Master Craftsman of the Elven World

Chapter 296 Quixote: There's a mole inside! Stop the deal!

As Guangtai was about to leave, several prying eyes suddenly appeared in the surrounding shadows, and two people emerged from the alleys and corners of Fukiyoshi.

“You are Yogs and Asura.”

Wanlong: "Who are they?"

Lightmoss: "An old man who calls himself a sage and is a cadre of the Plasma Group. He seems to be a wise man that his leader, Quigish, has gathered from all over the world."

The two old men who surrounded the place with members of the Plasma Group were the two sages that Lightmoss had defeated before, and the expressions of these two sages were very strange.

Asura: "The one chosen by the king, you have finally arrived in Fukichi City."

Joggs: "I have a question. What did you do to me before? Why did I lose my memory?"

"It wasn't me who made you lose your memory, but the spiritual entities in the ancient city. You were possessed by the spirits of the ancients, that's all."

Lightmoss soothed the restless budding deer beside her: "Are you going to fight me here?"

Asura squinted, or rather, his eyes were those strangely squinty eyes. However, the old sage was not subject to the rule that "squinty-eyed people are all monsters," and in terms of strength, he was not particularly strong.

"This was originally the mission."

"But, for some reason, after seeing you, that desire to fight subsided."

"Don't worry, the Plasma Team members here are the ones you defeated in the Ancient City. They are not with Ghetsis and his group."

Joggs looked very unwilling, his old beard trembling: "Why am I here? There was supposed to be a test and a mission to obstruct, but I couldn't do anything about it."

"When listening to Quixote and Vio's speeches, I felt an unusual sense of anger and confusion. Why was that?"

"Only you can give us the answer; we are lost now."

Asura nodded slightly: "After fighting you in the Ruins of Dreams, I also felt confused. Was our liberation really the right thing to do? I used to firmly believe it, but now I feel that it is not so."

“When cracks appear in people’s hearts, the power they originally possessed cannot be exerted. I never doubted the greatness and beauty of the new world. It must be an era in which people and Pokémon can live in close harmony and do not need to use Poké Balls.”

"However, I wavered after the defeat in battle. Theoretically, I should have been more determined and used stronger power to suppress you when we met again."

"We came here because we were confused."

Asura was genuinely puzzled, and in order to resolve this doubt, he did not report all the information about the Dream Ruins.

Only a portion of it was reported.

This act of deception could be considered a betrayal, but Asura felt no unease, only pleasure.

Was he born a dark and treacherous person who enjoyed betraying others? This thought puzzled Asura.

"Have your fanatical thoughts faded? You start to reflect after being defeated. This really fits your character." Lightmoy remarked, knowing that the power of the blue crystal might also be a factor.

However, after the destruction of the Plasma Group, the Seven Sages automatically calmed down. Apart from Vio, who had his hair parted in the middle and continued to follow Ghetsis, the other sages basically withdrew.

“You could think of it that way,” Asura sighed. “So what exactly are we missing?”

“I think it must be sincerity,” Guangtai replied. “You all seem to enjoy quoting scriptures, but do you act based on the scriptures or on your own true feelings?”

“Drawing upon classical texts and classics, the greatest truths are the simplest.”

Asura and Yogs exchanged a glance and began to ponder how they had once fervently believed in the future promised to them by Quetzalcoatl and were willing to fight for it.

But now that I think about it, was it because they believed Quixote's promise, or because they followed their own hearts to do such a thing?

"Not everyone can understand the heart of a Pokémon; we don't have that ability! Only the King has that power, but..."

Joggs looked conflicted: "Are you saying we lack the ability to understand people's hearts?"

“That’s right.” Guangtai nodded.

This brief answer caused the two sages to waver once more. They looked at each other in bewilderment, while the voice of the moss seemed like a seductive whisper:
"For example, can you understand each other's hearts? Are your ideals truly aligned?"

Asura: "I'm not sure about that."

Joggs: "Yes. Human hearts are fickle, and we were wary of each other before we met."

"So, do you want to get to know each other?"

