Chapter 75: Traveling Together with Diancie!

In the alley,

The witch furrowed her brows and looked at the ninja, "Laird, I won't let you hinder me!"

The ninja crossed his arms, showing no sign of yielding, "Those are the words I intend to say to you."

Diancie watched the two opponents, as if she had nothing to do, and politely bowed, "Then, I shall take my leave now!"

She rose, and Diancie, as if nothing mattered, tried to slip past the witch toward the street.

She almost let the ninja and the witch lose their grip,

This talking diamond princess was perhaps a bit too adorably polite.

But rules are rules; leaving is out of the question.

"You may not leave!"

As their words fell, the Kōga ninja frog and the demon‑fire red fox struck simultaneously, their flames and water streams leapt over Diancie and landed on the tiles ahead.

Boom!

The explosion erupted, and Diancie was blasted by the shockwave, pitifully crashing to the ground.

From afar, Ash and Pikachu ran through the smoke, positioning themselves in front of Diancie.

"Stop! Who are you?!"

"Pikapi!"

Pikachu, who had never gotten a chance to act, let out a roar, his face showing eager excitement.

The witch furrowed her brows, recognizing Ash's identity.

"Mr. Five Crown King, I have no intention of opposing you! Please do not hinder my subjugation of the spirit."

The ninja's demeanor was even more respectful than the witch's; clasping his fists, he bowed deeply, "Sir Duke, this is a misunderstanding; please let us go!"

Hearing this, a flash of bewilderment crossed the witch's face.

"Huh? Duke?!"

Seeing the other completely uninformed, the ninja rose and let out a cold snort.

"Haven't you heard? What a useless thing. The latest news: Five Crown King Ash rose from commoner to duke in a single day, shocking all of Carlos!"

Seeing Ash make no further move, the ninja stepped forward, grabbed the witch, and headed out of the alley; the witch immediately struggled, "Hey, hey, hey, don't pull me! I haven't caught that child yet."

Watching them leave, Ash showed a thoughtful expression, "These two's appearances, why do they seem so familiar?"

When he turned around and saw the spirit lying on the ground—a pink body structured like a diamond—Ash instantly understood all his doubts,

It was Diancie…

I've just picked up a phantom beast; not bad for me.

But that means those two were thieves chasing Diancie to claim her, and they left so easily—how considerate.

While pondering,

Serena sprinted, unexpectedly overtaking Nana by a step, and reached Ash's side.

Both hands rested on her black‑silk long legs, panting heavily,

"Ash!"

"Serena, you're here."

"Hmm, how was it, the feel just now wasn't bad, right?"

"Hmm? It's a bit bigger than you, ahem… I mean I really didn't mean to."

Ash never expected Serena to bring up old matters, and instinctively spoke the Heart, only to be arrested on the spot by Serena.

"Hmm?"

Serena furrowed her brows, staring at Ash with a dangerously sharp gaze,

"Ahem, I mean… you have great potential; with my help, you'll eventually surpass her. For now, let's take a look at this child."

Ash lifted Diancie with both hands, showing her to Serena.

"Wow, what a huge pink diamond! Wait, this is actually a spirit?"

After her initial Surprise, Serena, seeing Diancie's appearance, was instantly shocked.

"Could this be a multicolored tiny shard?"

At that moment,

Clemont and Yurie finally, albeit tardily, ran over.

"Ash… wait for us!"

Now Ash and Serena finally realized something was off; what about Nana?

Even if she's a bit slower than Serena, she can't be slower than Clemont, the physical weakling.

As the two exchanged glances, Ash tried to locate with his waveguide, when Nana appeared.

At the moment she appeared, she also held a blue‑gray dumbbell, which upon closer look was actually a spirit.

"Iron dumbbell? Where did you get that?!"

Nana replied succinctly, "Thief!"

Ash shrugged, "Fine."

Feeling sorry for those unlucky thieves, this time Diancie wasn't caught, and they lost an iron dumbbell—what a loss.

"Hello, I'm Diancie!"

"Huh? Talking like Latias, is this telepathy?"

……

After some discussion, everyone understood why Diancie appeared here,

"Being chased here yet refusing to harm the two thieves, Diancie is truly kind‑hearted."

"This is just the reason Diancie came here, Diancie came out to look for Xerneas!"

"Huh?"

"Xerneas's fairy aura can help Diancie become stronger, master the ability to create Sacred Diamonds, and save the kingdom..."

"After Diancie's explanation, everyone fully understood the difficulties Diancie currently faces, as well as her goal."

"Clemont pulled out his phone and checked the map."

"If it's the Arbor Forest, it's right on our must-pass route, hey—let's set off."

"Ash nodded, agreeing to Clemont's suggestion, and the group headed to the train station."

"During this time,"

"Serena showed a thoughtful expression, glanced at Ash, and wanted to speak but held back."

"She really wanted to say, Ash has Latias and Mewtwo, why not use Instant Teleportation? That would obviously get us to Arbor Forest faster."

"Noticing Serena's doubtful gaze, Ash roughly guessed what she was thinking, but he didn't speak to explain."

"Was he supposed to say in front of Diancie,"

"that looking for Xerneas is useless, and what's truly useful is Diancie's own determination?"

"For Diancie, who has lost confidence after repeated failures, that wouldn't be help—it would be destroying with her own hands the sole hope in her heart."

"Thus, Ash intends to let things take their natural course."

"The group arrived at the train station, took a train to the small town near the port where they could transfer to a ferry, and at dusk transferred to a bus to the port."

"When they reached the port, the sky had already grown dark."

"Unfortunately, there were no vacant rooms at the port, so Ash's party had to find a scenic grassy spot by a nearby river to set up camp."

"Under the night sky,"

"Three tents were pitched; Ash and Serena shared one, Clemont and Yurie another, and Nana and Diancie the third."

"In the early hours, when all the tents had fallen silent,"

"a pink light quietly appeared by the river, briefly illuminating the bank before quickly fading into darkness."

"Diancie, who had failed to knead a Sacred Diamond, showed a dejected expression and lowered her head in self-reproach."

"I guess... I just can't do it!!"

"Dejected to the extreme, Diancie drooped her face, lifted her head to gaze at the starry sky, and happened to see a shooting star streak across—seeing a shooting star for the first time, she gasped and opened her mouth wide."

"It's said that if you make a wish upon a shooting star before it disappears, your wish will come true!"

"Sometime later,"

"wearing pajamas and with messy hair, Ash had already come to Diancie's side."

"Diancie, puzzled, asked, 'A wish?'"

"Yeah!"

"Then let me give it a try!"

"I'll join you too!"

"Just as Ash finished speaking, the sky obligingly streaked another shooting star across."

"Now!"

"After Ash's reminder, Diancie immediately pressed her palms together, closed her eyes, and prayed."

"Ash also clasped his hands, closed his eyes, and began to pray."

"\"Hope Diancie can quickly create a Sacred Diamond! \""

"The gentle words entered Diancie's ears, causing a flash of surprise and emotion across her face."

"\"... Ash\""

"At this moment, Diancie's heart gained an image of Ash."

"Inside the tent,"

"covered with a blanket, Serena rested her chin on her folded arms, silently watching this scene, the corners of her mouth slightly lifting."

"This should have been a scene from a 'white learning' setting, but because Serena displayed the poise of a proper wife, it became extremely harmonious and warm."