'Wo-Chien, a Pokémon unsealed from an ancient shrine.'
'Encountered before the Grasswither Shrine.'
'Honest to the point of stubbornness.'
'Accepts every flavor.'
'Likes recording things. Quite cultured.'
———
After placing it into a Master Ball as well, Hikaru gave Wo-Chien a round of healing.
He played the legendary song of the Mysterious Girl for it.
And gradually, the fatigue and pain faded away.
When Wo-Chien awoke, it felt like something in its heart had shifted.
That power that could wither and rot plants had been sealed by a sacred aura, and Wo-Chien held no particular resentment over it.
A bet is a bet. Lose the fight, and you're at the mercy of others—this has been the rule since ancient times!
I only hate my own lack of strength!
"Pao~"
Chien-Pao reached out and rubbed Wo-Chien's tablets, and Wo-Chien felt a sliver of comfort.
See? As expected, we Treasures of Ruin are kindred spirits, hearts aligned—
You dead cat, where are you touching?!
"Ha!"
Chien-Pao suddenly slapped the tablets a few times, nearly prying them apart. When Wo-Chien whirled around in anger, the cat immediately bolted away in a flash!
Comfort the big snail?
Yeah right. Chien-Pao thought it was just curious why those tablets could return to normal.
It still felt weird no matter how many times it saw it.
They'd clearly been burned, but after healing, they restored themselves—and the writing on them was still moving!
"Wo-chie."
This defeat must also be written in grand detail upon the bamboo slips—revenge can still be taken even after ten generations…?!
Forget it. Let's pretend that "revenge" never happened. That little knight moved me, after all.
I'll just gloss it over with a few Spring-and-Autumn brushstrokes.
But what Chien-Pao did just now must be recorded on the Tablets of Grudges!
This debt—I, Wo-Chien, will remember!
"Earlier, I heard you mention Ting-Lu. Shouldn't the strongest be Chien-Pao?"
Hikaru looked at Wo-Chien, who seemed to know everything, and asked out of curiosity. At the same time, he examined the strange tablets on Wo-Chien's back.
[Legendary Craftwork: Tablets of Ruin (Zuo Commentary).]
[Description: Tablets that bring calamity. They are said to have once been historical bamboo slips from a certain ancient eastern land, used to record history. After absorbing far too much malice and greed, and taking in the resentment of an imprisoned court historian, they became tablets that bring disaster.]
[Effect: A Pokémon holding these tablets reduces the opposing side's Attack. The tablets are Wo-Chien's true body and cannot be used by other Pokémon.]
[Recording evil upon bamboo slips may imply "crimes too many to record," meaning wickedness beyond measure.]
[The Treasures of Ruin's personalities are shaped by the emotions they absorb during their journeys.]
[Learned the method to create Tablets of Ruin!]
Wo-Chien looked at Hikaru for a moment, then raised a question.
"Wo-chie?"
Long ago, a legendary merchant carried many treasures. Among those treasures, aside from the sword-cat Chien-Pao with its murderous aura, which treasure was the strongest and most formidable overall?
Wo-Chien closed its eyes, recalling the past.
Long ago, when we destroyed the Paldean Empire, we once held an internal discussion:
My opinion was… hmm, Ting-Lu?
Chi-Yu: It depends on the situation, but it should be Ting-Lu. That's just my fish opinion.
Chien-Pao: Probably Ting-Lu? But if you include Gholdengo, then the result changes.
Ting-Lu: Any treasure other than me and Wo-Chien.
"Wo-chie!"
You know, in distant lands, a ding vessel is an important ritual object.
"Chasing the deer" means competing for the right to rule.
"To ask about the ding" means to reach the pinnacle of power.
A sword-cat like Chien-Pao that specializes in attacking others—overly aggressive—doesn't amount to much. Its fragile, snow-made body means that if it takes a few extra hits, it'll start writhing on the ground.
Only true, comprehensive strength deserves to be called strength.
"As immovable as a mountain; when it moves, it strikes like thunder." That's the principle!
"But you said Ting-Lu is very cautious, and it's good at using Whirlwind?"
"Wo-chie." Wo-Chien's eyes held a strange look.
