Pokémon: Breeding Simulator [48]

Latios' mind was in complete disarray.

After being forcibly yanked out of his blind rage, all that remained was sheer confusion.

"Yesterday… wasn't he still just a pet? How did his status suddenly change overnight?"

Taking a deep breath, Latios forced himself to remain calm and asked his sister patiently.

As long as she hadn't been taken advantage of by some bastard, he could still salvage the situation.

Especially in a case like this—he felt there was still room to negotiate.

Hearing Latios' question, Latias tilted her head, genuinely pondering it.

After what happened last night, she did want to embrace the role of "Mama."

But… her brother wasn't wrong either. She didn't want to just lose a pet for no reason.

Ugh, this is so complicated…

Watching her indecisive expression, Latios sighed in relief.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

A situation that should have been difficult had been easily resolved with just one well-placed question.

As expected, I'm the smarter sibling.

Just as Latios was basking in his own cleverness, Latias spoke up, her tone firm.

"I've decided! From now on, I'll be both his owner and his mama."

She gently rubbed her cheek against Elias, then asked him sweetly,

"You want to be both a pet and my child, right?"

"Ya!"

Completely unaware of the implications, Elias simply nodded under her influence.

Latios' smug expression froze.

This was not the answer he expected.

But seeing his sister's face light up with joy, he sighed.

Whatever. Pet or child, they're basically the same thing. In a few months, he's getting tossed anyway.

Convincing himself of this, he felt the situation was once again under control.

---

[Thanks to Latias' persistence, your identity has gained another layer.]

[From then on, Latias trained you as a pet during the day and comforted you like a mother at night.]

[She even made clothes for you, woven from Heracross shells, Lilligant petals, and Mightyena fur.]

[Latios, while slightly envious, tolerated it—knowing you'd be gone soon.]

[And so, time passed, and before you knew it, you turned two years old.]

[Age 2: Today is the agreed-upon day for you to leave. Latios woke up early to remind Latias of what needed to be done.]

As he looked at his drowsy sister, Latios couldn't help but smirk.

Today was the day they would finally send the human away.

The thought pleased him.

He had to admit—the boy was obedient for a human child.

But that didn't change the fact that Latios did not trust humans.

And seeing his sister dote on one only made him grit his teeth in frustration.

As he lost himself in thought, a movement caught his attention—Latias was dragging a small suitcase out of the nest.

The bag was stuffed to the brim, bulging from the sheer amount of things inside.

"...What are you doing?"

Latios frowned, a bad feeling creeping into his gut.

"As his mama, I obviously have to leave the island and move to human society with him!"

Latias answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

That's right—after two years together, she found that she couldn't just send her little one away.

But Latios wasn't wrong either.

A human couldn't stay in a Pokémon's world forever.

No matter how much she loved him, there were things she simply couldn't teach him—like human knowledge and language.

So, she had decided to move to the neighboring Alto Mare with him.

Seeing that his sister wasn't joking, Latios' breathing hitched.

I knew it. I knew she wouldn't give up that easily…

But on this matter, Latios refused to back down.

He could indulge her in many things, but this was not one of them.

"Latias."

His voice was unusually serious.

"You know this is something we agreed on long ago. There's no room for negotiation."

Realizing that she wouldn't be able to talk her way out of it, Latias' expression turned cold.

She dropped the suitcase and picked up Elias instead.

"I won't do it!"

She had no interest in debating with Latios.

She knew she wouldn't win.

But those three simple words made her stance clear.

At her defiance, Latios' aura flared—his body glowing with a deep blue light, his overwhelming power spreading through the air.

"If you won't throw him away—then I will."

It was the first time he had ever threatened her.

He knew her body better than anyone.

To poachers, she might as well be a beacon, her scent practically screaming: "I'm Latias, and I'm right here!"

Occasionally sneaking into human society was one thing, but living there? That was just begging for disaster.

He would not let that happen.

Even if it meant making her hate him.

But to his surprise—

His usually mildly rebellious sister actually flared her own psychic power in defiance.

For the first time ever, she was fighting back.

"The human world isn't just poachers," she argued, her voice stubborn.

"I know I can live there without being discovered."

Their blue energies clashed violently in midair, distorting the air with sheer force.

Though Latias was weaker, she held firm, refusing to back down.

Just as the battle reached a stalemate—

Another psychic force suddenly joined the fray.

Latios' expression shifted.

He turned to the source, stunned.

A two-year-old child…

Was using his psychic power to help Latias resist him.

That was supposed to be impossible.

Even for humans who awakened psychic abilities, reaching a Pokémon's level was unheard of.

Yet somehow—this child's power was actually holding him back.

Genius? Monster?

Latios didn't know what to think.

Latias, too, felt the sudden lightness in her body.

Looking down at Elias, whose small form was glowing faintly, her golden eyes trembled.

This was the first time—aside from her brother—that she had ever felt protected by someone else.

Just as she was about to push her advantage and overwhelm Latios—

He suddenly withdrew his power.

"...If you say you can do it," his voice was low and steady, "then prove it."

As he spoke, his gaze remained locked on the boy in Latias' arms.

A thought was forming in his mind.