Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
About to meet Uxie, Li Xiang felt a little nervous inside.
Aside from the mysterious Suicune, Uxie would be the second Legendary Pokémon he had seen with his own eyes.
This Pokémon was useless in the games, but in the lore, it was incredibly terrifying.
Whether it was erasing people's memories or combining with the other two lake spirits to create the Red Chain to control the masters of time and space, these were definitely not things ordinary Pokémon could do.
Would this Legendary be as disappointing as in the special chapters and anime, or would it maintain a certain level of awe? This was what he urgently wanted to know.
Along the way, there were many phantom Pokémon, but most of them appeared in groups, making them truly unapproachable.
Because if you defeated these, the next wave would come.
Li Xiang could only regretfully watch these walking gummies slip through his fingers.
Nearby, Mo Ye noticed Li Xiang's mood and found his fixation on these phantoms strange. He wanted to let him train, but considering the most important thing right now was finding Uxie, he didn't say anything.
They would deal with it after the matter was resolved. Anyway, the number of phantoms was so vast, they wouldn't be cleared out anytime soon.
They moved forward, bypassing group after group of phantoms.
Only by seeing them with their own eyes did they truly grasp the immense number of phantoms.
Just in the areas they passed through, there were often hundreds or thousands of phantoms silently charging forward, like the Shadow Corps from Jackie Chan Adventures.
Li Xiang watched them, even though he felt they were all walking candies, he still felt a wave of discomfort.
What exactly were these things?
Sometimes, seeing these lifeless phantoms, he almost couldn't help himself and wanted to rush up and tear them apart.
Fortunately, his training in the Three-Blind Perception Method hadn't been in vain.
He held back.
They quietly continued forward. The phantoms were clearly not very bright, nor did they have the sense of smell or hearing like zombies.
Sometimes, even when they were less than ten meters away, they couldn't smell anything or hear footsteps.
They had no reaction at all.
Their vision was even less of a concern. However, occasionally, because their path was blocked and there was no way around, they had to stop and wait for the phantoms to move on before continuing.
This feeling was like playing Assassin's Creed or Metal Gear Solid.
A stealth game, the kind where you didn't dare to breathe heavily the whole time.
If you made a mistake, you probably wouldn't get another chance.
With a lively mind, Li Xiang paid close attention to the dead branches and leaves on the ground as he walked.
Many times in movies, the protagonist gets discovered because they step on a branch.
Crack.
And then, bam, they all come charging at you.
As a follower of the principle of caution, Li Xiang found the scenario cliché but had to guard against it. It would be ironic if something went wrong.
What he was more curious about was how the other team was doing.
Their team was destined to face many phantoms head-on, and the danger would continue to rise.
If Li Xiang were on that team, he might end up holding them back.
He really wanted the candy, but dragging others into trouble was out of the question.
They advanced safely deeper.
Aside from taking a little longer, nothing else happened. The whole process was extremely stable.
Ninetales looked at Mo Ye and Li Xiang with a very strange expression.
It had originally thought it would be implicated by these two seemingly unreliable guys. It had long been prepared to ditch them and go find Uxie alone.
Unexpectedly...
No wonder they had the courage to lead the way after seeing so many phantoms.
Ninetales glanced at Kingdra and the other Pokémon; the aura emanating from each of them was so strong it made even Ninetales tremble with fear.
An Elite Four member, if it remembered correctly, referred to the four strongest trainers in the land outside.
Not to be underestimated.
It had to find a way to bring this up at the meeting.
Ninetales, while thinking, led the two to a wetland.
Shallow water and puddles were everywhere. Fortunately, the combat suit shoes were waterproof; otherwise, moving in this environment would be truly uncomfortable.
Trophy Mountain was also right in front of them.
At this point, how to get up became a serious question.
In the past, Ninetales would just fly up, but flying units were more conspicuous and easier to expose than ground units.
Therefore, using the waterfall to go up, with the water curtain as cover, was undoubtedly the better choice.
Coincidentally, Mo Ye's three Pokémon all knew [Waterfall]. Li Xiang didn't even need to get Greninja; he could just ride one.
Ninetales didn't need to worry; it could use its psychic power to protect its body surface and ensure it didn't get soaked.
Mo Ye chose Kingdra as his Waterfall mount, while Li Xiang opted for the softer-looking Jellicent.
His rear was more delicate; Golisopod's armor was too hard to handle.
So, silently, avoiding the prying eyes of the phantom Pokémon, Li Xiang and the others, following the rushing waterfall amidst the swirling mist, slowly made their way upward.
Interestingly, no phantoms flew out from above Trophy Mountain. It was completely quiet up there; no one knew what was happening.
Hopefully, there wouldn't be a cliché situation where Uxie turned dark and berserk, attacking them outright.
That would be too melodramatic.
Because Trophy Mountain was so high, as they climbed the waterfall, they were now deep within the dark clouds.
Li Xiang, afraid there might be harmful chemicals in there, braced himself against the rushing water and put on a mask.
Carefully reaching the summit, the first thing they saw was a lush, dense forest.
Then came the sound of sobbing, faint and indistinct, almost drowned out by the thundering roar of the waterfall.
Ninetales was startled, then hurriedly wanted to rush over. But just before it charged out, Golisopod leaped over and grabbed it.
