Master Craftsman of the Elven World

Chapter 236 The Inheritance of the Primordial Flame. Insect?
Painting is a very time-consuming activity, so President Shinnosuke didn't wait here for long. In any case, if everything goes smoothly, Hikari's works will soon be exhibited at the Feiyun Gallery, and he can see them to his heart's content.

This battle has yielded very useful combat data. As Hikari explains, more items will be rapidly digitized and updated in the software. Like Hikari, President Shinnosuke is full of high hopes for the future of Pokémon battles.

"The older I get, the more I realize how precious fighting is. It tells me that I am still alive in this world, that I am a living being."

"Battles are a way to understand a Pokémon's heart, and also a way for a Pokémon to understand its trainer. Some Pokémon crave battles and actively seek out humans, but there are also Pokémon that don't want to battle. Although I love battling, battling isn't everything in life."

"Ah, if only I could be thirty years younger. I'm a useless trainer, so I can only watch other trainers battle. Whenever I see them and their Pokémon working together, I feel the same way. This feeling, this emotion, is exactly what I started this business for. I want to experience more of this kind of feeling."

President Shinnosuke was unusually emotional. After saying goodbye to Hikari and Aya, he left with Ms. Keiko and his business secretary. He felt that there was still a lot of work to be done, and today's battle had unusually rekindled his passion!
Okay, after I finish work, I'll take some time to clean the Sky Arrow Bridge! Next time, I'll work with my tattered bag and Chinchilla to clean the whole bridge spotless!

“The old president used to be…” Yati started, and Guangtai thought he was going to say that President Shinnosuke used to be very strong.

As a result, Yati waved his hand and said, "No, the old president is really weak."

"He only has two Pokémon, Cinnabar and Squirrel. However, although they are weak, it is said that he used to be very enthusiastic about battling."

"Of all the outcomes of a battle, victory is the least important thing. The old president enjoys a different kind of experience?" Yati stroked his chin.

"Ah, I've got some inspiration again."

After everything was settled, only Nari remained in the gym, while Lightmoy began to work on her "artistic creation."

Ayti didn't just look; he wanted to make simple notes and sketches of the inspiration he had just gained. With his hand speed, drawing a draft quickly was a piece of cake. So, Nari and Ayti had a lot in common when it came to sketching, and they went to another studio.

Although this place looks like a botanical garden, in fact, in order to limit the usual gym challengers, many sticky, honey-like soft walls are left in the gym. This is an art creation based on the honeycomb. Because of this, the Flying Cloud Gym is also divided into many independent spaces!
Paints, brushes, drawing board, paper—all the necessary tools were prepared, and Guangtai's past memories gradually surfaced.

Burning bugs
Was he hatched by himself and the Pokémon in his dream, an ancient child?
It is young because it has just been revived in this era; it is old because it comes from the distant past, perhaps a time when the ancient city still retained its last glory.

Among Bug-type Pokémon, Flareon and Volcarona have an unusually long lifespan, living for hundreds of years and still being lively. They can be found in deserts, ancient cities, ruins, and even make their home in abandoned mines.

In the distant past, this Pokémon was known as the Sun Thief Larva and was worshipped as an incarnation of the sun.

Perhaps the ancient city had a long-standing custom of raising fireflies and worshipping them as guardian beasts of the nation.

"What have Pokémon given us? Did the Sun-Stealing Larva steal the heavenly fire, just like Prometheus?"

"Long ago, when Pokémon were called monsters, there was a barrier between humans and Pokémon."

"The first Pokémon to help the humans of Unova was the first Pokémon to bring fire to the world and bring light and warmth during an era of conflict and darkness."

"Burning Bugs"

As the Lightmoss murmured, the Tree of Connection seemed to remember something and sent a message to the Lightmoss.

[Note: According to legend—no, in a long time ago—the people and Pokémon of the Unova region gradually increased, centered around Ancient Castle.]

Ah, this is...

Lightmoss thought of the scene Riolu had seen before.

