CCTnovel Chapter 559 - 557
Chapter 559 - 557
"So this is a Gracidea flower. It's so pretty!"After the Valley Windworks incident ended, the group naturally rested for a while in Floaroma Town. At the Pick a Peck of Colors Flower Shop, they received the "Bouquet of Ice Flowers" as a token of thanks. At the same time, Cynthia entrusted Dawn with Togepi's Egg before finally departing.
Before leaving, Cynthia gave Dawn her heartfelt blessing.
"You'll definitely become the hero Hikaru spoke of. I'm looking forward to the day you finally reach the Sinnoh League and take my place."
"W-w-whaaat? Cynthia-san, that's way too much," Dawn said, waving her hands over and over, unable to imagine such a thing.
But Cynthia smiled and praised her anyway. "You only learned weather tactics from Hikaru for a short while, yet you were already able to bring out their full power. Without question, you have a gift for battling, and not an ordinary one either."
"The world may be waiting for your growth. Sorry, that sounds a little strange, but you possess knowledge. You definitely..."
"One who knows," Hikaru said, looking at Dawn.
As Platinum's prototype, game-Dawn also possessed a wealth of knowledge. After all, by setting, she should have cleared the Battle Frontier, and she was also involved in Pokémon Contests. You could say she was a fusion of Platinum and anime Dawn.
Still, since she was basically a prototype model, being a little stronger was only natural.
So Hikaru felt Dawn could also be called "the One Who Knows." That was Platinum's title.
But when Cynthia heard that, she unexpectedly laughed.
"That title ought to belong to you."
"Not really." Hikaru raised a finger, smiling. "Investigating ecology, having exceptional talent in Pokémon battles, and mastering things after seeing them once. That's the gift and power of knowledge."
"As someone entrusted by Professor Rowan, of course she has that kind of ability. As for me... rather than 'the One Who Knows,' I'm more like... forget it. I'm just a passing craftsman."
In the anime, the one who corresponded to "knowledge" was Brock. And honestly, that worked too. Brock's knowledge and wisdom were beyond question. Aside from constantly leading everyone the wrong way and getting the whole group lost, accidentally triggering movie plots or special events, he was reliable in every other respect.
Then again, Brock was only entry-level when it came to getting lost.
Leon was the real heavyweight. Beyond ten meters, the man couldn't tell heaven from earth. He could head for Wyndon Stadium and somehow end up climbing cliffs in the Wild Area instead. He could even drive Ash into some deserted little forest.
Cynthia's expression grew a little subtle. After thinking for a while, she suddenly turned serious and said to Hikaru,
"Shopkeeper... you already defeated Champion Alder. For someone like you, that means you've already stepped into a higher realm, even though you're always saying you're not a Trainer who specializes in battling."
"And I've been hoping someone will beat me too. Don't make that face. I didn't say I want to battle you right now."
Hikaru's expression turned strange.
Cynthia did have a hidden battle-maniac side to her character, but under normal circumstances she didn't show it much. Usually she gave off a calm, philosophical Volo-like air.
After all, Cynthia herself was a scholar.
Put a book in her hands and she was an intellectual. Put the book down and she was a battle master. The title of "strong and beautiful" should have gone to Cynthia, not Mars. Mars just wasn't strong enough.
Hikaru said, "Cynthia... what exactly are you getting at?"
Cynthia smiled. "I want to go to Mt. Silver."
The atmosphere between them instantly turned odd. Hikaru looked at her in disbelief.
"Don't tell me you mean..."
"That's right. I want you to help Dawn grow into a Trainer capable of defeating me. With guidance from a Champion, she'll definitely be able to do it. And of course, I'll also do my part to raise someone who can surpass me. The feeling is truly incredible."
"Just imagining it makes my heart race. It feels just like that battle at the Sinjoh Ruins."
"And I want to move on to an even higher realm too. Not stay trapped by the title of Champion. I became Champion a long time ago, and what I seek is the world's constant change."
"So I want to challenge the strongest person in the world. The boy who single-handedly crushed Team Rocket and conquered the Kanto League."
"Why was he able to do that? Why is he called a battle legend? And those three other young people who stood alongside him..."
"And not just them. I've been thinking about it. Maybe if I set aside my Champion duties and became nothing more than a simple myth researcher, I could finally break the shackles I've placed on myself and battle strong opponents all over the world."
Hikaru considered that for a moment before replying, "If that's all, then there's no need to go all the way to Mt. Silver. I happen to have a very impressive project starting up right now. Battle Trainers from all over the world? That idea's still too limited."