Lightmoss extended her hand to the two sages: "Shake hands with me, and we can understand each other."

"?"

The two sages were puzzled, but they were not worried that Guangtai would cause trouble. The main reason was that the young man in front of them was really special, which was the unanimous conclusion of the two elders.

And so, two rough hands grasped the moss.

In an instant, complex and diverse minds began to merge, exchanging thoughts as if electrocuted!

Both Joggs and Asura showed expressions of shock. Asura's squinty eyes even opened as a result, it was simply a medical miracle!

"Oh, Joggs! So that's what you were thinking."

"Asura, I have never understood you so clearly before!"

For a moment, the place was filled with a wonderful atmosphere.

Joggs pressed Lightmoss incredulously, "How did you do that? What kind of power is this? Is this a superpower?"

Lightmoss smiled and said, "That's right, it's a kind of superpower of connection, but this power originally existed beneath your feet, right here on the land of Unova."

"The meaning of unity is connection, between worlds and between lives, to understand each other, communicate with each other, and grow together."

"I have connected your souls, so you can feel each other's true thoughts. This power can also be applied to humans and Pokémon."

"Would you like to talk to your Pokémon?"

"This power is..." Asura was deeply shaken.

This is the power of N!

It can read the minds of Pokémon. No! It's an ability even more powerful than that!
"Legend has it that long ago..."

Guangtai's words captivated the two sages, and Wanlong behind them also listened intently.

"The king of the underwater ruins possesses this power, allowing humans and Pokémon to communicate without barriers. All life can converse and understand each other on an equal footing. That is the power that created Unova." "Oh, oh, oh, there's such a story!" Asura exclaimed in amazement, while looking at Yoggs.

They truly understood each other!

Asura: "I see. You're the kind of person who's fascinated by tracing historical traces, and so am I!"

Jogs: "Your hometown is in the Parthian region, right?"

Asura: "Hey! Don't even understand other people's hometowns! I deliberately didn't look at your hometown. By the way, Parthia is actually..."

Joggs: "No, it should be that you spent a long time in the Parthian region."

Asura: "I told you not to try to understand this stuff anymore. I'm going to start looking at your hometown now."

The two elderly people laughed at each other with childlike innocence. They released their hands from Guangtai's grasp, and their expressions towards Guangtai were full of respect and amazement.

"This extraordinary power is like that of a guide in a story or game, or a wise sage!"

"Can you also make Pokémon understand each other like we do? Actually, I've also read the hearts of Pokémon through N-sama's power, which made me feel that my relationship with my own Pokémon has taken a step further."

Asura released its Coffin, and the Pokémon, remembering the Glow Moss, immediately became somewhat nervous.

They were enemies not long ago!
"Coffin of Death, relax, this time we're friends."

Guangtai placed his hand on the head of the Death Coffin, and a strange power spread out, making the Death Coffin feel very comfortable.

That's the power of memory!

"The first encounter between Coffin and Asura was in... the Tomb of Padia. At that time, it was still Cry Mask. Asura used a Poké Ball on it, and then you started traveling together."

“That’s really strange. Weeping masks shouldn’t exist in the Parthian region.”

"It reads the Pokémon's memories!" Asura was very surprised, her breathing slightly rapid, and then she explained, "When I was young, there were some ancient tombs scattered throughout Padia, which contained items that seemed to have been tributes from other regions."

"It is said that in ancient times, the kings of Parthia were very fond of collecting rare and exotic items from other regions."

While Guangtai was slightly surprised that Asura had once been active in the Padiya region, it made perfect sense considering the name.

Asura, whose name comes from the Spanish word for blue, and the prototype of Padia is Spain.

Similarly, the other sages, such as Jogos, whose name comes from the Japanese word for green, may have been from regions like Hoenn or Johto.

Vio, with his center-parted hair, is associated with the French word for purple, perhaps indicating he comes from the Carlos region.

"The Crying Mask and Asura went to the Friendship Shop together and bought Healing Medicine."

"You were fishing together, but the Pokémon that took the bait escaped!"

