https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-538-The-Progenitor-Appears-Arceus-Trial-/12589988/
Chapter 539: A World Without You (Part I)
Chapter 539: A World Without You (Part I)
White mist swirled all around, even blanketing the ground up to Naoki's shins. It obscured everything, leaving only a hazy whiteness in all directions.
Naoki stood still, frowning in thought. First, the mist was undoubtedly the doing of Kapu-Fin, whose mist could create illusions to confuse intruders...
But the question was, wasn't Kapu-Fin's portrayal in the anime a bit over-the-top? Was it hiding its true power, or did its abilities far surpass what was shown?
Especially with that glowing door ahead.
Was that also a display of Kapu-Fin's power? Naoki furrowed his brows, deep in thought. The scene before him had clearly exceeded his expectations. What about Gurleton and the others?
The thought prompted Naoki to subconsciously reach for his waist pocket, where he usually kept the Ride Pokemon and Dragonite Poke Balls. But to his surprise, his pocket was empty. Both the Dragonite and Ride Pokemon were gone without a trace.
Naoki's heart tightened. Even his Pokemon had vanished... What was going on?
"Is this an illusion created by Kapu-Fin?"
"Is that door Kapu-Fin's punishment chamber? What's inside?"
Questions swirled in Naoki's mind.
After a moment of contemplation, Naoki turned and ran in the opposite direction, attempting to find the end of the mist.
However, after running for over ten minutes, nothing had changed. The surroundings remained the same, as if he had returned to his starting point.
He was running in circles!
Breathing heavily, Naoki gazed ahead.
The strange, glowing door still stood amidst the swirling mist, as if waiting for him to enter.
"I'm trapped..."
Naoki frowned slightly and pulled out his Rotom Phone, trying to contact the outside world. But to his surprise, even the Rotom Phone was gone.
It seemed like Kapu-Fin was determined to make him enter that door.
"Oh well, I have no other choice now. Let's go see what's inside!"
If he recalled correctly, Kapu-Fin in the anime had also been angered by Ash's actions of defiling its land.
But instead of harming Ash, it had given him a test.
After Ash completed the task, Kapu-Fin's anger had subsided, and Ash had been able to rescue Pikachu and the others.
Was this Kapu-Fin's test for him as well? Perhaps completing it would allow him to rescue the trapped Gurleton and the others?
With this thought in mind, Naoki steeled his resolve and stepped through the glowing door.
In a modern metropolis illuminated by neon lights, high up in a towering office building, Naoki suddenly jolted awake from his slumber.
"Did I fall asleep?"
Glancing at the time, he realized it was already 10:30 at night.
Naoki rubbed his sore eyes, thinking that he really shouldn't have stayed late at the office for that meager overtime pay.
The vast office building was now empty except for him.
His colleagues could have at least called to let him know they were leaving...
Oh well, it was time for him to pack up and head home too! Naoki gathered his things, grabbed his phone, and made his way downstairs to catch the last train back to his rented apartment.
The late-night train was also deserted, and outside the window, there was nothing but darkness. The window reflected a face filled with fatigue.
Naoki stared blankly at his reflection, a sudden feeling washing over him. He felt like he had forgotten something very important...
He couldn't quite remember...
Naoki shook his head. Had he been working too hard lately? His company had recently started developing a new game project, a trashy game disguised as a culinary masterpiece called "Master Chef."
And this project just so happened to be under his responsibility.
Thoughts of work involuntarily filled Naoki's mind as he thought about the game's concept.
"Master Chef" was a training-type game where players possessed magical culinary abilities.
The dishes they prepared could grant various attributes, enhancements, and other mysterious powers to characters in the game.
The magnitude and quality of these enhancements depended on the dish's grade, which, like most greedy games, was rated from F to SSS.
The dish's grade was influenced by the rarity and quality of ingredients, as well as the player's cooking skills.
Of course, most of the rare ingredients and recipes had to be obtained through gacha luck.
