Chapter 821: She Kept Talking About You
The Azoth Kingdom is located southeast of Lumiose City.
The distance is roughly the same as going to Camphrier Town.
At the speed of their group of Pokémon, they could arrive within a day if they hurried.
But if they had to account for AZ and the dozen or so people from Team Flare, the pace would have to slow down to three or four days.
The timing could be said to be very tight.
Therefore, after making some brief preparations, Kazuya and AZ hit the road immediately.
For AZ.
This opportunity was unprecedented in over sixty years.
With so many powerful Pokémon protecting him, even the elusive Greninja was present.
Even if the plan ultimately failed, they would be able to escape and survive.
So AZ cherished this opportunity very much, personally overseeing every step of the operation, striving for success on the first try.
On the journey.
Because they had to accommodate the pace of these humans.
Kazuya and the other Pokémon's movement speed could be said to be very slow. For them, who were accustomed to moving quickly, the current speed was tantamount to "taking a stroll."
Consequently, they had free time to chat.
"Kazuya, did Cofagrigus really die?"
Skitty nestled in Kazuya's arm, looked up, and asked sadly.
After receiving the injection treatment from Team Flare.
Skitty's condition improved significantly.
At least the pain from the shadow energy corruption was greatly weakened, and she was able to move and speak normally.
"He might still be alive, hiding somewhere in the Spirit World; but it's highly likely he's dead."
Kazuya reached out and rubbed Skitty, not lying to her.
"I'm so sad..."
Skitty pursed her lips and buried her head in Kazuya's chest.
Pokémon wouldn't use flowery rhetoric to express their sorrow, but often such straightforward words better conveyed their feelings.
Although before they met.
They were two completely unrelated individuals.
But their time together over these ten-plus years contained no falsehoods whatsoever.
Whether it was Kazuya, Skitty, or the other Pokémon, they had all come to regard Cofagrigus as their good friend and companion while relying on each other over the years.
It was only natural to feel sad.
Kazuya couldn't comfort her much.
After all, comforting words were useless in such matters; they could only properly digest these emotions with the help of time.
Meanwhile, on the side.
The members of Team Flare frequently cast their gazes upon Skitty.
The kitten's soft and sweet meows were incredibly cute.
They couldn't understand what the kitten was saying, they just found Skitty very adorable, so they took a few more glances.
Even AZ was no exception.
Since the world fell into darkness, communication between regions had become practically nonexistent.
AZ also rarely saw Pokémon from other regions.
Although Kalos was a comprehensive region where one could easily see Pokémon from various regions.
The numbers were ultimately fewer.
A representative Pokémon of the Hoenn region like Skitty.
Was not that common in the Kalos region. At least for many Team Flare members, it was their first time seeing one.
AZ hadn't seen one in decades either.
After all, the vast majority of Skitty were very weak. They didn't have the strength to survive in this apocalyptic world; even if they became magical beasts, they mostly ended up as food for other magical beasts.
The kitten in Kazuya's arms.
Might be the strongest Skitty in the world.
"Mm, by the way, is this Skitty the one from Ever Grande City back then?"
AZ asked belatedly at this moment.
He remembered a minor incident from three hundred years ago.
At that time, he was passing through Ever Grande City in the Hoenn region.
He was crouching on the street cosplaying as a beggar. A kind-hearted "old lady" taking a Skitty out to buy groceries happened to run into him and gave him a few biscuits.
At that time, the old woman had kept him there, chattering on and on about a Sceptile. It was also because of this old woman that AZ later specifically went to warn Kazuya about Shadow Lugia.
Now connecting these memories.
And looking at Kazuya beside him.
AZ finally realized that the Skitty in Kazuya's arms might be the one beside that old woman back then.
"Mm."
Kazuya nodded gently, stroking Skitty's trembling body with his palm.
The kitten had no reaction at all to what AZ said.
She was currently grieving.
"I see. You are very fortunate to be able to meet again and accompany each other in an era like this."
AZ said with a sigh.
"Yes, I'm truly happy to be able to meet this child again."
Kazuya didn't deny it.
"Was that 'old lady' your Trainer?"
"Using the word 'family' is more appropriate."
Kazuya lowered his head, changing the term.
"You had a family member who loved you deeply."
AZ said with emotion, his words carrying a hint of envy.
"..."
Hearing this, Kazuya turned to look at AZ, a look of confusion in his eyes.
He didn't know how AZ could tell.
If he remembered correctly.
AZ hadn't conversed with Granny Sora for long back then; it could even be said they only had a passing encounter.
"She kept talking about you."
AZ turned to Kazuya and smiled.
Regarding this matter.
His impression was quite deep.
It was a winter day. It hadn't snowed in Ever Grande City, but the streets were still very cold.
The old woman sat beside him, holding a newspaper, pointing at the Sceptile on it, and talked for a long, long time.
When the cold wind blew, her body would occasionally shiver.
