ebonymovies Chapter 583 - 583: 581
Chapter 583 - 583: 581
You, and "you all."Arceus was not merely speaking to itself. In fact, as far as it was concerned, Hikaru himself was irrelevant. One could even say that in this world, Hikaru had the feeling of an enemy.
That "you all," however, carried a deeper meaning. It referred to the other Arceus.
Every Arceus held a friendly attitude toward humanity. The legendary alpaca from Michina, for example, was even willing to share its eternal life, and even after being betrayed again by the people of Oblivia, it was still willing to forgive them.
But for the alpaca from the Special world, that did not apply.
The humans who had committed monstrous crimes, who had once betrayed Arceus and stained the world into something ugly.
This world had no Michina, no Damos, no Volo, no Cogita, and no history of Hisui.
Betrayers had to die.
Therefore, the Ancient Craftsmen who betrayed Arceus, sanctified it into the Holy Lord, and extracted the source from its body to create the Plates could naturally only have been one group of people.
They were the People of the Divine Gate, who had lived on the land of Sinnoh since ancient times.
Hikaru said, "In every world, the People of the Divine Gate revered Almighty Sinnoh and accompanied it. Yet in this world, they may have become betrayers and enemies. Their representative figure may have been Sird."
"Although the existence of the Divine Gate in this world has never been explicitly stated, I do not think there could have been any other ancient people."
"In that case, the reason the people of this world 'lost the sun' is that they deceived and murdered their god, then dragged it down to the lower world. When Arceus disappeared, the land of Sinnoh also lost its light and warmth, so they had no choice but to leave their homes, come to Sinjoh, build a temple, and beg for forgiveness."
"However, the history of the Sinjoh Ruins in this world seems to be even older than Sinnoh's history, so this guess may not be entirely accurate."
The murderous alpaca was extremely good at bombardment. Although in terms of raw strength it was the weakest among the gods, because the other gods had no real killing intent, their battle performance was actually inferior to the one before him.
Hikaru's answer to this god's interrogation was:
"Old Verse 8."
"The Plates scattered across the lands of Hisui contain the power of all creation."
"They are immortal and eternal things, engraved with everlasting prayers."
"May the intentions held within them one day spread far and wide, forever."
Arceus, full of killing intent, said:
[Celebi brought two lives!]
[One to deal with me, and one to deal with my creations!]
[Perhaps in other worlds, the Plates contain the power of prayer. But here, they are things made by humans who betrayed me and extracted my power! They are creations of hatred.]
[Hisui... that place never existed at all! Since ancient times, there has only been Sinnoh. Sinnoh is one, Sinnoh is all, Sinnoh is the beginning of everything! Therefore...]
["When the land is torn asunder, none can say whether it may ever be whole again!"]
[You are also a descendant of the Divine Gate. Even if you represent "them," do not stand in my way!]
Hikaru said, "Old Verse 18: 'When the land is torn asunder, none can say whether it may ever be whole again.'"
"So you do know it. But there is another line after that."
"'You must become friends with all things.'"
Arceus, full of killing intent, said, [Ridiculous. What does it matter if that useless verse is spoken aloud? No one in this world ever wrote such a thing!]
[This world is different from the world you know! This place is filled with deception, greed, betrayal, pain, and hatred.]
[When that foolish creature dragged me from the heavenly realm into the lower world, I had already given up on humanity!]
Hikaru said, "Deception... That really does match up. If I remember correctly, isn't Gold's catchphrase, 'Lying and being lied to are both pretty common'?"
Come to think of it, that evaluation was not wrong when applied to this world.
In this world, whether heroes or villains, there were always people trying to research and control legendary power. Simply put, someone was constantly going crazy and triggering all sorts of incidents. This was because the early worldview of Pokémon Adventures was not yet fully developed.
As a result, it became a historical leftover, and the setting simply continued that way.
As the saying went, a bad person exhausting every scheme was still no match for a fool's sudden bright idea. That was exactly the situation. Under these circumstances, even Giovanni had become charismatic enough to explain everything.
In most other worlds, Giovanni was human trash. The fact that he could be so popular and even return in later generations wearing a new skin meant that, in some way, he owed Pokémon Adventures' Giovanni a couple of bows of respect.
