Since Lucas had personally escorted Ogerpon back to Oni Mountain, he knew exactly where it lived.
At the foot of Oni Mountain, there was a row of stalactite caves, known as the Oni's Maw because they looked like a ghost's maw from afar. In Mossui Town's legend, the "ghost"—meaning Ogerpon—lived in one of these caves, so most townsfolk avoided the area, even when passing by.
Ogerpon's home was called Dreaded Den. As a Grass-type Pokémon, it had covered the cave with plants, making it hard to find without clues. But since Lucas had brought it home before, he could find it by memory.
Just before entering the Oni's Maw, the Ultra Ball on Lucas's belt shook slightly.
"Ursaluna?"
Picking up the ball, Lucas was puzzled.
Did it want to come out?
He didn't think too much and let it out.
For most of his Pokémon's requests, Lucas tried to accommodate them.
Once out, Ursaluna's usually fierce, gangster-like face was full of human-like conflict, making Lucas realize something was up.
"Is something wrong?" Lucas asked gently, trying to coax his new team member.
Ursaluna finally made up its mind, the conflict fading. It wanted to express something.
With his three top interpreters not around, Lucas called out Serperior to help translate.
After Ursaluna finished acting things out and Serperior relayed it, Lucas's expression grew serious.
"Is that true?"
"Roar…"
Ursaluna nodded uncertainly.
It was only a guess—not sure if the man it met back then was the one from the story.
Lucas and Serperior fell silent for a few seconds, stunned by this new twist.
According to Ursaluna, when it had just arrived in Kitakami from Hisui and was hiding in the Timeless Woods, it was sometimes spotted by humans, but avoided trouble, enabling the legends about it to spread.
But the key was: one night, after settling in, Ursaluna encountered a man in the foggy woods—a man gravely wounded, poisoned, and near death.
From the time Ursaluna met the man to the man's death, less than five minutes passed.
In that time, the man rambled on, but Ursaluna couldn't recall much after so long.
It remembered the man seemed concerned about a certain Pokémon, regretting he wouldn't be able to stay with it.
After the man died of his wounds and poison, perhaps out of pity, Ursaluna buried his body near its cave, where its scent would deter other wild Pokémon from disturbing the grave.
After hearing Hideko's story, Ursaluna had wondered if the man it met was the one who disappeared in the legend.
Perhaps, not wanting Ogerpon to grieve, he dragged his wounded body far from Oni Mountain to die alone.
Reviewing Ursaluna's tale, Lucas and Serperior had a suspicion.
Maybe the man Ursaluna met was indeed Ogerpon's caretaker.
Thinking a moment, Lucas asked, "Do you remember where you buried the body?"
Ursaluna nodded.
It was a memorable event, and since the grave was near its home, finding it would be no problem.
After considering, Lucas made a decision.
If possible, he'd bring Ogerpon to see the remains.
If Ursaluna had really met that man, they'd rebury the bones properly and set up a tombstone.
With Ursaluna and Serperior, Lucas entered the Oni's Maw and found Ogerpon's Dreaded Den after some searching.
At first, Ogerpon was tense, hearing movement outside. Now that it didn't even have its mask, all it could rely on was its agility. If it ran into ill-intentioned people or Pokémon…
Luckily, Lucas didn't just barge in.
He called out several times, letting Ogerpon confirm his identity before lifting the plants and entering.
Ogerpon relaxed.
Lucas sometimes teased it, even got it worked up, but he was one of the few humans Ogerpon didn't resist—someone it could draw comfort from.
Ursaluna, due to its size, stayed outside. Lucas and Serperior entered and checked the cave.
Perhaps too much time had passed, or maybe Ogerpon didn't know how to care for furniture, but the cave was empty—just a pile of unrecognizable wood and a tattered bed.
No trace of a lived-in home remained.
After looking around, Lucas addressed the thing Ogerpon was most concerned about.
"I've already asked someone to repair the mask. It should be ready by tomorrow morning."
"Boni!"
Hearing the good news, Ogerpon's eyes sparkled, and it cheered, overjoyed.
Watching Ogerpon's childlike excitement, Lucas smiled. For a Pokémon said to be centuries old, it still acted like a kid.
After hesitating a few seconds, Lucas asked, "Ogerpon, do you have some free time later?"
"Boni?"
Ogerpon tilted its head, not understanding why Lucas asked.
But it answered honestly, "Boni!"
If there's one thing Ogerpon has, it's time!
Lucas, seeing its pure innocence, didn't know if he should have Ogerpon face its old scars.
At that moment, Serperior's tail gently touched his finger. Lucas turned to meet its serious red gaze.
