Chapter 801: Auntie Carolina's Rolling Pins
Walking through the doorway.
Kazuya looked around, a strange look flickering in his eyes.
There was a faint layer of gray footprints on the steps at the entrance, which indicated that after the house was refreshed today, someone had been here.
Are survivors looking for food? Or could it be Cynthia's descendants?
Kazuya raised his hand to his chin, pondering for a moment.
He truly hadn't paid attention to whether the Cynthia of the first world had married later on.
But from his impression, she probably hadn't.
In the first world.
There was a four-year age difference between Cynthia and Lorelei.
If she were to get married, it would have been at most between League Calendar Year 190 and 210. During that time, the two families interacted closely, and nothing major happened. If Cynthia got married, she definitely would have invited them to the wedding.
But they hadn't received any invitation or news at the time.
So Kazuya judged that Cynthia probably hadn't started a family.
Then it must have been other survivors.
"Everyone, find a place to rest for a bit. It's getting late. Tomorrow we'll go to Mt. Coronet to look for Heatran's nest, so rest up and get in good condition."
Kazuya waved his hand, signaling everyone to rest on their own.
Meanwhile, he himself headed towards Carolina's bedroom.
League Calendar Year 247.
Should be around the time shortly after Carolina passed away.
But by then, Kazuya had already begun traveling the world. When he heard the news, it was already a bit late, and he couldn't make it to the funeral in time.
Click...
He opened the bedroom door and took a look inside.
Standing outside, Kazuya breathed a sigh of relief before entering.
Carolina's bedroom still looked as familiar as before. Even after Carolina passed away, Cynthia hadn't moved the things in this bedroom.
Looking at the room filled with Piplup dolls, portraits, and small wooden carvings of all sizes...
Even Kazuya couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Initially, Carolina hadn't been that fond of Piplups.
Although Piplup's appearance is undeniably cute and its fluff feels top-notch, the vast majority of Piplups are proud and don't like being taken care of or getting close to people.
This didn't quite click with Carolina, who loved taking care of others.
So even though there were quite a few Piplups in the Sinnoh region and Carolina had interacted with many, she still didn't have any special feelings for this Pokémon species.
It wasn't until Kazuya—an unusual, lazy Piplup who loved being taken care of—appeared. Paired with a specialized "acting cute" technique he had perfected in his second life specifically for mature women, he successfully turned Auntie Carolina into a loyal Piplup fan.
Over time.
Carolina's bedroom turned into this state.
"It's actually a 1:1 scale replica?!"
Kazuya casually picked up a Piplup doll from the floor. For a moment, he couldn't even tell the difference between this doll and his fourth life self.
Even the color of the doll matched his shiny fourth life.
If his fourth life self were tossed in here.
He himself might not be able to find the real deal right away.
But Lorelei and Carolina probably could.
Holding the doll, Kazuya swept the entire room with his Aura.
Then he pulled a locked box out from under the bed.
"..."
Kazuya scratched his head.
He roughly guessed what was inside.
Logically speaking.
Since Kazuya had guessed it.
It would be best not to open it.
But he sensed an unusual energy source inside this box with his psychic powers, and his intuition told him that thing would be useful to them.
Just then.
"What is that?"
Mewtwo's voice came from behind Kazuya.
He was staring curiously at the box in Kazuya's arms.
"You sensed it too?"
"Mm, a kind of suppressed, scorching energy."
Mewtwo nodded.
Because His psychic power was currently much, much stronger than Kazuya's, what He could perceive was also much more specific.
"Could it be the Flame Plate?"
Kazuya blinked and asked doubtfully.
After all, Mewtwo mentioned scorching energy, which might represent the Fire-type Flame Plate.
If that was truly the case.
Then he couldn't care about saving Auntie Carolina's face.
Kazuya raised his hand and used brute force to twist the box open.
The contents of the box were instantly exposed to the two Pokémon.
Various rods—large and small, colorful, and oddly shaped—instantly filled Kazuya and Mewtwo's vision.
"..."
Is that thing called a Dream Dragon? Or a Phantom Dragon?
Kazuya opened his mouth, subconsciously hurriedly closing the box again.
He felt he already understood Auntie Carolina's little secrets quite well.
But...
Looking at it now, he was still too naive.
The Carolina of the first world was clearly a woman of great desires.
He didn't understand.
The same person in two different worlds shouldn't have such a massive difference, but Mother Carolina and Auntie Carolina...?
"What are those?"
Mewtwo looked at Kazuya in confusion.
From Kazuya's expression and actions just now, He sensed that those rods were not ordinary; perhaps they were some terrifying weapons.
"...Rolling pins."
Kazuya muttered, pretending to keep a cool expression.
Then he inconspicuously reached out and fumbled around inside the box.
At a certain moment.
His eyes lit up, and he pulled an oval-shaped stone out of it.
"This is it!"
Mewtwo's attention was instantly diverted.
He was very certain.
This crimson stone was the exact thing He had just sensed.
"This is the Magma Stone."
Kazuya held this smooth, oval stone and examined it.
