The little girl took the snacks from Nathan's hands, tore open the packaging, and immediately began eating.
This only made Nathan feel even more puzzled. Why was it that he couldn't physically touch this little girl, yet she was able to grab the food?
Was this really a ghost?
More importantly—why would a ghost need to eat? And how was it even possible for one to eat in the first place?
Nathan really wanted to complain about this bizarre contradiction, but the memory of the girl crying earlier made him swallow his words. He truly didn't want to hear this little girl start sobbing again.
"Are you here all by yourself?" Nathan asked curiously.
The girl nodded while stuffing two chips into her mouth.
Seeing her nod, Nathan breathed a small sigh of relief. If there had been more spirits like her wandering around in this ruin, then this place really wouldn't be safe at all.
"Then… are you a human, or are you a ghost?" Nathan asked again.
The girl first nodded, then quickly shook her head, shoving two gummy candies into her mouth.
…Great. That question was asked in vain.
But since he couldn't figure this out on his own, the best option was to turn to someone who could.
Nathan directly released Xerneas. For things like this, a Pokémon such as Xerneas—who had lived for countless years—should naturally know far more than he did.
As soon as Xerneas appeared, its gaze fell upon the little girl happily munching on snacks in front of Nathan.
"Hm? A human energy body? What a strange existence," Xerneas said in surprise.
As expected—Nathan thought to himself—the longer something lived, the more reliable its insight. Xerneas had immediately been able to identify the girl's true nature.
But what exactly was a "human energy body"?
Was it a type of ghost? Nathan had encountered energy-based beings before—like Spiritomb—which were also related to ghostly energy.
"Does that mean she's considered a ghost?" Nathan pointed to the girl, who was already almost finished with her snacks.
"No," Xerneas shook its head firmly. "Ghosts are ghosts. Human energy bodies are human energy bodies. They are completely different."
Xerneas explained patiently: "Ghosts are the lingering souls of the dead. A human energy body, however, can be thought of as another form of humanity. They do not possess a flesh-and-blood body—instead, their very being is composed entirely of energy."
Hearing Xerneas' explanation, Nathan finally had a general idea.
So, this little girl wasn't a ghost, but rather a living human whose body existed only in the form of pure energy.
That probably explained why she was able to eat food despite being untouchable. Her existence as an energy body allowed her to interact with material things in a different way.
"How long have you been here?" Nathan asked, turning his head to the girl.
"I don't know… I really don't know how much time has passed," the girl said, shaking her head. "But I do know that the fruit trees here have ripened forty-two times."
"Fruit trees?" Nathan blinked. Suddenly he recalled that the two children he had rescued earlier had told him that this girl had traded fruit for their snacks.
But Nathan didn't know exactly what kind of trees she meant, nor how long it took for their fruit to ripen, so it was hard to calculate how long she had been here.
"Could you take us to see those fruit trees?" Nathan asked, producing more snacks from his bag as he spoke.
The moment the little girl saw the treats, her eyes lit up. She nodded eagerly.
Under her guidance, Nathan and his Pokémon soon arrived at the grove.
When he laid eyes on the dozens of trees standing before him, Nathan's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
These were dozens of berry trees—the kind that bore fruit capable of boosting a Pokémon's abilities!
And this little girl had been eating them herself and even giving them to the two children…
Humans eating berries did not gain any stat boosts, nor did they suffer poisoning, but… wasn't this simply a waste?
At the same time, just by looking at these berry trees, Nathan was able to roughly calculate how long this place had existed.
Around four hundred and twenty years.
Typically, a berry tree matured once every ten years. If the girl had witnessed the fruit ripen forty-two times, then that meant approximately four hundred and twenty years had passed.
Incredible. This little girl had actually survived alone in this abandoned ruin for over four centuries.
Even most adults would have completely broken down by now, let alone a child.
Especially modern people—without internet, without entertainment, most of them would complain of boredom after just two days. To live alone like this for more than four centuries… wouldn't that drive someone insane?
Unfortunately, as far as Nathan himself was concerned, these berry trees didn't hold much value anymore.
After his system had upgraded, items like berries could be bought directly from the system's shop.
