Rope played the flute, and the distant flute music traveled through the cracks of time and space, awakening the deity who had been sleeping between the beginning and the end.
"How could He allow me to be awakened?"
Arceus muttered to himself in confusion.
"Aren't you afraid that I might actually find an opportunity to become the true Arceus?"
Who wouldn't want to become the main body? After all, the main body possesses everything the clones could ever desire. But the very essence of existence is what they truly seek.
"The Azure Flute is in your hands. Was it stolen from you by a thief, or did you arrange for someone to eliminate me as a threat?"
"Or perhaps you want me to contribute my power to your plan once more."
A mocking expression forced itself onto the alpaca's face, which should have been expressionless.
"I admit I can't defeat you, but others in this world who want to compete with me—aren't they being a bit too naive?"
Muttering to himself, this was the only form of entertainment He had had over the years.
It had revisited its failures countless times, constantly seeking the possibility of defeating its original form. But in the end, it only gained endless self-doubt.
It was a conceptual clone of Al, capable of overturning the status quo. However, such opportunities were rare, as once defeated, catching up again became extremely difficult.
"This is my chance to avenge myself against you."
The llama finally stood up from the ground. He had not been conscious for a long time, let alone able to stand up.
He looked up and saw Al, clad in armor, standing atop a high platform like a statue, and his eyes were filled with anger.
"I'll show you what your arrogance will bring you. Al!"
As it spoke, its aura erupted, shattering the elegant yet opulent decorations around it and the grand hall itself. The entire primordial realm began to crumble under the alpaca's onslaught.
"Farewell, cage!"
The alpaca let out a loud roar, and a bright yellow sphere凝聚ed before it, instantly transforming into a beam of light that slammed into the initial space before it.
With a single strike, the initial space shattered into pieces.
The alpaca then spread its long legs, lightly touching the void with its toes, and sprinted off into the distance.
After running a few steps, a teleportation gate appeared before it, and the alpaca darted inside.
At the moment the initial space shattered, Al, who was drinking tea and reading a book in his room, paused in the act of turning the page, a rather brilliant smile curving his lips.
"Rope, I've given you the item, but whether you can use it to obtain what you desire is no longer my concern."
He took a leisurely sip of tea and continued, "Every gift is marked with its stakes, whether it's given by others or by the world."
"If you can't even convince a loser, then you don't deserve to be the one we've chosen."
"Reduce resource allocation, cut losses quickly, and acquisition is the best choice."
The last sentence was spoken as if he were confiding in someone.
However, no one else responded to him, as if he were still talking to himself.
And Rope has no idea what's coming his way. He's just filled with anticipation for that legendary deity.
"Back then, my dream was to capture Arceus. Then, after a battle, when others threw out their pseudo-gods, their Water Absorb Charizard, or even their Smart Frogs, I would casually toss out my Poké Ball. Arceus would leap out of the Poké Ball and calmly gaze at the opposing Pokémon."
"Then the opposing Pokémon would immediately kneel down in submission, desperate to lick the long legs of the alpaca. The opposing trainer would stare at me in shock. 'No, it's impossible! How could this happen!'"
"Or when the opposing Pokémon mustered the courage to attack Arceus, only to discover it couldn't inflict any damage at all. Then their mindset would shatter."
Rope eagerly recounted his childhood daydream to Hoopa.
Hoopa, however, looked utterly exasperated. To be honest, he never imagined Rope could be so childish. Does he really need to capture Arceus for this?
You could easily capture him yourself, Hoopa!
And doesn't Hoopa look way cooler than that dead alpaca?!
Hoopa, of course, didn't know that Rope was talking about his own daydreams from back then. At that time, Rope was still holding a handheld console, experiencing the beauty of the world through the screen, and harboring a superficial admiration for this beautiful world.
What Hoopa didn't know was that, back then, Rope, who was obsessed with games, defined Pokémon's appearance as "strong equals handsome!"
The Goodra from the Hisui region wears a big turtle shell—it's so ugly! !!
What, it's Steel/Dragon type?
I can't believe it! How could there be such a handsome Hisui Goodra!!!!
This is the true face of strength-obsessed fans!
There's no way around it; Steel Dragon is just too cool. Dialga can only be the little Hisui Mewtwo, and Duraludon is basically the little Dialga.
Now that he's arrived in this real world, the Arceus he's about to face is probably the strongest Pokémon Rope can find.
It feels like the best sword in the world is right in front of him, and all he has to do is reach out to touch it.
However, Rope soon realized that picking up this sword wasn't as simple as just reaching out.
A faint breeze seemed to emerge from an unknown source, blowing across Rope's face.
Rope felt a slight itch on his face and instinctively touched it. He then felt something wet.
Rope brought his hand to his eyes. It was a trail of blood with golden sparks.
The blood was warm, and even though it was only a small amount and had already left the body, the bloodstain still shimmered with golden light.
Like the sun.
As Rope looked at the bloodstain before him, the caution in his eyes grew even more intense.
Hoopa naturally noticed the atmosphere around them, the sky that had grown slightly darker, and Rope's somber and solemn expression.
"Hoopa, you should also prepare to leave shortly."
Rope said to Hoopa calmly yet firmly.
Hoopa wanted to say something else, but seeing Rope's expression, he knew it was best to leave quietly.