Cynthia blinked in surprise.
Hikaru then gave her a brief explanation of Dream Heaven Consecutive Battles, which left Cynthia completely stunned.
"Not just the whole world..."
Hikaru nodded. "That's right. You can even battle masters from the past and future. You can battle Legendary Pokémon. Didn't you feel like your fight with Arceus at the Sinjoh Ruins ended too soon? Then why not try fighting other legends too?"
"I sincerely hope you'll enter the dream as well. And... this is the item that was commissioned earlier."
Hikaru solemnly handed the outfit to Cynthia.
"When you run into a major crisis, or an opponent worthy of a challenge, wear this. This is the only outfit like it in the world. Put on the Arceus Set, and you'll gain the power of a god, reclaiming the strength you used in battle back at the Sinjoh Ruins."
Come to think of it, wasn't that kind of interesting?
In Pokémon Masters, Cynthia also chose to challenge Red in pursuit of a higher realm. And in the end... because both of them were so popular, the officials never gave a clear winner. You could more or less treat it as a draw.
And in the Pokémon Masters timeline, Ethan seemed to have lost his Mt. Silver showdown with Red.
So even among protagonists, there were differences... huh?
Back in the Black and White era, Cynthia had also said that Champions from different regions gathered regularly to decide who was strongest, though that might just have been marketing talk for the World Coronation Series.
"I'll make good use of it. Just holding this outfit makes me feel like I'm back at the Sinjoh Ruins..." Cynthia looked down at the clothing in her hands, then turned to Hikaru with solemn resolve. "Please, let me join Dream Heaven Consecutive Battles as well. I'll be looking forward to the upcoming dream. I'm already getting excited just thinking about what kind of masters I might meet."
"Every time I see you, Shopkeeper, you bring me a different story and different news. When will we meet again...?"
"At Mt. Coronet? Or somewhere else?"
Hikaru only shrugged and said nothing, but his silence already answered her.
Team Galactic's work had a clear purpose, and every step of it was irreplaceable. So if even one link in the chain went wrong, everything afterward would be delayed. Cyrus's next move would be difficult. Maybe one month, two months, maybe even four or five months would pass before events could proceed according to the original storyline.
And by then...
Dawn's strength might really have reached Cynthia's level.
And more than that, Hikaru thought, if he linked together Dawn, Hilda, and Rosa - the protagonists of three generations - they could form a perfect starter trio to guard the tower inside Dream Heaven Consecutive Battles.
Though in terms of strategy, their setups were going to be absolutely disgusting.
After Cynthia left, Dawn, still cradling Togepi's Egg, looked a little conflicted.
She reached up and touched her hat. "I'm already carrying two Eggs now. I mean, they might hatch into different kids, but somehow it still feels kind of weird."
"Togepi... I've never seen a Pokémon like that before."
Hikaru said, "Togepi is the kind of Pokémon that turns the warmth and joy everyone feels into happiness. It's said that its shell is packed full of happiness. It's a symbol of good fortune. If you treat it gently, it'll share that luck with you."
"If you keep building friendship with it, it can evolve. After that, if you use a Shiny Stone on it, it'll evolve into Togekiss."
Come to think of it, even though the mystery of Togepi's Egg had only been solved fairly recently, Cynthia had possessed a Togekiss long before that.
Maybe the tradition went all the way back to Volo's generation. For all anyone knew, Cynthia's family had a long-standing custom of hatching Togepi. If Professor Elm had been able to come investigate Sinnoh, the mystery of Togepi's Egg might have been solved ages ago.
At the same time, Hikaru noticed that Dawn's Piplup still hadn't evolved.
It seemed to be holding itself back.
"So you've really been mashing B like crazy, huh? Though honestly, the fact that you can keep suppressing evolution while still maintaining that much stamina is pretty impressive."
Compared to anime Dawn's Piplup, game-Dawn's Piplup seemed stronger. But personality-wise, they were quite similar. No matter which timeline it was, did Dawn always end up with the Piplup that had the diligent nature?
After communicating with it, Hikaru got his answer.
"It wants to treasure its bond with Dawn, so it plans to stay in its starter form forever. I see. So there really are Pokémon with minds of their own - Pokémon that want to evolve, and Pokémon that don't."
"In that case, won't this just turn into the exact same route as anime Dawn? Piplup permanently bound to Dawn. The upside is higher popularity. The downside is losing that unique Water-Steel type combination."
"Of course, that doesn't mean there's no way to turn Piplup directly into Water-Steel...!"
