Chapter 889: Aftermath of the Eighth Life (Part 1)
The First World.
League Calendar Year 260.
This ill-fated world had now entered League Calendar Year 260 for the third time.
Only.
Very, very few beings were aware of this fact.
Across this entire world, they did not even account for 1% of the population.
Orre region, Gateon Port.
This was the sole harbor in the entire Orre region.
It was modest in scale, yet meticulously maintained.
After all, as the primary arrival point that formed an outsider's first impression of the Orre region, the Orre League had invested considerable care into it.
Two figures draped in black hooded capes stepped off a passenger ferry.
Immediately afterward, they found themselves encircled by a ring of figures.
The shorter of the two turned to look at the companion beside him, seemingly waiting for instructions.
From his vantage point.
A few strands of crimson hair peeked out from beneath his companion's hood.
The taller figure lifted her hood slightly, casting a level gaze over the men barring their path: "Team Rocket, hm... Heh, how convenient. Cleaning up Team Cipher requires people with no qualms about doing dirty work."
The newcomer was none other than the sole human survivor of that dark epoch.
The former Champion of the Hoenn League, Chloe.
Beside Chloe stood another survivor—the woodcutter of the Kalos region, Greninja.
Following the departure of Kazuya and his company.
Among all non-Legendary Pokémon.
Greninja's combat prowess stood undisputed as No. 1 in this world.
Even factoring in the gods themselves, he comfortably secured a spot in the top ten.
"Who are you people?"
A Team Rocket grunt squad leader stepped forward to interrogate them.
Judging by this posture.
One might easily mistake Team Rocket for the official governing authority of the Orre region rather than the Orre League.
There was truly no helping it.
Confronted with a colossal syndicate like Team Rocket.
The diminutive Orre League was powerless against them.
Even the reigning Champion of the Orre League was merely a competitor whose true combat capability hovered around the semi-Champion tier.
Furthermore, that Champion was an alumnus who had returned from Blueberry Academy, rather than a homegrown talent nurtured within Orre itself.
Naturally.
The Orre League held zero intention of antagonizing Team Rocket right now.
Had they wished to do so, they would have sent distress calls to the Indigo Plateau League long ago.
Team Rocket's primary objective in coming to Orre was dismantling Team Cipher. Watching two rival syndicates tear each other apart—why would the Orre League ever intervene?
"Your young master, Silver, and I share a bond forged through life and death," Chloe remarked with an ambiguous smile, offering a statement half-true and half-fabricated.
The words were genuine.
Yet she did not refer to the Silver restored by the rewind of time.
Rather, the Silver who had perished within that erased, vanished future.
"This..."
The Team Rocket members flinched in unison, exchanging wary glances before stammering: "What proof do you have?"
"Proof is unnecessary. Haven't you been scouring the territory for Team Cipher? I know where their bases are. I will guide you straight to them. So long as you guarantee not a single rat slips through the net, I will disclose Silver's present whereabouts to you."
Chloe pursed her lips, a faint, cold amusement dancing across her face.
As the former Champion of the Hoenn League.
Mass slaughter was unseemly for her position.
Yet if Team Cipher were not eradicated down to the very last seed.
The burning hatred in her heart would never find peace, and that lingering dread would never subside.
Encountering Team Rocket was a stroke of fortune.
An underworld syndicate that had stood tall across Kanto and Johto for nearly a century harbored zero concepts of mercy when executing a cull.
Particularly against rival syndicates.
Team Rocket would never pull their punches.
They understood all too well that the Pokémon League was content to turn a blind eye to this conflict.
Even if they butchered every last operative of Team Cipher, no major repercussions would follow.
Could their reputation plummet any further than it already had?
Or would the League's hunting efforts intensify beyond current measures?
Therefore.
For Chloe.
Having Team Rocket cross her path rather than the compromised, Cipher-riddled Orre League.
Was the optimal outcome.
"...Deal."
Team Rocket had zero grounds for refusal.
This was a transaction of pure profit with zero downside.
Their fundamental purpose in venturing to Orre was the eradication of Team Cipher; Chloe volunteering precise intelligence was an absolute godsend.
Moreover.
They might secure actionable intel regarding Silver's whereabouts.
Should it prove authentic.
It would be credited as a monumental service to the organization.
In the blink of an eye.
A week slipped by.
Chloe and Greninja boarded their departure vessel from the Orre region.
They had thoroughly confirmed the destruction of every Team Cipher stronghold across Orre, purged all experimental archives, and even retrieved the Mew genetic samples and Celebi wing plundered by Cipher into Chloe's custody.
The moment Barret drew his final breath before Chloe.
Only then did they let out a genuine sigh of relief.
Following that.
Chloe and Greninja parted ways.
Both had their respective missions to attend to.
Greninja's path went without saying.
He had to coordinate with Zygarde to clean up the residual disasters left in the wake of Team Flare.
While Chloe...
Naturally, she was returning home to Sootopolis City.
Foregoing high-speed air travel.
She boarded a slow-moving passenger ferry instead.
Embarking upon the sea route bound for the Hoenn region.
The distance was by no means short.
The expanse separating the Hoenn region from the Orre region.
Was comparable to the distance between the Sinnoh region and the Kalos region.
Only one stretched east to west, while the other ran north to south.
Yet this slow pace suited Chloe's wishes.
After all.
She still carried her own solemn duty to fulfill.
Stepping onto the deck of the passenger ferry.
