Chapter 139: Just a Taste
Chapter 139: Just a Taste
Stopping the little blacksmith and the others who were busy tinkering, Jing He led them into the research institute.
The Divine Town Historical Research Institute was divided into two sections: the front was filled with translated historical documents, while the back contained remnants of ancient ruins.
Upon entering, they saw many ancient stone pillars, stone tablets, and decayed statues.
Jing He immediately warned the little blacksmith.
"These things are too valuable to replace, so don't go smashing them."
They really couldn't afford to replace them.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The little blacksmith pointed to the "North Nose" statue on his shoulder, indicating that this was enough for him.
Indeed.
Jing He nodded in relief.
Could there be any statues here with a higher metal content than the "North Nose" stone?
Following Cynthia and Professor Kiseiran, they walked down a long corridor.
On the walls, Jing He even saw paintings of the Legendary Dragons of Time and Space.
The Dragon of Time, Dialga!
The Dragon of Space, Palkia!
Gastly and Weavile stood in front of the paintings, gazing at the images of the two massive dragons, slightly lost in thought.
However, Jing He didn't seem overly concerned.
You'll know how powerful they are when they start fighting.
Meanwhile, Professor Kiseiran and Cynthia were discussing something in a language Jing He didn't understand.
Probably, it was about her recent discoveries from studying the historical documents.
Continuing deeper into the institute, they passed through a long corridor lined with bookshelves and piles of documents.
They arrived at the deepest room.
Hanging on the wall of this room was a massive ancient mural.
"This mural..."
Seeing the mural, Jing He was taken aback.
Although they had seen paintings of Dialga and Palkia earlier, those were later reproductions. This mural, however, was a genuine ancient artifact.
"Do you recognize it?" Professor Kiseiran asked with a smile.
"The Legendary Lake Guardians, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, representing Wisdom, Emotion, and Will, respectively, are said to reside in the three lakes of Sinnoh: Lake Acuity, Lake Verity, and Lake Valor."
Professor Kiseiran and Cynthia exchanged a surprised glance.
"You really know about this?" Cynthia asked.
When Jing He had mentioned "a bit" earlier, she thought he only knew a little about Sinnoh's history. She didn't expect him to recognize the three Lake Guardians in the mural.
"Just a bit, just a bit," Jing He laughed.
"According to legend, the Lake Guardians reside in these three lakes, but it's been many years since anyone has seen them. No one knows if they still live there," Professor Kiseiran explained slowly.
They are.
But Jing He didn't say this out loud.
Professor Kiseiran didn't elaborate further on the matter and instructed, "Since you know about this, could you and Cynthia help me gather the documents listed here? We need to share these documents later."
With that, she handed over a list.
"Sure."
Cynthia took the list and walked over to Jing He.
The two of them huddled together, browsing through the contents.
It was clear that a dedicated historian like Professor Kiseiran was on a completely different level from someone like Jing He, who only had a general understanding.
Just a single ancient character could be the subject of a whole paper, supported by extensive research and evidence.
They ended up with a large stack of documents.
"Could you help me move these?"
Professor Kiseiran, who had left the mural room at some point, returned to the doorway.
"This is..."
At the door was a flat cart.
On the cart was a delicate glass display case.
Inside the display case, on a pedestal, were two perfectly round orbs!
The Adamant Orb and the Lustrous Orb!
"These orbs will be sent to the Pastoria Historical Museum for an exhibition soon. I thought I'd take advantage of this rare opportunity to show them to the attendees."
These orbs.
They were the keys to summoning the Legendary Dragons, Dialga and Palkia!
In the future, Team Galactic's Cyrus would use these orbs to summon the Dragon of Time and the Dragon of Space.
If summoned now...
Without any means of control, at least half of the Sinnoh region would be destroyed.
However, it was clear that no one currently knew how to use the orbs to summon the dragons.
Few people probably even knew the importance of the Spear Pillar.
One of the main reasons the Pokemon Researcher Conference was being held at the Divine Town Historical Research Institute was because of these orbs.
Rumble—
Suddenly, Jing He heard something rolling on the ground.
Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw the little blacksmith staring intently at the Adamant Orb, having even dropped the "North Nose" statue he had been so fond of.
Jing He's heart skipped a beat.
This could be bad!
"Chirp!!"
The little blacksmith's eyes were fixed on the Adamant Orb.
"Gastly, Weavile!" Jing He called out urgently.
"Kya!"
"Ooh!"
Understanding the urgency in Jing He's voice, Gastly and Weavile stopped playing and immediately grabbed the little blacksmith from either side.
The problem was...
Without using any moves, their combined physical strength wasn't enough to overpower the little blacksmith.
To everyone's surprise, Professor Kiseiran opened the glass case, took out the Adamant Orb, and asked the little blacksmith with a smile:
"Hehe, little one, do you like this?"
"Chirp!!"
