Chapter 243: Cosmic Nightmare and Deoxys

In Burgh's art warehouse.

Torterra was lying comfortably on the ground. The clovers emitting a faint light had been transplanted into its soil shell, becoming greener after absorbing nutrients. Lilligant carefully took care of those clovers, and at the same time, she found a shiny golden leaf on the spiral tree on Torterra's back.

A golden leaf appeared again... It seems that it will appear on any plant. What kind of power created it?

Aegislash used its spirit power to control two Star Pieces, carving them into different shapes with Psycho Cut. At this time, they were just star fragments with strange shapes and did not have the effect of an amulet. They needed to be engraved with special secret words, and then paired with different stones.

Embed a Hard Stone into the Star Fragment to make a Hard Amulet.

Embed a high-quality crystal into the Star Fragment to make a Power Amulet.

【Crafted Item: Hard Amulet.】

【Effect: An amulet crafted with incredible craftsmanship and activated Star Fragments, capable of reducing damage from all sources by 20%.】

【Crafted Item: Power Amulet.】

【Effect: An amulet crafted with incredible craftsmanship and activated Star Fragments, capable of increasing the power of all moves by 20%.】

Xiang Guangtai pondered slightly and placed these two amulets on the rock on Torterra's back. That rock had the mark of the Thousand-Arm, which was very unique. And when Xiang Guangtai placed the new amulet on it, the stone emitted a hazy faint light.

【From: Remote Protection of the Guardian Stone.】

This information surprised Xiang Guangtai a little.

The Guardian Stone was of course left in Sinnoh, but he didn't expect that the stone on Torterra's back could also have a "remote connection" with it. Looking at it this way, when the Guardian Stone let Turtwig evolve into Grotle, perhaps it was waiting for this day.

【Through the protection of the Guardian Stone, the effects of the Hard Amulet and Power Amulet have been increased by an additional 10%.】

"Now Turtwig has really become a big toolbox."

Xiang Guangtai smiled and stroked Torterra.

This guy has simply become his mobile workbench, the node of the Tree of Connecting, the herb cultivation garden, the amulet protection place, and perhaps more functions will be added in the future... By the way, didn't Turtwig get the special Pokémon power of "Sun-Drenched Shell" before? If you put a solar panel in front of Torterra's shell, wouldn't it be able to charge at any time?

Photosynthesis once and the battery is full, and Torterra itself is Ground-type and not afraid of leakage, it's simply perfect.

Then, Xiang Guangtai began to repair the Giant's Key.

The rotten parts on the surface were cleaned up, and the remaining completely damaged parts were repaired with Release Orbs, and this ancient key once again emitted a transparent luster.

【Crafted Item (?): Giant's Key.】

【Description: A treasure used by a certain ancient country to sacrifice to the legendary Giant King, used to open the dusty and incredible Moon Gate. It was originally rotten and lost its function, but it has restored some functions under the repair of a mysterious craftsman.】

【Note 1: Life with special Aura can use this key to open the Moon Gate and travel through worlds, which requires understanding the essence of Aura. If you want the Giant's Key to fully restore its ability, you need three kinds of minerals from the underground of Twist Mountain, which are the Sun Stone, Moon Stone, and Dusk Stone of Twist Mountain. Afterward, you can perform a complete Infiltration Connection to reach the underground of another world with the help of the key's power.】

【Note 2: Even if you want to use Release Orbs to forge the three minerals, the minerals of Twist Mountain are unique, so even if they are copied, they are useless. The Giant's Key will not react to fake stones.】

【Note from the Tree of Connecting:】

【Once, an ancient King used the Giant's Key to draw an incredible painting, summoned the Giant King from an unknown world, and fought a civilization with the help of the Giant King's power. Therefore, a large number of stone statues were built in the ruins of a certain city.】

Even if it was repaired, it was only a semi-finished product. Then Xiang Guangtai handed the key to Riolu.

"Can you feel anything from it? Try releasing Aura?"

Riolu held the key, his ears gradually lifted, his eyes closed, and the unique Aura power began to resonate with the key.

And then...

The vision given by Aura began to travel, starting from Nacrene City, crossing many cities, straight to the mountains. In the underground of the cold and towering Twist Mountain, something was stirring.

An ancient, huge door was tightly closed, and there was a huge frozen rock, with collapsed statues... It seemed to tell the ruthlessness of time, and it was like the traces left after a war.

Huge buildings sank from the high mountains into the underground.

The shadows of giants and dragons were fighting...

Those light and shadow scenes were very blurry and could not be seen clearly. Riolu wanted to understand the essence of Aura from these blurry illusions... But, having mastered three kinds of Aura, doesn't that count as having obtained the essence?

Aura power, exists in my heart... Riolu sat cross-legged, his small paws placed in front of his chest, quietly practicing.

"Awoo!"

Suddenly, Riolu felt an unusual Aura, and the Star Aura from the universe on his body began to become active!

And then Riolu gradually entered a certain "dream."