Chloe unfastened her traveling cloak, tossing it aside onto a bench.
The purpose of that garment had been concealing her identity as the former Hoenn Champion from Team Cipher's eyes.
With the crisis resolved.
There was no longer any need to drape herself in it.
Click, snap~
An antique Poké Ball resting at her waist popped open.
A verdant silhouette manifested beside Chloe.
It was a Meowscarada.
A male one.
Another living survivor hailing from that vanished epoch.
Time drifted quietly onward.
A passenger vessel built in League Calendar Year 260.
No matter how slow it traveled, still far outstripped the cruising speed of Samiya back in those desolate days.
To Chloe, the pace actually felt a bit too rapid.
By the second day.
They had already traversed half the voyage.
Arriving at the southern port city of the Kanto region, Fuchsia City.
Just as the ship set sail to resume the journey.
Suddenly.
Chloe, lounging in a quiet corner of the deck basking in the sunlight, perked her ears.
She registered approaching footsteps.
The razor-sharp vigilance forged during those dark, vanished centuries caused her nerves to pull taut in an instant.
Until a young girl's voice called out from the side: "Excuse me!"
Hearing the voice.
Chloe turned her head to look.
Standing there was a golden-haired young girl.
Had she borne a daughter of her own, at this juncture in League Calendar Year 260, the child would have been around this girl's age.
"What is it?" Chloe smiled softly.
"Are you the Champion of the Hoenn region, Lady Chloe?"
"..."
Chloe blinked in surprise, then shook her head with an easy laugh: "I have already resigned; another person holds the Hoenn Championship now. You haven't been reading the newspapers lately, have you?"
Regarding being recognized.
She found it hardly surprising.
Even though.
Her consciousness was over three centuries old.
In physical reality.
She was born after League Calendar Year 230.
By League Calendar Year 260, she was barely in her early twenties.
Looking almost identical to her current physical form.
Not long ago, she had simultaneously held the mantles of Hoenn League Champion, globally renowned Contest Master, Sootopolis Gym Leader, Mayor of Sootopolis City, Chieftain of the Sootopolis Clan, and Scion of the People of the Water.
If a global celebrity ranking existed.
Chloe would easily rank within the top three.
Being recognized on the road was standard fare; many had approached to offer greetings throughout her journey.
Had passenger ferries not fallen somewhat out of fashion as a primary mode of transit.
The deck around Chloe would likely have been packed to suffocation.
"Ah! Is that so?! I'm so sorry!"
The young girl bowed repeatedly in apology, her face flushing crimson.
Judging by her demeanor and age.
She appeared to be a rookie Trainer who had just left home to embark on her journey.
"Haha, there is no need to apologize for that. Did you need something from me? Are you here to issue a battle challenge?" Chloe asked with an amused chuckle.
Her face shone with fond nostalgia and quiet appreciation.
In the past, being relentlessly pursued by young Challengers felt like quite a chore.
Now, however...
The feeling was rather pleasant.
It served as a grounded reminder that she was truly, vibrantly alive.
"No, that's not it! My dream is to become a mythologist just like my grandmother, so I'm traveling to gather legendary folklore! As the former Champion of the Hoenn region, you must know so many of those tales, right?"
"Oh?"
Chloe raised an eyebrow.
A customer had arrived.
"Ah! Pardon me! I forgot to introduce myself! I am Vanilla from Celestic Town in the Sinnoh region, a rookie Trainer who set out on her journey this year."
Vanilla remembered her manners, bowing respectfully as she gently nudged forward the shy creature hiding behind her legs: "This is Treecko, my partner."
"Tree-cko..."
A timid Treecko poked its head out, then darted back behind the girl's calves.
Evidently a young female.
"You are... Cynthia's descendant?"
Chloe arched her brows, an intrigued glint passing through her eyes.
Ever since that grand apocalyptic confrontation.
Chloe had spent plenty of time scrutinizing matters concerning Cynthia.
More precisely...
Investigating Cynthia on behalf of her grandmother.
To see whether this dearest confidante of her grandmother had engaged in any clandestine secrets behind her grandmother's back with their beloved Pidgey.
The evidence proved...
There were clear footprints left behind!
Chloe had gathered countless scattered anecdotes from her grandparents and various elders.
Piecing those fragments together...
She had come to a startling realization.
Their Pidgey, back when he was still a Piplup-kun, was abducted and brought home every few days by Cynthia's mother, Xunlan.
Perhaps.
It was during that period.
That an underground connection had blossomed between Pidgey and Cynthia.
While Xunlan had merely served as a convenient screen.
This secret had remained buried deep within Chloe's heart, shared only as idle gossip with Meowscarada and Greninja on occasion.
Now...
She had crossed paths with another little figure to gossip with.
Cynthia's granddaughter, no less.
"Hehehe~"
A mischievous grin spread across Chloe's face as she pulled Vanilla down to sit beside her: "Well now, how fortunate. I was just passing the time feeling bored. Let me tell you an extraordinary legend."
A flicker of sorrow and reverence flashed deep within her eyes.
She lifted her gaze toward the golden sun suspended in the sky.
"Wait! May I record this?!"
Vanilla whipped out an audio recorder and a pocket notebook.
Clearly intending to deploy a dual-pronged approach.
Capturing audio while transcribing notes by hand.
A thoroughly diligent little chronicler indeed.
"Of course you may. And I hope you will share this legend with others down the road."
"..."
"After all..."
"Someone must remember this story, and the heroes who walked through it."
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