The blood moon hung high in the sky.
The eerie atmosphere quickly made Caitlin feel a wave of unease.
"T-This place is way too terrifying!"
Caitlin's body began to tremble slightly. Seeing this, Aiden couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Seriously? You're scared of ghosts? How many ghosts can withstand your psychic powers?"
Although according to the current type matchups, Ghost types posed a significant threat to Psychic Pokémon, in the face of absolute strength, everything else seemed trivial.
Mischievous ghost Pokémon were usually not very strong, and Caitlin was basically a human-shaped Pokémon with psychic abilities powerful enough to easily overpower Aiden's main team.
And yet she was afraid of ghosts? Aiden couldn't understand it at all.
It should be the ghosts who were afraid of her!
"You don't understand anything, you idiot who doesn't know girls!"
After being teased by Aiden, Caitlin immediately flared up, her face turning red as she pointed at him.
With her movement, the fog that had gathered around them suddenly dissipated at an alarming speed.
Not only Aiden and Cynthia, but even Caitlin herself was momentarily stunned.
What did I just do?
She hadn't used any psychic powers, had she…?
The Timeless Woods, once shrouded in thick fog, now revealed its true form again. The quiet and ethereal feeling it exuded was even more chilling than before.
Thump, thump—
Just as Aiden involuntarily shivered, a series of heavy and slow footsteps echoed.
Like the steady beat of military drums, each dull sound reverberated through the ground, causing the earth to tremble slightly.
For some reason, Aiden suddenly felt this sensation was oddly familiar...
Isn't this just like Eevee's "King Engine"?
"Sylve~?"
Even Sylveon seemed to share the same thought, instinctively letting out a confused cry.
"It's definitely a powerful Pokémon."
Compared to the frightened Caitlin and the startled Aiden, Cynthia displayed the composure of a true powerhouse.
Her gaze fixed on the lake at the center of the Timeless Woods, and soon, a massive figure appeared there.
Roar—!
With a powerful roar, the true identity of Kitakami's other legend, "Bloodmoon," was revealed to the three of them.
Its robust limbs and body were covered in hardened peat-like mud, and scars of various sizes were visible all over its body. Its sharp claws gleamed under the crimson moonlight.
Its face was smeared with grayish mud, revealing only its fierce fangs and mismatched eyes.
The left eye was deeper than the right, with cracks around the socket indicating it had suffered trauma in the past, evolving into a color better suited for the night.
On top of its head was a red circle, which vaguely connected it to the blood moon in the sky.
"So 'Bloodmoon' is actually a bear?"
Cynthia quickly lowered her head in thought and voiced her opinion:
"It looks a bit like the Ursaluna that are almost extinct in the Sinnoh region now?"
Although not much of the legends from the Hisui region had survived, records of sightings of Pokémon like Ursaluna, Basculegion, and Sneasler still existed.
After all, only about 150 years had passed since the timeline of Legends: Arceus.
Without human intervention, it was almost impossible for Pokémon to go extinct naturally in such a short time.
"It must be a special individual."
Aiden nodded and shook the somewhat heavy Sylveon in his arms.
"Now's your chance to shine."
"Sylve..."
Sylveon immediately looked terrified.
That thing... it's so scary...
If it catches me secretly drawing it, will it beat me up?
"..."
Unlike the excited or calm expressions of the other two, Caitlin had only one thought in her mind—
This thing is so ugly...
The "legendary" filter was instantly shattered, extinguishing Caitlin's hope of encountering her destined cute Pokémon, like Aiden had the day before.
This ugly bear is a no-go!
If Aiden knew what Caitlin was thinking, he might have sneered:
You don't understand—this is the beauty of stats!
"Roar..."
Meanwhile, the Ursaluna that claimed the entire Timeless Woods as its territory soon noticed the three of them.
However...
Upon sensing their unusual auras, Ursaluna decisively chose to pretend it hadn't seen them, lying down by the lake to drink water as usual.
It wasn't afraid of these mere humans—it was just really thirsty.
Given the situation, drinking water took priority.
Seeing this, Aiden also let out a sigh of relief.
Bear-like Pokémon might look fierce, but they were actually quite intelligent.
Like the Ursaring on Mt. Silver, aside from their biological instinct to protect their young, they wouldn't attack powerful trainers unless provoked.
This Ursaluna, Bloodmoon, was clearly battle-hardened and had a keen sense of combat power.
Thus, upon realizing that none of the three humans were ordinary, it wisely chose to play dumb and pretend it hadn't noticed them.
We're so impressive!
"Sylveon, now's the time!"
Aiden whispered, pulling out a piece of system-provided telekinetic sketch paper and placing it in front of Sylveon.