Strength and caution aren't opposites. Precisely because it's cautious, it can go Spikes + Stealth Rock + Whirlwind in a silky smooth combo, right?
And if it decides to attack outright—
If you can't understand the nails-and-Whirlwind playstyle—
Then Ting-Lu also knows a thing or two about the "fissure-and-stomp" combo.
"Your personalities are much more interesting than I expected. If I suppress your malice, you're actually pretty cute, aren't you, little Wo?"
Li-little Wo?!
You're using that weird nickname again!
Wo-Chien was displeased, but Chien-Pao was delighted. The cat kept huffing and laughing at the side, so Wo-Chien snapped its vine and lashed it once!
Seeing the two Treasures of Ruin start fighting, Hikaru sighed. With one hand he grabbed the cat by the scruff, and with the other he pinned the snail down.
The cat immediately covered its head.
"Pao!"
Wo-Chien broke out in a cold sweat—though it had no sweat glands. The fear emotion burst out all at once.
What the—this strength is way too much. Not only does he have sealing techniques, he's also this physically strong?!
No wonder Chien-Pao has been trained into obedience—so it was beaten into submission!
Wo-Chien thought briefly.
When the cat was chased away, the big snail lowered its head on the spot.
In our homeland, there is a long-circulating tale.
It is said—
A bird that chooses its tree finds a good tree to rest upon.
A minister that chooses its lord finds a worthy ruler.
My life's wish is fulfilled!
From this day on, my life is the tamer's life; my body is the tamer's body. Command me as you will. I will have no second heart!
Little Wo, then. Fine. I can accept it.
"Next, we fast-forward to Paldea's Four Calamities Sworn Brotherhood."
The Treasures of Ruin coming from some mysterious eastern land was fine. But with this snail talking like a classical scholar, Hikaru almost felt like he'd wandered into the wrong genre.
Of course, to outsiders, it just sounded like "wo-chie, wo-chie" anyway.
"In any case, it's to stop you from going out and causing trouble. But once I unseal you, I also have to take responsibility for taking care of you. For now, follow me."
"Wo-chie."
Having surrendered, Wo-Chien actually felt relaxed.
What a sudden widening of heaven and earth!
Since we're companions now, he won't suddenly backhand me and seal me for another thousand years.
And this tamer before me isn't like the person from a thousand years ago. He's similarly strong, but he gives me an oddly reassuring feeling.
The sunlight is warm too. It makes me want to photosynthesize… though I don't even have that function, since I'm just a pile of withered leaves, not living plants.
"If you can learn Synthesis, that means you truly have a living plant body. If you can learn Strength Sap too, then that would be impressive."
Hikaru returned Wo-Chien to the Master Ball.
From the four Master Balls provided by AI Sada, there were two left.
Soon, all four Treasures of Ruin would be captured. And the crafting techniques represented by their artifacts would also be obtained.
"Sword of Ruin, Tablets of Ruin, Beads of Ruin, Vessel of Ruin."
"Swords and sword-type items share similar forging methods."
"Tablets involve woodworking craftsmanship and calligraphy, and emotional condensation."
"As for the Beads of Ruin… that should be a special kind of orb, right?"
"And finally, the vessel—by theory it relates to smithing and casting. But ordinary casting can't produce a vessel that condenses the Heart of Terror."
Departing again from South Province (Area One), they would pass through Artazon once more.
And the next coordinate was hidden in Paldea's northeast: the Firescourge Shrine.
That shrine was sealed inside a waterfall cave high in the mountains—hidden extremely well.
And looking from the northeastern mountains farther northeast—
There was only a vast, towering plateau, completely separating Paldea from the outside world, and forming Paldea's unique ecology.
However, if nothing unexpected occurred—
Some people had speculated that the enormous plateau mountain range in the northeast—higher and more imposing than the mountains—might be the "Nebel Plateau" seen in the anime, the location from the movie Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel.
That plateau lay far from human habitation, surrounded by wilderness including lakes and waterfalls, and it was shrouded in heavy fog.
That is, in southern Kalos.
And South Kalos was originally a scrapped expansion that X/Y never successfully released.
In other words, if you crossed that nameless, fog-filled unknown plateau and kept traveling northeast, you might be able to reach the Kalos region.
But that was only conjecture.
