Pokémon: I have no choice but to do this old thing?

Chapter 92 The Lost Mask and the Poisonous Peach Behind the Scenes

The night in Beishang Township was unusually quiet because of the revelation of the truth. The hustle and bustle of the festival had long since dissipated, and the embers of the bonfire flickered in the square, reflecting the complex faces of the villagers.

The bewilderment after the collapse of faith, the shame of learning the truth, and the helplessness in the face of historical scars.

With his granddaughter Danyu's help, Grandpa Xue walked up to Zhang Jianying and Albert.

He bowed slightly and solemnly extended an invitation: "Two guests from afar, thanks to you both, this distorted history has been brought to light today. Please come to my humble abode for a chat. There are a few things you should know about the restoration of this mask."

The snow-covered mansion is located on the edge of the village, close to the mountains and forests. It is a rather old Japanese-style mansion.

Pushing open the wooden door, the interior is furnished in a simple and rustic style, with a faint scent of camphor wood and old books floating in the air, creating a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.

After sitting down at the low table in the living room, the old man carefully placed the cracked green grass mask on a tray covered with soft velvet.

The dim light illuminated the glaring crack on the mask.

"This mask is no ordinary item."

Snowflakes gently traced the edge of the mask with aged fingers, their gaze fixed on the void, as if piercing through hundreds of years of time.

"It was made by my ancestor. But the true soul of the mask comes from the strange gem brought by the trainer from a distant land, Ergui."

He paused, seemingly recalling the blurred words in his ancestor's notes: "Our ancestors exhausted their life's skills, using secret methods to polish and inlay these four magical masks that can draw upon the power of fire, water, rock, soil, and vegetation."

Xuexia sighed, her fingertips lingering on a faint glimmer of light emanating from the depths of the crack: "To repair itself, it will likely need fragments of the Primordial Crystal. That highly pure crystallized energy, with its relatively mild and inclusive nature, might be able to awaken and stabilize the remaining power within it."

"A fragment of the Taijing Crystal?"

Upon hearing this, Albert pondered for a moment, then took out a small, sealed metal box from his tactical waist pack and opened it. Inside, lined with black velvet, were several crystal fragments of varying sizes, all of which were crystal clear.

"During my missions, I occasionally collect these kinds of high-purity fragments, which are usually used for evidence analysis or to power specific instruments. These few have stable energy and are neutral in nature, which should meet your requirements."

He took one out and handed it to Xuexia.

Grandpa Yukishita's eyes lit up. He took the fragment and brought it close to the crack in the mask.

The fragments and the mask seemed to resonate with an extremely faint sound, producing a few soft clicks.

The old man's face showed a relieved expression: "That's enough, the energy is a perfect match. You've really helped me a lot, Mr. Albert."

Without saying another word, he immediately put on his reading glasses, took out a set of fine tools, and then devoted himself to the restoration work with complete concentration.

Seeing that her grandfather was completely absorbed in the conversation, Danyu gestured for Zhang Jianying and Albert to enter.

He said in a low voice, "Let Grandpa focus on repairing it. Let's go to the tea room next door and sit for a while. I'll make some tea and tell you what I know about the Evil Phantom and its trainer from family oral traditions and those tattered notes."

The tea room was elegant. Danyu skillfully brewed the tea and poured hot tea for the two of them. Holding her warm teacup, she began to tell stories from the past that had been buried in the past.

Her narration is not as cold as historical records, but full of detail and warmth.

Danyu's voice was gentle, and those everyday moments that had long been buried in time seemed to flow slowly in the quiet tea room, carrying the warmth of the sun and the scent of the mountain breeze.

Zhang Jianying and Albert listened quietly without interrupting.

These trivial yet heartwarming details piece together a lonely yet deeply emotional story, making the sudden tragedy all the more cruel.

No one noticed that, under the shadow of the eaves outside the teahouse window, a small figure, shrouded in the night, was quietly curled up there.

Misfortune and calamity may come and go, but they will return.

The mask was its last thought; it couldn't let go of its attachment.

He had planned to sneak in quietly and take the mask when the opportunity arose, but the words flowing from inside the room kept him rooted to the spot.

