Inside Shaya's house were placed several special ores. The ores emitted a soft glow and could serve as a source of illumination, so the wooden cabin was not dim.
Because she lived alone, Shaya's wooden house was not spacious. As soon as Yuga and the other two stepped inside, they could take in everything within at a glance. On her bed lay three Pokémon eggs.
Could what Shaya had said—the thing Old Ancestor entrusted her to pass on—be these three Pokémon eggs? Yuga and the other two thought this in their hearts at the same time.
Sure enough, Shaya walked straight to the bedside, then pointed at the Pokémon eggs and said, "Here, each of you pick one."
Yuga hesitated and said, "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Shaya said, "The parents of these three children are all gone for various reasons. Old Ancestor entrusted them to you in order to find them a source of support."
The mortality rate of wild Pokémon is extremely high, especially in such untamed wilderness far from the human world, where battles between Pokémon are especially fierce.
The parents of that child Old Ancestor had lost before had died in the same way; otherwise, how could that child have been lost so easily?
These three Pokémon eggs before Yuga were merely three among the many orphans on Dragon Island.
When Yuga activated his Insight skill, he was surprised to discover that all three of these Pokémon eggs had indigo potential. Although the intensity of the indigo glow they gave off varied slightly, the differences were not large—clearly, they were all carefully chosen by Old Ancestor.
Pokémon eggs selected by Old Ancestor herself and specifically entrusted to them could not possibly be ordinary Pokémon that one might just pick up casually. Steven and Robert understood this truth, so they were both a little tempted. As a result, Yuga could only say: "Then we won't stand on ceremony."
Thus, the three of them each took the Pokémon egg closest to themselves.
After the three had divided the Pokémon eggs, Shaya said, "Alright, you can leave now."
Yuga and the other two exchanged glances. "Then take good care of yourself—we'll be going now." After saying that, the three of them left while carrying their Pokémon eggs.
Meanwhile, beneath the lake in the territory of the Latios and Latias, there existed a special space. In that space floated a water-blue sphere of light, radiating a gentle glow and at the same time emitting waves of soft power.
This was the treasure of the Latios and Latias group.
The Latios and Latias group was unique: when they died, they did not leave behind a body, but instead transformed into a special item—Soul Dew.
The treasure of the Latios and Latias group was a special relic formed from the fusion of countless Soul Dews. Whenever a Latios or Latias died, the Soul Dew it became would be merged into this treasure.
Over the years, this treasure had become extremely mysterious, possessing all sorts of wondrous powers.
Because this treasure was so special, back then, when the Latios leader opposed handing it over to Old Ancestor, the other Latios and Latias who also respected Old Ancestor responded one after another in agreement.
Old Ancestor was important, yes, but the relic left behind by generations of their own ancestors was also important!
At this very moment, Yuga's Latios and Latias were using this treasure to cultivate. The Latios leader stood silently to one side, watching.
In order to win over Yuga's Latios and Latias, the Latios leader had brought the two of them here to train.
The Latios leader harbored ambitions of his own. Now that Old Ancestor was gone, the obstacle preventing him from realizing his ambitions was gone as well. He was already eager to see Dragon Island return to its former unified state.
It was just that Old Ancestor had only just passed away, and even within the Latios and Latias group there would be members who opposed it immediately triggering a second civil strife on Dragon Island.
Although the Latios and Latias group had extremely few members—only a mere twelve—they were Legendary Pokémon, each possessing exceptionally powerful individual combat capabilities. Therefore, the support of every single one was extremely important to the Latios leader.
Only if Yuga's two joined them and stood on its side would those few peace-faction members in the clan be unable to restrain it any longer.
Soon, Yuga's Latios and Latias finished cultivating. The Latios leader looked at them with concern and asked, "How do you feel?"
"Very good," Yuga's Latios and Latias replied. Even though they had only cultivated for a very short time using the treasure, they felt that they had grown significantly stronger.
After all, contained within this treasure was the complete origin essence of countless Legendary Pokémon!
The siblings were actually wearing the Soul Dews left behind by their parents, but those were very important keepsakes to them, so they had never actively absorbed the energy within, instead treating them as a memento. How could they casually absorb them the way they had today?
Letting Yuga's Latios and Latias cultivate with the treasure was, in fact, a decision the Latios leader had made entirely on its own; the other Latios and Latias knew nothing of it. If they were to find out, they would certainly oppose it—after all, even they themselves were reluctant to use the treasure for cultivation.
