[Ahead lies the Oni's Den. Dangerous area. Entry prohibited!]
[Ahead lies Infernal Pass.]
"This place even has two direction signs. Though honestly, Infernal Pass is way more dangerous. It's a tourist spot, yet somehow it doesn't even have a danger warning."
"And the route to the Oni's Den is marked too. No wonder Kieran dared to climb the mountain alone. So there were signs all along!"
"Infernal Pass is full of Slugma with body temperatures of ten thousand degrees, isn't it? And there are lots of Fire-type and Electric-type Pokémon around too. If tourists start touching things carelessly, it'll turn into a full-on barbecue disaster!"
The paths up Oni Mountain were a little winding, but before dusk, Hikaru had already arrived not far from the Oni's Den and taken some time to look around.
There was basically nothing here. The mountain was barren and treeless. It was practically naked rock, because this was also a volcano. Even now, sulfurous gas still seeped from the mountain, so it was probably dormant rather than extinct.
"But judging by the soil composition, it's not the same as Stark Mountain or Reversal Mountain. That's probably because Terastal energy reshaped the local environment here."
Infernal Pass was a rocky zone where volcanic gas vented from the earth. Since ancient times, it had apparently been a place where the people of Kitakami trained themselves.
In the games, Kitakami was not actually lacking in strong Trainers. There were the eight members of the Kitakami Ogre Clan, and their Pokémon levels did not change depending on whether the player had finished The Way Home. In other words, those were their real levels, not dynamic scaling just added for difficulty.
Every one of them was a level 70-plus powerhouse, and all their names were taken from famous Japanese swords. Their strongest boss was Muramasa.
Of course, in this era, those eight probably were not that strong yet. At most, they were likely around the level of ordinary Trainers or Ace Trainers. Still, for such a tiny little village to have that many strong people, it was no wonder Blueberry Academy came here to recruit.
The mountain trail behind the Kitakami Center led toward the Oni's Den and the summit. Along the way there were several caves and dead ends meant to mislead anyone climbing the mountain. One of them was Onifang Cavern, where the Kitakami Ogre Clan trained. If you went upward through that cave, you could reach a hidden cavern filled with water, the only place in Kitakami where Feebas could be caught.
At the same time, the water inside that cavern probably connected to Crystal Pool, which also explained why Milotic could appear in a tiny pond like Crystal Pool.
Hikaru rested on the mountain for a while with his Pokémon, then continued onward. Past the waterfall and the lonely stone bridge hidden by lush vegetation lay the Oni's Den, where Ogerpon had lived for hundreds of years.
The people of Kitakami regarded Ogerpon as a "fearsome oni" and shunned her. In the past, she had lived quietly in a cave on Oni Mountain.
Whenever humans came up the mountain, Ogerpon always hid from them and never approached them. That was why no matter how many times Kieran came here, he always found the cave empty.
"Agas!"
Even Miraidon had to comment on it. This mountain really had nothing. It was desolate beyond belief. Only Rock-types and Fire-types could live here. It was not even as good as a trash pile in a futuristic city.
Seen that way, Paldea really was better. Plenty of natural resources, and you could get berries just by walking around and waiting for the wind to knock them out of trees.
"Ogerpon still isn't home? It's already evening. Then again, if she got tired of playing in the Reverse World, she could've just slept over there. It wouldn't be strange if she skipped coming home for a few days."
Hikaru walked to the cave entrance with Miraidon and Victini. Shedinja drifted eerily out from behind Hikaru's backpack. Or rather, it had never gone into its Poké Ball at all. No one knew when it came out or when it went back in.
Silently observing, while thinking about absolutely nothing.
Shedinja: ".OMO."
".!!!"
Shedinja suddenly turned in another direction. It drifted under the nearby waterfall, then looked down from above. A pool had formed where the waterfall crashed below, and now a powerful Ghost-type aura was rising from it!
A transparent vortex formed on its own, like the opening of a gate to another world.
"Boni!"
The door to the Reverse World opened, and a little child in green clothes climbed out of the pond. She looked up happily and waved over and over at Hikaru, who was leaning over the cliff edge.