But when she spoke of that Sceptile again, a few more traces of warmth and proud smiles would appear on her face, and her whole demeanor would become a bit more spirited.
In those decades.
That was the only time AZ had felt such "radiant love."
Therefore.
He didn't interrupt her.
He listened to those very boring things to the end.
"...I see."
Kazuya lowered his head, the corners of his mouth curving up, revealing a smile that wasn't particularly pretty.
At that time.
He didn't know that Granny Sora had been following news about him in the newspapers.
The group continued forward.
Hurrying along, they arrived at the Azoth Kingdom, the city of mechanisms, on the third day.
"What do we do now? Pass through the streets? It might not be easy."
Greninja glanced at AZ.
The Azoth Kingdom.
Was one of the few places left in the current world where a group of people known as "royalty" still existed.
Just like Rota in the Kanto region.
So it was quite famous in Kalos.
At the very least, it had a much larger population than medium-to-small-sized towns like Camphrier Town, and the foot traffic was quite high.
Therefore, magical beasts gathered in this city were not an uncommon sight.
Taking this group of humans, including AZ, through the city wasn't impossible, but it might take considerable effort.
"We have already prepared cloaking suits."
AZ shook his head.
With that, he pulled out a coat and draped it over his shoulders.
The next moment.
The color of his entire body began to blend in with the surrounding environment.
It looked as if he was a chameleon.
Not invisibility in the true sense.
"Forget it, it's still too troublesome. I know an underground secret passage. Follow me."
Kazuya waved his hand casually, turned around, and led the group in a certain direction.
"???"
AZ stared at Kazuya's back with a bewildered expression.
He didn't understand.
He himself didn't know of any secret passage existing in Azoth.
Why would Kazuya know?
Does such a thing really exist?
Impossible.
Kazuya sensed the emotion of denial in AZ's heart and couldn't help but grin and shake his head.
Fifteen minutes later.
When the group appeared in a damp underground tunnel.
AZ fell silent.
He cast several suspicious, sidelong glances at Kazuya.
AZ could be certain of one thing, and that was that the royalty of the Azoth Kingdom in the League Era didn't even know of the existence of such a tunnel beneath their kingdom.
So.
How on earth did Kazuya know?
AZ directly voiced his question.
With the world in this state, there was nothing that couldn't be asked or said.
And Kazuya had the same thought, directly answering the doubt in AZ's heart: "This secret passage was secretly built by your younger brother, XY, over three thousand years ago."
"At that time, you were obsessed with building the Ultimate Weapon and frequently spouted dangerous rhetoric. XY worried you would become obsessed and go astray, so he prepared a secret passage leading directly to the palace basement in advance."
"The existence of this secret passage was built by XY so he could send people to stop you when you lost your mind. But I don't know why he ultimately failed to stop you."
Except for the last sentence.
Everything Kazuya said happened in the second world.
At that time, Kazuya hadn't known the brothers AZ and XY for long and hadn't significantly impacted them. So he figured the events in the first world during the same period would be roughly similar.
Initially, he also came with a "let's give it a try" attitude to see if this secret passage existed.
When he saw that this secret passage truly existed.
He was completely certain.
This part of history in the two worlds should be identical.
"Because he died on the battlefield."
AZ's face turned grim, his tone carrying a hint of remorse. "His concerns were right. At that time, I had gone mad because of Floette's death. I completely disregarded the safety of the entire empire, leaving all battlefield matters to him, which ultimately led to his accidental death..."
One wrong step.
Led to a series of wrong steps.
From the moment he made the terrible move of sending Floette to the battlefield, AZ's life began to gradually collapse, leading to many things he didn't want to see happen later.
"..."
Kazuya didn't say anything more.
He had a relatively good relationship with the XY of the second world, but didn't know the one in the first world at all, so he didn't feel much sadness.
Hearing this from AZ's mouth.
Was like going through a storyline in a game in the past.
He merely witnessed a piece of the past, his heart undisturbed.
"Sigh, I didn't expect you to actually know such a secret... Did you find this out yourself later, or did you see it with your own eyes?"
AZ looked at Kazuya curiously.
He felt that when Kazuya was recounting those events just now.
That tone...
It was as if he had personally learned of this matter from XY's mouth.
So he couldn't help but ask.
"..."
Kazuya exchanged a glance with AZ, said nothing, and continued forward.
AZ frowned, pinching his chin as he secretly guessed the meaning of that look. But even after guessing a possibility later on, he didn't bring it up again to confirm with Kazuya.
The dark and damp tunnel wasn't considered long.
After all, the distance from the outskirts of the Azoth Kingdom to the palace wasn't particularly far.
After walking for about half an hour.
They had arrived directly beneath the palace.
Sensing the two Auras above.
Kazuya turned his head with interest and glanced at AZ beside him: "It seems you have some standing with Shadow as well, for Him to specifically set a trap for you here."
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