Reiji was still petting Umbreon when Poliwrath and the others woke up. Once he saw them stirring, he noticed something strange.
"Poliwrath? Rhydon? Gyarados? You're all healed? I thought that would take at least half a month."
"Poli…" Poliwrath held its head, completely lost on how to explain it.
Celebi and Suicune had come by last night. Celebi had healed them with some unbelievable power, then disappeared. After that, they had slept like rocks and missed whatever happened next.
Now the question was: how were they supposed to explain something that complicated with cries like Poli, Gya, Scy, Gar, and the rest?
This was too hard. Their Trainer could not understand a word.
"Gengar, what happened?" Reiji saw that everyone looked confused, so he had to ask Gengar instead.
From inside his shadow, Gengar spread its hands and gave him the short version: this happened, then that happened, and then everyone got better.
What Reiji heard was, "Gar, gar, gengar, gar gar gar."
He understood the sounds, and absolutely nothing else.
Still, everyone was healed. That was what mattered. If he did not know why, then it's fine. As long as they were fine, he could live with it.
He recalled Umbreon into its Poké Ball. He had not been prepared for this at all, and he had no idea what he had missed. If he had known it was about to evolve, he would have used some items first.
What a waste.
[Umbreon]
[Type: Dark]
[Gender: Female]
[Potential: 72%]
[Level: 42.13%]
[Ability: Synchronize/6.23%][Hidden Ability: Inner Focus/30.13%]
[Moves]
Normal-type: [Protect/28.34%, Tackle/29.53%, Helping Hand/16.34%, Growl/32.23%, Roar/24.67%, Tail Whip/31.33%, Quick Attack/26.62%, Swift/21.71%, Mean Look/6.12%, Screech/12.51%]
Dark-type: [Bite/30.14%, Dark Pulse/33.82%, Snarl/8.11%, Assurance/5.55%, Taunt/6.14%, Crunch/12.22%]
Fairy-type: [Charm/13.34%, Baby-Doll Eyes/6.62%, Moonlight/8.81%]
Psychic-type: [Rest/35.27%, Future Sight/18.21%, Calm Mind/8.28%]
Other: [Sand Attack/18.47%]
"Okay, that potential is not normal." Reiji stared at Umbreon's panel.
It had shot from 54 potential all the way to 72. An 18-point jump. That was about the same kind of gain Poliwrath had needed tens of millions of Pokédollars to achieve.
That made no sense. Something had definitely happened last night.
Eevee had taken so long to evolve that Reiji had suspected its body was the problem. After all, it was Absol's child. The Dark-type energy in its body had probably blocked Stone evolution entirely, leaving Umbreon as its only path. There was also the question of whether their bond had been strong enough.
But Eevee had evolved last night, so the bond was clearly not the problem. They spent plenty of nights together under the moonlight. So why had it never evolved before, only to evolve here?
Something had happened after he fell asleep. Something he did not know about.
And the worst part was that his Pokémon could only say 2 or 3 syllables at a time, so none of them could explain it properly. That was driving him crazy.
The most likely answer was that Eevee's body changed somehow last night. The Dark-type energy inside it must have been triggered, which pushed it into evolving as Umbreon.
Its level had also reached Advanced tier, probably from the breakthrough during evolution.
Its 2 abilities had changed too. Adaptability and Anticipation were gone, replaced by Synchronize and Inner Focus. Synchronize had started from scratch, but Inner Focus was much higher. Maybe that had something to do with the Dark-type energy in its body.
It had picked up several new moves as well. For the first time, Reiji finally saw Fairy-type moves on its panel.
For Dark-type moves, it had Snarl, which Umbreon could learn upon evolving, along with Assurance, Taunt, and Crunch.
It also had Charm. Given this Eevee's personality, that one fit a little too well. It was basically typecasting.
Then there was Baby-Doll Eyes, another Fairy-type move that worked a lot like Leer by lowering the opponent's Attack.
Moonlight was there too, a Fairy-type move that could restore half of its HP.
Among Normal-type moves, it had Mean Look and Screech.
It had even gained Psychic-type moves like Calm Mind.
After checking Umbreon's panel, Reiji was pretty satisfied. He released it again, got everything ready, and called everyone over for breakfast.
Umbreon's Mean Look would help catch Pokémon. The Dark-type moves made sense after evolution. Charm, Baby-Doll Eyes, and Moonlight probably came from its natural talent.
Calm Mind was the real surprise. Umbreon already had some Psychic-type talent, so Reiji wondered if it could inherit its parent's ability to sense danger in the future.
Actually, he had been thinking about that wrong from the start. Absol had male and female individuals. The Absol that came that day might have been Eevee's mother, but it also might have been its father. He still did not know.
"Zaa! Zaa!"
