Chapter 182: Service-Oriented Pillar

Creating Legendary Pokémon carries a risk of losing control; Unknown Totem E had experienced this firsthand, so it firmly rejected the demands of its unscrupulous companions!

Yet these beings, having dwelled too long in the temporal rift, seemed utterly unconcerned—making Unknown Totem E think they were like children, and it shouted out in protest!

"Anong!"

Which ruin do you belong to, to have such audacity!

The Unknown Totems around each ruin blinked their large eyes and exchanged glances.

Who cares about that! Anyway, hurry and create Entei with us! To answer the cries of hearts, to fulfill others' wishes—isn't that exactly what we, as Unknown Totems, are meant to do?

Unknown Totem E panicked as its companions surged around it, enveloping it in the center, while the other Unknown Totems finally noticed that Unknown Totem E's power seemed somehow different from theirs?

How to put it? Older. Stronger.

But wouldn't that be even better? Our army of Unknown Totems needs talents like you!

"Anong!!"

The combined power of the gathering Unknown Totems was immense—just as the Pokédex described: a single one does nothing, but when gathered in great numbers, they trigger impossible phenomena. Though this description hasn't yet been recorded, because the researcher who studied Unknown Totems had only just been sucked into the temporal rift and hadn't escaped yet!

"Dad… come back soon…" The girl's voice was distorted; her mood had sunk, and she gripped her fairy tale picture book tightly. In that moment, her emotions surged violently—and due to the Unknown Totems' design to respond to hearts, the surrounding Unknown Totems suddenly surged with power!

They formed a circle, forcing Unknown Totem E to join them in creation; the resonance of their power overwhelmed it. Amidst brilliant blue-green light, a large, lion-like quadruped Pokémon was coalescing.

The process was uncontrollable; Unknown Totem E could only mentally replay its past creation of Wavetail.

The key point… the key point was the Tablet! The Dragon Tablet!

Its power had once resonated with the Dragon Tablet—it was an Unknown Totem of the Divine Capital Ruin, unlike the others!

In desperation, it saw the "Symbolic Tablet" floating in the sky!

Awaken power! White light surged around Unknown Totem E, shifting its type to Dragon! The awakened Dragon-type power slammed into several Symbolic Tablets until they were crushed into the temporal rift—and Unknown Totem E lost all control over its body and power.

Ugh! I hope the companions in the Divine Capital receive this "distress signal"!

Come save me! Come save me!

Then, among the crowd of staring Unknown Totems, Unknown Totem E tightly shut its eyes.

I've done what I could. Fine. Do whatever you want.

"You're the one who called me, huh!"

When the blue-green light faded, the "Fake Entei" reciting its entrance lines to the girl suddenly felt a sharp pain in its head.

A strange roar had been implanted into its mind the moment it was born—as if it had existed for ages, filled with confusion and anger?

And the girl before it asked if it was Entei.

Of course it was!

"I am Entei."

Undeniably so—the legendary Pokémon long worshipped by people, passed down through myth.

"Roar!"

The strange roar in its mind suddenly grew louder—this time, unmistakably filled with real fury!

"Ugh!" Entei winced in pain, while the girl before it kept asking: "Did Dad turn into Entei and come back?"

Right—it was created as the girl's "father." No—wait—it had always existed, merely summoned from a distant ancient past.

Confused memories made Entei's expression grow more pained; it shook its head violently, sealing off that line of thought entirely!

————

Divine Capital, Traveler's Workshop.

After a full day of work in the Inverted World, Guang Tai headed as planned to the last Bingshan Ruin.

Meanwhile, a client who had planned to visit the Divine Capital had informed Guang Tai of her arrival time—the appointed day had arrived.

"Jade is coming."

After Zifuqi Da Wu left, Jade followed—this was the hidden plotline from the original game; after investigating Arceus, Jade would inevitably come to the Divine Capital Ruin, as her clan had an inexplicable connection to Arceus.

After welcoming Jade, Guang Tai decided to temporarily leave the Divine Capital.

Leaving the workshop and following the "path," he soon spotted two temples and the entrance to a valley in the outer forest. Due to the miraculous ground craftsmanship, different locations were magically linked to nearby positions, forming a place like a hidden realm.