And the Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon of this world also had some problems.
For example, in the classic Emerald chapter, Archie forced Jirachi to grant a wish, and it worked just like that. But when the Pokédex holders wanted to make a wish to Jirachi, they actually needed their hearts to connect with it?
Then how had the previous wish come true? Wasn't that just bullying the honest people?
Ho-Oh and Lugia were soloed by Pryce's avatars and controlled by a special "spell." This was also an old topic, though at least it had been said that Pryce had cast a "curse."
Before Generation IV, the legends basically had no thoughts of their own. Whoever caught them, they listened to.
By Generation V, the story seemed to realize how unreasonable this was, so it arranged for Kyurem, after breaking free of control, to immediately take out Colress with one move. That was, at least, a slight recovery of the dignity of divine beasts.
But by Generation VI, the XYZ trio were once again subjected to the ultimate humiliation and returned to the baffling brainwashing setting of "whoever catches me, I obey."
Terapagos would laugh so hard its shell cracked if it heard about these things.
Looking at it that way, the ones with the most presence were still Hoenn's supreme legends. Not only would they not be controlled by villains, they could even use the orbs to control the villains in return.
"Arceus. Arceus spoke!"
The most shocked of all were naturally Gold, Silver, and Crystal.
The three of them had been confronting the Four Generals on this stage for a long time. They had seen Archer arrogantly attempt to control Arceus and witnessed the entire process of creating the three legendary dragons. Massive numbers of Unown appeared from who knew where and flew around, using enormous energy to shape three legends.
Throughout that process, Arceus had been controlled by chains and manipulated by Plates as its form changed. It had even been furious before, when it suddenly attacked the Ecruteak Gym, blasted the entire Gym away, then destroyed the Ruins of Alph, yet it had remained silent the entire time.
And now... it had actually spoken.
Crystal clutched her head. The god's roar kept shaking through her mind, making her head ache terribly, but her sharp instincts had already grasped the situation before her.
"Telepathy. Arceus is speaking through telepathy! Team Rocket's Archer said he would make its voice spread across the entire world and call Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni, back! So Arceus is speaking to all of us!"
"In other words..." Lance, covered in wounds and still rushing from place to place before receiving treatment, looked toward the legendary god whose eyes burned with rage. "That unidentified Pokédex holder was right."
"Arceus intends to exterminate us, leaving no one alive. The reason it created the three great legends here was also to make them attack one another, causing the space-time of the Sinjoh Ruins to collapse. That way, it could destroy both Johto and Sinnoh at the same time."
"This is divine judgment!"
Arceus's voice was vast beyond measure.
[Why do you think the people of Sinnoh migrated to the Johto region? Why do you think this stage was created?]
[Even after a thousand years, it is still the same... still craving so desperately! Incorrigible. You all deserve to die!]
[Precisely because I knew how vile the humans of this world were, I never granted you the power of the Plates. Yet I never imagined that this would instead become the root of your godslaying!]
[You are the same! Look at what you have done before!]
[Team Rocket transformed Viridian Forest, reducing it to a biochemical testing ground, in an attempt to obtain all money and "matter."]
[The Elite Four, harmed by humans, sought to wipe out impure humans and Pokémon, attempting to dominate all "space."]
[And the Masked Man, who is not here, was replaced by another... For the sake of obtaining the power to control "time," he controlled Ho-Oh and Lugia, turning them into his claws and fangs!]
[Stop posturing here. You harmed others, and now I have come to harm you. What difference is there? Feel pain. You are the manifestation of humanity's foolish side throughout this world's long history!]
[You cannot be forgiven. I will bring down "divine punishment"!]
Arceus's voice directly plunged Lance into silence. The weakened Giovanni, however, remained expressionless.
Even after being condemned by a god, he showed no reaction.
As he had said before, even now he had not turned over a new leaf. He had only come here to protect his son.
It was precisely because he knew death awaited him that he had committed every evil deed without restraint.
At that moment, Crystal noticed the weapon in Hikaru's hand and was shocked.
"That... isn't the weapon that person is holding Guile Hideout's sword?"
Gold looked over as well, his expression subtle. "It really is Archie's sword!"