As Danyu described those heartwarming daily moments, Egui's eyes widened slightly.

It turns out that there are still people in this world who remember them.

The long-standing loneliness and pain have transformed into a more bewildering and complex emotion.

It buried its face deeply in its embracing arms—

Just as Danyu was finishing her story and the night was growing deeper, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

"Grandpa Xuexia! Something terrible has happened—!"

The caretaker, Mao, rushed into the courtyard, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "Something's happened! Those three masks stored in the Beishang Central Museum! They're all gone!"

"What?!"

Danyu's teacup fell to the tatami mat with a "clatter," splashing tea everywhere. Without saying a word, she rushed out of the tea room.

Zhang Jianying and Albert exchanged a glance, then got up and followed.

The three followed Mao and quickly headed to the North Shore Center, located at the other end of the village.

The so-called museum is actually a slightly larger, reinforced Japanese-style room, which is usually used to display some historical artifacts and special items from Kitakami Township.

At that moment, the door of a heavy, old-fashioned metal safe was opened, revealing that it was completely empty.

"Right after the festival ended, I conducted my usual inspection and inventory!"

Mao pointed to the safe, "And this is what we found when we arrived. There are no signs of forced entry on the lock, but look around!"

Under the bright light, several strange marks could be clearly seen around the safe.

The marks were not scratches or dents left by violent destruction, but rather stains that looked as if they had been splashed with a corrosive liquid.

The color was an unsettling purplish-black, emanating a strange odor that was a mixture of decay and pungent smell.

"Without external damage, the cabinet door was opened by some force dissolving or corroding the internal latches."

Albert got to work, crouching down, putting on special gloves, and carefully scraping a small amount of residue from the edge of the stain with a sampling swab, placing it into a specially made sealed container.

He carefully observed the shape and color of the stain, his brow furrowed. "It's extremely corrosive and has highly concentrated properties—"

"It's a Poison-type move," Zhang Jianying replied. "But to cause this kind of damage to metal, it's definitely not an ordinary Poison-type Pokémon." He had a vague guess in his mind.

"A Poison-type Pokémon with this ability? Does Kitakami Township have such a Poison-type Pokémon?"

Mao clutched his dwindling hair, confused and anxious. "And why would a Poison-type Pokémon steal the mask?"

Just then, Gardevoir, which had been floating quietly beside Zhang Jianying and observing the scene, suddenly tugged at the trainer's sleeve.

It raised its face, its crimson eyes fixed intently on him, and then its slender fingers pointed to the bracelet with the keystone embedded in his wrist.

Telepathy transmits information.

There are obvious clues left at this location, and the incident occurred recently.

It wants to try to use the superpowers that suddenly increase after Mega Evolution to perform a special skill application.

It's not about predicting the future in the usual sense, but rather using it in reverse, trying to look back at a key moment that happened here in the past.

It had seen Mewtwo use similar abilities in that shattered world and had been silently imitating and practicing them ever since.

Zhang Jianying was somewhat surprised to receive Gardevoir's thoughts. He hadn't expected Gardevoir to learn this ability.

He nodded: "Go for it, we're all here for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Jianying raised his wrist.

The Key Stone resonated with the Mega Stone on Gardevoir's hairpin, bursting forth with dazzling brilliance!

The light of evolution enveloped Gardevoir, its black dress cascading down like the night.

Mega Gardevoir's immense psychic power spread outwards like a tide, causing the air in the room to stagnate slightly.

It hovered directly in front of the safe, its hands clasped together in front of its chest, its eyes closed, trying its best to reverse the flow of this power into time and space according to the method it remembered.

It clearly cannot achieve the same effortless ease as Mewtwo.

Time seemed to stretch out.

A few seconds later, just as Albert was about to speak out in concern, Mega Gardevoir opened its eyes!

In those eyes, now brimming with brilliant blue light, it seemed as if countless fragments of light and shadow were rapidly flashing by.

It pressed its hands forward and forcefully projected the captured fragmented image.

A flickering image, like a holographic projection with extremely poor signal, appeared shakily in the air before everyone.