The Black Gold Ruin adjoined the Rock Mountain Ruin; nearby was the Light Valley where He He Yue lived; to the west lay a fertile orchard, along with the Divine Capital's cemetery and garden—all these structures formed a semicircle around the hidden realm, leaving an open space in the center.

After several days, a crude stone statue had appeared in the center, covered in Light Moss, and some unknown Ubo had wandered in, shaking their heads with dopey smiles, spraying water from their mouths like tiny fountains.

A once-bad-tempered Wooper that used to lurk by the forest path was also here, sitting dazed, croaking softly.

This place had become a gathering spot for many Pokémon. When humans appeared, the timid ones vanished instantly into the temples or gardens, but those who had met Guang Tai and Zifuqi Da Wu greeted him with cheerful calls.

"It's practically a shabby Pokémon town."

Guang Tai entered the Rock Mountain Ruin. In just a few days, many new furnishings had been added—all cast in iron. Clearly, Rock Pillar, having recruited Steel Pillar as an assistant, had been relentlessly upgrading his shop's equipment.

"Mamoo!"

"Doree~"

Guang Tai saw Pokémon inside the Rock Mountain Ruin—both Whirlipede and Skitty were here, and they happily greeted him upon seeing him.

"Younong~" Among the shoppers, Guang Tai spotted a massive figure—Darkrai! The Spirit Realm bureaucrat had returned; upon seeing Guang Tai, its large eyes lit up, and it approached with familiar ease, waving hello!

Hey friend! The talismans you sold last time worked wonders—my coworkers are jealous of my efficiency!

Darkrai lifted a cloth sack, entirely stitched from Spirit Realm fabric, bulging with Spirit Realm materials, and shoved it straight into Guang Tai's arms!

Here, here—promised Spirit Realm gift, don't be polite! These things are everywhere in the Spirit Realm!

In truth, I came here to exchange some materials from this world for Spirit Realm gems—it's a fair trade!

"Oh, thank you—I was just about to look for you. These Spirit Realm materials are a huge help. Here, take this."

Guang Tai pulled a stone from his backpack.

"Younong?" Darkrai picked up the stone radiating cold energy, examined it closely—and suddenly its eyes glowed with excited red light!

"This is the Rock of the Return Cave—the stone from the nexus between this world and the other." Guang Tai handed the remaining Return Stones to Regirock, conveying it as Arceus's thanks and reward.

"Younong~!" Darkrai became ecstatic, immediately floating between Guang Tai and the Stone Pokémon, gesturing wildly to claim all the Return Stones—these were rare treasures even in the Spirit Realm! The Return Cave… wasn't that the special cavern controlled by the ruler of the antimatter world?

Regirock and Darkrai began discussing how to divide the Return Stones, while Guang Tai's attention shifted elsewhere.

In fact, when he first entered, Guang Tai had been startled to spot that "thing."

The ice-blue "pillar" standing in the corner of the Rock Mountain Ruin, organizing goods and materials.

Isn't that Regice?!

"I was planning to open the door at the Bingshan Temple—how did Regice get here on its own?"

"Bip-bip-bip—" Regice's glyphs flashed rapidly upon spotting Guang Tai, warmly greeting him!

Then, it piled a heap of "mushrooms" and "ice blocks" before Guang Tai!

Customer, what goods do you need? We also offer chilled tree-juice nutritional drinks!

"So you're a service-oriented personality?"

Watching the enthusiastic Regice, honestly, this creature once again shattered Guang Tai's assumptions about Ice Pillars.

In the anime, the few Ice Pillars shown were mostly cold and aloof; compared to Rock Pillars and Steel Pillars, they had less warmth—typical of Ice-type Pokémon, most being icy tsundere or emotionally detached.

But the Ice Pillar of the Divine Capital seemed less like Ice-type and more like Fire-type—optimistic and cheerful!

"Sword Dance Mushroom, Iron Wall Mushroom, Critical Truffle, Sweet Truffle, Smoky Yam…"

"Ice Stone, Ice Stone, still Ice Stone! Oh, one piece of Unmelting Ice?"

"And… Ancient Soil, Peat!"

(End of Chapter)