Chapter 152: The Sinnoh Region
Sinnoh, a name meaning "mysterious and profound." This region is ancient, vast, and complex. It could be said that, of all the lands in the Pokémon world, its history is the deepest.
Each region has its own specialty. Battling, breeding, and coordinating were born and rose to prominence in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, respectively. Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization each originated in Kalos, Alola, Galar, and Paldea.
As for Unova... it is the region with the largest population and the most cities.
And Sinnoh's specialty, without a doubt, is its history and legends. The gods of this region, setting aside their combat power, are, in terms of their abilities and lore, at the absolute apex of the Pokémon world. The strongest creator god, Arceus, belongs to this region.
...
League Year 22.
More than two years had passed since Will's third reincarnation. Two years ago, he and his Meowscarada had entered the great mountain range that spanned the lands between Sinnoh and the southern continent. After that, they had vanished for two years.
He had never thought that the old Dragonite's "little while" would mean two years. Although two years, whether for a Dragonite or for him now, was not a very long time—just a small segment of a long life—for his human soul, it had been a real ordeal. It almost gave him the illusion that he was back in Mt. Silver, training.
If they had been able to walk in a straight line, with their speed, they could have crossed the mountains and reached the Sinnoh region in half a year at most. But you couldn't just "cross" these mountains. Some of them were truly barren, without a blade of grass. There was nowhere to even get a foothold, forcing them to take detours. And in doing so, they would lose their way.
Because Liz didn't know the way either.
Will had basically been following her phantom with his Meowscarada, going around in circles in this mountain range. Some places had changed significantly in the thousand years. In his eyes, a place might be a cliff or a lake, but Liz's phantom would just walk right through it. At times like that, he would have to spend time finding a new phantom trail.
It was only because his and Meowscarada's physiques were strong, and their speed in the forest was fast, that it had only taken them two years. The Pokémon of this era were not very competitive. They wouldn't just attack a passing or strange Pokémon. Along the way, not only did they not encounter many bad Pokémon, but they also made many friends who gave them directions and shared food.
But a thousand years ago, in the eyes of many Pokémon, if even a dog passed by their home, they would chase it for three blocks. The most common images Will saw of Liz were of her either being carried by a Pokémon or commanding one in battle. He couldn't even imagine how much time and effort it had taken her to cross this same mountain range.
...
When Will and Meowscarada finally walked out of the forest and saw the flat, vast grasslands ahead, they immediately collapsed to the ground.
"Meow..." Meowscarada stared blankly at the long-unseen plains and let out a long sigh. She had thought she was going to die in those mountains. Finally, she could see the light of day again!
"Phew, we're finally out," Will breathed, looking to the side. The phantom of the thousand-year-old Liz was standing there with them, also staring into the distance. She looked much older now than when she had set out, with dark circles and crow's feet around her eyes, and her complexion was much worse. At this point, she must have been in her forties. The years in these mountains had been incredibly hard on her.
"I wonder what the Sinnoh in your eyes was like," Will muttered. He imagined it wouldn't have been too bad. In her time, Sinnoh was probably still called the Hisui region. And the Hisui he had seen in the games had a very beautiful environment, even if some of the Pokémon were a bit aggressive.
"Meow~" Meowscarada quickly stood up, full of energy. She was mentally tired, simply because the terrain for the past two years had been so monotonous. It was either barren mountains or forests. But other than that, it wasn't much different from her time in Johto. Sometimes, living with different Pokémon and experiencing their daily lives was quite interesting to her. And most importantly, she had Will by her side. When she was bored, she would harass him, annoy him, and make him tell her stories. That would always fill her with energy and make the journey exciting again.
But Will was tired. Genuinely tired. The entire Sceptile was haggard. He had to constantly pay attention to Liz's phantom in front, and also keep an eye on his mischievous cat behind him.
"Don't rush me. Let me rest," Will said, raising a hand.
The phantom of Liz had already set off, but he really needed a break. The phantom was just there; it wasn't going to run away. It didn't matter if he slowed down a bit.
