The Tao Trio—this refers to the legendary Pokémon of the Unova region: Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem.
But why are they referred to this way?
"Legend has it that 2,500 years ago, the Unova region was founded by a pair of twin brothers and a single divine dragon. The elder twin pursued truth, while the younger sought ideals."
"As their goals diverged, their ideological conflict deepened, eventually escalating into a war."
Inside the Dragonspiral Tower, Lucas and his companions had already arrived.
Looking at the crumbling stone walls and broken columns, Lucas walked at the front and calmly recounted the Unovan legend he knew.
"What happened after that?"
Marnie and Green had heard a bit about this history too—after all, it was an ancient tale passed down in Unova.
But to say they truly understood it? Not really.
"The divine dragon split into two because of the twins' conflicting beliefs: Zekrom, the Dragon of Ideals, and Reshiram, the Dragon of Truth. The war between them raged on for a long time, with no clear victor."
"Neither the black dragon nor the white dragon could defeat the other. Exhausted, they came to a standstill. The twin brothers, finally realizing their mistake, ended the war and restored peace."
Lucas spoke in a low voice—this was the history of the Unova region.
"But then why did Zekrom and Reshiram end up here?"
Marnie tilted her head, puzzled.
"Because the war didn't truly end. After the twin brothers passed away, their ideological divide was inherited by their sons, reigniting the flames of war."
"Enraged, Zekrom and Reshiram scorched the Unova region with lightning and fire. In the end, both dragons were gravely wounded and turned into stone, entering a deep sleep to recover."
Lucas smiled faintly. Human conflict stems from many causes, but ideological division is one that never truly goes away.
Truth and ideals—two opposing forces that are nearly irreconcilable unless one gives up their own beliefs.
"But I remember there's a third dragon in Unova, right?"
After thinking for a moment, Marnie spoke up.
There's a legend in Unova about a third dragon—apart from the black and white ones.
"That's right. Zekrom represents ideals. Reshiram represents truth. But above them both is the most powerful ice dragon—Kyurem!"
Lucas's eyes gleamed faintly. This was the Tao Trio of Unova: Truth, Ideals, and Strength.
To be honest, compared to the black and white dragons, Lucas was far more interested in Kyurem.
Kyurem was known as the strongest of the three dragons, with power that absolutely surpassed both Zekrom and Reshiram.
It could even fuse with either of them and use their power for itself.
Of course, the title of "strongest dragon" wasn't exactly absolute…
Mega Rayquaza, Zygarde Complete Form, Ultra Necrozma, Eternamax Eternatus, etc.
Let's not even mention Mega Rayquaza and Zygarde. As for Ultra Necrozma and Eternamax Eternatus, Kyurem basically had no chance against them...
But the title of "strongest dragon" wasn't something Kyurem made up on its own.
In Lucas's past life, before Mega Evolutions were a thing, the only dragons that could rival Kyurem were Rayquaza and the Creation Trio from Sinnoh.
But back then, Rayquaza couldn't Mega Evolve, and being 4× weak to Ice, it wouldn't stand a chance against Kyurem's dual typing.
As for the Creation Trio, even they would struggle against Kyurem in its fused forms—White Kyurem and Black Kyurem.
However, as the games progressed, stronger Pokémon kept appearing.
With Mega Rayquaza, Kyurem's throne was shaken.
Then came Ultra Necrozma, labeled as "beyond all past legends"…
And later, Eternamax Eternatus showed up, boasting over 1000 base stat points.
Poor Ice Dragon—it's tough out here.
Even so, Kyurem was still ranked among the top-tier legendary Pokémon.
"If I can't gain Reshiram's recognition, then I'll try something else," Lucas thought.
Kyurem's power was tremendous.
Lucas was definitely eager to pursue Kyurem, but he knew Kyurem had a nasty temper.
In the games, you needed the DNA Splicers to change its form.
But in both animated movies, Kyurem could switch forms freely—like it was nothing.
No Splicers needed. Just instant transformation back and forth like flipping a switch.
Lucas didn't know exactly how Kyurem worked in this world, so to be safe, he decided to try his luck at Dragonspiral Tower first.
Right now, Eternatus still hadn't fully recovered, and if Kyurem turned out to be moody and decided to teach him a lesson...
Yeah—if a real fight broke out, Lucas wasn't confident he could beat Kyurem.
Better to start with the easier option—the white dragon sounds good.
Even if it didn't accept him, at least it wouldn't go berserk.
"Hey Lucas, do you know where the ice dragon Kyurem is?"
Marnie asked curiously. In her eyes, Lucas always seemed to know everything about the legendaries from all regions.
Like, was there anything this guy didn't know?
"If nothing unexpected happens, I do know where it is. But Kyurem is dangerous—you'd better be prepared if you want to go looking for it."
Lucas nodded, then added a warning.
Among all the legends, Kyurem had one of the worst tempers.
There were even rumors that Kyurem would devour humans and Pokémon.
Of course, Lucas didn't really believe that rumor.
But as far as bad temper goes? Yeah, he believed that part.
In the movies where Kyurem appeared, it really didn't seem easy to deal with.
Like—people accidentally spit fire near it and it immediately froze them solid without a second thought.
That's pure pettiness.
As they spoke, Lucas, Marnie, and Green reached the top of Dragonspiral Tower.
To their surprise, there was already a girl there!
She had a graceful figure, long brown hair, and wore a red-and-white hat.
A white sleeveless top under a black vest, and dark blue short shorts showing off her long, fair legs.
Lucas's eyes gleamed slightly. That outfit… there was no mistaking it.
