Chapter 296: Ghetsis: There

Just as Guang Tai was preparing to leave, several pairs of eyes suddenly appeared in the shadows around them. Two figures emerged from the alleys and corners of Mistralton City.

"You two are Ryoku and Zinzolin."

Miss Wan Long: "Who are they?"

Guang Tai: "They are Sages of Team Plasma, a group of old men who call themselves Sages, seemingly gathered from all over the world by their leader, Ghetsis."

The two old men, accompanied by Team Plasma grunts, surrounded them. These were the same two Sages Guang Tai had defeated before, but their expressions were very strange.

Zinzolin: "The one chosen by the King, you have finally arrived in Mistralton City."

Ryoku: "I have a question... what did you do to me before? Why did I lose my memories?"

"It wasn't me who made you lose your memories, but the spiritual entities in the Ancient Castle. You were possessed by the ghosts of the ancients, that is all."

Guang Tai comforted the restless Deerling: "Are you here to fight me?"

Zinzolin narrowed his eyes—or rather, his eyes were naturally that strange, slit-like shape. However, the "all slit-eyed people are monsters" trope didn't apply to this old Sage; in terms of strength, he wasn't particularly formidable.

"Originally, that was the mission."

"But, for some reason, after seeing you, that desire to fight faded away."

"Rest assured, these Team Plasma members here are all people you defeated in the Ancient Castle. They are not with Ghetsis and his lot."

Ryoku looked very frustrated, his beard trembling: "Why have I appeared here? I clearly had a mission to test and obstruct you, yet I find myself unable to make a move."

"While listening to the speeches of Ghetsis and the others, rare feelings of anger and confusion appeared in my heart. Why is this?"

"Only you can give us the answer. We are lost souls now."

Zinzolin nodded slightly: "After fighting you at the Dream Ruins, confusion also arose in my heart. Is our liberation truly correct? In the past, I believed in it firmly, but now I feel it isn't quite like that."

"Cracks have appeared in my heart, and the power I once possessed cannot be unleashed. I once believed without doubt in the greatness and beauty of the new world—an era where humans and Pokémon could live intimately without the need for Poké Balls."

"But after losing that battle, I wavered. Theoretically, I should have strengthened my resolve and used greater power to suppress you the next time we met."

"Because my heart was troubled, we came here."

Zinzolin was genuinely confused, and to resolve this doubt, he hadn't reported everything about the Dream Ruins.

He had only reported a portion of it.

This act of deception could be considered betrayal, yet Zinzolin felt no unease, only a strange sense of relief.

Was he naturally a dark, petty person who enjoyed betraying others? This thought made Zinzolin feel perplexed.

"Fanatical ideologies fading away... it's quite fitting for your character arc to start reflecting after being defeated," Guang Tai remarked, knowing this might also be due to the power of the Blue Crystal.

"You could think of it that way," Zinzolin sighed. "So, what exactly are we lacking?"

"I think it's sincerity," Guang Tai replied. "You seem to love quoting classics. So, are you acting based on those classics, or are you acting based on your own true hearts?"

"Quoting classics... the Great Dao is simple."

Zinzolin and Ryoku looked at each other, lost in thought. They had fanatically believed in the promises Ghetsis had made to them and were willing to fight for them.

But now, they wondered: was it because they believed in Ghetsis's promises, or were they following their own hearts in doing these things?

"Not everyone can understand the hearts of Pokémon; we don't have that ability! Only the King has that power, but..."

Ryoku looked conflicted: "Are you saying we lack the ability to understand human hearts?"

"Exactly," Guang Tai nodded.

This brief answer shook the two Sages again. They looked at each other, and Guang Tai's voice sounded like a seductive whisper:

"For instance, can you truly understand each other's hearts? Are your ideals truly aligned?"

Zinzolin: "I cannot be sure."

Ryoku: "Yes... human hearts are fickle. Before we met, we were even wary of each other."

"Then do you want to understand each other?"

Guang Tai reached out his hand to the two Sages: "Shake my hand, and you will be able to understand each other."

