Chapter 470: I Was Just Being a Little Cautious
The Mt. Moon mountain range covers a vast area, with a total expanse exceeding one hundred thousand square kilometers. The nature reserve itself occupies about sixty thousand square kilometers, while the outer portions of the range belong to the human world. Several of these outer mountains have been developed into tourist attractions, which, in a way, have also been given over to wild Pokémon.
The Primeape in the scenic area are incredibly brazen. Arthur remembered them well from when he had just captured Froakie. They showed absolutely no awareness that they were living in human territory. After so many years of peace, the understanding between humans and Pokémon had deepened, and they were less particular about living space. Of course, this was only true for rugged, mountainous areas with few important natural resources.
There were generally two ways to enter the Mt. Moon Nature Reserve: one was to go through the back of the scenic area on the southeast side, and the other was to take the northern waterway and travel upstream into the mountains. This time, Arthur chose the northern water route. In his memory, this area was usually deserted, as most boats traveled downstream.
To his surprise, this time he saw quite a few travelers with hiking backpacks. Before Arthur could even ask, the leader of the group approached him. "Hey there, young man! You must be here to seek a glimpse of the divine Suicune, right?"
"???" A question mark popped up over Arthur's head.
He was, in fact, here to find Suicune, but "seek a glimpse of the divine"... where did that come from?
Then, the man pulled out his phone with a pious expression. "I get it. To risk being driven away by the mountain Pokémon and warned off by the Rangers to come all the way upstream… you must be a person of firm faith. How about we exchange resources? Come over here, I've got something good to show you."
Completely bewildered, Arthur followed him a few steps and saw what the young man was so eager to show him on his phone. It was a series of photos of Suicune in its human form. Some of them were candid shots taken when Suicune had accompanied him to the Pokémon Center, which Arthur recognized immediately.
However, a large portion of them were clearly doctored. After three years in this world, Arthur had learned a few things, and he recognized the photo-editing technique. It was a legendary dark art of the East Continent. In the young man's collection, Arthur even saw some rather... NSFW... doctored photos.
"Uh..." was all he could manage, his expression a mixture of confusion and shock.
Just then, another hiker stepped forward and righteously refuted the first man. "How could you try to sway a new believer's will with such false images?! Why have we trekked through mountains and rivers, enduring countless hardships to come here? Is it not to witness its true, divine form? To satisfy yourself with these fake pictures is to blaspheme its purity and nobility!"
"..." Arthur's mouth twitched. He was finally beginning to understand the saying, "Hard times create heroes, prosperous times create weirdos." You people really have too much time on your hands.
He ignored the group, released Little Lapras, and had her dive into the river to travel upstream and inform the intelligent Pokémon of the reserve of his arrival. He didn't want to cause any misunderstandings by barging in unannounced. Then, he released Lina, ready to fly directly to the highest peak. Now that he had a Charizard, he no longer had to hike up the mountain like last time.
But the surrounding travelers began to advise him. "Young man, don't be so reckless! We all understand your admiration for the deity, but rushing into the reserve like that is dangerous! The Pokémon—"
Before the man could finish, Arthur received a telepathic message from Little Lapras. He climbed onto Lina's back, and they took off, soaring into the sky. In mid-air, he recalled Little Lapras and flew off into the distance.
The travelers below stared blankly after him. "Strange… why didn't the patrol of Pidgeot intercept him? Why didn't any Pokémon from the forest come out to drive him away?"
Then, someone murmured, "Why does that Charizard look so familiar? I feel like I've seen it somewhere before… Wait a minute! Holy crap! Isn't that Arthur's Charizard?! The one from the championship finals broadcast?! Crap! That was the Son of Suicune, Arthur!!"
In an instant, all the hikers in the area were stunned.
"So… he was just coming home to visit family?"
"Did we… say something inappropriate in front of him just now?"
A short while later, a flock of Pidgeot flew out from the forest and herded them all far, far away.
Later, having been announced, Arthur quickly found Suicune, who was lounging on a platform at the very top of the peak. Suicune looked at him with a rather resentful gaze.
"Do you have any idea how many bored humans my subjects have had to drive away from these mountains in the past two years?"
"Uh, no."
"And whose fault do you think that is?!"
"Emmm, it's not me, is it?"
"Who do you think?! What have you been doing these past two years? Why has the number of people bothering me suddenly increased so much in just two years? What on earth have you been doing in the human world?!"
"Well…" Arthur paused for a moment, then spread his hands. "I was just keeping my promise, trying to get some Rare Candies."
To get Rare Candies, he had to win a Tier 1 League championship. And the fastest way to get a ticket to a Tier 1 League Champions Cup was to win the professional league championship for the year. So, you see, it was perfectly reasonable for him to enter the professional circuit and win a championship two years after leaving the mountain.
As for winning Best Rookie in his first year, becoming a main player in his second, going undefeated in the regular season, defeating the top three players from last year's league singles tournament, and then beating an old Dragon Champion in the finals… those were all just necessary preparations to secure a ticket to the Champions Cup.
"I was just being a little cautious in the process. I didn't do anything that major," Arthur explained with a gentle smile.
From inside his backpack, Celebi poked its head out, looking like it wanted to offer a different opinion, but Arthur quickly grabbed the bag and shoved its head back in.
"Mmmph… you could have gotten the candies without being so extra… Mmph! Let me speak!"
Suicune looked at him, and though it wasn't in its human form, its expression was full of very human-like exasperation. "Alright, let the little one go. I do occasionally keep up with your human world, you know. You really think I don't know how many outrageous things you've done in the past two years?"
Arthur immediately let go of the bag and shrugged. "Oh, you should have just said so."
Suicune gave him a look that seemed to ask, Are you not even going to pretend?
"So, what brings you here today, my child?" Suicune sat up and smiled, launching a counter-attack of its own.
The phrase "my child" left Arthur speechless. "Nothing much. First, to report my progress. I brought some of the imitation, low-grade Rare Candies from the league for you to try. Second, I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?" Suicune looked at the candies Arthur offered with interest, an expression on its face that seemed to say, You're a smooth one, kid. It knew that one should always bring a gift when asking for a favor.
"I wanted to ask, which Legendary Pokémon is in charge of the Ashen Desert to the west of the East Continent? And what's the situation over there like now?"
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