And so, the Poké Ball that had held Manaphy was brought back home by Ashen, who tossed it on a shelf and dove excitedly into organizing Manaphy's data. He never gave it another thought.
He'd subconsciously dismissed the Poké Ball's existence. After all, he hadn't used it to hold Manaphy again after the initial transfer.
"So right now, you're the only person in the entire world who's successfully captured a legendary Pokémon. The only one!"
Once it sank in, everyone stared at Auron with either shock or awe.
It wasn't that no one had ever "captured" a legendary before, but those cases were all covenants—agreements between a legendary and an individual. Not true captures.
Because no Poké Ball had previously been able to contain a legendary's power, Auron was the only person who could genuinely claim to have captured one.
That said, if you really wanted to split hairs between covenants and captures, the ancient general Huo Qubing was arguably the first to truly "capture" a legendary.
A covenant meant the legendary chose to cooperate with a human voluntarily. The legendary agreed to follow that person's commands, but if it changed its mind, the initiative remained with the legendary.
A "capture," on the other hand, meant something different entirely. It meant the legendary chose to follow of its own free will—not the conditional arrangement of a covenant where "I don't feel like it anymore, so I'm leaving."
This kind of willing devotion functioned like a true capture. As long as the human didn't die, and as long as they didn't actively drive the legendary away or abandon it, the legendary would stay by their side forever. There was no Poké Ball binding them, but as legendaries, they had their pride.
A Poké Ball couldn't actually restrain a legendary. But a legendary's own dignity? That could.
According to historical records, the legendary that willingly followed Huo Qubing was Keldeo—and Keldeo was one of the key contributors to the campaigns that crushed the Xiongnu.
Another historical figure who "captured" a legendary was Zhuge Liang, whose companion was Uxie, the Being of Knowledge.
Uxie was probably the most frequently "captured" legendary of all time. Besides Zhuge Liang, documented cases included Fan Li, Liu Bowen, Leonardo da Vinci, and Archimedes.
Because of Uxie's association with these brilliant minds, it became known as the legendary that could unlock wisdom.
Unofficial histories also recorded that Cai Wenji once "captured" a Meloetta. The account claimed Meloetta was drawn to Cai Wenji's music. Whether that was true remained uncertain—unofficial histories being what they were.
This was the fundamental difference between covenants and captures. A "capture" meant the legendary wouldn't leave except upon the trainer's death or abandonment.
Covenants were far less binding. Under a covenant, the legendary could simply walk away.
Take Liu Bang. After he established his dynasty, his victory represented the triumph of pragmatism over idealism—and Reshiram departed. If Reshiram had stayed, Liu Bang likely wouldn't have feared Han Xin enough to let Empress Lü have him killed.
The Qing Dynasty was another example. After Empress Dowager Cixi seized power, Ho-Oh left. And it was only after Ho-Oh's departure that the Qing became so utterly defenseless.
Working through all this, Auron laughed bitterly and nodded. Just like that, he'd become the only person in the world to have truly captured a legendary in the modern sense.
RING RING RING~
His phone rang again. Auron checked the screen and smiled at the group. "Looks like my dad figured it out too."
He answered the call, holding the phone as far from his ear as possible. Sure enough, Ashen's booming voice blasted through the speaker.
"AURON! You captured a legendary! A real, genuine capture!"
Looking at his equally excited friends, Auron shook his head helplessly. He spoke to them and his father simultaneously.
"It's not really a capture. I only managed the 'catch' part. I never managed the 'tame' part. How can you call it a capture?"
"Oh my god, a Luxury Ball can withstand legendary-level energy! This is incredible! Once I tell your Grandpa Flint, he'll be so excited he'll start developing a whole new Poké Ball line. Haha! I need to go tell everyone—hold on, I'm hanging up. Haha, humanity can finally use Poké Balls to capture legendaries! Click... beep... beep..."
Auron stared at the dead call, then at his friends' equally giddy faces. He knew nothing he said right now would get through to them. Better to change the subject.
"Do any of you have plans for the break? Want to go look at new Pokémon? Next semester is all full-team battles."
Lena perked up immediately, though a note of worry crept in. "Simon and I are free. But we want Ghost-types, and those aren't easy to find."
Auron shrugged. "Let's look around. Skyspire has tons of Pokémon shops. Something'll turn up."
Jace shoveled in another mouthful of rice. "I've got a competition in a couple days. Plus my freshman tournament reward lets me pick a Pokémon Egg—I'll just choose one at school."
"A competition?"
Auron was confused. Since when? Jace hadn't mentioned this.
Jace rolled his eyes. "Obviously. If I don't compete, where's my money coming from? I've decided—now that I'm in university, I'm supporting myself and my Pokémon on my own."
Serena stuck out her tongue. "Same here. I need to start earning too. My savings might last through this semester. I can enter Pokémon Contests eventually, but there aren't any events coming up soon. So I'm free to go shopping for new Pokémon with you guys this break."
Lena propped her chin on her hand, looking enviously at Serena. "Must be nice. You all know how to make money. Simon and I have no idea what to do. What are we supposed to do, catch ghosts for hire?"
Simon patted Lena's arm, face sheepish. "No... it won't come to that. I still have some savings."
Lena's eyes lit up instantly. "Oh? You have a secret stash?"
Simon realized his mistake immediately. No choice now—he confessed the full extent of his savings to Lena.
"Tsk tsk. Lucky for me, my funds will last until graduation."
"Shut up, rich boy!"
Everyone turned to glare at Tim. Nobody had even called on him, and he'd volunteered that information just to make them jealous. Asking to be hated, really.
After Tim shrunk back under the collective death stare, Auron turned to Lucas curiously. "What about you, Lucas?"
Lucas wore a pained expression. He turned the question around. "What about you, Master?"
(End of Chapter)