Chapter 449: The Strongest Trainer and the Strongest Ghost Form a Duo

Inside the guesthouse.

Xue Zhong held a magnifying glass, carefully observing the details on the mask, occasionally letting out a gasp of astonishment, seemingly shocked by the craftsmanship of the mask.

Shu Zi pushed two cups of hot tea toward Luo Mu and Sally, glanced at him, then apologized to the pair: "It seems he will remain in this state for some time; if you don't mind, ask me any questions you have."

Luo Mu and Sally exchanged a glance and nodded lightly.

Then, Luo Mu turned his gaze toward the courtyard outside the living room.

Facing the slightly wary eyes of Luxray, Mimikyu, and Serperior, Ursaluna was currently lying on its side with the air of a salted fish, allowing Sally's Growlithe to make a mess on its body.

Holding a bunch of grapes in its paw, it took bites every now and then, occasionally offering the fruits placed before it to Growlithe and Feng Su Gou.

Perhaps to it, the presence of Growlithe and Feng Su Gou allowed it to recall those times back on the Hisui lands, which was why Ursaluna's attitude toward Growlithe and Feng Su Gou was extremely friendly.

Luo Mu and Sally had already been back in Verdant Town for some time.

They had borrowed Mr. Xue Zhong's courtyard, intending to treat Ursaluna's injuries slightly and, in the process, observe Ursaluna's personality.

With Luxray and the other two present, plus a Spectrier that could appear at any moment, even within this courtyard, Ursaluna couldn't cause any trouble.

Yet reality turned out to be far from his worries.

After leaving the Ultra Ball, the fighting spirit Ursaluna had shown against Serperior vanished completely; it simply picked a spot, found a comfortable posture, and lay down directly, appearing full of the aura of a salted fish.

Soon it developed into the current situation; seeing its leisurely demeanor, it was hard to imagine that not long ago it had been fighting Serperior tooth and nail.

Luo Mu withdrew his gaze, looked back at Shu Zi, and organized his questions.

Noticing the gaze disappear, Ursaluna also breathed a sigh of relief.

Its thoughts were very simple.

With three fierce opponents like Serperior likely still around, rather than raising the banner of revolt only to suffer another beating, it was better to just lie flat from the start.

Where one lies down is still lying down, isn't it?

This human is so powerful; lying down here should be more comfortable than in the Obsidian Fieldlands, at least one wouldn't have to wait for the fog to rise before getting up to drink water and forage for food.

"We encountered a ghost."

After a brief moment of thought, Luo Mu chose to be straightforward.

Since there were questions to ask someone, indeed one should not be secretive on their own part.

Shu Zi's tea-brewing motion paused, surprise flashing in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

Xue Zhong nearby was not affected in the slightest, appearing completely focused on the craftsmanship of the Ogerpon mask.

After a long while, Shu Zi spoke: "Since you have come to ask me, it shows you have developed doubts about the town's legends; am I correct?"

The two nodded lightly.

No matter how one looked at it, the Ogerpon they had witnessed differed too greatly from the ferocious "ghost" in the stories.

Seeing the expressions on Luo Mu and Sally's faces, Shu Zi knew the answer without needing a reply.

She smiled kindly, "Since Ogerpon handed the mask over to you, it means it trusts you."

"You are not townspeople of this village, lacking that prejudice cultivated from childhood, so let me tell you the truth of the story, passed down generation after generation from my husband's family."

"In return, you must guarantee not to spread this story outside!"

Shu Zi, with hair streaked white, spoke solemnly.

Luo Mu and Sally also sat up straighter, nodding as a pledge.

Seeing this, Shu Zi took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, took a deep breath, and in a voice devoid of personal emotion, slowly recounted the truth.

"A very, very long time ago, a man from a foreign land came to Kitakami with Ogerpon.

But at that time, Kitakami was extremely xenophobic; because their attire and appearance were out of place with the villagers, the man and Ogerpon were treated as outliers and excluded, and no one was allowed to let them enter the village.

The man and Ogerpon did not mind the villagers' exclusion, merely feeling it was a pity that they could not purchase supplies.

He chose to live with the ghost at the foot of Oni Mountain, not far from Kitakami, finding a cave there where they began an ordinary life.

A mask craftsman in the village, seeing this scene, carved four masks based on the peculiar gemstones the man brought, allowing them to cover their faces with the masks, blend into the community, and enter the village to make purchases.

Perhaps the mask craftsmanship was superlative, or perhaps the gemstones embedded in the masks had an extraordinary origin.

News spread all at once, reaching even distant foreign lands.

The Three Companions—no, three Pokémon with greedy natures—traveled over mountains and rivers to arrive in this Kitakami.