"I must be exhausted, still thinking about work even after leaving the office..." Naoki shook his head, trying to dispel these random thoughts.
As luck would have it, the train arrived at his station, and Naoki alighted, returning to his rented apartment. After freshening up, he lay down on his bed and started playing his beloved Pokemon Scarlet on the Switch.
Gazing at the adorable and cool Pokemon on the screen, Naoki couldn't help but smile.
How wonderful would it be if Pokemon truly existed in this world!
Naoki sighed as he activated the camping feature and began to bathe his Gourleton and other Pokemon, followed by making sandwiches together.
Only after cleaning all the Pokemon did Naoki prepare to get to the main task for the day.
With the main storyline completed, he had recently caught a Bear Apprentice, and now he needed to head to Drizzli Town to purchase the item for its evolution in the Drizzli Market auction.
However, as he teleported to Drizzli Town and rode his Gourleton, crashing through the Drizzli Market, that feeling of "forgetting something important" became even stronger.
Naoki froze in his tracks.
Was it just his imagination?
In Drizzli Town, a two-month-old Gourleton opened its eyes, having just woken up from its slumber.
Its mother, a kind-faced Motostoke, looked at it lovingly.
Gourleton stared blankly at its mother as if it was still asleep.
The Motostoke mother looked at her child in confusion and asked, "Gao?"
Oh! Her child must have had a nightmare! The Motostoke mother realized and gently rubbed her child's head to soothe its emotions.
Gourleton snuggled into its mother's embrace and said to her, "Gao..." (I had a very long dream...)
In the dream, there was a ranch, and there was a person. It had been given to that person by Thomas, the mayor, and it lived with him on the ranch, where it met many wonderful companions.
They all lived happily together.
"Gao?" But the Motostoke mother couldn't understand what her child was saying.
She knew nothing about it and thought that little Gourleton must have had a terrifying nightmare and hadn't woken up yet.
The Motostoke mother extended her claw and gently stroked her child's head to comfort it.
Gourleton also couldn't help but think that it was probably just a dream.
The young Gourleton closed its eyes and snuggled into its mother's embrace, ready to take a nap.
Time flew by, and before long, Gourleton turned one year old.
A lot had happened during that year; for instance, a new town hall was built in town, and the neighbor next door gave birth to two adorable babies.
But none of that mattered to Gourleton, as it stayed by its mother's side, playing and living with the other Pokemon Thomas the Mayor had adopted. Every day was filled with joy.
During this time, Gourleton heard Thomas the Mayor talk about the ranch from its dream.
He mentioned that the ranch had been abandoned for years, lacking the grand tree and abundance of companions from Gourleton's dream.
Later on, a wealthy tycoon bought the land, intending to build a luxurious villa with a pastoral landscape.
Gourleton secretly went to take a look and saw the luxurious villa and the sophisticated-looking people within. It thought to itself that it must have indeed been just a dream.
When Gourleton was a year and a half old, Thomas the Mayor gave it to a young trainer as a partner.
The reason for this was that Thomas, while on a wildlife expedition, had been attacked by wild Pokemon, and a passing Pokemon trainer had come to his rescue.
Thomas invited the trainer to his home, and upon learning that the trainer was from another region and wanted to catch a Pokemon unique to the Paldea region, he happily gave Gourleton to the young trainer.
Gourleton was delighted about this, as it would now have a trainer of its own! Remembering its mother's words about eventually finding its own trainer and spending the rest of its days together, Gourleton was full of anticipation.
With bright eyes, it walked up to the human and let out a happy cry, "Gao!"
The human bent down and smiled, reaching out a hand to it.
"Motostoke, please take care of me from now on!"
As it looked at the familiar smile on the human's face, Gourleton froze, a terrifying thought crossing its mind.
No, this wasn't right!
It felt like it had forgotten someone very important, and it needed to find that person and return to their side.
In the forest stood a tall and majestic tree that towered above the rest. Many Pokemon loved to come to this spot to play.
Bounsweet was one of them.
