Hayashi was indeed feeling a bit uneasy now. If Arceus forbade Pokémon from leaving...
"Don't misunderstand," Arceus glanced at the Poké Balls at Hayashi's waist and said calmly, "Your Pokémon genuinely wish to stay by your side. I have no right to make decisions for them."
Hearing this answer, Hayashi couldn't help but sigh in relief—he'd already prepared for the worst. If Arceus had forbidden it, he would've used the limited invincibility shield of the Interdimensional Gate's initial crossings to escape with the Poké Balls, Erina and Hisako, then return for payback once he had the power to resist Arceus.
Thankfully, it didn't come to that.
After collecting himself, Hayashi relaxed slightly and asked, "Then what exactly does the Creator God want?"
"Before I state my purpose..." Arceus turned its gaze to Hayashi's head and said softly, "Aren't you going to revert to your true form? Or has spending time with these people made you forget your identity? Ho-Oh—"
"Caw—?"
Hayashi instinctively looked up. With the sound of flapping wings, the Fletchinder that had been perched on his head flew before Arceus. In a burst of crimson flames, it transformed from a tiny Fletchinder barely larger than a palm into a gleaming, radiant Fearow.
"If you hadn't exposed me, I might've gotten to visit other worlds for fun," Ho-Oh gently landed on the grass, then glanced at Arceus beside it. "As for hiding my identity? Wasn't that your command—to conceal my true form and protect him?"
"Is that so?" Arceus's voice carried a trace of amusement. "All I saw was the mighty God of Life being kept like a pet bird, thoroughly enjoying itself without a care for home."
Ho-Oh's face flushed red, then she stubbornly retorted, "W-what do you mean by 'keeping'? This is called disguise, getting into character! Besides, eating some food doesn't count as being kept!!"
For a moment, the air was filled with a lively atmosphere.
"So..." Hayashi twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Fletchinder is actually a shiny Fearow?"
Arceus curled its lips slightly before nodding gently. "Correct. The shiny Fearow has been following you under my orders ever since you headed toward Bell Tower."
"Why are you calling me that too—" Ho-Oh bristled as she glared at Arceus. "You sheep..."
Then Ho-Oh found herself unable to speak. Furious, she stomped in place before pointing a wingtip at Arceus in silent curses.
How to put it? It was a bit like a powerless, enraged group member in a QQ chat after being muted by a dog admin.
Hilarious.
"Wait, if that's the case, then was the Pokémon riot at Bell Tower because of you?" Hayashi sucked in a breath before turning to Ho-Oh.
"Though not my intention, those Pokémon did decide to drive humans away after hearing the bell toll," Ho-Oh sighed softly. "After learning of the incident, I treated the injured monks, so you needn't worry."
Hayashi rubbed his head. "Since it's Ho-Oh, she disguised herself as a Fletchinder? Then if it were Lugia, would it be disguised as a Natu?"
"It wouldn't be Lugia," Arceus shook its head. "Only Ho-Oh! Because she's the Life God, she can ensure your safety."
"Hmph."
Ho-Oh proudly lifted her head, her expression and posture practically screaming "Praise me!" on her face.
"Truly worthy of being a shiny Fearow."
"Call me that name again and I'll burn your pants!"
"Stingy."
"Annoying."
After his habitual bickering with Ho-Oh, Hayashi glanced around and muttered, "Speaking of which, now that you're here in person, why haven't I seen your entourage?"
"Raikou, Entei, and Suicune?" Ho-Oh replied with a hint of pride. "Though they wanted to come, they're too conspicuous, so I assigned a more discreet protector for your safety."
"A discreet protector? And related to Ho-Oh..."
Recalling Gengar's odd behavior, Hayashi seemed to realize something and looked down at his shadow.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
With a ripple in the shadow, Marshadow, resembling a flickering flame, emerged and greeted Hayashi. "Marsh!"
Nice to meet you! I'm Marshadow! Ho-Oh ordered me to protect you, so I've been diligently guarding your safety! I worked hard, so please praise me.
Hayashi fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "I'd love to praise you, but could you wipe the potato chip crumbs off your mouth first? And maybe put down that controller—"
"Marsh!"
Marshadow was startled. She hurriedly wiped the corner of her mouth with her hand, stuffed the controller back into the shadows in a fluster, then lifted her head again and said, "I've been working hard! Praise me!"
Ho-Oh's face darkened as she asked, "Marshadow, what exactly have you been working hard on?"