"Meow~" Meowscarada shook her head, walked behind Will, and began to knead his shoulders. This dad of hers was so useless.
"Mm, that's the spot," Will hummed comfortably. Her soft paws pressing on his shoulders felt great, and the feeling of her fluffy fur brushing against his skin was very relaxing.
These past two years, Will had spent most of his time raising the big cat behind him. They had relied on each other to survive, and she had now become his "little padded jacket"—gentle, considerate, and honest. She had even started to learn how to take care of others, just like he used to.
"East, huh," Will said, propping his chin on his hand and looking at Mt. Coronet in the distance. He now knew roughly where they were.
Mt. Coronet was a long mountain range that ran north to south, dividing the land of Sinnoh into two regions, east and west. At first glance, the geography was very similar to the combined area of Kanto and Johto to the south. And in reality, it was. Kanto and Johto were originally designed based on a peninsula, while Sinnoh, like Hoenn, was a full island. Sinnoh was just larger, with more landmass.
"The west. Looks like things will be easier for Liz," Will mused, breathing a sigh of relief for her.
From a future perspective, the eastern region was much more developed and friendly to humans. But in the past, in the era of Hisui, the situation was the opposite. The Pokémon of the past knew to compete for the more comfortable and fertile eastern region. The humans of that era, the Hisui people, had no ability to fight them for territory. So, they all went to the western region to build their villages, using the harsh natural terrain as a barrier against the beasts.
A thousand years ago, if Liz had traveled through the eastern region, she would have had to fight her way north, barely seeing any other people. But by going west, she would be able to meet many humans. Life would be much more comfortable. She might even get a lot of help and technology from Professor Laventon of Jubilife Village.
"Meow?" Meowscarada gave Will a poke with her paw, asking when they were leaving. She hadn't eaten human food in a long time and really wanted to improve her diet.
"Alright, let's go," Will said, getting up with her help. He activated the power of the ripple. Liz's phantom was already far ahead. She had even looked back once, her eyes full of doting helplessness. He wasn't sure if she was looking at him, or at the other Pokémon she was traveling with.
Will glanced at his status screen. In two years, his level had reached the peak of his previous life, and his movepool had surpassed it. This speed was actually quite slow, considering the cheat Celebi had given him. But it couldn't be helped. The style of the era and the distribution of Pokémon had limited his leveling speed.
"Meow~" Meowscarada was excited to be on a plain again and ran circles around him. She then pounced, hugging his arm.
"Looks like you were really cooped up," Will laughed, shaking his head. It had been a long time since he had seen her act like this, like a little girl.
"Meow?"
"I don't know. Let's just walk and see," Will shrugged. He didn't know where to go either, because he didn't know which direction Liz would go.
"Meow?"
"We should pass through a human town. We can rest there for a few days."
Will looked. In the direction Liz was heading, they would pass through the future location of Sandgem Town. A thousand years ago, this town probably didn't exist. Liz likely wouldn't have stopped. But in the future, Sandgem Town would be quite famous. It was where Professor Rowan's lab was, and where new trainers got their Pokémon. Dawn had gotten her Piplup from there.
Right now, it should just be a small village, maybe even smaller than Azalea Town. Even if he and Meowscarada were conspicuous in Sinnoh, they probably wouldn't cause a huge stir in such a small village.
"Meow!" Hearing this, Meowscarada was delighted and started running around on the grass again.
"Run all you want. After this place, it's another forest."
"Meow?!" The cat's ears drooped, her face falling.
"There's nothing we can do. A large part of Sinnoh is made up of forests," Will shook his head helplessly. He didn't want to go through a forest either. "It's fine. Once we get to Sandgem Town, we probably won't have to see a forest for a few months."
He now had two maps in his head: the Sinnoh map from a hundred years in the future, and the Hisui map from who knows how long ago. According to both, once they reached Jubilife, the route north was much easier to travel.
"Luckily, I found all those Flying-type Pokémon for her back then. Aren't they much more useful than Dragon-types?" Will smiled and shook his head, praising his own brilliance.
"Meow?"
"It's nothing. Let's keep moving."
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter