"What was that?"
Ace was filled with questions. He spoke to Aerodactyl, which immediately changed direction and flew towards where Ace was pointing.
Upon reaching the cliff face, Ace frowned at the smooth rock. There wasn't a branch, or even a blade of grass. It was so clean that it looked like nothing had ever grown there.
"Was I seeing things?"
Ace doubted whether he had been mistaken, but he quickly dismissed the possibility.
"Celebi asked me to find a kind of fruit, but there are no Berries at all on Phantom Island. So, that fleeting branch I just saw is likely what Celebi needs."
Ace mumbled to himself, happy to have found a direction, but at the same time, troubled by how to find the transient branch.
[Side Quest (Mysterious Branch): A fleeting branch, a barren island—everything indicates that what it holds is extraordinary. Find the branch and uncover the truth. Quest Reward: 70,000 Gold, plus Quest Points based on completion evaluation.]
[Side Quest (Celebi's Fruit): What is the connection between the fruit Celebi asked you to find and this mysterious branch? Find the mysterious branch and pluck the fruit. Quest Reward: 100,000 Gold, plus Quest Points based on completion evaluation.]
The sudden appearance of two side quests caught Ace off guard.
"A long-awaited quest,"
Ace smiled. Looking at the generous rewards, and being utterly broke, Ace was determined to find the fleeting thing he saw moments ago.
However, having no current lead, Ace could only leave for now.
Leaving Phantom Island, Ace attempted to re-enter. Just as he thought, protected by the two feathers, Ace could freely enter and exit the island.
After confirming this, he could proceed methodically with his plan.
Ace recalled Aerodactyl, then switched to Lapras. He put on his diving equipment and submerged into the sea with Lapras.
A few hours later, Ace and Lapras found a pod of Wailmer.
With almost no effort, Ace successfully caught a Wailmer.
Pokémon: Wailmer
Gender: Female
Level: 35
Ability: Water Veil
Nature: Gentle
Potential: Superior
Egg Moves: Soak
Moves: Water Gun, Rollout, Whirlpool, Water Pulse...
Glancing at the Wailmer he had caught, Ace nodded. The potential was decent enough, and it would suffice for Zinnia to familiarize herself with the characteristics of Water-type Pokémon.
Ace packed away his diving equipment, recalled Lapras, released Aerodactyl, and headed back to Phantom Island.
...
Inside Phantom Island, Zinnia sat listlessly on the ground, casting a weary glance at the hourglass. The fine sand trickled slowly, its sluggish speed almost driving Zinnia to a breakdown.
Clearly, Ace's hasty departure had caused him to forget one crucial detail.
The time flow was abnormal!
Even though Ace was exceptionally fast outside, Zinnia and the Pokémon remaining on Phantom Island had already spent over a day waiting.
"What's wrong with you guys?"
Aerodactyl brought Ace down slowly onto the meadow. Ace looked at the listless Zinnia, confused.
Zinnia didn't speak but gestured for Ace to look at the hourglass beside her.
Ace looked at the slowly passing sand, and his mouth twitched. Converting the time he'd spent outside, he gave an awkward chuckle: "Over a day?"
Zinnia nodded vigorously.
All the food was on Ace. Zinnia and the Pokémon were genuinely starving for a whole day!
Ace quickly pulled out a large quantity of food from his pouch and prepared delicious Pokémon food for the others.
Watching the group of Pokémon ravenously devouring the food, Ace smiled.
"This is a Wailmer. She's yours. Train her well and get familiar with her fighting style."
Ace tossed the Poké Ball containing Wailmer to Zinnia. Zinnia took it and nodded. Although she wasn't skilled with Water-type Pokémon, since Ace asked, she would adapt as much as possible.
Ace ate a little himself. Once both the humans and Pokémon were full, he led Zinnia toward the seaside of Phantom Island.
Wailmer wasn't suited for release on land, so to train her, they needed a body of water.
Initially, Ace thought of the freshwater pool.
But on second thought, he decided to go to the beach.
This way, they could go near the cliff face. If the branch reappeared, Ace could reach it immediately and seize the fleeting opportunity.
Zinnia had no objection to this and followed Ace to the shore of Phantom Island.
Zinnia released Wailmer, and the process of introduction and building rapport began.
Coupled with Wailmer's gentle nature, she was quite adaptable and quickly accepted Zinnia as her Trainer.
Under Ace's guidance, Zinnia began to coordinate with Wailmer, though a bit awkwardly at first.
Ace, while guiding Zinnia, kept his attention on the cliff face, hoping to see the branch again.
Time flowed on. On the fifth day of Ace's stay on Phantom Island, the island's first time reversal officially began.
As for why Ace knew it was a time reversal?
The reason was simple: the commotion caused by this time reversal was enormous!
Ace and Zinnia stood on the beach. The ground beneath their feet vibrated, the sea water before them boiled as if it were being cooked, and even the space slightly trembled.
Ace looked at the hourglass placed beside them. The fine sand, which had been trickling slowly, now began to flow down frantically.
"Time reversal... Wait! Is that it?!"
Ace was about to leave Phantom Island to avoid wasting external time by staying here.
But just then, a phantom image of a tree branch suddenly appeared on the once-bare cliff face.
Seeing this, Ace immediately sprang into action. Aerodactyl carried Ace, quickly charging towards the branch. Zinnia also rushed after Ace, following him toward the branch.
The branch's transformation from phantom to reality took less than three seconds.
In those brief three seconds, Ace clearly saw that the branch was extremely thick, pointing diagonally forward.
On the treetop, three oblong, cyan fruits could vaguely be distinguished growing on the branch.
These cyan fruits were covered with silver-white markings.
The markings looked profound and arcane. Just a quick glance made Ace feel a wave of dizziness.
It was this dizzy spell that stiffened Ace's movement as he reached out to pluck the fruit. By the time Aerodactyl brought Ace close enough to grab the fruit, he found his hand grasped at nothing.
The once-real fruit became translucent again. Ace's hand crossed paths with the fruit, passing right through...
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