Edward rubbed his temples—he had suddenly thought of a very serious problem.
Since Shizuka had turned into a Hisuian Zoroark after her death, didn't that theoretically mean that other Ghost-type Pokémon might also be formed from the souls of deceased people?
If that were the case… it would open a whole can of terrifying ethical problems.
"Hey! Isn't that Old Wang from next door? Look, the Pokémon I'm raising is your dead father's soul! Oh, and your grandparents too!"
"Hah! I've been prepared for this. Come out—Mom!"
Yeah… if that were true, the whole world would probably descend into chaos.
Edward could only hope that Shizuka's case was a unique exception.
Because if not, Ghost-type Pokémon could instantly become taboo across the entire Pokémon League.
After all, no one could accept the idea that their deceased loved ones might have been turned into Pokémon and caught by someone else.
"But… is that really how it is?" Shizuka asked, still confused.
"Ever heard of the concept of past life memories?" Edward waved a hand, trying not to get too deep into this.
"Some people suddenly awaken memories of their past life—so does that make them the same person as before? Or someone new? Which one is the real them?"
He really didn't want to think about it too much—it was a mess of philosophical complexity.
Psychology had similar debates, especially concerning dissociative identity disorder (multiple personalities).
The primary and alternate personalities had different memories and views, yet shared the same body.
In such cases, if you "eliminated" the alternate personality, was that the same as killing a person?
In modern psychology and psychiatry, this topic remains highly controversial.
After all, erasing someone's memories is akin to erasing their existence.
Edward remembered watching an anime in his previous life—Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.
The protagonist's little sister, Kaede Azusagawa, had similar struggles, and in the end, the story resolved it by letting the original personality awaken while the alternate one disappeared.
"Huh? So, in that case…" Shizuka scratched her head, still distressed. How was she supposed to answer such a question?
Edward pursed his lips. There was no easy answer.
Still, he knew he had to come up with a way to deal with it—some kind of solution.
"Marketplace… System marketplace—oh wait, my system doesn't have a marketplace…" Edward twitched at the mouth. If it did, maybe he could just buy a solution right now.
Suddenly, a new system prompt appeared in front of him:
[You have an unclaimed achievement reward. Would you like to claim it?]
Edward paused. There are still achievements?
Curious, he opened the window to take a look.
[Witness of Time: You witnessed the power of the gods of time and space, quelled disaster, and restored peace to the world. You shall receive a reward from Arceus.]
"Claim it!" Edward immediately confirmed.
In the next instant, everything around him froze.
Edward could see Shizuka's hair suspended mid-air from the breeze. Even the dust in the air and the surrounding cityscape had completely stopped.
"DIAAA!"
A familiar roar echoed out—and the next second, Dialga appeared beside Edward.
The Luxury Ball at Edward's waist started shaking violently—Groudon had sensed Dialga's presence.
Dialga looked at Edward, then bowed its head and placed something in front of him before vanishing.
As Dialga disappeared, the Luxury Ball calmed down.
"What is this?" Edward picked up the object—it was a glowing candy.
It was shaped like a cube, with a unique design. It felt light in his hand, almost weightless, like an aerosol. Its warm texture made Edward even more curious about its purpose.
Could it be the answer to the problem he was just struggling with?
[Wishing Candy: A candy that witnessed the moment a brave girl made her vow in a time of despair. A fragment of regret, a piece of memory—under the power of destiny, it traversed time and space, becoming a reward for the brave.]
As Edward read the description, he paused.
"A girl in despair… brave…" He immediately thought of Shizuka.
During the explosion, she had unhesitatingly shielded him with her own body.
She was swept away in the space-time distortion and ended up in the Hisui region.
Could this candy be connected to that moment…?
Edward looked pensive. Given the timing and the achievement, it seemed his system might be related to Arceus itself.
"But still…"
Time resumed flowing.
"I still don't know who I really am…" Shizuka said, clearly still distressed.
Edward made up his mind.
Without saying another word, he picked up the candy and popped it into Shizuka's mouth.
Startled, she blinked, but the candy melted instantly upon contact with her tongue.
Edward nervously watched what happened next.
He had no idea what the candy would do—but its appearance at this exact moment seemed too perfect.
It had to be the key.
Suddenly—Shizuka turned into light.
Literally.
She became a glowing sphere of radiant energy, so bright it was nearly blinding. Edward instinctively shielded his eyes.
The light pulsed and shimmered—then, slowly, a girl emerged from it, lying down to the side.
The brilliant light gradually faded.
It was Shizuka—wearing the tattered Team Galactic uniform from the explosion, lying on the backseat.
Beside her, a red-and-white Hisuian Zoroark curled up, as if in slumber.
Between the two, a strange glowing tether spun gently in the air.
Then, the tether broke, retracting into both of their bodies.
Edward stared, dumbfounded.
"Shizuka's… back?"
His eyes lit up with joy.
If Shizuka had returned to human form, he no longer had to wrestle with the philosophical (and romantic) conundrum of falling for a Zoroark.
Even though he knew Shizuka and Zoroark were one and the same, and that it was just a transformation…
It was still a Ghost-type Pokémon—and the League definitely prohibited those kinds of relationships.
"I… I'm…"
Shizuka sat up and stared in confusion at her own hands.
Then she spotted the Zoroark beside her.
"Eh?"
She looked completely stunned.
Edward chuckled. It was real—they had been separated.
But this kind of divine power…
"Boss? Huh?"
The Zoroark beside her also woke up and blinked.
Seeing both the Zoroark and Shizuka conscious and side-by-side, Edward rubbed his forehead.
This… was going to be complicated.
But still, he figured having a Zoroark as his secretary wasn't a bad deal.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Thank God, thought author with his criticisms about LGBTQ only to turn out to be a furry.