TN: Referring to Hoopa as just Hoopa instead of calling it Hoopa Confined
Hoopa floated lazily in the air while being chased, sticking out its tongue and making a funny face at the little girl behind it. Then, covering its mouth with both tiny hands, it let out a mischievous giggle, clearly delighted with itself.
But in the very next moment, Hoopa's body froze mid-air. The smile stiffened on its face—because Baraz had suddenly grabbed it firmly by the back of its neck.
"Hoopa, you caused trouble again."
Baraz's voice carried helpless resignation, obviously used to this—this wasn't the first time, and probably wouldn't be the last.
Hoopa?
Upon hearing Baraz call this unfamiliar Pokémon by name, Green and the others blinked, exchanged looks, and confirmed they hadn't misheard.
If they remembered correctly, when Lucas passed through Dahara City, he had already mentioned Hoopa—the ancient and powerful legend from a hundred years ago.
But…
According to what Lucas said, Hoopa was supposed to be a very powerful and unique legendary Pokémon. And yet…
Green tilted her head, staring at the tiny, adorable creature dangling from Baraz's hand.
This little thing… was strong?
"Tch…"
Still held by the scruff, Hoopa pouted, but didn't struggle.
"Give the girl back her things. You can't just take people's belongings," Baraz said firmly to Hoopa as the little girl ran over.
"Okay, okay, I know, sheesh…"
Understanding its caretaker's personality all too well, Hoopa rolled its eyes and tossed the donut in its hand back to the girl.
The little girl accepted the donut, thanked Baraz, stuck her tongue out at Hoopa in return, and skipped away happily.
"Hoopa, isn't Meraz with you?" Baraz asked after releasing it.
Hoopa had a very childish personality—extremely fond of pranks and mischief. So usually, either Baraz or Meraz absolutely had to keep an eye on it. Otherwise, no one could predict what Hoopa might do next…
"Meraz's reading a book. She wouldn't play with me."
Hoopa puffed up its cheeks in dissatisfaction. It was far too hyperactive for quiet activities like reading. How could it ever sit still through that?
"I see. Then stay with me for now."
Baraz nodded, then turned apologetically to Lucas and the others. "Sorry about that. You must have been surprised."
"It's fine. But I truly didn't expect the legendary Hoopa to be living here," Lucas said with a light laugh.
His gaze shifted to the floating Hoopa, his eyes gleaming with interest.
Hoopa Confined and Hoopa Unbound were the same being, the same personality, yet still… slightly different.
Hoopa was Hoopa Confined after its powers had been sealed and its body had become small and cute, and even its personality seemed affected, turning innocent and childlike.
Hoopa Unbound, however, was different. It possessed a fierce desire to show off. It disliked pranks—instead, it lived for grand displays of its overwhelming power before crowds.
The awe and astonishment of others were Hoopa Unbound's greatest joy.
"You recognize Hoopa, sir?" Baraz asked.
"Eh? Wah~ You know Hoopa?"
Hoopa gasped in delight, floating right up to Lucas with sparkling eyes.
A creature that lived for attention, Hoopa was naturally thrilled when someone outside the village could actually recognize it.
"Well… I don't know everything, but I do know a bit," Lucas said gently, smiling as he studied the tiny Hoopa.
"You're the first visitor to ever recognize Hoopa," Baraz admitted in surprise. "Travelers who pass through the village know nothing about it."
As a native of Kalos, Baraz himself wouldn't have recognized Hoopa either if his grandfather hadn't told him about it since he was young.
There were no records—neither in ancient documents nor in historical ruins that mentioned Hoopa at all.
Hoopa tilted its head, its big round eyes locked onto Lucas. The mischievous smile it always wore slowly faded as its nose twitched.
"Huh? You smell like lots of things… and they feel so familiar."
Hoopa seemed unsure, circling around Lucas as if puzzled by something it sensed.
Once, Hoopa Unbound had been a top-tier legendary—one of the strongest, even among legendaries.
But after its powers were heavily sealed, it had fallen so far that it now relied solely on cuteness to survive. Its senses had dulled dramatically.
It hadn't noticed before, but now that it was this close to Lucas…
It genuinely felt several faint yet familiar auras.
"If it feels familiar, it's probably because of this."
Lucas chuckled softly and threw a Poké Ball into the air.
With a burst of white light, a beautiful pure-white dragon appeared, wings spreading as it landed elegantly behind them.
"Waaah~ So cool! It's Reshiram!"
Hoopa's eyes shone with pure excitement as it zipped to Reshiram's face, examining it from every angle.
"We haven't seen each other in a hundred years, Reshiram! Hoopa missed you sooo much!"
Recognizing that it truly was the real Reshiram, Hoopa affectionately wrapped its short little arms around the side of the dragon's cheek.
A hundred years without seeing another legendary—of course it felt moved.
Reshiram: "…"
The white dragon's eyelid twitched repeatedly while Hoopa chattered nonstop beside its ear. Eventually, Reshiram simply shut its eyes—if it couldn't see Hoopa, perhaps its heart would hurt less.
"I didn't expect you to be a trainer of legends, sir… You must be incredibly strong," Baraz said, staring in amazement at the majestic white dragon.
"We're honored to have such a visitor," he added quietly, watching the holy-looking Reshiram draw the attention of curious villagers.
"You flatter me. But Baraz, you possess Hoopa—so you're also a legendary trainer," Lucas said with a modest smile.
