Pokemon: A New Path-Chapter 577

Meanwhile, Naoki made his way under the soft glow of the moon.

He followed the path through the ranch, crossed the glistening lake, and stepped into the portal to the Reverse World.

Atop a floating Flower Sky Island, Giratina lay sprawled in a massive bed of blossoms, lazily browsing his Rotom Phone.

Lately, Giratina had been feeling down. He hadn't even posted anything on the forums for days. His fans had started worrying, wondering if he had quit the Internet altogether.

The Mobile Rotom floated beside him, dutifully reading out the worried fan comments.

Giratina had his eyes closed, listening half-heartedly.

At that moment, the Mobile Rotom's sensors pinged.

"Naoki is approaching, Rotom!" it chirped.

Giratina's eyes snapped open immediately, and he turned to look.

Sure enough, Naoki was approaching, carrying a basket.

Naoki leapt gracefully onto the Flower Sky Island and placed the Pokémon food in front of him.

"Eat a little?" he offered.

Giratina grunted gruffly, "Got it."

Naoki couldn't help but chuckle.

"Still stewing over the other day?" he teased gently. "Relax. Mewtwo and Rayquaza aren't the type to blab. They're not like that."

'You're lucky it wasn't Ho-Oh who saw it, Ho-Oh loves to talk.'

Ho-Oh would tell Jirachi everything it had seen and heard, and once Jirachi knew, the whole Expedition Team Guild would know. Jirachi would spread the story while playing with the others, and before long, every Pokémon living around the World Tree would hear about it.

Hearing this, Giratina immediately perked up.

"Really?!"

Naoki nodded. "Of course. Haven't you noticed that Mewtwo and Rayquaza rarely talk in the group?"

"Mewtwo's just like that, it's his personality. And Rayquaza is too busy flying between the ozone layer and outer space, hunting meteorites to snack on."

"Besides," Naoki added with a knowing smile, "you're not the only Pokémon who's gone through something like this."

Giratina's ears practically twitched. He leaned in closer with curiosity and asked in his usual gruff tone, "There are others? Tell me! I need to know!"

He clearly wanted to find some solidarity.

Naoki hesitated for a moment.

'Was it really okay to talk about others like this?'

It felt a little bad to expose their stories. But seeing Giratina's eager eyes, he thought: 'Well... just this once, to cheer it up.'

"Do you know Ho-Oh?" Naoki asked.

Giratina nodded. Of course, though they weren't exactly close.

"Ho-Oh has four Guardians under its command. One of them is a Pokémon called Suicune. You know what happened to Suicune once? It got caught by humans with a fishing net."

Giratina's jaw nearly dropped.

"You're kidding!" it blurted out in disbelief.

"It's true," Naoki said, nodding solemnly. "And that's not even the worst of it. In another world, Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokémon, was once caught by a little girl. With just a fishing rod!"

Giratina's eyes widened even more.

"And not just them," Naoki continued, seeing he had Giratina's full attention now. "Lugia has been captured by humans before, too. And Groudon... well, Groudon can't even fly."

"Compared to all that," Naoki said gently, "you did great. Those humans specifically designed machines to counter you. They didn't dare fight you head-on, so they used sneak attacks. Why? Because they were afraid of you. You forced them to use dirty tricks."

After Naoki's strategic encouragement, Giratina suddenly felt a lot better.

'Yeah! That's right! Naoki was right!'

It had been sneak-attacked by cowards!

If they fought it fairly, they wouldn't have stood a chance!

With that thought, Giratina's confidence swelled again, and the cloud of gloom that had been hanging over it finally lifted.

Naoki watched it with amusement.

Despite being a legendary Pokémon that had existed for millennia, Giratina was still like a big child deep down.

Once Giratina's spirits were fully restored, Naoki shifted the conversation to more serious matters.

"By the way," he said, "Arceus is about to awaken."

Hearing that name, Giratina immediately turned serious.

It remembered the deal it had made with Naoki: it would help lift the World Tree into the sky, and in return, Naoki would help it... teach Arceus a lesson.

But Naoki didn't know the full story.

Giratina was well aware of how powerful Arceus truly was.

Arceus had created the world itself, and Giratina, Dialga, and Palkia were all beings born from Arceus's hand.

Taking on the god of creation wasn't exactly a small matter.

Even for Giratina, the thought was terrifying. It might be able to play a few tricks behind the scenes, but a head-on confrontation? That was another story.

If they angered Arceus, he might really hold a grudge.

