Chapter 339

"..."

Hearing Arven's sarcasm, Danyu helplessly covered her forehead and nodded.

"The uncles in the village have indeed gone a bit too far these past few years. If this continues, it will definitely not be a good thing for Kitakami Village."

Although she felt angry about this behavior of smashing the village's own reputation, she was powerless to do anything about it.

After all, Danyu was just a junior and had no say in the village at all.

However, this point made Qingyu look at her with a bit of admiration.

Although she was a local of Kitakami Village, she did not favor her own fellow villagers.

"I actually think this story is a bit strange, you know?"

Ever since she finished listening to the story, Cynthia had been lowering her head in thought, and suddenly she spoke up:

"Since this ghost is so powerful and would come down the mountain to attack humans..."

"Then why didn't it take revenge on your ancestors after the Loyal Three had already died?"

"Indeed, and why would a ghost with such powerful strength live on the mountain behind the village? Logically speaking, if its strength was sufficient, there should be many places in Kitakami Village suitable for living, right?"

Cattleya followed up with her own questions.

"I noticed when I was shopping earlier that the mountain behind the village is bare; there shouldn't be anything there, so it wouldn't be suitable for living at all, right?"

"This..."

Danyu didn't know how to explain it for a moment and could only brush it off.

"In any case, that's how the legend has been passed down..."

The pale words had no persuasive power at all.

Seeing this, Qingyu silently began to think.

Sure enough, even Danyu herself probably didn't fully believe the legend about the "ghost"; after all, there were too many suspicious points.

There was no need for him, an insider, to remind them; everyone had instantly discovered many loopholes, let alone the locals of Kitakami Village who had been passing down this story for hundreds of years.

But because the Loyal Three had long since become the face of Kitakami Village, and people only believe what they want to believe...

So even if they knew there might be some misunderstandings, they just continued the tradition regardless.

Even those who raised questions might instead be persecuted by everyone, so even if they had doubts, they dared not speak out...

"Perhaps the real history is the exact opposite of the legend."

Qingyu mentioned this inadvertently, but it instantly sparked Nemona's curiosity.

"Exactly! So if we want to find out the truth of this history, we really have to go and ask that ghost!"

After speaking, she looked at Qingyu with excited eyes.

"Teacher Yu, let's go find the traces of that ghost together!"

Qingyu glanced at Nemona.

If I'm not mistaken...

She doesn't actually care about history or legends at all; she just wants to see the true strength of the "ghost," right?

However, he had originally planned to try his luck to see if he could meet this poor Ogerpon.

It had been inexplicably ostracized by the villagers for hundreds of years, and even the man who was like a father to it and made its mask was persecuted to death by the Loyal Three, leaving it to live alone in the Oni Mountain.

It was clearly a cute creature that feared loneliness, yet it was forced to endure hundreds of years of solitude, not even daring to enter the village.

Just thinking about it made Qingyu's heart ache.

It's hardened; his fists have hardened!

"If we can discover the lost truth of history, that would be quite interesting."

Just as Qingyu was reminiscing, Cynthia also spoke up quickly.

Before becoming Champion, Cynthia's main profession was that of a mythologist, and she was still very interested in researching the history of other regions.

"In that case, I'm with Cynthia!"

Cattleya quickly followed suit.

"Me too!"

Arven naturally didn't need to say anything, and seeing that everyone except himself seemed very interested in the "ghost," Carmine could only sigh.

"Fine, then I'm coming too!"

Kieran, who had unknowingly shrunk behind Danyu, couldn't help but show a look of longing when he saw this.

Unlike the others in Kitakami Village, he actually had quite a good impression of the "ghost."

Because the ghost was just like him—an "outsider" in Kitakami Village.

But the ghost was much stronger than him, so it could ignore being ostracized by humans and even defeat the Loyal Three one-on-three!

In his eyes, that was very cool.

If only he could go with them to see the true face of the ghost...

"..."

After a moment of silence, Danyu shook her head.

"If you want to know information about the ghost, you can wait until tomorrow when I take you to see my grandfather; he knows a lot about the history of Kitakami Village."

"But today, Grandfather has to prepare for the Mask Festival tonight, so he probably won't have time."