The little blacksmith, who was being held back by Gastly and Weavile, nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling.
Professor Kiseiran smiled gently, "Not now, though."
"Once today’s conference is over, I can let you play with it for a while."
"Huh?"
Jing He looked at Professor Kecilan with a mix of disbelief and surprise.
Isn't this a bit too hasty?
"Chu! Chu!"
Little Forgemaster pursed its lips. Although it was eager, it wasn’t a disobedient Pokemon. It nodded obediently, understanding the situation.
Professor Kecilan squatted down and patted Little Forgemaster’s head.
"Is this... okay?" Jing He murmured.
"It’s fine."
Cynthia gave a reassuring look.
She whispered, "When I was a child, I played with Garchomp too."
"Huh?"
A question mark appeared above Jing He’s head.
"This is a way to explore the Orbs," Cynthia explained.
Professor Kecilan added, "The more innocent and unintentional the attempt, the more likely it is to uncover the secrets of the two Orbs."
Understanding the secrets of the two Orbs was one of Professor Kecilan’s major research goals.
Speaking of which, the reason why Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, used the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs might be related to an uncertain legend.
Over a hundred years ago, during the Sinnoh era, Team Galactic governed the Sinnoh region. The captain of Team Galactic at the time, Magar, was the ancestor of Professor Oak. Additionally, there was a leader named Starlight in Team Galactic during the Sinnoh era. Both in appearance and name, Starlight bore a striking resemblance to the current leader, Cyrus.
Thus, some speculated that Starlight might be Cyrus’s ancestor.
During the Sinnoh era, a person named Wang Luo summoned the twin dragons and Giratina. However, this part of history is not well-documented.
After that, Cynthia and Jing He helped Professor Kecilan move the display case containing the two Orbs and a large amount of research materials to the conference hall, where the conference was in full swing.
This time, Jing He didn’t run around. Instead, he sat at the back of the hall with Cynthia, quietly listening to the lectures.
Time flew by, and it was already evening. The conference had ended, and Froslass was asleep in Cynthia’s arms.
As for Jing He, Cynthia gently pushed the head resting on her shoulder with her finger.
"Mm?"
Jing He, who had fallen asleep without realizing it, slowly woke up, feeling a chill on his back.
He turned his head and saw Cynthia’s Garchomp looking down at him with a cold, emotionless gaze, as if he were a lifeless object.
It was then that Jing He realized he had fallen asleep on Cynthia’s shoulder.
"Cough, cough. Uh, sorry," Jing He said apologetically.
Cynthia smiled but didn’t say anything.
"Is it over? How long did I sleep?"
"About an hour."
In Cynthia’s view, it was impressive that Jing He managed to stay awake until the last hour. After all, he had taken a plane yesterday, been "scared" by a Dragonite, and stayed up late, only to wake up early today.
"What about Gastly and the others?"
Jing He asked.
Cynthia pointed to the ceiling. Gastly was lying on the ceiling, still asleep, with a bubble of varying size floating above its head.
As for Little Forgemaster, it was the most diligent. It was still hammering away at the "Chingling" sculpture, which had visibly shrunk but was still far from merging with the hammer.
However, upon noticing Jing He’s awakening, Little Forgemaster’s attention shifted. Its eyes were filled with longing.
"Grandma says we can go over now," Cynthia said softly.
If it weren’t for Professor Kecilan, Jing He might have slept a bit longer. But he felt that if he slept any longer, he might never wake up.
"Let’s go."
Jing He stood up.
"Um."
"Chu!!"
Little Forgemaster, carrying the sculpture, immediately ran over.
Pop!
Gastly’s sleep bubble burst, and it rubbed its eyes.
In the backyard of the Shinnoh Historical Research Institute, Professor Kecilan held the two Orbs with a smile.
From her and Cynthia’s stories, Jing He learned that for those who were very interested in the Orbs, they would allow them to come into contact to see if any reaction occurred.
Jing He remembered from the anime that Ash and Dawn were allowed to approach the Lustrous Orb, which was heavily guarded, because they had seen the shadows of the Lake Guardians.
"However, only here, not outside," Professor Kecilan warned.
"Chu! Chu!"
Eager Little Forgemaster took the Adamant Orb. Gastly and Froslass got to hold the Lustrous Orb as well.
"Kya?"
"Ooh?"
Clearly, Gastly and Froslass didn’t feel anything special from the Lustrous Orb.
Jing He’s attention was mostly on Little Forgemaster. He was afraid it might suddenly hammer the Adamant Orb.
Professor Kecilan and Cynthia watched silently from the side.
However, Little Forgemaster was much calmer than Jing He expected. It held the Adamant Orb in both hands, blinking its eyes, looking left and right as if in deep thought.
Then, it suddenly squinted, stuck out its tongue, and gently licked the Adamant Orb.
"Chu~~"
Little Forgemaster’s body suddenly emitted a brilliant white light.
(End of Chapter)
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