Caleb looked at the Xerneas before him and asked curiously, "Why did you come here?"
Xerneas raised its head, a look of confusion visible in its eyes: >..I've always lived here..<
Hearing this, Caleb took out the Warp Beacon and checked the unlocked map on it.
Sure enough, his current location was only a large forest away from the starting point he left six months ago.
And this forest coincidentally happened to be the forest where Xerneas dwelled.
Just then, a rustling sound came from the surrounding grass.
Caleb turned his head and saw various small heads poking out from within.
Pachirisu, Ambipom, Buneary...
He even spotted a Leafeon and a Chimchar among them.
Xerneas watched this scene and said gently: >..Everyone seems to like you very much..<
"I like everyone too." Caleb smiled, took out half his supply of Pokéblocks from his inventory, went to each of them to feed them, and took the opportunity to pet the Leafeon and Chimchar several times.
He had to admit, the Eevee family was truly adorable and cute. They felt great to the touch.
Caleb was moved by the idea of collecting a full Eevee family. He crouched down to chat with this well-behaved and gentle Leafeon, but before he could speak, the Leafeon began to tremble with fear.
Not just it, but the other weaker Pokémon around also showed varying degrees of fear in their eyes.
"What was going on?" Caleb stood up and looked around but found nothing.
Xerneas looked up at the sky and said telepathically: >..Up there..<
Caleb looked up and saw a large, gray, dragon-like Pokémon flying out of the void.
It had two pairs of ghostly gray wings. A golden half-ring encircled its neck. Black and red stripes were distributed horizontally on the front of its neck. Its face was ferocious, and its entire body exuded a savage and cold aura.
That was Giratina, the legendary Pokémon said to live in the Distortion World, also known by the nickname Renegade Pokémon.
To be honest, Caleb already felt today had been surreal enough. Not only had he encountered Rayquaza and Xerneas, but he also witnessed Dialga and Palkia fighting, and finally, Arceus made an appearance.
And now, the Renegade Pokémon...
'What era is this anyway?' he pondered.
At first, Caleb thought he was just lucky to encounter Rayquaza. But now, everything that had happened forced him to change that perception.
It was never because he was lucky... But rather, Legendary Pokémon running amok worldwide was the norm in this world!
He thought of this punishment Instance's name, Dystopia.
Utopia is the ideal society in human consciousness, meaning a beautiful place where everyone is equal, without oppression, like a paradise or country.
Was this world beautiful?
If we're not talking about the future, but just the present, with no humans existing and Pokémon spread throughout the world, living freely and comfortably, then it could indeed be considered very beautiful.
Even after humans appeared later, the world's situation didn't change.
Pokémon and humans did not infringe upon each other, living on different continents and staying out of each other's way.
In a sense, this was indeed a beautiful utopia, without oppression.
If the Instance's name suggests otherwise, did that mean players had to change the world's current state, integrating Pokémon's lives with humans, to truly liberate this Instance?
But after liberation, would the world's situation really become better than it is now?
Just as Caleb was lost in thought, that Giratina had already arrived before him and landed on the ground.
Giratina stood five meters tall and weighed 750kg, enough to be considered a behemoth. The moment it landed, the entire ground shook violently, as if there had been an earthquake.
Caleb looked up dazedly, just as Giratina also lowered its head to look at this creature called a human.
The gazes of the human and the Legendary Pokémon met in mid-air. A savage aura flowed through the air.
Unlike Dialga and Rayquaza, Giratina had a pair of crimson eyes, making it look like an asura from hell, a natural-born demonic villain.
However, Caleb didn't sense any malice from it.
"Hello?" he greeted awkwardly.
Giratina looked down at this little guy; it found this human quite cute.
Giratina considered the possibility of taking the human into its Distortion World to play, but soon, its attention was captured by the large pile of Pokéblocks that emitted a sweet fragrance.
Caleb was taken aback for a moment, then followed Giratina's line of sight.
Caleb: "..."
He realized that the other was probably feeling peckish. With this realization, he asked, "Do you want some?"
Giratina compared its own size to the size of the food pile. It couldn't grab them and didn't really want to lose face by lying on the ground and licking them up like a Stoutland might.
Xerneas said to Caleb: >..It wants to eat those berries..<
Caleb: "..."
He felt those Pokéblocks might not even be enough to fill the gaps between this big dragon's teeth.
But upon second thought, he realized that Giratina probably had never eaten Pokéblocks before.
Although Caleb didn't know why Giratina had appeared here, he still called Dragonite over, held the box containing the Pokéblocks, and rose into the air.
"Ah! Open wide!" Caleb said, just like he did when feeding Hydreigon.
Giratina gladly accepted this little guy's kindness and opened its terrifying mouth.
'What a terrifying sight...' Caleb mused.
...
Meanwhile, in the Distortion World, Arceus continued to silently observe the 'harmonious' scene...
'Human...'
Arceus's eyes flickered slightly, its thoughts a unknown.
...
"All gone." Caleb showed the empty box to Giratina.
Hearing this, Giratina seemed somewhat disappointed, but remained silent.
Then, it released a blast of wind from its mouth. The wind tore the void, forming a huge, dark entrance.
Caleb and his Pokémon stood to the side, silently watching this scene, seeing off this domineering creature as it left.
Giratina turned its head and flew in. The terrifying aura lingering in this space instantly dispersed.
The wild Pokémon breathed an almost imperceptible sigh of relief, but before they could fully relax, Giratina poked its head out of that black entrance again...
"Roar!" it shouted at Caleb.
Giratina was inviting him in for a visit...
'Inside should be the legendary Distortion World, right?'
For a guy who enjoyed seeking thrills, this was undoubtedly a great temptation.
He had never seen what the Distortion World looked like, and moreover, he was being invited to enter in such a peaceful manner...
Caleb had to admit, he was tempted.
"I'll just go in and take a look... it shouldn't be dangerous, right?" he murmured.
...
{T/N: Stones and Reviews, please. Read the rest of the chapters here:
[email protected]/MayaMatengele01}