I'm here, I'm here! Legendary craftsman, my friend, I'm back!
Today was another day of playing in the Reverse World!
When Ogerpon saw Hikaru in the mirrors of the Reverse World, she already knew he had come nearby. She just did not know exactly when he would arrive. Kitakami was not a place with many mirrors, so she could only rely on reflections in the water to observe the real world.
If this had been one of the great cities, there would have been glass buildings and shiny surfaces everywhere to serve as mirrors. In Kitakami, only Mossui Town had that kind of construction. The buildings at the Kitakami Center were very traditional and did not really have glass in the practical sense.
So it was only when Hikaru reached the area near the Oni's Den that Ogerpon saw him in the reflection on the water and hurriedly asked Giratina to open a gate so she could rush home.
Of course, Giratina itself had seemed distracted these last two days.
"Boni!"
Ogerpon ran all the way back like a little ninja, her feet pattering rapidly until she reached the entrance to her home. In all these hundreds of years, this was the first time she had ever returned here with such joy.
At the mouth of the cave, that little home steeped in sorrow, she felt happiness and warmth once again.
Because her friend had come here as a guest. In hundreds of years, this was the first time that had ever happened.
"Bo?"
Ogerpon noticed Shedinja silently observing her along the way, and she did not like the feeling it gave her.
It felt kind of like a Ghost-type Pokémon.
But she had seen plenty of Ghost-type Pokémon before. Giratina, Aegislash, and the like. Those felt less like ghosts and more like Pokémon wielding ghostly power. It was part of what they were, but not something reflected in their behavior.
Shedinja's silent observation, though, gave Ogerpon the feeling that this was what a real ghost actually was, to the point that the little orange one felt a bit scared.
That feeling made her think of another little creature that had also been a ghost.
"Sorry. Does Shedinja's silent staring make you a little uncomfortable? But that's just how it is."
"And you don't need to worry. It looks like it's plotting something sinister, but actually, even though it often seems like it's thinking, it always forgets whatever it was thinking about midway through, so its head is completely empty."
"Still, it's a very easy Pokémon to get along with. No matter what you say to it, it's always in a good mood."
"Boni?" Ogerpon hesitantly tried talking to Shedinja, and it really was just like Hikaru said.
No matter what she shared with Shedinja, it was delighted!
Wow! So there really are friendly ghosts like this! For a ghostly bug, you're way too nice!
Ogerpon instantly liked this uninvited new friend.
Curious, she circled around Shedinja twice and noticed the hollow opening in its back. She wanted a closer look, but Hikaru stopped her.
"It's fine to look at it normally, but if you try to peer closely into the crack, they say your soul gets sucked out."
"Ghost-type Pokémon more or less all have strange powers like that."
"By the way, you said Giratina has been distracted these last two days?"
"Boni!" Ogerpon nodded. Giratina, her big friend, was usually busy remodeling the Reverse World, but these past few days it had seemed troubled, like it was thinking over some major draconic life question. Whenever she asked about it, it never explained in detail and only mumbled its way past the subject.
"Giratina really did get scared by Dawn. It's wondering whether it should come pledge loyalty, isn't it?"
Hikaru instantly understood what the ghost dragon was thinking. That meant his earlier guess had been correct.
That thing watched surveillance feeds all day. How could it not see Dawn?
Wait. If you think about it that way, doesn't that make the Reverse World one giant surveillance room?
"I brought the Tera shards. And I've got something important too. Look!"
Hikaru handed Ogerpon the three masks he had taken back from the shrine. Ogerpon froze, then stared at the three masks in disbelief.
The precious masks carved for her and that man by the craftsman centuries ago. Masks filled with emotions and memories.
After being picked up by the villagers of Kitakami, they had become the basis for a false legend and were enshrined in the shrine, worshipped there for a very, very long time.
Now they were back. The masks from the past had come back!
"Bo! Boni-o!"
The promise from the dream had become real. Hugging the three recovered masks tightly, Ogerpon could not stop the tears from streaming down her face.
Huh? What's this... These are tears.
The little orange one wiped at her eyes in confusion.