Taking advantage of the man and Ogerpon being out, they secretly sneaked into the cave where the man and Ogerpon lived, intending to steal the four masks.

Just as they were implementing their plan, the man, for some reason, happened to return to the cave and witnessed everything.

No one knows exactly what happened inside the cave; only that several hours later, when Ogerpon returned to the cave, it saw only many signs of struggle, and the green mask that the man had protected at all costs.

Somehow learning of everything, Ogerpon, filled with raging fury, put on that mask, ran down the mountain, and found the several Pokémon holding the masks, smiling proudly and planning to hold a banquet.

To avenge the man, Ogerpon killed all those Pokémon.

At the same time, the villagers gathered for the celebration heard the commotion; rushing over, what they saw was Ogerpon in a Lei Ting rage, and they felt extremely frightened by this, believing Ogerpon to be that evil and tyrannical ghost.

Due to the villagers' arrival, Ogerpon did not have time to retrieve the remaining three masks and could only retreat temporarily.

The villagers, however, believed that those three Pokémon had protected the village from the ghost's clutches, so they affectionately called them the Loyal Three and buried them with great ceremony.

The injured Ogerpon, immersed in sorrow, returned alone to the dwelling it shared with the man.

Our family's ancestor, as the only mask craftsman who knew the truth, once also tried hard to tell the villagers the truth, but the villagers not only ignored him, instead treating him as a heretic and ruthlessly persecuting him.

Finally, forced by helplessness and in order to protect his family's descendants, he could only preserve the truth and have his descendants continuously pass down the real history."

Having finished the story, Shu Zi took another sip of tea to moisten her already somewhat dry throat, looked at the silent Luo Mu and Sally, and observed their reactions.

Luo Mu's mood was slightly heavy.

He had guessed the story might not match reality, but he hadn't expected the reversal to be to this extent.

In the true story, Ogerpon and the man were completely figures of persecution, yet those three bad guys received worship; it was simply infuriating!

Sally was even more furious, wanting to go public with the truth, but soon she forced herself to calm down.

Putting aside that she had promised Shu Zi never to spread it externally, just looking at the one or two months she had spent in Kitakami, what difference would it make even if the truth were revealed?

The current townsfolk were long gone from the original villagers; much like the donation drive Luo Mu encountered that relied on moral coercion, they still harbored some xenophobic thoughts, yet had to endure them because Verdant Town's livelihood depended entirely on outsiders.

Did the truth matter?

They held no reverence for the "good" Three Treasures Companions, nor did they have any particular thoughts about "ghosts"; to them, so-called legendary tales were merely means to develop tourism and rake in money.

Everything had lost all meaning in the present day.

Even if they knew the truth, even if they worked hard to make the townsfolk believe the truth, those people would likely still erect statues of the Three Treasures Companions and wildly solicit funds.

Outside in the courtyard, the Pokémon who had been listening intently to the story each reacted in their own way.

Sherry's Growlithe drooped its tail somewhat dejectedly, while Luo Mu's Feng Su Gou was also shocked; as a Pokémon that had never encountered such matters, this story was undoubtedly impacting its entire worldview.

Complex emotions rippled in Emperor Yan Di's eyes; he hadn't expected that little green dwarf to have experienced such things.

Mimikyu, possessing strong empathy, was already grieving.

Luxray was pondering whether blowing up the shrine dedicated to the Three Treasures Companions at Treasure Companion Plaza in the middle of the night would cause trouble for Luo Mu.

The Gyarados and Feebas staying obediently in the pond didn't quite understand.

According to Spectrier's original thinking, it would have said the tragedy occurred entirely because Ogerpon was too weak, but after staying at the farm for some time, its way of thinking had changed considerably.

It was contemplating whether it could catch the souls of the Three Treasures Companions if it went to the shrine in the middle of the night.

Compared to the varied reactions of the Pokémon, Xiong De Xiang Fa's reaction was quite unique.

Its eyes widened, and the resurgence of certain memories made its expression incredibly complex.

It still roughly remembered an incident it had encountered long ago, shortly after first arriving in this Kitakami region.

If that man was the man from the story...

Xiong De Xiang Fa hesitated; should it tell Luo Mu about this matter?

Luo Mu, standing nearby, was unaware of Xiong De Xiang Fa's thoughts.

At this moment, throughout the entire living room, apart from Snowy intently observing the commotion created by the mask, the atmosphere in the air remained extremely heavy, with no one speaking.

It was Snowy's shout that broke the silence.

"In that case... it can be repaired!"

Several people immediately looked toward him.

Snowy, whose attention had returned, seemed to also sense the wrongness in the atmosphere and realized his wife had told the two the truth, so he spoke: "Although my skills certainly cannot compare to my ancestors, I can still repair this mask; I have most of the materials, and those crystal fragments you brought are sufficient."