"Serpe."
Let the story have a less-than-perfect ending.
In Serperior's view, even if it only brought fleeting happiness, Ogerpon needed closure.
Surely it had searched for years.
With Serperior's support, Lucas made up his mind.
He took a deep breath, crouched to look Ogerpon in the eye, and said, "We think we know where the person who raised you is buried."
Ogerpon froze.
…
Timeless Woods, near Ursaluna's home.
After visiting Ursaluna's den, Lucas finally understood why Perrin hadn't found Ursaluna despite a month of searching.
Thanks to its Ground-type skills, Ursaluna had dug an excellent, hidden den.
But that was beside the point.
Lucas, with a low-spirited Ogerpon, followed Ursaluna to an orchard full of berries.
Ursaluna sniffed around, using both memory and scent to find the grave it had dug.
Soon, it was certain, and began digging with its huge paws.
Lucas almost told it to be careful, but remembered Ursaluna's digging skills were in the Pokédex—he could trust it with this.
Ursaluna dug quickly—like a living excavator.
Hard clods and even rocks were nothing in front of those claws.
Soon, after two or three meters, some pale human bones appeared.
Lucas felt Ogerpon's tension and, with Serperior, each took one of its hands, providing comfort.
As Ursaluna dug, a pile of somewhat scattered human bones was soon uncovered.
It would be difficult to identify the person by bones alone.
But Ogerpon's sharp eyes immediately spotted a familiar decoration near the finger bones.
A shell bracelet, now almost unrecognizable, but unmistakable to Ogerpon.
It remembered picking up those shells by the beach on the way to Kitakami, giving them to the man as a gift, who made them into a bracelet.
Tears streamed down Ogerpon's face.
It had searched so long, and finally found him.
Watching Ogerpon sobbing, Lucas sighed, letting Serperior comfort it and told Ursaluna to stop digging—further digging could damage the fragile bones.
Once Ursaluna was done, Lucas considered how to move the remains with minimal damage and approached the weeping Ogerpon, meeting its red eyes and speaking softly.
"Let's make a gravestone for him, okay?"
Ogerpon nodded, still crying.
Lucas called out Spectrier, who after checking the area, shook its head at Lucas.
Understanding, Lucas sighed and began preparations.
He acted quickly.
With Ursaluna's help, he found some Psychic Pokémon in the forest, asking them to use their powers to gently lift the bones.
Then, with Ogerpon's help, they chose a quiet spot near Oni Mountain—a hillside where Ogerpon and the man had often lain in the grass, enjoying the breeze.
For the gravestone, Ursaluna used its special earth, as hard as steel—Serperior knew this best from experience.
Serperior carefully carved a memorial inscription with Leaf Blade. At dusk, the nameless man's nameless grave stood facing the sun.
Ogerpon wept at the grave for a long time—crying until exhausted, then resting, then crying again, as if pouring out all its years of sorrow to the one it trusted most.
It wasn't until late at night, utterly worn out, that Ogerpon finally quieted, curled up next to Lucas like a child, and fell asleep.
In its dreams.
For the first time since that night, Ogerpon dreamed of the man again.
It couldn't remember the details, but as dawn broke, the man's final words echoed in its mind.
"Let go of the past, and move forward."
The knot in Ogerpon's heart, tied for years, was finally undone.
…
Not long ago.
In a brightly lit house in Mossui Town, Yukito looked at the repaired Teal Mask and breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Finally… it's done."
…
Elsewhere, at the Loyal Three' Plaza.
After a night of scouting, knowing she was running out of time, Perrin put on a paper bag with four holes poked in it, and stealthily crept toward the shrine.
After some searching, she found three masks, each a different color and shape, in a hidden compartment behind the shrine.
She knew these were the masks stolen from Ogerpon.
"At last, they're going back to their owner!"
Muttering to herself for courage, Perrin reached out with gloved hands, gathering up the three masks.
But just then, something strange happened.
Perhaps sensing that its "own" masks were being taken, the shrine glowed with purple light along the cracks of the statues representing Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti—the Loyal Three.
In the next moment, three beams of purple light shot skyward.
In seconds, three figures stepped out of the ruined shrine, grinning wickedly at the familiar world.
At last—they were reborn!
All three turned their gaze to the frozen Perrin, eyes dangerous, especially when they saw the three masks in her arms.
Noticing something was wrong, Perrin hesitated only a second, then—before the Loyal Three could react—turned and ran for her life!
At the same time, in the famous Peachy Shop in town, a peach-shaped ornament suddenly floated into the air.
...
…
PS: Support me and read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode