Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 438 The Real Reward for the Champion

“Perfect timing, the guy with the middle parting has been an orphan since he was a child.”

Natsume's voice suddenly lowered, his eyes reddened, and his tone carried just the right amount of pity.

"Pickup?"

The boy with the middle-parted hair, still half-asleep, looked up with a bewildered expression, his small eyes wide open.

Weren't its parents the ones you introduced it to? When did it ever lose its parents?! Good heavens!

The man with the middle parting suddenly sat up!

Its parents not only gave birth to it, but also had a litter of siblings.

"Pickup!"

The man with the middle parting was determined to defend his father's reputation for kidneys.

Suddenly, in the instant its emotions surged, a wisp of extremely pure white-gold flame, imbued with a vast and tranquil aura, silently merged into its body, as if summoned.

"Skin--?!"

The man with the center-parted hair stood frozen in place, his pupils instantly filled with intense shock.

It could clearly feel that the long-dormant divine authority within its body had quietly grown slightly!
“I understand,” the deep voice, seemingly echoing through the ages, resonated directly within the platinum behemoth, filled with all-knowing compassion. “Gaining divine recognition is always a perilous and long road, especially for a creature like Pikachu.”

Its gaze seemed to pierce through the soul, landing on the man with the middle parting.

Natsume touched his nose guiltily, his eyes darting around, and remained silent.

It's quite 'difficult'.

It's quite an achievement that someone with a middle parting can sleep for so long and sleep so soundly every day.

The platinum behemoth's molten gold-like eyes suddenly turned to the red and white spheres hanging from Natsume's waist, its gaze seemingly piercing through the spheres' barrier.

"Sizzle~ Sizzle~"

Two red lights flashed in response, Zapdos appeared in the sacred hall with crackling thunderous power and Loreton exuding ancient and mysterious spatial fluctuations.

"As expected." The platinum behemoth stared silently at the two Pokémon, its platinum divine flames flickering around it, and the light dust in the hall seemed to tremble slightly as well.

An invisible pressure, originating from a higher level of existence, naturally spread out, causing Zapdos and Loreton to involuntarily restrain their auras.

“Senior,” Natsume composed himself, cupped his hands, and tentatively asked, “Excuse my impertinence, but was your trainer the founder of the League?”

Natsume remembered that historical records indicated that among that great man's ace was indeed a legendary Arcanine.

"Exactly." The deep voice confirmed Natsume's guess, and a deep sense of reminiscence flowed through the platinum behemoth's eyes. "The guardian dragonite you met was also his partner."

"Guardian Dragonite!" Natsume's heart skipped a beat.

He guessed that the two might know each other, but he didn't expect their relationship to be so close—they were actually partners of the same trainer!
“In that case,” Natsume felt as if he had grasped a key clue.

"The Enchanted Forest and the Lake of Life, must also be your creation, senior?" He suddenly realized, no wonder the Alliance protected these two places containing strange powers so closely.

However, the platinum behemoth slowly shook its head, its holy flames flickering: "It has nothing to do with me; I was merely looking after things on behalf of others."

Seeing the growing confusion on Natsume's face, it directly explained the reason: "The existence of those two places is related to the other two old friends."

"The other two old buddies?" A thought flashed through Natsume's mind!
The three trump cards of the League's founders correspond to the three basic attributes of fire, grass, and water, and even profoundly influenced the choice of starter Pokémon in later generations.

The forest and lake attributes are a perfect match.

"Could it be that the other two seniors are also..." Natsume asked in astonishment, almost blurting it out.

"Your reward will be given to you first, and you will know when the time comes."

The platinum behemoth interrupted Natsume's questioning.

Its gaze swept over the parted-headed bird, Zapdos, and Loreton as if it were a tangible force. Although there was no deliberate attempt to intimidate, the vast aura emanating from the divine authority itself still made the three of them feel a heavy weight.

"Three. Two more than that kid from over a decade ago." That kid from over a decade ago? Sakaki!
Natsume immediately understood.

"That kid only has one, so he can only get one reward."

"And you can take all three."

As soon as he finished speaking, the space in front of Natsume rippled slightly, and three blazing orbs of pure platinum divine flame appeared out of thin air, burning quietly and emitting energy fluctuations that brought peace of mind and filled people with anticipation.

"Om-"

The first flame suddenly collapsed inward, its light condensing into an ancient and heavy book that floated in the air. The four gilded characters on the cover, "Clerical Insights," shone brightly, as if containing endless wisdom and the weight of time.

"This book is my trainer's understanding and record of the essence of 'divine office' after visiting many divine beings in the world long ago."

Platinum Beast's voice carried a hint of nostalgia, "He specifically instructed me that if I were to encounter a trainer who, like him, had an unprecedented divine beast as a partner, I should hand this over."

Natsume accepted it solemnly with both hands, his expression serious.

He took a deep breath and realized that the source of Giovanni's understanding of the priesthood was likely in this book!
'Everything, every activity, occupies a certain authority in the world.'

The more of these things there are, the greater the authority; and when it reaches a certain level, divine offices will arise from them.

Natsume was slightly taken aback by the first sentence.

It's similar to what Giovanni said, but much more detailed.

Driven by his innate thirst for knowledge, Natsume continued reading with a predatory fervor.

The earliest examples include time, space, sky, ocean, and earth.

After that, tectonic activity brought about ocean currents, storms, lava flows, and rivers.
Life appears, is constantly destroyed and reborn, and the concept of ecology gradually came into being.

As Pokémon began to evolve, the power of their genes gradually emerged, driving their emotions, will, and intelligence.
Until the emergence of humankind, complex relationships and social systems led to the birth of many new things.

War, victory, competition, hunting, farming, and sacrifice—countless essential production activities.

I have a premonition that when human technology reaches a certain level, new technologies will bring about an explosion of new things, and there will be another surge in power.

At that time, a large number of new clergy will be born.

The future stage ultimately belongs to you; let's wait and see.

"boom!"

When Natsume turned to the last page, the book seemed to have completed its mission, instantly closing itself and transforming back into platinum flames, silently dissipating into nothingness.

Natsume remained silent for a long time.

This is more than just an interpretation; it is clearly a prophecy and warning of the future torrent.

"Any questions?" The platinum behemoth's deep, hoarse voice rang out.

Its posture remained calm and dignified, yet its gaze seemed to pierce through Natsume's thoughts.

“No.” Natsume’s gaze was intense, as bright as the stars, fixed on the remaining two balls of platinum divine flame.

The first gift was already so generous, so what about the second and the third?
He felt he had never felt such a pure and fervent longing for the truth of the world as he did at that moment!

It was as if the door to the ultimate mystery was slowly opening before our eyes.

"call--"

The second flame flickered suddenly, as if brushed by an invisible hand, and quickly faded away, revealing what it contained.

As the two ancient characters on the cover coalesced in the embers, Natsume's pupils suddenly contracted and his heart skipped a beat the instant he looked at them.

Beyond the World

The four large characters seemed to contain some indescribable mystery and weight.

(End of this chapter)