"Eh?" Xiang Guangtai sensed Riolu's heart changes. His appearance looked no different from the practice state, but in fact, he had fallen asleep. This made Xiang Guangtai laugh or cry. Looking at the other Pokémon around, they were basically yawning by night.

Well, it seems it's time to rest now.

Xiang Guangtai took a Dream Flower from Lilligant's hand, combined it with the Trial Rock's Star Pieces, ground the meteorite into powder, prepared the potion, and used a method similar to making Max Revive to create two new secret medicines.

【Medicine: Max Revive!】

【Description: It looks like a transparent Max Revive, but has multiple star-shaped corners, emitting incredible light from the core. It is a super secret medicine that surpasses Max Revive, possessing the powerful effect of instantly restoring the life, physical strength, and activity of any Pokémon!】

【Effect: Use on a fainted Pokémon to eliminate all negative effects in its body and restore life, vitality, and physical strength to the maximum! Even a Pokémon that is almost dead can be used, and the effect is not reduced. Rather than calling it medicine, it is better to call it the effect of "giving life."】

【Medicine: Highest Level Potion!】

【Description: Orange-yellow potion, looking like orange juice. Although it is called a level potion, in fact, it cannot fill the growth of a Pokémon. Instead, it is a potion that instantly evolves a Pokémon into its "final form." That said, after taking the potion, the growth will not change due to the change in appearance. In common terms, the level remains the same.】

【Effect: Use on any initial stage or second stage Pokémon to evolve it into its final appearance. The base stats will reach the values of the final form, while other stats will not change. This evolution is similar to "early evolution." In the Pokémon world, there are often Pokémon that squeeze their potential to achieve early evolution. This medicine has a different effect on some Pokémon with "special initial forms," which may promote their "birth."】

"Whoosh."

After rubbing the two secret medicines, Xiang Guangtai was also ready to rest.

When lying on the bed, the long-lost pink dream swayed over... But gradually, a piece of deep black fog permeated the pink dream!

The Odd Keystone in the backpack also had an anomaly, and the stone began to glow autonomously.

"Give... eh?"

Aegislash discovered the glowing stone. It stared at the stone for a long time.

Once a strange object starts to glow, it proves that something unexpected has appeared. Aegislash looked at the sleeping partners, pushed open the warehouse door and floated out, and then, Aegislash saw an incredible scene.

Aurora was floating over the Nacrene Museum. At the same time, as a Ghost-type Pokémon, Aegislash could detect the pain coming from the "souls" around, which surprised it.

Wasn't it fine when we checked in? Why are there painful souls everywhere now? Could it be that the whole city is having a nightmare?

And a non-ordinary power came from in front of the Nacrene Museum. That was the same heart energy as its own trainer, or rather, similar!

Spreading from the museum to the surroundings, covering the night of Nacrene City.

Aegislash floated near the museum and saw the shadow of a Pokémon. When it tried to get closer, the other party disappeared at once, as if it were a ghost that didn't exist at all.

But Aegislash was not afraid of this kind of thing. After all, it was a Ghost-type Pokémon itself.

After finding nothing, Aegislash floated to the Pokémon Center. After opening the door, it saw that all the electronic instruments in the Pokémon Center seemed to have failed. At the same time, a series of black words gradually appeared on the snowy screen that was buzzing.

【I want to be born.】

【I want to die.】

"Are you a Pokémon?"

The sudden human voice made Aegislash turn around. A tall female professor appeared in front of the Pokémon Center!

Professor Juniper spent half the night rushing here. As soon as she entered Nacrene City, she found that it seemed to have become a ghost town. The graffiti that was full of life was extremely weird in the buzzing electric current. The streets were empty and there was no one.

Professor Juniper felt that Nacrene City was very wrong now. After going to the museum, she found that Curator Lenora, Assistant Curator Hawes, and many others seemed to be in a nightmare state!

Professor Juniper knew a little about dreams. This was because she had a friend who studied dreams, and the current situation was very tricky. That friend who studied dreams was not in the nearby city for the time being!

So she could only come to the Pokémon Center first. She didn't expect to find Aegislash as soon as she entered.

She was highly nervous, because the Pokémon in front of her was really "too big"!

At a glance, she knew it was definitely the type that shouldn't be messed with!

Could it be that the abnormal changes in the Nacrene Museum and the problems in the entire Nacrene City were caused by the Pokémon in front of her?

Of course, as a Pokémon professor, Juniper knew that the behavior of some Pokémon was to "achieve a certain goal." They were not acting randomly. When the demand was met, they would leave on their own. So she began to ask Aegislash what it wanted to do.

Aegislash: "...?"

Ah! It wasn't me! Aegislash waved its ribbon arms.

Professor Juniper was stunned: "You mean, the things here have nothing to do with you?"

Aegislash gave an affirmative answer, using its ribbons to make a "thumbs up" gesture.

Seeing such a human-like expression, Professor Juniper also breathed a sigh of relief. The Pokémon in front of her seemed to be the type that was easy to talk to, so it would be much more convenient to communicate.

