Mt. Coronet, Sinnoh.
As the highest mountain in the Sinnoh region, Mt. Coronet is connected to the continuous mountain range that spans the entire region, dividing it into eastern and western parts.
Due to its presence, the climates on both sides of the Sinnoh region are starkly different, forming unique cultures in each city.
Moreover, Mt. Coronet is also the legendary starting point where Arceus created the world.
The ruins of the Spear Pillar at the summit have long been considered the earliest place where humans worshipped this creator deity.
However, with the development of time, records about the relationship between ancient humans and deities gradually disappeared. Nowadays, only a few inheritors independently maintain fragments of ancient wisdom.
Just last month, after finally obtaining permission from these inheritors, Professor Carolina, one of the two most prestigious regional professors currently based in Sandgem Town, began a new investigation of the Spear Pillar ruins.
This research team not only included talents from the entire Sandgem Historical Research Institute but even Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion and Professor Carolina's granddaughter, personally participated.
This shows how much the Sinnoh League values this expedition.
Before spending a year speedrunning through the Sinnoh League and the Victory Road, Cynthia was first a mythologist and then a trainer, so her expertise naturally goes without saying.
Though there were occasional dissenting voices suggesting that Champion Cynthia was merely more interested in archaeological work and thus left all league duties to other Elite Four members...
But such things, upon reflection, are clearly impossible!
And the support of the champion undoubtedly made this expedition smoother.
"My goodness..."
Deep inside the Spear Pillar ruins, a researcher holding a torch gazed at countless murals depicting history before him and instinctively let out an exclamation.
Until now, their understanding of the Spear Pillar ruins as mythologists had only scratched the surface.
However, they never imagined that previous studies were just the tip of the iceberg!
This complete ruin not only recorded the experiences of ancient Sinnoh people exploring the region through murals but also focused extensively on several unfamiliar deities.
Their identities weren't hard to guess.
Passed down by word of mouth among inheritors and recorded in various ruins—
Dialga, the God of Time; Palkia, the God of Space; and Giratina, the god of the Distortion World.
This discovery undoubtedly verified the previous legends about the Spear Pillar ruins.
Ancient Sinnoh people really did see these three legendary beings here, and even Arceus was explicitly recorded in the murals.
However...
Compared to their new findings, the contents of these murals were trivial.
"Are these ritual items used by ancient humans for worship?"
At the forefront of the team, Cynthia, dressed in research attire, contemplated while occasionally glancing at the large container in front of her.
Centered around Arceus, the outer structure consisted of two opposite triangular formations, creating a mysterious hexagram.
One triangle corresponded to Pokémon Cynthia was somewhat familiar with.
Known as the "Lake Guardians" by the Sinnoh people, these three legendary Pokémon brought Knowledge, Emotion, and Willpower to humans.
Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf.
They resided in the three massive lakes of Sinnoh, occasionally appearing to humans to prophesy impending disasters.
Thus, Cynthia knew them.
As for the Pokémon corresponding to the other triangle, it could only be guessed.
However, combining the content of the murals, their identities could basically be determined.
"It is said that because the power of these three gods was too great, to prevent their existence from causing irreversible impacts on the real world, the creator god Arceus created unique dimensions for each of them."
The hunched yet spirited Professor Carolina stepped forward and muttered to herself.
"Could it be... that this is the backup plan the creator god left for them?"
"Through a special ritual, allowing them to briefly appear in the real world to fulfill their duties."
Professor Carolina quickly proposed her hypothesis.
This was quite a significant discovery.
If the conjecture were true, this power would be the ace up the sleeve that the creator god left for humanity.
For a long time, the mystery of how the Sinnoh people appeared at the top of Mt. Coronet and developed primitive worship behaviors toward the creator god Arceus has been the most fervent topic among Sinnoh mythologists.
After all, if they could discover how ancient humans contacted Arceus, perhaps they could make it reappear in this world and bestow blessings upon humanity again.
According to the inheritors of Sinnoh, ancient Sinnoh people possessed magical powers that allowed them to directly communicate with legendary beasts mentally and calm their anger.
This also matched the current archaeological findings.
Only by mastering this special power could they reach a consensus with these legendary beings and temporarily borrow their powers.
If they could regain this ability...
Perhaps even the power of the gods could be harnessed by humans.
It is said that to this day, a significant number of people still harbor such thoughts and secretly attempt them.
Perhaps the loss of this power by humans was precisely due to this greed.
Thinking of this, Professor Carolina couldn't help but shake her head.
"For now, it's better not to disclose the current archaeological discoveries to the public."
"And to replicate this ancient ritual, we are still missing crucial information. The cost of rash attempts might be unbearable."
Behind her, Cynthia nodded slightly, her gaze once again falling on the container located at the center of the ruins.
Aside from the lock at the central part whose opening method was still unknown, the three slots around it clearly required three different items.
From their shapes, they seemed to be some kind of round orbs?
Besides, the way humans communicated with these legendary beings had already been lost in the dust of history.
Missing any of these three questions makes this ritual riskier.
Therefore, she fully agreed with her grandmother's opinion.
This trip to Mt. Coronet seemed to yield many discoveries, but as their research went deeper, they felt that the amount of missing information seemed to increase...
Countless mysteries hovered over Mt. Coronet, mocking human ignorance and hubris.
...
After nearly a month of archaeological work finally concluded, Cynthia returned to her residence in the Sinnoh League.
She instinctively opened her phone, wanting to chat with Aiden after a long time.
As a professional mythologist, during work hours, she would never be distracted by personal matters, focusing solely on her research.
