novelGlobal Chapter 563 - 563: 561
Chapter 563 - 563: 561
With the Old Chateau incident finally brought to a close, they also found another lost Plate outside the manor. It had been buried in the forest, inside one of the tunnels dug out by Nincada."The Dread Plate, and the Insect Plate!"
With those two Plates collected from Eterna Forest, the search there was complete. The smaller Plates were only about the size of a palm, so carrying them around was not much trouble. Even so, with more than ten Plates in total, they still took up a surprising amount of room in a backpack.
As for Gardenia, just being able to leave the manor safely and return to her Gym already felt like a miracle.
"I finally made it back alive! Next time, I am never going over there again!"
Fortunately, the two ghosts from the Old Chateau would not leave the manor, so wandering around Eterna Forest itself was not really dangerous. Still, after thinking about it, Dawn reminded Gardenia:
"But if you want to be a Trainer, people are definitely going to come challenge your Gym, right? To collect Badges and all that."
"I've never heard of anyone having to battle a ghost Trainer in a Gym challenge!"
At Dawn's reminder, the confusion on Gardenia's face slowly turned into pure horror.
"A G-G-Gym battle... against a ghost?!"
"I-I-I-I...!"
The ghost girl had failed to scare anyone only because Dawn had knocked her out with a throw.
Which meant she absolutely could scare people if she wanted to.
"Give me a break! A Gym Leader only has to battle living people, right?! Since when do I have to battle dead people too?! This is all your fault. You never should've given her that Heavy Ball! Waaah! I'm going to die from fright!"
It had clearly been a happy ending, yet somehow the only one who got hurt in the end was her, the totally innocent bystander.
If she got scared unconscious during a Gym battle...
Then the fact that she was afraid of ghosts would spread all across Sinnoh!
People with spiritual powers really ought to spare a thought now and then for ordinary passersby who were scared of ghosts.
"If she keeps running around scaring people after becoming a Trainer, there's a real chance some wandering spiritualist might casually exorcise her on the spot. I don't think that girl would do something like that now. Just treat it like a normal battle."
Hikaru raised a finger.
"Do you know the legend of Spiritomb? Near the Lost Tower, there's an ancient stone tower where a certain Pokémon was sealed away. Cynthia-san, the Sinnoh Champion, even has one on her team, and sometimes you can find similar Odd Keystones in the Underground."
"They say that around five hundred years ago, a group of evil spirits was sealed by an Aura guardian. He traveled the world with his Pikachu, using powerful aura and mysterious sorcery to bind those wandering wicked souls one after another into Odd Keystones. Every group of 108 spirits became a Spiritomb in the end."
"Spiritomb can appear all over the world, and supposedly most of them were sealed by the same person. Though there also seem to be even older Spiritomb out there."
"I already told that girl too. If she wanders around Sinnoh causing trouble, she really could run into someone who uses strange magic. If she gets served a little justice and sealed into a Spiritomb, that'd be a disaster. For example... I can use that same kind of magic too."
"That's actually a unique sealing technique. I learned it in the Paldea region, though it's still pretty troublesome to use."
The sacred stake-based sealing method was a bit complicated, but it was extremely handy against ghosts or Dark-type Pokémon.
Compared to that, the spell used to seal Spiritomb seemed much faster and easier.
Gardenia blinked.
"Paldea? You actually went somewhere that far away? I've barely even heard of the place. And then you became an Elite Four member and even broke through the Unova League's Champion Hall? You sound like you're telling me a dream."
"...But then again, stories like that do exist, don't they? Childhood friends suddenly go off on a journey, and within half a year they've gone through all kinds of crazy things and become legends. I've heard there are young people like that in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn too. They become Champions in just a few months, like they're riding a rocket. It's unbelievable."
As she said that, she glanced at Dawn and fell into thought.
Maybe...
Maybe the girl standing in front of her would turn out to be that kind of person too?
But could she really be that amazing?
Gardenia sighed.
"Must be nice. Do you just get stronger if you go traveling?"
"Should I resign as Gym Leader and go on a journey too? Maybe I could become a Grass Pokémon Master in some other region. There's never been a Grass-type Elite Four member before, right?"
Hikaru thought it over carefully and exchanged a look with Dawn.
"That's true. As far as the regions we know of right now, there really hasn't been a Grass-type Elite Four member."
Grass specialists often showed up as Gym Leaders or team captains. Even in the player-world tournaments, Grass-types like Amoonguss showed up all the time and even won championships. In the future, one of Unova's Champions, Rosa, would also specialize in Grass-types.
And yet, the type had never produced an Elite Four-level specialist.
