Chapter 450: Farewell and Rebirth, the Resurrected Trio and the True Mastermind Behind the Scenes

Because Luo Mu personally escorted Jin Po Po back to Ghost Mountain, he knew exactly where it lived.

At the foot of Ghost Mountain, a whole row of stalactite caves had formed quite strangely; because they looked like ghostly teeth from a distance, the townspeople of Emerald Town named them Ghost Tooth Caves.

In the legends of Emerald Town, the "ghost," that is, Jin Po Po, lived in one of these caves; thus, most townspeople avoided getting close, and even when climbing the mountain, they would simply hurry past via the mountain path on the side.

The place where Jin Po Po lived was called Fear Cave; as a Grass-type Pokémon, it had covered the cave with plants, making it very difficult to find without any clues, but since Luo Mu had personally brought it home, he could still locate it based on his memory.

But just before he entered the Ghost Tooth Caves, the Great Ball at his waist began to tremble slightly.

"Hisuian Ursaluna?"

Picking up that Great Ball, Luo Mu felt somewhat puzzled.

Did it want to come out?

Luo Mu didn't think much of it and pressed the button to release it.

Basically, for most of his Pokémon's requests, Luo Mu would try his best to fulfill them.

After leaving the Great Ball, the face of Hisuian Ursaluna, which looked somewhat fierce and carried a yakuza-like aura, was filled with a very human-like expression of inner conflict, making Luo Mu realize that Hisuian Ursaluna might have encountered something.

"Is there something wrong?"

To this new member, Hisuian Ursaluna, Luo Mu asked as gently and persuasively as possible.

Hisuian Ursaluna finally made up its mind; the conflicted look on its face faded, as if it wanted to express or confide something.

With the three Gold-level Interpreters not by his side, Luo Mu could only summon Serperior to help him translate.

After Hisuian Ursaluna finished its animated performance, and Serperior relayed the message, Luo Mu's expression immediately became serious.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Arooo~"

Hisuian Ursaluna nodded uncertainly.

It was only a guess; it was not certain whether the person it had met back then had any connection to the man in the story.

"..."

Luo Mu and Serperior fell silent for a few seconds; they never expected the matter to take such a new turn.

According to what Hisuian Ursaluna said, during the time it had just arrived in the Kitakami region from the Hisui region after enduring countless hardships and was staying in the Permanent Forest preparing to retire into seclusion.

Due to inexperience, it was occasionally spotted by other humans; Hisuian Ursaluna did not want to cause trouble, so it did nothing to those humans, which was also the reason the legend of Hisuian Ursaluna could spread.

But this was not the main point; the true main point was that on one night after Hisuian Ursaluna had settled down in the Permanent Forest, as usual, relying on the mist formed by the Permanent Forest's special natural environment to conceal its figure, it went out to drink water and forage, and encountered a man.

A man covered in wounds, poisoned, with only a short time left to live.

From the moment Hisuian Ursaluna met that man until that man completely passed away, less than five minutes had passed.

During this period, the man chattered on and on about many things; because the time was so long ago, Hisuian Ursaluna could not remember clearly.

It only remembered that the man seemed to be worried about a certain Pokémon and regretted that he probably could not stay by its side.

After the man, under the double torment of wounds and poison, completely lost his breath, perhaps out of pity and unwillingness to let the man's body be exposed in the wild.

Hisuian Ursaluna found a spot near its cave and buried the man's body; because of the intimidation from its aura, no strange Pokémon would accidentally dig up the bones.

After hearing the story told by Ogerpon, Hisuian Ursaluna kept thinking: was the man it met that night the same man who disappeared in the story?

To prevent Jin Po Po from being too sad, he dragged his weak body as far away from Ghost Mountain as possible, found a place, and waited alone for the end of his life.

Reviewing the events Hisuian Ursaluna described, Luo Mu and Serperior also vaguely had a guess.

Perhaps the man Hisuian Ursaluna met really was the man who once raised Jin Po Po.

After a moment of thought, Luo Mu asked, "Do you still remember the location where you buried the body?"

Hisuian Ursaluna nodded.

Because the impression was deep, and the burial spot was not far from its dwelling, finding it was no problem.

After all, it had been captured by Luo Mu less than a day ago; with the intimidation from its residual aura, no short-sighted wild Pokémon would cause trouble there.

After receiving Hisuian Ursaluna's answer, Luo Mu, after consideration, finalized the plan.

If possible, he would take Jin Po Po to recognize the bones.

