Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 376 That white boat, could it be that he really met Groudon and Kyogre?

Sinnoh region.

Curtain City, headquarters of the Galaxy Group.

At the top floor of the Galaxy Building, Chi Ri stood with his back to the entrance, gazing at the setting sun gradually sinking below the horizon.

The entire office was bathed in the orange glow of the afterglow, but it couldn't dispel the faint chill in the air.

Huo Xing and Sui Xing stood three steps behind him, having just finished giving a detailed report on everything that had happened in Fenglai City.

A long silence.

"—So, Lugia's descent into darkness was because of the 'Red Sun' from Team Rainbow Rocket?"

Chi Ri finally spoke, his voice as calm as ever.

"Me from another world?"

"Yes, Lord Akari."

Huo Xing lowered his head, pursed his lips, and added, "He used some method we don't yet understand to forcibly corrupt the God of Ocean Currents. If it weren't for Dr. Bai Zhou's intervention—"

The consequences would be unimaginable.

Chi Ri turned around, his gaze falling on the detailed report about the Fenglai City incident on the table.

In the accompanying photo, a figure strikingly similar to him stands atop the dark Lugia.

That face, that posture, that look in his eyes.

They all seemed like his reflection in the mirror, yet they felt utterly unfamiliar to him.

He walked to the desk and picked up the photo.

"His logic is very similar to some of my past thoughts —"

Chi Ri spoke these words very softly, as if he were speaking to someone else, or perhaps to himself.

Huo Xing and Sui Xing exchanged a glance, neither daring to respond.

They had never seen Chi Ri speak in such a tone before.

It was not a command, nor an analysis, but a kind of introspective examination.

"In the name of creating a new world, they destroyed themselves in it."

"That's not creation, that's madness."

"Extreme and reckless."

"Eroding legendary Pokémon, attempting to destroy the entire world—this goes beyond the scope of 'remodeling'."

"That was pure destruction."

Both the planet and Jupiter held their breath.

They vaguely sensed that the blazing sun was having a silent conversation with something.

Perhaps it's—my past self.

Chi Ri began to examine the stack of reports and other photos, and suddenly, he pulled one out from among them.

In that photo, Bai Zhou stands facing the black dragon, confronting Dark Lugia head-on.

He raised his head and looked at his two subordinates.

"I don't approve of that version of myself."

"That's not my philosophy either."

"The new world I seek is a perfect world based on reason and order, not a ruin built on fear and violence."

Huo Xing and Sui Xing exchanged a glance, both seeing a sense of relief in each other's eyes.

Lord Akari————

Is it denying another version of itself in another world?

But then, Chi Ri changed the subject, his eyes becoming deep and thoughtful.

"But this also illustrates one thing—"

"If that's some possibility for the future, then my current path could also lead to that outcome."

Huo Xing and Sui Xing were startled.

"Bai Zhou defeated that version of me."

In the voice of the blazing sun, there appeared something they had never heard before: reverence.

"In that situation, a person who can make the right judgment and has the power to implement that judgment deserves respect."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You're saying he's connected to Giratina from the Reverse World?"

"Yes, Lord Akari."

Jupiter stepped forward, his tone resolute.

"Commander, we witnessed that battle firsthand in Wind City."

"He—and the black dragon beside him—possess power that is in no way inferior to Lugia's."

"And Giratina's rage also seems to stem from his disappearance."

"This shows that his relationship with the Lord of the Reversed World is anything but ordinary."

Chi Ri's eyes flickered slightly.

"Reverse World—that abandoned dimension, Giratina, the banished Pokémon."

"Because it was too powerful, because it could not be controlled, it was banished to that dimension without the concept of time and space, where it will wander forever."

He paused, and his voice became even softer.

"To gain the recognition of such an existence—Dr. Shirafuru, who exactly are you?"

Silence fell over the office again.

After a long while, Chi Ri turned around and looked out the window again.

"Make the arrangements."

"Have all subsidiaries of Galaxy Group send letters of intent to The Pokémon Company to discuss cooperation."

"Technological research and development, resource development, business channels—all projects that can be cooperated on are open to us."

Huo Xing was taken aback and subconsciously looked up.

"Lord Akari? You—"

"I know exactly what he's doing."

Chi Ri's voice returned to its indifferent tone, but a complex emotion appeared in his gray pupils.

"That 'Rainbow Project' is not just empty talk."

"He is consolidating his forces to fight against threats from other worlds."

"And the Galactic Cluster—no, I, the Crimson Sun, will not choose to stand on the side of the world destroyers."

"Besides, I really want to meet him in person."

"With his intelligence, he might be able to understand my ideas."

"Or perhaps—"

He paused, then didn't continue.

Huoxing and Suixing exchanged a glance and responded in unison.

"yes!"

Hoenn region.

Inyu City, a headquarters of the World Environment Organization.

This building, hidden on the edge of the city, looks like an ordinary research institution on the outside, but its interior is a completely different world.

It was a rare occasion for the red flame pine and the water sycamore to sit together in the conference room.

On the screen in front of the two people, a recorded broadcast of the press conference held by Fenglai City was playing.

However, their focus was unrelated to Bai Zhou himself.

They stared intently at the unfolded poster.

Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.

And the two legendary Pokémon I've never seen before on the poster.

It was crimson like lava, its body towering like a mountain, its carapace as thick as armor.

A deep blue, like the ocean, with an elegant and graceful figure, and lateral fins that resemble both a fish and a bird.

"This—this is—"

Shui Wutong didn't have a loud voice; his voice, unusually, trembled.

Chi Yansong pushed up his glasses, and his pupils behind the lenses contracted slightly.

"Groudan — Kyogre —"

He whispered the two names, his voice filled with complex emotions.

How long did they search for it?

ten years?

No, longer.

Even when they were still passionate young people, they firmly believed that these two legendary Pokémon really existed.

They consulted ancient books, examined historical sites, tracked energy fluctuations, and ventured into dangerous areas countless times.

However, all we can see are some vague records and some ambiguous clues.

And now.

A young man, at a press conference broadcast live worldwide, effortlessly presented their clearest and most detailed portraits.

They also told everyone that they would appear in a game.

"That bastard—"

Shui Wutong clenched her fists, the veins on the back of her hands bulging.

But he didn't know what tone to use when saying that.

Anger? Jealousy? Or—admiration?

What I've been searching for all my life has been so easily revealed to the public by others.

The feeling was like having a secret that had been treasured for many years exposed in public.

In short, that young man accomplished what they could not.

Huoyan and Aquan stood in the corner of the conference room, exchanged a glance, and said nothing.

They had just returned from Wind City.

I witnessed firsthand the Lugia corrupted by darkness, and I saw the black dragon fighting alongside the white boat.

That shock still lingers in their hearts.

"Ah Quan".

Crimson Flame Pine suddenly spoke, its voice lower than usual.

"Tell me in detail what you saw and heard in Wind City."

Ah Quan took a deep breath and began his report.

From the moment Dark Lugia suddenly appeared to the scene of White Boat commanding the black dragon to fight.

From the terrifying sight of space shattering to the arrival of Giratina, the ruler of the reversed world.

From Bai Zhou's disappearance to his miraculous return.

Every word made the atmosphere in the meeting room even more tense.

"—In the end, he just appeared at the press conference like that."

A-Quan finished his report.

"It's as if they've never left."

Silence fell over the meeting room.

boom!

Shui Wutong slammed her hand on the table, the sound startling everyone.

"Damn it! I've made up my mind!"

He stood up, his voice growing louder, his rugged face filled with an almost desperate resolve.

"When I see that white boat, I'm going to treat him to drinks!"

"The best wine!"

"If he's willing to guide us to find Groudon and Kyogre..."

"I'd sell my life to him!"

Crimson Pine glanced at him, without any mockery.

He simply stared silently at the frozen image on the screen, the crimson, lava-like behemoth perfectly mirroring the dream he had pursued for half his life.

Then, the two looked at each other.

"you say----"

Shui Wutong lowered her voice and asked in an almost guilty tone.

"Could that white boat have actually seen Groudon and Kyogre?"

The Crimson Flame Pine did not answer.

But he pushed up his glasses and said something that surprised everyone.

"Next time, I'll visit him in person."

Shui Wutong stared wide-eyed.

"You? Go yourself? With that cold face of yours, aren't you afraid of scaring them away? Let me go, at least I can smile!"

Chi Yansong gave him a cold look, her eyes filled with disdain.

"It's still better than you, a brute who only knows how to buy drinks."

"Who are you calling a brute?!"