Hikaru glanced at the map. The Pokémon world didn't have a "world map" at all, which was very strange—only regional town maps.
Which was normal in its own way.
After all, future generations still needed to add new regions. If there were a world map, they'd be forced—like World of Warcraft—to constantly retcon it.
Therefore, despite having advanced space technology, the Pokémon world simply refused to publish a world map.
"Still, known routes between regions can be checked through the network and navigation."
"Paldea doesn't have a direct flight route across that plateau. That means the theory may not hold."
"Seems it doesn't matter."
On the way to the Firescourge Shrine, Hikaru's Pokégear chimed.
He thought it would be Professor Juniper-sensei contacting him, but it was Steven instead.
"Come to think of it, after Steven returned to Hoenn, we only communicated once through the Battle Company's cooperation project."
"But that was with President Stone, not with Steven himself."
"He must be extremely busy. Still, after all these months, Hoenn's meteor crisis should've been resolved, right?"
Steven returned to Hoenn to handle something critical. Months had passed. Surely—
"I'm Hikaru. Steven-san, that last collaboration went smoothly. Is there a new project?"
"Hoenn's issue—has it been resolved?"
[That last collaboration did go smoothly. Devon Corporation also felt that signing such a large order was extremely worthwhile. But as for Hoenn… I've gone looking for Rayquaza and the Draconids, and yet…]
[…It hasn't been resolved at all!]
[In fact, the situation has developed beyond our expectations!]
Steven sent a bitter-smile sticker, then began explaining in detail.
[In truth, Mossdeep Space Center did detect a supermassive meteor approaching… I'll be blunt, since you're not an outsider.]
[When we first observed it, the supermassive meteor was extremely far away from our planet.]
[But quickly, within the following month, it accelerated into our planet's outer space, as if it might fall at any moment.]
[So we actively prepared countermeasures. This meteor crisis is not only about Hoenn's survival, but the safety of every region in the world.]
[However, something strange happened.]
[On one particular day, as the meteor drew close, it suddenly stopped.]
[Then, in a completely incomprehensible manner, it accelerated away from our planet and remained at a very safe and distant position.]
[Yes. It hasn't left.]
[Just as you said before, we confirmed it: that meteor is alive. It has life. It is indeed a Pokémon. But we cannot determine its true form.]
Hikaru froze.
"You're saying you didn't send anyone to space with Rayquaza to destroy it? What about Brendan?!"
[It was too far. And Rayquaza disappeared. Brendan… couldn't find Rayquaza.]
Steven then described his work over the past months.
He searched for Rayquaza with the Draconid descendant Zinnia. At first they reached Sky Pillar, and after great effort they made it to the summit—only to find nothing.
They asked Wallace, but he also had no idea.
To the point that in the entire Hoenn region, no one seemed to know where Rayquaza had gone!
"What do you mean Rayquaza disappeared?!"
"And the Draconids—big problems they can't solve, small problems they don't need Zinnia for. Didn't she cause you trouble?"
"She seems like a girl with a terrible personality."
[It's… manageable. We do have disagreements about how to handle the meteor, but it's still under control. However, that's also one of the problems.]
Steven explained: Devon Corporation and Mossdeep Space Center originally had a plan.
As long as they applied to the Union Tower for a resolution—
No. Even if the Union Tower didn't approve it, Hoenn would still launch the device themselves.
But Zinnia did not approve.
That led to a serious rift between the Draconids and Devon Corporation.
"So it really has begun. Episode Delta—Episode Δ!"
Zinnia was a member of Hoenn's dragon-using lineage, part of the Draconids, and the only one with the trainer type known as the "Lorekeeper."
The Draconids safeguarded one of the secrets needed for Rayquaza's Mega Evolution: the scroll of Dragon Ascent.
However, Zinnia was originally not the Lorekeeper. The true Lorekeeper should have been Aster—a young lady with special abilities, and thus the chosen one in Draconid prophecy meant to awaken Mega Rayquaza and oppose the meteor crisis alongside it.
But for unclear reasons, she died. Only then did Zinnia inherit the duty.
And Zinnia was not someone acknowledged by Rayquaza.
