https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-318-Rayquaza-and-the-Embodiment-of-the-Sea-/12537395/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-320-Hell-Valley-Lava-Bugs-and-Ghosts/12537397/
Chapter 319: I Don't Want the Big Fish, I Only Want You
Chapter 319: I Don't Want the Big Fish, I Only Want You
In the end, Naoki never made it to the Hoenn region. Just as he rushed back to the ranch, his Salamence returned, battered and bruised.
Naoki froze at the sight and quickly rushed over to inspect Salamence's injuries. Its scales were damaged, and its abdomen bore marks of a violent collision, leaving it looking disheveled and listless.
"Where have you been off to?" Naoki asked, his heart aching as he signaled for his brother, Aiganshi, to bring a bottle of life sheep milk for Salamence.
After drinking the milk, Salamence's condition improved, but it still lacked its usual vigor.
With its head hanging low, Salamence glanced at Naoki, feeling dejected. It had failed to catch a bigger fish than the tuna and had lost to the wild Gyarados. It could only slink back to the ranch in shame.
"Roaar..."
Salamence felt too embarrassed to face Naoki.
"Never mind that, I'm just glad you're back," Naoki sighed, reaching out to pat Salamence's head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I overlooked your feelings. I won't do that again."
Hearing this, a glimmer of light shone in Salamence's dejected eyes, but it soon hung its head sadly once more.
Naoki led everyone into the living room and approached Latios, requesting his help with translation.
"Now, tell me why you ran away from home," Naoki asked sternly.
Ran away from home? Salamence was baffled. It hadn't run away!
"Roaar! Roaar!"
With Latios's translation, Naoki finally understood what had transpired.
It turned out that Salamence hadn't run away from home but had gone to search for a bigger fish to gift to him.
However, after scouring the seas near Pacifidlog, it hadn't encountered any larger fish.
So, it flew elsewhere, and after a long search and inquiries with the local Pokemon, it finally learned about a large fish Pokemon.
Naoki: "..."
That peculiar desire to outdo and compete.
Hearing this, Naoki immediately realized how Salamence had gotten into a confrontation with Kyogre.
Salamence: "Roaar, Roaar..." (That Pokemon lives in the deepest part of the sea...)
It proceeded to describe the events that had taken place.
Back then, it had intruded into the other Pokemon's home, startling the sleeping creature.
In the mysterious and serene undersea cave, the Pokemon fixed its golden eyes on Salamence, its voice as deep as the ocean:
"Intruder, what business do you have here?"
Salamence was stunned by the powerful aura emanating from the Pokemon and blurted out the purpose of its visit:
"Roaar..." (I came here to find the biggest fish in the world to give to Naoki...)
The biggest fish? Preposterous! It embodied the ocean itself!
Kyogre was slightly irritated, and as for the mention of 'Naoki' afterward... it sounded like a human's name.
For a weak Salamence to want to give it to a human? This enraged the god of the sea, and the surrounding seawater seemed to boil, instantly whipping up towering waves.
Sensing the danger, Salamence's scales stood on end, and it swiftly gathered its energy, ready to face the threat.
Thin streams of white airflow surged around its body, and a gust of wind suddenly blew through the dense cave.
Just as Salamence thought the Pokemon was about to lose control and attack, the mysterious creature suddenly stopped.
Kyogre gazed at Salamence with a hint of confusion, for it sensed an aura emanating from Salamence that shared a source with the ocean.
This aura gradually calmed Kyogre down.
Not because it was afraid, but because it suddenly remembered its arch-nemesis.
At that moment, the land and the sea maintained a delicate balance.
Should its power be diminished in any way, its rival, Groudon, would surely seize the opportunity to compete for the natural energy of the earth, expanding its territory.
The last thing Kyogre wanted was to see Groudon setting off fireworks on the Sealed Tower.
Thus, the calm Kyogre returned to the lake and said to the overconfident Salamence:
"Defeat me, and you shall have my recognition."
Salamence then challenged Kyogre.
Kyogre did not use its own energy or moves but harnessed the water power lurking in the surrounding sea, easily defeating Salamence.
The defeated Salamence fell into the sea, while Kyogre returned to its undersea cave to continue its slumber, awaiting the coming of the destined moment.
The struggle between the land and the sea would never cease, perhaps for decades, perhaps centuries, or perhaps in a more distant future.
