Master Craftsman of the Elven World

Chapter 563 Xiaoguang's Determination, the Pinnacle of the World!
The incident at the Forest Mansion has come to an end, and outside the mansion, another lost stone slab has been found. It was buried in a cave dug by the ninja in the forest.

"The Evil Face Stone Tablet, and the Jade Insect Stone Tablet!"

Once you've collected both stone slabs from the Hundred Generations Forest, the smaller slabs are only the size of a palm, so they're not difficult to carry. That said, there are more than ten stone slabs in total, which take up quite a bit of space in your backpack.

For Cai Zhong, being able to leave the mansion safely and return to the dojo was nothing short of a miracle!
"I'm finally back safe and sound! I'll never go there again!"

Fortunately, the two ghosts of the Forest Mansion don't leave the mansion, so even if you wander around the Hundred Generations Forest, you don't have to worry about encountering other ghosts. However, Hikari thought for a moment and reminded Nagato:

"But if you want to become a trainer, you'll definitely have to challenge gyms, right? And collect badges and stuff like that?"

"Fighting a Ghost Trainer? I've never heard of such a thing before!"

With Xiaoguang's prompting, Caizhong's expression gradually changed from blank to terrified!

"A gym battle with ghosts?!"

"Me, me, me, me—"

The ghost girl failed to scare anyone because she was knocked unconscious by Xiaoguang.

So, she can actually scare people!
"Are you kidding me? Gym leaders only need to fight living people, why do they have to fight dead people too! It's all your fault, you shouldn't have given her the Mega Ball! Whoa! I was so scared!"

It was supposed to be a happy ending, but in the end, the only one who got hurt was myself, an innocent bystander!
If you faint from fright during a gym battle!
Then the story of how afraid he is of ghosts will spread throughout Sinnoh!

These people with psychic powers should occasionally think about the people who are afraid of ghosts!

"If a trainer were to scare people indiscriminately, they might actually be casually exorcised by a passing psychic. I don't think that girl would do such a thing, right? Let's just treat it as a normal battle."

Lightmoy held up a finger: "Do you know the legend of the Rockruff? There's an ancient stone tower near the Lost Tower that seals a Pokémon inside. Sinnoh Champion Cynthia has this Pokémon in her team, and you can occasionally find the same Keystone in the underground passages."

"It is said that around 500 years ago, a group of evil souls were sealed away by a messenger of aura. He traveled around the world with Pikachu, using powerful aura and magical spells to bind these evil souls to the rocks one by one. Each group of 108 souls eventually became the Pokémon Venusaur."

"Flower Rock Monsters can appear all over the world, and it is said that most of them were sealed away by the same person. But there also seem to be older Flower Rock Monsters."

"I've already told the girl that if she wanders around the Sinnoh region, she might actually run into someone who knows magical spells! It would be terrible if she were to be sealed away as a Rockruff by someone who does justice to her, like... I know the same spells."

"That's actually a unique [sealing technique]. I learned this spell in the Padia region, but it's quite troublesome to cast."

The seal on the sacred stake is somewhat complicated, but it's very convenient for fighting Ghost or Dark-type Pokémon.

In comparison, the spell to seal the rock monster should be more convenient and faster.

Vegetable Seed: "The Padia region? You actually went to such a remote place? I've never even heard of it. And you became one of the Elite Four and even broke through the Unova League's Hall of Fame? You're talking nonsense!"

"A childhood friend suddenly embarked on a journey, and then experienced so many things in half a year and became a legendary figure. You're right, isn't there one too? I heard that there are young people like that in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn! They became champions like rockets in just a few months. It's unbelievable."

As she said this, she looked thoughtful and glanced at Xiaoguang.

Hmm. Maybe this girl in front of me is the same kind of person?
But is it really that powerful?

Cai Zhong sighed, "That's great! Does going on a trip make me stronger?"

"Should I quit my job as a Gym Leader and go on a trip? Maybe I can become a Grass-type Pokémon Master in some region! There's never been a Grass-type Elite Four before!"

Guangtai thought about it carefully, and exchanged a glance with Xiaoguang:
"That's true. So far, among the known accessible areas, there doesn't seem to be a Grass-type Elite Four member!"

Although Grass-type experts often appear as Gym Leaders or Captains, and Grass-type Pokémon like Amoonguss frequently appear and win in player-run tournaments, even Mei, one of the future Unova Champions, is also skilled with the Grass type.

However, this attribute does not include players at the "King" tier!

Even among all the Grass-type masters throughout history, the strongest is still Rika, the Kanto Gym Leader. Thanks to her elevated status in the special episode, Rika ranks among the top Kanto Gym Leaders, second only to later masters like Giovanni, Blue, and Blaine. However, her actual combat level is far from reaching the Elite Four level. In the manga, as the main force, she was defeated in an instant by the unreserved Ryu, which shows the huge gap in strength.

