Steven listened to Hikaru's message over the Pokégear and fell into a long stretch of shock and silence.
After thinking for quite a while, Steven finally replied in disbelief:
"This is simply unbelievable. Even though I know Orbs can transmit the will of super-ancient Pokémon, and sometimes even choose their own owners, this is still… far too coincidental."
"If we hadn't found the Green Orb, this world would have had no way to avoid a disaster."
"I know that the so-called gods of Sinnoh possess tremendous power, but we don't understand them at all. Compared to that, Rayquaza is something we're much more familiar with."
"I'll immediately gather personnel and have the Dragon-type Trainers and the Draconids move out. But Draco Meteor is an extremely difficult move to master, and it requires a 'Draco Meteor that summons meteors'?"
"…Is there anyone in Hoenn who can teach Draco Meteor?"
Steven himself was not a Dragon-type specialist, so he did not understand that area well.
Among the Elite Four, Drake was a master of Dragon-types. However, Drake had never used Draco Meteor, so Steven had never seen it either.
Steven's recollection was correct.
[You're saying… nobody in Hoenn can use Draco Meteor?]
Hikaru was startled: [Even Elite Four Drake can't?]
Steven said, "I've never seen him use it, so I can't be sure. But Zinnia definitely can't. And among the Draconids, it seems no one has mastered that move either…"
"The Draconids also seem unwilling to mention moves related to meteors…"
Hikaru thought of an unbelievable "deliberate setting."
In fact, in the Hoenn region, nobody could use Draco Meteor.
All of Elite Four Drake's Dragon-type Pokémon, in game battles, only ever used Dragon Claw, Dragon Rush, and Dragon Pulse.
And as a Draconid herself, Zinnia, a Lorekeeper-type Trainer, had the exact same Dragon-type set as well.
Dragon Claw, Dragon Rush, Dragon Pulse, the classic three-piece set.
She didn't even have Dragon Tail.
And what made it even more interesting was that in Generation V, Clair of Johto and Champion Lance of Johto participated in the World Tournament, and Draco Meteor was plainly listed among their Dragon-type Pokémon's moves!
In other words, the reason all Dragon-type Trainers in Hoenn were denied access to Draco Meteor was deliberate.
Maybe because "meteors" were taboo in Hoenn.
Or maybe because while you were in the process of dragging down a meteor, Rayquaza had already treated it like a snack and casually devoured it.
However, there was still one person who could use it. That person lived at Meteor Falls, and should also be one of the Draconids, a man named "Ryuichi."
During the World Tournament era, in the Dragon Masters tournament, Hoenn's representative was not Drake, but Ryuichi. And in the Hoenn remakes, Ryuichi appeared at Meteor Falls, with the Trainer type Dragon Tamer, and he only had a single Level 47 Altaria.
But in the Unova region, he expanded from having only Altaria to a full lineup: Salamence, Druddigon, Kingdra, Dragonite, and Garchomp.
And among those, what was especially interesting was this.
In his entire team, only the Salamence that originated from Hoenn had learned Draco Meteor!
Hikaru realized this was going to be troublesome.
"Could it be that only after the giant meteor was shattered did the Dragon-type Trainers of Hoenn begin learning Draco Meteor?"
"You can see hints of it from how Ryuichi's team changed. The World Tournament is during the Black 2 & White 2 period, which is two years later… meaning it's still two and a half years from now."
"Because meteors once caused many crises in Hoenn, this move simply was never passed down there."
"But in the games, there's still an [old man] who can teach this move. The location should be in Sootopolis City, in the house at the very top!"
That old man's Trainer type was… "Expert"!
This was a Trainer class that first appeared in Generation III. They were generally depicted as elderly people wearing kimono.
They mainly used Fighting-type Pokémon, but in Emerald, they could also use other types, such as Water-types and Flying-types.
And in Sootopolis City, there was an Expert who was the only one capable of teaching Draco Meteor. This also implied the setting that "Sootopolis City was created by a meteor impact."
Hikaru said, "How about going to Sootopolis City and asking around? Even if the Draconids can't, maybe among the [Sootopolitans] there's someone who can teach it."
"There should be an old man in a certain house in Sootopolis City who knows Draco Meteor, I'm sure of it. Ask Wallace-san and Juan-san."
"If you still can't find anyone, then ask Sinnoh's Dragon Granny and Cynthia-san for help. In Unova, Drayden-san is also a master who knows this move."
