Mew shook its head.
[I have no idea what that little blue mushroom-head was thinking. It watched you for quite a while, though.]
Chen Shi fell silent.
Logically speaking, Azelf shouldn't have had any reason to avoid meeting him.
After all, he was surrounded by so many Mythical Pokémon. He was also the Rainbow Hero chosen by Ho-Oh.
If he were Azelf, and a human that extraordinary suddenly appeared, how could he not be curious?
Yet Azelf had done the exact opposite.
It had chosen to watch him from the shadows instead of revealing itself.
That was... strange.
Instinctively, Chen Shi felt there was something far more complicated behind this.
After thinking for a moment, he looked at Mew.
"Could you do me a favor?"
"Go ask Azelf why it doesn't want to meet me."
Mew casually waved a paw.
[If it doesn't want to meet you, then forget it. Why force the issue?]
In Mew's eyes, Chen Shi was already the guardian chosen by the World Tree, Ho-Oh's Rainbow Hero, and the Trainer of little Rayquaza.
Status-wise, he was no less significant than that little blue mushroom-head.
If Azelf didn't want to meet him, then so be it.
Why insist?
But Chen Shi saw things differently.
He had never met Azelf before.
There was no grudge between them.
Given everything surrounding him—and considering that Mew seemed to be on fairly good terms with Azelf—there was no logical reason for Azelf to refuse to meet him.
Yet it had refused anyway.
He wanted to know why.
"Please," Chen Shi said again.
"Just consider it a favor."
Mew paused.
When it turned around, it met Chen Shi's unusually serious gaze.
After thinking for a few seconds, it finally nodded.
[Fine, fine. Since you're asking so seriously, I'll go find that little blue mushroom-head again.]
With that, Mew vanished in a flash of Teleport.
Cynthia stepped forward, her voice filled with quiet amazement.
"I never imagined the legends of Sinnoh were actually true."
"So Azelf really does live in Lake Verity."
Chen Shi smiled.
"That's not surprising."
"A lot of this world's legends aren't baseless myths."
"If Sinnoh has passed down stories about Azelf living here, then someone must have seen it long ago."
"It's just that so much time has passed, and Azelf rarely shows itself anymore."
"So eventually, it became nothing more than a legend."
"It's much the same as the stories of Hoenn's weather trio or Kalos's legendary trio."
Cynthia nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense."
Then another question occurred to her.
"If Azelf lives in Lake Verity..."
"What about Lake Valor and Lake Acuity?"
"There are three great lakes in Sinnoh."
"If Azelf is here..."
"Could Mesprit and Uxie be living in the other two?"
Chen Shi chuckled.
"I honestly don't know."
"Maybe they are."
"Maybe they aren't."
"Who can say for sure?"
Even so, deep down, he felt the odds were fairly high that all three Lake Guardians each resided within their respective lakes.
No one had simply managed to see them.
While they were talking, Mew suddenly reappeared.
The moment Chen Shi noticed that Mew had returned alone, he already knew the answer.
[Kid... that little blue mushroom-head absolutely refuses to meet you.]
Just as expected, Mew's annoyed voice echoed inside his mind.
Although disappointed, Chen Shi remained calm.
"Did you at least ask why?"
Mew snorted.
[I don't know. It refused to explain.]
[It only kept saying that it can't meet you.]
"Can't..."
Chen Shi immediately caught the key word.
Azelf hadn't said it didn't want to meet him.
It had said it couldn't.
Just a single word apart—
Yet the meanings were completely different.
If it simply didn't want to meet him, then perhaps Azelf disliked him or just wasn't interested.
But can't...
That implied Azelf actually wanted to meet him.
Something was preventing it from doing so.
Chen Shi stroked his chin thoughtfully.
He searched through every possibility he could think of.
Unfortunately, there simply weren't enough clues.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out why Azelf was unable to meet him.
"So what now?" Cynthia asked.
"Are we staying here?"
"No."
Chen Shi raised his head, determination shining in his eyes.
"We're going straight to Lake Valor."
"Or Lake Acuity."
"..."
This time, Chen Shi didn't have Dragapult carry them.
Instead, Mew teleported everyone directly to Lake Valor.
The moment they arrived, Chen Shi had no interest in admiring the scenery.
He immediately asked Mew to look for Mesprit.
For Mew, it was a trivial task.
It had already sensed Mesprit's aura the instant they arrived.
Without another word, Mew teleported away.
Chen Shi and Cynthia simply waited where they were.
About fifteen minutes later, Mew returned.
[Kid... something feels off.]
[That little red mushroom-head won't meet you either.]
"The reason was the same?"
"'It can't meet me?'"
There wasn't the slightest surprise in Chen Shi's voice.
Mew simply nodded.
Chen Shi gave a small nod in return.
"I understand."
Without wasting another moment, the group hurried toward Lake Acuity.
Thanks to Mew's long-range Teleport, they arrived in no time.
This was the home of Uxie, the Being of Knowledge.
Chen Shi wanted to see whether Uxie also couldn't meet him.
This time, Mew didn't even wait for him to ask.
It teleported away on its own to find Uxie.
Not long afterward, Mew returned.
It landed on Chen Shi's shoulder and looked at him with an odd expression.
"So?"
"Uxie isn't coming either?"
Chen Shi asked calmly.
[Yeah.]
[Tell me honestly...]
[Did you somehow offend those three mushroom-heads?]
Chen Shi couldn't help laughing.
"I'd never even met them before today."
"How could I possibly have offended them?"
[That's exactly what's strange.]
[Not a single one of those three wants to meet you.]
Mew settled comfortably onto his shoulder, still sounding puzzled.
Chen Shi simply shook his head.
He wasn't obsessed with meeting the Lake Guardians themselves.
What truly bothered him was their identical reaction.
All three Mythical Pokémon had behaved exactly the same way.
That alone convinced him there was a reason—
One he simply didn't know yet.
Just then, Cynthia spoke.
"If that's the case..."
"There's no point wasting any more time here."
She looked toward him.
"Why don't we head for the Spear Pillar?"
At the mention of the Spear Pillar, Chen Shi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then he nodded.
"Alright."
"Let's go to the Spear Pillar."
...
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