Chapter 815: Ash's Greninja
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble, and thank you for your help."
Lucario stepped forward politely, bowing to express his gratitude.
Scizor didn't speak, but also nodded to AZ.
He wasn't good at communicating with unfamiliar humans.
So in situations like this, he consciously yielded the floor to the dog.
There was another critical factor.
Scizor couldn't speak human language at all.
"It wasn't really any trouble. The commotion just now was quite significant. I think I heard Giratina's voice? Tell me what happened."
After greeting them, AZ turned around again, holding a telescope and observing the sky above the entirety of Lumiose City.
Lucario and Scizor exchanged a glance.
Then, they recounted the events in detail.
"Who is this 'Kazuya' you mentioned? Why is he looking for me?"
Hearing their story, AZ pinched his chin, frowning for a long time.
"You should have met my Master before. I remember hearing them mention you."
Scizor frowned, not knowing where the miscommunication was, then shrugged. "As for why he's looking for you... you'll know when my Master arrives. We aren't too sure ourselves."
Lucario translated Scizor's words.
This made AZ even more confused.
In AZ's view.
The Master of this Scizor.
Should be a Pokémon.
But.
Over these three thousand years, the number of Pokémon he had met and communicated with was countless.
After all, he was a figure who had lived through three eras.
Furthermore.
With a name as humanoid as "Kazuya."
If he had truly heard it.
He should at least have some impression of it.
Since he had absolutely no impression.
It meant he had never heard the name.
In other words, the "Kazuya" he met back then hadn't even told him his name.
How was he supposed to know who it was?
"I can't recall. Tell me the specifics—what time, what place, what species."
"Over three hundred years ago in Lumiose City. At that time, my Master was a Sceptile, accompanied by a Meowscarada. Back then, my Master was very famous in your Kalos region..."
Scizor scratched his head and began to explain bit by bit.
However.
Halfway through.
Lucario stopped translating, raised a hand to interrupt him, and then spoke himself: "Lord Kazuya has another identity, the 'Hero of the Leaves'. That name was given by the Pokémon League."
Concise and to the point.
Hitting the nail on the head.
If Scizor's words left AZ slightly bewildered, giving him a vague impression but nothing clear.
Then the moment Lucario dropped the name "Hero of the Leaves".
He remembered everything.
"Oh, I remember now. I recall I was the one who told him about Shadow Lugia. I didn't expect, I truly didn't expect..."
AZ's eyes instantly cleared up considerably.
He took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, feeling quite emotional.
Could this be destiny?
The darkness three hundred years ago was defeated by the Hero of the Leaves.
Now.
The darkness has returned, and the Hero of the Leaves has returned as well.
Thinking of this.
AZ couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
It had to be said.
The name "Hero of the Leaves" carried significant weight in the human world. Even AZ, who had lived for three thousand years, was quite affected by it.
Especially in this era shrouded in darkness.
The Hero of the Leaves, who had once defeated the darkness, was like the faith and dawn in the hearts of most survivors.
Even within his Team Flare.
There were many who still used the Hero of the Leaves as a source of comfort in their hearts.
After all.
The darkness was once defeated by the Hero of the Leaves.
If the Hero of the Leaves could defeat it once, there was no reason he couldn't defeat it a second time.
It was inevitable for everyone to harbor such hopes.
"Master was ambushed by Giratina and injured. He must be suffering from the corruption of shadow energy right now. I don't know if he can safely reach Prism Tower in three days."
Scizor lowered his head worriedly.
"...Lord Kazuya will definitely be fine. I'm more worried about Mewtwo and Skitty right now. They aren't as strong..."
Lucario beside him opened his mouth to speak but changed his wording at the last second.
He felt that even if Giratina hadn't sneak-attacked, Lord Kazuya would likely have been injured anyway. After all, their current strength was truly hard-pressed to contend with those Demon Gods.
But he held back those words.
Lest Scizor pinch his snout again.
"We'll know in three days. Worrying about it now is useless."
"So, what the Pokémon League said three hundred years ago about him going missing was true? I thought the Hero of the Leaves had died back then."
"I didn't expect him to appear again, but why didn't he appear during the Great Darkness?"
AZ had many doubts and confusions.
Regarding these questions.
Lucario and Scizor exchanged a subtle glance, and the latter spoke first: "My Master did die back then. He was reborn into this world 13 years ago."
"Resurrected? Wait, you said 'reborn'?"
AZ's brow furrowed tightly, catching the key word.
"Mm, my Master has a lot of connections. The Lord of the Spirit World helped him reincarnate."
Scizor lied without changing his expression.
