The ancient-style building complex appeared exceptionally solemn under the moonlight.
A young girl carrying a bamboo basket on her back hurried through the moonlight until she arrived before a Cave.
"Are you inside?"
The girl asked in a low voice toward the Cave.
"Saa~"
A faint sound rang out, and a sincere smile appeared on the girl's face. "Then I'm coming in?"
The girl walked into the Cave with extreme caution, watching a green Pokémon lying on a rock. This Pokémon had fallen into her basket when she went out to gather herbs yesterday. When she carried it out of the basket, it was already very weak, but she didn't dare bring it home, so she could only find a safe place for it and sneak over to visit it every night.
The girl walked to Celebi's side, took out the herbs from her basket, helped Celebi up, and carefully fed them to it.
Celebi lay in the girl's arms, finished the herbal medicine in the bowl, and feeling its body regain a bit of strength, Celebi made a weak yet melodious sound.
"Saa~"
"It's okay, it's very safe here. You must be hungry, right? I brought you something to eat."
The girl took a few rice balls out of her basket again, then broke them into pieces one by one, placed them in her hand, and fed them to Celebi.
"You must belong to somewhere, right? I saw the wooden plaque hanging around your neck. It says Celebi, and also Breeding House. Is your name Celebi? Is that place called Breeding House where you live?"
The girl kept talking while feeding Celebi.
"Why did you run away from there? And you're so weak. Were you attacked by some Pokémon? Or did some accident happen?"
"Will the people from the Breeding House come looking for you?"
"Let me tell you, I didn't look at the wooden plaque around your neck on purpose. I saw it by accident when I was holding you yesterday."
"Alright, I am very curious, but you can't be angry, okay?"
Listening to the girl's words rambling by its ear, Celebi weakly revealed a smile and then lay quietly in the girl's arms, falling into a deep sleep.
"Roar!"
A terrifying roar rang out from the Cave. Celebi woke up from its sleep, looked toward the depths of the Cave, and a massive figure walked out.
It let out a terrifying roar toward the girl and Celebi.
Seeing this, the girl skillfully placed Celebi into the basket and then ran for her life with the basket on her back.
The giant bear chased from behind, and the girl skillfully ran forward with the help of the moonlight.
She was startled by the deer that suddenly appeared before her, tripped over a vine by accident, and tumbled several times, basket and all.
Celebi fell out of the basket. Seeing the giant bear getting closer and closer to them, Celebi struggled to fly up, then gathered the power of the forest in its hands, concentrated it into a sphere, and threw it toward the giant bear.
It was slow, and the giant bear dodged it with a twist of its body. Afterward, the giant bear quickly knocked Celebi flying, and it fell beside the girl.
Looking at the giant bear getting closer, the girl couldn't help but tremble, but she still held Celebi in her arms.
Just as the giant bear's palm was about to strike down, the girl heard someone speak.
"Lilligant, Energy Ball!"
The giant bear was sent flying by the basketball-sized Energy Ball. It tumbled backward, struggling to stand up, only to find its limbs had lost all sensation.
The giant bear kept letting out low roars, and immediately afterward, it saw a Darkrai and a Gengar appear before its eyes.
"Gen gengar!"
"Good night, I wish you a nightmare."
Ripples lit up in its eyes, and the giant bear fell into a deep sleep.
Darkrai's shadow suddenly grew larger, enveloping the giant bear, and shortly after, the giant bear let out a painful wail.
Dream Eater.
Lucas watched the fallen Ursaluna, took out a Poké Ball, and just as he was about to throw it, a voice rang out in his mind.
Lucas put the Poké Ball back into his pocket.
Afterward, Lucas came before the girl and squatted down. "Celebi, we are here."
Celebi, held in the girl's arms, opened its eyes. Seeing Lucas's familiar face appear before it, it called out twice happily, then coughed incessantly.
Lucas looked at the girl, extended his hand, and said gently, "Thank you for protecting Celebi, but could you hand it to me first? I need to treat it."
The girl looked at the man smiling gently at her in front of her, falling into a daze. It wasn't until Lucas waved his hand in front of her that she snapped out of it and handed Celebi to Lucas.
"Oh, oh, oh, sorry."
Lucas shook his head to indicate it was fine, then began to examine Celebi's body.
The energy inside its body was severely depleted, and it had sustained heavy injuries.
Lucas's heart tightened.
"Thank you, Celebi."
Lucas said in a low voice. Celebi lay in Lucas's arms, bumped its head against Lucas's chest, "Saa~"
"I love Lucas the most."
Lucas smiled knowingly. "I do too."
After Lucas explained the situation to Gothitelle, Gothitelle nodded to show she understood, then called Gengar back. With the help of the group of Pokémon, a simple stove was set up.
Gothitelle began to brew the herbal medicine.
And Lucas, holding Celebi, sat down right there.
The aura of Garchomp, Darkrai, and Gengar deterred all the Pokémon in the vicinity, keeping them away from here.