Among past Grass-type experts, the strongest had probably been Erika of Kanto. Thanks to the power boost she got in Pokémon Adventures, Erika ranked near the top among Kanto's Gym Leaders, second only to heavyweights like Giovanni, Blue, and Blaine. Even so, her actual battle level still fell well short of the Elite Four. In the manga, she had been used as a key defender and was still defeated almost instantly by a holding-back Pryce, which said everything about the gap in strength.
As for the others, Gardenia included - Brassius, Mallow, Cilan, Milo, Ramos... they mostly existed as early- or mid-game Gym Leaders. In terms of overall power within their own regions, none of them ranked among the top.
Hikaru thought aloud.
"Grass just has too many weaknesses. Offensively, it leans more toward disruption and support."
Gardenia immediately argued back.
"That's not fair. Aaron is a Bug-type specialist, and he's one of Sinnoh's Elite Four!"
Hikaru spread his hands.
"But in other words, as long as Aaron is here, doesn't that mean you'll never become an Elite Four member?"
Gardenia drooped at once.
"That's why I said I'd have to travel to another region... but I need to finish my work here first. And I only became Gym Leader not long ago. If I resigned immediately, that'd feel way too irresponsible toward Eterna."
That was what she truly thought too.
Yeah, seriously - why does Bug get an Elite Four member, but Grass doesn't? Was the position waiting for her all along?
Come to think of it, most Elite Four members specialized in strong, dominant types. Aaron really was the exception.
People even joked that he was the "ultimate form of a Bug Catcher."
"If we're talking about someone who uses Grass-types brilliantly, I think Leon from Galar is actually pretty incredible. His ace is Charizard, sure, but he also has an incredibly strong Rillaboom."
"So if you want to become an Elite Four member, you might need to adjust your team composition a little."
Venusaur, Amoonguss, Rillaboom, Ferrothorn - all of those were major Grass-type powerhouses. But none of them were native Sinnoh Grass-types. As for Sinnoh's local Grass-types, other than Shaymin, most of them were at a bit of a disadvantage.
Hikaru shook his head and comforted Gardenia, telling her that she still had a long road ahead if she wanted to become a true Grass Pokémon Master.
Still, Aaron had once been interviewed by Castelia TV in Unova, and apparently he had also been a Gym Leader in the past... though you would never know that from the games, anime, or manga.
Now that they had returned to Eterna City, Gardenia had no time to rest. As the Gym Leader responsible for protecting the city, she had to contact the local Officer Jenny immediately and inspect the Team Galactic Eterna Building, but then...
Dawn looked over.
"There are a lot of police over there. That direction is..."
Gardenia's face changed.
"The Team Galactic Eterna Building!"
Even in the middle of the night, the area around the building was brightly lit. The police had sealed off the nearby streets, and it looked like they had found some decisive evidence and were now conducting a full search and purge of the place.
However, they had found no trace of Team Galactic inside the building.
After asking around, they learned that the local police had still failed in the end. Even after what happened at the Valley Windworks, Eterna's police had not moved immediately to seal off the building. By the time they finally started investigating, every member of Team Galactic had already slipped away.
Still, before they were exposed, the Eterna Building had been the headquarters of a major local corporation, and it had the whole "developing cosmic energy" front as cover. No one could just storm the place without the proper authorization.
"Now's the perfect time to use the Secret Key while they're searching! Let's move those special appliances out!"
Gardenia made the suggestion, and after speaking with Officer Jenny, they quickly got permission to enter. The room in question was on the first floor of the Eterna Building, in the upper-left corner of the lobby. The door was secured by an electronic lock.
"Charon may have worked at the Silph Company in Kanto before. There seems to have been a similar room hidden in the Silph building too, along with these prototype special appliances."
Hikaru mentioned the Rotom Room from HeartGold and SoulSilver. Considering that Platinum took place after that timeline, and that Charon had been called a newly promoted Galactic Commander not long after joining Team Galactic, maybe he really had spent time in Kanto before.
Of course, there was no way they could carry those appliances around on their backs. Rotom could only choose one appliance at a time, and once it entered one and changed form, it could simply be returned to a Poké Ball.
Dawn sighed.
"There's no way I can carry around a refrigerator or a washing machine, so I guess a large appliance form really is better. Though the fridge and washer fit a rain team pretty well. Then again, Heat Rotom would definitely be more convenient."
She looked at Hikaru's device.
"That C-Gear you carry around really is handy. Equipment developed by a professor from Unova really is amazing. Big high-tech cities can make all kinds of strange and useful things."
Hikaru shrugged.
"If I had an infinite backpack, that'd be a different story. Other regions have technology, while Sinnoh has magic. It all balances out."
As the saying went, the rich relied on technology, and the poor relied on mutation.
"Then let's move these machines to my Gym for now. If you need to switch forms, just use Fly and come to my Gym." Gardenia paused, then looked at Dawn seriously. "And let's just be direct. Once we finish all this, I don't really have anything else to do. Dawn, if you don't mind, why not stay at my Gym tonight and start your Gym challenge tomorrow?"
