https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-441-Motostoke-and-Golurk-Part-2-/12537895/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-442-The-Battle-for-Horse-King-The-Rise-of-the-Internet-Celebrity-Dialga-Part-2-/12537897/
Chapter 442: The Battle for Horse King - The Rise of the Internet Celebrity, Dialga (Part 1)
Chapter 442: The Battle for Horse King - The Rise of the Internet Celebrity, Dialga (Part 1)
Naoki ended up not attending the Horse Racing Convention that year.
The Blizzard Horse knew that the prize was not a crown but a mere golden trophy, unworthy of its majestic presence as the Horse King.
As the Blizzard Horse spoke, the Shadow Seeker Horse listened quietly by its side, remaining silent throughout.
For it was the one who had worn the trophy as a crown on its head.
Not only had it worn it, but it had done so for almost a year.
Awkward.
The Shadow Seeker Horse zoned out, pretending it had never done such a thing.
Seeing that none of the horses intended to participate in the race, Naoki turned to leave the stable, planning to inform Mayor Thomas about the situation.
After he left, the Blizzard Horse couldn't help but chuckle to itself as it recalled the Shadow Seeker Horse's behavior.
With its keen sense of hearing, the Shadow Seeker Horse immediately picked up on the Blizzard Horse's sneaky laughter.
Enraged, the Shadow Seeker Horse's body glowed with a shadowy light, and it launched an attack on the Blizzard Horse.
Double Kick!
The Blizzard Horse let out a painful whinny as it was kicked in the stomach.
Seeing the Shadow Seeker Horse dare to strike it, the irritable Blizzard Horse retaliated with a kick of its own.
Thoroughly provoked, the Shadow Seeker Horse unleashed a Shadow Ball directly at the Blizzard Horse.
The next second, a loud crash echoed as the once-sturdy stable was reduced to ruins by the battling horses.
The Eevees playing on the grass nearby witnessed the scuffle and let out startled cries.
Soon, the Espeon rushed into the room, biting onto Naoki's pants and pulling him outside.
"Eevee!"
"What's going on?" Naoki exclaimed, taken aback by Espeon's urgency. He quickly explained to Mayor Thomas on the phone, "It seems something's happened at the ranch. I'll have to call you back later."
Mayor Thomas nodded understandingly. "Of course, go ahead."
Hanging up, Naoki hurried after the Espeon towards the commotion.
On the open grass field, the Shadow Seeker Horse and the Blizzard Horse charged at each other aggressively.
They collided with their bodies and kicked with their hind legs...
And in the midst of their battle, the stable that had once been their home now lay in ruins.
Naoki: !!!
"Blizzard Horse! Shadow Seeker Horse!" he shouted, trying to stop them.
But the enraged horses paid no heed.
Seeing this, Naoki pressed the button to summon Dialga.
In an instant, Dialga's figure appeared on the ranch.
Its eyes immediately fell upon the fighting horses.
Dialga frowned, its expression grave.
A surge of powerful psychic energy emanated from its body, forming a barrier between the two horses, forcibly separating them.
"What are you two doing?" Dialga's voice carried an air of authority.
The Shadow Seeker Horse, having calmed down first, quickly accused the Blizzard Horse.
"Hyaaa!" (This fellow provoked me!)
The Blizzard Horse refused to back down. "Hyaa!" (It started it!)
The Shadow Seeker Horse glared at the Blizzard Horse. "Hyaaa!" (You provoked me first!)
The Blizzard Horse countered, "Hyaa?" (Am I supposed to lie? You're just embarrassed because you wore that trophy as a crown!)
Dialga: ...
Naoki: ...
Hearing this, the Shadow Seeker Horse was incensed.
Two purple streams of smoke rose uncontrollably from its ears.
A powerful ghost-type energy surged within it, transforming into a pitch-black shadow that loomed over the Blizzard Horse, ready to crush it.
Sensing the danger, the Blizzard Horse retaliated by creating a large icicle and directing it towards the Shadow Seeker Horse.
Dialga watched this exchange with a look of exasperation.
Its eyes glowed blue, and the next second, a torrent of psychic energy erupted from its body, causing the attacks of both horses to vanish into thin air.
"Enough, stop!"
Dialga gazed at its beloved horses with a headache.
"Blizzard Horse, you were at fault first. You shouldn't have mocked the Shadow Seeker Horse."
The Blizzard Horse snorted in dissatisfaction. It felt it had done nothing wrong; it had only spoken the truth about the Shadow Seeker Horse's foolishness.
Hearing Dialga's words, Naoki immediately understood what had transpired.
The Blizzard Horse had mocked the Shadow Seeker Horse for wearing the trophy as a crown, and the Shadow Seeker Horse, embarrassed and angry, had started the fight.
