That night, Dian groomed Alolan Vulpix's fur. As the sensation brushed his fingertips, he felt nostalgic for the first time in ages.
It was just like that night years ago, when he had prepared to set out with Misdreavus from an obscure little town in Johto.
The difference was that, on that night, he had been full of anticipation, but uneasy beneath it.
Now, although what lay ahead was unknown, he felt utterly at ease.
Because he knew that nothing on this glacier could hurt him.
Latias, sleeping far away in Luoxiang, would not allow it, nor would the Glaceon he carried with him.
Even without them, the mental power honed through countless battles and choices was enough for him, like other Chief Pokémon Rangers, to communicate directly with the hearts of many Pokémon in the world and draw on their strength to overcome anything.
But if he searched his heart, did he really understand Pokémon?
Did Pokémon actually communicate with one another?
What exactly did the Totem Pokémon of different territories do in their daily lives?
What was Ho-Oh's purpose in traveling from place to place?
Arceus dwelled high above in an alternate dimension of space and time. What did Arceus truly think of the changes in this world?
What did the Legendary Pokémon consider over the course of their long lives?
Even with Latias, whom Dian knew best, he still did not understand what she had seen in him that made her choose him back then.
"Unfortunately, being human does come with limitations sometimes. We can't truly understand how Pokémon see humanity."
Perhaps other people did not care about these things, but Dian was deeply interested.
He now knew almost everything about the human world. Even many of the Alola Region's secrets were nothing remarkable to him.
Yet