Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 392 "Mission Completed: Sending them home"

Beneath the mask was an aged yet resolute face.

Gray hair, deep eyes, and tightly pursed lips.

Unsurprisingly.

It was none other than Liu Bo, the gym leader of Kaji Town.

Uncle Liu: ———— I've been recognized.

His voice was no longer hoarse, but had regained the deep and weathered quality characteristic of an old man.

His gaze slowly moved and landed on the two Poké Balls in A Xiang's hand.

Uncle Liu: I came back—to save them.

Uncle Liu: Inside there are those two dragons.

Uncle Liu: I have—saved them.

Dan Di instantly understood everything.

"You traveled back in time not to change the past—you came to 'complete' the past."

"You knew those two dragons would fall into the glacier, you knew your younger self couldn't save them—so you came back."

"You're pretending to stop us, but you're actually waiting—waiting for the moment the glacier completely collapses."

"Because in the original history, those two dragons disappeared completely at that time and never returned."

"What you need to do is not change the outcome, but let the outcome unfold according to its original trajectory—and then, where no one can see, save them."

"In this way, history will not change. You, as a young person, will still experience the pain of losing them, and will still walk that lonely path because of it."

"And the real ones—"

Leon looked at the two Poké Balls.

"—You brought me back."

Uncle Liu nodded.

Uncle Liu: — I can't let anyone know they're still alive.

Uncle Liu: Otherwise, the timeline will become chaotic.

"Liu Bo: My younger self — I had to experience the pain of losing them."

"Liu Bo: That's why he became the Gym Leader of Kaji Town, that's why he devoted his life to researching Ice-type Pokémon, that's why he collected all the literature about legendary Pokémon, and that's why he found the way back."

Uncle Liu: And "I" — must come back to save them.

Uncle Liu: This is my destiny.

His voice carried an indescribable heaviness.

It is a reverence for time, and also a compromise with fate.

It is also the final explanation of that obsession that spanned decades.

"Uncle Liu: Those who toy with time will eventually be abandoned by time."

Qibana looked at the Poké Ball in Xiang's hand, then at the figure that was gradually blurring in the spacetime turbulence.

"But—why did you go to such lengths?"

His voice was filled with confusion and shock.

"Controlling Ho-Oh and Lugia, capturing Celebi, traversing time—even at the cost of his own life—"

Uncle Liu remained silent for a moment.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice carrying emotion for the first time.

It was an emotion that was extremely profound.

"Uncle Liu: —Because of them, they are everything to me."

"Uncle Liu: When I was young, I was too arrogant and reckless. I thought I could protect them and show them the most beautiful scenery in the world."

Uncle Liu: But I was wrong.

"Uncle Liu: I lost them. That day, I sat on the glacier for three whole days, holding their babies."

Uncle Liu: I didn't eat or drink, and I didn't move at all. The wind and snow almost buried me, but I didn't feel anything. I only remember that the child kept crying.

Uncle Liu: From then on, my life had only one goal.

Uncle Liu: I will save them, no matter the cost.

"Uncle Liu: I spent ten years, twenty years—finally, I did it."

He looked at the two of them, his eyes pleading, and his voice began to break.

"Uncle Liu: Please—take these two dragons—back to my dojo—"

Uncle Liu: That child—they—the children—

Uncle Liu: We're still waiting for them to return.

Chibana and Dante remained silent.

They looked at the two Poké Balls in the picture.

Inside the sphere, two quiet figures could be vaguely seen.

"—I cried, what about you?"

"Who can withstand this?!"

"We always thought he was the villain—we kept cursing him, kept guessing his identity—but in the end, he was just an old man trying to make up for his regrets—"

Decades—he had thought about it for decades—he was willing to do anything to see them again—”

"Ho-Oh, Lugia, Celebi—these legendary beings are no match for those two Lapras in his eyes—"

"Perhaps for him, those two dragons really were his whole world."

"Is this what a trainer's love for their Pokémon is like?

The pull of spacetime is getting stronger and stronger.

Uncle Liu's figure was gradually swallowed up by the endless darkness.

But the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

It was a relieved smile.

Uncle Liu: Thank you all————

Uncle Liu: Tell them—Grandpa will be back soon—

Uncle Liu: Next time—definitely—

Before he could finish speaking...