Guile Hideout, who had once thrown the Pokédex holders into a desperate battle at the Battle Frontier, was armored and wielded a greatsword. His terrifying combat strength, fighting one against ten, was a memory those boys and girls would never forget.
Gold said, "Wait... Arceus is actually talking to that guy!"
"But part of what it said is completely incomprehensible. What does 'other worlds' mean? Is this person connected to the builders of the Sinjoh Ruins?"
"And those three Pokémon beside him...? Crystal, look!"
Crystal said, "I... I see them."
"Raikou, Entei, and Suicune?! They look so similar, but their appearances are completely different. What is going on?"
"Ah, those three probably aren't Raikou, Entei, and Suicune." Lance nodded to the confused Gold and Crystal. "They may be similar Pokémon from another world."
"Although I do not know what is going on... the person who should have originally come here with Giovanni and me was Pryce!"
"You mean old man Pryce?!" Gold was shocked. "Wasn't he already shattered in the time rift?"
Lance said, "How Pryce survived in the time rift without the feather or the GS Ball as a shield, and how he managed to send me a message... I cannot know any of it. After I used the Viridian power to interpret Celebi's cry, I could only conclude that this was Celebi's will."
"Pryce foresaw the tragedy of Sinnoh and Johto being destroyed in the time rift, so he contacted me, and I passed the message to Professor Oak. That was why Professor Oak sent you here."
"But Pryce, who was originally expected to appear in Ilex Forest, never showed up."
"However, there is no doubt that the two unfamiliar young people Celebi brought here are also Pokédex holders. And just as you heard... they are people from 'another world.'"
"Parallel space-time... I only know a little about that subject. I once heard similar rumors from a distant region."
"And the two before us call themselves investigators. One of them is the person currently talking with Arceus. He said that his hometown is none other than the Sinjoh Ruins!"
"It seems that in other worlds, the origin of the Sinjoh Ruins differs from ours! It is said that the Sinjoh Ruins were built by the ancestors of Sinnoh and Johto, meaning his ancestors were those very people!"
"Even though I possess the power granted by Viridian Forest, I still cannot speak directly with a god. Therefore..."
"We needed someone who could converse with Arceus, and someone who could fight legendary beings. I think that is why they were brought here."
"Dialogue and battle are the keys to opening a god's heart."
Lance's words stopped there, and he shook his head.
Just as the information they had investigated before suggested.
Celebi appeared in the Hoenn region because it foresaw Hoenn's tragedy. And just as Pryce had said:
"If there is a Pokémon that has fallen into despair toward us..."
"Then might there also be a Pokémon willing to extend a hand to us?"
Arceus glanced at Lance, then turned its gaze back toward Hikaru.
[After learning all of this, do you still intend to stand with these humans against us?]
[Before my three creations!]
[You no longer speak either. Have you and "they" also felt the pain and hatred in my heart? This is a failed world, and that is why it must be purged. The humans of this world are a faithless species!]
Therefore, the self that had created this world was also a failure.
Hikaru said, "There is no reason to refute you, because gods also have the seven emotions and six desires."
"However, I know what you are thinking."
"'On the other hand, you still hold a sliver of hope that you may once again see humans shining with light. You wait for someone who can open their heart to you and end the distrust brought about by that past betrayal.'"
"I am merely stating that part truthfully."
"Please allow us to speak plainly."
"So, when Crystal tried to catch you, you actively lowered your head to let her do it, although the capture failed."
"The reason you brought these children here was a 'test,' wasn't it? If the Pokédex holder named Gold, and the Togepi he carries, could successfully evolve during the test, then you would acknowledge them and cancel this 'extinction' operation. In truth, you had already decided that long ago."
"In other words, even after experiencing so much betrayal and deception, you still held the slightest hope for humanity."
"Arceus, do you really love humans that much?"
This time, it was this world's Arceus's turn to fall silent.
Although its eyes were still terrifying, its heart had indeed been shaken.
This was not a debate. It truly was what lay in the depths of its heart.
Of course, Hikaru also felt that, in that case, it was no wonder Pokémon Adventures' Cyrus could be redeemed.
After all, this world really did have problems, so "restarting" it was actually a rather unique option. In this alpaca's view, perhaps there was no need to stop it either. If it could be stopped, then stop it. If it could not, then starting over again would be fine too.
That remained true even after it later acknowledged Gold.
"If you are going to conduct a test, then hurry up and start. The assignment is 'friendship evolution.' However, the one who needs to evolve is not only Togepi, but also the Trainer over there. History will undergo a tremendous change. We are only here to 'investigate.'"
"Because this is the story you personally began."
"Your creations are three dragons. Among my partners, I also have three dragons. Moreover, the battle situation is favorable to me, because you called them 'creations,' not 'children.'"
"Although I do not know where the original three went, it must be something that hurt you."
In the test battle, Gold was guaranteed to lose.
That was because the murderous alpaca was almost fighting at full strength. A casual lift of its hoof was a super-effective attack, and that was why its offensive performance was stronger than that of other alpacas.
Holding back in a fight and fighting seriously were two entirely different things.
Silver said, "The hatred and sorrow coming from Arceus... stopped?"
Gold said, "Whoa! That's amazing. Did he open its heart? Big bro from who knows where, keep it up!"
But that happy moment was fleeting.
Arceus immediately turned its gaze toward Gold.
[Is that so... If I cannot make "you" and "you all" acknowledge "my" way of existence, and if you have read my heart and learned that I still possess such naive thoughts... then so be it!]
[This is the final chance. If these three boys and girls cannot defeat me, then this world will be made extinct! I will show no mercy!]
[My condition has changed from "acknowledgment" to "defeat." If you cannot win, then die here!]
It could not return to the main body as a loser.
In any world...
Only it had thoroughly created a cruel, flawed, and unbeautiful world.
Hikaru said, "Then let it be so."
"Nice to meet you, 'Hatcher.' And you, the 'Catcher' and the 'Trader.' I have recorded your appearances. If we survive this, let us properly talk another time."
"Negotiation complete. Although the demand has increased, the challenger has also changed from one person to three. As long as three people are together, anything can be done."
"The girl who attempted to capture a god."
"The boy who gathered Plates for a god."
"And the boy who came to have an audience with a god."
"Your Togepi is the key to victory. Remember that well."
Gold bared his teeth, cold sweat on his face. "What...? Senior I don't even know, are you and that girl just planning to stand by and watch?"
"But... that's fine!" Gold wiped his nose and took a deep breath.
"Because resolving Arceus's emotional knot was my job to begin with. Man, what a pain. People keep calling me a candidate, and now even strong people from another world are asking me for help!"
"Looks like you really can't do this without me!"
"Senior with the three dragons whom I don't know! You seem pretty familiar with Arceus. I don't know what your relationship is, but thanks for buying us this chance. Leave the rest to me!"
"Hey, Arceus!"
Gold, who had always been unruly and roguish, was rarely sweating like this.
After all, facing a god that could destroy the world would shake anyone's confidence, even if their whole team was level 80.
"From the moment I saw you, your eyes looked so sad. You didn't want to talk to us. So this and that really did happen to you."
"The members of Team Rocket here, and even I, must look to you like the kind of beings that shattered your hopes and deserve to be erased. But Crystal said that, even if it was only for an instant, she once caught you. Was that because you thought Crystal was someone worthy of trust?"
"So if everything ends here, then nothing will exist anymore. At least try again, using Crystal as your standard!"
"I know this will be the only chance we ever get in our lives!"
After escaping Arceus's control, the three space-time dragons began to go berserk.
If this were a battle, one could laugh at those three. After all, Pressure was not a very useful Ability. Their Speed was low, and although their bulk was high, they could only play around with Metal Burst or throw out Stealth Rock. Giratina alone was a bit tankier. But in actual combat, one absolutely could not say that.
Dialga, newly born, roared.
Palkia, newly born, roared.
Hikaru began reciting the inscriptions on the Plates.
"Toxic Plate: 'On the other side of this world, time and space follow different rules.'"
"Iron Plate: 'Those who dwell on the other side of this world can cause living beings to change their forms.'"
"The creations just born on the Mystri Stage are not enough to be called children. Even if they carry ancient memories, they do not have true shapes or forms. Because without the era of Hisui, they lose their true power."
