"The only thing that's been confirmed is that it seems to be connected to forests. Both Master Wang Yi and the person in America only awakened their ability after visiting a forest. But the catch is—they didn't visit the same forest. Yet they gained the same power, and the timing was close."
"After that, plenty of people went to those same forests, but none of them awakened the Force of Nature. So..."
"There's one more."
"Hm?"
Everyone froze, then turned around—only to find that Dax had appeared behind them at some point without anyone noticing.
"One more? Who?"
Dax flashed a small grin. "Heh. Not telling."
"Tch. Don't tell us, then." Auron rolled his eyes. Fine. Keep your secrets.
When Dax saw that Auron wasn't going to take the bait, he deflated a little. "Alright, fine. That was no fun. I can only tell you this much—it's someone on the American side. Two years older than you. But America's kept a tight lid on it, so basically nobody knows."
Lucas's face was all curiosity. "Then how do you know?"
Dax reached over and pinched Lucas's chubby cheek. "Kiddo, every Elite knows about this. Ask your brother when you get home—he knows too."
"Mrghblrgh."
"Not great. Your cheeks are way worse than your brother's were at your age." Dax gave another squeeze, then let go, making sure to toss in that parting jab.
Ignoring their antics, Auron sank into thought.
If the original Power of Viridian was a blessing from Viridian Forest, then the real world's Force of Nature might be a blessing from forests in general.
The abilities were similar, but the Power of Viridian had a clear pattern—in the lore, it was inherited once every ten years. Every decade, someone new would gain the Power of Viridian.
Giovanni was the first known holder. Lance, the Dragon-type Elite, was the second. Yellow was the third.
But in the real world, there didn't seem to be a ten-year cycle. The pattern was impossible to pin down. Master Wang Yi and the American had gained the Force of Nature around the same time.
And the one Dax had just hinted at seemed to have acquired it in recent years, putting the total time span at roughly forty to fifty years. Clearly, there was no regularity to it.
But then Auron recalled something else—secondary lore he'd once read, from official supplementary material, that suggested the Power of Viridian was actually a blessing from Celebi.
If that was true, then the lack of a pattern made perfect sense. First, you'd have to encounter Celebi. Then Celebi would have to take a liking to you. Only then would it grant you the Power of Viridian—the Force of Nature.
Auron stroked his chin, and a grin crept across his face unbidden. *If that's how it works... what if I got Victini, or Mew, or Hoopa to call Celebi over? Would I have a shot at getting the Power of Viridian too?*
"Hey, kid. What are you grinning about?"
After horsing around with Lucas, Dax remembered why he'd come here in the first place.
He turned around to find Auron standing there with a goofy smile. Calling out to him got no response, so Dax walked over and tapped his shoulder.
"Oh—oh, what's up?" Auron snapped back to reality, then looked at Dax quizzically. "Wait, what are you doing here?"
"Looking for you."
"Looking for me? Why?"
Auron was puzzled, but Dax looked a bit sheepish. "Well... I was hoping you could help me pick out an egg. You can sense the Pokémon inside an egg, right? So I wanted to ask a favor."
Auron couldn't help but chuckle at the way Dax was squirming. "Just tell me what you need. I'll see if I can help."
Dax nodded eagerly. "You can, for sure. I want a Fairy-type egg. And don't worry, you won't be doing this for free." He slapped a sapphire-blue, star-shaped object into Auron's palm. "Here. This is yours."
Auron looked down—and his eyes went wide.
Item: Shiny Charm
Effect: When used, transforms a Pokémon into its alternate coloration. No effect when simply carried.
Auron grinned. The usage was different from the Shiny Charm he knew from the games, but this was even better—straightforward and direct, no luck required.
"Consider it done." He pocketed the Shiny Charm without hesitation. Talk about generous. This was a massive win.
"Great. I'll leave it to you, then."
Dax clapped Auron on the shoulder, laughing to himself as well. *Scored big on this one. I won two in a bet—one was already meant for the kid. But now I'm getting a free egg pick on top of it. Heh.*
And so, both of them walked off grinning to themselves as they resumed browsing. Meanwhile, Simon had already cradled the Golett egg in his arms.
"What made you suddenly want to give Auntie Ji an egg?"
Dax's cheeks colored slightly. "How'd you know it's for her?"
"Come on. You run a Steel-type team. She runs a Fairy-type team. You do the math." Auron rolled his eyes. People in love really did lose brain cells. Now he'd seen it firsthand.
Auron cast a pitying look at Dax. *Yikes. The IQ drop is real. I'd better never fall in love.*
Dax, radiating pure bliss, hadn't noticed Auron's expression. Otherwise, he probably would have blown a fuse.
"Her birthday's in a couple days. I wanted to get her a nice present."
"Got it. Leave it to me."
Auron nodded and began scanning each egg's information with even more focus.
Pokémon: Glameow
...
Pokémon: Chatot
...
Pokémon: Mudbray
...
Pokémon: Arrokuda
...
Pokémon: ...
"Hm? This one's pretty good."
Pokémon: Shellos
Gender: Female
Type: Water
Ability: Storm Drain (Unaffected by Water-type moves. When hit by a Water-type attack, Special Attack is raised by one stage.)
Quality: Red
Base Moves: Mud-Slap, Water Gun
Egg Moves: Yawn, Stockpile, Mirror Coat, Swallow, Spit Up.
"Hm? Which one?"
Dax immediately leaned in, then picked up the egg Auron had been eyeing—its shell marked with sapphire-blue cloud patterns.
"Shellos."
Dax blinked. "Shellos? Isn't that Water-type?"
Auron nodded. "Yeah. Didn't you see the blue patterns on the shell?"
"Hold on—aren't we supposed to be looking for a Fairy-type egg?"
"Excuse me, Uncle Dax, that one's mine. Could I have it back, please?"
Just as Dax stood there confused, Lucas sidled up to him. With a polite smile, the boy carefully eased the egg out of Dax's arms.