"Dad??"
Damian was in shock.
Sure, during "that thing," to add some spice, he had made Lusamine and the others call him "dad."
But that wasn't real—was it?
This Akari, who he'd just met for the first time, was calling him "dad"?!
"Akari, this is Mr. Damian.
Did you get him mixed up?"
Volo's brain basically short-circuited for a moment too.
After he snapped back, he looked at Akari, who was clinging to Damian and wouldn't let go.
His expression turned weird.
From the moment he saw Damian's phone, he guessed…
this Mr. Damian was probably just like Akari.
He wasn't from this era.
He came from another time-space through a space-time rift.
But was it this intense right out the gate?
Dad?!
"No way.
He's my dad.
My name was also given to me by my dad."
Akari answered with full confidence.
Since some Arceus shamelessly sent her to this Hisui era, she hadn't seen her parents for half a year.
She really missed her dad and mom.
And also her other moms—those two and three and the others.
Volo: "..."
This time, he looked at Damian even creepier.
No—just based on appearances, Akari and Damian couldn't have more than a one- or two-year age difference.
Could it be that Damian adopted Akari when she was little?
This…
Volo felt like his head was spinning.
He really wanted to call Giratina and ask.
Is this kind of thing really how it works with people from different time-spaces?
Because he honestly didn't get it at all.
"Wait, Akari.
First, loosen your grip."
Damian said helplessly to Akari.
That "free bonus daughter" seemed to have decided he was her dad for real.
Both her hands stayed wrapped around his waist, refusing to let go.
"Oh~"
Akari was still very obedient.
She let go of Damian's waist and instead held Damian's hand.
"Don't you think we might have some misunderstanding between us?"
Damian didn't stop her.
He thought about it for a moment, and asked Akari like this.
He already basically guessed what it was.
But he still wanted to confirm.
"Misunderstanding?"
Akari tilted her adorable little head.
Those amber, beautiful big eyes looked straight at Damian.
Then, not long after—
Akari suddenly "got it."
Her expression perked up instantly.
"I know!
Dad, you came from an even earlier time-space, right?
And you probably haven't gotten together with Mom yet?!"
Akari suddenly understood.
"Your mom is…
Dawn?"
"Mm-hm-hm!
That's right!"
When Damian received Akari's reply, he slapped his own forehead with a啪.
He knew it.
No wonder Dialga had said those weird things back then—
and had also told him to hand over the Orb to its future daughter.
So the damn daughter it meant was—
Akari.
The most bugged protagonist in every Pokémon World worldview.
Who is Akari?
She's the only human who the actual body of Arceus itself recognized and approved.
And she was given Arceus avatars in person.
Since crossing into Hisui, Akari had been cared for by Arceus.
Even having her phone modified into an Arceus phone—
to be carried with her and guide her.
You could basically say—
Akari is the "chosen one" in this Pokémon cosmic.
No "one" can top her.
Because Akari wasn't chosen by an avatar.
It was Arceus's actual body.
And not an avatar.
She was the one Arceus's actual body had selected, cared for, and gifted.
There are nine Pokémon Generations total.
Plus countless remakes.
Plus anime, Special manga.
All the protagonists scattered across everything?
That probably adds up to more than twenty.
Yet none could compare to Akari.
Not even Selene, whose record was the most insane.
Holy crap.
Am I going to have a cheat-god kid next?!
Damian's mood was inevitably a little complicated.
Back in Sinnoh Region, he had specifically paid attention to the existence of Akari.
Because for an Arceus god-daughter like that, he naturally wanted to recruit her first.
But he never found her.
So he thought this world didn't have an Akari.
Turns out—
she hadn't been born yet.
"I kinda get it."
Damian let out a sigh.
But honestly…
his feelings inside were still very weird.
Damian looked over the daughter standing there—tall and poised.
Damn.
He was only seventeen.
And he suddenly had a fifteen-or-six-year-old daughter.
Family…
Who would understand that feeling?
"Hehe~
I'm cute, right, Dad?"
The girl seemed to notice Damian's gaze.
She giggled, stepped back two steps, and spun around twice.
So Damian could see her more clearly.
"This is local specialty clothing I specifically picked out.
It keeps you warm and it's useful.
The climate here is just super weird.
And at night it gets really cold."
Akari complained.
And yet, in truth, her body constitution was extremely abnormal-good.
She wouldn't get sick easily.
"Mm.
The clothes fit great.
And you're pretty too, mainly."
Damian smiled back.
As expected, she's my kid with Dawn.
The inherited genes are just outstanding.
"Hehe~
I love Dad the most."
Akari beamed.
Her big eyes were crescent-shaped.
Extremely adorable.
As she said that, she hugged her dad tightly again.
She buried her face in Damian's chest and took a deep breath.
Dad's smell—
The girl squinted.
On her refined, fair face, she showed an extremely pleased expression.
Nice—
It had been so long since she'd been able to smell it.
Even though it was a bit different from her memory of her dad's smell…
it seemed like it smelled even better now.
Damian felt a little helpless.
But he also patted the girl's back gently, with a touch of indulgence.
He still felt like something was off.
Mainly because a daughter this big had just popped out of nowhere.
It wasn't that he couldn't accept it.
It was just…
too weird!
"Eeem…"
Volo looked at the father and daughter hugging each other.
His expression turned creepy again.
His handsome face wrinkled into a tangled mess.
How should he put it…
he felt like his worldview had been hit hard.
Were these two really father and daughter?
Bloodline-contacting like that?
A seventeen-year-old boy had a sixteen-year-old daughter—
what the hell…
Giratina, is this really normal?
This world is just too creepy.