The blue dog told itself that it had once seen a magnificent city built first, with a grand castle standing in the center of a fertile plain. At first, there was only a huge city, but gradually, more cities, towns, forests where Pokémon lived, and rivers continued to extend around that city.

The people of the great ancient city planted forests and dug canals, thus creating forests and rivers.

[Note 2: This place was once a barren wasteland where nothing existed. People struggled and lived in poverty. One day, a Pokémon emerged from the wasteland carrying flames, and the dark world began to brighten.]

The Tree of Connection seemed to recall some ancient memories, silently watching Unova, its existence unknown.

It is only because of the loss of people's hearts, the disappearance of history, and its own weakness and withering that it is vague and unable to give useful advice on many things.

"Because of our close connection, have you also received a reward in return?"

"That's what Guangtai asked."

[Note 3: Maybe, thank you.]

"It's alright. Now, I'm going to draw it. I'll draw it according to the stories you remember. Let me see."

Hikari looked at Riolu, who was following behind her: "Could you show me the memories in the Aura Shield?"

"Huh? (The memories of the waveguide, the memories of the ancient city?)"

"Okay!"

Riolu placed one claw in front of its chest, gathering blue aura light.

The power of waveguides resides in my heart.

The ancient memories of the past are reproduced and connected to the waveguide. That unusual ancient waveguide guides me forward!

Now, Riolu knows that its waveguide is different from the past. This is a transformation brought about by the power of the light moss, and it seems that there are many things in the whole world calling to it. It feels as if the whole of Unova's nature is whispering in its ear and giving it gifts.

The hope of giving it some kind of mission and trial left the blue-haired puppy very confused, yet also very curious.

What will happen on the rest of the journey?

How exciting! What lies hidden in these underwater ruins? Just follow the trainer before you, and all the answers will be revealed!

Guangmo closed her eyes.

The etched memories resurface in my mind!
Is it a flame-bringing insect?
"Oh, you're done with your work." When Adi and Nari returned to the room where Lightmoth worked, they looked relaxed and happy. Nari had received some sketching guidance from Adi, while Adi had quickly sketched down all her inspirations and was in high spirits.

But when he saw the nearly completed new work by the light moss, Ati was completely speechless.

He remained in that head-touching posture, staring blankly at the "large-scale work" presented on the canvas before him.

"I'm wondering, which Pokémon first brought fire and light to Unova?" "Burstfly is the larva of Sunstealer, a messenger of the sun. Why do the people of Unova call it that?"

"When we talk about the sun, the impression it leaves is of intense burning, blazing light and heat. It makes the earth rich, all things grow, it gives sunlight, shines rain and dew, and makes the world burst with vitality."

"Therefore, what the burning insects stole may not have been the simple sun and imagery. What the people of the ancient city saw may have been the life and abundance that the burning insects brought to the earth in a distant era."

“Long ago, Pokémon were called monsters and were separated from humans.”

"In those dark times, people gathered in the barren wilderness, at a loss."

"At that moment, a white, cute Pokémon that breathed fire ran out of the sand. It brought warmth to humans, so that they would not freeze to death in the cold. It brought light, so that people could see the things in front of them and distinguish them."

"With fire and light, warmth naturally followed. So people lived together with the Burning Fly, transforming this barren land into a paradise. The soil began to become fertile, and new plants took root in this land. Rivers from afar began to flow through this land, and people and Pokémon built a huge city."

"That's the ancient city."

"Because of this past history, they developed a culture of sun worship and regarded the burning insect as a messenger of the sun god. When it transformed from a cocoon into a butterfly and became a real sun insect, people's worship of it reached its peak."

"The ancient city thus prospered, and with it as its center, the entire Union began to flourish."

Yati stared intently at the painting.

Before the temple of that magnificent city, the shadows of all the ancestors were deliberately elongated, overlapping with the shadows of the burning insects on the sundial to form a cluster of leaping flames.

It's like in
A flame flickered and danced in Yati's mind; it was a certain artistic conception.

It is what it wants to express, first the external, and then the internal.

"Humans and Pokémon share the same light?"