They're salty... The last time I cried was so, so long ago... Looking at these three masks makes me remember the past.
And the tears just keep coming.
But inside, I'm so happy.
Of the three masks, the Wellspring Mask was crying too. A long, long time ago, life with that man had been very hard, but every day had been happy.
"Boga-o!"
Thank you, legendary craftsman!
Hikaru took the Teal Mask and used the Grass-type Tera shards he had collected to repair it properly. It did not take long. Meanwhile, Ogerpon tried stuffing the masks into her cloak.
"Where exactly are you putting those?"
In the games, Ogerpon occasionally pulls her masks back out from inside her cloak to look at them fondly.
But those masks were almost as big as she was. There was no way they should have fit inside there.
And the cudgel was made from the thorns and arm-like vines inside Ogerpon's clothing as well, so maybe that cloak-like garment of hers was actually a small subspace, like Gengar's belly.
Besides, in the game you could clearly see that the masks automatically "shrank" when Ogerpon put them away.
"Now then, aside from the three masks returned to their rightful owner, here are five brand-new masks!"
Hikaru handed over the other five masks he had made. Looking at Ogerpon's astonished expression, he continued repairing the Teal Mask while speaking to her.
"Try them on. I'd say these five new masks are tools every bit as powerful as the original four. They can grant you strong type-based powers. And while no legends about them existed in the past, it seems like in the future legends connected to them may arise."
"Water, Fire, Grass, and Rock represent the fundamental powers of the world. Those are the masks of the past. But Fairy, Dark, Steel, Ghost, and Dragon represent the new world, meaning the present and the future. Among all the types, they count as advanced types - higher-order types."
"Now you have nine masks!"
Nine masks. Hikaru suddenly realized something.
Wait a second. Nine masks? Does that mean next comes summoning the Shadowkhan and unleashing the ultimate darkness?
Of course, these masks would not control anyone's mind, and they did not have any dark generals living inside them. No giant tiger-faced spirit named Tarak was going to pop out.
"Tini tini!"
Victini puffed out its chest too and pulled out its V-Wheel from the little pouch on its back, rattling it like a toy drum to assure Ogerpon that everything Hikaru made was amazing. Ogerpon paused, then shook her head.
No, I know. Anything made by the legendary craftsman has to be incredible.
It's just... I never imagined that after hundreds of years, I'd see new masks. Or receive new gifts.
Gifts. Hundreds of years ago, that old mask craftsman gave those masks as gifts too, to me and to that man.
So she was not doubtful. She was just deeply moved.
"Boni!"
Ogerpon began playing around with the Pokémon, trying the masks on one after another. Every time she switched masks, her power changed. Her cloak changed as well, taking on different colors and attributes depending on the mask.
The Fairy mask turned her cloak pale pink and jade-like.
The Dark mask transformed it into abyssal black mixed with blood red.
The Steel mask made it gleaming silver and white, looking hard and unbreakable.
The Ghost mask changed it to a shadowy deep purple.
And the Dragon mask turned it blue-green, the color of magnificent draconic power.
"Bo, Boni!" Ogerpon was stunned by the strength in these five advanced-type masks. The instant she put one on, she could feel a different energy flooding through her body.
Hikaru said, "That's because they were made with matching Tera-type shards, along with special wood that carries an eternal quality of time. After being infused with the emotions of all living things in the world, they can grant you tremendous power."
Looking at the five new masks, Ogerpon suddenly seemed overcome with playfulness. She put them on one after another, then shrank them and tucked them into her cloak, spinning once and changing type every time. It looked exactly like a face-changing performance.
Red, white, yellow, green, blue - grinning, glaring, switching in a blur, like thunder cracking in the ears!
Blue-faced Wellspring Ogerpon steals the horse. Red-faced Hearthflame Ogerpon battles the players.
Purple-faced Cornerstone Ogerpon steps on shadows. Green-faced Teal Ogerpon fights yaksha!
Pink-faced heavenly maiden, black-faced villain. Blue-faced Dragon King, silver-faced warrior, gray-faced heavenly god laughing aloud!