However, now was a rare break.
Before returning to the league and continuing her duties as champion, she decided to chat with Aiden first.
Thinking of this, a beautiful curve involuntarily formed on Cynthia's lips.
Just as she opened her navigator, she suddenly recalled an impressive moment Aiden gave her during the New Year period.
He casually summarized the ancient legend of Arceus' creation, indicating that he must have actively learned about Sinnoh history.
Moreover...
Grandmother said, "temporarily do not disclose to the public," but Aiden clearly wasn't an outsider, right?
Perhaps, he, who isn't a mythologist, could offer useful suggestions from another perspective?
With such thoughts, Cynthia quickly typed a message on the screen—
[Cynthia: Aiden, how much do you know about Sinnoh legends?]
When she pressed send, Cynthia couldn't help but chuckle softly.
I must be a bit confused. Aiden, a gym leader far away in Paldea, how could he possibly know the new clues they discovered in Sinnoh?
Even their most professional mythologists were at a loss, and further research might be needed. Was asking Aiden a bit too rash?
As Cynthia thought this, she quickly received a reply from Aiden.
[Aiden: I know a little. Actually, I'm quite interested in legendary Pokémon, so maybe I can help you?]
On the other side of the screen, Aiden shook his head helplessly.
"Was that too humble?"
Although he couldn't directly tell Cynthia, "you found the right person," he was indeed quite confident in this area.
Regarding archaeological details, he knew much less than Cynthia and other mythologists.
But as a traveler with memories from his past life, he was very clear about the truth of this ancient Sinnoh legend!
Forget about Sinnoh ancient history; even the unofficial history of the Sinnoh region, like "Arceus was actually an alpaca, only changed into human form because he coveted my body," or "an ancient Sinnoh person who knocked out Legendaries with a ball to forcefully capture them," Aiden could talk about with her.
And most likely, he was the only person in the world who knew this information.
However...
I wonder what exactly Cynthia's side discovered, leading her to seek my help, wanting answers.
Did they really dig up a stone tablet left by the alpaca?
Shortly after sending the message, instead of Cynthia's reply, what awaited him was...
A video call invitation.
As Aiden answered the call, Cynthia's holographic image soon appeared before him.
Having accompanied Professor Carolina's team on archaeology for so long, Aiden could clearly see some fatigue in Cynthia's eyes.
"Aiden, are you serious?"
Facing Cynthia's skeptical expression, Aiden quickly smiled.
"When have I ever lied to you? The audience in my live stream knows Teacher Azure's integrity."
Hmm...
The bad reputation of the Sunshine Gym has nothing to do with me, Aiden!
Seeing Aiden's confident demeanor, Cynthia couldn't help but smile helplessly.
"So, Teacher Azure, who 'knows a little,' can you give me some advice on today's discovery at Mt. Coronet?"
Cynthia quickly described roughly what she saw inside the Spear Pillar ruins.
As her words grew deeper, the expression on Aiden's face immediately became complex.
Wow...
Almost instantly, Aiden could confirm that Cynthia and her team had discovered something big.
Regarding myths and legends, Teacher Azure knows a little.
The Spear Pillar ruins have always held extremely special significance in Pokémon, not only being the starting point where Arceus created the Sinnoh region but also possibly one of the mediums to bring Arceus into the world.
What they discovered was likely the place to summon the three Sinnoh gods.
What are the key-like gaps?
Spear Keys!
Aiden remembered the specific acquisition method was in the Solaceon Ruins? One had to use the stone tablets left by Arceus to enter the place where it was kept.
As for the three circular slots, the hint was too obvious.
In the game, the three Sinnoh gods each have their own exclusive items, corresponding to Pearl, Diamond, and Platinum.
However, Aiden was really unclear about how to obtain these three orbs.
Sinnoh hides many things deep.
But one thing was certain—
Since it was deliberately left behind by Arceus for humans, there must be clues it left behind.
"Cynthia, do you remember Arceus' creation process?"
Aiden didn't answer her question directly but posed another question.
"Of course, it established the initial order, using fragments of the world-creation to make eighteen plates of different attributes and shared this power selflessly with all its creations."
"..."
"Finally, after completing the three great feats of creating the world, establishing order, and giving life, Arceus fell asleep at its birthplace until now."
Cynthia nodded and quickly summarized briefly.
"But how does this relate to the discovery in the ruins?"
"Of course, it does."
Aiden nodded and asked calmly:
"The complete record of Arceus' Genesis documented ancient humans' understanding of the world. All legendary entities have their missions, but the whereabouts of one thing were not mentioned."
"Where did the plates symbolizing parts of Arceus' power go?"
Aiden's casual statement immediately exploded in Cynthia's heart.
She quickly realized the meaning behind Aiden's words.
"So, the key to unveiling the truth is the eighteen plates intentionally omitted from mythological records?"
Cynthia blurted out instinctively, her mind beginning to ponder the correctness of this conjecture.
Regarding the attribute plates suspected to be related to Arceus, with years of exploration in the Sinnoh region, they had at least some knowledge of the whereabouts of a portion of them.
Even in her grandmother's institute, the Splash Plate and Flame Plate were preserved.
Although the plates were not living things, the ancient texts inscribed on them, if deciphered, might indeed be related to recent discoveries...
"I understand."
Cynthia nodded again, inevitably feeling a bit emotional—
Never expected that after such a long time, Aiden still had such an understanding of Sinnoh's historical legends.
If Aiden had stayed in Sinnoh back then and joined them on archaeological expeditions, perhaps from his perspective, he could have discovered more overlooked content...
What a pity.
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