Before long, the girl finished her work. With a bright smile, she exchanged a few words with the owners of the injured Pokémon. After receiving their thanks, she finally walked over to Logan and bent forward slightly.
"…Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Her voice was light and warm, and yet within those scarlet eyes lay a purity so untainted it felt as though the world had never managed to soil her in the slightest.
Humans were fickle—sometimes a single trivial incident was enough to change their outlook entirely. But for Pokémon, especially a Legendary Pokémon that had lived for countless years, the outside world rarely left such an imprint. Their core was far more difficult to alter.
Logan had been sitting on the rest chair, leaning forward absentmindedly. Hearing her voice, he snapped back to attention. The first thing that entered his vision was a pair of slender legs wrapped in white stockings, very close to him. A faint, pleasant scent lingered in the air. When his gaze finally lifted, he saw the nurse smiling gently, holding his Poké Balls with both hands as she passed them back to him.
"They've recovered very well. Please take your Poké Balls!"
"Thank you."
Logan accepted the three Poké Balls, well aware that the Pokémon inside were perfectly fine to begin with.
"If you'd like a physical examination, please follow me."
The girl straightened and made a polite gesture. Logan followed her toward the treatment room behind the main hall of the Pokémon Center. In this world, doctors and nurses weren't separate professions—men were called doctors, women nurses, but the work itself was the same.
"I don't think I've asked—what's your name, Nurse?"
Logan asked as they walked.
The red-haired girl paused slightly. After a brief hesitation, she replied,
"…My name is Latias."
The moment the words left her mouth, Latias looked at Logan with visible tension, afraid he might realize something from her name.
But Logan showed no reaction at all.
"…So, Miss Latias. My name is Logan. Please take care of me."
"…Ah… please take care of me too."
Latias felt puzzled.
After all, Alto Mare was famous for the legends of Latios and Latias. The story was even promoted as a cultural attraction for tourists. In the central plaza of the city stood stone statues of Latios and Latias themselves.
Yet after hearing her name, Logan hadn't questioned why it matched that of a Pokémon at all. This surprised her.
Then a thought occurred to her—she was currently in human form. Surely this Trainer hadn't even considered that Pokémon could possess a humanoid form, let alone that she might actually be the Legendary Pokémon Latias.
With that realization, Latias relaxed. Her steps became noticeably lighter, her mood lifting.
She had lived within human society for many years. Latias possessed extremely high intelligence, and unlike most Legendary Pokémon, she also shared a way of thinking remarkably close to that of humans. If one were to name the Pokémon closest to humanity in both mind and emotion, it would undoubtedly be her and her brother, Latios.
Unlike her brother, Latias preferred living among humans and often acted in human form. Latios rarely did so. The Trainer walking behind her was merely one of the countless humans she had encountered across her long life—yet for some reason, she felt an inexplicable fondness for him.
Just touching him, exchanging a few words, filled her with a sense of warmth and joy she had never once experienced in all her years of existence.
Logan, of course, had no idea what was going through her mind. He simply followed this humanoid Pokémon into the treatment room and participated in what could only be described as a "doctor game."
Latias, as a Legendary Pokémon who had lived for untold ages—and one gifted with both extraordinary intelligence and human-like cognition—had accumulated an astonishing amount of knowledge and skills within human society. Enough to make any human feel inadequate.
To avoid drawing attention to her unchanging appearance and apparent immortality, Latias periodically assumed new identities and different professions.
She had been a teacher, instructing children.
A doctor, treating both Pokémon and humans.
An explorer, delving into ancient ruins.
A chef, working in restaurants.
An idol, singing and dancing on stage.
A maid, cleaning and maintaining homes.
She had even once worked as a miner, digging deep underground.
Over countless years, she had learned—and mastered—all of these roles. She was, in every sense of the word, a remarkably versatile Pokémon.
Logan, however, knew none of this.
He simply followed Latias's instructions as she used various modern medical instruments to examine him—measuring his height and weight, drawing blood for routine tests and liver function analysis, running ultrasounds, ECGs, and more. Every action she performed was smooth, precise, and practiced.
So practiced that Logan began to doubt himself.
Was this girl really Latias… or just a human who happened to share the same name?
Logan had encountered Legendary Pokémon before—ancient ones, even. Mew, for example, had existed since the birth of the world and could freely transform into human form.
But Mew behaved like a mischievous child, playful and carefree. It knew nothing of such things, let alone advanced medical knowledge that even modern humans struggled to master.
This dragon… was absurdly extraordinary.
While Logan's worldview was being quietly shattered, Latias handed him his medical report. Showing her pearly teeth, she smiled brightly.
"…Your body is extremely healthy. In fact, it's so healthy it barely resembles that of a human."
"Thank you," Logan replied calmly. "But no matter what you say, I'm still human."
He deliberately emphasized the word human—but Latias didn't catch the nuance.
Logan, of course, already knew his body was in excellent condition.
Back then, Mewtwo's cells had invaded his body, nearly killing him. But that ordeal had not been without benefit. Once Mewtwo's genes stabilized, the remaining cells that had once threatened Logan's life fused completely with him.
Because there were only a small number of those cells, Logan remained human overall. But because they originated from Mewtwo, his physical abilities underwent a dramatic transformation—far surpassing those of ordinary humans.
That was the true reason he had been able to fully absorb Bruno's lifetime of experience and techniques in just a year and a half.
Yet the most unbelievable change brought by those cells was something else entirely.
His lifespan was no longer human.
Logan had once asked Mewtwo how long he could live, assuming the mysterious and immeasurable nature of the soul was excluded.
Mewtwo hadn't answered directly. But according to its explanation, since the two of them had long since fused—sharing life energy—then in theory, as long as no external danger intervened, Logan would live just as long as Mewtwo did.
Logan didn't know exactly how long Mewtwo's lifespan was.
But judging by the power it possessed, it was at least on par with that of Legendary Pokémon.
And so, without even realizing it, Logan had achieved the ultimate goal pursued by countless humans, emperors, and rulers throughout history—
Immortality.
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