When Hikaru returned from the Hall of Champions to the Pokémon League Center, every Trainer on Victory Road offered him their heartfelt congratulations.
They wanted to pull Hikaru into the celebration with them. After all, he was the first person in many years to clear the Hall and leave his name in history, and they had projected all their hopes onto him. Now that hope had become reality.
Still, some of them knew this probably was not the right moment, because the Top Ranger had already been waiting for quite a while.
"Thank you all for your help." Although Hikaru had only met these Trainers once, he deeply admired the spirit with which they honed themselves on Victory Road.
Training day after day, year after year - that was the power built through steady accumulation.
Taiga said, "No, we only did something insignificant. Before a king rises, there are always paving stones laid down first, and we are those stones."
Everyone liked to say they would never be someone else's stepping stone, but reality usually had other plans. Even so, Trainers like Taiga, and the others who had come to Victory Road, were all people of firm resolve. Some of them had wavered or felt lost at times, but after enduring endless pain, their understanding of both the world and themselves had gradually become clear.
"You're stronger than solid stone itself. You're a true powerhouse."
And so the iconic scene followed.
"Congratulations. Omedetou."
[A crowd gathered around one person, clapping in congratulations - some lightly, some passionately, some with force, some with joy.]
The applause echoed like thunder before it gradually subsided.
This really was something worth celebrating for him, but the whole iconic scene still felt a little strange.
And with Alder already carrying the image of some kind of preacher or herald of gospel, this really had turned into Neon Genesis Evangelion now.
"My goal is to raise Pokémon. Win or lose, I'll have no regrets... and this is the place where we take our final exam."
"Find your own weaknesses. Overcome them. We have to become stronger too."
The Trainers of Victory Road began to disperse. They were setting out again on their own paths of training.
Hikaru committed each of them to memory, then extended invitations to them, which left the Trainers rather curious.
"A new... battle facility?"
"Yes. It's a place where you can absolutely sharpen your strength. When the right time comes, you'll be able to enter."
Hikaru answered with a smile and gave a brief explanation. The Trainers were a little confused, but if this invitation was coming from the new Champion, then...
Surely it would become reality somewhere, someday.
Battling endless powerhouses, and fighting strangers from distant regions they had never even met before - it sounded almost like a dream.
"They all left, huh? What an enthusiastic bunch. Though for me, it worked out well... I gathered some unexpected data. Prince seems to really like this kind of emotion. I could hear it, almost like it was speaking to me."
"But I'm sorry. I can't raise it myself. As Rangers, we just don't have that kind of experience."
Keith walked over. She had been waiting a long time, and Hikaru found himself thinking that he had just finished telling Alder the story of Shenhe, and now he was about to tell Keith the story of the Prince of the Sea.
And that story, too, was closely tied to Sinnoh.
Maybe when the Prince of the Sea was designed and distributed to Sinnoh back then, its connection to ancient Sinnoh had already been planned out. Even though its ecological habit was migration, no one had ever observed the exact moment its Egg came into being.
Though that was not strange. After all, all Eggs were like that.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Hikaru apologized to Keith, then got straight to the point. "Let's talk while we travel."
"As it happens, I need to head to an area near Sinnoh first anyway."
"Manaphy is born in the cold depths of the sea. In order to return to the seafloor where it was born, it swims an incredibly long distance. If it uses the wondrous power it was born with, it can communicate heart-to-heart with any Pokémon, and even with humans."
"It migrates through the open ocean, and there are rumors that, in very rare cases, it comes to the seas near Sinnoh."
After saying goodbye to Nurse Joy, Hikaru boarded Genesect. Victini popped out above his head, overflowing with joy, and the companions inside the Poké Balls in his backpack were also filled with excitement over the fierce battle that was sure to be remembered in history.
Through Deoxys's psychic power, Hikaru could hear his partners talking among themselves and congratulating him, and each of them had completely different thoughts.
The Knight of Embers, the Hero of the Sea, the White Warrior, the Alloy Dragon, the Four Great Calamities, the Evil-Banishing Envoy, the Immortal Ancient Dragon, the Coin-Backed Little One, the Mechanical Girl, the Plasma Phantom.
The Traveling Thunder Dragon, the Dreaming Fire Dragon, the White Giant, the Dumbstruck Electronic Dragon, the Son of Rome, the bratty little ghost, and Lady Kaguya of the Fully Ripe Mango.
"U-um! Congratulations! That's so great, the future where you're covered in glory and adored by everyone, hehe... ehehe..."
