"What is it?"
Auron and the other two stood behind Ashen Vale, craning to see the computer screen.
"(д)b☆d(д)"
Ashford Vale and Flint Jonas blurted out in unison.
"Where did you get this?"
Auron was surprised, but not nearly as shocked as the two old gentlemen. He, after all, had the exact information.
"What…? Data on Victini and Manaphy? Where did you get this?"
Flint Jonas couldn't make sense of it. Had Legendary Pokémon data become as common as cabbage now? Not only having it, but having two sets at once?
Compared to the two of them, Auron knew a great deal more—because the one who had delivered Manaphy to Victini that day had been Dad himself.
And when Dad came back, he told Auron about Victini and Manaphy.
That day, after Dad and Mom set out for the Guanyin Zen Temple, Manaphy behaved perfectly in Mom's arms, letting her do whatever she wanted, up, down, this way and that. With food in her hands, nothing else mattered to him.
Just like that, Mom easily obtained part of Manaphy's physiological data.
Later, while Dad and Mom were chatting with Manaphy, they gleaned a bit more information from him.
After all, a three-hour drive was plenty of time for Dad and Mom to probe, circle around, and coax out a few things.
Then Dad and Mom brought Manaphy to the Guanyin Zen Temple. Strictly speaking, they shouldn't have been able to see Victini. Even though Dad could sense Victini's general position via Aura, if Victini didn't show himself, Dad still wouldn't be able to see him.
But the moment they arrived, Manaphy hopped out of Mom's arms, bobbing through the air straight toward the ginkgo tree.
As soon as Manaphy floated over, he vanished. It was as if Victini had pulled him along to hide.
After all, there were "outsiders" at the scene; of course they had to be cautious.
Dad and Mom, unhurried, took out the Poké Puffs Auron had made and explained who they were.
Only then did Victini gingerly reveal himself, peeking at Dad from afar and finding that he did, indeed, look a bit like Auron.
Even so, Victini kept his guard up. He flew over with obvious vigilance, eyes locked on Dad. Only after taking a bite of the Poké Puff in Mom's hand did he confirm the two were truly connected to Auron.
Still, although Victini accepted their identities, he was a little downcast—disappointed, perhaps, that Auron hadn't come.
Dad noticed the shift and more or less guessed why. He explained that Auron simply wasn't in the area right now, but he could come next time.
At that, Victini brightened at once. He and his long-unseen little buddy Manaphy started to play, the three Pokémon darting and weaving through the air, chasing one another with glee. Dad took the opportunity to record a portion of the information—by eye.
Why three Pokémon? Auron had asked Dad the same thing. Dad said the other one was likely a nearby Gastly that played with Victini.
Auron, upon hearing this, concluded with near certainty that the "Gastly" had been Mew in disguise. He didn't say so, though—if Dad learned there had been another Legendary present that he hadn't noticed, it would have driven him up the wall.
In any case, thanks to Dad's remarkable charm and gentle manner, he quickly hit it off with the three little Pokémon.
After playing together for an entire evening, Dad, who had come prepared, took a tent from the car. He'd already decided to spend the night there and get a good look at the Legendary Pokémon.
Sure enough, after one night together, the three Pokémon had even more fun with Dad, and Dad—ever the man with a method—soundly coaxed out the two Legendaries' signature moves.
Victini and Manaphy, showing off, used V-create and Heart Swap one after the other, allowing Dad to supplement his Legendary dataset.
After another day spent keeping the three Pokémon company, Dad and Mom finally drove home.
The following day after Auron returned, he took the freshly made small round biscuits. With Dad as his escort, the two made another run to the Guanyin Zen Temple.
But this time, Victini, Manaphy, and Mew were no longer there.
It seemed the three had gone out to play, because Auron saw that Victini had hidden the gifts Auron and Dad had brought him with exceptional care behind the statue of Empress Zhangsun.
He had hidden them so carefully that Auron didn't see them upon first stepping through the door; after taking two steps to the right, he spotted them.
Helpless and half amused, Auron shifted Victini's things a little lower, tucking them under the small table behind the statue of Empress Zhangsun.
Then he draped the table with a black cloth. Now the gifts were out of sight.
But he also didn't want Victini to panic if he couldn't find them, so Auron took out the instant communicator Jace Rowan had given him and set it on the table.
After that, he placed a bag of small round biscuits in an unremarkable corner inside the hall. Only then did the two of them take their leave.
Auron had, by then, also confirmed that the "Gastly" had indeed been Mew in disguise. While re-hiding Victini's presents, he'd seen the Polaroids, and the snapshots showed—plain as day—Mew and Manaphy.
......
Under the two old gentlemen's barrage of questions, Dad—having obtained Auron's permission—told them every last detail about the two Legendary Pokémon.
They already knew that Auron had a good relationship with Victini.
But in their view, even if Auron knew Victini well, he probably wouldn't be able to provide much in the way of Victini's particulars.
Dad, however, was different. As a researcher, what was so strange about carrying a camera everywhere?
And so, the three of them fell headlong into a frenzy over the data on the two Legendaries.
Watching the trio, Auron could only shrug helplessly and head back home. He wasn't the least bit curious about the two Legendaries' data. His own data was the most complete, after all.
"Hm? Why are you the only one coming back?"
Mom and Grandma were cooking in the kitchen. Hearing movement outside, Mom popped her head out to ask.
"Oh, they're completely absorbed in their research, so I came back on my own."
"Got it."
Mom tipped her head in acknowledgement and went right back to assisting Grandma.
Auron glanced at the two working over the stove and, deciding he'd only be in the way, went upstairs to his room—tidied up earlier that day.
"Mm. What Grandpa Flint told me… this should be the right way to do it."
He murmured to himself as he studied the Pokémon Egg in the culture medium and the Electric Gem soaking in the nutrient solution.
Then Auron took out three Plates and stacked them neatly on the desk, unable to help a wry smile.
"Arceus's elemental Plates, and I'm just… casually leaving them on my desk like this?"
"Well, compared to Grandpa Flint using them as tabletop shims, Arceus should probably commend me."
After cracking a joke at his own expense, Auron brought out Deoxys's energy core.
Gazing at the sapphire-blue core, Auron wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know, after all, what kind of energy Deoxys actually required.
He looked from Deoxys's energy core to the culture medium, and a thought struck him.
(End of this chapter)