"?"

The two Sages were puzzled, but they weren't worried about Guang Tai playing tricks; they both agreed that this young man was truly special.

And so, two pairs of rough hands grasped Guang Tai's.

In an instant, complex and diverse minds merged, exchanging thoughts like an electric shock!

Shock appeared on the faces of Ryoku and Zinzolin. Zinzolin's slit eyes even opened wide—a medical miracle!

"Oh, Ryoku! So that's what you were thinking..."

"Zinzolin, I have never understood you so clearly!"

Suddenly, the atmosphere became quite strange.

Ryoku asked Guang Tai in disbelief: "How did you do this? What kind of power is this? Is this also a psychic ability?"

Guang Tai smiled: "That's right, it's a psychic ability of connection, but this power has always existed beneath your feet, right here on the land of Unova."

"The meaning of Unova is connection—world to world, life to life, understanding each other, communicating with each other, and growing stronger together."

"I have connected your souls, so you can feel the true thoughts in each other's hearts. This power can also be applied between humans and Pokémon."

"Do you want to have a talk with your Pokémon?"

"This power is..." Zinzolin's heart trembled violently.

This was the power of Lord N!

No! It was an even more powerful ability than reading the hearts of Pokémon!

"Legend says that long ago..."

Guang Tai's words made the two Sages listen intently, and Miss Wan Long also leaned in to listen.

"The King of the Abyssal Ruins possessed this power. He could allow humans and Pokémon to communicate without barriers, where all life could converse and understand each other as equals. That was the power that created Unova."

"Oh, oh, oh! To think such a story existed!" Zinzolin sighed with emotion, his gaze turning toward Ryoku.

They had truly understood each other!

Zinzolin: "I see. You are someone obsessed with tracing the marks of history. I am, too!"

Ryoku: "Your hometown is in the Paldea region, right?"

Zinzolin: "Hey! Don't go understanding things like where people are from! I deliberately didn't look at your hometown. By the way, Paldea is actually..."

Ryoku: "No, it should be that you spent a long time in the Paldea region..."

Zinzolin: "I said don't go understanding those things! I'm going to look at your hometown now."

The two old men laughed like children. They let go of Guang Tai's hands, their expressions toward him now filled with respect and awe.

"This extraordinary power... it's just like a guide in a story or a game, or one of those Sage characters!"

"Can you also let Pokémon and us understand each other? Actually, I have read the hearts of Pokémon through Lord N's power, which made me feel closer to my own Pokémon."

Zinzolin released his Cofagrigus. The Pokémon still remembered Guang Tai and became nervous.

They were enemies just a short while ago!

"Cofagrigus, relax. We are friends this time."

Guang Tai placed his hand on Cofagrigus's head, and a strange power spread, making the Pokémon feel very comfortable.

It was the Power of Reminiscence!

"Your first meeting was in... back then it was still a Yamask. You used a Poké Ball on it, and then you began your journey together."

"How strange. Yamask shouldn't exist in the Paldea region."

"You read the Pokémon's memories!" Zinzolin was very surprised, his breathing slightly rapid. He explained: "When I was young, there were some ancient tombs in the Paldea region, containing items that seemed to have been brought as tribute from other regions."

"It is said that in the distant past, the King of Paldea loved collecting rare items from other regions."

Guang Tai was slightly surprised that Zinzolin had been active in the Paldea region, but considering the man's name, it made perfect sense.

Zinzolin's name came from the Spanish word for blue, and Paldea was based on Spain.

Similarly, the other Sages—Ryoku's name came from the Japanese word for green, perhaps he was from Hoenn or Johto.

The bob-cut Giallo was French for yellow, perhaps from Kalos.

"You went to the Poké Mart with 【Cofagrigus】 and bought..."

"You went fishing together, but the Pokémon on the hook escaped!"

"You comforted each other. The second time you fished, you succeeded. You started a battle with a wild Tatsugiri, but a Dondozo appeared mid-battle, and you were defeated."