The Latios leader, in order to win over Yuga's Latios and Latias, had secretly brought the two of them here to cultivate. If it were discovered by the other Latios or Latias, that would be no small matter.
In truth, the Latios leader had also secretly cultivated with the treasure before—it had simply been concealing this from its own kin all along.
"As long as you keep helping me, I will never treat you poorly," the Latios leader said.
"Rest assured, Leader, we will firmly and unwaveringly support you," the siblings said with resolute expressions after exchanging a glance.
Of course, they were merely humoring the Latios leader. They were only willing to play along for now because following it temporarily brought them benefits.
Late at night, when all was quiet, the Latios leader quietly arrived at the edge of the mountain range that split the two great powers of Dragon Island. Behind a concealed large tree, it met with the Kommo-o—the second-in-command of the ordinary Dragon-type Pokémon faction.
Ever since Old Ancestor's death, Kommo-o's voice carried the greatest authority among the ordinary Dragon-types.
Who would have thought that it was secretly in contact with the Latios leader…
"You finally came!" Kommo-o said anxiously.
The Latios leader said unhurriedly, "I'm being this careful for your own good. If those on the other side of the mountain found out you were in contact with me, you'd have a hard time explaining yourself when you went back…"
The two conspired together for a long time before going their separate ways.
Before leaving, Kommo-o said to the Latios leader, "You promised me that once you unify Dragon Island, you will not, out of personal motives, purge dissenters. You must not go back on your word—if you do, I won't let you off!"
"Rest assured, whatever I promise, I will certainly carry out," the Latios leader pledged.
Kommo-o gave the Latios leader a deep look, then turned and left.
Unlike the Latios leader, whose aim was to realize its own ambitions, Kommo-o truly had the well-being of the entire Dragon Island in mind. It believed that Dragon Island could not remain divided forever—unification was the correct path.
Although Kommo-o was not from the same era as Old Ancestor, it had also experienced the unified age of Dragon Island, and it deeply missed those days when the island was united as one.
This was why it was willing to cooperate with the Latios leader.
In the past, everyone kept fighting for the sake of Old Ancestor, but now that Old Ancestor was gone, there was no longer any meaning in continuing the struggle.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and several days went by. In those days, Yuga and the others either tended to their newly acquired Pokémon eggs or strolled idly around the island.
Sometimes they would even go to the other side of the island, take some pictures and shoot some videos, using their cameras to record the local customs and scenery of Dragon Island.
Neither side placed any restrictions on Yuga and his group's movements. The island seemed to be at peace on the surface, but Yuga and the others constantly felt that this was merely the calm before the storm.
On this particular day, Yuga was sitting on a large rock, using a soft cloth to wipe a Pokémon egg, while his other Pokémon were training nearby. He was very curious about what kind of Pokémon this egg would hatch into.
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed Dragonite not far away. An idea flashed through his mind, and he beckoned to Dragonite.
"Dragonite, come over here!"
"Dragonite~"
Dragonite stopped its training and walked over to Yuga with a confused expression.
Yuga took out the Dragon Pearl that Old Ancestor had given him and said to Dragonite, "Touch it."
Dragonite looked even more puzzled, but still reached out its hand toward the Dragon Pearl. However, after a long while, the Dragon Pearl showed no reaction at all.
"It's not…?" Yuga felt a little disappointed.
Just now, he had suddenly thought of the possibility—could Dragonite's mother be that child who went missing from Dragon Island all those years ago? After all, the timing and age seemed to match.
But unexpectedly, the Dragon Pearl had no reaction to Dragonite. If Dragonite's mother were that lost little Dratini from back then, then as her child, Dragonite would also be Old Ancestor's descendant.
The Dragon Pearl would always react to the descendants of Old Ancestor.
Now that the Dragon Pearl did not respond to Dragonite, that meant Dragonite's mother was not that child from the past.
Well, if not, then so be it. It was only a sudden thought he had anyway—how could there be such a coincidence in the world? As for that child, they would have to search slowly for it in the future.
Just as Yuga was about to put the Dragon Pearl away, Charizard flapped its wings and landed beside Dragonite. It reached out a claw and curiously poked the Dragon Pearl.
And right at that moment, the Dragon Pearl suddenly erupted with a dazzling light. Golden brilliance burst out, almost blinding Yuga's eyes.
???
What was going on? Could it be that Dragonite was not Old Ancestor's descendant, but Charizard was?