"No, no. Hoopa isn't my Pokémon, it's my friend," Baraz replied, shaking his head.
Strictly speaking, Hoopa was a "pet" their grandfather had left to him and Meraz… Hoopa had grown up with the siblings since childhood. To them, it was simply family.
Lucas's eyes flickered thoughtfully but he didn't continue that topic.
"Though it looks like… Reshiram really doesn't like Hoopa very much…" Green murmured.
Hoopa was still chattering away beside Reshiram, but the white dragon remained motionless, eyes shut, completely ignoring it.
And unless she was imagining it…
Green thought she saw a pulsing "#" on Reshiram's forehead.
"Ah…"
Baraz stiffened, then remembered something and looked embarrassed.
"Of course, Reshiram dislikes Hoopa, they share an interesting history," Lucas said calmly.
Everyone turned to him curiously.
"A hundred years ago, Hoopa visited Dahara Town. The villagers provided Hoopa with food, and Hoopa, in return, used its powers to teleport large amounts of wealth to them."
"With this sudden prosperity, the village's living conditions improved dramatically. But when life becomes too comfortable, people start wanting more."
"So, the villagers turned their attention to Hoopa."
"That Hoopa, unlike this one, had a massive and intimidating appearance. Its presence alone was overwhelming."
Hearing Lucas mention it, Hoopa immediately floated over excitedly.
"That's right, that's right! Hoopa used to be super big and super strong! Really super strong!" Hoopa boasted proudly, waving its little arms wildly.
"Emmm…"
Marnie blinked at the tiny creature in front of her.
No matter how she imagined it, she simply couldn't picture this little prankster as large and terrifying.
"But what does this have to do with Reshiram?" Archer asked.
"Because of Hoopa's massive size and power, the villagers wanted Hoopa to battle other Pokémon."
"For Hoopa, that was effortless."
Lucas glanced at Hoopa.
Among all legendaries, Hoopa's personality was the most distinct—utterly different from those who preferred peaceful isolation.
Hoopa lived for performance.
Whether Unbound or Confined form, it always wanted to show off.
So, when the villagers requested battles, Hoopa would never refuse—on the contrary, it loved the attention.
"One strong Pokémon after another fell before Hoopa, and Hoopa basked in the villagers' cheers and praise."
"But eventually, ordinary Pokémon were no longer enough. Hoopa wanted to display itself even more… so it set its sights on legends."
By now, Green and the others had figured it out.
They all glanced at Reshiram with complicated expressions.
Reshiram: "…"
The white dragon tilted its head toward the sky.
That memory was something it desperately wished it could erase.
Back then, both it and Zekrom had been toyed with and completely humiliated by Hoopa Unbound through those golden rings of space.
A truly traumatizing memory.
"Groudon, Kyogre, Zekrom, Reshiram, the Regis…"
"All of these legends were summoned by Hoopa—and all were defeated."
"But the battles between legends severely damaged Dahara Town, nearly destroying it entirely."
If Lucas hadn't explained it, it would have been nearly impossible to imagine that this tiny, lively, adorable Hoopa… once possessed such overwhelming power.
"You were really that strong before?" Green asked curiously.
Reshiram and Zekrom aside, even Kyogre, Groudon, and the Regi Titans were not ordinary legends.
For Hoopa to defeat all of them was proof of absurd strength.
"Hehehe~ Hoopa used to be super strong! Really super amazing!"
Hoopa beamed with pride, clearly thrilled at being praised.
"Then… why is Hoopa like this now?" Giovanni asked with interest.
He understood more than the others—Lucas had once told him Hoopa was unique. But how had Hoopa fallen from such power to this tiny form?
"Uuuh…"
Hoopa's happy expression instantly wilted, and it shot a resentful glare toward Baraz.
"Ahem… I'll explain," Baraz said awkwardly.
"The battles with the legends caused tremendous destruction to Dahara Town. Afterward, Hoopa completely lost control and went berserk."
"My grandfather sealed Hoopa's power using the Prison Bottle… and after that, Hoopa became what you see now."
Baraz explained softly.
Over the years, he and Meraz had come to view Hoopa as family.
They wanted to help Hoopa reclaim its powers someday—but for now, they hadn't begun their search. Their grandfather had placed the Prison Bottle somewhere, and they would have to find it themselves.
"The seal was created using Arceus's power. So even Hoopa, with all its strength, couldn't fight back against it," Lucas added.
That was one reason he believed Arceus's power utterly surpassed the Aura, the Viridian power, and similar abilities.
Even a top-tier legendary like Hoopa Unbound …
Once enveloped by the Prison Bottle, had no ability to resist.
And the Prison Bottle had been crafted by an elder using Arceus's power.
That alone showed just how terrifying the Creator's power truly was.
And at the end of Hoopa's movie, when too many legends caused space to collapse…
Even Palkia, the ruler of space, failed to stabilize it and was shamed.
But in the final moment, Arceus merely cast down a single ray of golden light and preserved the last intact fragment of space…
The Creator was terrifying beyond belief.
Honestly, in Arceus's own movie, Arceus's divine dignity wasn't portrayed well at all.
Aside from the scene where it beat down the Sinnoh trio, its other depictions were mediocre—and it even nearly got killed by humans.
It made Arceus feel… underwhelming.
But in Hoopa's movie, its divine aura quietly returned once more.
(End of Chapter)