The girl looked at Cynthia under the moonlight, lost in a daze.
What a beautiful big sister—
But why are the clothes they are wearing so strange?
While Gothitelle was brewing the herbal medicine, Lucas took a moment to size up the girl before him; the clothes she was wearing were incredibly familiar.
Lucas, squinting his eyes, suddenly remembered something and looked at the Ursaluna currently having a nightmare.
Ursaluna? An evolved form of Ursaring?
And the Wyrdeer he had just seen, plus this extremely familiar set of robe-like clothing.
So this is—
Hisui region? The predecessor to the Sinnoh region?
Lucas's eyes widened.
"Gothitelle."
Gothitelle nudged Lucas, pulling him back from his thoughts.
Lucas said thank you to Gothitelle, then took the herbal medicine and gently called to Celebi in his arms.
Celebi opened its eyes weakly, and Lucas said softly, "Drink the herbal medicine before sleeping, okay?"
Celebi nodded weakly, and then Lucas tested the temperature of the herbal medicine, picked up a spoon, and fed it to Celebi one spoonful at a time.
Gengar came to the girl's side and took out a big pile of snacks to share with her.
"Tha—thank you."
The girl took the snacks and tried picking up a piece of cat-ear-shaped snack and putting it into her mouth.
"Mmm—so delicious!"
The girl widened her eyes, seeing Gengar and Darkrai each holding a bucket of snacks, giving her a thumbs-up while eating.
The girl chuckled and joined Gengar and Darkrai's camp.
Seeing Celebi fall into a deep sleep after drinking the herbal medicine, Lucas looked at the girl. "Thank you for taking care of Celebi for me, but I might have to take it back to a place suitable for it to heal."
Hearing Lucas's words, a trace of sadness flashed through the girl's heart.
Although she had only known it for a day, she also liked Celebi a lot.
However, she still revealed a big smile. "Okay, bye-bye."
Cynthia stood to the side, watching quietly.
Lucas thought for a moment and said to the girl, "We still need to go find another Celebi, so I'm very sorry, we can't let it stay with you for a few more days."
The girl waved her hand, indicating it was fine.
Lucas stood up, freed one hand, held the wooden plaque on his chest, and the power of time and space permeated the air once again.
A ripple like a water droplet stirred in the depths of Lucas's heart.
"That Celebi is currently in a place we cannot go to; there are also 'us' there, and that existence, but it will come to look for this Celebi."
Lucas: —
Lucas turned his head and looked at the girl. "I wonder if there is a place where we can stay? Celebi seems to want to stay here for a while."
The girl was incredibly happy. "Yes, yes, we have one at my place."
"Would that be too much of a bother?"
Lucas asked.
The girl shook her head with a smile. "It won't be. Our home welcomes guests anyway. Let's go, I'll take you there."
The girl put the bamboo basket on her back and looked at Lucas and Cynthia with a smile, her face full of anticipation.
Lucas glanced at Cynthia, Cynthia nodded slightly, and only then did Lucas nod with a smile. "Then I'll trouble you."
"Heehee, no trouble at all."
The girl led the way in front. "My name is Akari."
"My name is Lucas, and these are my partners, Gengar, and Darkrai. This is Celebi."
"My name is Cynthia, and this child is my partner, Garchomp."
"Big sister Cynthia is so pretty."
Akari said with a blushing face.
Cynthia revealed a beautiful smile. "Thank you, Akari is also very cute."
Lucas saw Akari keep her eyes on Celebi, smiled and carefully held Celebi in her arms. "It looks like it also likes being held by you."
Akari held Celebi with extreme caution, afraid of waking it up. Looking at the incredibly sweet-sleeping Celebi, she kept letting out giggles.
Lucas walked to Cynthia's side and naturally took her hand. "Stay for a few more days?"
Cynthia turned her head uncomfortably. "Mn."
"Why didn't you catch that Pokémon just now?"
Cynthia asked.
"Because to this place, we are just passersby. We shouldn't disrupt anything here."
Lucas said, "When I took out the Poké Ball, Dialga's voice rang out in my heart. We cannot catch the Pokémon here, and even less can we take the Pokémon here back to our time."
Cynthia nodded continuously as she listened to Lucas's answer.
"This kind of feeling is a first."
"Hm?"
Cynthia heard Lucas's puzzled sound and laughed. "Traveling through time and space—is this the first time?"
Lucas also laughed. "It's my first time too."
"But where exactly is this? I haven't seen those two Pokémon from just now."
Cynthia asked, puzzled.
Lucas thought for a while, then decided to say the answer.
"The Hisui region."
"The Hisui region?"
Lucas nodded.
"The predecessor to the Sinnoh region. You can understand it as the ancient Sinnoh region."
Lucas said.
Wait.
Hisui region, her name is Akari—
?!
The female protagonist of Pokémon Legends: Arceus?!
Huh?!
Where is this? Is it still in the Sinnoh?
Lucas squeezed his hand tightly, calming his mood.
It feels pretty good.