As for the others, including Cai Zhong, Koza, Mallow, Cilan, Yaro, and Fu Ye, they are basically characters who exist as early and mid-stage assessment gyms. In terms of strength, they cannot rank among the top in their respective regions.

Lightmoss pondered, "After all, Grass-type has too many weaknesses, making it more suited for disruption and support on offense."

Cai Zhong retorted, "You can't say that! Mr. A-Liu is an expert on insects and one of the Four Heavenly Kings of this region!"

Guangtai shrugged: "But in other words, as long as A-Liu is here, you'll never become one of the Four Heavenly Kings, right?"

Cai Zhong said dejectedly, "That's why I said I wanted to travel to other regions, but I had to finish my work first. Besides, I've only been the owner for a short time, and it would be irresponsible of me to resign so soon."

That's what she thought in her heart.

Yeah, why is there a King of the Bug type but not the Grass type? Is it waiting for me?

So it seems that the Four Heavenly Kings are all good at strong attributes, but only A-Liu is an exception.

He's known as "the ultimate form of the bug-catching boy"!
"If we're talking about someone who's incredibly skilled with Grass-type Pokémon, I think Leon, the Galar Champion, is pretty amazing. Although his ace is Charizard, he also has a very powerful Rillaboom."

"So, if you want to become a superstar, you might need to adjust your team's composition a bit."

Venusaur, Amoonguss, Rillaboom, and Grass/Steel types are all strong Grass-type Pokémon, but none of them are native to Sinnoh. Aside from Shaymin, the native Grass-type Pokémon are somewhat weaker.

Lightmoss shook its head, comforting Vegetable Seed, saying that there was still a long way to go before becoming a Grass-type Pokémon Master!
However, A-Liu was interviewed by United Cloud TV, and it seems that he was once a gym leader, although this is not reflected in the game, anime, or manga.

Now back in Eternal City, Cai Zhong has no time to rest. As the Gym Leader, protecting the city's peace, she must immediately contact Officer Jenny and inspect the Eternal City building.
Xiao Guang: "There are a lot of police over there, that direction is—"

Vegetable seed: "It's the Galaxy Century Building!"

Even late at night, the area around the Galaxy EMI building was brightly lit. Police had blocked off access routes near the building, apparently having found some crucial evidence and were therefore clearing out and inspecting the building!
However, no trace of Team Galactic was found in the building!

Upon inquiry, it was learned that the local police had ultimately failed. Even with the incident at the Valley Power Plant, the Baidai police did not immediately seal off the building, and by the time the entire Galactic Team had already fled, they had already begun their investigation.

But before it was exposed, the Galaxy Hundred Building had always been the location of a pillar enterprise in the area, and it also served as a cover for developing cosmic energy. Unauthorized raids would have been without proper permits.

"Now is the time to search! Let's use the [Secret Key]! Move out those special appliances!"

Cai Zhong made a suggestion, and after negotiating with Officer Jenny, she quickly obtained permission to enter. The room was located on the first floor of the Galactic Elysium Building in the Sinnoh region, in the upper left corner of the lobby. The door to the room was secured with an electronic lock.

"Pluto may have previously worked for the Silver Corporation in the Kanto region. There also seems to be a similar room and these test versions of special appliances hidden in the Silver Corporation building."

Hikari mentioned the Rotom room that appeared in HeartGold and SoulSilver. Considering that Platinum's timeline is after HeartGold and SoulSilver, and that Hades was called a rookie executive shortly after joining Team Galactic, he may have actually been in the Kanto region before.

However, it's unlikely that Rotom can carry these appliances around. Rotom can only choose one type of appliance, which, once inside, transforms into a special form and can then be stored in a Poké Ball.

Xiao Guang: "I can't carry a refrigerator and a washing machine around, so it's definitely better to choose the form of large items. Besides, refrigerators and washing machines are also suitable for rainy days, although heating a Rotom is more convenient."

"Mr. Hikari's C-device is really convenient. It's equipment developed by the doctor in the Unova region. It's really good. Cities with high technology can produce some strange and convenient things."

Lightmoss: "If we had the Infinite Bag, it would be a different story. Other regions have technology, and Sinnoh has magic, so it's pretty much the same."

As the saying goes, the rich rely on technology, while the poor rely on mutation.

"Then let's move these machines to my gym first. If needed, we can use Fly to come to my gym to replace them," Naga suggested, while looking at Hikari seriously.
"Besides, let's get straight to the point! Anyway, after doing all this, I don't think I have anything else to do. Hikari, if you don't mind, you can rest at my gym for a bit, and we can start the gym challenge tomorrow!"

