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At this point in the story, Li Xiang thought it was over.
Unexpectedly, Aegislash told another one.
This time, the protagonist was a sickly young girl named Shimazaki Hitomi.
From birth, her constitution hadn't been good, and she was in and out of the hospital frequently.
Fortunately, the Shimazaki family wasn't poor. They could afford all sorts of nutritional supplements to strengthen her body. Coupled with Hitomi's persistent practice of swordsmanship to maintain her health,
She managed to survive.
Incidentally, her talent in kendo was exceptional, and she was once considered the most likely to surpass her ancestor, Swordsman Shimazaki.
By her early teens, she had mastered the Soaring Slash of the Akahibi Heartbreak-Style swordsmanship to perfection.
However, unforeseen storms arise in nature.
When Shimazaki Hitomi was thirteen, an epidemic broke out, and her health rapidly declined to the point where she couldn't even get out of bed.
After a series of agonizing treatments, Hitomi still didn't pull through. She passed away regretfully.
Her parents, unable to bear their grief, pleaded with Aegislash, hoping their ancestral spirit could find a way.
After all, hadn't Swordsman Shimazaki also transformed from a human into a Pokémon?
He must have a way….
[But, I had no way.]
Aegislash said something that surprised Li Xiang.
[My transformation into a Honedge was the result of my wish upon a star. It doesn't mean I can also turn humans into Honedge.]
This was different from what Nagayama Taro had said!
Li Xiang raised his hand again. "Sword Spirit, but I heard from Mr. Nagayama that you could transform blades into Honedge, that they are all your descendants—"
[He misunderstood.]
Aegislash interrupted Li Xiang. [Some are natural occurrences, others were drawn to me. It has nothing to do with me personally.]
'Natural occurrences…'
Li Xiang was speechless.
The origin of Ghost-type Pokémon had always been an unsolved mystery, in both his past life and this one, with no definitive answer.
Pokémon like Honedge, whose design inspiration is a sword spirit, are commonly believed to appear in places with many cold weapons. But whether they are transformed from weapons or are attracted to them, no one knows.
If Li Xiang hadn't come to Triple Village, he probably wouldn't have known such an absurd thing existed in this world.
"What about Yatama... what about little Hitomi's situation?"
Li Xiang looked at the wobbling Honedge and asked softly.
Since Aegislash didn't have the power to resurrect humans from weapons, how could Shimazaki Hitomi be explained?
[As for little Hitomi, it was because of a feather.]
Aegislash looked at Li Xiang. [A single, rainbow-colored feather.]
'Ah…'
[Back then, after learning I couldn't revive Hitomi, her parents turned their attention to the Tower Lord, the legendary Ho-Oh, said to be able to raise the dead and regenerate flesh.]
Aegislash's eyes trembled slightly. [But finding Ho-Oh was easier said than done. People have always pursued the Tower Lord's trail but never succeeded.]
So, after exhausting their wealth, Hitomi's parents were utterly disheartened and had her remains cremated.
Until five years ago.. they seemed to have received some news and suddenly left.
When they returned, they had met with an accident. All that came back to Triple Village were two urns of ashes, and—
A feather.
Rainbow-colored, gleaming with a rainbow-like radiance under the sunlight, so beautiful it seemed not of this world.
It was this very feather.
When someone placed it on the urns of the three Shimazaki family members, alongside the sword Yatama, an anomaly occurred.
Yatama transformed into a Honedge, and Shimazaki Hitomi's ashes merged into it.
The rainbow feather also disappeared.
After Shimazaki Massao specifically investigated, he learned that the feather belonged to the Tower Lord, Ho-Oh.
[This is the origin of Hitomi, Yatama, and the Honedge.]
Aegislash looked at Li Xiang.
[Do you have any other questions?]
What questions could he have?
Why do the legendary Pokémon in this world have so much drama?
Li Xiang was full of complaints but didn't know where to start.
A feather healing the wounded and raising the dead had an example in the movie I Choose You!.
Ash was revived thanks to Ho-Oh's feather.
Though it was somewhat related to his plot armor and the screenwriters' whimsy, it could still be argued that Ash's revival was achieved with the feather's help.
Ash died, his body was gone, the feather was gone.
Ash lived, his body was restored, the feather was restored.
That was roughly the process.
So, Shimazaki Hitomi's budget version transformation into a Honedge via a feather wasn't too hard to understand.
But Li Xiang was very curious.
'Did your Shimazaki family save the world in a past life or something?'
'Why are you so involved with legendary Pokémon? Are legendaries that easy to encounter, that easy to help you?'
It was too exaggerated.
[You don't seem very surprised? I thought you'd be more astonished.]
Aegislash was curious about Li Xiang's "calmness."
"Uh, maybe I used up all my surprise yesterday."
Li Xiang rubbed his face. "Besides, when I'm surprised, my face just goes stiff."
No one said you had to open your mouth wide to be surprised.
[Hehehe, true. Any other questions?]
Aegislash chuckled and repeated.
"Yes."
