Chapter 171: A Crisis of Trust
Fortunately, as the chosen one of Arceus and the author's dear daughter, things did not slide in the worst possible direction.
Inside the Fuquan Town Fire-type Pokémon Gym.
"Help you find your Pokémon? Sure, I'm pretty free anyway."
Flannery, with her long, fiery red hair, agreed readily.
"But, won't this affect your work, Sister Flannery? As a Gym Leader, shouldn't you have a lot of things to be busy with?"
Seeing Flannery agree so quickly, Míng Rìzhào, on the contrary, felt a little embarrassed.
"Well, about that..."
Flannery's eyes darted around. She then took out her phone and made a call.
"Hey, Xiao Ke. Mm-hmm, right. Could you come over for a moment?"
Before long, a young girl in a professional skirt suit hurried over.
"Xiao Ke, I have something very important to do right now, so I'll have to trouble you to help me handle these few matters first."
Flannery handed several documents in her hand to her assistant with a serious expression.
"...Y-yes."
Perhaps stunned by the solemn expression on Flannery's face, the assistant, Xiao Ke, dazedly took the documents, then watched as Flannery, Míng Rìzhào, and Fengling walked out of the Pokémon Gym.
"See? Isn't it all taken care of?" Just after walking out of the gym, Flannery gestured to Míng Rìzhào triumphantly.
Míng Rìzhào looked back at the gym with a somewhat pitiful gaze. Flannery's voice continued to sound in her ear.
"If it's a Pokémon that went missing on the volcano, I probably know where he would go. Come, follow me to a place."
…
In a daze, endless darkness obscured that single spark of spiritual light.
Where is this?
Perhaps influenced by that hidden sense of threat, his recent dreams had all been strange.
Rio thought so.
In the vast emptiness, he stood all alone.
Don't be anxious.
A voice whispered gently in his ear.
The voice was very familiar, just like... just like the first time he used Aura, that gentle, loving voice.
There is still time. What you need to do is to grow, to grow to be the strongest. Only then can you become this world's last ray of...
The voice paused.
...light.
Rio opened his mouth but couldn't speak.
He really didn't want to be anxious, but just recalling the fierce and domineering presence of Incineroar still made his heart tremble slightly.
Grow to be the strongest?
I'm afraid I can't...
Rio was a little dejected, but that voice was still as gentle as ever.
Yes, you may not be able to do it by yourself. But, remember to look behind you. You have never been alone, never been a single Pokémon. From the past, to the present, you have never been alone.
Behind me?
Yes. Don't rush forward so anxiously. Turn around and look.
The voice gradually faded.
He/She/We are always here.
…
At the foot of Fiery Volcano, in a small house.
An old man, who, although he looked quite old, was still full of spirit, was slowly sipping tea.
Behind him, a dragon-type Pokémon with its wings folded lay lazily, its tail, which looked as if it were lit, flicking gently out of boredom.
"I'm getting old. I really can't drink that much alcohol anymore."
The old man sighed.
Flannery, sitting opposite the tea table, rolled her eyes.
"Come on now. When you were drinking a few days ago, you drank even more than me, old sir."
Flannery joked with the old man. Míng Rìzhào, sitting beside Flannery, on the contrary, was a little reserved and anxious.
"Hello, Grandpa Akagi. I'd like to ask about my Pokémon..."
Akagi smiled and poured a cup of tea for the young girl.
"Don't be anxious. I've already given him emergency treatment. His injuries are much better now."
"And..."
Akagi looked at Kirlia, who was continuously sprinkling sparkling water droplets onto the Riolu lying on the sickbed, and said in an appreciative tone.
"Although your Pokémon is not very proficient with the move [Life Dew], her control over energy is second to none."
"With this move, this strange Pokémon of yours won't have a big problem."
At this moment, the water droplets continuously dripping from Kirlia Ruru's hands were precisely the new move she had comprehended, [Life Dew], which could heal her companions or herself and restore their energy.
As for how this move was comprehended, that was another story.
Hearing the legendary trainer, the old man Akagi, say so, Míng Rìzhào still had a bit of unease in her heart, frequently turning her head to look at the motionless Riolu lying there.
Suddenly, Rio's body twitched.
His eyes slowly opened, his pupils filled with a dazed, unfocused look.
"Ah, Rio! How are you feeling?"
