Chapter 686: Latent Contradictions

A cool breeze blew.

The industrial district in the far distance was still brightly lit.

Mountain Renshan sighed. "Sigh, how am I supposed to sleep now?"

Ghosts and Ghost-type Pokémon aren't the same thing. Even in the remote Orei region, ghosts still leave behind all sorts of terrifying legends.

Children fear being taken away by ghosts; adults hope ghosts will take revenge on those who bully them.

Mountain Renshan once used to fantasize about the dead becoming vengeful spirits to punish the scum of Team Shadow, but as he traveled and studied across the various regions, he fully absorbed outside knowledge.

He came to understand one principle—

【Heaven helps those who help themselves.】

Rather than chasing after something illusory and unattainable, it was better for him to personally set an example and contribute his share, then borrow a changed Orei to display the ambitions in his heart.

However, the above does not mean Mountain Renshan was unmoved by real, existing souls.

He lived uprightly and sat properly, so he truly wasn't afraid, but the thought that the place he lived was full of invisible, intangible souls — souls that might even gather to stare at him while he slept —

How could he possibly sleep?

Being selfless doesn't mean abandoning personal privacy.

Baimu shrugged. "Nothing to be done about it, didn't you bury the underground passage? We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to dig it back open and take a look."

"What about tonight, then?"

"Just find any Ghost-type Pokémon to help you patrol. If you spot any, chase them off. One night should be manageable."

"Fine. Lend me your Dragapult."

"... That probably won't work."

"Where am I supposed to find a Ghost-type Pokémon in the middle of the night? You think this is Hoenn?" Mountain Renshan's lowered voice carried a hint of irritation.

If he had a choice, he'd rather not know about this until tomorrow.

Just now Baimu had been talking so confidently about how if they waited until tomorrow to discuss it, he'd curse him out — he felt like cursing right now!

"The only Ghost-type Pokémon in my team that I could lend you — forget it. How about you just stay at my place tonight? A-Wu isn't here anyway, so the guest room's empty."

Baimu suggested.

Way back on the Stormcaller, Naruhiro had told him A-Wu had returned to Unova. This dragon-tamer, who had been a huge help to the rescue organization, had spent half a year planting trees, and upon learning of his fame in Hoenn, had immediately decided to return to Unova to train.

Clearly A-Wu was serious about contending for the championship.

Mountain Renshan was truly too sleepy to argue. After a few seconds of hesitation, he nodded and agreed.

Back at the villa.

Mountain Renshan yawned and headed straight for the guest room.

Baimu, who had just released Aggron and the rest of his Pokémon, hurriedly asked, "Where are your Pokémon?"

"I had N look after them for me."

Mountain Renshan replied offhandedly, and with a click, shut the door.

He actually left his Pokémon with N...

Baimu could understand that Mountain Renshan was usually busy with government affairs and had no time to look after his own Pokémon, but if they couldn't see their trainer for a long time, wouldn't the Pokémon feel sad?

At least keep one by your side?

As he felt this pang of regret, the cry of Hydreigon rang out beside his ear.

"Shaao!"

"What's wrong?"

Following Hydreigon's gaze, he saw two half-human-shaped Pokémon — one tall, one short — standing outside the open front door at some unknown point.

The tall one looked like a hunched old man that had been a fox; the short one looked like a cartoon rag doll mixed with cat elements.

"Dii."

"Mya~"

Alakazam and Espeon politely bowed to him, then walked calmly toward the guest room, gently opening the door and gently closing it again.

Baimu smiled silently and reached out to stroke Hydreigon's big head.

That's right.

A trainer having no time didn't mean the Pokémon wouldn't find chances on their own — whether following by his side during the day, or watching his sleeping face at night.

As long as the bond between human and Pokémon remained unchanged, they were inseparable.

"N probably won't be here until tomorrow. Let's go to sleep too."

Baimu said to the Pokémon waiting around him.

In the yard, Steelix regretfully snorted two puffs of white air from its nose. It had originally wanted to egg the trainer into going camping over at the mountain range, but after waiting the whole day today, it still hadn't found the chance.

So annoying!

Steelix slowly closed its eyes, vowing to definitely find a chance tomorrow to egg the trainer into going.

Nothing more that night.

The next day.

