Rope didn't stay in Lumiose City for too long.
Diantha dragged him to the hospital for a checkup, and after confirming that there were no major issues, he left.
Although Diantha was reluctant to let him go, as Rope had said before, he dared not stay too long by Diantha's side, as that would cause major problems.
Rope never overestimated his self-control as a man. So it was best to avoid certain temptations altogether.
Of course, if possible, Rope hoped the World Will would wake up and remove the charm-enhancing buff it had placed on him.
Attracting so much attention was honestly a hassle, even for him.
"Rope, are you really okay?"
In a restaurant in Lumiose City, Hoopa asked with some confusion. Because he hadn't exerted much effort this time and hadn't been by Rope's side, his physical condition was very healthy. However, what he heard from Eternatus was quite different.
According to Eternatus, it was still feeling dizzy and disoriented, with its soul and body feeling out of sync. Other Pokémon had even fallen into a deep sleep to recover. Although with Rope's flames helping them, their recovery shouldn't be too slow.
Everyone knew Rope was strong, but was something targeting the soul really that easy to defend against?
Rope didn't hide anything from them. After swallowing the food in his mouth, he said, "Actually, my ability has also united my soul and body. They are both flames that are fundamentally fused together."
That's right, that's the effect of the Power Seed. The Power Seed triggers all the power in a person's body and converts it into their own unique power. This "body" naturally includes the soul.
Therefore, Rope's soul and body have no weaknesses. He is a typical example of cultivating both life and soul.
Of course, there are drawbacks. Those so-called "spiritual wandering" techniques are basically out of reach for Rope.
Fortunately, he doesn't rely on such techniques. Moreover, flames themselves come in countless forms. In the void, there are numerous special elemental forms. Solar flames are a typical example, but there are certainly other convenient flames as well.
It's merely a matter of rarity.
"Your current state... I don't know if it's good or bad."
Hoopa certainly understands these matters better than Whitley. So while Whitley was still pondering what this all meant, Hoopa had already analyzed Rope's condition.
Being able to avoid soul attacks and having ordinary attacks with soul attack effects is indeed a good thing, but there's no such thing as a perfect world.
The Dao has fifty aspects, heaven manifests forty-nine, and humanity escapes one. The underlying rules of the world do not allow for overly perfect things to exist. Perfect things always have to have something special added to them, making them imperfect.
The Power Seed is a very powerful system. Its lower limit is higher than that of normal cultivation systems, and its upper limit is the same. It is something that is rare and hard to come by. Moreover, this thing must be applied to those who have never come into contact with any extraordinary systems in order to be usable.
The power it contains is also diverse and unpredictable, influenced by various factors when forming the primal power: the region it originates from, the user's intentions, and the seed itself.
The Flame-Flame Fruit from back then was merely meant to scare Rope. Everyone is familiar with Lu Xun's "opening the window" theory. First, present Rope with a One Piece world he cannot accept, then transporting him to the Pokémon world would be a significant improvement.
However, no one expected that Rope would end up wasting five years.
Rope looked up at the sky; he knew there was someone watching him there.
"You've already seen his attitude."
Year looked at the princess before him and spoke calmly.
"So is there still a need to stay here?"
"What do you mean?"
The princess spoke coldly.
"The answer you wanted from me, I've already given it to you. Arceus is indeed still alive and has no intention of retiring, but there's no doubt that you will never get this person back."
Year spoke very directly, as if the person in front of him was not his lover, but simply a client.
"I have indeed received the answer I sought, but Year, have you obtained what you desired?"
The princess looked at Year and asked coldly.
"I, in this endeavor, can only obtain the friendship of a secondary world and a potential successor, can I not?"
Year smiled, and this smile appeared quite relaxed.
"You know exactly what you want. You just want me to leave. Year, I don't know what you truly desire. But I also know..."
The princess spoke with a hint of sadness, "I can't help you, can I?"
Year looked at the princess before him and remained silent.
"The Thousand-Armed God is important, but not that important. Year, when the empire collapses, you must be careful. This matter is not targeted at the empire."
The princess stood up, and her luxurious robe flew back onto her body.
"I'm leaving. I'll do my best to uncover the true mastermind behind all this."
After speaking, the princess prepared to leave immediately. Year watched her departing figure and sighed deeply.
"You'd better not investigate this too deeply. Many powerful figures are involved. Even I might not be able to escape unscathed. Even the top few factions could be brought down."
"The world we fairies observe is merely the beginning."
Year clearly knew a great deal, but he had no intention of revealing everything. As he said, the matters involved were complex and far beyond the capabilities of someone like her, who lacked the necessary strength to intervene.
Rope was offering kind advice, or perhaps a warning.
The princess remained silent for a long time.
"Thank you for your warning, but as I said before, since I have inherited this country, I will not allow it to perish."
After saying that, the princess opened the door and left. Beyond the door lay a lush forest, but at the end of the forest was a vast, distant starry sky.
Year watched her leave the house. He showed no reaction, simply sinking into the sofa, silently picking up a glass of wine, and staring at Rope on the screen with a look of helplessness.
"Rope, you always feel like a pawn and resent it. But you don't realize that being a pawn might be a form of luck. The one holding the pieces may not gain much if they win, but if they lose, the cost is annihilation and oblivion."