Just as Reiji set Umbreon down and got ready to eat, a cry came from the trees. He froze, suddenly realizing he had forgotten something. He looked up and saw a gray bird diving toward him.
"Zapdos? You're awake?"
"Zaa!" Zapdos landed on Reiji's shoulder and rubbed against his cheek. It had woken up before dawn, but everyone had still been asleep, so it had not bothered them. Instead, it went out for a quick flight on its own. After being grounded for so long, its body had almost gone stiff.
"Haha, Zapdos, you're finally awake." Reiji laughed and stroked its gray head, then gently spread one of its wings to check it. The feathers were smooth and sleek, a clear sign of health. They looked far better than the dry, lifeless feathers it had before.
Something had definitely happened to Zapdos last night too. Whatever healed Poliwrath and the others must have repaired its damaged body as well.
Still, this was only temporary. Once Zapdos's body could no longer handle the electricity running through it, it would fall asleep again. This time, though, if he limited its use of electric power and kept it away from charged food, it should last longer. That gave him enough time to reach the lake with the crystal.
"Zaa." Zapdos did not know what had happened. Seeing everyone happy for it, it spread its wings too and landed in front of the group, preening its feathers while asking what had happened while it was asleep.
Zapdos waking up was another piece of good news. Reiji was in a great mood, so he brought out even more food and let everyone eat their fill. After that huge haul, they had more than enough to spare.
He also used water from Lake of Life to cook himself a huge pot of rice, tossing in a pile of ingredients to make a lazy one-pot meal.
When it was done, the smell alone made him pause for a while. This was the first proper meal he had eaten in days. He was starving, so he grabbed his chopsticks and dug in.
After breakfast, a grain of rice was still stuck to the corner of his mouth. He licked it off and swallowed it, then flopped onto the grass, too full to move. The pot could wait.
His Pokémon were stuffed too. Everyone had worked hard in that battle. Against an Elite Four-tier Trainer, coming out badly injured was already one of the better outcomes. Add the lake's healing power on top of that, and the last few days almost felt lucky.
Reiji brought out a pile of Pokéblocks and let everyone eat as much as they wanted.
Zapdos had woken up too. Now it just needed to adjust to the electricity in its body, then make a trip to the lake with the crystal.
High above them, hidden in the air, Celebi watched the whole group lying around with round, full bellies. It held a green Pokéblock in its hands and giggled softly. Gengar had treated Celebi and Suicune to the Pokéblocks.
After using so much energy last night, Celebi had soaked in Lake of Life until it recovered. Then it came back to check on Reiji and his Pokémon.
"Who laughed?" Reiji suddenly sat up and looked around.
His Pokémon were all sprawled out and stuffed. The laugh had not come from any of them. So who was it?
"Celebi!" Realizing it had been noticed, Celebi quickly sank into the treetops to hide. It did not want Reiji to find it, or Suicune would scold it again.
"Did I imagine that?" Reiji frowned. This was the middle of the wild. Was he hearing things now? He turned to the Pokémon closest to him. "Umbreon, Zapdos, did you hear anything?"
"Bre." Umbreon shook its head. It had been busy eating and had not heard any laughter.
"Zaa." Zapdos shook its head too, still chewing on a Flying-type Pokéblock.
"Weird." Reiji scratched his hair, then got up to wash the pot and prepare to leave. He decided to let it go. Hearing it once could be imagination. If it happened again, then it was something else. For all he knew, some Ghost-type Pokémon was messing around nearby.
"Gar." Gengar had already sensed Celebi and Suicune nearby, but it did not tell Reiji. It had even used Reiji's Pokéblocks to treat them.
Those 2 lived hidden in the forest and clearly did not want humans finding them. Besides, they had healed everyone last night. Better not expose them. As far as Gengar was concerned, it had helped its Trainer repay a favor.
"Do you still need to soak?" Reiji was worried they might not be fully healed, so he had everyone line up for a physical check.
That was when he realized they were all in great shape. One night had been enough for Scyther's wings to grow back. Rhydon's armor had regrown, and its horn had recovered too. Gyarados had its horns and teeth back.
Was the lake water really that strong?
He had only washed himself and drunk a little last night, but even his body felt much lighter this morning. He had been too distracted by Umbreon and Zapdos to notice.
If the lake water was really this amazing, he should take some with him. It might help with injuries later.
Once he thought of it, he did it. He had Poliwrath swim out to the middle of the lake and fill several large bottles for him. They were the big mineral water jugs. He poured out the regular water and replaced it with water from Lake of Life.
After packing the water, he recalled his Pokémon one by one. Out of habit, he glanced at their panels, and that was when he noticed something else.
Everyone's potential had gone up a little. The higher-potential Pokémon gained less. The lower-potential ones gained more.