Gardenia addressed Dawn by name directly.
"You still have an important battle ahead of you, don't you?"
Normally, challengers sought out Gym Leaders. It was pretty rare for a Gym Leader to personally invite a challenger to come battle them.
But from the earlier battle with Rotom, and from Hikaru's attitude toward Dawn, Gardenia had already noticed the extraordinary potential Dawn possessed.
Maybe battling that girl would help her improve too.
Just like those people from Kanto everyone had been talking about three years ago.
"All right."
Dawn did not refuse. She simply nodded. She knew Hikaru was going to search near Eterna City's statue for something else.
And besides, as a girl, she could not exactly go stay at Hikaru-san's house. Gardenia-san's Gym was a better option... though, when she thought about it, their houses were actually pretty close to each other.
At the same time, information about the Prince had also been logged into the Pokédex.
"Because Sinnoh is Manaphy's homeland, any Manaphy hatched in Sinnoh can learn that lost move. I confirmed that through the power of memory."
"It still hasn't reached the level where it should be able to learn it normally, but I can have it master it ahead of time..."
That move was not an Egg Move. It was a new signature move Manaphy normally learned only at a high level - level 46 or 76, depending on the game - and it was what allowed it to remain known as the Prince of the Sea even after leaving the Firefly system behind.
With Hikaru's help, Manaphy sensed Sinnoh's land and spirit and learned a high-level move ahead of schedule.
Take Heart!
"Mana!" Manaphy let out a delighted cry.
Even the Prince himself understood it.
The strategy built around Hydration and dream-enhanced power was about to begin.
And besides, ice and water went hand in hand. If anyone thought they could defeat Water-types purely by relying on Grass-types, they were badly mistaken.
Of course, Hikaru was not favoring Dawn alone. He also gave Gardenia some useful things.
Gardenia blinked.
"Huh? Is this a battle item? What a pretty stone. Too bad I'm not a rock fanatic like Roark."
Hikaru explained:
"This is a Grass Gem, an elemental gem from Unova. If a Grass-type Pokémon holds it, it can boost the power of one Grass-type move. And this one is very pure. A normal gem boosts power by thirty percent. This one boosts it by fifty."
"Gems are consumable, but if you leave them somewhere filled with natural energy, they slowly recover their power. So you can't use them constantly, but if you unleash a huge move in a key battle, it can be a one-hit finisher."
"Something that amazing?!" Gardenia blinked again, then glanced at Dawn and suddenly looked a little guilty. She turned back to Hikaru. "You want me to use this in a Gym battle? Isn't that... kind of too strong?"
She even leaned in and whispered:
"Dawn's team has a lot of Water-types, right? I already have a huge advantage. I really don't need to use this."
Hikaru coughed lightly.
"Ahem. You'll have use for it sooner or later. If you underestimate Dawn, you're going to regret it."
"And there's also this Focus Sash, this Choice Scarf, this Power Herb, this Light Clay, and this Heat Rock. I'm not charging you for any of them. Just think of them as gifts from an old friend. Every item comes with instructions. Use them as much as you want in battle."
"They'll help your future training too. I mastered the production method for a certain machine, so I don't have to craft these by hand anymore. The effects are identical to the originals. 3D printing really is convenient."
Holding a huge pile of items in her arms, Gardenia just blinked in confusion.
After Hikaru left, however, Dawn's expression slowly turned resolute.
Rest tonight?
No. There was still something important she had to do tonight.
She had to fully absorb everything she had learned.
How to combine moves. How to patch rain teams' coverage. How to counter Pokémon that resisted her main types. She could use what she had gotten from Saturn, along with a certain TM she had obtained in Jubilife City, to round out those weaknesses.
If she wanted to battle a Champion, then she still needed a massive amount of knowledge.
"You know... someone like me, an appetizer like this, obviously can't compare to a Champion."
Gardenia's voice made Dawn turn around. The orange-haired girl stood there with her hands on her hips, looking equally helpless.
"Time really flies. An old friend of mine actually became somebody incredible. I'm jealous. Dawn, why do you want to battle him?"
"If you want some advice from me, I probably can't give you any. We used to be friends as kids, but when it comes to the person he is now, I honestly know almost nothing."
Dawn fell silent for a moment.
"Because I know I'm definitely going to lose this challenge."
Gardenia looked surprised.
"If you know it's a battle you can't win, why challenge him at all? To test your limits?"
Dawn took a deep breath. Her eyes softened, though there was still something strange and complicated in them.
"We haven't spent much time together, but he's taught me so much. Over just these past few days of battling, I can feel myself getting stronger really fast. I'm becoming more and more like a real Pokémon Trainer."
"He's... like a teacher to me. And now we're about to part ways. I'm really grateful to him."
"So to me, this feels like a final exam. I want to show him everything I've learned..."
"Maybe Hikaru-san and Cynthia-san are right. Maybe I really do have the qualities to become a strong Trainer. And then there's my mysterious ancestor, who keeps leaving behind all kinds of bizarre legends."
"Maybe there really is something I have to do. But with the strength I have now, I still can't reach the standard they expect of me."
"Before I met Hikaru-san, I was just charging ahead on talent alone, beating Trainers, catching Pokémon, studying ecology... just doing what interested me. But now it feels like I've already been swept into something much bigger."
"The Team Galactic commander I met at the Valley Windworks was really strong. If I hadn't had the power of weather... if I'd been alone... I definitely would have lost that battle."
"So I thought it through."
"Winning is joyful, of course. But only defeat truly tests a person's will."
"As long as I know what the strongest people in the world are capable of..."
"Then my goal as a Pokémon Trainer will become clear."
Dawn wanted to challenge Hikaru so she could see what the power of a Champion really looked like.
As a Pokémon Trainer, she had been entrusted with great expectations by Cynthia, and that left her far less calm than she appeared on the surface.
In this short span of time, she had already thought through many things.
"That way..."
"No matter what kind of hardship I face in the future, I'll be able to overcome it through willpower alone!"
"Because I'll know what the pinnacle of the world looks like!"
In the center of Eterna City, with Team Galactic's activities now exposed, Cyrus naturally did not appear there to admire the history of the statue. Coming to Eterna at a time like this would have been practically confessing everything himself.
Incidentally, Professor Oak actually owned a house in Eterna too. It really was an interesting city.
The Eterna statue was a fusion of Palkia and Dialga. In a way, it could also be seen as proof of the merging of the Diamond Clan, the Pearl Clan, and the native people of Hisui.
Near the statue, after a brief search, Hikaru found the red Plate that had been embedded there and used as a paving stone.
"Come to think of it, the first Plate I got back in Sinjoh was also the Draco Plate. And this one was hidden right here in my hometown, Eterna City, even being used as a decorative floor tile."
Unlike the anime, the Team Galactic of the games had no idea the Plates even existed. They also were not going around collecting them the way they did in the anime.
The wood gathering was done too.
"In the dream... Dawn." Hikaru smiled mysteriously. "Once you battle me, you'll earn the right to enter the Dream Battle Circuit. You might even get to meet boys and girls from other regions there... and then become Sinnoh's Champion."
"I'm looking forward to the day you, Hilda, and Rosa form a starter trio champion team."
Maybe in this timeline, the Champions of every region would change. Maybe the protagonists would step onto the world stage.
If that happened...
Then who would become the strongest Champion in the world?
Carrying the Draco Plate, Hikaru returned to the area near the Eterna City Gym and came back to the home he had not seen in a very long time.
The stone statue at the entrance spoke of the family's past. When he unlocked the front door, a slightly thick layer of dust greeted him, the result of the place having been unoccupied for years. It was not exactly kind to the respiratory system.
Inside, the house still looked exactly as it had in memory, even though Hikaru himself had never really lived there.
"I'll stay here tonight and try making the mask."
"Happa~"
"Vini!"
Only when they reached the front door did the invisible Flutter Mane and Victini finally reveal themselves in the air. Looking at the dust-covered home, even Flutter Mane shook her head repeatedly.
Really now, you can't even clean your own nest? What a useless Trainer.
There's no way you can sleep in a place like this, so I'll help you clean it. Honestly, you're hopeless.
And don't thank me. Even if you do, I won't be happy about it.
She grumbled the whole time, yet still took the initiative and got to work, making Hikaru pause for a moment. Victini, meanwhile, wandered all over the house before suddenly spotting something.
"Thank you, Flutter Mane."
"Hahappa! I-it's not like I wanted praise or anything. A reward would be enough..."
"Vini~"
"Victini, did you find something strange? I don't think there's anything in my house besides stones and materials. There's no way something like a Mega Stone would just appear in here, right?"
And even if one did show up, it probably would not be useful to him anyway. The only Pokémon on his team that could Mega Evolve were Lucario and Aerodactyl.
Then Victini dragged something strange out from the darkness.
It was a phone.
And Hikaru could say with complete certainty that his house had never had anything like that before.
In the Pokémon world, before the Rotom Phone had been invented, phones were not very common. What people usually used were Pokétch devices and Pokégear, though they served a similar purpose.
"I see. So this is the reward for returning to Sinnoh... Or is it hinting that my father never actually died either, and instead went to another world?"
"If it was deliberately placed in my house, then I'm definitely going to need it next. Arceus of Sinnoh, you're unexpectedly kind..."
"This is the Arceus Phone."
(End of Chapter)
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