Within each layer of flames lay the silhouettes of humans and Pokémon. Ayti even suddenly wondered what if it resembled the ancient scene described by Lightmoss?
Ancient humans used its fire to smelt the first bronze, and the Burning Bug used human power to obtain food, or perhaps for some other reason. In any case, it came with good intentions and ignorance. Humans and Pokémon are like kindling that ignites each other!

So we... were already in the same flame all along?
Perhaps Pokémon don't necessarily need humans, but the humans of this world definitely need them.

"That's great! I understand everything now!"

Yati got excited!

"I understand what you're trying to say! At least I understand some of it!"

"Ah, this is the kind of spiritual impact art can have on people! History unfolds before my eyes, just like history itself! This is exactly what I want to see!"

"You mean to say that humans and Pokémon have a history of mutual support, that the flames of Pokémon warmed humanity, and that human civilization was able to be built! Their power is united as one, that's right, that's 'Unity of the Many'!"

"The first flame of the beginning! The primordial fire! This is it, that's right, this is what I've been struggling to grasp! The legends of the ancient city aren't very detailed, but at least there are clues to follow. However, they're too fragmented to connect the dots. Now everything is clear!"

"Sister Aloe did say that when she and Boss Chrysanthemum were conducting on-site archaeology, they discovered that the ancient city was older than any other ruins! That's right, because it was the first city on the land of the Union!"

"That's right. If it's just humans and Pokémon, then nothing can be done well. But if humans and Pokémon join forces, then there's nothing they can't do! You're refuting Team Plasma, that mysterious organization! That's fantastic! That's the most powerful artistic counterattack!"

“It should be hung in the most prominent place in the Flying Cloud Gallery,” Yati said, then suddenly froze.

Hey!

This painting was originally intended to be paired with his own work on Volcano, but now its artistry and philosophical depth have surpassed his own work. If they were to be paired, the artistic merit of both would be questionable.
To put it simply, laymen would probably think both works are amazing, while experts would just think they are just different styles. But Yati knew that his Volcarona work was just a simple "praise" of the Pokémon Volcarona!

It has no history, no philosophical speculation, just pure aesthetics, focusing solely on Pokémon and the concepts they represent!

This is undoubtedly an absolutely excellent work, otherwise it wouldn't make Yati so proud. However, if placed together with the work in front of us, there will be a strong sense of "mismatch". Whether you look at the Volcano Moth first or the Burning Insect first, there will be a sense of disconnect!

Simple aesthetics and works that imply historical metaphors cannot be put together!

This can easily create a sense of aesthetic confusion and ambiguity!

"This is really tricky! My style doesn't match this at all! But I can't paint another piece that matches it in a short time! Ah, is it that art is always flawed, and that only by always maintaining flaws and imperfections is the essence of art?"

"What a blunder! But also, what a blessing!"

What is it called?

At this moment, Adi's emotions were high, and his will vaguely sensed a new art world. Similarly, the Tree of Connection, which was connected to the Light Moss, also sensed Adi's heart.

[The Tree of Connection has sensed a new will and is slowly growing!]

[Reward: Yati's recognition!]

[Note: This is an endorsement from Artie, a genius artist and gym leader in Flying Cloud City. He sincerely believes that your work possesses unparalleled artistry and philosophical depth. After your work is exhibited at the Flying Cloud Gallery, it will, to some extent, change the hearts of the people of Unova and attract more people to view the paintings, allowing them to recall precious memories.]

Following the message about the Tree of Connection, the new information is:

[Gain: 100% increased fame, reputation, prestige, and attractiveness!]

[Description: After an exhibition, fame, reputation, and appeal may further increase. Continuing to exhibit may be necessary to acquire important and unique professional knowledge and artistic skills! Similarly, fashion art is also a form of artistic creation.]

Clothing? It's a good idea to practice before crafting the Arceus set.

The moss didn't hesitate much:
"Let's call it 'The First Flame.' The name you suggested is exactly what I had in mind!"

"Well then, I also have some unfinished new work that I would like to ask you to exhibit as well. These works will be completed soon, just give me a day."

Yati: "You have a new work?! Ah! That's wonderful!"

(End of this chapter)