"Dad, Mr. Volo, come inside.
Cogita—Cogita sister just went out.
We should wait a bit for her to come back later."
Akari called them over and led them into the wooden house.
Because recently, she was suspected by Miss "Magamoku" that she was the real culprit behind the king and queen going berserk.
So Volo brought her here.
The wooden house wasn't that big.
But inside, the equipment was still complete.
Akari took the initiative to boil a pot of tea water and pour Damian and Volo tea.
Showing good upbringing.
"Akari, how did you end up in this time-space?"
Damian sat at the wooden table.
After taking a sip of hot tea, he asked Akari.
"Because of Arceus."
Akari didn't hide anything.
And there was even a bit of complaining in her tone.
When Volo heard the name Arceus, his eyes instantly became strange.
But he hid it very well.
He didn't expose anything.
Damian glanced at Volo with the corner of his eye.
The corner of his mouth curled up slightly.
"I was already sixteen at the time, you know.
Dad and the moms celebrated my coming-of-age ceremony with me.
And then the next day, I could go on a journey."
"Akari, you just said… the moms?"
Volo suspected he had misheard.
"Yeah.
I have a lot of moms."
Akari replied like it was completely obvious.
"My real mom.
And my second mom, third mom, fourth mom…
so many moms.
Damn."
Damian: "..."
Volo: "..."
Is this—
is this actually okay?
Volo looked at Damian blankly.
Damian picked up his teacup and took another sip of tea.
As if he hadn't seen Volo's eyes.
How was he supposed to explain it?
He really couldn't explain.
"Alright, I guess I was ignorant and didn't know enough."
Volo, as expected—
his worldview was once again hit hard.
But he quickly adjusted his mood.
He offered an awkward and polite smile.
"And then when I went to sleep at night, Arceus appeared in my room.
It asked me if I wanted to do an unusual journey trials.
After the trials ended, I would definitely become super strong.
Then Dad— you'd be surprised."
Akari accused some Arceus of "kidnapping."
"So you agreed?"
Damian roughly understood.
"Yeah.
Because it's Arceus."
As Damian's daughter, Akari naturally knew Arceus.
And she'd seen it in person several times too.
"After that, I passed out.
And when I woke up, I was already in Hisui."
Akari said innocently.
Honestly—
when she woke up, she was completely dumbstruck.
That Arceus was absolutely messed up.
Trials was just like that?
Sending her back to the ancient times for trials?
"Akari's right.
Supposedly, Akari fell out of a space-time rift.
But on the other side of that space-time rift—
it was actually Akari's own world, right?"
Volo's brows knitted tightly.
This wasn't what he imagined at all.
He thought the space-time rift Akari fell into led to the world where Arceus was.
He had even been puzzled about why Akari would fall out of it.
But now, according to what Akari said—
the reason she came into this world was just her trials.
Volo pressed his lips together.
Arceus.
Your mercy—
why can't it be shown to me?
Why do you care about this kid that much?
I'm the rightful descendant of the ancient Sinnoh region!
Volo's face looked a bit darker.
But very quickly, Volo still adjusted his mood.
It was fine!
It was fine!
He was going to prove to Arceus that he was the one more worthy of being chosen.
The timing wasn't right.
Volo knew very well—
now that the timing wasn't right, and since Akari coming to this world was Arceus's trials—
then the trials would definitely end someday.
Arceus would definitely appear again.
As long as he was there at that time…
he just had to beat Akari.
He would win!
"I don't really know."
Akari blinked her eyes, and then shook her head.
"I see."
The three of them chatted a bit more.
For Volo, Damian and Akari were both people who came from the modern era through a time slip.
The new, advanced world they talked about—
was very, very attractive to Volo.
"It's a shame that I can't go there and witness that world with my own eyes."
When he heard that there were Pokémon-competitive organization matches in the modern era, Volo as a Pokémon tamer was clearly very eager.
But for him—
that world was still too far away.
So…
if he could get Arceus's endorsement—
and master Arceus—
then he'd become the new god!
Wouldn't recreating such a beautiful world be possible then?
Volo's eyes were hot with hope.
But first…
he had to beat Akari!
Volo quickly calmed down and looked at Akari.
In his eyes, there was some jealousy and unwillingness that couldn't be hidden.
Why?
Why would this girl get Arceus's attention?
And why would it even give her "in-person" an opportunity for these trials?
But wasn't that exactly perfect too?
He could take away that "qualification" from Akari during the timing when Akari completed the trials!
Volo was extremely confident.
Because he was the strongest Pokémon tamer in this era.
And he also had Giratina's assist!
"Actually, it's not like there's completely no way."
Damian thought for a moment, and then spoke.
Truthfully, time-space travel wasn't that common in the Pokémon World.
But it wasn't completely unheard of either.
And examples of those who could do time-space travel included Celebi, Dialga, Terapagos, and Arceus.
But among the most "inner ones," the most overpowered one—
was probably Celebi.
Dialga might come knocking on his door.
After all, Dialga managed the balance of time.
But obviously, Dialga couldn't control Arceus.
So it couldn't control Akari either, since Akari had been singled out by Arceus.
In the end, back then, Dialga had sworn up and down and bragged to him about—
"no one can touch time."
And then it turned around and slapped itself in the face.
Saying—
"Future is a different matter."
So it basically meant it had already foreseen Akari's existence.
Akari was definitely a special individual.
And he should count as half of it too.
"If I can bring Akari to the time-space I'm currently in, Tsk~"
Damian looked at his adorable baby girl.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
That would be so interesting.
And also—
that was his daughter.
What problem was there with him bringing her?
~~
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