The speed of [First Impression] was no joke.
"Let's check the situation first."
Mo Ye glanced at the agitated golden fox. "What if it's a trap?"
Ninetales initially wanted to struggle, but upon hearing this, it immediately quieted down.
Golisopod also withdrew its claws.
They took out the pass, the Diamond. Its shining light proved this was indeed Uxie's dwelling. They slowly moved inward, carefully observing their surroundings, unwilling to overlook anything that could lead to catastrophe.
Finally, at the very center of the summit platform, they saw their target.
A doll with a yellow mushroom head and a red ruby on its forehead.
—The Knowledge Pokémon, Uxie.
One of the famous Lake Trio.
At that moment, it was raising its cute little hands, focusing its energy on a gemstone placed on a quadrangular pillar-shaped altar. The gemstone was irregular, half-black and half-transparent.
It was continuously pouring something into it.
Inside the gemstone, black energy roiled, sloshing back and forth like a liquid center.
The moment Li Xiang saw this gemstone, he understood about half of what was happening on Phantom Island.
Good grief, it all came back to the Mystery Dungeon series.
The orb in front of Uxie was most likely Dialga's orb—the [Adamant Orb].
In the games, its effect was to boost the power of Dragon- and Steel-type moves when held. Also, it had the effect of summoning Dialga at the Spear Pillar.
This meant this thing was the medium for Dialga to manifest in the world.
It was essentially a part of its body. And the Adamant Orb being eroded by an unknown black energy probably signified that Dialga itself was being corroded.
The result of this erosion would likely be the main big boss from the Mystery Dungeon series—Dark Dialga.
Needless to say, simply put, Dark Dialga was a form it took after losing its ability to manipulate time, subsequently losing self-control and reason.
In this form, it possessed no emotions or capacity for thought.
For the human world, this was a major disaster.
In the games, the reasons for Dialga's transformation were complex, but Li Xiang had basically ruled out those causes, convinced that the culprit here was that mass of black energy.
Because, the moment he saw this black energy, the repulsion he felt in his heart was ten thousand times stronger than before!
"Lord! I'm here to help you!"
Seeing Uxie straining with all its might, Ninetales couldn't hold back any longer and immediately rushed forward.
Then, the cliché line came.
"Uxie!"
Uxie shouted sternly, and Ninetales, still halfway there, froze on the spot.
Li Xiang didn't even need to think to know it was definitely saying, "Don't come over."
Mo Ye quickly stepped forward, intending to ask Uxie what was happening here.
On the horizon, three streaks of light, each a distinct color, suddenly flew over at incredible speed, arriving above Trophy Mountain in the blink of an eye.
They materialized into three four-legged beast-like forms: a brown-maned lion, a yellow-furred saber-toothed tiger, and a blue-furred great wolf.
The Ho-Oh's guardians, all assembled!
Li Xiang looked at them.
They also glanced at the few present. Entei and Raikou both visibly hesitated for a moment upon seeing Mo Ye and Li Xiang.
Then, without pause, they hurried forward, surrounded the Adamant Orb, closed their eyes, and released their invisible fortune energy, joining Uxie in suppressing the black energy within.
With four Legendary Pokémon working together, the black energy was quickly suppressed. It stopped roiling and obediently shrank into a corner of the orb.
Uxie looked at the black mass and sighed helplessly, then thanked the Ho-Oh's guardians for coming to its aid.
The Ho-Oh's guardians retreated but didn't leave. They remained vigilant, watching the black energy within the orb, crouching down behind to rest, panting heavily.
It was only then that Li Xiang noticed they were covered in wounds and scars, traces of prolonged combat.
This meant that in the battle against the phantoms outside the island, the Ho-Oh's guardians had been the main force.
He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out healing medicine and berries to restore stamina from his pocket.
He silently walked over and placed them beside the Ho-Oh's guardians.
Suicune said nothing, silently eating. Entei and Raikou glanced at him again before slowly consuming the food, seizing the opportunity to rest.
"Two trainers, welcome to Mirage Island. I'm sorry, but in my current state, I can't properly host you."
Uxie spoke, breaking its usual silent demeanor from the anime for once.
"Greetings, esteemed Lake guardian. I am Mo Ye, an Elite Four member from the Zhu Xia Association."
Mo Ye introduced himself first, then got straight to the point. "Please tell me, what exactly is happening here, and will it affect the outside world?"
His main reason for entering Mist Island was to find out if anything was happening inside. If not, that would be best.
If there was, then whether it would affect the outside world became a very important issue.
Uxie's eyes were closed, but both Li Xiang and Mo Ye could feel it looking at them.
It said, "This is a long story. I would very much like to tell you that what's happening here won't affect the outside world, but unfortunately, I can't be certain right now."
"Then, what exactly is happening here, and what needs to be done? We hope you can share this information with us."
Mo Ye didn't hold himself too high, nor was he overly obsequious. He maintained a calm demeanor throughout, waiting for Uxie's response.
Ninetales widened its eyes, feeling Mo Ye was too arrogant, daring to "command" Uxie.
It couldn't help but show an angry expression.
Li Xiang watched this unfold, thinking to himself that this was another sycophant.