In the scene, a peach-shaped Pokémon, which appears to be split in half and is dark purple in color, stealthily and easily melts the lock inside the safe with a viscous, purplish-black liquid.

After taking out the mask, its figure quickly disappeared in the direction leading to Ghost Mountain, leaving only a few wisps of pale purple poisonous mist in its place.

The projected image was extremely unstable, lasting for less than three seconds before disappearing completely with a "pop" sound, like a punctured bubble.

As the radiance faded, Mega Gardevoir seemed to have all its strength drained away, its body went limp, and it fell from its suspended state.

Zhang Jianying was prepared and steadily supported it, then fed it an energy cube specifically for restoring stamina.

Gardevoir, supported by its trainer, was breathing rapidly and appeared extremely exhausted.

Tao Gang!

Recalling what had just happened, Zhang Jianying felt a chill run down his spine; it was indeed the culprit behind it all.

"What... what kind of Pokémon is this?"

Danyu stared intently at the spot where the image had disappeared, her brow furrowed as she pondered, "I've never seen a Pokémon of this form before; it's not recorded in the Kitakami Township Pokédex!"

The administrator, Mao, seemed to have been struck by lightning, and he gasped sharply.

"That shape! That outline! Don't you think it looks remarkably similar to the 'immortal peach' exhibit that was previously preserved here?!"

'

"The peach that never rots—poison—"

Danyu unconsciously repeated these two words, her pupils contracting!

A nearly forgotten fragment of memory is now connected by the image of "peach"!

Her voice rose with excitement: "Uncle Mao! You reminded me! In Grandpa's study, there's a notebook! It records a peach that brought disaster!"

Before anyone could react, she turned and dashed out of the Northbound Center like a gust of wind, running wildly towards home.

Zhang Jianying and Albert exchanged a glance and followed without hesitation.

Upon returning to the Snow-Covered Residence, Danyu went straight into the study.

She quickly flipped through rows of ancient books and stacks of notes.

Finally, her finger stopped on a tattered, dark leather notebook that had been preserved.

"Found it! This is it!"

Danyu's voice trembled as she quickly flipped through the yellowed, fragile pages, her gaze intense.

"Here it is! Look at this record!"

The two walked to the desk.

On the yellowed, fragile pages of the book was a purple, peach-shaped creature that looked remarkably similar to the image Gardevoir had projected earlier.

The notes next to it were written in dense, messy handwriting.

Albert and Zhang Jianying exchanged an awkward glance. Neither of them recognized this niche script, so they could only look helplessly at Danyu.

Danyu took a deep breath, quickly scanned the text, and relayed it to everyone while barely able to decipher the words: "This records that in earlier times, a strange Pokémon called Momotaro came to Kitakami Village. It was adopted by an elderly couple who had no children. At first, the couple treated it as their own child, showering it with love. But Momotaro was incredibly greedy; it craved all the love and was never satisfied."

"In order to completely control the elderly couple and make them care for him more, Momotaro used a special toxin secreted from his body to create a kind of 'sticky cake.'"

"After the elderly couple consumed it, the toxins gradually eroded their minds, distorting and amplifying their various desires. Furthermore, Momotaro used this toxin-laden sticky cake to lure and control other Pokémon in the mountains, driving these controlled Pokémon to satisfy the elderly couple's increasingly outrageous and insane demands—"

Danyu spoke faster and faster, her face growing paler and paler: "Later, the old couple somehow heard that the strangers and evil spirits living deep in Ghost Mountain possessed four masks with magical powers."

"Their possessiveness, fueled by the toxins, swelled to its extreme. And Tao Dailang, at this point, was also tired of this unchanging life."

She pointed to several lines of text in the journal that were deliberately bolded, as if they had been written with great fear.

"So, Momotaros created an even more potent poisonous sticky cake. With this cake, it successfully lured and controlled three already wicked Pokémon: Gozen, Wishbear, and Kichiraki!

"It drove these three Pokémon to steal the mask—and what happened afterward was completely connected to the truth behind the mask and the tragedy of the wretch!"

The study fell silent, with only the sound of the three people breathing.

All the clues and fragments were cruelly strung together into a complete chain by this poisonous thread called "Tao Dailang".

