"That's because I really like you."
"I want to invite you to witness how amazing this world can be—what do you think?"
Damian still held himself in an elegant, gentle posture as he spoke to Diancie.
"Witness this world?"
Diancie tilted its head, looking a bit confused.
"That's right."
"You probably haven't been outside the world for a long time, right?"
"Don't you want to go take a good look at what's out there?"
Damian tried to persuade it step by step.
He could tell this Diancie had a clearly innocent and pure kind of mindset.
Like a little princess who hadn't understood the ways of the world.
This kind of pure-hearted "girl" was still pretty easy to coax.
"Mm…"
Diancie tapped its chin with a finger.
"I'm definitely tempted."
"Then how about becoming my partner—and coming with me?"
"No…"
Diancie shook its head.
Before Damian could even ask anything else, it explained why.
"I can't accept you."
"My country is facing a crisis right now."
"The Holy Diamond is about to disappear."
"I have to manufacture a new Holy Diamond."
Even though it was a huge crisis, Diancie's tone stayed calm.
As if there was really nothing wrong with it.
"I was already getting ready to leave…"
"and then I got summoned here."
Diancie tilted its head again.
It looked like it was genuinely troubled.
Country?
Caitlin and the others were very curious about what Diancie meant by "country."
"That's understandable…"
"I just want to ask—how do you manufacture the Holy Diamond?"
Damian's eyes shimmered slightly.
He probably guessed this Diancie really was the naturally innocent princess Diancie from the movie.
"Because my current abilities aren't enough."
"I can't manufacture a real Holy Diamond."
"And then the Minister of Diamonds said…"
"the legendary Xerneas can help me."
Diancie answered without holding anything back.
"Xerneas is the Kalos legendary Pokémon, right?"
Dawn recalled it.
"That's right."
"Xerneas is the legendary Life Pokémon."
"Supposedly, Xerneas is extremely selfless and kind."
"It often shares its life energy with Pokémon that need help."
Baraz remembered and said.
Even though his life really was secluded—
he still knew these basic facts.
"Is that so, Hoopa?"
Dawn blinked and asked Mischief Hoopa.
"Mm-hm."
"Baraz is right."
"So what about that Xerneas?"
Mischief Hoopa scrunched up its face.
It looked conflicted as it scratched its head.
"It has a really good temper."
"It's nice."
"But it's also… kinda boring."
"No matter how I mess with it…"
"it never gets angry."
Mischief Hoopa spread its arms, acting helpless.
"And also…"
"Xerneas is like it's sick or something."
"It always cleans up after Yveltal that big mean bird."
"Every single time."
"So most of the time, Xerneas is slumbering…"
"restoring its life force."
Mischief Hoopa didn't really like Xerneas.
Because it felt Xerneas was way too nice—
nice enough to make it totally helpless.
Yveltal?
Dawn recalled it too.
It was also a Pokémon in Kalos Region myths and legends.
Unlike Xerneas, a Life Pokémon that willingly shares its life energy—
Yveltal represented death and destruction.
Whenever Yveltal appears—
it meant death was coming.
Without question—
Xerneas and Yveltal were opposites.
And Diancie wanted to find Xerneas.
It wasn't for nothing—
it wanted the life energy Xerneas would share.
That way, Diancie's abilities would get stronger.
Then it could manufacture a Holy Diamond that could maintain the Diamond Domain.
"So you need to find Xerneas…"
"but do you know where Xerneas is?"
Damian kept asking Diancie.
"I don't."
Diancie answered honestly like always.
It was even beyond what Damian expected—how straightforward it was.
"Then I have an ideology."
"Take a look."
"I'll take you to find Xerneas."
"Then I'll let it help you."
"After you save your country…"
"you become my partners."
"How does that sound?"
Diancie pointed at its chin again.
"Mmm… is this a trade?"
"Because I really like you, Diancie."
"No one knows where Xerneas is."
"Maybe you could search for ten years and still not find it."
Damian smiled.
"But if it helps you…"
"then I bet it'll be way faster than you searching on your own."
Damian smiled.
"That makes a lot of sense."
Diancie's eyes shimmered.
It watched Damian for a long time.
And then it decided—yes.
To become this humans' partners.
To explore and witness this world with him.
Diancie didn't hate him.
This human was friendly.
And for some reason, there was just a natural closeness about him.
Diancie couldn't hate him.
"Damian~"
"Can you send me back first?"
"I need to talk with the Minister of Diamonds."
"Otherwise, they'll be really worried about me."
Diancie decided to notice its people first.
"Of course."
"Hoopa, please help."
Damian looked at Mischief Hoopa.
"Alright then, Hoopa~ Scoop up—Scoop up!"
Mischief Hoopa threw out the Spatial rings.
The Gold ring quickly expanded, opening a space passage.
"Please wait a moment, everyone…"
"I'll be right back."
Diancie gave Damian and the others a little princess-like bow.
Then it hopped into the space passage.
"Looks like there's no problem."
Damian's lips curled up slightly.
"Mae~"
"Why don't I help you scoop up Xerneas too?"
"That way, Diancie's problem is solved."
Mischief Hoopa floated over to Damian and asked, curious.
Diancie needed to find Xerneas.
Then Xerneas had to grant it life energy so it could manufacture a Holy Diamond.
Xerneas is hard to find?
Mischief Hoopa felt that wasn't even a hurdle.
It could scoop up Xerneas with a single Scoop up—Scoop up.
"There's no need for that."
"Some things need to be experienced firsthand."
"Hoopa, your ability is strong."
"Very, very strong."
"But a lot of the time, what you need isn't just a result."
"The process is just as important."
"The easier something is to get…"
"the less people will cherish it."
"Xerneas…"
"let's go find it ourselves."
Damian smiled and rubbed Mischief Hoopa's head.
Of course, that was a lie.
What about the "result and process"?
Damian wasn't the type who cared that much about it.
He cared more about the fun.
What if Team Flare had already found Xerneas right now?
If Mischief Hoopa scooped Xerneas over, wouldn't that kill the fun?
So Damian wasn't in a rush.
Before the events in Kalos finished, Xerneas would definitely appear.
Team Flare would definitely find Xerneas…
or Yveltal—either one.
And if it was Yveltal, it would be even easier.
Yveltal represented death and destruction.
Its temper was extremely explosive.
Once it was awakened, it would start indiscriminate slaughter!
And Xerneas would definitely sense that.
It would rush over to stop Yveltal and clean up after it.
"Emmm…"
Mischief Hoopa understood only halfway.
"But…"
Mischief Hoopa still felt it was unnecessary to go out of its way.
With its Gold ring, wouldn't going straight toward the "result" be better?
Why make you all waste time and effort searching?
Mischief Hoopa didn't get it.
"Mr. Damian is right."
"Hoopa, for Mr. Damian and Diancie…"
"the act of finding Xerneas itself is meaningful."
Baraz pinned Mischief Hoopa down and smiled as he spoke.
He felt Damian was right.
A lot of the time, results mattered.
But the process mattered just as much.
"Yeah."
"And with Hoopa as our guarantee…"
"we can enjoy that 'process' more."
"Because if we can't find Xerneas…"
"we'll still need you to help us."
Damian smiled and soothed Mischief Hoopa.
Of course, he knew Mischief Hoopa was being kind.
"Sure."
Hearing that, Mischief Hoopa immediately felt good again.
Hoopa is the guarantee.
Hoopa is the best—
Ripples formed in the center of the Spatial rings.
Diancie's silhouette jumped back out again.
"I already contacted the Minister of Diamonds and the others."
"Damian~ from today on, please take good care of us."
Diancie's words and actions were still elegant and proper.
"Of course, Diancie."
"Please take good care of me too."
Damian took out a Love Ball and smiled at Diancie.
"So this is a Poké Ball?"
Diancie looked very curious at the pink Love Ball.
The Minister of Diamonds had talked about it before.
But since it had never left the Diamond Domain, Diancie's understanding of the outside world was actually really limited.
It was also really eager to see something new.
"That's right."
"It represents the trusted communication link between Trainers and Pokémon partners."
Damian nodded and held the Love Ball out to Diancie.
"Will you be my partners, Diancie?"
"I'd be very honored."
Even though, according to the agreement, it should have been after finding Xerneas and resolving the Diamond Domain crisis that they officially cooperated—
Diancie still trusted this weirdly kind humans.
Diancie reached out and touched the Love Ball.
It transformed into a beam of red light and went inside the Love Ball.
The indicator light only flickered once before stopping.
"Caught."