If the man Hisuian Ursaluna met really was that man, then they would collect the bones and find a suitable place to set up a tombstone.

Accompanied by Hisuian Ursaluna and Serperior, Luo Mu entered the Ghost Tooth Caves; after some searching, they successfully found the Fear Cave where Jin Po Po lived.

Originally, Jin Po Po, having sensed the commotion outside the cave, was very nervous; now that its mask was not even by its side, the only thing it could rely on was its slightly agile movements; if it encountered someone or some Pokémon with ill intentions...

Fortunately, Luo Mu did not enter Jin Po Po's cave immediately without saying a word.

He called out several times outside the cave; after Jin Po Po confirmed it was him, he lifted the plants used for covering and walked into the cave.

Jin Po Po also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately felt at ease.

Although Luo Mu sometimes liked to tease it and even make it blush, he was indeed one of the rare humans Jin Po Po did not resist and could draw a sense of security from.

Because of its size, Hisuian Ursaluna could only stay outside; after Luo Mu and Serperior entered the cave, they immediately observed the environment inside.

It seemed too much time had passed, or perhaps Jin Po Po did not know how to maintain furniture; the cave was empty, containing only a pile of wood whose original structure was unrecognizable, and a tattered bed.

There was no sign at all that anyone had ever lived here.

While observing the environment, Luo Mu directly gave the answer to Jin Po Po's most pressing concern.

"I have entrusted someone to repair the mask; it should be fixed by tomorrow morning."

"Bonie!"

Hearing this good news, Jin Po Po's starry eyes immediately became even brighter; it raised its hands and cheered, very happy.

Watching Jin Po Po dance with joy, Luo Mu smiled; according to legend, it was a Pokémon that had lived for at least several hundred years, yet it still maintained a childlike nature.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Luo Mu still asked, "Jin Po Po, do you have time later?"

"Bonie?"

Jin Po Po tilted its head, not understanding why Luo Mu suddenly asked this.

But it still honestly responded with a sound.

「Bonii！」

It had plenty of time, that Ekans!

「. 」

Looking at Ekans' innocent, carefree appearance, for a moment, Luo Mu didn't know whether he should let Ekans face the scars of its past once more.

At this moment.

The tip of the Monarch Snake's tail hooked onto his finger. Luo Mu turned his head to look, meeting the Monarch Snake's earnest red pupils.

「Jia lo. 」

Let the story come to a period that wasn't quite perfect.

In the Monarch Snake's view, even if it turned out to be empty joy, it was still necessary to let Ekans untie the knot in its heart from that night.

Over all these years, it must have searched the entire surrounding area.

With the Monarch Snake's support, Luo Mu had also made up his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he crouched down, trying to meet Ekans at eye level as much as possible, and said: "Perhaps, we know where the remains of the person who once raised you are now."

Ekans froze on the spot.

Evergreen Forest, near Ursaluna's dwelling.

After arriving at Ursaluna's home, Luo Mu finally understood why Saley had lurked in Evergreen Forest for a month without ever running into Ursaluna.

Perhaps relying on its characteristics as a Ground-type Pokémon, Ursaluna was quite skilled at civil engineering, having dug out a hidden cave all on its own.

But that wasn't the main point.

Luo Mu, bringing along the emotionally low Ekans, followed Ursaluna to a grove bearing quite a few berries.

Ursaluna, meanwhile, sniffed around here and there, seemingly using both memory and scent to track down the spot where it had once dug a pit to bury the man.

Soon, it settled on a location, swung its Xiong Zhang, and started digging with grunts.

Originally Luo Mu wanted to tell it to be careful, but on second thought, Ursaluna's talent for digging was written right into the Pokédex — in this regard, it was better to trust it.

Ursaluna dug very fast, like a mobile biological excavator.

The hard clods of dirt were no obstacle to it at all; before those claws, hard stone was no different from tofu.

Soon, Ursaluna had dug down about two or three meters, and a few sections of bone-white bones were exposed.

Luo Mu could clearly sense Ekans' tension beside him, so he could only, together with the Monarch Snake, each take one of its hands, offering it some comfort and support.

As Ursaluna kept digging, soon, a pile of somewhat jumbled humanoid white bones was fully exposed.

From the bones alone, it would probably be very difficult to confirm the deceased's identity.

But sharp-eyed Ekans noticed right away, near the scattered phalanges, a string of decorations it was very familiar with.

A shell bracelet that had almost lost its original appearance, but was very familiar to it.