The fog of centuries past has been lifted, revealing a truth that is even more chilling.

Greed is a powerful force in the human heart.

Albert took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose hard, and his voice was filled with complex emotions.

"So, Tao Dailang orchestrated this tragedy hundreds of years ago simply to satisfy his own selfish desires, causing the deaths of innocent people and leaving the evil spirits to suffer injustice and loneliness for centuries?"

Just then, the sliding door to the tea room was gently pulled open.

Grandpa Xuexia slowly walked in, carrying a wooden tray. In the center of the tray was the green grass mask.

At this moment, the crack on the mask had disappeared, and the crystal embedded in it was as warm and smooth as ever, shimmering with a restrained yet resilient green luster under the light.

"It's fixed."

The sound of the falling snow was somewhat weary, but more so, it carried the peaceful satisfaction of having accomplished its mission.

He handed the mask to Zhang Jianying.

"I'm getting old, and Danyu and her siblings are still too young. I hope you can return it to its rightful owner."

Zhang Jianying took the mask with the smiling face on it. It was warm and heavy to the touch, as if it carried the weight of emotions and the past.

Just as he was about to ask how to find the elusive Egui, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a small shadow appearing out of the corner of his eye by the sliding door connecting the tea room and the study.

The Evil Gate is hiding there.

At this moment, it no longer wears a mask, revealing its true appearance.

Her small body seemed to be wearing a green cloak.

It has an orange face, yellow eyes with white star-shaped pupils, and two cute little tiger teeth on its mouth. The ghost stares intently at the restored green grass mask in Zhang Jianying's hand, its eyes filled with undisguised affection and excitement.

Then, it raised its gaze and swept it over the astonished crowd in the room.

Her small, orange-like face held a complex expression.

Ergui Peng tilted his head slightly, half of his body hidden in the shadow of the door frame, and the other half bathed in the light of the study.

Its bewildered posture, "leaning against the door and turning its head to smell the green plums," contrasts sharply with its previous image as a "demon" brandishing a thorny vine club in a fit of rage.

Looking at Egui's appearance, Zhang Jianying felt a sudden relaxation in his heart, which had been taut because of the truth, and he almost couldn't help but show a serious expression.

He quickly composed himself, cleared his throat, took the mask and walked forward, naturally squatting down in front of the Evil Barrier, making his line of sight level with it.

"Here you are."

He held the newly repaired green grass mask in front of it, speaking softly, "Your mask is fixed. See, isn't it the same as before?"

Egui's starry eyes suddenly lit up.

She stretched out her two small hands, covered by the cloak, and hugged the green grass mask to her chest as if receiving the most precious treasure in the world.

It lowered its head and gently rubbed its cheek against the smooth surface of the mask, letting out a satisfied whimper.

"Bonito?"

Several seconds later, Erguilan raised his head again, his gaze fixed on Zhang Jianying's face, filled with questions and gratitude.

Through the waveguide, he understood all the emotions in the eyes of the evil spirit.

Zhang Jianying smiled at E Gui, then stopped beating around the bush, raised his finger, and pointed to the Ghost Mountain Range outside the window, which was now just a dark shadow in the night.

"The guy who stole your other three masks is right there. A wicked thing lurking in the shadows, manipulating people with poison."

99

His voice was calm and gentle, "Want to come together? Go and take back every single one of your masks."

Clutching its recovered Green Grass Mask, Ergui looked up at the human trainer who had stood firmly in front of it during the chaos of the festival, and now smiled as he extended a hand to fight alongside it.

At this moment, the figure before me seemed to overlap with the figure of that human from the past.

"Bonito—"

Moonlight streamed in through the windowpanes of the corridor, shimmering in the eerie light.

Silence filled the study, but it wasn't oppressive.

A few seconds later, the last trace of hesitation in Ergui's eyes was burned away by the resolute flame.

Without further hesitation, it nodded heavily and steadily put the green grass mask back on its face.

The familiar smile on the mask still had the same curve, but this time, the smile seemed to have a different kind of warmth.

It responded clearly to Zhang Jianying, and to everyone in the room: "Bonnie!"