Celosia kept a close eye on Elias's expression.
Whether as her boss's partner, or as the organization's Deputy Leader—
Either identity was more than enough to make someone like her, a mere scientist, watch her step.
So even with Yveltal not far away turning the sky into a storm of explosions, Celosia still stood there calm and unflinching.
As a loyal member of the organization, even frowning at a time like this would be disrespectful to her professional ethics.
But…
When Elias's face showed a helpless look, Celosia's mood plunged straight to rock bottom.
She was done for.
She'd thought finishing this mission would mean a promotion and a raise, but now it looked more like she'd just wasted her time.
"Not bad. Take it back and sell it to the academic circles—should fetch a decent price."
Elias said it to Celosia tactfully.
He could already guess this was probably that red-maned lion Lysandre jumping to conclusions.
He didn't do academic research, and he wasn't all that interested in Yveltal.
The only thing he'd wanted from the start was Xerneas.
But he'd never mentioned that, so it was normal Lysandre wouldn't know.
Seeing Yveltal fly a bit farther forward again, Elias knew it was time to move.
"Mr. Eli—"
Before Celosia could finish, Elias's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.
Delphox at his side disappeared with him.
To avoid being attacked the instant he appeared, Elias Teleported into midair—ending up not far above Yveltal's head.
Up close, he finally truly felt how powerful Yveltal was.
As one of the strongest Pokémon in the Kalos Region, even its breathing seemed to be siphoning away the surrounding life force.
A violent aura wrapped around Yveltal, pressing down with an indescribable sense of oppression.
"Delphox—[BLAST BURN]."
Elias gave the order without hesitation.
At the same time, a pale blue Aura Sphere slowly gathered in his palm.
When fighting an opponent stronger than yourself, an ambush was always one of the fastest ways to narrow the gap.
"Del~—"
At the command, Delphox snapped her wand down, forming a fireball bigger than her own body without the slightest hesitation.
After using Blast Burn, her body would slow down for the next few seconds.
Using a move like that in midair meant taking on a huge risk.
Yet she still trusted she'd return safely to somewhere secure.
Perhaps because it had never imagined anyone would dare ambush it, the moment Yveltal noticed something wrong and turned—
BOOM!
A huge yellow orb and a huge blue orb slammed hard into its chest.
BAM—!
Even it couldn't shrug off that massive shockwave.
For a moment, it was actually knocked out of the sky, plunging straight into the forest below and snapping whole clusters of trees as it fell.
With the first strike landing cleanly, Elias wrapped an arm around Delphox and immediately Teleported to a safe distance.
...
Far away.
Celosia, who'd been about to say something, stood there with her mouth slightly open, completely stunned.
But the moment she snapped back, her expression turned to terror.
Mr. Elias was fighting Yveltal?!
You've got to be kidding!
Who Team Flare's true leader was at this point—every old hand knew it.
No exaggeration: if the boss liked you, you still might not become a high-ranking scientist.
But if Mr. Elias approved of you, the very next day the boss would be speaking to you in a warm, gentle voice.
But if something happened to him under her watch…?
If that really happened, Celosia didn't even dare imagine what her ending would be.
Leaving everything else aside, Lysandre alone would tear her apart!
Just as she fumbled for her communicator in a panic, about to report to Lysandre—
A pop-up message from him arrived first.
[Stop all tasks. Protect Mr. Elias's safety.]
Short and sharp—exactly her boss's style.
But the content nearly drove Celosia insane.
With the Pokémon she had, she couldn't even stand up straight in front of Yveltal.
At her level, how was she supposed to protect him?!
BOOM!
Before Celosia could calm down, another earthshaking blast roared from the distance, and waves of heat even rolled toward her.
BLAST BURN!
Before Yveltal could even get back up, Delphox followed up without hesitation.
Elias, meanwhile, held back his strength and switched to psychokinesis, sending out a Psycho Cut.
It was a technique Diantha's Gardevoir had taught him, and its power still drew a furious roar from Yveltal.
Neither Yveltal nor Xerneas—still not yet revealed—could truly be killed.
Both Pokémon had the ability to revive endlessly.
So Elias wasn't worried at all that consecutive attacks would make it drop dead.
Just as he and Delphox—still taking quick, shallow breaths—prepared to chain into the next round of attacks—
Yveltal's figure suddenly vanished from sight.
Whoosh—
Before Elias could give an order, Delphox whipped her head and unleashed a Heat Wave.
At the same time, Elias felt his waist tighten—Delphox had actually wrapped an arm around him from the other side.
Riding the force of the Heat Wave, she yanked him out of their current position.
The next second…
Thud!
A dull impact sounded.
Yveltal's massive tail smashed down hard into the ground, leaving behind a web of cracks across the desiccated earth in an instant.
Seeing Delphox dodge in advance only stoked Yveltal's fury.
ROAR—
As the bellow rang out, a huge red-and-black sphere of energy condensed before its beak.
In the blink of an eye, Elias sensed the scant life force left in the environment flowing even faster toward it.
As expected, those consecutive hits weren't nearly enough to deal a fatal blow to a Legendary like Yveltal.
Worse, the sudden assault had only enraged it.
"What a pain."
Feeling even the Life Energy inside his body straining as if it wanted to burst out, Elias's head started to throb.
To test a theory he'd long suspected, he deliberately gathered a thin wisp of Life Energy into his hand.
"Delphox—[FIRE SPIN]."
Elias looked to the side and ordered calmly.
"Del!"
Without a hint of hesitation, Delphox tapped her wand lightly, easily releasing a Fire Spin thicker than her own body.
Elias seized the timing and tossed the Life Energy in his hand into the Fire Spin.
BOOM!
This time, with Yveltal deliberately dodging, the flames only struck its wing.
And yet—
"ROAR—!!"
An expression that looked even more pained than before appeared on that vicious face.
Watching Yveltal, Elias let out a quiet breath.
So it was true.
Compared to ordinary attacks, the small amount of Life Energy he had left was far more effective.
---
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