Baimu, who had woken up naturally, had just finished making breakfast when, before he could go wake Mountain Renshan, N — who had been gone all last night — rang the doorbell.

"Good morning."

N's emerald eyes were, as always, slightly dim, but the smile on his face felt very warm.

"Good morning!"

Baimu enthusiastically welcomed him inside.

Unexpectedly —

Mountain Renshan, who had previously had his door tightly shut, now appeared at the dining table, thoroughly enjoying his breakfast. Alakazam and Espeon had also been given specially prepared food by the gentle and virtuous Blissey.

"Good morning, both of you!"

Shan Ren gracefully raised his hand.

Baimu sneered: "You're not the least bit polite—you just sit down without even asking."

"Only dreams, Pokémon, and food must never be betrayed. Besides, if N isn't here, there are only two humans in this room—unless you eat one portion and watch another."

The two's familiar exchange made N feel as if he had returned to half a year ago.

In the early days after Huang Tie Town's liberation, they had sat together for meals countless times like this, chatting idly or discussing serious matters.

Only in this moment.

Could N realize that he, too, was still young, just like the two before him.

"…I'm sorry. I didn't tell the truth last night."

He said it suddenly.

Baimu and Shan Ren stopped their meaningless chatter and turned to look at him together.

N said softly: "I knew from the very first day I arrived that lost souls were scattered throughout Huang Tie Town."

Shan Ren was utterly stunned, then grew angry: "The first day! Why didn't you ever—well, it was meaningless then, but why didn't you tell me in these past six months?"

Baimu snapped his fingers twice to draw his attention: "It wouldn't have mattered anyway. No ordinary person can fix this. So what if you knew? The Spirit World entrance isn't a true 'gate.'"

"Even so…" Shan Ren could not suppress his anger.

Even if Baimu said lost souls couldn't disturb the living, what if they could?

Be serious.

If Shan Ren had known earlier, he might have considered relocating Huang Tie Town elsewhere.

N shook his head at Baimu: "Don't make excuses for me. I didn't know about the blocked Spirit World entrance, but about the souls—I deliberately kept silent."

"Deliberately… and 'should.'" Shan Ren repeated the words, his gaze shifting from anger to disappointment.

N, as if seeing nothing, spoke slowly: "First, I truly have no way to resolve the lost souls. Even the ghost Pokémon I know dare not approach underground. Second, Huang Tie Town holds too many sinful souls—being lost is their fate."

"Many who died on this land were innocent! How many people here even interact with Pokémon!?"

Shan Ren slammed the table, shouting loudly.

The thunderous crash made all the nearby Pokémon lift their heads at once.

N looked at him seriously: "So I let them remain lost, and focused my energy on more important things. They can't affect the world of the living—this is proven by the sharp drop in accidents and illnesses in Huang Tie Town over the past six months."

"Is that your excuse?" Shan Ren said coldly.

N shook his head again: "No. I'm simply explaining why I didn't tell you. My subconscious resisted… I did wrong in this matter. I'm sorry."

"Hmph. Ha." Shan Ren laughed bitterly, his tone hollow: "I thought these six months might have changed your view of Huang Tie Town. But I was wrong. From the start, you only ever intended to build an empty Pokémon paradise. You see no people on this land."

Saying this,

he stormed out.

Alakazam and Espeon exchanged a glance, then hurried after their trainer.

Baimu rubbed his temples, looked at silent N, then chased outside and blocked Shan Ren's path, whispering: "Why are you so angry? N came here to save Pokémon—you know that!"

"I know! How could I not know? But can his goal be achieved by just planting trees and changing the environment? Oure's land may look undeveloped, but every inch has already been divided up!"

Shan Ren kept complaining: "Do you know how hard I've worked to expand the wild Pokémon's territory? Many in the Rescue Organization don't even want to give wild Pokémon so much space!"

"And do you think he can magically produce food for hundreds of thousands of Pokémon every day? He spends all his time with Pokémon, barely interacts with anyone else, resists adoption, and separates Pokémon from humans—what benefit is that to him?"

N learned from Satoshi and Pikachu that humans and Pokémon can form precious bonds—but that doesn't mean he'll change his view of all humans.

In principle, he still believes humans and Pokémon should remain distant; he merely refrains from interfering with Pokémon already bonded to trainers.

