Chapter 385: Who Is He?
Rio smiled and explained: "This is Remont City."
"Remont City? Do you know where Orus Forest is?" Diancie asked, placing its hand near its mouth.
"Of course I do—I’m actually heading there right now." Rio smiled. "What, are you going there too, Diancie?"
Diancie’s face lit up. "Yes, I am! That’s wonderful! Rio, why are you going there?"
"Me? I want to meet the legendary Xerneas and Yveltal." Rio said.
"You’re going to see Xerneas too!" Diancie’s joy grew. "So am I!"
"What a coincidence—Diancie, why do you want to see Xerneas? And why are you traveling alone?" Rio asked.
"Because... how should I put it?" Diancie looked up at the sky, saddened. "My kingdom needs my power right now, but I can’t yet use my true abilities. The elders told me that only by finding Xerneas and borrowing its Fairy Aura can I unlock my full power."
"I see." Rio nodded knowingly.
"What about you, Rio? Why do you want to see Xerneas?" Diancie’s voice echoed again.
"Me? I have a few Pokémon that want to battle Xerneas and Yveltal. I want to fulfill their wish, so I’m heading to Orus Forest." Rio explained.
"Battle Xerneas?" Diancie’s face filled with shock. "But that’s a legendary god—aren’t you afraid of getting beaten?"
"I have confidence in my Pokémon." Rio shrugged with a smile. "But since we’re heading to the same place, Diancie—would you like to travel together?"
"I’d love that! I’m happy to have you as my escort." Diancie smiled warmly.
[Diancie’s friendship has increased]
[Friendship: 6 (0 → 6) ]
Rio’s smile widened. "Diancie, shall we head out now?"
"Not yet—you seem so unfamiliar with the human world. How about we enjoy some human food here before we go?"
"That sounds wonderful."
[Diancie’s friendship has increased]
[Friendship: 7 (0 → 7) ]
Half an hour later, inside a restaurant, Rio placed a piece of bread before Diancie. "Diancie, this is delicious—you should try it."
"Thank you very much." Diancie took a bite.
[Diancie’s friendship has increased]
[Friendship: 8 (0 → 8) ]
"Ah—it’s really good!" Diancie’s eyes crinkled with joy.
"Don’t be shy—eat as much as you like. There’s plenty more." Rio, delighted that a single piece of bread had raised Diancie’s friendship, ordered every specialty on the menu.
Meanwhile, the interaction between Rio and Diancie inside the restaurant was being transmitted via a miniature drone to the cloaked ship outside Remont City. The father-daughter thieves stared intently at the masked, hatted Rio.
"Who is this guy?" The father, Algates, stroked his bearded chin and frowned. "Was he the one who destroyed all the drones and threw you into the dumpster, Milis? How did he do it? What Pokémon did he use? How did I not notice a thing?"
"He definitely has a powerful Psychic-type Pokémon." Milis said through gritted teeth. "And he’s clearly after Diancie just like us—he must have known we were watching. Otherwise, how could he have rescued Diancie from those two right after I got thrown into the trash?"
"Just wait—I’ll figure out who he is. Someone with this much power must have a significant background. Don’t think a hat and sunglasses will keep you hidden forever." Milis began typing furiously on her laptop, cross-referencing Rio’s captured image against global celebrity databases, starting with Kalos.
A hundred meters away, in a narrow alley, the magician and the masked ninja were both peering through binoculars at Rio and Diancie enjoying their meal. Both were seething with frustration.
"Who the hell is this guy? How does he have such a powerful Charizard?!" The ninja was furious. He desperately wanted to snatch Diancie back, but the memory of Charizard’s Flamethrower effortlessly defeating both his Greninja and the woman’s Delphox made him hold back.
"A Charizard—a black Charizard—that can one-shot both our Pokémon with a single move. I can think of one person who fits that description." The magician narrowed her eyes.
"Who?" The ninja pressed.
"Don’t you think the Kanto Champion, Rio, fits the bill? He also has a black Charizard, and with his strength, it’s perfectly normal for his Pokémon to defeat us in one hit." The magician said thoughtfully.
"Impossible. There’s no way that’s Rio." The ninja shook his head firmly. "Kanto just suffered a major attack—Hoenn’s Rayquaza and Kyogre, Unova’s Reshiram, and Sinnoh’s Dialga all ganged up on Ho-Oh and Lugia, causing heavy damage to the region. As the Champion, there’s no way he could be in Kalos casually dining with Diancie right now. Besides—would Diancie really be that important to him?"
The magician considered his words and found them reasonable. She shrugged. "Of course I know Rio couldn’t be here—I was just speculating."
The ninja let out a dry chuckle and turned his gaze back to Rio, trying to figure out how to take Diancie from him.