There actually was a way.
That was to use Holon Energy.
Unfortunately, Hikaru didn't have any of it on hand.
Holon Energy referred to the immense energy released by the Research Tower in the Holon region. It was a unique region that only appeared in the Pokémon TCG, a long-forgotten secret land abandoned by the world, with just one major city.
And the most unique thing about it was this: through Holon Energy, you could add the Steel type to a Pokémon of any type.
The principle behind it was that the massive electromagnetic energy waves caused genetic mutations in the local Pokémon.
Those Pokémon were known as Delta Species Pokémon.
Of course, Hikaru was only entertaining the thought. Looking at Piplup, which seemed both gloomy and uneasy, he thought of another method instead.
"If you really don't plan to evolve, then I'll give you this Everstone. This kind of special stone is actually pretty common, isn't it? A Pokémon holding it can't evolve."
Everstones in Sinnoh were something of a legendary gag.
Though really, it had nothing to do with Piplup. It had to do with a Haunter.
Anyone who had played Platinum would remember the female NPC near Snowpoint City who wanted to trade Pokémon with the player. The Pokémon she offered was a Haunter.
And once Haunter is traded, it's supposed to evolve into Gengar.
So the player gets all excited, thinking they're about to score a free Gengar, only to discover that the traded Haunter doesn't evolve at all. Then they check the summary page and find out it was holding an Everstone the whole time, and the NPC even mocks the player for it.
She was absolutely the number one most punchable character in Sinnoh.
"Pipla!" Piplup looked delighted after receiving the Everstone. That way it could stay beside Dawn in its starter form forever.
But then it started worrying that staying unevolved would make it too weak, and it might end up warming the bench. So now it felt torn again.
But Hikaru told Piplup,
"There is a way to get really strong even without evolving. Piplup, let me tell you a secret. It's called Hyper Training."
"When we get to Eterna Forest, I'll train you a little."
The sky gradually darkened. Dawn had originally planned to spend the night in Floaroma Town, but Hikaru urged her to keep moving, which she found impossible to understand.
"Isn't it dangerous to go into the forest at night?"
Hikaru said, "You're joking, right? With your strength, even a ghost would get punched flying."
Dawn's expression instantly became awkward and embarrassed.
"And besides..." Hikaru raised a finger and warned the slightly frightened Dawn with a mysterious smile. "Ghost-type Pokémon are most active at night."
"Rotom only appears in the television at the Old Chateau after dark. And isn't that haunted mansion exactly where we're headed now?"
And who knew, maybe they'd even run into Gardenia wandering around nearby.
That girl was always lingering outside the Old Chateau and often stood in the distance staring at it. No one really knew why.
There had even once been urban legends claiming Gardenia was connected to the ghost butler and the little girl inside the Old Chateau, or even that she was the murderer.
That was just slander. Gardenia was a true-born Sinnoh local from a vegetable-growing family. Her ancestors had been farmers for generations. There was no way she had the nerve or the skill to commit murder.
Eterna City wasn't Beika City.
"Since we came here at night, we won't run into Cheryl. Eterna Forest, the forest that coexists with time... the trees here seem to have wood similar to that of Eternal Forest. Supposedly it's high-quality timber that coexists with time. If we gather enough of it here, maybe we could even use it to make Ogerpon's masks."
Back in the Hisui era, Eterna Forest and Eterna City were among the few places that had never been properly developed.
In the official short animation Snow and Ice Blue, a place called White Forest was once mentioned, and it was said to have exceptionally high-quality timber. It was hard to say whether that had anything to do with Eterna Forest.
But White Forest seemed to be very close to Jubilife Village, and old Jubilife Village was actually Canalave City, while present-day Jubilife City was supposedly expanded from some other base. NPCs in the games said as much.
So geographically, the two forests didn't really line up.
And the strangest thing was this...
Eterna City was supposed to be an ancient city with a long history, yet it didn't exist in Hisui at all. It was supposedly a city filled with old ruins that represented fading and forgotten ancient history.
"During the day, Eterna Forest is covered in cloud shadows. There's a mysterious power in this forest. Psychics train here. And two plates are scattered somewhere within it."
Even with Hikaru leading the way, Dawn still looked uneasy. At night, Eterna Forest felt as though ghosts might appear from anywhere. The darkness between the trees, together with the dense vegetation, made the place feel sinister and eerie. The light was dim, and visibility was poor.
"Miiiis..."
A faint calling voice echoed nearby. There also seemed to be the sound of a little girl giggling.