Even though Cynthia's Garchomp did not carry Draco Meteor and was instead the poster child for Dragon Rush, at least in terms of setting, that Garchomp could still learn it, and the Pokémon Adventures manga even had special training for it.
Having a setting was better than having none. Besides, Cynthia wasn't a pure Dragon specialist.
Hikaru said, "Uh, even though the Move Tutor should warn you, I still have to say it in advance: Draco Meteor has two ways of being released. Don't learn the wrong one."
"Also, you need to send people to the Fiore region's Fiore Temple to bring back ancient meteors, and capture a second Rayquaza as a backup Dragon God! That one is much weaker than Hoenn's Dragon God. If you dispatch Champion-level Trainers, it shouldn't be a problem to capture it."
"But make sure you file a report with the Ranger Union ahead of time, or you might be treated as poachers…"
"As for collecting meteors, I think common items like [Stardust] and [Star Piece], as well as the rarer [Comet Shard], can also help with Rayquaza's recovery. Especially Comet Shards. Any Comet Shards that appear in Hoenn should be fragments shed from the Thousand-Year Comet."
"Southwest of Mt. Chimney, directly north of Lavaridge Town, there's a place called Forina. How about going there to gather them?"
"Ruins connected to Rayquaza include Hoenn's Sky Pillar, Johto's Embedded Tower, Fiore's Fiore Temple, and the Ferrum region's Dragon's Den."
"As for Sinnoh, there might be a place called Ramanas Park. If that park doesn't exist, then don't bother searching."
"Other than that, there's the Paldea region where I am."
"For everything else, you'll have to search on your own."
Even though there was a Rayquaza in Ultra Space's Area Zero, that one was an otherworldly Rayquaza you could only find by crossing time and space, so it had nothing to do with this side.
As for the Great Crater of Paldea, that wasn't exactly a ruin either. But in the games, if you brought Rayquaza's snack, Rayquaza would show up near the crater, so it wouldn't be surprising at all if there were ruins or ancient meteors around the crater.
The northern part of South Province (Area Two), the cliffside of Area Zero, around Level 70, with a Dragon Tera Type…
"Isn't that location the mountain you can see from Cortondo Town, behind the Paldea Pokémon League… that mountain?"
"In that area, there really is an unnamed ruin nearby."
Hikaru nodded.
The League was something they had to visit sooner or later anyway. Since it was along the way, it was fine.
So Hikaru said to Steven:
"The Embedded Tower operation can begin one month from now. In the meantime, you can hold tests with other Orbs, but you must prepare proper protection."
"When Rayquaza is resting, it releases large amounts of ozone around itself. Humans cannot breathe in ozone. Rayquaza uses that ozone to recover its energy. Don't disturb it."
"Take this chance to learn a bit about the newly researched portions of Sinnoh's myths. If there's anything you don't understand, go ask Cynthia-san. Just tell her I sent you."
Because Hikaru had already told Cynthia not to casually reveal Sinnoh's existence, Cynthia would most likely have temporarily erased that portion and refused to publish it.
If you wanted to know the legends of Sinnoh's Great Deity, then aside from those few people in Michina, you could only learn it through "unofficial rumors."
After all, even Team Galactic was pursuing it. If you just posted everything online on the spot, Cyrus would be able to say, "I can just download it directly. I don't need to gather intel at all."
What kind of Sinnoh Champion are you, an inside agent?
After finishing the communication with Steven, Hikaru blinked and noticed someone tugging at his pant leg. He lowered his head and saw it was Charcadet.
"Chakadon!"
The squire knight's eyes were full of stars, as if it were expecting something.
"Oh, right!"
Hikaru quickly took out a medal from his person and, smiling, handed it to Charcadet.
"Almost forgot!"
"Here, I award you the medal for defeating Wo-Chien!"
————————
Hoenn region, Mossdeep Space Center.
"You heard everything he said, Zinnia, right?"
"This person is, among everyone I know, the most knowledgeable about all kinds of legends, and also the most mysterious. By your standards, he should indeed be a descendant of the Shenhe people? In any case, a descendant of some people connected to the Sinnoh region."
Steven rubbed his forehead.
"Super-ancient Pokémon can transmit their will through Orbs, but even I didn't expect there to be another Orb that no one knew about."
Zinnia, wearing a cloak and with short black hair, looked deeply puzzled, her brow tightly furrowed.
"So the reason the Dragon God-sama's Mega Evolution organ was damaged… is because of this, and that's why it left Hoenn?"