Aegislash also floated in front of Professor Juniper, and the Pokémon following Professor Juniper felt the power of Aegislash as a King, and trembled with some fear.

However, at this time, Professor Juniper, who really saw Aegislash's appearance clearly, exclaimed:

"Eh! You seem to be the Pokémon that appeared on the news before..."

Oh! I didn't expect you to watch that news report too? The people of Unova are really well-informed! Aegislash gave a thumbs up again.

"I want to investigate what happened here. How about you come and help?"

"By the way! If you are here, this means your trainer is also... Anyway, please help me!"

Professor Juniper picked up her briefcase, a little helpless: "But although I say so, my instruments have almost failed. There should be high-intensity electromagnetic signals here..."

"Now everyone in the city seems to be asleep, and they are troubled by a strange nightmare. I think this should be caused by the power of some Pokémon, but I can't analyze more content from the existing information. I think there should be some power that synchronized a nightmare to everyone's consciousness."

She looked at the big screen at the same time, frowning.

Wanting to be born and die... What does this mean?

Aegislash thought about it.

Then it indicated that it had a way to help you!

Just use the radio shield, right!

Hey... wait! If everyone in the entire Nacrene City is trapped in a strange nightmare while sleeping, doesn't that mean...

Terrible!

"This is not the Dream World."

Xiang Guangtai's eyes reflected the deep darkness and the black-and-white cosmic starry sky. The cold and lonely light wandered in this universe for I don't know how many years, and beside him were Riolu and Lilligant.

"Dore?" Lilligant was very surprised, not knowing why she appeared in this strange space.

And Riolu pointed directly at the light ball in front.

It's that sphere! It created this place!

It dragged us in!

The blue puppy looked at the light ball in front vigilantly. It told Xiang Guangtai that the call it heard before came from that light ball.

There is no color here, it looks empty and terrifying. Although there is white light falling, you can't feel a trace of warmth, just like being in the world of the dead.

【"Life is so beautiful... Tell me, is it an interesting thing to live in the world?"】

【"I died before I was born. I traveled across the long starry sea. I was so looking forward to my birth. Every time I approached a new world, I would think, it's about to be born, finally the moment of birth has arrived..."】

【"Why refuse my call... I was not born, and thus stepped into death. The world rejected me, life rejected me. I hate you, I hate all life. Do I have to die in this lonely and desolate nightmare?"】

【"Why me... Why me... How long will this endless journey last?"】

【"How long will this endless death last?"】

【"Whoever it is, come and help me, kill me, or free me from this nightmare. I no longer ask for birth, I only hope for a peaceful death..."】

【"Leaving my hometown, crossing the long years, I didn't wait for the ending I hoped for... Life that possesses the power gifted by the universe, should I hate you? But that is meaningless. In this universe, some life is destined to be born, and some life is destined to die."】

【"If you didn't want me to be born, why did you let me develop wisdom? I was acquired by humans and placed in that building called the museum. That building is full of the power of memory and wisdom, which allowed me to understand my own existence."】

【"But why... did it let me understand everything in the world only when I was about to pass away? Who, who awakened me again when I was about to disappear?"】

The light ball gradually became pitch black, and scenes of wandering in the universe were seen by Xiang Guangtai and Riolu.

That was a meteorite with cosmic viruses attached. It had experienced a long time of scouring in the starry sea and finally found a gorgeous star, but it could not be born because of insufficient power.

Its consciousness and body were separated into two worlds. Consciousness was in the black-and-white world, and the body was brought to the colorful world. Pain, hatred, anger... A Pokémon turned these dreams into reality, trapping it here completely.

Lilligant seemed to sense something at this time.

There is a power...

There is a very powerful, very strange power that projected the memories of the light ball in front of everyone's mind!

"The Pokémon trapped in a nightmare, it turns out it's you..."

Speaking of which, there is indeed a meteorite with cosmic viruses attached in the exhibits of Nacrene City!

Carrying specific Pokémon to investigate can make that Pokémon change form.

"And there is only one kind of Pokémon that cosmic viruses can give birth to."

Xiang Guangtai understood the true identity of the light ball in front of him!

"You are 'Deoxys'!"

The next moment, the power of the Tree of Connecting squeezed into this nightmare world.

【Connection Task: Unborn Life (One of Mesprit's requests).】

【Reward: Release Orb x5, Unknown Badge x2, Nightmare Energy x1, Cosmic Power x1!】

【Note 1: The unborn Pokémon from the universe was briefly revived because of the cosmic fluctuations you triggered by striking the Trial Rock! However, this cannot stop it from stepping into death. Its mind has been shattered, and what remains is only madness and pain. The meteorite is trapped in a nightmare, and Mesprit's power transmitted the meteorite's memories into people's hearts, causing a collective nightmare phenomenon!】

【Note 2: The Tree of Connecting has increased the reward for completing the task! Use the power of the "Lunar Wing" on the life trapped in the nightmare to let it rest in peace! Or, help it, let it truly be born!】

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 244 =====