"Sylve!"
Sylveon suddenly remembered its "mentor," Master Smeargle.
Indeed, field trips could inspire creativity. Once back, it would bring this painting to the art gallery!
It hadn't finished painting the dragon it saw in Paldea, so it would let the master admire the "Bloodmoon" legend of Kitakami first!
"..."
Noticing Aiden's blatantly sneaky behavior, Caitlin was momentarily speechless.
Are you saying that you came all this way just to help Sylveon sketch "Bloodmoon"?
Wait... isn't that kind of romantic?
"Isn't that nice?"
As if reading her thoughts, Cynthia smiled and said:
"Aren't trainers who enjoy doing interesting things with their Pokémon exactly the kind of excellent trainers we should admire?"
You spoil him...
Caitlin silently rolled her eyes but didn't voice her thoughts.
If she said it out loud, it would feel like envy, jealousy, and resentment.
So what if he gets Cynthia's favor!
I'm... not jealous at all...
Not even she believed her own thoughts, so Caitlin could only turn away in frustration.
Sylveon focused on the Ursaluna, Bloodmoon, while Aiden and the others watched its artwork unfold.
"Sylve..."
While observing, Sylveon quickly sketched the outline of the large creature, followed by its body, limbs, and head.
"Not bad."
Caitlin nodded.
Though she didn't know how it managed to draw without touching the paper in Aiden's hand, the artwork appeared on its own.
But thinking about it, it was probably a special tool Aiden prepared for Sylveon, perhaps custom-made by an item craftsman?
Turns out he's quite attentive to his Pokémon.
Though his strength was just that of an ordinary Gym Leader, at least he treated his Pokémon well. Just that alone guaranteed his future potential wouldn't be weak.
Caitlin couldn't help but glance at Aiden, raising her opinion of him slightly.
But soon, Sylveon paused its drawing in confusion.
"Sylve..."
It felt that depicting the giant calmly drinking water lacked a certain intensity...
It needed to add some wilder actions.
But what moves did it use? It couldn't just guess, could it?
Perhaps by coincidence, or maybe because Sylveon's luck under the moonlight was maxed out, an Ariados wandered into Bloodmoon's territory.
"Roar—!"
Bloodmoon immediately sprang into action. The red circle on its head flashed with a terrifying red glow, blending with the crimson moonlight surrounding it.
Aiden's eyes widened instantly.
Unlike other Ursaluna, which primarily relied on close-range brute force, Bloodmoon's combat IQ had been honed through countless battles. It no longer fought solely with its body.
Moreover, changes to the organ on its head related to the moon allowed it to harness lunar energy for sustained attacks.
Yes, it was Blood Moon!
The red moon in the sky grew even redder, and soon the moonlight poured down like liquid, its potent energy absorbed continuously by the organ atop Bloodmoon's head.
Once it reached its peak, it exploded outward!
The terrifying red energy materialized, striking the intruding Ariados and violently blasting it unconscious.
"Sylveee!"
Finally witnessing the giant's move, Sylveon was struck with inspiration and quickly sketched the scene onto the paper in Aiden's hands.
"What a terrifying move..."
Even Cynthia couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.
This legendary existence of Kitakami was indeed not to be underestimated—it was nearly on par with a champion-level Pokémon.
No wonder, after all these years, no one had been able to capture it.
Unless a trainer of Cynthia's caliber came along, it would be difficult to defeat it, let alone capture it.
However...
Cynthia's gaze shifted to Aiden.
It seemed Aiden had no intention of capturing it. Was he simply here to help Sylveon leave behind a memory of Kitakami?
...
About half an hour later, the bloated Bloodmoon finally noticed that the four piercing gazes behind it had disappeared.
"Roar..."
It seemed they meant no harm, so...
I'll let you off this time!
Bloodmoon quickly went to where the three humans had hidden earlier, only to find the spot empty.
N-No, wait—they seemed to have left something behind.
Even though its left eye had adapted to the dark, the hereditary nearsightedness of bear Pokémon made it hard to see what was on the ground.
Carefully picking it up, Bloodmoon froze.
A painting?
The content... was it a depiction of itself using the Blood Moon move?
Bloodmoon had expected people to come to challenge it or attempt to capture it—after all, it was considered one of the strongest in Kitakami.
But coming to the dangerous Timeless Woods just to paint? In its century-long memory, it had never encountered such a thing...
No wonder they hadn't disturbed it, merely observed from afar before leaving on their own.
They had good boundaries...
A faint smile appeared on Bloodmoon's otherwise cold face. Holding the humans' gift between its large paws, it returned to its cave.
Though it didn't remember their faces, it accepted this friendly gesture!
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