"However, that is not the main point."

Snowy looked seriously at Luo Mu and instructed: "Since Ogerpon was willing to entrust its important mask to you, it shows it trusts you."

"And this trust likely far exceeds what my ancestors once received, perhaps even approaching that of the man in the story."

"It has been lonely for far too long; if possible, I hope you try to take Ogerpon away with you; time can heal all wounds, so do not let it remain here only to be reminded of painful memories by the scenery."

"Moreover, if it stays here in Kitakami, it will only continue to suffer unfair treatment, bearing others' hatred alone."

Take Ogerpon away?

If he claimed he had never had such a thought, that would certainly be a lie.

It was just that...

After learning the truth, Luo Mu was uncertain whether he could actually persuade Ogerpon to choose to leave with him.

The reason a "white moonlight" remains a "white moonlight" is precisely because of its uniqueness; among these, a dead "white moonlight" is unmatched by anyone.

Was his weight in Ogerpon's heart truly enough to make it abandon its memories with that man from the past and leave its homeland once again?

Luo Mu was uncertain, so he could only give such an answer.

"I will try."

Snowy nodded gently and added: "Repairing the mask will likely take until tomorrow morning; during this time, whether you go to rest or go find Ogerpon is up to you."

After exchanging a few more words, Luo Mu and Sherry stood up, preparing to head out first.

Just as they rose, Snowy spoke a sentence with profound meaning.

"The remaining three masks are also enshrined in the shrine at Treasure Companion Plaza."

The aftereffect of the truth was too strong.

Even though they hadn't slept all night, neither Luo Mu nor Sherry felt the slightest bit sleepy at this moment.

After remaining silent for a few seconds, Sherry said she planned to take a few more photos within Verdant Town, then headed out with her Growlithe.

Luo Mu knew she intended to scout Treasure Companion Plaza, so he didn't stop her.

Just as Luo Mu was heading toward Verdant Town, he encountered Carmine and Kieran again.

The two respectfully greeted Luo Mu, and the sensitive Kieran immediately noticed that Luo Mu's mood seemed somewhat off, cautiously asking about it.

Originally, Luo Mu had not intended to tell these two children about these matters.

But then he recalled his assessment of Kieran's personality.

He didn't know if this matter could be completely concealed; even if concealed, when Kieran grew up, based on the heritage of Mr. Xue Zhong's family, he would likely learn the truth anyway.

And given Kieran's fondness for "ghosts," Luo Mu felt that if he concealed it and Kieran accidentally learned something later, it might worsen his personality issues even further.

After heavy contemplation, he decided to tell Kieran part of the truth.

Without recounting the story told by Aunt Shu Zi, which would merely cause the two children to feel unjustly aggrieved on Ogerpon's behalf for no reason, Luo Mu simply stated briefly:

"Last night, I encountered a 'ghost' again."

Upon hearing this, Carmine covered her mouth in surprise, while Kieran's eyes filled with delight, softly emitting a voice brimming with joy.

"Mr. Luo Mu, is it true!?"

"It is true."

Luo Mu nodded.

The excited Kieran wanted to take Luo Mu's hand but worried he might be too presumptuous, so he could only stand in place, his eyes sparkling as he asked: "Then, is Mr. Luo Mu going to see the ghost now?"

Luo Mu nodded slightly. "That is the plan."

Wuli asked again, "Then can you take me with you?"

"I'm afraid that would be somewhat inconvenient."

Luo Mu said apologetically.

"Is that so?"

Wuli fell silent for a few seconds; he keenly sensed that Luo Mu indeed had something on his mind, so he suddenly changed his tone.

"Then after Mr. Luo Mu returns, could you share some ghost stories with me?"

Luo Mu glanced at Wuli with slight surprise and nodded in assent: "Naturally, that is no problem."

"Then it's a deal!"

Wuli happily saw Luo Mu off.

Once Luo Mu had walked far away, Danyu, who always liked to protect Wuli according to Ji De Xiang Fa, asked with some worry: "A-Li, don't you like ghosts the most?"

Wuli understood the implication behind his sister's words, lowered his head, nodded shyly, and said: "Yes."

"Then why did you..."

Danyu hesitated, unable to finish her sentence; although she also admired Luo Mu, if things continued like this, the ghosts were going to be snatched away.

Wuli clasped his hands behind his back; he was very happy that Luo Mu could treat him this way, not concealing things from him just because he was young.

Rarely showing a faint smile in front of Danyu, he spoke softly.

"Hehe."

"A partner formed by the strongest Trainer and the strongest ghost—isn't that super cool!"

(End of Chapter)