Kaguya's odd little laugh echoed out from her Strange Ball, standing out completely in this partner communication network and instantly dragging everyone's attention toward her.
And Hikaru could even tell what Kaguya was thinking right now. He could practically picture it.
She had already started muttering to herself.
"If I can become the most famous rocket in the cosmos... I'm a cheerful woman, one who surfs through the sea of stars. Everyone, get excited. Fireworks in ten minutes!"
"The strongest ace on this universe championship team is - Starship Kaguya! Hmph. It's only some pitiful galactic-level honor, but I suppose I can graciously sign autographs for all Pokémon using my energy rings. Metagross and Solrock will cry out, 'Please crush us with your broken rocket boosters, Lady Kaguya!'"
"And Kartana will kneel before me in shame and commit seppuku. 'I'm deeply sorry I ever cut you!' Yes, now turn to cosmic dust for me. Hehehe..."
Hikaru: "..."
Deoxys: [Why would the rocket boosters be broken?]
Hikaru: "Maybe broken rocket boosters are fine. You could always repair them... Why am I suddenly talking like some Ultra nonsense?"
Still, thanks to Deoxys's psychic abilities, all of his companions could be linked together. In fact, a tool that could do exactly that already existed in the Pokémon world without any need for psychic powers, letting you become friends with all Pokémon.
That tool was called the Friend Ball.
Hikaru stopped minding his companions' celebration and focused on the flight. Beside him, Keith was riding a large Staraptor, perfectly displaying the superb skill expected of a Flying Ranger.
Keith asked curiously, "What were you muttering about just now? I didn't really catch it!"
Hikaru replied, "I got a little distracted. Please don't mind it. Let's keep talking about the Prince of the Sea."
"And the first thing to talk about is the People of the Water."
"In ages long past, there was a group of people who could communicate heart-to-heart with Water-type Pokémon and lived alongside them. To give thanks for the blessings they received from the sea and from Water-type Pokémon, they used an unknown, mysterious science to build a grand ancient temple in the sea, one that allowed them to communicate with them."
"That temple was called the Sea Temple, Samiya."
"The People of the Water left behind unique ruins all over the world. Only those who carry the proof of the People of the Water - a green Sea Bead bracelet - can resonate with the mechanisms inside those ruins, and even then, they must also be carrying a Water-type Pokémon."
"Even now, there are still descendants of the People of the Water who can see the Sea Temple in their dreams. It's an ancient memory passed down through their DNA."
"Inside Samiya is the Sea Crown, known as the sea's hidden treasure. The information Team Go-Rock got wasn't exactly wrong. In the distant past, anyone who possessed the power of the Sea Crown really could be said to rule the seas."
"But the Sea Crown is not a specific item. It's an ancient installation, something hidden inside the temple and powered by dozens of sea crystals. In the distant past, this treasure attracted many who harbored evil intentions, so to protect the temple and the treasure, the People of the Water activated a certain device inside the temple..."
"That was the power of the Crown. From that point on, the human eye could no longer see the Sea Temple. Its color became completely identical to seawater. At the same time, the temple sank into the ocean and began drifting with the currents. Ever since then, it has wandered the sea, absolutely impossible to see."
"Only during a total lunar eclipse does the temple appear before people. At that time, the ancient People of the Water would hold a grand Festival of Water to express their gratitude to Water-type Pokémon. People would then receive the power of the Sea Crown and race freely through the ocean in the form of golden waves."
Those who received the power of the Sea Crown were just that free.
Because of the Crown's power, in the movie's final battle, Ash fought personally, using a golden water surge attack and giving that villainous pirate a firsthand lesson in what a true Pallet Town superhuman's iron fist felt like, while Pikachu could only stand around as part of the atmosphere.
At the same time, the Sea Temple was also one of the rare places acknowledged across the movie, manga, and game sides alike.
Keith listened with fascination. "That's a remarkably complete legend! Not one of those broken, fragmented ones... It's incredibly detailed. So that's how it is. But why would the Prince of the Sea go to the temple? If the temple was built as a human-made structure to express gratitude, would something like that really affect a Pokémon's ecology? Or does the Prince have some kind of pact with the People of the Water too?"
Hikaru shook his head. "No. It's because the People of the Water built the temple in the place where Manaphy originally lived. So after the temple began drifting, any Manaphy hatched from an Egg would still be able to find it by instinct. That's called its homing instinct."
"The temple is like Manaphy's homeland... it carries the climate and character of home. Manaphy migrates alone through the vast sea, making its way toward the place where it once lived."