"But regarding this Orb matter, how is that even possible…"
"The Dragon God-sama has been an existence worshiped by the Draconids for thousands of years! If the Dragon God-sama also had an Orb, we couldn't possibly not know!"
"And besides, the Dragon God-sama has never formed any sort of agreement with outsiders, nor would it ever transmit its will to other people! The only ones who can truly connect heart-to-heart with the Dragon God-sama are the Lorekeepers among the Draconids, isn't that right?"
"It must be at the Sky Pillar's [Dragonhark Altar] for the Dragon God-sama to appear!"
"And what is this 'legend of Sinnoh' even supposed to mean?"
"Just because you believe some other region's myth story, you throw out something like a 'blessing' setting… isn't that suspicious?"
"Why should Hoenn's danger be solved by some other region's legendary gods?"
"When facing something completely unknown, I can't immediately believe it, because I've never heard this portion of the story."
"And searching for another Rayquaza… does that mean the Dragon God-sama thinks it will lose this battle?"
"Elder. What do you think?"
After Zinnia had cooperated with Steven for a period of time, her tone toward this "Champion" was no longer as harsh as it had been at first. But regarding all the information Hikaru had thrown out during the call, she was still filled with intense doubt.
Fortunately, the Draconids present at Mossdeep Space Center were not only her.
An elder of the Draconids was also here, and that elder was Zinnia's grandmother.
Zinnia said, "You say the Shenhe are people who know everything, but I can't easily trust some suspicious guy with an unknown background."
"That guy even knows every single thing I said to Steven. That has nothing to do with [knowing legends] anymore, does it? He definitely installed surveillance devices here!"
But facing Zinnia's wariness, the elder could also see curiosity in her eyes, so she chuckled warmly.
"Knowing too much can also become a fear that cuts to the heart."
"Still, there shouldn't be any surveillance devices. I also don't know why he would know the things you said, but perhaps… he saw them through time?"
"In distant Sinnoh, it's said there are Legendary Pokémon that can manipulate time and space. In the Johto region, there are legends of the same kind."
"The original meaning of 'Sinnoh' is a god of legend, but what relationship it has with our Dragon God is unknown."
Steven said, "I will go to Sinnoh to investigate and ask around. If I ask the Champion there, I should know."
Zinnia said, "Is it really good to trust this so-called Shenhe person?"
The elder said, "They are a very mysterious group of people. The god they worship seems to truly possess enormous power. It is said that god descended from the heavens and became a source of light that illuminated the entire world."
"But what I know is only that much."
"No matter what, the meteor's trajectory changed. That is a real result that happened. And the Dragon God-sama's whereabouts are now also confirmed."
"The Dragon God-sama's strength is insufficient. We must begin restoring the Dragon God-sama's power."
"Zinnia, you will go to Sootopolis City and search for someone who can teach [Draco Meteor]."
"As for the other Draconids, I will have them search the remnants of ruins across the various regions, following the locations that Shenhe person mentioned."
"Eh~! I also want to do my part for the Dragon God-sama!"
Zinnia hurriedly spoke.
"Let me go to the Fiore region!"
"Right now we still can't confirm whether the old man in Sootopolis City who teaches Draco Meteor even really exists. That was only that Shenhe person's guess!"
"Besides, even if we find someone, if it isn't the first kind of Draco Meteor, then it's completely useless anyway!"
And as Zinnia said this, another elegant gentleman who was leaning against the wall inside the Space Center and quietly listening showed a look of keen interest.
That gentleman was Wallace.
"So there are people among the Sootopolitans who can use Draco Meteor… even I didn't know that."
"Then I'll go search. As for Dragons…"
Wallace's gaze shifted.
"Elite Four Drake, could you lend me a Dragon-type Pokémon?"
There were many people gathered at Mossdeep Space Center. It wasn't only Wallace. Even Drake, one of Hoenn's Elite Four, was here.
"Hah. You're never too old to learn, right? I also want my Pokémon to learn the strongest Dragon-type move. And I've heard of Draco Meteor before. That ultimate art is only passed down in the hands of certain powerful Dragon Masters."
"Borrow my Salamence."
After that, Drake stepped toward the group and added:
"Besides the ruins related to Rayquaza that were mentioned above, I can also provide an additional lead on a new set of ruins."
"While sailing at sea, I once accidentally reached a certain continent."
"On that continent, many ancient ruins remain. Among them, it is said there is a high tower used to venerate Rayquaza, called the Infinite Tower."
"Long ago, alongside that tower, there was a country known as the Land of the Divine Dragon."
(End of Chapter)
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