Both Dawn and Piplup turned pale with fear. Piplup flapped its tiny wings and used Cut, slicing down the trees blocking the path.
But every time a tree was cut down, more appeared ahead moments later. It was like a maze, giving them the horrible feeling that they had lost their way.
"Hah. Ghost Pokémon are pulling pranks. Nighttime is their most active period. There's some kind of Pokémon nearby feeding on our fear."
Hikaru looked toward Dawn.
"And when that happens, the answer is to use a ghost against a ghost."
Dawn blinked. "Use a ghost against a ghost?"
"That's right. Watch."
As the Master Ball opened, a shrill "happappappa" burst of laughter instantly drowned out those faint girlish giggles. A brilliant radiance flared, lighting up a huge swath of the forest.
Eight-Eight Xi-Xi-Li-Three!
"Dazzling Gleam!"
Flutter Mane's fairy light immediately exposed the real forms of the ghost Pokémon lurking nearby.
And what appeared around them was a whole group of mischievous Misdreavus.
"Misdreavus hides in the shadows and sleeps in dark places during the day. It loves the sight of people being frightened, so it appears suddenly in the dead of night and makes wailing cries that chill travelers to the bone."
"If you hear sobbing from empty space where no one is around, that's definitely a Misdreavus prank. Scaring others is the meaning of its life. It doesn't skip a single day of scare practice."
"But things are different now."
The Misdreavus stared dumbfounded at Flutter Mane, who looked very similar to them and yet was much larger.
No, wait, big sis, who are you?!
"Hah!"
Flutter Mane spread its featherlike wings. Its crimson eyes and vertical pupils swept over the Misdreavus, and then it let out a shrill mocking laugh.
Astonish.
If you don't leave right now, I'll eat you. I'll flash all your souls away.
The Misdreavus, who had originally planned to scare people, ended up terrified instead. Flutter Mane was huge, not their evolution, and yet weirdly similar to them. To the Misdreavus, it looked like a horrifying creature from the same family but utterly different.
"Miiiiiis! Miiis!"
The Misdreavus fled in a screaming panic.
"Hahahahaha!"
Flutter Mane let out another high, triumphant laugh, like a bratty little schemer whose plan had worked perfectly.
Misdreavus took pleasure in scaring humans.
Flutter Mane took pleasure in scaring Misdreavus.
Those little runts that looked kind of like her were just too easy to bully.
More importantly, this place felt amazing to her. The forest was steeped in mysterious power.
"Misdreavus...? Huh? But it looks different, and it's so big!"
"And its personality is... kind of different too, isn't it?"
Watching Flutter Mane's behavior, Dawn saw the strange Misdreavus-like Pokémon circling Hikaru over and over, then shaking its head, covering its mouth, looking pleased with itself, yet also obviously wanting praise.
Dawn blinked and sank into thought.
"It's way too obvious that it wants to be praised, but it's too embarrassed to say so?"
Flutter Mane froze.
"Hahappa?!"
How does this scrubby little girl know what I'm thinking?
Tch. Don't just read other people's thoughts. But considering I got scolded before, and if I want to make friends I'm supposed to lower my attitude a little... fine. I'll forgive you for now.
"This is Flutter Mane. It looks like Misdreavus, but it's actually a Pokémon born from the spirit of an ancient pterosaur. Its personality is violent and battle-hungry, but it tends to wipe out in battle a lot, and... well, how should I put it... in some situations, it can't properly express what it really feels, so it comes off a little tsundere."
"But in terms of strength, it's very dependable. At least in Eterna Forest."
The moment Flutter Mane heard itself being praised, it covered its mouth with its feathered wings and started laughing smugly.
Then a second later...
What do you mean, "at least in Eterna Forest"?!
Big Sis Flutter Mane puffed out her cheeks.
Hey, hey, hey, that's seriously underestimating me!
Sure, I'm invincible here, but that doesn't mean I'm going to keep wiping out everywhere else too, okay?!
Being called out this time was just unavoidable! I'm one of the few Ghost-types you have. It's not like I came out because I wanted praise or anything...
Huff huff. If you're relying on my power, then I guess there's nothing I can do. Honestly, I really am that important to you...
"Cool~"
Flutter Mane was still muttering weird nonsense to herself when she suddenly heard a familiar cry of "Give me money!"
She looked down.
At some point, Gimmighoul had come out carrying its treasure chest, and it was whistling at her.
Ah, so this little punk was saying that he wasn't the only Ghost Pokémon around?!
"Hah?! Happappa!"
Flutter Mane immediately glared at Gimmighoul.
