Pheobe looked just as she had before. Though several days had passed, she seemed unchanged.
"Pheobe, you scared me!"
Misty patted her chest, still shaken. Having been through so much together and traveled together for over a day-and having just been startled by her-she no longer felt the need to address this member of the Elite Four formally. They seemed perfectly able to get along like ordinary friends.
Rubbing her nose, Pheobe grinned smugly. "Hehe, I'm just like a Ghost Pokémon, appearing and disappearing without a trace!"
Though Xia You was also surprised to see her appear at this moment, he immediately took the two bags off his back and returned them to her.
"Keep them safe. Don't let anyone steal them again."
Taking the bags, Pheobe bowed solemnly to Xia You.
"Mr. Xia You, Miss Anabel has already told me what happened. Thank you so much for everything! Don't worry, I'll keep them safe this time. Besides, I'm sure that with ambitious people like Maxie and Archie gone, nobody will be after them anymore!"
Xia You and Misty exchanged a glance.
Clearly, Pheobe didn't know that Necrozma had rescued Maxie and Archie. It seemed Anabel had deliberately suppressed the news to avoid causing panic, concealing the truth even from a member of the Elite Four.
That was certainly the right thing to do, but there was no need to be overly wary, either.
Although Maxie and Archie had been taken away, given their circumstances, they presumably couldn't act however they pleased. As for whether Necrozma would help them capture Groudon and Kyogre, all he could say was that if it really came to that, hiding the Orbs anywhere would be pointless.
But since Anabel hadn't said anything, they didn't tell Pheobe about it either.
"How are your grandparents?"
"They're