"Uh—"
After freezing for a few seconds, Marshadow raised her head and said earnestly, "I've been diligently keeping watch over every movement around him, checking for any Ghost-type Pokémon sneaking up on him or cursing him. At night when he sleeps, I patrol the surroundings too..."
Ho-Oh thought to herself, 'Bullshit! I've never seen you come out once—what patrols are you even talking about?!'
Meanwhile, as Hayashi listened to Marshadow boast about her efforts, he suddenly asked, "By the way, which game do you like the most?"
"Definitely Devil May Cry and Bayonetta!" Marshadow blurted out without thinking. "The combat in those games is so satisfying, I absolutely lo—love... them?"
Realizing what she'd just said, Marshadow stiffly turned her head—only to meet Hayashi's gaze, which was three parts realization, three parts contemplation, and ninety-four parts teasing. "Ohhh! Seems like you've played quite a few games, huh? Speaking of which, I guess my Gengar's been under your care, hasn't she?"
Hayashi finally understood why Gengar had been appearing so rarely lately, and even when he did, he looked gloomy. No need to guess—Marshadow must have hogged the computer!
Just imagine being a gaming enthusiast, only to have your computer taken over by someone else, forced to watch them play. How miserable would that be?
"Um—"
Marshadow thought for a moment, then said, "I can ex—explain this!"
"Begin your performance," Hayashi said, extending his right hand. "Once you're done, Teacher Ho-Oh will give you a score!"
Ho-Oh fluffed her wings and stared at Marshadow. "If your performance doesn't satisfy me, you know what's coming."
"..."
Marshadow pouted, looking aggrieved. She shuffled over to Ho-Oh, bent over, stuck out her butt, and shouted, "Go ahead! Just be gentle!"
Damn, y'all play like this?!
Hayashi couldn't help but click his tongue. "Didn't expect Ho-Oh to be into this sort of thing."
"?"
Ho-Oh felt her reputation was... whatever. I'm just a shiny Fearow—what reputation do I even have?
Tch. Stupid man.
"Alright, enough joking around." At that moment, Arceus spoke up. She trotted lightly over to Hayashi and said softly, "Traveler from another world, I'd like to make a deal with you—"
"Go on."
"Any Pokémon in this world I've created—as long as they're obtained legally and the Pokémon themselves agree—you may take them with you freely. I won't stop you. In fact, I'll even help maximize their innate potential." Arceus looked at Hayashi and continued, "In exchange, once you've grown stronger, I want you to bring items imbued with the essence of other worlds' laws back to this one."
Hayashi's mouth fell open. He couldn't help but ask, "Items with the essence of other worlds' laws...? Damn, that sounds way too high-level. Are you sure I can actually handle stuff like that?"
"The power of laws also has its hierarchy," Arceus explained. "Using the Pokémon world as an analogy, from my Plates at the top to Fire Stones at the bottom, all contain the power of laws."
"Ah—"
With that explanation, Hayashi immediately understood—so it's those extraordinary items from non-everyday worlds with peculiar powers, right?
"No problem at all! If I can get my hands on it, I'll definitely bring you a copy!" Hayashi made an OK gesture with his fingers and grinned. "Thanks a bunch, then!"
"So, the deal is settled?"
"Deal settled!"
...
...
After Arceus left with Ho-Oh (who looked disdainful but was actually reluctant) and Marshadow (who looked reluctant and truly was), Hayashi let out a sigh and exclaimed, "Damn, we hit the jackpot!"
Hisako, who had been holding back for a while, couldn't resist asking, "Master Hayashi! Why didn't you ask Arceus to boost Gengar and the others to Ho-Oh's level? Wouldn't that have guaranteed our safety even more?"
"Because that wouldn't work!" Hayashi chuckled and explained, "Boosting Gengar's current strength to Ho-Oh's level would be too drastic an increase. The Interdimensional Gate wouldn't recognize such external enhancement."
For instance, if Gengar's base strength was 100 points, and her Golden Pokémon Armor could amplify it to 200 points—that level of external boost would still be within the Interdimensional Gate's tolerance.
But if Gengar's strength was 100 points, and Arceus's blessing directly skyrocketed it to 10,000 points—such an extreme external enhancement would clearly be rejected by the Interdimensional Gate.
In other words, even if Hayashi went to the Marvel world and obtained god-tier artifacts like the Infinity Stones, he could only use them within that world. The moment he traveled to another world, the power of the Infinity Stones would be sealed by the Interdimensional Gate.
Hayashi speculated that this was likely a restriction imposed by the Interdimensional Gate—to prevent its wielder from relying too heavily on external forces for power growth while neglecting their own training.
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