The shrub let out a sharp cry!

A burst of emerald green light suddenly erupted, almost illuminating the entire chaotic spacetime!

The characters of Leon and Kibana were pulled upwards by a tremendous force!

The surrounding darkness quickly faded, and the scene of light reappeared.

When they regained their footing, they were back in front of the shrine in the oak grove.

Xiao Yin, covered in injuries, slumped on the stone steps in front of the ancestral hall, panting heavily.

The crocodile was also badly injured, but it stubbornly protected him, cautiously looking around.

Lugia has disappeared without a trace.

Phoenix King stood atop the shrine, watching them silently, its golden feathers shimmering in the sunlight.

it's all over.

Neither Chibana nor Dante spoke.

They simply stood there, watching the two Poké Balls lying quietly in their inventory on the screen.

The live chat was completely silent.

After a long time, it slowly began to roll, and it didn't stop for a long time.

"Don't use a Pokémon sword to kill me, because I'll really cry—"

"We've been guessing who the masked man is, and what his purpose is—but we never expected the truth to be like this—"

"To save two Lapras, he actually went to such lengths—controlling legendary Pokémon, traveling through time, and even becoming the target of public criticism—"

"I don't know what to say anymore—this is beyond simple obsession."

"Those two Lapras can finally go home now—their children have been waiting at the gym for so long—they can finally see their mom and dad again—"

"Please stop, please stop! I finally managed to stop crying—"

a long time.

Dan Di spoke softly, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Kaj Town".

"Go—take them home."

Dan Di paused, then added in an even softer voice.

"Go and fulfill his request."

The two turned and slowly left the oak forest.

In the video, their figures gradually recede into the distance.

We arrived in Kaji town.

Sunlight streamed down, and a gentle breeze blew.

Leon and Kibana, controlling their characters, stood in front of the Kaji Town Gym.

This is a very simple dojo, located at the very back of the town.

There were no fancy decorations or extravagant signs, just an ordinary wooden door and an old wooden sign next to it that read "Kajikyo Gym".

"Uncle Liu—is he really not coming back?"

"His last smile really broke me down—"

"For the sake of the two dragons, he left himself forever trapped in the crack of time —"

"Is this the destiny he spoke of? Exchanging their return for his own disappearance—"

"Stop talking, I'm about to cry again. Now I just hope those two dragons can go home safely."

The comments were still scrolling, but Dante and Kibana were too busy to watch them.

Push open the door.

It was completely empty inside.

There were no trainers, no challengers, and not even the lights were on.

Only the sunlight streaming through the windows cast dappled shadows on the ice surface of the battlefield.

"As expected, no one's here—"

Cibana muttered to himself.

The voice just fell.

A slight rustling sound came from deep within the dojo.

Then, a figure slowly came into view.

That was a dragon.

A Lapras that is slightly larger than a regular Lapras.

It stood in the shadows of the corridor, quietly watching the two uninvited guests at the door.

"This dragon—is that the child from back then?"

"That's it! It's that little Lapras!"

"The one that Uncle Liu held and sat on the glacier for three days —"

"It's grown so big already!"

"Has it been waiting all this time? Waiting for decades—"

The live chat was instantly flooded with tearful emojis.

Lapras slowly approached, its gaze sweeping over the two figures before finally settling on Raibou, controlled by Kibana, or more precisely, on the two Poké Balls in Raibou's hand.

Qibana took a deep breath and began operating the game interface.

"Come out."

He said softly as he pressed the release button.

Two beams of white light burst forth from the Poké Balls and coalesced on the battlefield.

Two dragons appeared in the center of the arena.

They were slightly smaller than the dragons in front of them, and seemed somewhat dazed, not quite understanding what had happened.

After a brief adjustment to the light, they all looked ahead.

The three dragons' gazes met.

The next second, the dragon that had been waiting for many years let out a trembling cry.

It charged forward with such speed that it even kicked up ice chips from the ground.

The two returning dragons also moved at the same time, opening their arms to welcome the child rushing towards them.

Three figures in blue embraced tightly in the center of the dojo.

They rubbed their heads against each other, gently patted each other with their fins, and made all sorts of calls that were a mixture of joy and sorrow.