Dragonite could indeed produce offspring with Charizard—even though Charizard was no longer a Dragon-type Pokémon, most Charizards carried Dragon-type bloodlines.
Just as Yuga thought that Charizard was Old Ancestor's descendant, the Dragon Pearl in his hand suddenly shot out, transforming into a ball of light that dove straight into Charizard's belly.
Charizard only felt a warm sensation in its abdomen, and then immediately fell into a deep sleep.
???
At this moment, Yuga was completely filled with question marks: How could this be happening? Old Ancestor had never mentioned anything like this!
Seeing Charizard faint, Dragonite immediately caught and supported it, its face full of anxiety.
Just as Yuga was about to go over and examine Charizard's condition, Shaya descended from the sky riding on her Hydreigon, her face brimming with anger.
"So infuriating! I'm absolutely furious!"
She swung herself down from Hydreigon's back and strode over to Yuga.
"What happened?" Yuga asked in puzzlement.
It turned out that today, the Dragon-type Pokémon on the other side of the mountains had organized a grand meeting to discuss the future of Dragon Island. Unexpectedly, a faction of Pokémon led by Kommo-o had actually proposed reconciling with the Latios and Latias clan, so that Dragon Island could return to being unified under one rule.
The reason was very simple: back then, the breakup of Dragon Island was because of Old Ancestor. Now that Old Ancestor was no longer here, Dragon Island, no matter what, must not break apart any further—unification was the path Dragon Island should follow.
Unexpectedly, there were actually quite a number of Dragon-type Pokémon who agreed with this view.
"I will never, under any circumstances, agree to reconciling with the Latios and Latias clan. If it hadn't been for them back then, how would Dragon Island have split apart? They were far too selfish!" Shaya said angrily.
Yuga didn't feel it was his place to comment on this matter. In his view, both sides had their own positions.
From Shaya's perspective as Old Ancestor's child, Old Ancestor had protected Dragon Island for countless years, shielding it from outside harm. Therefore, the Latios and Latias who enjoyed these benefits should not have just stood by and watched when Old Ancestor was in danger.
From the perspective of the Latios and Latias group, their treasure was a private possession, and furthermore an heirloom passed down through generations. Whether or not they handed it over was entirely their own choice, and no one had the right to interfere.
After Shaya had vented for a while, she noticed the unconscious Charizard nearby. Seeing Yuga examining Charizard's condition, she asked in puzzlement:
"What happened to this Charizard?"
Yuga frowned and said, "I think I may have found a descendant of Old Ancestor."
Just now, after he had examined it, he found that Charizard's body was fine, but at the same time he felt that there were certain unusual things about it.
"Really?" Shaya became extremely excited, but then quickly calmed down again. Pointing at Charizard, she asked, "You're not talking about this Charizard, are you?"
"That's right."
Yuga then told Shaya what had just happened to Charizard. Shaya, however, looked at him with suspicion and said, "You're not trying to trick me, are you? This Charizard is your Pokémon, and now you just happen to claim it's Old Ancestor's descendant?"
Yuga looked helpless. "I'm not lying to you, everything I said is true."
But Shaya still did not believe him.
At this moment, Steven and Robert happened to arrive. Shaya's eyes lit up: "The people who can prove your words are here."
When Steven and Robert came closer, Shaya said to them, "Take out your Dragon Pearls."
The two were puzzled by her words, but when they saw Yuga nod at them, they both took out their Dragon Pearls together.
This time, the reaction of the Dragon Pearls toward Charizard was even more intense. As soon as the Dragon Pearls got close to Charizard—before they even touched it—they burst forth with golden light. Immediately afterward, they broke free from Steven's and Robert's hands, transformed into golden balls of light, and dove straight into Charizard's belly.
"Wha… what's going on?"
Steven asked, eyes wide open.
Shaya, also staring in disbelief, now truly believed that Yuga's words were real.
"There really can be such a coincidence in this world…" Shaya murmured to herself.
Yuga then told Steven and Robert about his suspicions.
At that moment, Robert suddenly crouched down, placed his hand on Charizard's belly, and then frowned as he said: "Your Charizard seems to be… pregnant!"
"Pre… pregnant?"
Yuga was stunned when he heard this. He then turned his gaze toward Dragonite nearby, and at last understood what had been unusual about Charizard just now.
So that was it—it was pregnant!
Charizard and Dragonite had been together for quite some time. Although Yuga had never made it public, all of his main team Pokémon knew.