In Pokémon Adventures, Zinnia's personality was extremely vile. She acted on her own, sabotaged facilities, and even attacked Ruby and Sapphire, insisting they weren't worthy to be Rayquaza's servants—until an enraged Rayquaza pierced her abdomen with Dragon Tail.
In the games, Zinnia wasn't that extreme. Though she still destroyed Devon's "dimensional transfer device," at least she had reasons, rather than doing it to win Rayquaza's favor.
"The reason Zinnia doesn't approve of the dimensional transfer device is that it might send the meteor to a world without Mega Evolution, causing that other world to be destroyed."
"Unfortunately, even though I think Zinnia's personality has issues, what she said is correct."
"In our universe—the one created by the Sinnoh deity—there are countless parallel worlds."
"If the dimensional transfer device activates and sends the supermassive meteor away, it may transmit it to a world with no Mega Evolution."
"And in that kind of world, Rayquaza has no method to resist the massive meteor. That world's Hoenn would inevitably be destroyed."
That was Zinnia's conjecture, implied in her words.
In truth, a "universe without Mega Evolution" refers to the era of the three gemstones.
There were countless parallel timelines. Hoenn had already been destroyed many times.
In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Archie and Maxie were each from different parallel worlds—one where Kyogre flooded the land, one where Groudon evaporated the seas.
Steven: […I know. Once we learned about other dimensions, we confirmed that transmission might cause an irreversible outcome.]
[…We consulted a doctor named Professor Burnet. She is an expert in spatial research.]
Professor Burnet?
Well, isn't that convenient? Hikaru had just handled onboarding paperwork with her not long ago.
Steven: [But until now, we still haven't found Rayquaza's whereabouts, which makes us deeply uneasy.]
[If we don't use the dimensional transfer device, we cannot reach the location where that meteor is.]
[Over these months, we tried sending signals to communicate with it, but received no response. We have also been urgently studying its condition.]
[Therefore, we decided to hold Hoenn's Sky Tournament.]
[If we can find Rayquaza, it'll be a celebration. If not, then we'll ask trainers from all regions to search together.]
[In addition, I asked Hoenn's new Champion Brendan to investigate in Johto.]
[Because not long ago, we finally received reports: someone in Johto appears to have sighted a green dragon. We believe it was Rayquaza.]
[Two days ago, Brendan sent me a message. He found a legend possibly related to Rayquaza: the Embedded Tower.]
[We discussed it and got no effective answer. The Draconids also seem unclear about the tower's origins, so I thought you might know something.]
Steven sent a helpless sticker.
[There aren't many people in the world who study history and mythology. If you don't know either, I can only ask Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. She seems very knowledgeable about mythology.]
"If you ask Cynthia, she'll end up telling you to come ask me anyway."
"Don't worry. I do know the legend of the Embedded Tower. I've told the story to Cynthia."
"But I need to confirm one thing: the supermassive meteor stopped on a particular day, and then retreated?"
"That day—how were Hoenn's climate and natural energy activity?"
[Climate and natural energy activity… The Weather Institute did capture unusual energy fluctuations that day.]
[At first, we thought it was Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre awakening.]
[But later we realized the energy came from the direction of Johto.]
Johto.
That's right.
It was the Sinjoh Ruins incident.
Before leaving, that Sinnoh deity who was "covering a shift" gave this world a new blessing.
"So it was scared off by Arceus's blessing!"
"But if it already retreated, why does it still want to crash into us? What kind of grudge is that?"
Deoxys's motive had always been a mystery. The games and promotional material never explained it.
But Hikaru caught something else in Steven's words.
"Hold on, Steven-san. You just said Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre."
"How do you know their forms differ from their originals?"
[Because in their battle two years ago, they underwent Primal Reversion!]
[So we suspect Rayquaza still hasn't appeared because it expended enormous power stopping those two, and hasn't recovered yet.]
[The Draconids believe the dragon god judged there was no chance of victory against the supermassive meteor, so it left Hoenn.]
Hikaru was shocked.
Wait—
What timeline did I get dropped into?!
It's not Ruby/Sapphire.
It's not Omega Ruby.
It's not Alpha Sapphire.
It's not Pokémon Adventures either!
What kind of script is this?
Is it… "Delta Emerald"?!
Fine.
At least this makes up for the regret of never getting an Emerald remake.
(End of Chapter)
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