Chapter 148: The Splash Plate is Complete
Metagross and Ryan rushed to the Oceanic Museum, but it seemed the incident was already over. Ryan spotted Ash and his group. Lillie was also there, seemingly talking to them.
Ryan quickly had Metagross fly over and asked, "Lillie, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Lillie said. "It's just that Team Magma escaped, and they took most of the meteorite."
"Yeah, Team Magma is really despicable," Serena said bitterly.
"It's okay, there's still some meteorite left, so we can continue our research," Director Kusunoki said, picking up a small piece of meteorite from the ground.
"Did they only take that meteorite?" Ryan asked, frowning.
"There were also some very strange blue stone tablets, but we haven't discovered anything significant about them yet. Let them take those. It's not a big loss," said Director Kusunoki. "The most important thing is that meteorite. I hope Officer Jenny can recover it."
"Blue stone tablets?" Ryan muttered, glancing at Lillie beside him. Lillie shrugged, indicating that she hadn't seen anything either.
Ryan was just about to contact Courtney to see if the tablets were actually Splash Plate fragments, but then his phone buzzed with a message. Ryan opened it and saw it was from Courtney.
"Dear future boss, the blue tablets have been placed in your hotel room. It's my token of loyalty. As for why I know you need them, guess? Here's a hint: the Team Aqua you encountered last time."
Ryan smiled. This woman was clever and very good at reading situations, but he was also wary of her. A woman too smart might sell you out while making you thank her for it.
Officer Jenny was like a cop in a movie: once the incident was over, she appeared. After taking statements, she promised to help Director Kusunoki retrieve the meteorite. Of course, everyone should take that with a grain of salt. If Officer Jenny were this efficient, Team Magma and Team Aqua wouldn't be running around freely.
Ryan chatted with Ash and the others for a while, learning that they had also heard that the Champion would be participating in the Pokémon Contest and had decided to stay for a while to watch the Champion's performance. They were currently staying at the Pokémon Center. Ash suggested they battle when they had time, and Ryan wouldn't refuse. After all, Ash was quite skilled now, and battling was a good way to train.
However, the first priority was to get back to the hotel to verify the authenticity of the blue tablets. It would be terrible if they turned out to be fakes!
Separating from Ash and the others, Ryan prepared to return to the hotel. Lillie glanced at Ryan, then took the newly arrived Sapphire to explore the market in Slateport City. Seeing that Lillie was occupied, Ruby said goodbye to Ryan and went to train with Wallace.
Ryan hurried back to the presidential suite of the luxury hotel where they were staying. He and his friends had Platinum to thank for this room. The already bustling Contest season, coupled with Wallace's arrival, had pushed all the hotels to capacity.
Ryan and his friends were devastated to find themselves without a place to stay! Platinum then helped them out. The Berlitz family already had a hotel business, so finding a place for Ryan was no problem.
With Platinum's help, they checked into the presidential suite of the hotel.
When Ryan returned to his room, he found a stack of blue tablets prominently displayed in the lobby. He was alarmed: if the housekeeping staff discovered this, he'd be in big trouble.
He quickly walked over and picked up a tablet, only to discover it was covered in a thin film. He peeled it off, and the device in his backpack instantly reacted.
Ryan was overjoyed: These tablets were actually Splash Plate fragments!
He counted them—exactly 21. Adding the three pieces Ryan already had, a total of 24 plate fragments! Ryan stuffed the plate fragments into his backpack and hurried to the Pokémon Center. He would teleport Greninja and Charizard over to fuse the plate fragments back together into a complete plate!
After visiting the Pokémon Center and teleporting Greninja and Charizard, he returned to the hotel, locked all the doors, and contacted the system: "System, please help seal off the entire space. Are you sure the fusion into a complete plate won't cause too much commotion?"
"Ding. Host, rest assured, this system will contain the fluctuations," the system said confidently.
Ryan nodded and summoned Greninja. He then retrieved the three plate fragments, the Splash Plate pieces, and the 21 tablets from his backpack.
The fusion of the plates produces a strange resonance. It had occurred the previous time, but it was very faint. The second time, while also weak, was slightly stronger. Ryan was about to fuse all the fragments together, but there was a risk of a disturbance, so he decided to use the system as a safeguard.
Ryan and Greninja peeled off the film from the fragments one by one. Then, Ryan stacked all the fragments together in one go. With the system's help, the fragments gradually began to fuse together, and a blue energy swirled through the room. It wasn't violent, but it felt like being at sea, like floating peacefully in water, a comforting sensation.
It was the purest power of water, gentle and all-encompassing, yet it possessed a profound depth beneath its gentleness.
This unfathomable depth filled him with genuine awe. The system suppressed the blue energy, making no significant noise. Unbeknownst to Ryan and the others, a pure white being lifted its head in a mysterious space.
It was the plates' original owner—Arceus! Arceus was a white equine being, resembling both an alpaca and a unicorn. Its torso, mane, tail, and face were outlined by gray vertical stripes. Arceus's four pointed feet were tipped with golden hooves. Its mane rose high from its head, and its face was gray, with green eyes and red pupils, surrounded by green circular patterns.
Arceus smiled, then lay down, muttering to itself, "One plate has already been completed. Don't worry. Wait a little longer. Once all the plates are gathered, I can recover."
Ryan was completely unaware of this situation. He was staring in astonishment at the properties of the plate.
Splash Plate (Complete): The power of the Pokémon's Water-type moves is increased by 500%. This item contains the most fundamental water power in the world. Highly gifted Pokémon can comprehend this fundamental power and have a high probability of mastering their Origin. When all the plates are gathered by Arceus, creation and destruction are at its command.
Seeing this, Ryan couldn't help but shudder. Arceus truly was the Creator. Although it's often portrayed as vulnerable in the games, in reality, few would dare to challenge Arceus when it possesses all the plates.
"Ding. Complete the side quest—Find Arceus's Plate Fragments. Reward: One Origin Enlightenment, with a 10% chance of allowing a Pokémon to master its Origin."
Ryan smiled. What he'd been searching for had finally arrived!
(End of Chapter)
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