Damian was in a great mood.
Then he opened another Love Ball.
"Congratulations, Damian~"
"Congratulations—Mr. Damian."
Caitlin and the others naturally smiled and congratulated him.
"Thanks~"
Damian nodded with a smile.
Then Damian opened another Love Ball.
Diancie appeared in front of him again.
"It feels really amazing."
Diancie tilted its head slightly.
Right now, it felt Damian was even more approachable.
It couldn't help wanting to lean closer.
"Diancie, I'll introduce you to the rest of my teammates."
"The one sleeping is Jirachi."
"This is Victini."
"And the one watching videos is Tapu Fini…"
Then Damian brought Diancie around to meet his "mascot squad."
For Damian, today's harvest was really solid.
He formed a great friendship with Mischief Hoopa.
And he caught Diancie.
After that, they stayed in Arche Valley for two more days.
Life in Arche Valley was actually pretty simple.
In normal days, they worked in the fields for a bit.
Fresh and calm.
For Dawn and Caitlin—
experiencing a life like this was pretty new and interesting.
And at this moment, Meray was taking these two along with Mischief Hoopa and the other Pokémon…
to weed the fields.
As for Damian, he sat on the side of the road and rested for a while.
He casually took a few pretty photos too.
"Mr. Damian."
"Baraz, just call me by my name."
Damian looked at Baraz who was walking over and smiled.
"Hehe—sure."
"Then I won't hold back, okay?"
Baraz also smiled comfortably.
His impression of Damian was very good.
His personality was gentle and cheerful.
He was also mature and steady.
And he was someone who had met Arceus and received Arceus's gifted!
"Thanks for the past couple of days, Baraz and you guys."
"If it wasn't for you…"
"I don't think we'd be this happy."
Damian said it honestly.
You had to admit—
Baraz and his sister were indeed very warm and kind.
They were basically considerate in every way.
Whenever it was meal time, they specifically came over to call them to eat together.
"No trouble at all."
"Damian…"
"you guys are leaving?"
Baraz noticed it too.
"Yeah."
"We've already been playing here for two days."
"We also have other things we need to do."
"Alright."
"If you have time, come back again."
"Arche Valley will always welcome you."
Baraz said sincerely.
There was no feast that never ended.
Especially since Baraz could tell Damian and the others were clearly not ordinary people.
"Of course."
"If we have time, we'll contact you often."
Damian smiled.
"Yeah."
"Oh right, Damian…"
"there's something I can't decide."
"I wanted to ask for your opinion."
Baraz hesitated.
"About Hoopa?"
"So you can tell."
Baraz froze.
Then he let out a wry smile.
"Yes."
"Hoopa was brought back by our great-grandfather."
"It's been over a hundred years now."
"To me, Hoopa is my family."
"Back then, because Hoopa caused all kinds of trouble…"
"our great-grandfather sealed Hoopa's power and confined it."
"And now…"
Baraz hesitated again as he spoke.
"You want to return Hoopa's sealed power to it?"
Damian naturally understood Baraz's ideology.
"That's right."
"Hoopa is still mischievous, sure…"
"but it's actually kind."
"It doesn't have any malice in it."
"I want it to return to a complete state."
Even if you said it nicely, the current Hoopa was incomplete.
Because it lost its power.
And even its own abilities were limited.
Even if it retrieved the power, it still couldn't pass through the Gold ring by itself because of "Confined."
But it was still a lot more complete than before.
"Damian, what do you think?"
Baraz asked Damian.
"I think there's no problem."
"I like Hoopa."
"And Mesprit told me too—it's completely different from before now."
Damian smiled.
"Yeah…"
"I'll talk it over with Meray."
"Then I'll go look for the Prison Bottle to get Hoopa's power back."
With Damian's confirmation, Baraz finally made up his mind.
"It's fine."
"If you need help—or if you run into any surprises on the way…"
"you can contact me right away."
"Or let Hoopa scoop me up as well."
Damian reminded Baraz.
He understood deeply—
once Baraz found the Prison Bottle,
evil Hoopa Unbound would also fully break into the real world.
Hoopa's power that had been sealed for a hundred years…
had already formed its own consciousness from intense resentment.
What would it bring once "Dark God's" power—
combined with that deep hatred—
escaped the cage?
"The Pokémon's wild celebration in the myths and legends…"
would begin!
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