Naoki was speechless.
He had to admit that the Blizzard Horse had a very low EQ...
Dialga was at a loss for what to do with the Blizzard Horse's attitude.
It was clear that the Blizzard Horse was in the wrong, yet it showed no signs of remorse.
Meanwhile, the aggrieved Shadow Seeker Horse stood silently by, its silence speaking volumes.
Given Dialga's temperament, it couldn't bring itself to strike the Blizzard Horse.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Dialga turned to Naoki for help.
Naoki instantly understood Dialga's plea.
After a moment's thought, he stepped forward and addressed the horses. "Ultimately, your disagreement stems from the crown, doesn't it?"
The Shadow Seeker Horse and the Blizzard Horse turned their gazes towards him.
Naoki continued, "In that case, how about a duel? The winning Pokemon will become the Horse King. I will forge a true golden crown for the winner, and Dialga and I will crown the new Horse King. What do you say?"
The Blizzard Horse, too, widened its eyes, excited by the prospect. That crown was something it had to win.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Naoki looked helplessly at Liligant.
But what about the losing Pokemon? How would it feel?
Naoki gestured for Liligant to calm down, then continued, "However, it's important to note that from now on, the horse that doesn't win the crown each year will have the right to challenge the Horse King. After all, the Horse King should be the strongest and fastest horse Pokemon in the world. If a horse lacks strength, it won't be worthy of the title."
Liligant nodded vigorously, unable to disagree. Indeed, this way, none of the horse Pokemon would be left disappointed. Even if one lost the duel this year, it could always try again next year.
"What a great idea!" Liligant's eyes shone with gratitude as she looked at Naoki.
Upon hearing this proposal, both the Shadow Seeker Horse and the Blizzard Horse fell into deep thought.
Naoki was right; the Horse King should be the fastest and most powerful horse Pokemon. Only then would it be worthy of the title.
"Very well," Naoki nodded, then continued, "Now, both of you take some time to rest and recover your strength. When you're both in peak condition, I'll organize the Horse King competition."
"But remember, during the competition, Liligant won't be riding either of you. You'll have to rely on your own abilities to fight for the crown."
"Hyaaah!"
"Hyaaah!"
The Blizzard Horse and the Shadow Seeker Horse both neighed, their eyes gleaming with determination.
"Then go and rest up," Naoki said.
The two horses, eager for the crown, each found a place to rest and prepare for the upcoming duel.
The destruction of the stable didn't bother them; after all, they had slept outdoors on the Crown Snowfield before.
As Naoki and Liligant watched their retreating figures, they exchanged a glance, unsure of what to say.
Sighing, Naoki decided he would have to find Cris and ask her to rebuild the stable.
These two horses were a handful!
However, Cris was currently busy constructing the Adventure Guild at the World Tree, so she might not have the time to come over and rebuild the stable.
In that case, he'd let the two horses rough it out for a while, sleeping on the grass. Maybe then they'd learn not to destroy the ranch's facilities so easily.
"How are you planning to get the crown?" Liligant asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"That's simple," Naoki replied, an image of a Pokemon flashing through his mind. "I'll just ask Mr. Money for some coins, then take them to town and ask the craftsmen to make a golden crown."
Mr. Money had given him a lot of coins before, which Naoki had carefully collected. It should be more than enough to craft a golden crown.
That way, he wouldn't have to borrow any more coins from Mr. Money.
That afternoon, Naoki set off for Drizzitown with a bag full of coins.
He found a goldsmith's shop and handed over the coins, requesting that they craft a crown.
"No problem!" The master craftsman in the shop proudly declared, "My craftsmanship is renowned throughout Drizzitown. Just give me a day, and I'll have your crown ready. Come back tomorrow, and it'll be done!"
"Alright," Naoki nodded, indicating that a Pokemon would come to collect the crown the next day.
"Will do!" The craftsman assured him.
Back at the ranch, Naoki began clearing the ruins of the stable that had been destroyed by the Blizzard Horse and the Shadow Seeker Horse.
Wooden planks and beams lay scattered everywhere. Instead of discarding them, Naoki decided to keep them to burn in the fireplace during the cold winter months.
The Pokemon roamed and played in the ranch, enjoying the freedom.
After the incident, Golurk and Motostoke's relationship had improved significantly.
Naoki often saw them together, with Motostoke learning new moves from Golurk. It was a heartwarming sight.
He recalled how hostile they had been towards each other initially, with Golurk displaying hostility and Motostoke being fearful.
Who would have thought that they would become such good friends?
It truly reflected the lyrics, "I didn't like you much when we first met, but who knew our relationship would become so close."
