Chapter 246: Turns Out I’m Number One

The video continued playing.

While Elaria and Ruri were still checking on the Zygarde Core, the bushes suddenly began shaking violently again.

The rustling of branches and leaves grew closer and closer, accompanied by the breathless panting of a young girl.

"Squishy! Squishy, where did you go?!"

The bushes were abruptly pushed apart.

A girl with a single ponytail and a bright-yellow jacket emerged from the trees.

The moment her eyes landed on Squishy sitting in Elaria’s palm, her entire body visibly relaxed.

"Squishy! There you are! You scared me to death!"

Squishy bounced out of Elaria’s palm and landed on the girl’s shoulder, letting out a soft little cry.

"Honestly, you can’t run off on your own next time, okay?"

The girl picked Squishy up from her shoulder and carefully checked it from head to toe.

Only after confirming that it wasn’t injured did she finally turn toward Elaria and Ruri.

Then—

Her eyes widened.

"Y-Y-Y-You—you’re Elaria!!"

The instant Bonnie recognized Elaria, she covered her mouth with both hands and her eyes practically began glowing.

"I love your movies! I’ve watched both of them twenty whole times!!"

Before Elaria could even respond, Bonnie had already pulled a notebook and pen out of her pocket and shoved them excitedly toward her.

"Please give me an autograph!! And a photo together!! And if it’s okay, could you maybe let me see Diancie too?!"

"Stop."

Ruri raised one hand between Bonnie and Elaria.

"Before this particular fan keeps firing off requests, could you explain why you’re here first?"

Bonnie froze.

Then she hurriedly pulled out a document bearing an official research institute seal and handed it over.

"Sorry, sorry! My name is Bonnie. I’m from Lumiose City. Professor Sycamore asked me to investigate the abnormalities in this forest."

"You’re Professor Sycamore’s assistant?"

Ruri took the document and quickly skimmed through it, one eyebrow lifting slightly.

"Trainee assistant!"

Bonnie raised one finger to correct her.

"But don’t underestimate me! I’m already a Trainer with eight Gym Badges!"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Bonnie]: Waaaaah—!! Parallel-world me finally appeared!! I actually become this amazing in the future! Eight Gym Badges! And I’m even Professor Sycamore’s trainee assistant! Clemont, did you see that?! (ノ°▽°)ノ

[Clemont]: I saw, I saw. But don’t get too excited. Parallel-world you may be excellent, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect your schoolwork right now.

[Bonnie]: What?! Clemont, you’re such a killjoy!

[Meyer]: Haha. Zygarde’s duty is to maintain the ecological balance of the region. The fact that it chooses to stay beside Bonnie shows that it has already acknowledged her abilities.

[Professor Sycamore]: Mm. Parallel-world Bonnie should be a very accomplished Trainer.

[Bonnie]: Waaaah—Dad and Professor Sycamore both praised me! It’s parallel-world me, but I’m still so happy!! You better watch out, Clemont! Don’t let me surpass you! (〃’▽’〃)

[Clemont]: If that day really comes, I’ll be proud of you. But for now, you should finish the homework your school assigned first.

[Bonnie]: CLEMONT!!

The video continued playing.

"So you’re here to investigate too."

Elaria poked half her head out from behind Ruri.

"Then we can travel together."

"Really?!"

Bonnie’s eyes lit up.

Then she immediately realized how loud she’d been and hurriedly lowered her voice.

"Ahem. Then... I look forward to working with you."

"If that’s settled, let’s get moving."

Ruri took the lead.

"If we waste any more time, it’ll be dark before we know it."

The three walked for roughly twenty minutes.

Then—

An incredibly sharp metallic clang came from the forest ahead.

Immediately afterward came a string of crude shouting.

"Dammit! Why is this Mawile’s mouth so freaking hard?! It tore straight through my capture net!"

"Quit complaining and use the tranquilizer darts! This whole area’s restricted right now, so we’ve got to make as much money as we can before they reopen it!"

"It’s not working, Boss! We’ve already hit it three times and it still won’t go down!"

Elaria, Ruri, and Bonnie exchanged a glance.

Then all three simultaneously pushed through the bushes and charged out.

Their entrance would’ve looked pretty impressive...If Hoopa hadn’t gotten its foot caught on a branch and started flailing helplessly in midair behind them.

"Stop!"

Elaria spread her arms and stood protectively in front of Mawile.

"You’re not allowed to hurt it!"

The bald man froze.

Then he let out a disdainful snort.

"Where did these little brats come from? This isn’t somewhere for you to play house. Hurry home and find your mommies."

Bonnie tugged down one eyelid and stuck out her tongue at them.

"Bleh! Three grown adults ganging up on one Pokémon, and you still have the nerve to call us little girls? Aren’t you embarrassed?"

"Fine. You asked for it."

The bald man waved his hand.

"Boys, deal with these three little brats first!"

The tall, skinny man and the bearded man simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.

"Seviper, Poison Tail!"

"Pyroar, Crunch!"

Faced with the two Pokémon charging aggressively toward them—

Ruri simply smiled.

She slipped one hand into her pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball.

"You want a fight?"

"Then you’re about to find out exactly who the strongest and most amazing person here is."

Red light erupted.

A silver-white Metagross appeared in midair.

Blue light flashed through its eyes.

Seviper and Pyroar instantly froze in place, suspended in midair while still locked in their lunging poses.

The next second—

Both Pokémon were blasted backward.

They traced perfectly straight arcs through the air, smashing through three trees before finally coming to a stop.

Their eyes had already turned into matching spirals.

The bald man collapsed onto the ground in terror when he saw the overwhelmingly imposing Pokémon.

"A Shiny Metagross?! How does a ten-year-old kid have something like that?!"

"Correction."

Ruri raised one finger.

"First, Metagross isn’t a thing. It’s my partner."

"Second, instead of worrying about my Pokémon, you should probably start worrying about how many days you’re all about to spend in the hospital."

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

Metagross vanished from where it had been hovering.

Its entire body transformed into a silver-white meteor as it charged straight into the group of poachers.

While Ruri dealt with the hunters, Elaria finished treating Mawile’s injuries.

Mawile lowered its head and looked at the neatly wrapped bandages around its arm.

Then it gently rubbed its head against Elaria’s palm and let out a very soft cry.

Hoopa floated in front of Mawile with both little hands on its hips.

"Yiwa..." (I’m one of the guardians of this forest. Today, I discovered some poachers sneaking into the restricted area to capture Pokémon, so I fought them.)

"A guardian?"

Elaria’s eyes lit up.

"Then do you know what’s happening deeper inside the forest?"

Mawile nodded.

It immediately launched into a rapid series of cries while gesturing different shapes through the air with its little hands.

Hoopa Translation Machine continued operating.

"Yiwa yiwa!" (There’s some kind of energy I’ve never encountered before spreading outward from the heart of the forest. But I don’t know what it is. Every time I get close to the central area, my body becomes extremely weak, so I haven’t dared to go any farther.)

"Then let’s go together and find out what’s happening."

Elaria stood up and extended a hand toward Mawile.

"Would you be willing to show us the way?"

Mawile placed one little hand into Elaria’s palm and let out a bright cry.

"Yiwa!" (Of course!)

Hoopa pulled a pair of miniature sunglasses out of its pocket and placed them on Mawile’s face.

"Then from this moment onward, you’re Team Elaria’s special guest guide!"

Mawile blinked.

Then it used one little hand to push the sunglasses higher up its face.

It actually looked pretty cool.