Cai Zhong directly named Xiao Guang: "After all, don't you still have important battles to fight?"

Normally, it's the challenger who challenges the gym leader, and it's quite rare for a gym leader to actively invite a challenger to fight them.

However, from the previous battle with Rotom and from the way Lightmoss treated Hikari, Nagae realized that Hikari possessed extraordinary potential.

Perhaps, fighting the girl in front of me could also improve my strength!

Just like those people in the Kanto region who were rumored to be around three years ago!
"I see."

Hikari didn't refuse, but nodded. She knew that Hikari was going to look for something else near the stone statue in Baidai City.

Furthermore, as a girl, she can't directly stay at Mr. Hikari's house. It would be better to go to Ms. Nagasane's dojo. That being said, their two houses seem to live quite close to each other?
At the same time, information about the prince has also been added to the encyclopedia!

"Because the Sinnoh region is Manaphy's homeland, any Manaphy hatched in the Sinnoh region can learn that lost move. I confirmed this through my memory."

"Although I haven't reached the [level] to learn that move yet, I'll let it master it ahead of time."

That move wasn't an egg move, but a new exclusive skill that Manaphy could only learn at level 46 or 76. It was also the reason why it could continue to be called the Orphan of the Sea after leaving the Firefly system.

With the help of the Radiant Moss, Manaphy learned high-level moves ahead of time by sensing the local climate and environment of Sinnoh!
Fill yourself with courage!
"Mana!" Manaphy laughed joyfully. Even the prince himself knew!
The moist body and the tactics enhanced in dreams are about to begin!

Furthermore, ice and water are inseparable. If you think you can defeat water-type Pokémon simply by relying on grass-type, you are sorely mistaken!
Of course, the light moss doesn't just favor the little light moss; it also gives the vegetable seeds some good things.

Vegetable Seed: "Huh, is this a battle item? What a beautiful stone! Too bad I'm not a stone fanatic like Hyota."

Lightmoss: "This is the Grass Gem, a type stone from the Unova region. When held by a Grass-type Pokémon, it increases the power of one Grass-type move. And mine is very pure; a normal gem increases power by 30%, but this one increases it by 50%!"

"Although gems are consumables, they will gradually regain their power when placed in a place rich in natural energy. Therefore, they cannot be used indefinitely. However, if used in a crucial battle, they can be fatal in one blow!"

"This is amazing?!" Vegetable Seed blinked, looking at the smiling Light with a slightly guilty expression. Then she looked at Lightmoss: "You're planning to have me use this in gym battles? This seems a bit too powerful."

Cai Zhong even leaned closer and whispered, "Xiao Guang's team is mostly water-type, right? That's already very advantageous for me, so it's okay if I don't use this."

Guangtai coughed lightly: "Cough, you'll always need it. If you underestimate Guang, you'll suffer a great loss."

"And here's the [Aura Sash], [Elegant Scarf], [Powerful Herb], [Light Clay], and [Blazing Rock]! I'll leave these for you; consider them a gift for you after all this time! Each item comes with instructions, so feel free to use them during battles!"

"These things will also be helpful for your future training! Because I have mastered the technology to make a certain machine, these props don't need to be handmade anymore, but the effect is no different from the original! 3D printing is really convenient."

Cai Zhong, holding a large pile of props, blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.

After Guangtai left, Xiaoguang's expression gradually became resolute.

Do you want to rest tonight?

No, I still have important things to do tonight! I need to master all the techniques I've learned!
The combination of moves, the coverage of rainy weather, and the methods to counter Pokémon with resistant types will be supplemented using a TM obtained from Jupiter and a certain move from Lucky City!

In order to fight the [Champion], I need a lot of [knowledge]!
"To be honest, someone like me, an appetizer, can't possibly compare to the champion."

The sound of the vegetable seeds made Xiaoguang turn around. The girl with the orange bob had her hands on her hips and looked helpless.
"Time flies. My old friends have become amazing people. I'm so envious. Hikaru, why do you plan to fight him?"

"If you want any advice from me, I'm afraid there's no way. Although we used to be playmates, I know absolutely nothing about him now."

Xiao Guang pondered, "Because I know that I am destined to lose this challenge."

Cai Zhong asked curiously, "Knowing it's a battle you're bound to lose, why did you still challenge it? Was it to test the limits of your strength?"

Xiao Guang took a deep breath, his eyes softening, yet also carrying a strange feeling:

"Although we spent very little time together, he taught me a lot. I can clearly feel myself getting stronger and more like a Pokémon Trainer through these few days of battles!"