"Haha, this counts as a kind of battle switch too! Kamen Rider, henshin!"
Hikaru could not help laughing at the way the little orange one kept flashing through masks and expressions. Come to think of it, the Pokémon world really did have someone like this: Gladion of the Aether Foundation.
He liked changing Silvally's memory discs in the middle of battle, and in the anime the tournament organizers seriously banned him from doing it.
Changing types halfway through a fight was just way too shameless. What did he think he was, Arceus?
In an official match, that definitely would not be allowed. But in an unofficial match or a wild battle, the power ceiling would go straight through the roof.
After finishing the repairs on the Teal Mask, Hikaru prepared to cook a meal for Ogerpon right here at the Oni's Den. Ogerpon had said before that she wanted to travel with him, to cross mountains and seas.
But for Ogerpon, who had spent hundreds of years in the same place, the world she knew was tiny.
So, just as he had promised before, Hikaru took out a map of the known regions and began telling her stories and legends from each place, continuing all the things he had not finished telling her back in the dream.
A campfire was lit, and before the entrance of this ancient cave, smoke from cooking rose once again after hundreds of years.
Ogerpon lay over the map, looking at those distant places with longing in her eyes, remembering the days when she had crossed the sea together with that man.
"Next, I still need to help you solve the trouble here and seal away that Mythical Pokémon that could cause serious consequences. We can't leave a hidden danger behind."
"And after that, let's meet that man at Crystal Pool, just as we planned before. Don't worry. History won't undergo any major changes. Crystal Pool only lets the living meet the dead, but even the history of that meeting gets recorded into the closed time loop, and the person involved loses their memory when they return to the past."
"Though there also seem to be cases where history changes, but the future stays the same."
What Hikaru thought of was the Lucario and the Mystery of Mew movie. The events of the movie still happened exactly as they always did and were not changed, but after Lucario died, its aura and soul traveled through time back to the past, which meant Sir Aaron did not actually die alone. In the ending scenes, Lucario even took out the chocolate it had brought from the future.
Time travel in the Pokémon world seemed to change history or not change history entirely at its own whim.
Or maybe it was like stat changes in battle: when you land a critical hit, any changes working against you get ignored.
Hikaru and his Pokémon began their picnic. Miraidon munched happily on sandwiches. Victini nibbled on little macaron cookies. Ogerpon ate a stew of vegetables and berries while sitting on a rock, swinging her feet back and forth in a wonderful mood.
Shedinja, meanwhile, did not need to eat anything at all. It just kept staring at everyone.
Slowly, it turned around.
Though Shedinja sometimes had the thought of eating, that instinct came from when it had been Nincada. It would very quickly forget the idea of food again, and now was no different.
With nothing to do, it drifted off on its own. Then it heard crying from the foot of the mountain, sounding like children.
Shedinja heard it, and Ogerpon did too.
"Bo, Boni... gao!"
Ogerpon put down her bowl and cautiously looked down from near the cliff, but it was pitch-black below and she could not see anything. Farther down the mountain path, however, there seemed to be some light.
It had started raining lightly outside, but inside the mountain there was no need to worry. The crisscrossing rock formations overhead, like a natural ceiling, blocked the rain.
Ogerpon was terrified whenever villagers came up the mountain. In the past, people often came to gather stones, or visited the area near Crystal Pool to mourn the dead. Sometimes children even came close to the cave where she lived. Whenever that happened, Ogerpon would immediately hide so no one could find her.
Because she had always been shunned in Kitakami, she never dared show herself in front of people.
If she appeared, they would definitely chase her and beat her again. People did not like her.
"Boni!"
Ogerpon tugged on Hikaru's clothes, gesturing for him to leave with her and head toward the summit or somewhere else, anywhere to hide before the people climbing the mountain found them.
"Even if they see you, it wouldn't really matter. You're already planning to leave this place anyway, aren't you?"
"But if you don't want them to see you, then we'll hide first. As long as you're happy."
If Ogerpon disliked something, Hikaru was not going to force her.
But Shedinja had seen something new.
It vanished for a while in its usual eerie way, then floated back in front of everyone.
This time it had not forgotten everything.