Its favorite activity was to sunbathe and take a nap here. The sunlight would warm its furry body, ensuring it stayed cozy throughout the night.
With these thoughts, Bounsweet leisurely closed its eyes and soon fell asleep.
Bu Bao had a dream. In the dream, it found itself trapped in a cave. Just as it managed to escape, it started falling rapidly downwards.
The sudden loss of weight startled Bu Bao, and it instinctively opened its eyes, only to find itself being picked up and dropped by a Stone Bird!
"Ba Mo!" Bu Bao cried out in sheer terror, closing its eyes as it awaited its fate.
However, the expected pain never came. With a loud plop, Bu Bao landed in a small river.
Realizing that it hadn't died, Bu Bao felt relieved. It scrambled onto the shore, its fur dripping wet. Gazing up at the blue sky, it felt all its energy drain away.
When it had recovered some strength, Bu Bao realized it was in a completely strange place.
It seemed to be a place where humans had once lived, but for some unknown reason, it had been abandoned, with weeds growing all over the place.
A wild Pokemon passed by, and Bu Bao cautiously hid itself.
It stayed hidden until late at night, and the long absence of food made Bu Bao feel hungry.
After a lot of effort, it managed to find a few grain seeds in an abandoned barn.
Having barely filled its stomach, Bu Bao was exhausted. With its dirty fur, it curled up in a corner and fell asleep.
This life continued for a long, long time.
The timid Bu Bao only dared to venture out at night to look for food. Although it gradually became familiar with the abandoned ranch, there was no food to be found there. Bu Bao didn't dare to go elsewhere.
Once, it ventured into a forest to look for berries but was bullied and driven away by a wild Pokemon guarding the tree.
After that, Bu Bao never dared to leave the ranch again and could only rely on the wild fruits and crops growing there for food.
Being bullied by wild Pokemon, having no time to groom its fur due to the constant search for food...
In the end, Bu Bao became skinny and small, lacking its usual vigor.
Bu Bao often climbed onto the roof of the dilapidated house to overlook the ranch.
Sometimes it missed its parents and longed for the days when it could sleep under the sun. Other times, it wondered what the ranch used to be like—if it was filled with all sorts of crops and if the orchards bore large and abundant fruits.
Bu Bao would also sometimes pay attention to the bird Pokemon flying overhead, wishing it could fly and return home to its parents.
Time slowly passed.
One day, a group of people arrived at the ranch.
They operated large machines that flattened the area, and Bu Bao wanted to stop them, but it was too weak and could only watch helplessly as they leveled the place.
Bu Bao felt sad because its home was destroyed again, and it would have to wander elsewhere.
However, just then, a passing Pokemon Trainer spotted it.
The Trainer brought it to a Pokemon Center, and after being treated by Nurse Joy, the weakened Bu Bao regained its strength.
The young girl was moved to see its skinny and small state and volunteered to Nurse Joy that she could send Bu Bao to a suitable place!
Bu Bao was returned to a ranch owned by a Pokemon Professor, where it had an abundance of food and lived a peaceful life, just like the other Pokemon there.
But in the quiet of the night, Bu Bao often dreamed of that ranch.
It saw the ranch in its prosperous state, with thriving crops in the fields, a vibrant orchard, and a figure by the farmland, waving at it with a smile.
In its sleep, Bu Bao shed tears.
Outside the Mist World, Arceus quietly observed the development of the human and the Pokemon in a world without each other.
Kapu-Fin, after the initial shock, also turned its attention to the illusions.
Suddenly, it heard the Alpha Pokemon, who called itself the creator, speak.
Arceus looked at the illusion experienced by the Pokemon named Gourleton, its tone filled with astonishment.
"Even with their related memories blocked, they still remember each other? The determination of that Pokemon is truly profound and unexpected!"
"Fin-fin..."
Kapu-fin weakly voiced its agreement, expressing its own surprise.
Arceus did not respond but turned its attention to the remaining two Pokemon, continuing to observe the illusions they experienced.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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