"Chien-Pao, the ancient sword leopard, a Pokémon that was unsealed from an old shrine."
"It was encountered in front of the Icerend Shrine."
"Its nature: Hates being lonely."
"It likes spicy flavors."
"It often plays around in an innocent, childlike way."
"It's a bit clingy."
——————
In truth, capturing Chien-Pao went extremely smoothly.
In order to prevent the world from being destroyed.
In order to protect world peace.
There was no way they could just let Chien-Pao run around loose. If they did, this thing would definitely go seize Glaseado Mountain as its territory, set off avalanches for fun, randomly bury a bunch of innocent passersby under falling snow, then drag out Paldea's big bad boss Geeta. After a bitter battle it would get beaten into kneeling, and the follow-up ending went without saying.
So Hikaru simply switched to cat-petting mode and started stroking it.
Even though its body was made of snow and technically had no fur, Hikaru's sunlight-type power could soothe and calm Pokémon's hearts. If he channeled that into his hands while petting…
The effect was nothing short of spectacular.
On top of that, as an artisan, Hikaru was very good at maintaining all kinds of tools and gear, and Chien-Pao's true body was actually that swordlike set of fangs it had.
The snow leopard that had been bracing itself to fall into a never-ending loop of being sealed and unsealed, steeling itself for despair and just lying flat, instantly collapsed inside.
That long, snakelike snow body twisted and coiled like a white serpent, as if it had discovered a whole new world.
So good. The snow leopard hadn't felt this good in a thousand years.
Whether it was its body being kneaded or its fangs being polished, it all felt so good it could fly.
"More, more, right there—yes, keep rubbing that spot!"
My fellow Treasures of Ruin, I've found us an S-tier handler here. This guy's craft is way better than that guy from a thousand years ago. I surrender first!
"Guu-pao~"
Come on, come on, let's keep playing!
I can't beat you anyway, and my whole body's basically a flexible shape—do as you like, okay?
"No matter how terrifying a Treasure of Ruin is, at the end of the day it's still just a cat."
And a cat whose IQ was miles above your average housecat.
Every move it made was like a walking reaction sticker pack, making it hard not to laugh.
Hikaru carefully inspected Chien-Pao's sword-fangs.
[Mythic Craftwork: Ruinous Sword "Shengxie".]
[Description: A legendary sword that brings calamity. It is said to have once been a precious divine blade from an ancient eastern land. Because it absorbed too much malice and greed, as well as the grudges of those who died to it, it transformed into a sword that brings disaster.]
[Effect: A Pokémon that wields this sword will cause its opponent's Defense to fall. The sword is Chien-Pao's true body and cannot be given to any other Pokémon.]
[The broken blade represents the escape of the evil it once forged. This may be the source of the calamity Chien-Pao brings.]
The little fire knight Charcadet, who had defeated the snow king, slowly came to under Riolu's care.
It blinked a few times and, seeing that Chien-Pao had already been "tamed," looked rather confused.
"You've cleared the first trial. That's your first step toward becoming a true knight. Congratulations."
"You've learned a move you originally couldn't ever obtain. You sensed Aura, and you mastered Close Combat."
"Do you want to keep going?"
Hikaru stroked Chien-Pao under the chin while asking Charcadet. The latter nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Even if its armor had cracked, it could always be reforged.
Even if its cloak had burned away, cloth could be found everywhere in the world.
The knight would simply resume his journey.
"Good spirit. There are still three Treasures of Ruin left at the same level. Let's go, Charcadet."
"Ka-don!"
Charcadet's eyes burned bright, flames roaring around it.
Yes, Master!
Then Hikaru slung Chien-Pao over his shoulders and started examining the golden lid of the Icerend Shrine.
[Mythic Craftwork: Shrine of Sealing (Icerend Shrine).]
[Description: The Ruinous Sword is sealed here. This tool was forged by a Pokémon handler a thousand years ago specifically to seal the Treasures of Ruin. No matter what kind of attack strikes it, it cannot be damaged in the slightest. By coordinating eight sacred stakes with the sealing chains, the Treasures of Ruin can be permanently locked away.]
