Chapter 57: Finding the Hisuian Growlithe
Where is the Hisuian Growlithe?
In the southwest of the Resort Area, Link was lost among the numerous villas, unable to distinguish the differences between them or find any trace of Growlithe's presence.
Even after using Psychic to fly into the air and circle several times, he still couldn't see the dog-type Pokémon with the pointed head he'd described.
Instead, he saw many bright yellow Psyduck and a Magikarp that had grown abnormally large, as if it had eaten something.
Link remembered that in the game, he could catch a level 100 Magikarp in the Resort Area, and there was also a "dominant" Magikarp in the anime. Could there really be Magikarps that grow to several meters in size in reality? He was deeply interested in this, but he'd think about it later.
Considering that the Resort Area was essentially a resort, many villas were empty most of the year, and the information provided by the Hairpin (A-Liu/Aaron) might already be outdated.
Did he really have to go to Stark Mountain? Link thought to himself, entrusting his life to luck and Aaron's strength was far too risky.
It wasn't that he doubted Aaron's character—trainers devoted to Bug-types were probably not bad people—the problem was that he had absolutely no faith in Aaron's abilities. If the other person's proficiency wasn't Bug-type, he would consider traveling with them. But… it was Bug-type after all, right?
"I've been watching you wandering around suspiciously for ages, are you lost?"
Suddenly, a girl's lazy yet haughty voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw three people who seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
One was a blonde young lady, about 1.6 meters tall, dressed in a Western-style dress; another was a young man in a uniform, holding a pocket watch, with a hairstyle resembling Staraptor; and the third was a tall, handsome blonde woman in a black tuxedo.
In an instant, Link recognized the three—Caitlin (Cattleya), Butler Darach (Shilan), and Champion Cynthia.
"Fou?"
The Fennekin looked puzzled. It sensed a psychic power far stronger than its own emanating from the human opposite it, like a cannonball poised to explode at any moment. However, the human seemed unable to control this power well, struggling to suppress its emotions.
"I guess I got lost while chasing Pokémon," Link said, not paying much attention to their identities, seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "Have you ever seen a Growlithe with a pointed head, long fur, and fur and head hardened and sharpened by volcanic rock?"
"Hmm, something like that."
As he spoke, he pulled out a sketch from his backpack, depicting the Growlithe cartoon image he remembered. The three fell silent. His overly familiar manner and knowledge of this particular Growlithe were both odd.
A moment later, Cynthia seemed to recognize the Growlithe: "Have you seen this Growlithe before?"
Link nodded: "Yes."
Then Cynthia waited for a long time, but he didn't say anything more. She wanted to ask more probing questions, but he didn't seem like the legendary trainer described in ancient texts at all—and he didn't have a single sword sheath with him either.
Caitlin, on the other hand, was even more certain that he couldn't be the legendary person. Although she could sense that he was indeed a psychic, a psychic power weaker than a newly hatched single egg cell was nothing to be joked about.
However… she frowned, looking deeply at him, and vaguely realized that Link's mental strength was completely different from hers, which was prone to outbursts of emotion. If one word could describe Caitlin's feelings, it would be "abundance." Stable and enduring, weak yet resilient, like the life force in the ocean, the earth, and plants, bringing a sense of comfort and security.
"I know a villa where you keep the Growlithe you mentioned. Want to come with me to see it?"
"Sure."
Link, whose mind was filled with Growlithe, readily agreed. Although Darach was puzzled by Caitlin's unusually enthusiastic attitude, he dutifully led the way. Before long, the four of them arrived at Cynthia's villa.
Calling it Cynthia's villa wasn't entirely accurate. The champions and scholars of the Sinnoh region didn't care much about such things, so her villas around the world were actually Caitlin's private property. Therefore, it was usually the butler Darach, the "sharp-haired person" that Staraptor mentioned, who took care of it.
As soon as they entered, Link saw many Pokémon from all over the world. Galar Ponyta, Kommo-o, Metagross, Bronzong, Mimikyu, Zoroark, Misdreavus… and a few Growlithe that he had always been interested in.
"Foo~"
The Fennekin on his shoulder poked its head out. So this was the special Growlithe that Link had been longing for. Its long fur almost covered its eyes, making it look a little silly. It quickly noticed that each Growlithe had a different hairstyle. Some looked like sea urchins, some looked like the butler, and one with long hair had only one eye showing, making it look a bit like the blonde older sister.
"So this is the legendary Growlithe that has adapted to the cold weather of the Sinnoh region due to regional differences. It looks very lively."
Finally catching up with the main damage dealer of his expected team, Link looked at Caitlin, who seemed to be interested in him, with satisfaction.
"Hello, I'm Link from Twilight Town. I've always loved these Growlithes. Could you tell me about their habitat and population?"
"These Growlithes aren't mine." Caitlin smiled at Cynthia.
The latter sighed and inquired about where Link had heard about these special Growlithes.
"I heard it from an old man. It's said that 150 years ago, during the era known as the Hisui Era (Green Era) in Sinnoh, descendants of ancient Sinnoh people returning from all over the world discovered two groups among the local inhabitants: Pearl Clan and Diamond Clan.
"They worshipped a legendary being called the 'Sinnoh Grandmaster,' but conflicts arose because of their different Grandmasters. They also worshipped special Pokémon with historical significance, known as the Noble Pokémon.
"The Forest King, the Mountain Queen, the Cave King, the Snow King… and the Island King of Firespit Island is Arcanine, an evolution of this special Growlithe."
Hearing this, Link's words confirmed what Cynthia had read in ancient texts. Actually, these Growlithes were Pokémon she captured during her investigation on the island after reading about them in historical documents. However, the records from that period were incomplete, and she had always been troubled by the scarcity of these documents, leading to the loss of many local specialties and Pokémon in the Sinnoh region.
Since the other party also loved Pokémon and that history…
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End of this chapter...