Another half month passed.
Having fully recovered his health, Aiden "trained" his Pokémon for a while. Of course, saying he trained them was a bit generous—the role he played as a trainer seemed more like a mascot.
Everyone had their own routines. Under the influence of the grind-king Lucario, they all began preparing for the Master Ball-tier tournament that countless trainers dreamed of.
Meanwhile, Aiden, the trainer, just sat on the institute's lawn every day acting as a supervisor. Even Miraidon, who only wanted to slack off, had become slightly more diligent after being invited by Ogerpon, doing reaction training with it every day.
Why did he feel like he was the only unnecessary one—
With nothing to do, Aiden simply surfed his phone, checking out intel on other trainers through PokéTV and the Rotom Phone.
Ever since the battle in Alola, Steven, currently ranked third in points, had suddenly vanished from the face of the earth, leaving all of his Hoenn League duties to Wallace again. As for his whereabouts, Aiden actually did know. He had simply gone to the Orre Country near the Kalos region, probably so happy there he'd forgotten all about Hoenn. He likely wouldn't be seen during the entire qualifier stage of the Masters Tournament.
The other League Champions had mostly entered seclusion to train, with the two young men from the Indigo Plateau being the most notable. Just as Aiden remembered, after finishing their niche tournaments and accumulating international points, Red and Blue had dived straight into the mysterious Mt. Silver, temporarily handing their duties over to Lance.
Currently, they were probably the Champions with the least public expectations, even in Kanto and Johto. After all, without the experience of directly taking on Team Rocket, the only achievements this pair of twins could show for themselves were individually clearing the Kanto Elite Four—
But as everyone knew, Elite Four going easy on you was the norm on the Victory Road. So in the audience's eyes, their strength might not even match up to a fully serious Lance. Coupled with the fact that the Masters Tournament rules weren't the no-rules battles that Kanto natives excelled at, expectations for them were naturally low.
Probably only Aiden and the Kanto Elite Four, who had actually taken a beating from them, knew just how absurd the true skill level of Red and Blue, those two little demons, really was!
Once the qualifiers began, their performance would likely stun everyone. Aiden was very much looking forward to that.
As the date for Masters Tournament registration drew closer, he, having rested for a long time, naturally had to give 1000% of his energy to compete for the title of "Battle Legend." Furthermore, there were still some unresolved matters in Galar, so he had to make the trip no matter what.
During this month and a half, he hadn't been doing nothing. For example, Dr. Mohn, who had accidentally fallen into an Ultra Wormhole, lost his memory, and drifted to the Galar region, had been found by the International Police under his guidance and ultimately reunited with his family.
And near the area where Dr. Mohn lived was the "Crown Tundra," where the legendary king had retired to. If he was going to Galar, it might not be a bad idea to visit this nearly completely forgotten, lonely old 'man'.
Of course, the main focus was still the investigation of Galar's legendary [Darkest Day] phenomenon, or rather, "Eternatus." Chairman Rose was probably already preparing everything, just waiting for an opportunity to awaken the Darkest Day early and use the strongest Champion, Leon, to solve this problem. And the best way to absorb Dynamax energy—was naturally this Masters Tournament. If Aiden guessed correctly, this tournament was going to be very lively.
On the night before Masters Tournament registration, the Celestic Town Historical Research Institute suddenly welcomed an "uninvited guest."
"Mew~"
As Aiden was holding Sylveon, watching a new movie starring Miss Diantha together with Cynthia, a sweet, cloying meow immediately caught his attention. Turning his head, a slender cat tail swaying in the air was particularly eye-catching.
Mew, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, blinked, looking curiously at Aiden, who was observing it in return.
"Vee!!!"
Upon discovering that its best friend had come over to hang out on its own initiative, Sylveon immediately jumped off Aiden's lap, crouched down, shook its ribbons, and issued an invitation to Mew.
However, Mew just comforted it before looking back at Aiden with curiosity.
"What's wrong?" Aiden smiled at it.