[Note: Powerful psychic energy was poured into the lid. Even after a thousand years there is almost no loss of power. It is fueled by emotion: the stronger the Treasure of Ruin's feelings, the stronger the shrine's seal. At the same time, energy of types that counter the Treasures of Ruin was used, allowing it to reliably watch over these dangerous beings.]
[The Icerend Shrine's energy is Fighting-type. Touching it will boost the power of Fighting-type moves.]
[Acquired: Mythic Sealing Craft (S-). You can now forge special sealing tools to lock away extremely powerful Pokémon.]
[Craftable items: Shrine of Sealing, Nameless Chains, Sacred Stakes, Golden Pins.]
[Note: It is said that only those whose hearts are free of distracting thoughts can undo the seal.]
"Touch… huh?"
Hikaru thought for a moment, then beckoned to the blue-furred pup. Riolu trotted over suspiciously and laid a paw on the golden lid.
Whoosh.
A surge of powerful Fighting-type energy flooded out.
"Wooo!"
Swish, swish, swish!
Riolu threw a quick flurry of punches and realized its punching strength and speed both seemed to have gone up.
"So you get a buff just by touching this thing. Is this shrine basically a sanctified buff machine?"
Operating under the "if you can touch it, you should touch it" principle, Hikaru let every teammate that could use Fighting-type moves put a hand on the lid.
Only Chien-Pao was extremely opposed.
It never wanted to see that golden lid again, and seriously, how could just touching it make you stronger? It had been stuck inside that lid petting it for a thousand years and nothing ever changed.
"That's because it was sealing you, so it doesn't work on you. Come to think of it, Dark-type Pokémon probably can't get buffed from it either."
Hikaru tossed out a Poké Ball and a commemorative ball.
Lilligant and Iron Valiant appeared.
[Detected huge quantities of Dark-type energy. Recording: Chien-Pao, Ruinous Sword.]
[Greed and hatred—negative emotions.]
Iron Valiant's gaze turned toward Chien-Pao.
Although it had already observed and analyzed from inside the commemorative ball, seeing it in person, it realized this snow leopard felt a little different.
Hmm… not quite the same as any Dark-type it had seen before.
"Dore~!"
Lilligant happily waved at the snow leopard. In Lilligant's eyes, the dazed, sitting snow cat looked perfectly fine—how could a cat possibly harbor evil intentions?
Beat it up once and it will be fine, right?
Then she turned and waved a leaf toward Charcadet, and the little knight froze.
Never mind that the elegant mountain-path queen stabbed straight into the core of his just-awakened chivalry—on top of that, the appearance of a noble holy knight like Iron Valiant filled Charcadet's eyes with pure awe.
Then he looked down at his own ragged gear…
All of a sudden, Charcadet felt that Iron Valiant and Lilligant were some distant, unreachable existence.
"Even so, a country bumpkin hero will one day become someone truly great."
"Here—your medal for defeating Chien-Pao."
Hikaru had already crafted a little medal and held it out to Charcadet.
Listening to Master's gentle voice, Charcadet accepted the medal and felt that it seemed to hold some kind of emotional energy. It drew in a sharp breath of icy air.
A knight's very first medal.
Charcadet carefully polished the medal until it gleamed, then gingerly tucked it inside its armor.
Someday I'll stand as tall as they do, a noble soul that can stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
The dream still burned on.
As for Chien-Pao…
The cheese snow leopard had once again gone full reaction-meme mode.
Huh?
How did two more Pokémon suddenly pop out again?
All those Poké Balls hanging off this guy's backpack—does each one have a Pokémon in it?
What is he, a walking party van? Pull the door open and an entire team comes pouring out?
"Everyone all buffed up?"
"Good. Then we're heading out again. This time, our destination is the far side of this mountain."
The far side?
The team looked at one another. Genesect and Iron Valiant suddenly turned to stare in one particular direction.
"Ruff!"
Riolu was also staring intently at a certain mountain peak.
Aura tinged with malice was echoing nearby—far weaker than Chien-Pao's Dark aura, but still very strange.
"Exactly. With your Aura, plus your sensors and tech, you already noticed it."
Hikaru glanced toward that peak. "There's a Pokémon here known as a Titan. It's the same kind of Pokémon as that Bombirdier we ran into on the coast earlier, except this one is huge."