Ekans remembered — it was during the journey heading north to the village, when they passed by the seaside, that it had picked it up as a gift for the man, which was eventually made into a shell bracelet.

Instantly, tears poured down Ekans' face like rain.

It had searched for so, so long, and finally found him.

Looking at the softly sobbing Ekans, Luo Mu sighed, had the Monarch Snake look after it for a moment, then told Ursaluna to stop digging.

Otherwise, the bones, which had grown fragile with the passage of time, would easily crumble beyond recognition.

Once Ursaluna returned to the surface, Luo Mu, pondering how to relocate the bones while preserving their integrity as much as possible, walked over to Ekans' side, met its tear-reddened eyes, and tried to soften his voice.

"Let's put up a gravestone for him, alright?"

Ekans, still sobbing, nodded.

Luo Mu also called out the Spectrier. After the Spectrier investigated for a bit, it exchanged a glance with Luo Mu and shook its head.

Understanding the Spectrier's meaning, Luo Mu could only sigh and begin making preparations.

His movements were swift.

With Ursaluna, this local bear, he sought out some Psychic-type Pokémon in Evergreen Forest, and had them carefully use telekinesis to bring the fragile white bones up from the pit.

Then, upon Luo Mu's inquiry, Ekans, forcing itself to stay alert, picked out a suitable place to bury the man's remains.

The location was near Ghost Mountain, on a hillside that was usually completely deserted.

In the past, Ekans and the man would often lie on the grass here, feeling the natural breeze.

To make the gravestone, they used a special kind of soil prepared by Ursaluna.

This soil had a hardness comparable to steel — the Monarch Snake had the deepest appreciation of this, and as a gravestone material, nothing could be more fitting.

Then, having the Monarch Snake carefully carve a passage of commemorative text with Leaf Blade, at dusk, the nameless man's nameless grave stood facing the sun.

Ekans cried before the grave for a long time. Sometimes, when it tired from crying, it would rest a while, then continue crying again — as if it wanted to pour out all the grievances it had accumulated over so many years to the person it had once trusted most.

Until deep into the night, the utterly exhausted Ekans finally quieted down, closed its reddened eyes, curled up beside Luo Mu, and fell into a deep sleep like a young child.

In a dream.

Since that night, Ekans, who had been unable to dream of the man no matter what, saw him in a dream for the first time.

It couldn't remember the specific experiences in the dream very clearly.

Only, when a streak of fish-belly white appeared at the edge of the sky, in the mind of the waking Ekans, the man's final, earnest exhortation kept echoing.

"Bid farewell to the past, and stride toward the future."

The pent-up knot that had troubled Ekans for years was completely untied.

Not long ago.

In a house in Verdant Town that had been brightly lit all night, Xue Zhong looked at the fully repaired Verdant Grass Mask, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Finally... completed."

Elsewhere, the Buddy Plaza.

Having staked out the place all night, knowing that if she didn't act now it would be too late, Saley, wearing a kraft paper bag that had once held apples and now had four holes poked in it, snuck her way over to the shrine.

After a thorough search, she discovered three masks of different colors and shapes in a hidden compartment behind the shrine.

She knew these three masks were the ones stolen from Ogerpon.

"This counts as returning the items to their rightful owner!"

Muttering this to herself to bolster her courage, Carmine reached out with her gloved hands and hugged the three masks to her chest.

But just then, a sudden change occurred.

Perhaps sensing that the masks "belonging to itself" had been stolen, the shrine fell silent for a second before the cracks on the three statues—representing the identities of the Treasure Pokémon Okidogi, Yuan Zeng Yuan, and Fezandipiti—began to glow with a purple aura.

Immediately afterward, towering pillars of purple light erupted forth.

In mere moments, three figures stepped out from the completely destroyed Treasure Shrine, striding with an arrogant gait.

Gazing at this long-familiar world and breathing in the fresh air, they twisted the corners of their mouths and let out sinister laughs.

Finally, they had successfully been resurrected!

All three pairs of eyes simultaneously turned toward Carmine, who stood frozen in place; their dangerous gazes scrutinized her relentlessly, and upon seeing the three masks clutched in her arms, their intensity became utterly uncontrollable.

Having already noticed that something was wrong, Carmine fell silent for a second, then, with a decisiveness that left the three Treasure Pokémon no time to react, she immediately turned around and fled at full speed!

At that same moment, inside the famous Momozawa Store in Mossui Town, a peach-shaped ornament suddenly floated up into the air.

(End of Chapter)