"The feeling of walking a tightrope is the most despicable."
Meanwhile, Rope is unaware that his boss envies his position, where no matter what he does, someone else will take the fall for him. His boss envies him even more because, even though he is on this side, he does not anger the people on the other side, who are even eager to pull Rope into their camp.
For Rope, success and failure are just a matter of minor differences in treatment.
A pawn, a marginal pawn—strictly speaking, he could also be considered an outsider. And outsiders are generally treated with leniency.
After finishing their meal, Rope and his group had no intention of lingering in the Kalos region. Though it is a land of natural beauty and pleasant scenery, it is ultimately not where Rope and his group call home.
Rope's home was either on Earth, in Kanto, or in Sinnoh.
In any case, there was no place for them in Kalos.
So this time, they returned to Professor Oak's laboratory in Kanto.
Passing through the light gate, they returned to the familiar backyard of Professor Oak.
Rope let out a long sigh. He respected those who fought on the front lines, but he himself did not like the front lines. He also did not intend to make such a brutal place his home.
Rope never considered himself a warrior; he only took on the responsibilities he should bear. However, he did not take on responsibilities that were not his own.
As others had told him, he was ultimately a lazy person.
"Rope, I plan to stay on the front lines for a while longer."
Clearly, Whitley didn't think the same way.
Rope heard the request, his smile faltered, and he turned to look at Whitley.
Whitley's eyes were filled with determination. Rope could tell she was serious.
"Why are you suddenly saying this? They call it the front lines, but there might not be any more conflicts there."
Rope wasn't trying to reassure Whitley. By the time they left, peace talks had already been put on the agenda. Both sides had even reached some preliminary consensus. It wasn't hard to understand.
"I know, but it's still going to be unstable there, isn't it? I think I can be of use there."
Whitley spoke fluently, clearly not on a whim, but having had this idea for some time.
Rope looked at Whitley. If he remembered correctly, this was indeed the first time Whitley had voluntarily left his side. Not to follow him around and fill in the gaps, but to do something on his own.
Rope remained silent for a long time.
In the villa not far away, Daisy and Sennogi also noticed what was happening.
Sennogi wanted to go see the two of them.
"Don't tell me they've gotten into another argument."
Sennogi was still a bit worried. After all, while conflicts between the two were normal, once a nail was driven in, even if it was pulled out, the marks it left behind wouldn't disappear.
Daisy held Sennogi's hand and shook her head silently in response to his puzzled gaze.
"Let them handle their own issues."
Daisy turned her head and looked through the window at Rope and Whitley.
"Rope will handle it. It's better to trust him."
Sennogi was still a bit worried, but since Daisy had said so, she could only nod silently.
After all, when it came to understanding Rope, Sennogi dared not compare herself to the woman who had taken care of Rope for five or six years.
If there was any woman who truly understood Rope, even Cynthia wouldn't dare to compare herself to Daisy.
Some things, especially time, couldn't be replaced by mere emotions.
And as it turned out, Daisy's understanding of Rope had never been wrong.
Or rather, Rope was still the same Rope she knew. She hadn't let her growing perspective, knowledge, and power change the things deep inside her.
Rope looked at Whitley in front of her and finally smiled, saying, "If that's what you want, then go ahead."
As she spoke, Rope stroked Whitley's head and said, "Not everyone can truly express their own desires. The fact that you can speak your mind is already a form of courage."
To courageously speak your mind about what you desire and are pursuing is already a form of courage.
Rope was well aware of this.
"So you agree."
Whitley exclaimed in surprise.
In fact, this was somewhat unexpected for her. All this time, Rope had always protected her well. So every time she wanted to go with Rope to face those dangers head-on, she was often stopped by Rope.
So she knew her request this time was dangerous. As she had said herself, she was well aware that trouble would eventually arise there. Rope's opponents wouldn't just stand by and let Rope focus on dealing with them.
Rope's weaknesses were already laid bare here; if they didn't take advantage of them, they'd be wasting their opportunity.
If they hadn't used them before because of their arrogance, then after experiencing the battle with Rope, they had no room for arrogance anymore.
So the entire world was about to face an unstable period, and Whitley was going to take the initiative to step forward and face everything as an ordinary person.
"Why wouldn't I agree? You're braver than I imagined, and braver than I am."
Rope ruffled Whitley's hair and said, "And this time, I won't give you my Pokémon. You have to face all of this on your own now."
"I disagree!"
At the dinner table, Professor Oak glared angrily at Rope.
The people around them kept their heads down, unwilling to get involved in the argument between the two.
"But Professor, you know very well that although Whitley hasn't been with me for very long, she's now a reliable member of the team."
Rope spoke with a hint of resignation.
Rope never imagined that Professor Oak's affection for his granddaughter would eventually extend to him.
Professor Oak spoils Daisy, but Daisy is very sensible. On the other hand, Professor Oak has always been strict with Blue. He also had high expectations for Rope.
However, after Rope took Whitley as his disciple, Professor Oak treated her like another younger relative.
"I trust Whitley. At worst, Dragonite can follow her."
Professor Oak looked serious.
"You know I'm not talking about that, Rope."
The atmosphere at the table grew even more tense.