"So you should stay in the village tonight and enjoy our Kitakami Village's way of celebrating the festival—the Mask Festival!"

Following Danyu's guidance, after arriving at the Pokémon Center in Kitakami Village, while the Pokémon were receiving treatment, Cynthia walked over and looked at Qingyu.

"Regarding the legend of that 'ghost' in Kitakami Village, you seem to know a lot, Qingyu?"

Although Qingyu didn't say it explicitly, judging from his performance, Cynthia always felt that he should know some hidden clues.

"Hmm, I do have a guess."

Qingyu nodded and explained while thinking.

As an outsider, suddenly revealing the unknown century-old secrets of Kitakami Village wouldn't really have much credibility.

But he did have a say in another matter.

"Actually, I was curious about one thing before I came to Kitakami Village—"

"Why is it that Terastal crystals, which logically should only appear in Area Zero, exist in large quantities in the Crystal Pool of Kitakami Village?"

Anyone who knows even a little bit about Area Zero should be able to discover this.

Those special crystals in the Crystal Pool are just raw Terastal ore from the Great Crater of Paldea!

Perhaps this is the main reason why Chairwoman Geeta chose to invest in Kitakami Village.

"It is said that the people who followed Heath into Area Zero to adventure back then are now scattered all over the world."

"So I guess that perhaps it was a group of people from back then who came to Kitakami Village that led to the appearance of the Crystal Pool."

"And the 'ghost' in the legends of Kitakami Village might also have something to do with them."

Given that the root of Terastallization, Terapagos, known as the "Treasure of Area Zero," is sleeping in the deepest part of Area Zero...

Why does Kitakami Village, thousands of miles away, also have a Crystal Pool, and why can they use Terastallization as freely as Nemona did just now?

The answer might be related to the man who brought Ogerpon to Kitakami Village.

"I see."

Cynthia nodded.

"Then, all the clues are now concentrated on that 'ghost'."

"I wonder what its true face looks like."

"Don't worry, at least judging by the fact that it hasn't entered the village for a hundred years, it definitely can't be a bad person."

Qingyu smiled slightly.

"If we really run into the ghost, it might actually be a lucky thing."

Ogerpon is so cute; a ten-year fan of Ogerpon has arrived uninvited!

Since the villagers don't cherish it, don't blame me for taking it away~

(My favorite Ogerpon)

Time soon reached the evening.

I have to say, this group of unruly people in Kitakami Village are indeed professionals when it comes to making money.

The Mask Festival was originally held to commemorate the Loyal Three who took away the ghost's mask, and after a hundred years of development, it has long become a part of the local culture.

And after rapidly entering the wave of modernization, the originally annual Mask Festival followed suit and became a distinctive tourist attraction.

It seems that as long as you come here during the holidays, you can experience their once-a-year Mask Festival.

After spending a huge sum of money to buy a Kitakami-style kimono, when Qingyu gritted his teeth and walked out of the resort, Cynthia had already changed into a kimono and was standing by, waiting for him with a smile.

Perhaps because she is from Sinnoh, the kimono highlighted her beauty even more, and her long golden hair hung down naturally, showing a noble posture.

(Something like this style?)

So, so handsome?

Qingyu didn't know why, but instead of beautiful and moving, the handsome adjective popped into his mind first?

"Let's go."

Seeing Qingyu walk out, Cynthia smiled and spoke quickly.

"For today's Mask Festival, please accompany me, Teacher Yu~"

"My pleasure."

Qingyu nodded seriously.

However, his reaction made Cynthia stunned for a moment, and then she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

The sweet, bell-like laughter reached his ears, and only then did Qingyu notice...

Was his reaction just now a bit too serious?

But after Cynthia put on the kimono, she really gave people a feeling of being heroic, noble, and like an ancient princess.

As for himself...

After Qingyu looked himself over, he decisively threw this topic to the back of his mind.

Better not mention it!

Advance notice:

The part about the origin of Ogerpon and the man is my own fan-creation based on relevant content; just take it as fun.

However, Ogerpon's mask and the Crystal Pool are related to the crystals the man brought to Kitakami Village, which is clearly related to Terastallization, so I gave the man an identity, although it will only be mentioned this once.