After thinking, Li Xiang asked, "Can Shimazaki Hitomi still be considered human? Or is she a Pokémon? How much of her past memories does she retain? Has her personality changed?"
"How should I... treat her?"
Should he treat her as a Pokémon, or as a human?
The difference between the two could be vast.
[She is a Pokémon now. How you treat your Pokémon is how you should treat her.]
Aegislash didn't tell Li Xiang to figure it out himself but gave him a clear answer.
[Shimazaki Hitomi is dead. What is here now is Honedge. She has been completely reincarnated, saying goodbye to her past.]
[As for memories, not many remain. She was just a thirteen-year-old girl, plagued by illness but diligent in sword practice. How many memories could she have had is unknown.]
[All the common knowledge she knows now comes from after her rebirth. As for personality changes... to be honest, neither Massao nor I had much contact with her before, so we don't know.]
[Her love for poetry and martial arts novels and movies also came after her rebirth.]
'Understood.'
"I have no more questions. Thank you."
Li Xiang bowed to Aegislash and Shimazaki Massao.
[It's fine. You would have asked eventually.]
Aegislash slowly closed its eyes, seeming to fall asleep again.
Taking the Honedge with him as they left, Li Xiang tugged at its body, pulling it forward, mainly because it kept looking back every few steps, very reluctant.
But saying it didn't want to leave, it still shuffled towards Li Xiang. If Li Xiang took a step, it followed.
If Li Xiang walked far away, it hurriedly caught up.
Hard to understand what it was thinking.
"We can come back later! It's not like you're forbidden from coming!"
He patted Honedge's blade.
Clang clang—it sounded solid.
No wonder they say some things are obvious once pointed out.
Before, when Li Xiang looked at Honedge, he always felt like he was facing a little girl.
He didn't dare touch anywhere but the hilt.
Now, after what Aegislash said, that feeling instantly vanished.
He moved from the state of "seeing the mountain not as a mountain" to "seeing the mountain as a mountain." (Lol)
He could touch wherever he wanted.
Could Honedge transform back?
It was just a lump of metal now! It had ceased being human!
Arriving at the Nagayama residence, Yan Hu was inside chatting with Nagayama Taro. The two were cracking melon seeds and drinking tea, looking quite relaxed.
"Senior Sister, the matter is resolved. We can go."
Li Xiang spoke from the doorway.
"Huh? Resolved? Alright then."
Yan Hu put down the melon seeds and patted her crumb-covered hands. "Let's chat next time."
"Okay, take care, you two."
Nagayama Taro stood up and saw them out.
Leaving the fortress, the two got into the car.
As she fastened her seatbelt, Yan Hu said, "Junior Brother, Taro's older brother attends Sakura University. Interested in visiting?"
"A trainer?"
Li Xiang, holding Honedge, was slightly startled.
"Yes, already a fourth year. Pity he's still just a reserve." Yan Hu nodded. "You haven't visited a higher education institute yet, right?"
"Not really."
Li Xiang thought about it; at least, he had no memory of it.
"Then how about tomorrow? Go for a visit? There's a hot spring inn nearby."
Yan Hu smiled. "Hot spring baths are very comfortable."
Li Xiang had no objections.
...….
Inside the Nature Park.
As expected, his senior brothers and sisters were on the beach, playing with the Pokémon there.
Like Slowpoke, Dewgong, Spheal, etc.
They weren't afraid of people, letting others stroke their bodies. Some Spheal would even roll over, letting people touch their soft bellies.
Crying "Doon doon," they rolled back and forth, stopping only when they bumped into someone's foot—utterly adorable.
Further away, Li Xiang saw a group of Blastoise, huge ones, sunbathing on the beach with Squirtle and Wartortle. Yawning occasionally, moss grew on their backs, making them look slippery.
Sometimes, mischievous bald turtles would approach tourists, letting them stroke their smooth heads, etc.
It made his hands itch to join.
Seeing Li Xiang and the others approach, the group quickly waved to show their location.
"Finally here! Come over! Let's head to Pearl Shoal! Senior Sister rented a boat!"
Lu Chengfeng shouted at Li Xiang.
Pearl Shoal.
The main activity area for Pokémon like Shellder, Cloyster, and Huntail.
Under the sunlight, these shellfish Pokémon would slowly open their shells, making the pearls inside glitter.
From a distance, they looked like little stars, very enchanting.
Besides that, there were coral reefs full of Corsola. They often stacked themselves high, not caring about breaking the water's surface, like a pink tower.
And when they fell, they often broke the horns on their heads.
With their permission, tourists could take these broken horns as souvenirs.
Pendants made from Corsola horns were also very popular.
Another interesting place was the huge tree dam built by Bibarel.
It's said human dams were learned from Bibarel.
The tree dam in the Nature Park was large enough for people to move around freely. Rumor had it it was built by over a hundred Bibarel together, and tourists could visit their homes.
Others, like the Star River teeming with Mareanie, Toxapex, Staryu, and Starmie. At night, they would emit faint lights, echoing the stars.
And Crab Island, full of Krabby and Kingler.
These guys were interesting; they would climb trees to pick coconuts for tourists they liked.