"Manaphy represents a certain primal force of this world. In ancient human religions, it was said that souls or life energy filled the cosmos - the idea that all things have spirit. The so-called mana is an important component of the soul, a fundamental element symbolizing the transmission of thought."
"And the reason Manaphy can communicate heart-to-heart with any Pokémon is because it possesses that power. It can unite the Pokémon of the sea, setting aside the food chain and predator-prey relationships so they can fight side by side. It can even command the super-ancient Pokémon Kyogre, the same one that caused an enormous natural disaster in Hoenn two years ago. That is why it is called the Prince of the Sea."
"It is said that everyone possesses a power called mana. Yes... and the legend that speaks of the same kind of power is Aura."
"And as for the Prince's homeland, I think that inside that temple there is probably a climate and character that came from Sinnoh."
"It does feel a little strange for a migratory Pokémon to have a fixed homeland, but that connects to another legend that still hasn't been fully deciphered."
Keith repeated, "A legend that still hasn't been deciphered...?"
Hikaru nodded. "Some things were learned by interpreting the ancient writing of a certain ruin..."
"That legend is The Sea's Legend."
"Long ago, in the eastern sea, there was a Pokémon known as the Prince. A human hero asked the Pokémon that lived in the sea to help them meet the Prince."
"Mantyke, Buizel, and a Qwilfish with huge spines - those three Pokémon acknowledged the human hero and journeyed alongside them."
"At dusk, the heroes set sail toward the sea and entered the Sea Gate rising above the water."
"When the Prince learned of this, it came to the Seaside Hollow to welcome the hero."
"Although the terrain has somehow changed drastically, and even the Sea Gate itself may no longer exist, the cave should still remain..."
"At Veilstone Cape."
"And for some time to come, I think the Sea Temple is very likely to appear in the southern waters off Sunyshore City in Johto."
Keith sank into thought. The two of them flew through the sky, roaming above the ocean clouds and passing beneath flocks of Wingull and Pelipper and massive schools of fish.
From Unova, across the sea, toward Sinnoh.
"To be honest, I'm kind of confused now." Keith sighed and looked a little at a loss atop Staraptor's back. "So this means sending the Egg either to the People of the Water or to Sinnoh would both be the right choice, doesn't it?"
"Professor Hastings's opinion was to send it to Sinnoh, since it's closest to Fiore. But now that I've heard all this, it sounds like taking it to Samiya would be even better. But if no one can find the temple, and it only appears during an eclipse..."
"There's no need to worry. There isn't only one Prince of the Sea." Hikaru smiled as he reassured her. "Actually, another Prince's Egg will appear again soon... You can think of this first Egg as a kind of signal."
"That's what's so fascinating about this world. When something reappears, or appears for the first time, others of its kind start showing up in all sorts of ways in every corner of the world."
"The Prince that goes to the temple to undergo inheritance, well, no one ever said there could only be one. But this is the first Egg, and the proper method of hatching it is still pretty unclear, so it would be better to entrust it to a suitable Trainer."
Hikaru thought to himself that it would not work if he were the one to hatch it.
Because his breeding methods and hatching techniques came from Gold. And if he did it, he would probably only end up hatching some kind of delinquent Prince.
"The Trainer from Sinnoh that I recommended to you is someone especially suited to hatching this Egg. She's also very strong, and she may even have a much deeper connection to the Prince than you'd expect."
Whether it was game Dawn or anime Dawn, her ancestors probably both had some connection to Akari, especially since anime Dawn had even worn Akari's clothes.
And in the Diamond and Pearl remakes, if the player completed all main missions in Legends: Arceus, then one hundred and fifty years later in Dawn's house, the Azure Flute could be obtained right at the beginning.
And that deciphered story was actually something Professor Laventon had written based on the Diamond Clan's legend and on Akari's real experiences.
Hikaru continued, "Also, in Sinnoh, there haven't been any confirmed sightings or captures of Manaphy in the last 150 years. Although in a certain Trophy Garden, there is a wealthy gentleman with books related to it... but we don't need to concern ourselves with him."
"And now, if the Prince returns to Sinnoh - or rather, grows up in Hisui - then under the severe climate of its homeland, it will become even stronger."
That was because in the Hisui era, Manaphy could learn the lost technique Take Heart. By using Rest, it could recover its HP while also using Take Heart to raise both its offensive and defensive capabilities and immediately remove the drowsy condition caused by Rest.
In other words, it could not only restore its stamina, but also instantly recover its offensive momentum.
In the modern era, the effect of Rest changed from drowsiness to sleep, but Manaphy also had Sleep Talk, which let it continue boosting itself in dreams and wake up immediately afterward.