But to the people of Dream Valley, these trees would be unimaginably precious.
"Little one, what's your name? And are there no Pokémon here at all?" Nathan suddenly realized he hadn't asked for her name.
"My name is Yaya. There are no Pokémon here. The only one able to move around… is me."
Yaya's expression carried a faint sadness as she spoke.
How pitiful. Hearing this, Nathan couldn't help but feel sympathy for the girl.
To exist as an energy body, unable even to die… to spend more than four hundred years in this desolate ruin, completely alone…
But at least now, things were changing. The ruin's entrance was gradually becoming connected to the outside world.
Once matters were resolved, many people would begin to visit this place.
When that happened, this ruin would no longer be so lonely.
"Yaya, in a little while, people will come into this ruin. When that time comes, you'll finally have companions to play with," Nathan said with a smile. He truly wished he could give this pitiful child a warm hug—but alas, with her being an energy body, such a thing was impossible.
Hearing his words, Yaya broke into a sweet smile.
Though she had the appearance and mind of a ten-year-old child, having lived for over four hundred years had given her enough perception to tell that Nathan was sincerely concerned for her.
"Big brother, let me take you to a special place," Yaya said while nibbling on her snacks, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
Nathan was caught off guard. Originally, he had come here for two purposes: first, to investigate whether the ruin posed any danger to the people of Illusory Valley; and second, to explore and potentially uncover anything of value.
After all, this place had been untouched by humans for centuries. Who knew what treasures might have been left behind?
And now Yaya was offering to lead him to a "special place"? This was truly an unexpected delight.
With a flicker of excitement, Nathan followed Yaya deeper into the grove of berry trees.
As they walked, Nathan noticed that the forest ahead gradually parted, revealing a path.
The road was about four to five meters wide, and what was shocking was that—even after four centuries—the vegetation on either side had not encroached upon it.
It was as if people had still been walking this path regularly.
"What is this place?" Nathan asked in puzzlement. At the end of the path loomed a massive ruin.
From this distance, he couldn't tell what kind of structure it had once been.
"This was a dwelling built for a Pokémon," Yaya explained. "But after this place turned into ruins, that Pokémon never came here again."
A dwelling… for a Pokémon? Yet the construction was clearly human-made.
Why would humans build a residence for a Pokémon?
As they drew closer, Nathan realized just how little he had truly seen at first glance. What he thought was merely the ruin of one building was in fact only a small portion of a much larger structure.
The scale was immense.
And once he stood among the ruins, Nathan felt it even more strongly—everything here was oversized.
At one meter eighty, Nathan usually towered over others. Yet here, he felt as if he had stepped into a city built for giants.
"For certain reasons, Rayquaza had once been the guardian of our people. But even with Rayquaza's protection, our home still ended up in ruins," Yaya murmured as she gazed at the broken structures before her, as if recalling fragments of a long-lost past.
Rayquaza!?
Nathan froze. This place had actually been a residence built for Rayquaza!?
He could hardly believe it. The Pokémon Yaya had mentioned earlier was none other than the Sky High Pokémon itself!
Rayquaza was a super-ancient Pokémon, one renowned for its ferocity and disdain for humans trespassing into its domain.
Why, then, would it have chosen to protect a group of humans?
For the first time, Nathan felt his brain struggling to keep up.
First, he stumbled across an ancient ruin.
Then, he discovered Yaya—an energy-body human, something he had never even heard of before.
Now, she had led him to Rayquaza's dwelling… and revealed that Rayquaza had once been their guardian.
Any one of these revelations would be enough to shock the world.
But put together? It was simply mind-blowing.
"Do you know what reason made Rayquaza choose to protect you?" Nathan asked curiously.
After all, this was Rayquaza—a world-class Pokémon, on par with Ho-Oh.
For such a being to willingly protect humans… there had to be an extraordinary reason behind it.
"I don't know. No one ever told me," Yaya shook her head. "The elders who once knew the truth… they all died long ago."
From the time she first gained memory until now, Yaya had never once seen Rayquaza herself.
But its name—its legend—was something she constantly heard. The old men and women who had once raised her often spoke about it.
(End of Chapter)