It had seen humans. More than one. Quite a few of them. Moving in a group, like bug larvae, heading toward the summit.
The crying voices were...
Forgotten.
Shedinja: ".OMO~!"
Head empty. Thinking nothing at all!
"I see. Well, it's good that you remembered at least a little and didn't forget absolutely everything."
"You forgot almost the instant you saw it. That's way too fast. Even if you're an empty shell, you should at least remember something."
"A lot of people showed up on the mountain? Could it be that when I pretended to be a ghost earlier today, Carmine spread it around with her big mouth? That girl really isn't afraid of curses at all, huh? In that case, let's just leave directly."
No matter what the people of Kitakami thought, it would not affect Hikaru's actions.
Ogerpon gave a helpless shake of the head.
There was nothing in the Oni's Den anyway, so she did not need to pack. She really could just leave on a whim. Though before going, she should probably say goodbye to Giratina and tell it that from now on they could only play together in dreams.
If she went too far away from Sinnoh, it seemed Giratina would not be able to open a gate anymore.
Then again, that made sense. Giratina had once been banished, after all. If it could open portals anywhere it wanted, wouldn't that mean it could go rampaging in any region it pleased?
"Boni-o."
Then let's go now!
Ogerpon swiftly put away all of her masks and was ready to leave at any moment.
But just then, the silhouette of children appeared on the other side of the stone bridge. When they saw the firelight here, they immediately stopped, then shouted from far away in voices full of fear:
"The oni! It's the oni! Sis, it's right up ahead, there's firelight!"
"This is the first time I've ever seen light here! The oni really was waiting here for us! Sis, sis, say something already!"
The first voice was clearly a boy's. Though excited, it still carried a trace of crying, like he had just wept not long ago.
"This is the place, I know it! Please! I was wrong during the day! I shouldn't have blocked outsiders near the Kitakami Center! I'll change from now on, I promise! Please, undo the curse on me! Everybody's started acting weird!"
The second voice belonged to a slightly older girl.
"Huh? Carmine? Why would she come up the mountain? And that first voice... could that be Kieran?"
Hikaru and Ogerpon looked at each other.
Ogerpon pointed in recognition.
She knew that boy's voice. He had come to her home several times before. He always seemed to be looking for her, but she had never let him see her.
"So it really is Kieran. Running into the mountain again in the middle of the night. He's got guts."
"Hm. So even though I told Carmine not to talk, she still went and told someone. Though whatever... I was only trying to scare her anyway."
Hikaru cleared his throat. "Do you really know you were wrong? Then why did you bring your brother up the mountain? You told him about the curse, didn't you? You broke our promise!"
"Eek! I'm sorry! I-I was too scared! Please undo the curse!"
Carmine shouted from the other side of the bridge, completely falling apart. Hikaru found it baffling.
"I was only trying to scare her. How did she break down this fast? Is Carmine really that superstitious?"
"Kitakami may have curse legends, but these people really shouldn't believe every single thing they hear."
Hikaru waved a hand and called out directly, "The curse was a lie! But you didn't keep our promise, and that makes me very unhappy. You were the one who proposed the battle game, but after you lost, you refused to keep your word!"
"Hey. I only let you off because you're descended from that ancient mask craftsman. Now go home. Nothing's wrong anymore!"
Carmine cried out, "Waaah... what do you mean, ancient mask craftsman? I mean, my family does make masks, but... but I can't go home now! I really know I was wrong, so please remove the curse!"
Kieran also shouted anxiously from the far side of the bridge. "Mr. Oni! My sister... my sister really knows she was wrong! She'll definitely change... You're a good person! Please return everyone to normal!"
"Everyone in town has turned strange. The curse has spread... I-I really admire you. I know you must've cast the curse because you were unhappy about the way everyone ostracized you, but... but things outside are really terrifying right now. Please undo the curse!"
"Gao?" Ogerpon tugged on Hikaru's sleeve, looking at her good friend in confusion.
Legendary craftsman, what exactly did you do?
Hikaru frowned too. "Huh? I didn't do anything... Wait. Everyone in town turned strange?"