Naoki smiled and waved to the two Pokemon from a distance. "Keep it up, I'm going to check on the World Tree!"
He wondered how Dullahan was doing, still pondering the meaning of life.
"Ahgassy!"
"Ga-oh!"
Golurk and Motostoke enthusiastically replied.
With a smile, Naoki set off for the World Tree in the Reverse World, accompanied by his Lotad phone and the translation peanut candy.
Along the way, he glanced at his Lotad phone and noticed a complaint from Giratina in the Legendary Pokemon chat group.
【The World's Strongest Giratina: Ugh, those two neighbors are acting up again. They better not mess with my Reverse World, or I'll finish them off!】
Naoki: "..."
He noticed the message had been sent five minutes ago.
【World's Strongest Giratina: Humph, you don't know how annoying those two are! They can't stand the sight of each other, and they start fighting as soon as they meet. Every time they clash, my Reverse World is affected. Those two old fools who are out of touch with the times, their minds are filled with nothing but those outdated notions.】
Naoki: "..."
The two old fools out of touch with the times... Was Giratina referring to the time deity Dialga and the space deity Palkia?
The current timeline seemed to have reached the Sinnoh region, and there was only one year left until the major events in the Unova region took place.
If he remembered correctly, the dimensions inhabited by Dialga and Palkia would collide at that time, and the two Pokemon would engage in a fierce battle in a place called Veilstone City.
And all of that would be a prelude to the awakening of the creator deity, Arceus, from its slumber.
Unbeknownst to him, the signs were already beginning to show.
However, it was quite amusing to hear Giratina refer to Dialga and Palkia as old fools out of touch with the times.
Pffft...
Naoki couldn't help but laugh. He curiously opened the Pokemon Forum and clicked on Giratina's profile page.
Surprisingly, the number of its followers had reached seven digits.
【World's Strongest Giratina (Annual VIP10 - 5,550,384 followers】
Whoa! Giratina had over five million followers! Naoki was stunned. He then checked Lucario's profile page and found that Lucario had only five million followers.
Compared to Giratina, who actively posted photos and interacted with its followers, Lucario was much more laid-back when it came to the Pokemon Forum.
Aside from occasionally replying to private messages and questions from netizens, it never posted any threads.
However, Naoki was curious about the Annual VIP10 status on Giratina's profile.
Where did it get the money to become a VIP member?
Naoki was intrigued, so he decided to visit Giratina's Flower Air Island on his way to the World Tree and asked about this matter.
Giratina proudly replied, "Hmph, those are all offerings from my loyal followers! I'm quite wealthy now, Rotom. Show Naoki my savings!"
"Received, Lot!" Rotom immediately opened Giratina's personal savings account.
Naoki leaned in to count, "One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand... one million, one hundred and sixty thousand?"
Naoki widened his eyes in surprise. Who would have thought that being an internet celebrity could be so lucrative? Giratina boasted proudly, "Humans can be quite thoughtful at times."
At that moment, Naoki noticed that the Air Island had many new additions.
He inspected them and was surprised to find specially made food for Electric-type Pokemon.
"What are these?!" Naoki asked in astonishment.
Before Giratina could answer, the Rotom Phone by its side emitted a happy electronic tone:
"These are the treats Giratina bought for me, Lot!"
Giratina shot Naoki a sideways glance and said boastfully, "Now that I'm rich, is there anything you want? I can buy it for you online!"
Naoki: "..."
It was evident that Giratina had made remarkable progress recently, even learning how to use online shopping apps.
No wonder it referred to Dialga and Palkia as old fools out of touch with the times.
"Never mind, you keep your money for now. I don't have anything I particularly want." Naoki replied.
However, speaking of which, Naoki was quite interested in Giratina's followers.
He wondered which region's residents favored Giratina so much.
Therefore, Naoki approached Rotom and asked it to check the source of Giratina's followers from the backend of its profile page.
"Received, Lot!"
The Rotom Phone immediately searched the backend of Giratina's profile page.
Soon, a detailed interface popped up on the screen.
【Follower Source - Sinnoh Region: 58%, Kanto Region: 8%, Johto Region: 2%, Hoenn Region: 6%, Kalos Region: 4%, Alola Region: 7%, Galar Region: 3%, Alola Region: 2%, Pasio Region: 8%, Other: 2%】
Naoki's eyes widened in surprise.
Wow, Giratina had a huge following in the Sinnoh region! Wait a minute! Naoki suddenly noticed something. He hoped the residents of the Sinnoh region weren't worshipping Giratina as a great and benevolent deity.
With that in mind, Naoki quickly searched the internet.
Soon, he found several news articles about Sinnoh residents building statues of Giratina in city parks.
(End of Chapter)
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