Míng Rìzhào rushed to the bedside at once.
"…"
Rio looked at the small face right before him, blinked his eyes, and only then said slowly, with some fatigue, "I'm fine... I think."
This fellow, only his mouth was the toughest. It made Míng Rìzhào so angry she wanted to give him a knock on the head. But when her fist was about to land on Rio's head, it turned into a palm, gently stroking Rio's head.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault."
After habitually complaining about his trainer for a bit, Rio sincerely apologized.
At this, Míng Rìzhào, on the contrary, said nothing. She pulled Ruru, returned to the tea table, and sat there without a word.
"A talking Pokémon... they are very rare in the world nowadays," the old man's voice came.
Rio struggled to sit up and thanked the old man.
When he fell off the cliff, although his consciousness was rather blurry, his instinctively active Aura perception still remembered who had saved him at the critical moment.
It was the white-bearded and white-haired old man before him, and the Charizard behind him.
Flannery also sized up Rio with great curiosity.
"Grandpa Akagi, what kind of Pokémon do you think this little fellow is? How come I've never seen it before?"
Unsurprisingly, this was a question that everyone who saw Rio would ask.
But unexpectedly, the old man Akagi actually answered Flannery's question thoughtfully.
"Let me think. Thirty years ago, I seem to have seen data on this type of Pokémon. It seems to be called Riolu, belonging to the Fighting-type. At the same time, they can also master a kind of energy called Aura, which is very magical."
Unexpectedly, someone could recognize Rio's Pokémon species. Rio quickly pressed on, "Excuse me, have you seen any other Pokémon like me?"
The old man Akagi stroked his beard.
"I haven't seen one in person, but I have a good friend who is an archaeology enthusiast and has studied related materials before."
"If you are interested, you can go to the west of Middel. There are many historical records of the ancient Hisui region there, as well as many ancient ruins. I believe you can find a lot of information in those distant memories."
The old man put down the teacup in his hand.
"However, I want to say one thing to you."
"Striving for the limit is a good thing, but going too far will ultimately backfire."
"It might even cause you to lose a lot."
The Charizard behind him let out a low growl. The old man Akagi seemed to be hinting at something.
Rio looked at his own clenched fists.
"What do you pursue?"
Unconsciously, the old man Akagi had walked in front of Rio.
"The strongest."
"What is the strongest?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you find it?"
"By punching, constantly punching."
"Why do you punch?"
"A heart without fear, a fist that follows my will."
"And when you encounter fear, what do you do?"
"Shatter it!"
After a series of questions and answers, the old man Akagi nodded slightly.
"Pursuing the strongest is very good. But for now, I think you should first consider how to coax your trainer and your little companion."
The old man pointed at the pouting Míng Rìzhào and the Ruru who had deliberately turned her face away from Rio.
"Eevee?"
Eevee didn't mind this strange atmosphere and was licking the tea water on its own, looking very happy.
"Your trainer, for your sake, ran up Fiery Volcano regardless of the danger, and even wanted to have a wager battle with me using her only badge in exchange for information about you," Flannery added another stab from the side.
Rio sighed.
He walked to Míng Rìzhào's side and tugged at the corner of her clothes with his paw.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have gone to train alone and made you all worry."
Hearing Rio's words, Míng Rìzhào's face, on the contrary, showed a bit of gloom.
She took out Rio's Poké Ball, placed it on the tea table, and stared at Rio, enunciating each word.
"No, you don't understand at all. I don't care at all that you want to train by yourself, and I won't even blame you for encountering danger and making us worry. Where I really think you were wrong is that you had no trust in me, or your companions, at all!"
"I thought that after going through so many bumps and scrapes before, and since we overcame them all along the way, we had already built up sufficient trust."
"As a result, I found that I was overthinking it."
"So, I've figured it out. You are a free Pokémon that is unwilling to be bound. You don't need a trainer at all."
"I will release you."
"You... are free."
The atmosphere suddenly became extremely serious. Even Eevee, who had been lapping up tea, looked at the two of them (and the Pokémon) with some fear.
The old man Akagi sat in his seat, still slowly sipping his tea.
—
Trust... this thing... it's not something you can have just by simply saying "I trust you," especially between two individuals with a high degree of self-awareness. To trust each other, one must go through many things. But this kind of trust, forged through hardship, can often erupt with even greater power!
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