As they spoke, they continued chasing in the direction the girl had just left. This time, Latias seemed to be guiding them, waiting at every fork until she saw them catch up before running farther in.
With her running and them chasing, Xia You, Ash, and the others stretched out into a long line.
He and Erika were at the back. Seeing no one nearby, Erika whispered to him, "This girl isn't the same person as the one earlier, is she?"
"Huh?" Xia You froze, then asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
Erika shook her head. "At first, it was just a woman's intuition. Then I noticed the subtle differences in their expressions and realized they weren't the same person. Of course, the most direct and important clues were her hat and what she was holding!"
"Her hat and what she was holding?"
Only then did Xia You remember that when they had seen the girl at the Grand Cathedral, she had been wearing a white hat. But the Latias ahead of them now wore no hat, nor was she carrying that drawing board!
Those were details Xia You had overlooked, yet Erika had noticed them.
Clever as she was, she had already realized something was wrong.
"You're right. They really aren't the same person." Xia You nodded. Seeing Ash and the others running far ahead, he whispered into Erika's ear, too quietly for them to hear, "Actually... the girl in front of us should be Latias in disguise!"
He did not tell Erika everything, afraid that seeming too prophetic would lead her to all sorts of speculation.
Latias!?
"No wonder..." After her surprise, understanding dawned on Erika. "I was wondering. Knowing you, you wouldn't keep following Ash to chase some girl. I figured there had to be a