Shan Ren hoped N would change his mindset, become more practical.

That would better help build a Pokémon paradise.

But six months passed, and N still subconsciously rejected the people of Huang Tie Town—making Shan Ren feel he was throwing warmth at a cold back.

What Shan Ren could least accept was N's apology.

Because.

He was sorry only for hiding something important from Shan Ren, and showed no concern for how long the innocent souls had been lost—or whether their presence posed any danger.

In other words, N still treated all humans—except a few close ones—as equal, regardless of innocence or guilt.

"Give him more time. You know what his past was like. He poured all his empathy for humans into Pokémon. I wouldn't be surprised if one day he announced he was a Pokémon himself."

Baimu patted his shoulder, soothing him.

Shan Ren, having vented, shook off his hand: "Enough. Stop playing peacemaker. Don't waste time on this—your primary duty is to grow stronger. Send me the Spirit World entrance's location on your phone, then hurry to Huang Tie Arena. As for N—I know the difference between public and private matters."

"…"

Baimu watched silently as Shan Ren hurried away.

Back at the villa,

N gently stroked the head of a Happiny: "It's wonderful your psychological trauma is gone. You've been working hard for Baimu all this time."

"Happy~ happy!"

Happiny, seeing its trainer return, rushed over to ask if it should clear Shan Ren's dishes.

Baimu signaled for it to do so, then said to N's faint smile: "Why say that? You know better than I do what Shan Ren cares about—why do this?"

N's smile faded. He whispered: "I just didn't want to lie to him. On this land of Oure, apart from Pokémon and a few people, there's little worth my attachment."

"Even after seeing countless times how humans and Pokémon work together to improve the environment these past six months?"

"…"

A faint ripple crossed N's impassive face, then vanished into stillness: "I have no more emotion left to give to humans."

Baimu sighed: "No one asks you to love humans. Plenty already do. You must accept reality—humans and Pokémon cannot survive without each other."

"Yes…" N made no argument—he knew this well. "Baimu, did you know the Rescue Organization has approached me privately more than once?"

"Privately? Bypass Shanren?"

"Mm."

N said flatly: "They want me to relocate half my Pokémon to the northwestern region, claiming the environment there can support a certain number of wild Pokémon."

"That's a good thing!"

Baimu couldn't help feeling joy for N—northwestern Oure was one of the last remaining greenlands, far more suitable for certain types of Pokémon than the wastelands.

But he quickly realized N's face held no joy, only a faint sorrow.

Why?

Baimu asked instinctively: "What's the condition?"

"That half of the Pokémon will be managed by the Rescue Organization—I have no authority to interfere." N's face lost all gentleness and smile.

This condition—

He first thought the Rescue Organization couldn't be so shameless, but then he wondered: wasn't the Rescue Organization's behavior truly shameless?

The goal of moving Pokémon from N's hands was to let all Oure people own Pokémon, so humans and Pokémon could develop together.

After defeating the Shadow Team, the Rescue Organization had seized all Pokémon—and they were entitled to decide their fate.

Only because N had persuaded many Pokémon to aid the Rescue Organization did they, out of gratitude, entrust all Pokémon to his care.

The Rescue Organization never forcibly reclaimed them; they came specifically to negotiate with N.

In the end—

N didn't want these Pokémon, wounded by humans, to fall back into human hands. He cared for and respected every Pokémon's will.

The Rescue Organization believed that since Pokémon lived on this land, integration with humans was vital.

The two sides held vastly different views.

What troubled N even more was that even if he compromised this time, the Rescue Organization would return again and again until they took every last Pokémon.

He wanted to refuse, but he had no leverage.

Tens of thousands of Pokémon required massive resources daily, and very few could currently sustain themselves.

"Lately, I've often doubted the meaning of my coming to Oure. I keep asking myself: have I truly saved them?"

N murmured.

The Rescue Organization saved the people of Oure, and wanted to save Pokémon too—but alas—

In a human way.

Baimu fell silent. He had wanted to persuade N to accept the Rescue Organization's proposal, but now he realized he was only viewing things from a human perspective, considering Oure's development.

The true wishes of the Pokémon—perhaps only N, the one who could understand their speech, knew them.

He asked: "Don't any of them want to?"

"They've been broken by humans." N's reply was brief and forceful.

That was all.