My Pokémon Story of Seasons

Chapter 336 The Keystone

Summer of the 112th year of the League Calendar, June 24th.

Early in the morning, Fairy Tale was woken up by Tibrim.

"Wake up! Wake up, Bree!"

Tibriam floated beside Tong Hua's bed, slapping Tong Hua's cheeks with her tiny hands without any politeness. Her ahoge (cowlick) stood up straight with excitement, like an antenna.

"Ugh————"

Tong Hua opened her eyes groggily; the clock on the wall already pointed to six o'clock.

"Looks like making the puppets yesterday was a bit too exhausting; I actually overslept—"

Tong Hua rubbed her eyes, trying to sit up, but suddenly realized that closing her eyes and pulling the blanket over herself seemed to make her feel more comfortable.

"Hey! No more naps!"

With lightning speed, Tibrim used her telekinesis to pull back Tong Hua's blanket, and the cold air from the indoor air conditioner instantly enveloped him.

"Ouch, it's so cold!"

Tong Hua jolted awake, completely waking up. He looked helplessly at the little devil who was smugly swinging its tuft of hair in the air.

Woman: "Okay, okay—"

"Trembling—"

"Meow—"

Chinchilla and Furry beside him rubbed their eyes, groggily sat up, and looked blankly at Tibrim, who was full of energy early in the morning.

"Puppet! Puppet!"

Tibrim's eyes shone with an astonishing light, almost glowing. "Today, I'm going to experience what it feels like to walk in a human body!"

"Hurry up, Bree, stop dawdling!"

Without saying a word, she used her telekinetic powers to "grab" Tong Hua's collar and half-dragged, half-pulled him downstairs.

"Wait! I haven't washed up yet—"

As she was "escorted" to the alchemy workshop, Tong Hua discovered that the puppet on the workbench had been wiped spotless and even waxed, polished to a shine.

Neatly arranged next to it were various sizes of sandpaper, paint cans, and varnish; all the necessary preparations had been made.

"You—you didn't sleep all night, did you?" Tong Hua asked, somewhat surprised.

"No, I just woke up earlier."

Tibrim turned her face away, but her ahoge curled up unnaturally, and her voice became softer.

"I'm a witch who's lived for hundreds of years, so it's no big deal for me to sleep a little less, Brie!"

"Ha, even a witch who's hundreds of years old can be just like a child, getting excited and unable to sleep."

Tong Hua chuckled softly and didn't tease her any further.

He walked to the worktable and carefully inspected the puppet's condition. After sitting overnight, the wood was more stable, and it was time for super assembly.

"Then, let's begin the final steps."

He picked up the finest sandpaper and began meticulously sanding each component, making sure that the surface would feel as smooth as skin after assembly.

Tibrim floated to the side, initially remaining quiet, but as the parts were gradually polished to a smooth and warm finish, her patience visibly wore away.

"Isn't it done yet, Brie? This arm is smooth enough, isn't it?"

"Is this place okay?"

"You polished it so meticulously—"

Her ahoge (cowlick) swayed with the urging, like a greedy squirrel circling around food.

Tong Hua didn't even look up, her hands moving steadily: "I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush."

Every piece of work is like my child, and I must put in 1000 percent of my effort.

Speaking of which, does your witch industry have the technology to create magical puppets?

I vaguely remember a Pokémon called Clay Doll, which, according to the Pokédex, was believed to be a Pokémon made of clay using technology from a mythical ancient civilization.

"Ugh————"

Upon hearing Tong Hua's question, Tibrim, who was pacing anxiously, paused, her ahoge (cowlick) twirled, and her expression became somewhat subtle.

"Actually, the clay dolls you mentioned, and their evolved form, the clay giants, I've seen related records in ancient books recently."

They appear in various biographies and stories, and were probably indeed created by people in ancient times to protect Pokémon and humans.

Utilizing enigmatic energy to move, serving as a source of labor for ancient people, faithfully obeying their master's commands, and capable of traveling at supersonic speeds.

Flying in the sky—

Listening to Tibrim's description, Tong Hua suddenly felt a longing.

Loyal to their masters and tireless magical creations, possessing such top-notch labor, it's no wonder that, judging from the history that has been passed down, the technological level of those ancient civilizations was even superior to that of modern technology.

"It's a pity that such immense power also brought destruction. Just like Carlos's ultimate weapon—"

Tong Hua shook his head, dispelling the distracting thoughts in his mind, and continued to focus on the puppet in front of him.

By the time the last component was finished being polished, the sunlight had fully illuminated the workshop, and it was nearly noon.

"Alright, polishing is complete."

Tong Hua put down the sandpaper and gently blew away the last bit of dust from the puppet's surface.

"finally!"

Tibrim cheered and eagerly floated to the top of the workbench. "Next is assembly, right? Hurry, hurry!"

"Don't rush, we need to color it first." Tong Hua said as she picked up the magic wand and the magic book.

"Using the abilities of a Spirit Painter to color the puppet might even give it some unexpected abilities."

As Tong Hua spoke, she lightly turned her wrist, and the magic book opened automatically, pouring out the rainbow pigment stored within once again.

"Go."

With a casual flick of Tong Hua's wrist, the iridescent light seemed to come alive, precisely covering the surface of the puppet parts.

Moreover, the color is very intelligent, not only automatically avoiding areas that don't need to be written on, but also displaying completely different colors for different parts.

If this amazing ability were to spread, countless cartoonists and colorists around the world would look on with envy.

"Wow----"

Even Tibrim, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. In just a few breaths, the coloring work was completed.

With fiery red hair and flawless, fair skin—if Tong Hua hadn't deliberately omitted these three essential features, one would hardly recognize her as a puppet!

"This—this is so realistic, Bree!"

Tibrim stared intently, her small mouth slightly agape.

She couldn't resist reaching out to touch the hair that seemed to still be warm, but then, afraid the paint wasn't dry, she pulled her hand back.

"Go ahead and touch it. It's already waterproofed, so the paint won't come off."

Tong Hua smiled and put down the magic staff, rubbing her slightly sore wrist.

"Next, the final step."

Assemble!

The assembly process was meticulous and tedious. Tong Hua held her breath and concentrated, joining the polished and painted parts one by one in sequence.

The mortise and tenon joints make a slight "click" sound, and the joints fit together smoothly.

Tibrim, who was already impatient, wanted to help, but was afraid she would only make things worse.

As the last finger was carefully embedded into the metacarpal bone, Tong Hua took a step back and looked at Tibrim.

"Done. What's next?"

Tibrim floated in the air and spoke with a very smug expression.

"Is there even a question? Of course, we should just start the ceremony, Brie!"

While you were assembling it, I'd already prepared for the ceremony. Oh, and I need to borrow something from you.

"What is it?"

"The Keystone." Tebriem stretched out her small hand, her tone matter-of-fact. "It's the one you put away with the Sphere of Time."

According to ancient texts, the activation ritual requires giving the puppet a power source as its heart. Your keystone is just right.

Tong Hua paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on and took out the keystone that had been gathering dust from the drawer of the worktable next to her.

"Finally, it can be put to some use. This thing has been gathering dust ever since I got it."

"Being used as the heart to activate a puppet is a pretty good end for it."