One day, the battle between it and Groudon would surely resume.
Naoki: "..."
It seemed he had misunderstood Kyogre. It wasn't that Kyogre had attacked Salamence, but rather Salamence had provoked Kyogre.
– Because of Kyogre.
Naoki sighed and said to Salamence, "Let's forget about this, but you must never do anything so dangerous again, understood?"
Salamence looked dejected. "Roaar..."
It just wanted to catch a big fish for Naoki, like the other Salamence working on the ranch.
Naoki understood Salamence's intentions and sighed inwardly. He reached out to pat Salamence's head and said, "I don't want the biggest fish in the world."
Salamence looked up at him, bewildered.
Naoki hugged Salamence and said, "Don't do dangerous things. I don't care about big fish, nor the gifts you give me. All I care about is your safety, understand?"
Salamence's eyes lit up, and it extended its large claw, returning Naoki's embrace, touched. "Roaar!"
Naoki smiled, patting Salamence's back. "We don't need to go on adventures. As long as we have enough fish to eat and can live peacefully together like this for the rest of our lives, that's enough."
Salamence happily nodded its large head.
Only then did Naoki let go. "Alright! I'm just glad you're back! Mrs. Tangerine and the others were very worried about you these past two days. Later, I'll give you some cookies and Pokeblocks to take to them as a sign of reassurance."
"Roaar~"
Salamence happily agreed. It stayed a while longer at the ranch, cuddling with Naoki, before taking off with the gifts for Rustboro City.
The other Salamence and Hakamo-o, who were working on the ranch, saw Salamence's joyful, elated expression and looked at each other, perplexed and confused.
"Roaar?" one of them asked. Did it find Pokeblocks on the road? That would indeed be something to be happy about.
The other Salamence shook their heads, indicating they had no idea either.
Not far away, Golurk, lounging on the grass and basking in the sun, glanced at Salamence, yawned lazily, and then closed its eyes again to enjoy the beautiful afternoon.
On the 29th of February, 199 AL.
Early in the morning, Naoki bade farewell to a group of Pokemon on the ranch and set off for Lilycove City, riding on Golurk's back.
As this trip to the Battle Frontier was for agricultural exchange, he wouldn't have much time for leisure, especially since the Battle Frontier was a remote, secluded rural town. So, Naoki only brought five Pokemon with him: Golurk, Barboach, Vibrava, Swellow, and Salamence.
The rest of the Pokemon were left in charge of maintaining the ranch's operations.
At 9 am, Naoki arrived at the Lilycove Airport.
Since Golurk couldn't be stored in a Poke Ball, Naoki bought it a plane ticket.
However, due to its large size, there wasn't enough room for it in the plane's cabin, so, following the flight attendant's suggestion, Naoki had to settle it in the cargo hold.
Seeing Golurk's pitiful expression, Naoki patted its head and said, "Be a good boy. We'll be there soon!"
"Ahgaa..." Golurk reluctantly agreed.
Naoki felt sorry for it but was helpless. He didn't know the exact location of the Battle Frontier and couldn't fly there directly on a Pokemon, so this long-distance travel by plane and ship was the best option.
Back in the cabin, Naoki sat down and closed his eyes to rest.
He woke up midway, drank some water, used the restroom, and then started reading a book.
After an unknown amount of time, the in-flight broadcast finally announced that they would soon be arriving at their destination.
Naoki put away his book. As soon as the plane landed, he went straight to the cargo hold to find Golurk, who was curled up miserably in a corner. Naoki then kissed it soundly on the forehead.
"Poor little guy, you've endured a lot. We've arrived, let's go!"
"Ahgaa?!" Golurk widened its eyes in surprise and happily responded with a "Lick" attack on Naoki.
A passenger behind them had heard Naoki's words and thought he was talking to an Eevee or Pikachu, some small and cute Pokemon.
But when she looked closely, she saw a huge and ferocious-looking creature, and she couldn't help but wonder, "How is that a little guy?"
Naoki, however, didn't notice the expressions of the other passengers. He led Golurk off the plane and immediately went to the local Pokemon Center to use their video phone to contact the ranch and let everyone know he was safe.
Only after doing all this did Naoki take out his map and set off according to the planned route on it to reach the Battle Frontier.
Since the Battle Frontier was located far from any big city and in a quiet rural area, the only way to get there was by taking a bus from the bus station.