"Bombirdier—the one Aerodactyl body-checked out of the sky. Those birds."
"And the so-called Titans are these region-exclusive giants you only see in Paldea."
"This all comes from a certain mysterious plant here called Herba Mystica—"
Before Hikaru could finish, Torterra's ball started shaking.
What, more rare plants?!
"Exactly. Around two hundred years ago, an expedition team discovered a strange plant species in the giant crater called Area Zero. They dubbed it Herba Mystica."
"They transplanted Herba Mystica to various parts of Paldea, but the wild Pokémon nearby ate the unripe herbs and turned freakishly big. Those are the Titan Pokémon."
"There are five kinds of Herba Mystica in total, each with different effects. For Lilligant and Torterra in particular, if you can graft Herba Mystica onto them, their Grass-type power is going to skyrocket."
"As for the rest of you, eating Herba Mystica will boost your various stats too."
Using Herba Mystica would grant Food Power, and compared to normal food buffs, Herba Mystica practically bumped each effect up by a whole tier.
What Hikaru cared about even more, though, was that "giantification" power.
In the Pokémon world, there were four main "orthodox" ways to become enormous.
The first was the huge Dragonite from the old Kanto days. No one knew what that thing had been eating, but it was definitely massive.
The second was the primal return of ancient Pokémon—like the ancient Gengar and Alakazam from those same early days, marked by mysterious symbols. Similar patterns appeared with the Hoenn weather trio: when they underwent Primal Reversion or Mega Evolution, their bodies also got bigger. This might be a shared trait of ancient Pokémon, changes brought on by primal natural energy.
The third was Dynamax—a giant form only possible in Galar, powered by Eternatus. Not much point discussing that here.
The fourth was… eating Herba Mystica.
As for Totem Pokémon, while Totem Aura also made them bigger, it wasn't on the same absurd level as those four methods, so there was no need to count them in.
"As long as we beat that Open Sky Titan, we can claim the Herba Mystica it guards."
Spurred on by Hikaru, the Pokémon were getting riled up.
Some, like Victini, just wanted an adventure because it sounded fun. Others, like Genesect and Iron Valiant, were indifferent—it was just another chance to see the world while tagging along.
For them, as tech-sided Pokémon, plants didn't matter much. Getting stronger off herbs was less efficient than installing a couple more systems… or trying to further refine the power of their hearts.
Charcadet, meanwhile, was being surrounded by more different kinds of Pokémon than he had ever seen.
He suddenly realized that Master's backpack still held many more companions that hadn't even revealed themselves. They were all watching him from inside their Poké Balls.
Pokémon from different worlds and different places, all gathering to adventure together.
Wasn't that exactly how the stories of knights and heroes always told it?
Another fantastical journey was about to begin.
And facing this surging morale, the "Open Sky Titan" hiding behind the mountain peaks was already terrified out of its feathery mind.
Where did these people come from?!
Not only had they unsealed a disaster beast from ancient times and subdued it with ease—
Now they were all teaming up to steal its herbs too.
What kind of hostile foreign criminal group was this?!
Damn it, this called for a heavy-handed response. Those Herba Mystica were his. They couldn't just listen to baseless rumors and confiscate his stash.
The gigantic Open Sky Titan flapped its wings and shot up to the highest mountaintop.
This was West Province (Area One). People needed to ask around who the real boss was here.
Did they think numbers alone would scare him?
Rocky Payload, activate!
In West Province (Area One), there was a well-known phenomenon of huge boulders tumbling down from the mountains. Rumor had it this was the Titan's way of monopolizing the skies for itself.
The rumors were true.
To protect his Herba Mystica, the Open Sky Titan kept rolling giant rocks off the cliffs. This was thanks to his Hidden Ability, Rocky Payload.
A Pokémon with this Ability has its Rock-type moves boosted by 50%.
Which meant that even a Flying-type with a Rock weakness like Bombirdier could now drag around massive boulders and, using its mobility, drop them straight onto anyone coming for its treasure.
"Oto!"
You vicious, greedy trespassers!
I'm never handing my treasure over!
If you've got the guts, fly up here yourselves!
That was the thought in the Titan's head—until the next instant, when a scene so horrifying it screamed made its blood run cold.