Even Carvanha had gone up.
Reiji stared at the panels. What, had the whole team been given a buff? If Celebi's life energy counted, then yes, they pretty much had.
If simply soaking here could raise potential, then this lake was absurd. He almost did not want to leave. Part of him wanted to stay and soak for 10 days or half a month.
But Zapdos could not wait. As long as it was awake, the electricity in its body would keep moving. He had to reach the lake with the crystal as soon as possible and give it electric therapy.
As for Lake of Life, he did not know whether the water would still work after being taken away. He could only test it later, when he had the chance.
Before leaving, he released Medicham.
Lucario dug the grave itself. It gently lowered Medicham into the deep pit, then stood there in silence, staring at Medicham's closed eyes.
"Lucario, there are things we just can't change," Reiji said quietly. He stood beside it for a moment of silence. As Lucario's Trainer, he owed Medicham too.
He placed Medicham's Poké Ball in Lucario's hands. The rest was Lucario's choice.
"Lu." Lucario knew better than most what misfortune felt like. It had also been lucky, because in the end, it met Reiji and the others.
It had been born in a black market, in a terrible place, under a Trainer who never had good intentions. Then Reiji found it. Its second Trainer was good to it, and everyone around it was good too.
Lucario gently placed the Poké Ball into the grave beside Medicham. It hoped the ball could stay with Medicham in its rest. Then it began pushing the soil back in, burying Medicham little by little.
Reiji left no marker. Lucario did not want anything disturbing Medicham. With time, grass and trees would cover this place again.
By then, Reiji had recalled everyone except Pelipper and Lucario. Once Lucario finished burying Medicham, Reiji recalled it too, climbed onto Pelipper, and left Lake of Life.
He flew straight east. Lake of Life and the lake with the crystal were on roughly the same latitude. If they kept flying without stopping, they should reach it by tomorrow morning.
What he did not notice was the green figure quietly following behind him, watching everything he did.
Reiji still planned to visit Arborville while he was in the area. The small village sat near Lake of Life, which the locals regarded as the home of Celebi, the Mythical Pokémon they called the Voice of the Forest.
The people of Arborville respected Celebi's forest and watched the main entrance, keeping tired travelers and troublesome Pokémon hunters from wandering in.
He had seen the village from above the night before. Back then, he had been too focused on finding the lake and saving his Pokémon, so he had ignored it.
The villagers lived in tree houses. When Reiji landed near the forest entrance, an old woman stepped out of one of them and called to him.
"Young man, did you come out of the forest? If you heard the Voice of the Forest, don't move around carelessly."
"You mean Celebi?" Reiji had seen this old woman before in the anime in his previous life. This was his first time seeing her in person.
"You know Celebi? Have you already seen it?" The old woman grew worried when Reiji named the village's legend so directly. She was afraid he might have already caught Celebi.
"I haven't seen Celebi. I only went to the lake last night. Here's my Pokédex." Reiji handed his Pokédex to her. It should at least show that he was not here with bad intentions.
"Young Trainer, if you don't want to lose your way, then when you hear the Voice of the Forest, don't wander." The old woman checked the Pokédex, gave him the warning, and handed it back.
"I won't go in again." Reiji put the Pokédex away and shook his head. His Pokémon were already healed. He had no reason to stay near Lake of Life.
He also knew exactly what the old woman was talking about. It was time travel, getting dragged into the Pokémon world's past or future. That stuff was dangerous. And since he had already crossed worlds once, who knew what would happen if Celebi's power touched him?
He was not about to test his luck with Celebi.
Reiji walked around the village for a bit. To his surprise, Arborville was fairly modern. It had water and electricity. There were not many residents, but they were clearly used to seeing Trainers from time to time.
When the village children heard he was a Trainer, they all came to challenge him. Reiji sent out Lucario and let it battle them, partly to keep Lucario's mind off Medicham.
Lucario beat every Pokémon the children sent out. They crowded around, calling Lucario amazing, and the praise left it embarrassed. It knew there were plenty of Pokémon far stronger than it.
Reiji also met the old woman's granddaughter, Diana. She had the same green hair as her grandmother and looked almost exactly like Towa had 40 years ago.
He took a photo with Diana, waved goodbye, and left Arborville on Pelipper.
The village was isolated from the outside world. Supplies came in by Mr. White's blimp. Mr. White offered to give him a ride, but Reiji turned him down. Pelipper was easier for him, and before long, Arborville was far behind him.
Ahead was nothing but forest.
As he flew over one stretch of trees, a thick beam full of destructive force shot up from below and slammed straight toward Pelipper.
Gengar sensed it first and threw up Protect, blocking the Hyper Beam before it could hit.
"Shit—someone's camping us…"
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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