"So, you should still become your 'Origin Formes' before coming at me!"
"Walking Wake, Sunny Day!"
The roaring ancient water dragon unleashed the weather, and harsh sunlight illuminated the Sinjoh Ruins.
The ancient three dragons let out thunderous roars that were in no way inferior to those of the space-time dragons.
Even if they were "legends," they had only just been born. Fighting with nothing but authority did not make them heroes.
And our high levels were not trained for nothing.
"Protosynthesis! Under the sun, their strongest stats will receive a major boost. On this side, what rises is Attack and Special Attack!"
"Raging Bolt, Electric Terrain!"
The thundering ancient electric dragon deployed an intense battlefield of lightning, and brilliant golden electricity filled the surroundings with thunder.
"Gouging Fire, Howl!"
The blazing ancient fire dragon released a thunderous roar, increasing the chance for all allied teammates to land critical hits.
Dragon-type Pokémon rose by two stages, entering a state where critical hits became more likely.
Dialga's Steel/Dragon typing resisted Electric and Water, but not Fire.
Palkia's Water/Dragon typing resisted Fire and Water, but not Electric.
"First one, Thunderclap!"
Raging Bolt's thunder-dragon-like neck suddenly whipped around. A bolt of intense lightning rose from the ground and struck Palkia with a boom, interrupting its move.
It also dealt heavy damage in a single blow.
"I know you can Rend Space, but Thunderclap is obviously faster!"
"Second one, Overheat!"
Gouging Fire unleashed a wildly violent blast of flame. Wrapped in fury, a massive quantity of fire like a volcanic eruption interrupted Dialga's Roar of Time as well.
"Roar of Time, which reverses time, and Spacial Rend, which cuts space, are both useless now!"
"Third one."
"Draco Meteor!"
Walking Wake's roar tore through the space of the ruins. From the split-open cosmic space, a storm of flaming meteors poured down like a torrential rain, bombarding Dialga's body.
At the same time, the one who let out a violent exclamation was not only the newly born steel dragon being beaten, but also Lance, who had been trying to act from the side yet could not intervene.
"What move is that...? Meteorites?! Is that really still a Pokémon move?"
Lance let out the same exclamation as Cyrus.
Because in this world, only one person had mastered Draco Meteor. That was Grandma Wilma of the Sinnoh region.
As the Dragon Master, Lance knew of no Legendary Dragon Pokémon, or indeed any Dragon Pokémon, that had this move in its move pool.
Hikaru said, "That is Draco Meteor, also known as the Dragon Meteor. In this world, it must be a very rare move. It is the strongest Dragon-type move, capable of pulling meteorites down from space to attack the enemy. The thing represented by the Dragon type is the cosmos."
"It does take quite a bit of effort to master this ultimate move."
"Want to learn it? I can teach you. But you have to tell me the trick to 'changing the trajectory of Hyper Beam.' That is 'equivalent exchange.'"
"After interrupting their attacks, what happens next never happened. Pretend you did not see it."
Hikaru took out the red chain.
"I brought two Red Chains. One for the steel dragon, one for the water dragon."
"Raging Bolt, Gouging Fire, Walking Wake. All three together."
"Use Agile-Style Snarl!"
The ancient three dragons released roars that shook heaven and earth. Because of the Agile-Style battle effect, one turn allowed them to move twice. With three of them together, that meant six strikes.
In a single turn, they directly lowered the space-time dragons' Special Attack by six stages.
Intimidate lowered physical Attack, while Snarl lowered special Attack. How was that not a special version of Intimidate?
Although after being used as an Agile-Style technique, the move's power dropped to 45, so what?
Power did not matter.
"Their Special Attack has dropped by thirteen thousand points. They have been weakened to the limit!"
The two Red Chains flew up. Although they were imitations made from meteorites, restraining these two freshly born "mass-produced goods" was not a problem at all.
The bodies of the steel dragon and water dragon suddenly stiffened, forcibly controlled by the light of the Red Chains.
Hikaru said, "In the name of the Red Chains and Almighty Sinnoh... I command you!"
"Stop fighting. Leave the Sinjoh Ruins and return to the world where you belong!"
"Return to the Sinnoh region!"
(End of Chapter)
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