[After your earlier suspicions, you tried asking Irida if something had happened in the Pearl Clan.]
[But every time, her answer was the same—everything was fine.]
"Everything's normal in the Pearl Clan. Why?"
Irida tilted her head, puzzled.
"It's nothing. I just thought, with you running over here all the time, maybe you had a fight with the chief."
Elias shook his head, offering an explanation.
At that, Irida pouted, visibly displeased.
"I do not come here all the time! I only visit when I want to hang out with you, okay?"
She clearly felt wronged.
The distance between the two settlements was long, and she also had her own training to keep up with. In truth, she barely had much free time in a month—how could she be coming over every day?
"Really?"
Elias frowned, uncertain. She didn't seem like she was lying.
But then he remembered how, sometimes, the Irida who visited him behaved completely unlike her usual self. Just thinking about it made his skin crawl.
Don't tell me I was being watched by something… unclean?
---
[You decided that next time the unusually quiet "Irida" showed up, you'd get to the bottom of it.]
[But strangely enough, after having that thought, nothing like it happened again—for over a year.]
[During that time, your abilities advanced significantly.]
[You'd even reached the point where you could race wild Kirlia in short-range teleportation.]
[Thanks to your psychic powers and your knack for completing tasks no ordinary human could manage, you became well-liked—deeply respected, even—by many members of the Pearl Clan.]
[Some had even suggested making you the next chief.]
[Meanwhile, with Irida's visits becoming few and far between, Cogita's mood steadily improved.]
"Not bad. It's been so quiet around the house lately."
Cogita nodded with satisfaction, the look on her face one of contentment.
Ever since she'd brought it up that last time, Irida's visits had dropped off sharply.
As expected, Elias still listens best to the one who raised him.
Hearing her remark, Elias—sitting not far away—could only smile wryly.
Truth was, he hadn't done anything. Irida had just stopped showing up so often on her own.
But the most important part…
The one who vanished seemed to be the quiet version of Irida—just as he had suspected back then.
So…
That time… was there really something pretending to be Irida, interacting with me?
Even coming at the same time every day, just to nap on top of me?
"Ugh..."
A chill ran down Elias's spine.
In a remote, untamed place like Hisui, something like that was genuinely unsettling.
What if someday Cogita got replaced too, and I couldn't even tell?
"Cogita."
With that thought, Elias turned to her with an uncharacteristically serious expression.
"Hmm?"
Cogita, who had been arranging fresh flowers, paused and looked over curiously.
"What is it? You look so serious all of a sudden."
"Talk to me more, even when there's nothing going on," Elias said.
"Why?"
Now it was Cogita's turn to be surprised—Elias had never actively sought out her attention before.
So… does this count as a milestone in their bond?
For some reason, she suddenly felt a little flutter of excitement.
But that feeling quickly gave way to deeper confusion.
Elias thought for a moment, then said,
"That way, if you ever get replaced, I'll notice right away."
Just like with Irida.
If Irida hadn't been so naturally chatty and energetic, he never would've noticed anything was off.
Cogita: ?
---
[You chose not to explain further, not wanting to scare her.]
[But not long after that… the events from a year ago seemed to repeat themselves...]
---
...
...
...
As a Pokémon who survived in the wild by using illusions, Zorua's life had never been easy.
No Pokémon wanted to hang around a "liar" who could disguise itself as its own kind.
And it wasn't just Pokémon—humans who knew of her kind would drive them off just as quickly.
In this desolate land, Zorua were practically synonymous with misfortune—considered little different from "disaster beasts."
Even so, among her kind, this Zorua thought she was one of the lucky ones.
—Because she'd found a long-term meal ticket.
It had happened by chance, back in the Alabaster Icelands. She had taken the form of a Sneasler and was crouched atop a cliff, scouting for opportunities to scavenge.
She hadn't found any scraps that day—but she had seen a human she would never forget.
From what she could tell, he was still young by human standards.
But he gave off an aura that felt oddly familiar—strangely comforting.
The same kind of feeling she used to have when nestled among her kin as a cub.
And then there was his power—he could wield telekinesis, something only Psychic-type Pokémon should be capable of.
Something about him pulled her in, beyond reason.
On impulse, Zorua decided to approach.
Using her illusions, she took the form of a girl named "Irida," someone who stayed close to him.
And with that, she managed to draw near—again and again—without being discovered.
Each time she visited, she was able to snag plenty of delicious food for free.
Sometimes, she even left behind little lists for him—requests for what to prepare next time she came.
She didn't trust him, of course.
But that didn't stop her from slowly fattening herself up using this trick.
Unfortunately…
A little over a year ago, because of that detestable human named "Cogita," it seemed Elias began to suspect something.
Zorua could only mimic appearances—she couldn't speak like humans.
Out of caution, she decided to stop visiting and returned to surviving alone in the Alabaster Icelands.
Between humans and Pokémon, it was the humans she feared more.
Still, she wasn't weak.
Even though she hadn't evolved, her keen instincts and nimble reflexes were enough to keep her from starving—barely.
But now, another winter had come. Without her clan, and constantly harassed by stronger predators, she had finally reached a point where she couldn't find enough food.
If she couldn't stock up before the freeze fully set in, she would end up as just another frozen statue on the tundra.
Driven half-mad by hunger, she sprinted blindly across the snow.
And when her mind cleared—
She realized she had somehow returned to the edges of the Crimson Mirelands.
Should she go in?
Zorua hesitated.
She had no love for humans, and didn't dare imagine what might happen if she were caught.
Back when she still lived with her kin, she'd heard countless terrifying stories about the upright apes of Hisui.
But... if she didn't go...
She'd likely starve.
Torn between fear and desperation, Zorua found herself unable to decide.