That brought an unexpected possibility to mind, so he shouted across the bridge:
"You're saying the people in town started acting strange? Are they shouting meaningless words, dancing wildly, and attacking people everywhere?"
Kieran cried, "Waaah! Just like zombies! Exactly like that! Isn't that your curse?"
Hikaru understood the situation now, and he was genuinely surprised. Ogerpon's expression turned serious too.
This scene... this whole thing...
It had happened before.
"So Pecharunt revived? But why? The distributed Mythic Pecha Berry was the key item that triggers Pecharunt's revival. Kitakami's local specialty is apples. If no one brought in a Mythic Pecha Berry, then it shouldn't have appeared..."
"After the Mythic Pecha Berry distribution, the protagonist has to go to Peachy's in Kitakami to trigger the event. Which means that berry is actually cultivated somewhere around Kitakami? Could it be that it came from Pecharunt's homeland?!"
Pecharunt's homeland was some distance from Kitakami, apparently requiring at least a little sea travel in between, though probably still somewhere around Sinnoh. Because they once crossed the sea carrying Basculegion over here, wild White-Striped Basculin could still be seen in this region.
That homeland had never been explicitly named, but from the promotional material it was clear that Mythic Pecha Berries could be gathered there. That meant it might be a place famous for growing peaches.
Hikaru beckoned from the far side of the bridge.
"All right! Come over here! Let's talk about that curse!"
Seeing the two children hesitate, too frightened to move, Hikaru called out again.
"That curse has nothing to do with me! It's probably the curse of the real evil oni!"
Hearing that, Kieran was the first to be hooked by curiosity. He wanted to cross the bridge, but Carmine yanked him back hard. The usually domineering older sister was now shaking her head frantically.
"Kiki, don't go over there! It's definitely trying to grab us and eat us. We'll stay on this side and beg. If it comes closer, we run!"
Kieran scratched his head. "Sis... I don't think the person over there is bad. The oni definitely isn't bad..."
Carmine bared her teeth. "What kind of nonsense is that? It's an oni! And it's not even like the legend. It's a ghost! What kind of ghost doesn't hurt people?!"
"Kiki, don't go over there, please don't go over there! You'll die!"
Kieran hesitated. Then his body stiffened.
"Sis... we don't have to go over there anymore."
"The oni came over!"
The two children froze in place. It turned out that when Hikaru saw they were too scared to cross, he simply decided to walk over himself.
As Kieran and Carmine kept shouting "oni, oni, oni," with all their attention fixed on Hikaru, Ogerpon behind him wore a blank, puzzled expression.
The little orange one covered her mouth and started laughing softly.
Mm-hmm...
Ah! So I'm not the oni after all!
The legendary craftsman is the oni?
Ah, I guess that works too. After all, I've got the club for beating monsters, and the legendary craftsman has the great sword that can cut through anything!
From his conversation with Kieran and Carmine, Hikaru learned what was happening outside, and sure enough...
"The real evil oni - no, more like the poison oni - has awakened! Then what woke it up... the Mythic Pecha Berry?"
"The Mythic Pecha Berry?" The siblings exchanged a look. Carmine shakily answered, "I don't know what that is exactly, but every year we do harvest a batch of peaches and Pecha Berries nearby... I think Mossui Town and that faraway peach village trade agricultural products. Every year they export some peaches over here..."
Hikaru nodded.
Well, that settled it. All nine masks had gathered, and the ultimate darkness was about to be unleashed.
"Honestly, what a pain. I was going to seal it away anyway! Instead of running from me, it actually came walking straight toward me. Pecharunt probably gets a chance to wake up every few years. People just got lucky before and never happened to trigger it."
Someone failed to eat the Mythic Pecha Berry in time. Fruit is supposed to be eaten promptly, otherwise it goes bad.
Or it attracts the wrong kind of pest.
Hikaru gave a sharp whistle. Miraidon leaped over, tail swaying as it let out a roar. Then Hikaru looked at the two siblings.
"When you've got ghosts in your heart, of course you're afraid of ghosts."
"Get on. We're going oni-slaying."
(End of Chapter)
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