Chapter 504:
'Guardian…'
The man chuckled inexplicably, then waved a hand, his footsteps continuing without pause as he headed back into the forest.
Only the two children remained standing in place. The girl asked the boy, "Takeru, what do we do now?"
"Darn it, if he won't handle it, we'll handle it ourselves!" The boy called Takeru, still very much a child at heart, clenched his fists.
"But, but we're not even Trainers, how can we stop them…?"
"We'll use our own way! Come on!"
Deep in the woods, in the small cabin.
The man returned to the wooden house. Looking at the garden, only the Ludicolo was there. It watched him with a worried expression.
He shook his head, went inside, and took a whistle from a drawer in the room. A small wooden carving of a Zoroark was attached to the whistle.
"Zoroark… would you help me?"
Hanging the whistle around his neck, he paused, picked up a Poké Ball, and went back to the lake's edge. He tapped the water's surface lightly, then blew hard on the whistle.
*Screee!*
The long, piercing whistle carried through the woods!
The water's surface rippled and stirred. Moments later, a red Gyarados broke through the surface, surging out.
Then, from a nearby large tree, a Shiftry looked down from its perch, watching…
******
June 7th.
In the days of waiting, Mew, Victini, and Lugia hadn't left the Breeding House.
On one hand, it seemed they were genuinely tired from their recent travels and wanted to rest at home. On the other hand, after hearing about the earth veins, Mew and Victini had grown curious about Zoroark's story.
Especially Victini. The similarity between earth veins and dragon veins was over 50%, making it impossible not to pique its curiosity.
And Celebi was due to arrive today.
Although Kaede had asked Zoroark to keep an eye on the Time Ripple, Celebi was, after all, a Mythical Pokémon capable of time travel, possessing a certain elusiveness. Missing it wouldn't be good.
Therefore, he also had Gardevoir, Serperior, and himself periodically scan the entire Berry Plantation with Aura Sense.
At noon on this day, a small figure with blue eyes, shimmering little wings, heavy eyeliner-like markings, and an overall onion-like shape flew onto one of his berry trees.
It landed naturally on the central Pecha Berry tree. With just a light touch, a Pecha flower transformed into a fruit.
Celebi cautiously surveyed the garden, its eyes filled with amazement. It had never seen such a large, beautiful berry plantation before.
Especially this largest Pecha Berry tree.
How could a tree grow so big?
It must be over a thousand years old, right?
Celebi placed a hand on the tree, wanting to sense exactly how many years it had lived.
As a Pokémon with the power to traverse time, it could sense this with pinpoint accuracy.
With a light touch, Celebi froze. Then, a look of utter disbelief flashed in its heavily shadowed eyes.
One year?
No, not even a full year. From the time this tree was planted, sprouted, until now, it hadn't even been a year.
Less than a year to grow this big!
Oh my…
Before Celebi could recover from its shock, it turned, wanting to look at the base of the tree. But looking down, it saw a pair of serpentine eyes, red like gemstones, staring right at it.
"Celebi…" (Eep!)
Celebi was startled. Such a big snake! It quickly hid behind a Pecha Berry. Luckily, the berry was large enough to conceal its form.
Once it realized the snake didn't seem hostile, Celebi carefully peeked out.
"Celebi…" (Hmm…)
So strange. It could feel a very friendly aura from this large snake. This aura made it curiously fly down. Mid-flight, it spotted a human next to the snake?
"Celebi…"
Looking at the predominantly green, onion-like Pokémon before him, Kaede felt a sense of novelty himself.
A Pokémon like this, if one didn't actively seek it out or attract it, one might never get a chance to meet it in a lifetime.
[Pokémon: Celebi]
[Gender: Genderless]
[Type: Grass / Psychic]
[Ability: Natural Cure]
[Potential: Divine]
[IVs: HP (31) / Attack (31) / Sp. Atk (31) / Defense (31) / Sp. Def (31) / Speed (31)]
[Strength: ??? Level]
[Moves: Leech Seed, Safeguard, Magical Leaf, Ancient Power, Natural Gift, Future Sight, Heal Block…]
The same Divine Potential, the same perfect 6V IVs.
The same ??? Level strength.
This led Kaede to speculate.
Among Legendary Pokémon, some with ??? Level have surpassed Level 99, while others have an indeterminate or unstable strength, with other methods to enhance their power.
Like Jirachi, to be honest, while powerful, it paled in comparison to Mew and Victini.
Yet it could summon the Earth Titan through wishes and comet power.
And the Celebi before him was similar.
Viewed normally, its strength isn't that great. But it can absorb nature's power and transform into a Forest Colossus?
In short, they are all forms with immense destructive potential.
"Celebi…?" (Huh…?)
Celebi didn't hide this time. Instead, it flew around Kaede, looking at him curiously.
Kaede, radiating Viridian Power, now held undeniable attraction for Grass-type Pokémon, if not outright alluring.
"Hello, Celebi."
Kaede greeted it.
"Celebi…" (Hello…) Celebi looked at Kaede puzzled, unsure how he knew its name.
It immediately asked, "Celebi?" (Did you plant these trees?)
"If you mean these Pecha Berry trees, Serperior usually takes care of them. You're welcome to pick and eat the berries if you'd like."
ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ: "Celebi~" (Really?!)
"Of course."
Upon receiving Kaede's confirmation, Celebi's face immediately lit up with joy. It flew to the top of the large tree and picked a Pecha Berry.
Although it had eaten many of these berries before, it had never tasted one this large!
Since it saw it, it absolutely had to try!
Even though this Pecha Berry looked bigger than its own face.
Holding the large berry, it took a bite. An unprecedented crisp sweetness burst in its mouth. Celebi's eyes sparkled.
Just as it was about to say something, it heard Kaede's words,
"How is it? Tasty?"
It nodded.
Kaede smiled, finally revealing his purpose. "Then, could I ask you for a favor?"