Ever since it returned to its post guarding the Tree of Beginning, it was rare to see Mew actively come visiting. Instead, Sylveon would occasionally use the Anywhere Door to go inside the Tree of Beginning to play with it. But still, it shouldn't be staring at him as if it didn't recognize him, right?
Mew stared at him, thinking seriously for a while, until even Cynthia cast a curious glance over, before it suddenly reacted. "Mew!"
Mew's gesturing and dancing naturally couldn't let Aiden understand what it was trying to say. But soon, a telepathic voice came into his mind.
[You—have you seen the Creator again recently?]
Aiden subconsciously nodded. As expected of the origin of all Pokémon created by Arceus, Mew's perception was truly impressive.
Mew wasn't surprised by his answer. It quickly returned to its usual unserious demeanor and bounced away with the skipping Sylveon. Aiden was a bit baffled, but didn't pay it too much mind.
"Mew—"
And what he didn't know—was that in Mew's eyes, when it saw Aiden again just now, the aura emanating from him, almost visible to the naked eye, was completely identical to that of the Creator.
Perhaps humans and ordinary Pokémon who weren't sensitive to power couldn't feel it, but to the Legends who had once received the world's authority from the Creator's hands, it was simply as if the Creator Himself had returned—
However, from the looks of it, Aiden didn't seem to know that he could no longer even be called a "human" now, and had entirely become an acting agent of Arceus's will.
The Creator surely had His reasons for doing this, so why should it pointlessly expose the truth~
Mew didn't care about all that. In its view, as long as Aiden was still Aiden, and he and his Pokémon were still its good friends, that was already enough.
Having a good friend with omnipotent power backing it up meant that if it got caught slacking off in the future, someone would be there to bail it out~
"Mew~"
Thinking of this, Mew, who was currently teasing Sylveon with its tail, covered its mouth with its hands and let out a cute cry.
"Vee!"
Sylveon, thinking it was being mocked, immediately reacted. It wrapped its ribbons around Mew's tail, and the weak electric current generated by the friction of their fur instantly made Mew shudder all over.
Just as it was about to retaliate, Sylveon suddenly let go, then playfully trotted back to Aiden's side.
With Aiden acting as a safe haven, Mew could only temporarily let it go. It was just about to leave when it suddenly felt a familiar aura appear behind it. It immediately turned its head to look at Mewtwo, who was watching it, and flashed a brilliant smile.
[Mew, I think I've found my goal.]
Mewtwo returned the smile, actively initiating a telepathic connection between them.
[I've decided. After standing at the pinnacle of the world with Aiden, next year I will lead the clone Pokémon onto a trainer's journey and officially debut as a Trainer.]
"Mew?"
Mew blinked. If it remembered correctly, Mewtwo's desire from the very beginning was to become a Trainer, to prove that its potential was not inferior to any human's, right?
The Mewtwo of the past had a much more awkward personality than it did now.
Seemingly sensing Mew's confusion, Mewtwo quickly shook its head and added a few more sentences.
[Even I, in the end, will grow.]
[By Aiden's side, I have witnessed many stories between humans and Pokémon.]
[They completely trust their Trainers; even knowing their opponent is a Legendary existence they could never defeat, they would still fight with everything they have to protect everyone.]
[The more people I see, the more I feel that the old Team Rocket was unforgivable, so—]
[It's about time I let go of all the wrong concepts they instilled in me.]
Mewtwo's expression softened, its gaze passing through Mew to look at Aiden, who was currently whispering to Cynthia.
[Team Rocket and Giovanni have both acknowledged the mistakes they once made. I can no longer continue to wallow in the shadows of the past. It's time to move forward.]
[Here with Aiden, I learned that truly powerful strength is meant to protect the people behind you, not to prove that you are more valuable or stronger than other humans or Pokémon.]
[So, I want to pass this realization on to the clone Pokémon during next year's journey, letting them step out of the shadows and live their own new lives.]
[Mew, what do you think?]
After rattling off a whole string of words, Mewtwo realized that Mew had just been silently listening to its "reflections," its eyes becoming incredibly gentle. It was like a mother looking at her child who had finally grown up.