He didn't know how his Master could reincarnate time and time again.
But he was certain it had nothing to do with the Spirit World.
If it did, Cofagrigus would have mentioned it long ago.
But things like this.
Scizor didn't intend to tell outsiders, to avoid causing trouble for his Master.
He had never had a Trainer and didn't trust humans that much.
"Such a thing is actually possible? I've lived for so long, and this is the first time I've heard of it. And that Lord of the Spirit World, I've never met her either."
AZ's eyes widened slightly, shocked by this revelation.
It had truly been a long time since he felt such an emotion.
After all, he had lived for far too long.
He had experienced world-level disasters more than three or five times, so very few things could shock him.
This time, he was genuinely stunned.
[Resurrection].
He had researched and even achieved this project over three thousand years ago.
So what shocked him wasn't the resurrection itself.
But the method Scizor described.
It was truly a path AZ had never considered.
"Understandable. After all, I was also very shocked when I met Master over ten years ago."
Scizor nodded, then glanced at Lucario.
The meaning in his eyes was roughly:
Hurry up and find a way to change the subject. I don't want to keep dragging on this topic.
Lucario nodded inwardly, then immediately asked: "What was that attack just now? Was Zygarde destroyed?"
Hearing this.
AZ couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head.
"If that guy could be killed so easily, our Team Flare wouldn't have to live a hidden life like Digletts."
Then.
He briefly explained the weapon he had just used.
It was the Ultimate Weapon (Single-Use Edition) that AZ had remade over the years, combining Lysandre's lifelong research.
This brings us back to 150 years ago.
The evil organization, Team Flare, which threw its weight around on this land, capturing Zygarde Cores everywhere.
At that time, Lysandre, in order to achieve his ambitions, specifically researched technology and weapons targeting the three ecological gods of Kalos.
One of the projects.
Was specifically aimed at Zygarde.
AZ combined this project with the technology of the Ultimate Weapon to create a single-use Ultimate Weapon.
This thing wasn't very effective against anything else, but it was perfectly tailored to deal with Zygarde.
One shot.
Forcibly caused Zygarde to disassemble.
Within seven days.
That guy would absolutely not be able to reorganize into Its Complete Forme.
"Activating that weapon must have cost a lot. If you need anything, just let us know."
Lucario scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. The energy source for activating the Ultimate Weapon is life energy. And in this city, what we lack the least is life energy."
AZ casually waved his hand, pointing at Lumiose City below.
When a living creature dies.
The life energy within its body dissipates.
And AZ would capture and store this life energy, using it for Team Flare's energy expenditures and research.
Magical beasts.
Are, of course, also living creatures.
"I see, so that's why Team Flare is in Lumiose City. We were just complaining earlier about why you guys would stay in such a dangerous place."
Lucario finally understood.
It couldn't be helped.
They knew very little about human technology and truly couldn't have guessed this layer.
"..."
AZ remained silent.
This Lucario was an honest dog.
On the other side.
By a river between Lumiose City and Camphrier Town.
Kazuya, having woken up, immediately treated Skitty and Dragonite's injuries before finding time to treat himself.
As for Mewtwo.
That guy could heal Himself and didn't need Kazuya to split his attention.
The pain of the shadow energy corruption constantly affected everyone's minds, leaving them with no mood for extra conversation right now.
But Kazuya was genuinely worried about the condition of the other three Pokémon, so he still asked a few questions.
Upon learning that they agreed to rendezvous at Prism Tower in three days.
Kazuya could only temporarily set this matter aside, simultaneously healing and maintaining perception, vigilant of their surroundings.
Whoosh!
A dark vine suddenly shot out from the ground next to Kazuya, writhing constantly in mid-air.
Kazuya glanced at it and didn't care.
He still didn't understand what these dark vines were for. They didn't seem to affect the people and Pokémon living in Kalos.
The vast majority of creatures couldn't even see this thing.
To Kazuya.
It was just a bit of an eyesore.
Suddenly.
A powerful Aura appeared nearby, catching Kazuya's attention.
"Hm?"
He turned to look.
Although their condition was very poor right now, they weren't too vigilant or worried.
A creature's Aura is enough to prove their intentions.
The newcomer was undoubtedly a righteous individual.
So Kazuya wasn't particularly worried.
Even if the other party was very strong.
A few seconds later.
A blue figure appeared near them.
It looked like the Water-type starter of the Kalos region, Greninja.
However, Kazuya stared for a few more seconds and noticed that this Greninja seemed somewhat different from an ordinary one.
It seemed to be...
"Ash's Greninja?"
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