Along the way, Naoki perused the Battle Frontier guidebook he had just purchased at the airport.
It mentioned that Battle Frontier was not the name of a specific town but a collective term for a vast area.
There was only one small town there, called Verdanturf Town.
Interestingly, according to the guidebook, there were also quite a few legends circulating about Verdanturf Town.
The one that caught Naoki's attention was the legend of the "Battle Frontier Ghost."
The content described was as follows:
"It is said that a long, long time ago, there was a terrifying ghost in Battle Frontier. This ghost haunted the mountains behind the village and often scared those who ventured into the mountains.
One day, the ghost flew into a rage and suddenly descended upon the village, throwing the residents into panic. Fortunately, a Growlithe, an Exeggcute, and a Blaziken happened to be in the village.
These three Pokemon risked their lives and finally drove the ghost back into the mountains. The grateful villagers affectionately referred to these brave Pokemon as 'Poke Pals,' buried their remains with honor, and erected a statue in their memory."
"Interesting," Naoki mused, intrigued. Do Pokemon kill other Pokemon in the games?
If such content was also present in the games, this was the first time he had come across such a blunt description of Pokemon death.
However, based on this legend, it seemed that the ghost hadn't been killed; it had merely been driven back into the mountains, while the three Poke Pals had perished.
They had been overwhelmed and wiped out despite their three-on-one advantage... Just how powerful was that ghost?
At that moment, Naoki looked up and glanced into the distance. Upon taking in the sight before him, he knew that he had arrived at Battle Frontier.
From high above, Battle Frontier presented a breathtaking view of towering mountains with human settlements at their feet—a quaint, rural town exuding Japanese charm.
The town was surrounded by tranquil natural landscapes of rice fields and apple orchards, a stark contrast to the Pacifidlog region.
"So, this is Battle Frontier?" Naoki's eyes lit up at the sight of this idyllic countryside.
It was indeed a wonderful place! He looked down at the road below and patted Golurk's back, signaling it to descend.
Mayor Thomas had mentioned that someone would be waiting at the station to receive him and escort him to Verdanturf Town.
As Golurk landed by the roadside near the bus stop, Naoki indeed spotted an elderly woman with white hair.
He approached her and showed his ID badge, which caused the old woman's eyes to widen in surprise.
"W-Where are you coming from?" she asked.
Naoki smiled and pointed to the Golurk behind him. "My Pokemon flew me here."
"Oh my, you startled me! I was wondering why I didn't see any bus, but now I understand. Greetings, Naoki. Welcome to Battle Frontier. I'm Yukiko from the Citizen's Hall. Come, let me take you to the town!"
"Thank you very much," Naoki replied politely and followed Yukiko, with Golurk trailing behind.
There was a twelve-hour time difference between Battle Frontier and the Pacifidlog region, and their journey had taken a significant amount of time. By the time they arrived, night was falling.
Naoki looked around, spotting Pokemon in the grass that were rarely seen in the Pacifidlog region—Spinarak, Poochyena, and Silcoon, to name a few.
As they drew closer to Verdanturf Town, neatly arranged rice paddies began to appear on both sides of the road.
What surprised Naoki even more was that he spotted Corphish and Wailmer in these rice paddies!
Yukiko kindly explained, "Wailmer and Corphish make the soil in the fields more fertile, which helps the rice grow. A long time ago, the town started having these two Pokemon help out in the rice paddies."
Naoki's mind was filled with questions.
Won't Corphish destroy the rice plants?
If he recalled correctly, wasn't there some kind of toxic substance on Wailmer's skin?
After passing through the rice field area, they officially entered Verdanturf Town.
This rural town was not as bustling as Fallarbor Town. There were few people, or more specifically, few young people.
It was evening, and many of the elderly residents had just finished their dinners and were leisurely strolling through the town.
The town had well-maintained concrete roads, appearing clean and tidy, typical of Japanese-style towns.
Like Fallarbor Town, Pokemon could be spotted everywhere.
There were Trainers with their Zigzagoon, Pidgey perched on rooftops, and fluffy little Vulpix resting on the eaves of houses.
Naoki's attention was instantly captured by those Vulpix.
Wow! They had Vulpix here!
The fluffy and warm Vulpix with their white bellies were so adorable!
Golurk, noticing Naoki's gaze, wore an exasperated expression. "Ahgaa..."
Here we go again.
(End of Chapter)
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