Careful, or I'll hit you with Dazzling Gleam.
Sure, you're a Ghost-type too, but your strength doesn't even belong on the same stage.
Other than Aegislash, the only Ghost Pokémon this human can truly rely on is me.
Without me, how would he ever express his essence as a spirit medium?
I'm the most important one, the easiest to use, and in the future I'll be the top ghost general second only to Aegislash.
So from this moment on, you step aside.
"Pbbt!"
Gimmighoul stuck out its tongue, instantly setting Flutter Mane off. She started huffing angrily, but Hikaru waved a hand.
"Don't fight. Gimmighoul hasn't evolved yet, so of course you're stronger. There, there. I'll always love."
"Happa~!" Flutter Mane instantly lost all her anger after getting praised. She turned smug again, made a face at Hikaru, then stuck out her tongue at Gimmighoul in triumph as she drifted through the forest in a much better mood.
As for Gimmighoul, it didn't care at all.
It kept whistling, completely unconcerned.
Hmph. You wipe out a few too many times, get praised by your Trainer twice, and suddenly you're so happy you could ascend to heaven. Total scrub behavior. After living this many years, you're still just like a little girl. Anyone who gets handled so easily by a Trainer doesn't deserve to be called a ghost.
Not like me. I've been mature and worldly since I was three thousand years old.
And all that talk about being the reliable Ghost under Aegislash completely ignores Little Loto, doesn't it?!
You really do think of Little Loto as an oven now, huh? What, you think it's a back-kitchen appliance and an electronics engineer who also develops dating software and vegetable-ordering apps?
Besides.
You be strong if you want. I'll just team up with everyone else and help cut down ten thousand HP.
It just wanted to come out and remind everyone it existed.
And then...
Gimmighoul turned to look at Dawn. Just as it was about to do something, Hikaru grabbed its chest.
"Nope. Don't go eyeing a kid's allowance too. Were you just about to steal Dawn's wallet?"
"Tch." Gimmighoul shook its head helplessly.
Dawn, now much less afraid, watched Gimmighoul curiously with Piplup.
"Umm... what kind of Pokémon is this? It's carrying a chest and gold coins. It's basically like a mimic from an RPG."
Hikaru said, "Gimmighoul is basically that kind of thing, yeah. Something like a treasure chest monster. It manipulates humans into searching for coins for it. So you'd better keep a close eye on your wallet."
Then he warned Gimmighoul, "And modern coins are useless to you. In Sinnoh, there aren't actually that many ancient coins. People around here in the old days didn't really seem to use money all that much."
"Dawn doesn't have many coins in her bag either. The kind of wallet stuffed with coins only exists in the Veilstone Game Corner. And for the record, there probably isn't any treasure inside the mansion up ahead either."
"Tch!" Gimmighoul immediately lost interest.
It had heard there was a haunted mansion ahead and had been planning to raid it for coins.
And now he was saying there was no money here?
No one to rob, either.
Man, this really made it miss Raifort-sensei. Her Gimmighoul financial management was top-tier.
Well, then this place sucks.
Let that tsundere brat who thinks about breeding with you all day keep going with you instead. Hopefully she doesn't start a fight with invisible Victini. I'm going back into the Luxury Ball to rest.
By the way, young lady, since you don't have any money...
Huh. You're a kid. How boring.
Gimmighoul looked deeply disappointed, then chattered at Dawn for a while as if giving her life advice.
Society in ancient times needed money, and society today needs money too. So if your allowance isn't enough, you can't do anything. Young lady, work hard and earn more money.
Here, take this ancient coin. It might look like it's only worth one unit, but you can exchange it for plenty of modern money. Think of it as an investment from me.
You fought pretty well earlier too, so this is your reward.
When you get rich later, make sure you pay me back. Remember to go tomb raiding.
With a swish, Gimmighoul returned to the Luxury Ball together with its treasure chest, leaving Dawn staring blankly, still clutching the coin it had tipped her.
"Uh... well, Flutter Mane is strong, but Gimmighoul is strong after it evolves too. A noble body of gold. I guess that's not something you can forge so easily."
Hikaru thought about it.
If he were looking for ancient coins, he already had Unovan ancient coins and Paldean ancient coins. As for the rest... there were plenty in Alola too.
There might even be a prince's inheritance in an ancient Almia city...?
Maybe he'd even run into AZ eventually. If that happened, maybe he could ask him for a few as well.
Gather ancient coins from seven regions, one thousand in total...
And then summon Gholdengo!
(End of Chapter)
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