The surface of this stone only felt slightly warm to the touch, but according to psychic perception, a very intense Fire-type natural energy was hidden within it.
If his "little brother" from his sixth life could eat this thing.
It would definitely greatly reduce the time he needed to complete his Mega Evolution.
"The Magma Stone? Oh, I saw it in the library at Celadon University. This thing can be used to summon Heatran, right?"
Pink light surfaced in Mewtwo's eyes as He spoke while searching through His own memories.
Psychic-type Pokémon.
Are truly ruthless.
Using a soul-searching technique directly on themselves without worrying about any aftereffects.
"That's right. Don't you think this is a bit too coincidental? Just as we're about to look for Heatran, this thing appears."
Kazuya played with the Magma Stone in his hand, a hint of concern surfacing in his eyes.
"Mm... I think you're being a bit too paranoid right now."
Mewtwo hesitated for a long time before continuing, "According to my memory search just now, Celadon University has records stating that after Dr. Carolina passed away in League Calendar Year 226, the Celestic Town Historical Center was closed. All the items within were kept by her daughter, Carolina. And the Magma Stone was one of the signature items of the Celestic Town Historical Center."
Actually.
He not only found this.
He also found an item called a "vibrator."
It seemed somewhat similar to those rods He just saw.
But since it was just a human entertainment item, Mewtwo didn't look further into it and didn't care much.
"Is that so? Then it seems I really was overthinking it."
Kazuya paused for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.
That made sense.
No matter how powerful the mastermind controlling the Demon Gods was, they wouldn't go as far as planting information about the Flame Plate at Celadon University as bait.
After all, going to Celadon University was Kazuya's spur-of-the-moment decision.
Before that, even he himself wasn't sure where he would go to search for information.
Of course.
The main point was...
Even if there really was a trap at Mt. Coronet.
They still had to go and investigate.
This Flame Plate was still incredibly important.
If there was a chance to get his hands on it, bearing some risk or paying a small price was acceptable.
"How is this thing used? I heard you have to go to Reversal Mountain, but isn't Reversal Mountain a place on the eastern continent of the Unova region?"
"No need. Just wander around Mt. Coronet with this thing. When Heatran senses the aura of the Magma Stone, It will show Itself."
Kazuya shook his head.
What Mewtwo described was its use in the games.
And also the use officially recorded by the Pokémon League.
But Kazuya, as an old monster who had lived through eight lifetimes, naturally knew some information humans didn't.
"But... why are we looking for trouble with Heatran?"
Mewtwo asked.
This was what He truly didn't understand.
All along.
Their guiding principle had been to avoid unnecessary battles with Demon Gods as much as possible.
Because the risk factor was too high, and they could be corrupted by shadow energy and fall at any moment.
Mewtwo couldn't see any necessity for them to fight Heatran right now.
"We're not looking for Heatran; accurately speaking, we're looking for Heatran's current nest."
Kazuya patiently explained the reasoning behind his actions.
Heatran, like Groudon, was a clumsy, land-bound Pokémon.
The person controlling the Demon Gods would highly likely just let Heatran wander around the Sinnoh region on Its own, not specifically calling It away.
Because that was completely unnecessary.
If Groudon, a first-tier god, wasn't called away.
Why would Heatran, a second-tier god, be?
In other words.
The current Heatran was acting on Its own instincts.
What are Heatran's instincts?
To find the hottest volcanic magma to sleep in.
This means...
Heatran's nest is basically the hottest place in the Sinnoh region.
Coincidentally.
The information they previously obtained at Celadon University—traces of the Flame Plate exist in the northern borders of the Sinnoh region.
With the endless stream of Fire-type energy released by the Flame Plate, influencing the surrounding environment would be a piece of cake.
When the corrupted Heatran felt this energy, It would definitely uncontrollably head towards the Flame Plate to build a nest.
Of course.
There was another reason.
Once, probably in the timeline of Pokémon Journeys.
The evil organization of the Sinnoh region, Team Galactic, obtained the Flame Plate and attempted to use its power to stimulate Heatran's strength in order to open the Space-Time Gate to save Cyrus.
But alas, they overestimated Heatran.
This guy couldn't handle the power of the Flame Plate and went berserk on the spot.
Later, when Team Galactic was arrested, they definitely didn't have time to take the Flame Plate away. It was highly likely that the Flame Plate was snatched by Heatran.
Therefore.
That's why Kazuya wanted to look for Heatran.
If the Flame Plate was in Heatran's nest, it meant the information from Celadon University was true.
If it wasn't even in Its nest, then it was highly unlikely to be anywhere else in the Sinnoh region. The information on the Flame Plate recorded by Celadon University would be outdated, and they wouldn't need to waste time elsewhere in the Sinnoh region.
"I see. Kazuya, you're so smart."
"No, this is just analyzing and combining known information. You can do it too, and even better than me."
Kazuya smiled at Mewtwo.
Mewtwo was a natural-born genius.
His brain development was already at a level ordinary creatures couldn't hope to match.
It was just that His thinking hadn't been fully developed yet. Following Kazuya and the others for a couple more years would fix that.
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