After a brief silence, Giratina lowered its head slightly and muttered, "About that... maybe we should call it off. Arceus created this world. I'm afraid... we're no match for him. And if he bears a grudge against us afterward..."

Naoki blinked in surprise but quickly understood.

He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I've already made all the preparations. And I intend to keep my promise to you!"

He wasn't just saying that.

They had everything they needed: Ho-Oh, who could revive even the fallen with her Sacred Ash; Calyrex's millions of believers; Kyogre, who had returned to his primal form and peak strength.

Plus, even if they fought Arceus, he wouldn't bear a grudge against them. Because in Arceus's eyes, they would be seen as preventing humanity's extinction, not opposing him out of malice.

When the right time came, with the right place and the right people, everything would align.

There was no need to worry.

The next morning, Naoki received another message from Mewtwo.

[Mewtwo: Everyone is asking if you're really planning to fight other humans.]

Naoki slapped his forehead. Right, he had completely forgotten about that!

Yesterday, in the rush to save Giratina, he hadn't had time to explain the situation to the other Pokémon before jumping on Rayquaza and flying straight to Sinnoh.

Now that he finally had some free time, Naoki realized he needed to head over to the World Tree and clear up the misunderstanding.

After finishing up his morning tasks at the ranch, he set out.

As soon as he arrived at the Expedition Team Guild, he was greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm.

The Pokémon who had come with Mewtwo, those he had rescued, and those invited by the Hero Expedition Team all swarmed around him.

Before Naoki could even open his mouth, a flurry of voices erupted.

Three Tatsugiri leapt joyfully across the grass and said firmly,

"Tatsu!" (Naoki, don't worry about fighting! We'll prepare lots of delicious sushi for you!)

The Treecko chimed in next, "Chaaafu." (Yeah! We also picked tons of Berries and stocked them up in the warehouse!)

The owner of the general store, Lilligant, pulled out a huge bag seemingly out of nowhere and said proudly, "Lilli!" (We saved all of Ho-Oh's Sacred Ash for you!)

Other Pokémon who specialized in battling began showing off their strength.

Charizard blasted a pillar of fire high into the sky, Venusaur cracked its vines like whips in the air, and Blastoise pounded its chest, causing the twin cannons on its shell to hum with building water pressure.

Naoki: "..."

Watching this heartwarming (and slightly chaotic) display, Naoki found himself grinning.

He didn't immediately correct them. Instead, he asked playfully, "So... have you all been practicing teamwork too?"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.

Under its leadership, the Pokémon quickly split into two neatly organized groups.

The group on the left included: Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Nidoking, Rapidash, Milotic, Sandslash, Pikachu, Ludicolo, Whimsicott, and a Skiddo.

The group on the right included: Garchomp, Steelix, Meowth, Tsareena, Golduck, Ninetales, Dodrio, Blaziken, and Meowth.

Naoki raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Pikachu, practically vibrating with excitement, explained, "Pika Pika Pika!" (We're the team that's going to fight alongside you, Naoki! We've been training really hard!)

Naoki turned his attention to the other group.

Among them, Jigglypuff bounced forward and said sweetly, "Jigglypuff~" (We're the logistics team! We're not great at fighting, but we'll help by cooking, picking Berries, and treating injuries!)

Combat team and logistics team? They even had organized divisions of labor!

Naoki's surprise deepened—and his heart warmed even more.

He hadn't expected that in just a little over a year, the Pokémon living around the World Tree had grown so much.

Seeing his amazement, Jigglypuff puffed up proudly and chirped, "Jigglypuff!" (Come on, let's show you the warehouse!)

Naoki chuckled. He was genuinely curious to see how they managed their supplies.

"Alright!"

"Jigglypuff~"

Guided by the cheerful Pokémon, Naoki passed through the park that bordered the guild grounds and soon arrived at a large warehouse.

Charizard and Blastoise, being the biggest, lumbered forward and pushed open the heavy double doors.

And immediately—

A mountain of Berries rolled out in a colorful avalanche.

Naoki blinked.

'Nope. It's way too full.'

Seeing this, the Rhydon and Treecko responsible for carrying the fruit showed regretful expressions. They should have packed it in two batches.

But Jigglypuff, on the other hand, was delighted. It bounced forward and proudly showed Naoki:

"Jigglypuff!"

All these Berries would be more than enough to feed everyone who fought hard for a long time!

Seeing their bright, eager faces, Naoki couldn't help but feel touched.

The Pokémon living at the World Tree... they were all thinking of him.