something about giant Pokemon rampaging across the land. Does he have anything to do with it?"
"Anything to do with it? He's one of the main culprits!"
Cofagrigus shouted in 'indignation'. When he saw the look of doubt on Zorua's face, he continued.
"At that time, a Legendary Pokemon named Eternatus emerged from nowhere. It had the ability to make other Pokemon gigantic at the cost of their sanity, causing countless casualties across the land."
"And Eternatus was only able to do so because of Victini- who provided it with unlimited energy!"
"Is that right…"
Dante muttered. Eternatus is the Pokemon that served as the main Pokemon villain in the Generation 8 Pokemon Game: Sword and Shield.
He hadn't played the game himself, not having the console for it. But as a Pokemon fan, Dante still read the basic gist of the story. And he knew Eternatus was indeed the reason why Pokemon in that region could Dynamax.
But he still didn't completely trust Cofagrigus' story. After all, there was one major loophole in it.
"How did you know this? With your strength, I doubt you could have witnessed it first hand."
"Hehehe, that's where you're wrong. 3,000 years ago, under the lead of our Lord, we took down Eternatus! We were the heroes who ended that catastrophe!"
"No!...it-it was…Zacian…and Zamazenta! Y-you…are thieves! Scavengers!"
A weak voice from the side attracted the two's attention. Propped against the cushion, Victini had an indignant look as he stared almost balefully at Cofagrigus.
Cofagrigus inwardly gritted his teeth. Damn it! These Explorers' victory against the Regis must have made Victini recover a large amount of energy.
"Thieves? Scavengers? Is that what a traitor like you can say? Because of you, countless Pokemon died!"
Victini flinched. His momentum weakened, and the energy he built up seemed to vanish. He opened his mouth to rebut, but no words were able to come out.
"See! He's speechless because I'm telling the truth! We imprisoned him here because of his crimes! If you really let him out, then he would find Eternatus again and another catastrophe will happen!"
"No! I wouldn't…do that!"
Dante silently watched the interaction between the two. His paws tapped rhythmically against Cofagrigus' back, pondering over everything he just heard.
"Victini, did you willingly help Eternatus?"
"I…didn't! I…had a long…dream. When I…woke up…I was inside…Eternatus."
Victini gasped for breath. Even with the sudden influx of energy, it wasn't remotely enough to restore his body that had been tortured and drained for 3,000 years.
"Hehe, who are you trying to fool? You must have agreed to provide Eternatus with energy; to harvest the victory from the resulting war!"
"Calm down. Only I get to ask the question. Cofagrigus, what did Victini mean when he called you thieves and scavengers?"
"I don't know. He must be trying to discredit me so you would let him go."
Dante hummed and thought it made sense. But from this perspective, Cofagrigus also hopes Victini is the bad guy so he wouldn't get arrested.
He needs to change his line of questioning.
"You said your group defeated Eternatus? A Legendary Pokemon? Someone powerful enough to cause a worldwide catastrophe? Hmm, I find that hard to believe."
"Why? If your team can defeat five Legendaries, then why can't we defeat a single one?"
Cofagrigus turned and gave Dante a challenging stare.
"Well, the Regis aren't that powerful. Compared with your description of Eternatus, they don't hold a candle. And you defeated someone like that? Ah, is that what Victini meant by thieves and scavengers? You let other Pokemon fight it first. And when it's weak, your group swoops in like a starved Mandibuzz, claiming that your group defeated it after."
"You're wrong! Lord Darkrai is the most powerful! He could take on Eternatus by himself!"
"Is that so?"
Cofagrigus paused. Damn it! He got too agitated and slipped out more information than necessary!
On his back, Dante had a look of shock. He wasn't surprised their 'Lord' was a Legendary. No, for a group who have the 5 Regis and even imprisoned Victini, that much was expected.
But what he didn't expect was that this group would be led by the final boss of the PMD world.
Darkrai.
Admittedly, Dante doesn't know much about him. After all, he stopped playing the PMD game around the Shaymin Village Arc when he maxed the stats of all his Pokemon.
He only knew what the community talked about Darkrai. Things such as: the most boring villain of PMD. The one responsible for turning the player into a Pokemon and deleting their memories. Goading the player to kill themselves.
Darkrai encapsulates the role of a villain to a tee. Dante recalled that even his goal had been world domination or something.
And now, Cofagrigus admitted to following such a Pokemon as his Lord.
"...yeah, you should definitely go to jail. In fact, I'd deliver you there myself."
"What?!"