Add moves like Tail Glow and Heart Swap, plus Hydration, which automatically cures status conditions in rain, and Manaphy's offensive strength was actually tremendous.
Whether in rain or outside it, it could use instant-wake Rest to replenish its HP while also raising its power. Tail Glow with triple attacks, Scald and Ice Beam, a one-wave specialist, a signature cheat-level dream-buffing setup plus immediate wake-up.
Even though it had been suppressed by Arceus and even nastier Pokémon, it still enjoyed a glorious period in battle history, shutting down countless stall teams and at one point even being called the Orphan of the Sea.
Keith said, "Hisui?"
Hikaru replied, "That was Sinnoh's ancient name. Because of the passage of time and special reasons, when the name changed, Sinnoh's climate and overall character changed too."
Keith found that rather interesting. "Huh, a region's name can change too...? And the climate changes with the name? Why? Oh, right. I've heard that Sinnoh used to be an uninhabited continent, though that's only something I heard."
"But either way, I feel relieved now. It sounds like Sinnoh's history is much older and more mysterious than I knew. And you, the one who understands legends, who can decipher plates and ancient writing... and now Unova's new Champion too. You really are amazing."
"If someone like you officially joined the Ranger Union, you'd become a Top Ranger in no time!"
Unfortunately, proper Rangers were not allowed to carry Poké Balls. That was one of the major differences between them and regional dispatch agents or local forest wardens.
That made Keith feel a little regretful, though she also thought having Hikaru work as an advisor might be pretty good. It could even get around some of the Union's systems and rules. Of course, that was really Professor Hastings's problem to handle.
Keith thought it would probably be a good idea to bring it up in detail once she got back.
She thought about the People of the Water for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"If it really happens the way you said, and a second Egg appears... but as for what kind of people the People of the Water really are, or where exactly they live, we have no way of finding them right away."
Hikaru said, "Don't worry. When the second Egg appears, the People of the Water will appear too. At that point, you'll definitely - oh, right. The second Egg might appear in the currents near Almia."
"There may be three Eggs in total. The first in Fiore, the second in Almia, and the third in Oblivia. Come to think of it, isn't that interesting too? Three Princes of the Sea, corresponding to the three human princes of Almia's legend..."
"I think that's a pretty remarkable coincidence."
"And there's also a legend about Manaphy in Oblivia. It says that 'the blue jewel from the sea will bring prosperity to the people of that land.' In the ancient world, its Egg was called the blue jewel."
As he spoke, Hikaru touched the two crystal pendants hanging from his neck, a yellow crystal and a blue crystal. They, too, had entrusted him with an important task in Almia.
"So, how about we pick up the pace?" Hikaru looked at Keith and invited her to ride on Genesect with him. Keith immediately understood.
"You think my Staraptor is slow?"
"Hey now. As a Flying Ranger, this is the first time anyone's ever told me I fly slowly! You know all emergency communications between regions are handled by me and my partner Staraptor, right? I'm the League's strongest Staraptor user!"
Hikaru laughed. "Of course. I know Staraptor, as a bird of prey, has incredible flight speed. But compared to an ancient hunter from three hundred million years ago, it still falls short. I'm not bragging, either."
"Since you don't want to ride with me, I'll just lend you a little power instead."
"Lend me power?" Keith blinked in confusion. Then she saw Victini appear in front of her. That small, strange Pokémon had always been following Hikaru around, but Keith had no idea what it was called. She just thought it was cute.
Victini raised one finger and poked Staraptor's back like it was hitting an acupuncture point.
An endless surge of powerful energy poured into Staraptor's body.
"Fly!" Hikaru patted Genesect. Then, to Keith's astonishment, a fierce blast of air erupted from Genesect's body.
"Extreme Speed!"
A burst of speed so fast that it left Staraptor utterly dumbfounded exploded forth. Purple light shot across the sky and sea at terrifying speed, cutting through clouds and mist.
Keith instantly understood what Hikaru had meant earlier by "flying slow."
"Using Extreme Speed for actual flight... isn't Dragonite the only one that does that?!"
"Wah -?! Staraptor, what's wrong with you? You're so fast!"
A crushing current of wind slammed into Keith and made her hunch low. At the same time, a tremendous force welled up inside Staraptor. It beat its wings once - just once - and roared ahead like a meteor.
And at that moment, she understood one more thing:
What he meant by "lend you power."
Keith turned her head and stared at Victini in shock.
"Y-you... what kind of Pokémon are you exactly?!"
(End of Chapter)
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