Chapter 105: A Third Life - Blessing and Curse
The Hoenn Continent.
This is a region known for its "rich encounters."
Unlike the Kanto and Johto regions, which are dominated by forests, plains, and mountains, the terrain of the Hoenn continent is incredibly diverse, featuring everything from tropical rainforests to deserts. However, its most striking feature is its vast expanse of water, an area nearly equal in size to the mainland itself, which stands in stark contrast to other regions.
The continent is surrounded by numerous large and small islands, accessible only by sea. And because of its warm, subtropical environment, many people come to Hoenn's beaches for vacation during the hot summer months, while others come here to escape the winter.
On an isolated island in the easternmost part of the continent is a city called Ever Grande. Ever Grande City was established a very, very long time ago, dating back more than a thousand years, but it only began to be developed in earnest about six hundred years ago. At that time, the ruler of the Hoenn continent was the "Devon Empire." They explored the seas to the northeast, discovered the Johto region, and the Dragonite Kingdom, which was at war with the Sinnoh continent. To facilitate the war, they began to heavily develop Ever Grande City.
Today, the city is famous for its abundance of flowers and its international port, and it has earned the beautiful reputation of a "Pokémon Paradise." From Ever Grande City, one can travel to any region in the world. The Pokémon League is located on the same island, just in the northernmost part.
Ever Grande City is surrounded by a large forest, which was also named after it. Recently, some rumors about the Ever Grande Forest have been circulating in the city. A trainer who had come to the city claimed to have seen a green, onion-like Pokémon appear out of thin air holding an egg, which it then left in the forest before disappearing just as suddenly.
Based on the trainer's description, some Pokémon Professors speculated that the Pokémon may have been the legendary Celebi, which is revered as the "Guardian of the Forest."
There are still many, many Pokémon in this world that have not yet been discovered by humans, especially in the seemingly endless oceans. Some Pokémon seem to be born with powers that are difficult for ordinary people to imagine and for other Pokémon to achieve. These types of Pokémon are not only extremely rare, but an ordinary person might go their whole life without ever seeing one.
And "Celebi" is just such a legendary Pokémon. According to historical records, traces of Celebi have appeared for over a thousand years, but it almost always disappears the moment it is discovered by humans. There are many different theories about its abilities, but one thing is certain: Celebi absolutely loves forests. Any forest that Celebi has appeared in will later grow to be beautiful and lush.
With the professors' speculation, Ever Grande Forest became a lively place. Everyone was searching for the egg left by Celebi, curious if it might be another Celebi.
At the top of the giant tree in the very center of the forest, a cute little onion-head held a small green egg, looking at it again and again, its eyes full of affection. This was an egg she had picked up from another era, an era so long ago that even Celebi didn't know how far back it was.
At that time, she had just traveled through time and had suddenly sensed a mysterious energy. She had followed the aura and discovered this green egg. Celebi still remembered that energy. It was still weak now, but given time, it would accumulate to a level sufficient to transcend time and space, becoming even more powerful than her!
But the era the egg was in was full of danger. The whole world was at war, and even many of the "gods" were involved. To ensure the little one in this egg could grow up safely, Celebi had brought it to this relatively peaceful and quiet era. For at least the next twenty or thirty years, nothing major should happen in this world.
"Bi~"
Smooch.
Celebi held the egg and gave it a gentle kiss. A glowing green energy flowed from her into the egg. Then, she held the egg in her lap, rubbed her hands together, and a verdant green seed appeared in her palm. She kissed the seed, and a mysterious blue-green ripple spread across its surface.
"Sigh~ so tiring. Do you think that person was lying to us?"
"I don't think so. There's no reason to lie. Don't think so badly of people."
Suddenly, human voices came from below the giant tree. Celebi shivered and immediately dove into a light blue vortex. She had traveled through time for countless years and knew very well what a terrifying creature a human could be. Forget the countless wars they had started in the past; even in the future, many villains would repeatedly cause trouble and harm the innocent. This era was still relatively good. The great people who had forged this peace had not yet passed away, and the villains who would cause trouble in the future had not yet been born.