"He was like a teacher to me. And now we are about to say goodbye. I am very grateful to him."

"For me, this is like a graduation exam where I want to present all the knowledge I've acquired to him."

"Perhaps I really do have the qualities of a powerful trainer, just like Mr. Moss and Ms. Cynthia. And my mysterious ancestors always left behind some strange legends."

"Perhaps there is something I really have to do, but with my current abilities, I cannot reach the level they expect."

"Before I met Mr. Lightmoss, I was just recklessly charging around with my talent, constantly defeating trainers, catching Pokémon, and investigating ecology, all for the sake of interest. But now, it seems that I have been drawn into something very important."

"The Team Galactic executives I encountered at the Valley Power Plant were really strong. If I didn't have the power of [Weather], and if I was alone, I would definitely have lost the battle."

"So, I've thought about it."

"Victory is certainly joyful, but it is defeat that truly tests one's will."

"Once we know what the strength of the world's strongest people is like."

"Your goal as a Pokémon Trainer will become clear."

Xiao Guang wanted to challenge Guang Tai to see what kind of strength the champion really possessed.

As a Pokémon Trainer, Dawn was burdened with high expectations by Cynthia, which made her feelings less calm than they appeared on the surface.

In this short period of time, she has already thought a lot.

"so."

"No matter what difficulties I encounter in the future, I will be able to overcome them through my willpower!"

"Because I will know the [apex] of the world!"

In the city center of Baidai City, since Team Galactic's affair has been exposed, Akari naturally did not appear here to reminisce about the history of the statues. After all, coming to Baidai City at this time would be tantamount to admitting guilt.

By the way, Professor Oak actually owns a house in Ebisu City, which is quite an interesting city.

The statue of Baidai is a fusion of the images of Palkia and Dialga. This statue can also be seen as evidence of the fusion of the Kongo Team, the Pearl Team, and the native inhabitants of the Shinigami.

Near the statue, after a little searching, Guangmo spotted the red stone slab that was embedded there as a paving stone.

"Speaking of which, the first stone tablet I obtained in the capital was also the [Dragon Stone Tablet]. And this stone tablet was actually hidden in my hometown of Baidai City, and was even used as a floor tile for decoration."

Unlike the anime storyline, Team Galactic in the game is completely unaware of the existence of the "Slates," and they don't collect them as they do in the anime.

The collection of timber has also been completed.

"In the dream, Hikari," Hikari smiled mysteriously, "after battling me, you'll be qualified to enter the Dream Sky Tournament. You might meet boys and girls from other regions. And that's how you become the champion of the Sinnoh region!"

"I look forward to the day when you, Touko, and Naruto form the starter trio team."

Perhaps in this timeline, the champions in each region will change. The protagonists might even ascend to the world stage, in that case...
Who is the world's strongest champion?
With the Dragon Stone Tablet in hand, Lightmoss returned to the vicinity of the Gym in Eternal City, back to her long-lost home.

The stone statues in front of the door tell the story of this family's past. Opening the locked door, a thick layer of dust has settled on the door due to the long period of no one living there, which is not good for the respiratory system.

The house remains exactly as I remember it, even though Guangtai herself has never actually lived here.

"Let's try making masks here tonight."

"Hah~"

"Tini!"

Upon arriving at their doorstep, the invisible Winged Hair and Victini finally revealed themselves in the air. Looking at their dust-covered home, even Winged Hair shook his head repeatedly!
Oh dear, you can't even clear your own [nest], what a weak trainer!

You can't sleep like this! Let me help you clean it up, but it's really no use!
Don't thank me! Even if you do, I won't be happy!

She muttered to herself but started working anyway, which surprised Guangtai slightly. Victini, meanwhile, was wandering around the room when she suddenly saw...
"Thank you, Zhenyifa."

"Haha! (I didn't mean for you to praise me! Just give me a little reward.)"

"Tini~"

"Victini, did you find something strange? I don't think I have anything else in my house except for rocks and materials. It's impossible for something like a Mega Stone to appear here, right?"

Moreover, even if a Mega Stone appears, it's highly likely that you won't be able to use it, since only Lucario and Aerodactyl can Mega Evolve in your team.

Then, Victini pulled something strange out of the darkness.

That was a cell phone.

However, Guangtai was certain that her family had never had this before.

In the Pokémon world, before the Rotom Phone was invented, "phones" were not common. The only common items were "Poké Devices" and "Poké Gears," although they served the same purpose.

"So that's how it is. Is this the reward I received after returning to Sinnoh? Or is it an implication that my father didn't actually die, but went to another world?"

"You must have placed it in my house because you'll need it later. Sinnoh Grandmaster, you're quite kind."

"This is the Arceus phone."

(End of this chapter)