Dante and Chibana stared at the screen in silence, neither of them saying a word.

Only the mournful cries of the dragons remained in the live stream.

"Waaaaaah, I'm crying like a dog—"

"I can't take it anymore—I really can't take it anymore—"

"Uncle Liu, did you see that?! They've reunited!!!"

"Decades of separation—the children have all grown up, and only now are Mom and Dad back—"

"This is the scene that Uncle Liu spent his entire life wanting to see—but he can't see it—"

"Stop talking, I'm crying so hard I can't breathe—"

Slowly, Chibana, this true Galatian dark-skinned tough guy, suddenly felt a lump in his throat and something about to fall from his eyes.

He rubbed his red eyes dramatically and whispered, "Damn—it was worth it—"

"What?"

"Everything Uncle Liu did was worth it."

Emperor Dan remained silent, then nodded.

In the scene, the three dragons are still tightly embracing each other, unwilling to separate.

After a long while, the grown-up dragon seemed to finally come back to its senses from the emotions of the reunion.

It raised its head and looked at Dante and Chibana, who were still standing at the door, its eyes softening.

Then it let out a soft chirp, as if to express its gratitude.

Then, it suddenly remembered something, turned around, and hurriedly swam back into the inner room.

"What is it going to do?"

Cibana paused for a moment, somewhat puzzled.

Emperor Dan shook his head and remained silent.

Soon, the dragon returned.

It carefully carried something in its mouth—a badge.

It was an exquisitely designed badge, its main body shaped like a crystal-clear blue ice crystal, which still reflected a faint light in the dim light of the dojo.

"Ice and Snow Badge"

Riding the dragon, it swam up to the two of them, lowered its head, and gently placed the badge in Ah Xiang's hand.

Then it raised its head, looked at them with its clear eyes, and cried out again.

This time, his voice was full of sincere gratitude.

"This is—the Snow Badge! It's Liu Bo's Gym Badge!!!"

"This was left for them by Uncle Liu!!!"

"The little Lapras—no, it's an old Lapras now—it gave them the badge—"

"Waaaaah, this badge has a completely different meaning now—"

"I burst into tears—this is more precious than any reward—"

Qibana stared blankly at the badge on the screen for several seconds before reacting and controlling his character to check it.

A new item has appeared in my inventory.

"Ice Badge: Proof of the Kaji Gym, the holder has earned the recognition of Liu Bo and fulfilled a promise that transcends time."

Dan Di looked at the item description and read it aloud softly.

"A promise that transcends time has been fulfilled —"

He paused, his voice sounding slightly choked.

"We—we have indeed accomplished it."

Cibana sniffed hard, trying to make his voice sound normal.

"This old man—did he even arrange this before he left—?"

"Uncle Liu had already made preparations—he knew he might not come back—"

"This is his gift of gratitude to us, a gift for sending Chenglong home on his behalf—"

"Not just the dojo badge—this is his recognition of the fulfillment of our trust—"

"This badge is incredibly meaningful—"

"Bringing Chenglong home and fulfilling Uncle Liu's decades-long wish—that's true success in overcoming a challenge."

'

"This is the most touching Pokémon story I've ever played, bar none —"

Three dragons swam over and stood side by side in front of the two men, bowing their heads in a solemn salute.

Then, they turned and slowly swam into the depths of the dojo.

Before entering the inner room, the grown-up lamellar turned around and took one last look at them.

The curtain fell, and the dojo returned to silence.

Dante and Chibana stood still, not moving for a long time.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows high up in the dojo, illuminating the dust particles floating in the air and the gleaming ice and snow badge in their hands.

"Let's go."

Finally, Emperor Dan said.

"Um."

The two controlled their characters to turn around and leave the Kaji Gym.

Outside the gate, Kaji Town remained peaceful.

They walked silently down the town's streets without exchanging a word.

then.

The screen went black without warning.

Qibana — the show has ended.

Perhaps she was genuinely tired, perhaps she didn't want to show too much emotion in front of the live stream camera, or perhaps it was some other reason that she couldn't quite explain.

In short, he simply and decisively ended the live stream.

The title of the live stream was changed by him at some point to: "Mission Completed: Send them home."

However, the comments in the live stream room did not subside for a long time.

Until a comment broke through this touching atmosphere.