Celebi left. As long as she was here, the baby in this egg would never be able to live a peaceful life. She didn't want this child to be noticed because of her. So, she had to leave this place, and even this era. But before she left, she didn't forget to infuse the seed in her hand into the green egg, offering her own blessing.
...
The two people below looked around and then left. They had no intention of climbing the tree; it was over a hundred meters tall. Without a Flying-type Pokémon, they couldn't possibly get up there.
A warm breeze blew through the forest. It was currently spring, the season when all things are reborn. The flowers, grass, and trees of Ever Grande Forest swayed lightly in the warm wind, as if the entire forest was happy. They seemed to be welcoming... the arrival of the Child of the Forest.
If in the next life, you cannot see your family and friends again... then, is reincarnation with your memories a blessing, or a curse?
Will felt that he had been asleep for a long time this time. A very long time. The moment between his first death and second life had felt instantaneous. But the time between his second death and this third life felt like it had been thousands of years. Of course... it was probably just because he hadn't wanted to open his eyes. Perhaps he would have preferred to just die, to at least not be trapped in the maze of his memories for an entire lifetime.
"Grovyle..."
Opening his eyes again, Will lay quietly on the spot. He forced himself to get up and looked around.
"First, I need to figure out what era this is. Maybe... I can even see Liz and the others again," he thought, feeling a little more spirited.
He quickly confirmed that he was in a large forest, probably in the center of it, and that he was on a tree of unknown height. It was definitely a fatal drop.
"How am I supposed to get down?" Will walked to the edge and looked down, feeling a wave of dizziness. But at that moment, he felt a strange sensation on the soles of his feet. He looked down and immediately confirmed what kind of Pokémon he was.
A Treecko.
"Personal status."
"Wait, aren't there a few too many things wrong with this status screen?" Will glanced at the panel, and his expression immediately turned strange.
He knew a lot about Treecko. After all, just before he had transmigrated, he had been watching its final evolution, Sceptile, fight a Darkrai. And as the Grass-type starter of the Hoenn region and Ash's ace, Sceptile had always been extremely popular among anime fans.
But his potential was "Purple"? A Treecko's base stat total was clearly only 310, which should be "Blue" tier. "Purple" was for 400+. If a first-stage Treecko had a BST of 400+, he couldn't even imagine what a Sceptile's would be.
Was my deduction wrong? Will frowned, doubting himself. But as he continued to read, he began to guess what had happened.
First, in the "Held Item" section, not only had his three items from his past life been carried over, but for some reason, a "Miracle Seed" had been added. The Miracle Seed could increase the power of Grass-type moves by 20%, which was perfect for a pure Grass-type like Treecko. But the problem was the "(Time Ripple)" suffix.
This "Time Ripple" had appeared in the Pokémon movie Zoroark: Master of Illusions. The main villain, Grings Kodai, had obtained this power. The Time Ripple was the power of Celebi. Originally, it was a power source that Celebi created to store energy for itself. But in other creatures, it could manifest as the ability to see the future or the past.
"So... a Celebi was taking care of me before? Then this 'Recover' move must have been taught by it too?"
That was the only explanation. A Celebi must have been taking care of him before he was born and had given him something like a "Blessing of the Forest" or a "Gift of Celebi." The specific manifestations were that his base stats had been raised, he had obtained a Miracle Seed with the Time Ripple, and the move Recover.
In a Treecko's normal move list, there was no such move as Recover. To think he had been forcibly taught it by a Celebi. This was very good news. The Sceptile line could neither learn Synthesis nor Recover naturally. At most, they could inherit Synthesis from their parents. If they didn't, they would never learn it. Their endurance in battle would be inferior to other Grass-type starters. Now, with Recover, his survivability would be greatly increased.
"If only I had this move in my past life."
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter