The moment Su Hao's voice fell, a blue figure pounced toward him.
He instinctively raised his arms and caught it. Looking down, he saw Lucario, already sobbing so hard it could barely breathe.
"..."
Su Hao's lips moved, but he did not apologize. Instead, he gently patted Lucario's back and softly repeated,
"I'm back... and I won't be like this again in the future."
It was a response to Lucario, and also a promise to all of his partner Pokémon.
At that moment.
Because Lucario had used time stop and Teleport to act one step ahead, the other partners, who could only watch from the sidelines, could no longer hold themselves back.
They practically swarmed him, piling onto one another and surrounding Su Hao so tightly that not even water could pass through.
If Su Hao's insides were not perhaps no longer entirely human, then after barely clawing his way back from the dead, he would have been crushed straight back into the underworld.
The Pokémon's excitement lasted a long time before finally beginning to settle.
Su Hao sat cross-legged beneath the World Tree's core crystal. His gaze first fell upon the sleeping Little Mew above him, then shifted to the Pokémon before him. His expression was complicated.
"So... Diancie made that choice?"
He carefully sorted through everything that had happened while he had been "gone."
Star Creation's complete destruction, Dawn Wings Necrozma's further reaction, the Legends' decision to gather their remaining strength against it, Terapagos's selfless sacrifice, their combined effort to break through the sky barrier, and... Diancie risking herself to travel to the Ultra World in search of that sliver of hope.
"We have to help them."
Su Hao's murmur rang out.
His voice was not loud, yet it spread throughout the empty space and received unanimous support