Hilda, the female protagonist from Pokémon Black & White!
"Eh? Someone else is here too?"
Hilda turned around upon hearing footsteps and looked curiously at the trio, full of youthful energy.
Green and Marnie frowned. The entrance was guarded by Plasma Grunts.
How did this girl get up here?
"Heard something about the Dragonspiral Tower and came up to check it out. Are you here alone, miss?"
Lucas smiled warmly and asked.
Hilda looked about sixteen or seventeen.
And appearing here—Dragonspiral Tower—could only mean one thing…
Competition!
Lucas immediately realized it.
Since N had already awakened the black dragon, the fate of truth vs. ideals had officially begun.
And now, Reshiram would also seek out a hero of truth—its chosen trainer.
In the game, if you played as Hilda, she was the destined rival to N.
"Ah~ yes, I came alone for... certain reasons."
Hilda blinked, her clear eyes looking favorably at this elegant, refined young man.
But more than that—it was his handsome face.
Let's be real—appearance might not be everything, but it definitely leaves a strong first impression.
And Lucas had both the looks and the charisma.
"By the way, did you run into anyone trying to stop you while coming up?"
Hilda suddenly asked, as if remembering something.
"Yeah, a few guys dressed weirdly tried to fight us, but we took them down."
Lucas replied casually.
"Hmph! Those damn Plasma goons. I knew I shouldn't have gone easy on them."
Hilda huffed angrily.
She had also been stopped earlier and gave them a lesson in "virtue, justice, wisdom, and trust."
But after they apologized, she let them go…
Only to find out they were still guarding the tower?
"People like that exist everywhere—don't worry about it, Miss."
"To meet like this out in the wild might just be fate. I'm Lucas Blackthorn, and these are my companions, Marnie and Green."
He reached out with a smile, giving a brief introduction.
"I'm Hilda Touka from Nuvema Town. Nice to meet you!"
Hilda hesitated briefly, then quickly wiped her hand on her clothes before shaking his, slightly embarrassed.
Her hands were dirty from climbing and touching stone pillars—it felt rude.
"No need to feel embarrassed, Miss Touka. You're quite adorable."
Lucas chuckled. As expected, main characters from the original stories were all pure-hearted.
Hilda blushed, not even daring to look directly at him.
Green clicked her tongue. This guy was smooth.
She glanced at Marnie—only to find her completely expressionless.
No reaction at all?
Seriously? Your guy's flirting and you're just… blank?
Green was stunned. Marnie had a heart of steel.
But Marnie honestly didn't mind.
She knew Lucas well—sure, he was sometimes handsy, but he wasn't the type to chase every pretty girl he saw.
Complimenting a girl for being cute? That's nothing.
"By the way, Miss Touka —you mentioned coming here for some 'special reason'? What was that?"
"Oh, no need for the formality—just call me Hilda."
Hilda smiled and tapped her cheeks to collect herself. She wasn't usually shy, just caught off guard by the compliment.
Now that she'd recovered, she was back to her cheerful self.
"Then just call me Lucas too."
"Alrighty~ So about that reason…"
Hilda smiled brightly, but then hesitated.
"For the past few days, I've been hearing a voice in my head—almost every day."
"I try to reply, but it never answers back. Then somehow, I just wandered here without even realizing why."
Her eyes held a trace of confusion.
Indeed, she had no idea why she came here—just… drifted toward Dragonspiral Tower.
"Being led by subconscious instinct, huh? It really is the white dragon…"
Lucas's eyes narrowed. It was obvious now—Reshiram had chosen her.
A shame. He could try to drive her away and look for Reshiram himself…
But legendary Pokémon like Reshiram don't just let people pick them—they choose their trainers.
"Hilda, do you know the legend of Dragonspiral Tower?"
Lucas took a moment to compose himself, then smiled at Hilda. Although it was highly likely that Reshiram was no longer an option, it wasn't too big of a problem.
Reshiram? So what? Wouldn't the strongest Ice Dragon be even better?
The moment he left Dragonspiral Tower, he'd go find Kyurem!
Lucas made up his mind about his next goal. Reshiram? He couldn't care less.
"I know, right? There's a legend that the Dragon God slumbers here, but isn't that all just a myth? Right, Mr. Lucas? Mr. Lucas?"
Hilda blinked and furrowed her brow as she spoke. As a local, she was naturally familiar with the legends surrounding Dragonspiral Tower.
But hadn't those long since been proven to be just rumors?
Yet by the end of her sentence, she had started looking curiously at Lucas, who seemed to be spacing out.
"Mr. Lucas?"
Lucas had indeed drifted off in thought, so much so that he hadn't even noticed his own expression had turned a bit odd.
"Hilda?"
"Ah? I'm here!"
"What did that voice say to you?"
"Let me think... The voice was kind of faint, so I couldn't really hear it clearly. But I think it was asking something like... whether I was 'truthful' or something."
Hilda furrowed her brow and tried to recall. The voice had always been hazy, and most of the time it echoed in her mind while she was resting at night, so the details were fuzzy.
Upon hearing this, Lucas's expression became even more peculiar.
Because just now, he too had heard a faint, indistinct voice—one that sounded neither male nor female…
"Truth… What is your truth?"
And just at that moment, that same ethereal, distant, hollow voice echoed once again in Lucas heart, even clearer than before.
Now, Lucas was almost certain.
This persistent questioning about one's truth… There was no doubt—it had to be Reshiram.
Good grief, this was Reshiram?
It chose Hilda and now it had its eyes on him too?
Casting a wide net, huh? What a legendary flirt!
(End of Chapter)