"Although the battle was a failure, because you were with your partner, you were very happy and not discouraged."

"You and 【Cofagrigus】 were both startled by a 【Pokémon】 that suddenly jumped out of the grass! Its two feet ran fast, patter-patter, it was so funny!"

"You and 【Cofagrigus】 went to the Pokémon Center, and it recovered its exhausted body. Yamask was very happy. Where should we travel next? What should we play?"

"As long as I am with 【you】, I am very happy. No matter what we do, it is very interesting."

Accompanied by Guang Tai's voice, Zinzolin stared blankly at his Pokémon. Nostalgia for decades past gradually surfaced in his heart.

Cofagrigus's eyes were already closed. In Guang Tai's whispers, it seemed to have returned to decades ago, to the moment it first met its trainer.

It was Zinzolin who had brought it out of the dark tomb, and then they had experienced many adventures together, traveling to many places. As Zinzolin grew older, he developed grand ambitions and began to study hard, and it had always accompanied him, traveling to places full of historical traces to explore and investigate. That was also a very joyful time.

Guang Tai had Zinzolin and Cofagrigus hold hands, and that feeling of gratitude flowed into Zinzolin's heart without any obstruction!

It wasn't just a simple reading, but a transmission of emotion and will!

"Cofagrigus... I remember now, that time from long ago. Whether studying, traveling, getting hurt, being confused, or sad... no matter when, you have always been by my side."

"Taisss~"

Ryoku was deeply moved by this scene!

"Reading the distant memories of a Pokémon... it's the same as Mr. N's power... no, it's even more detailed than that!"

"This is the Power of Reminiscence," Guang Tai explained.

"People with this power exist in some places. I am not special. There are 'Memory Girls' in Kalos and Hoenn who can read the distant memories of Pokémon just like me. Although it cannot trigger any special power in the Pokémon, I think that for trainers and Pokémon, there is nothing more precious than the time they have spent together."

"The time spent together... that's right." Ryoku looked at a Poké Ball in his hand and opened it with a *pop*. Appearing before Guang Tai was... a Scolipede.

Scolipede twitched its antennae, looking confused at Zinzolin and Cofagrigus, who were hugging and crying on the other side.

"I have known Scolipede for a long time, too. I can hardly remember the distant memories anymore."

Guang Tai placed his palm on Scolipede. It was initially vigilant, but the moment it touched the sunlight in Guang Tai's palm, the hostility vanished immediately.

Warm sunlight?

Scolipede's eyelids drooped.

Soon, Ryoku also experienced Scolipede's emotions.

Although not as distant as Zinzolin's, Ryoku had met Scolipede while traveling in Kalos. Back then, it was just a Venipede that only knew how to rummage through trash cans, being chased and beaten by people everywhere, and attacked by bird Pokémon. It was he who had saved it.

And then, a friendship was born.

"I... I..." Ryoku recalled the past he had almost forgotten. Looking at Scolipede's resting face, he saw only the weak creature it once was in the depths of its eyes.

"To think so much time has passed! Time is so cruel! I remember now! It was because I saw the situation of that Venipede that I thought some people must be corrected!"

"It had lost its companions... I told it, from now on, I will be your companion."

"At first, its personality was very violent, and it often poisoned me. I traveled with it like that. Although it often wouldn't listen to my commands and would fight with bird Pokémon or Centiskorch, leaving itself covered in wounds, occasionally it would lean against me to sleep. My heart was very satisfied then..."

Scolipede opened its eyes, blinking in disbelief, staring at Guang Tai, while also feeling the "Insect Friend" power on him.

Is this human not just a human, but a special kind of bug?

This sense of friendliness made Scolipede very confused, but what attracted it more was that it felt its heart had become one with Ryoku.

It felt like returning to decades ago.

Ryoku sighed, yet was overjoyed!

"Thank you. Your power is truly amazing, truly astonishing! I have found the feelings I had back then; I have no regrets!"

"Coming to see you today was indeed the right choice!"

(End of chapter)

(End of chapter)