After all, if the situation got out of control, Hoopa wasn't worried that the two would get so caught up in the fight that they'd beat him up too.
His main concern was that if these two really started fighting, they might not be able to stop themselves, and if the aftermath of the battle wasn't contained, a large area around them might cease to exist.
After all, there were still so many Pokémon in the vicinity. He couldn't just let these Pokémon die in the aftermath of the battle. As he had said before, the numerous Pokémon were, after all, innocent.
Rope was well aware of this, so he didn't want to cause too many casualties. But to be honest, whether Rope could ultimately suppress Arceus was still uncertain.
Hoopa drove the Pokémon away while maintaining a defensive barrier, recalling Rope's expression from earlier. Hoopa had never seen that expression on Rope's face before.
It was as if he had seen something that could kill him.
"Is there really something that could kill Rope?"
Hoopa asked himself, and to be honest, he wasn't sure what would happen in the end. But one thing was certain: in his memory, Arceus hadn't yet reached a level where it could threaten Rope's life.
"Unless, over the past few thousand years, Arceus wasn't actually sleeping but passively cultivating..."
However, the moment that thought crossed his mind, Hoopa dismissed it.
"How could that be? If Arceus was truly seeking to grow stronger, why would he scatter his tablets and allow them to act independently? That doesn't make any sense at all."
Rope thought the same way. However, he didn't share Hoopa's belief that such a thing was impossible.
In theory, Arceus should be the pinnacle of power in this world. Once you defeat that pinnacle, you should break through the world's barriers.
Or rather, the world's will forces you out.
But this world is different now. Not to mention that the world itself is undergoing a leap forward.
The mere appearance of Al is already breaking through the ceiling of this world.
Al's appearance in this world is both a process of Al continuously weakening himself to adapt to this world, and a process of this world being forced to adapt to Al within its own limits. It can be said that this is physically raising the ceiling of this world.
For example, imagine a tent where you are standing right at the top of the tent. Then someone taller than you enters, raising the tent's peak so you can no longer reach it.
If an even taller person tries to enter, two scenarios arise. Either they are thrown out by the tent, or they break through the peak and escape. Unless this person can enhance the tent's resilience, allowing them to fit inside.
Otherwise, the tent's top will return to the second-tallest person's head.
The world's limit is elastic, but not that elastic.
Rope is well aware of this, so when Al arrived, the world's limit was raised. In other words, there is now someone taller than Arceus. Raising the tent's top or tearing it open is difficult.
However, after others raise the tent's top, making themselves taller is not that difficult.
So...
"Because Al came, you got stronger, right?"
Rope looked at the figure before him, surrounded by an astonishing aura. Though it was inferior to that ultra-ultra-ultra-weakened version of Al, Rope was well aware of his own limitations.
The figure before him was stronger than him, and the horror was not of the ordinary kind... it was limited.
"Why you? What's your relationship with that guy?"
Arceus' tone wasn't exactly friendly when he looked at Rope. It clearly carried a hint of hostility. Rope could roughly guess where this hostility came from.
After all, Arceus had asked so directly.
"Have you met Al?"
Rope asked.
"Of course I have," Arceus replied matter-of-factly. "It was he who sealed me away and made me reflect between the beginning and the end."
The words "reflect" were spoken through gritted teeth.
Rope couldn't help but twitch his lips at that. After all, the words "self-reflection" weren't something to be used lightly.
Generally speaking, when someone tells someone else to reflect on their actions, it's usually in a top-down relationship. Clearly, when Al was walking Arceus, it was as natural as a father disciplining his son.
"I also think he's a real jerk."
Rope said this to Arceus.
This statement immediately caught Arceus' attention.
"Oh, has he hurt you too?"
Rope sighed helplessly, "Now that the two of us are facing each other like this, it's clear he's trying to screw me over, isn't it?"
Rope understood this clearly. Al had given the Azure Flute so readily, and this was likely related to that point.
He had clearly intended to betray Rope, which is why he hadn't told him about Arceus being sealed.
More importantly... he had figured out Rope's preferences, knowing that Rope and Arceus would never forgive each other and work together to oppose him.
Rope knew all this, but Arceus didn't.
"Since he also wants to trick you, I think we can team up to deal with Al."
Arceus' aura had calmed down significantly, and he extended a sincere invitation to Rope.
Rope looked at the legendary deity before him and simply shook his head silently.
Arceus' slightly softened expression hardened once more. He acknowledged that Rope indeed possessed the strength to command his respect. But that didn't mean he would be particularly lenient toward Rope.
"Though I'm not interested in the reason, I'll ask out of courtesy. Why won't you cooperate with me?"
"Are you Al's lackey?"
Rope truly did not know how deep the enmity between these two Arceus ran, that he would use the term "lackey."
"I suppose I am one of his pawns. As for you... you're not even a pawn." Rope did not shy away from acknowledging his own position, nor did he shy away from acknowledging Arceus' position.
"I cannot reconcile with you simply because the task I must undertake requires your power."
Rope looked at Arceus seriously and spoke earnestly: "I need to save this world, so Arceus, can you become my Pokémon?"
Rope went straight for it.
And so, the entire grassland fell into a deep silence. The only sound left was the howling wind.