"You comforted each other, and the second fishing attempt was successful. You fought against the wild Milion, but during the battle, a Roaring Beast appeared, and you were defeated."

"Although I lost the battle, I was happy and not frustrated because I was with my friends."

"Both <The Crying Mask> and <Asura> were startled by <Wild Jellyfish> that suddenly jumped out of the grass! Its two legs slapped and it ran so fast, it was really funny!"

"Crymask and Asura went to the Pokémon Center near Lake Dagana and Crymask recovered from its fatigue. Crymask is very happy. Where will it travel next and what will it do next?"

"I'm very happy whenever I'm with Asura, and everything we do is fun."

As the light moss's voice rang out, Asura stared blankly at his Pokémon, nostalgia welling up in his eyes as scenes from decades ago gradually surfaced in his mind.

The eyes of the Death Coffin were closed, and in the whispers of the Lightmoss, it seemed to have returned to the time decades ago when it met its trainer.

It was Asura who brought me out of the dark and sunless tomb, and then we went on many adventures together, traveling to many places. As we grew older, Asura developed lofty ambitions and began to study hard. I accompanied it all the way, and we went to various places full of historical traces to explore and investigate. It was a very happy time.

The light moss allowed Asura and the Coffin of Death to hold hands, and then, the feeling of gratitude was transmitted to Asura's heart without any hindrance!
This is not an ordinary reading, but a connection and transmission of emotions and will!
“Death Coffin. I recall that long ago, whether I was studying, traveling, injured, confused, or sad. No matter what, you have always been by my side.”

"Hiss~"

Jogl was deeply moved by what he saw!
"It can access Pokémon's distant memories, just like Mr. N's power. No, it can access memories in even greater detail than that power!"

“This is the power of memory,” Lightmoss explained.

"There are people in some places who possess this power, and I am no exception. In Kalos and Hoenn, there should be people called Memory Girls. They can read the ancient memories of Pokémon just like I can. Although they can't unleash any power in Pokémon, I think that for trainers and Pokémon, there is nothing more precious than the time spent together."

"The time we spent together, yeah." Joggs looked at the Poké Ball in his hand, snapped it open, and what appeared before Lightmoss was a Centipede King.

The centipede king twitched its antennae, looking somewhat confused at Asura and the Coffin of Death embracing and weeping on the other side.

"I've known the Centipede King for a long time, but I can't even remember some of the distant memories."

Guangtai also placed her palm on the centipede king's body. The latter was initially wary, but when it touched the sunlight in Guangtai's palm, its hostility immediately disappeared.

Warm sunshine?
The centipede king's eyelids drooped.

Soon, Joggs also experienced the centipede king's emotions.

Although not as long ago as Asura, Yoggs also encountered Scragglyptus during his travels in Kalos. At that time, the creature was just a centipede that only knew how to rummage through trash cans. It was being chased and beaten by people and attacked by bird Pokémon. Yoggs saved it.

And that's how friendship was formed.

“I… I…” Joggs recalled the almost forgotten past, looking at the Centipede King’s resting face, but deep in his eyes was a reflection of its weak childhood.

"So much time has passed! Time is so cruel! I remember now, it was because I saw the situation with the centipede that I felt some people needed to be corrected!"

“When it got separated from its companion, I said to it, ‘Since that’s the case, I will be its companion from now on.’”

"At first, it was very aggressive and often poisoned me. I traveled with it like that. Although it would often disobey my commands and fight with bird Pokémon or centipedes, getting covered in injuries, it would occasionally lean on me to sleep. At those times, I felt very content."

The centipede king opened its eyes, blinked incredulously, stared at the moss, and at the same time felt the power of the "insect friend" on the moss.

It seems that the human in front of me is not only a human, but also a peculiarly shaped insect?
This sense of friendliness puzzled the centipede king, but what attracted its attention even more was that it felt as if its mind had become one with Yogus's.

It felt like going back decades.

Jogl sighed, yet rejoiced!

"Thank you, your strength is truly amazing! I've regained the feeling I had back then, and I have no regrets!"

"Coming to see you today was definitely the right choice!"

(End of this chapter)