It made Mewtwo feel so shy that it could only forcefully use a question to break the awkward situation.
In response, Mew's actions were also very direct. "Mew~"
It didn't use telepathy to communicate with Mewtwo anymore; it just reached out and patted the other's round forehead. Everything was left unsaid.
Sure enough, the idea of having Aiden raise Mewtwo back then was the right call~
A hint of slyness flashed in Mew's eyes. Not only did the little guy who inherited its genes grow up strong and healthy, but its psychological issues were also cured one by one.
If it ran into any more problem children in the future, it would just bring them all to Aiden's side!
After all, the capable should do more work~
As time progressed little by little, the day for Masters Tournament registration finally arrived.
Since he had the divine artifact "Anywhere Door" given to him by Arceus, cross-border travel was incredibly simple for Aiden. So, on the first day of registration, Aiden and Cynthia appeared hand in hand at the designated Wyndon Rose hotel for this tournament.
A five-star hotel located in Wyndon, responsible for the logistics of Galar League tournaments in previous years, its specifications were naturally the highest in the Galar region.
With their level of fame, the entire registration process was naturally incredibly fast, and they soon checked in with their luggage.
"As expected of the Galar region, there's a competitive atmosphere everywhere."
Standing on the balcony of Aiden's room, Cynthia looked down curiously and was quickly drawn to the countless battle facilities in Wyndon.
Of course, the most eye-catching thing had to be that unbelievably massive arena. The largest arena in the entire Galar region, Wyndon Stadium. It was said that it could simultaneously accommodate 100,000 spectators, and the Champion Cup finals were packed every year. It was a top-tier stadium with an incredible battling atmosphere.
This year's host happened to be the Galar region, so the tournament rules were completely unrestricted, with no limitations on any special abilities.
In other words—
As long as the contestants wanted to, they could choose to use any one of Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, or Terastallization.
Whether it would be useful was unknown, but for Aiden, it was definitely a massive buff.
After all, the only known Trainer who could master more than three of these abilities seemed to be him. He could make in-match adjustments depending on the opponent.
Of course, fighting on their home turf naturally allowed a "King" to exert 100% of his power.
Currently ranked #1 in the world, Leon, known as the "Strongest Champion," could finally use his signature Gigantamax tactics, showing the world his true strength.
He was indeed a formidable rival.
However—
This was exactly what made it interesting!
Aiden smiled, sat on the bed, and casually picked up a magazine placed on the nightstand. It seemed to be materials specially prepared by the Galar League for the participating contestants, with a considerable portion of its content dedicated to introducing this tournament's "seeded players" and listing their most trusted aces.
The front-page headline was naturally their local star Leon; even the cover featured his Gigantamax Charizard with its astonishing presence. Ranked by world ranking, it was indeed quite fair.
Casually flipping through a few pages, seeing that it was basically all content he already knew, Aiden simply fast-forwarded to the last few pages.
The last few pages were about the myths and legends of the Galar region.
"Legend has it that three thousand years ago, the [Darkest Day] descended upon the Galar region, plunging the entire region into darkness."
"The appearance of the [Darkest Day] caused many Pokémon to go berserk, entering a mindless state of Dynamaxing, causing immeasurable destruction to Galar."
"But just as people fell into despair, a powerful hero wielding a sword and shield appeared and stood before humans and Pokémon, crushing and suppressing the [Darkest Day] with unrivaled power."
"After the battle ended, the hero quickly vanished, leaving behind only the legend of the [Darkest Day] and the hero, warning people to constantly guard against the [Darkest Day]'s return."
After reading it, Aiden subconsciously raised an eyebrow. If he didn't know that Chairman Rose had ulterior motives, he might have really thought this was a serious educational piece. No, even as educational material, it was highly inaccurate.
Because the legend passed down currently was simply wrong. The true "heroes" were actually Zacian and Zamazenta, who resided in the Slumbering Weald—
As for the legends of the Galar royal family, it was purely them patting themselves on the back!
Aiden thought for a moment, then immediately revealed a wicked grin.
It seemed like the material for his mythology storytelling series could get another update~
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