All those boulders it dropped went rumbling down the cliffs—but the group of Pokémon that had just been hanging out by the Icerend Shrine had practically all taken to the air.
Some flew on their own wings.
Some used levitation via electromagnetism.
Some blasted flame jets to fly.
And some were just brute-forcing flight with Psychic-type power.
Charcadet was also floating, held aloft by Iron Valiant's psychic grip.
The little knight stared blankly at the view from on high, then looked at Iron Valiant with even deeper longing.
"Oto?!"
What the—what happened to this world? You can all fly?!
D-don't come over here!
Hikaru's godly fingertip point made the Open Sky Titan panic even more.
"You see that big bird up there? That's our Open Sky Titan."
"Treasure's always guarded by something strong, that's just common sense. So we beat it and take the Herba Mystica."
Looking up at the terrified Bombirdier beating its wings in a panic, Hikaru called out:
"Don't worry, we won't take everything. We'll leave you some."
"But your habit of chucking rocks down from high altitude is really bad. That has to change."
"After the fight, we'll treat you to something good."
Hikaru gave the Chien-Pao hanging off him a pat.
The snow leopard let out a roar and raised a paw.
"Cheese snow leopard—use Icicle Crash!"
————————
Half a day later.
A group of people arrived at the mid-slopes of the western mountains, led by a green-haired woman.
"What do you mean 'there was a scream from the summit and then the Open Sky Titan suddenly got very obedient'?"
She questioned the League investigators beside her while simultaneously speaking over a Poké Device to someone on the other end.
"Have mercy here, I'm busy. I really don't have time to deal with this kind of rumor…"
"Yes, it's true I made a bit of progress lately after buying more Ground-type training items, but Titans are a whole hassle of their own…"
"Yeah… Titan Pokémon are extremely dangerous specimens. Even if the Open Sky Titan doesn't come near people, that thing actively throws rocks down from way up high—uh, although I guess this time, we actually haven't run into any rockfall."
Rika sighed. She'd only gone to help out with the Harvest Festival in Cortondo, but some random rumor had dragged her all the way out to this remote wilderness.
The far end of West Province (Area One), a place filled with windmills, powerful wild Pokémon, and the gigantic Open Sky Titan. Under normal circumstances, the League didn't recommend trainers and students go romping around this untouched nature.
Even back before she joined the Elite Four, that Titan had already been living here. You could see the giant bird dropping rocks from way off in the distance.
But today… nothing.
Puzzled, Rika spent a great deal of time climbing this ancient peak.
Then she laid eyes on a scene that made her jaw drop.
The enormous Open Sky Titan was, for once, not flying.
Instead it stood there, eyes closed in the wind, as if savouring its life as a bird. It let out a clear cry that sounded like it was praising how beautiful existence was.
Traces of battle were everywhere around it.
In fact, after getting absolutely beaten down earlier, the Titan had completely submitted.
Of course, the beating hadn't come without compensation.
For example: some miraculous oven-baked, delicious French fries.
Those fries had seized Bombirdier's soul in an instant. It decided every hit it took had been worth it.
[We'll swing by the docks at Porto Marinada later and grab more fries.]
[You don't go, you don't know. Once you go, you'll never want Herba Mystica plain again.]
When Rika and the League investigators reached the area, the Open Sky Titan shivered.
Then it did something Rika would never in a million years have expected.
"Oto~! Oto~!"
The Titan flapped its wings and pointed toward the nearby mountaintop cave, wearing a sycophantic expression.
Hey, hey, humans, the Herba Mystica's over here—right this way!
I'll even show you the route myself, just don't hit me again. I'm heading to the docks for fries later. You take what you want from the Herba Mystica stash, just leave me a bit!
Staring at the Titan's "I have seen the value of life" face, Rika stayed frozen for a long moment.
Then she finally reported to the person on the other end of the Poké Device:
"I've confirmed the Open Sky Titan's status."
"It, uh… seems to have turned over a new leaf. Looks like it was defeated by some trainer."
After asking a few more questions of the investigators, Rika's expression grew a bit more serious.
"Apparently… down by the coast, someone saw an unidentified flying object earlier."
(End of Chapter)
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