Chapter 770: The Suddenly Vanishing Azalea Town
People have sorrows and joys, partings and reunions; the moon waxes and wanes, dims and shines. Such perfection has been hard to attain since ancient times.
Dragonite ultimately left the Dragon Clan.
She wanted to do some things she wanted to do in her few remaining days, and also hoped that the Dragon Clan could truly grow up.
Back on the road.
The squad of four became five.
Originally, Kazuya had planned to head immediately towards the Sinnoh region.
But he suddenly remembered something.
Most of his friends in the Sinnoh region were from the second world, and this was the first world. He didn't actually have many friends in the Sinnoh region.
His memory was a bit mixed up.
And after realizing this.
Kazuya immediately changed direction, setting his target as the Hoenn region.
First world.
Kazuya had spent the most time in the Kanto region.
About seventy or eighty years.
More accurately, it was the Sevii Islands region south of Kanto, the hometown of Lorelei and the "God of the Sea".
Next.
Was the Hoenn region.
That was the hometown of the "God of Wood".
Thus.
They continued heading west.
But along the way.
Kazuya planned to take a southwest route.
Firstly, because directly west was a mountain range, making the journey difficult.
Secondly, because he wanted to visit Azalea Town in the southern part of the Johto region.
"Your master and I met almost thirteen hundred years ago, at the top of Mt. Silver. That place used to not be the Indigo League, but the territory of our Dragonite clan..."
Dragonite cheerfully told Scizor stories of the past on the road.
You have to know, even Meowscarada didn't know these things.
She had no idea her father also had the identity of a Guardian Divine Dragon.
"I see! No wonder Master performed Dragon Dance when he first saw you; he could actually prove his identity this way!"
Scizor clicked his pincers somewhat excitedly.
"..."
Kazuya, up ahead, was somewhat speechless.
In his view.
Every dragon's Dragon Dance was different.
It was related to the dragon's physical structure and posture.
At that time, Kazuya, having just learned Dragon Dance, was performing it with human consciousness, so of course it looked a bit awkward, not as natural as a true Dragon-type Pokémon.
However.
They could only recognize him this way in the first world.
In the second world.
The Dragon Dances of later generations all carried a hint of Kazuya's shadow.
After all, that Dragon Dance had gone astray since ancient times.
Who knows how many dragons' Dragon Dances were inherited from Kazuya.
"By the way, Kazuya, aren't you going to take a look at Cherrygrove City? I remember you had a friend there."
Dragonite turned her head to look at Kazuya up ahead.
She remembered three hundred years ago.
It seemed that the child from Cherrygrove City had escorted Kazuya and Meowscarada to the Dragon Clan Territory.
"Ah, you mean Leaf? We're not going. When I was still a Piplup, I learned that Leaf's family had already split up around League Calendar Year 90. We probably wouldn't be able to find any trace of their family in Cherrygrove City now."
Kazuya naturally knew who Dragonite was talking about.
The richest man in Cherrygrove City three hundred years ago.
The Leaf of that time was very sharp-minded, establishing the Sunshine Kindergarten early on and boarding the Pokémon League's ship.
But his son wasn't very capable.
It was said he frequently made foolish decisions, leading to internal conflicts and the family splitting up before they even went bankrupt. And the Pokémon League couldn't easily intervene in such family matters, so they eventually faded from history.
Actually, in the southern part of Johto, there were other places to go besides Azalea Town and Cherrygrove City.
There was also Gligar Island.
But...
That place was probably a magical beast island now.
Kazuya didn't really want to harm the Gligar on that island, so he wasn't going.
"I see, I didn't know much about that."
Dragonite scratched her head.
"What kind of place is Azalea Town?"
Mewtwo suddenly spoke up out of the blue.
He was holding a World Travel Guide He had snatched from the roadside in Blackthorn City.
He hadn't found any place called Azalea Town in this book.
"Is it not in that book? Although Azalea Town is a small town in the forest, I remember it was quite famous in League Calendar Year 200. After all, the Bug-type Gym and the Slowpoke Well are there."
Kazuya took the travel guide from Mewtwo's hands in confusion.
He glanced at the first page.
The publication date was League Calendar Year 267.
Meaning, this book recorded tourist attractions from various regions at that time.
At that time, Kazuya had already been at war with Giratina in the Reverse World for seven years.
He casually flipped through the table of contents.
He actually couldn't find the words "Azalea Town" in this book.
A bit strange.
From the aspect of having a Gym, it was impossible for Azalea Town to be obscure. Having a Gym meant it was a city specifically supported by the Pokémon League, so there would be at least some promotion.
Moreover, the Slowpoke Well was actually quite famous.
Because Slowpoke wasn't a very common Pokémon; they were not only relatively rare, but also cute and very popular.
Even without a Gym.
This place should attract some Slowpoke enthusiasts or Water-type Trainers.
"It really isn't here."
Kazuya muttered.
Then he turned to look at the other three Pokémon.
Both Kazuya and Mewtwo did not exist in this world during that period.
So the only ones who might know about this were Scizor and the other two.
"I wasn't in the Northern Hemisphere at that time."
Scizor spread his hands.
Even if it happened right next to him, he probably wouldn't know.
Because Scizor never paid attention to matters in human society in the past.
Every time he appeared in front of humans.
A bunch of overconfident individuals would try to catch him.
So he rarely went to human cities.
"I don't really pay attention to outside matters either."
Dragonite embarrassingly hugged her belly.
It clearly happened nearby, but she was completely unaware.
"I'm not exactly sure either, but around that time, it seemed Azalea Town no longer had a Gym, and the Indigo League appeared to abruptly cancel all promotion for Azalea Town, seemingly wanting the town to fade into obscurity."
Lucario frowned slightly, then shook his head.
League Calendar Year 267.
Riley was already gone by then.
Lucario's interest in the human world had also waned significantly, so he wasn't very clear on many things.
"Hmph~ Looks like this place has some secrets."
Kazuya pursed his lips, profound meaning showing in his eyes.
He considered himself fairly knowledgeable about the Pokémon League, having even served as the League's strongest "employee" for a time.
So in Kazuya's view...
An event that could make the Pokémon League change its usual measures and suddenly decide to hide a thriving town.
Could only be related to Legendary Pokémon.
For example, Mew and the three Regis were inside the Tree of Beginning.
The Pokémon League artificially created a nature reserve nearby as a cover, to strengthen the defensive forces around the Tree of Beginning.
Then this Azalea Town should be a similar case.
Around League Calendar Year 267.
A certain Legendary Pokémon might have appeared nearby.
Kazuya already had a suspect in mind.
But it was better to go and see for himself first.
Along the way.
Kazuya and his group didn't neglect their own training.
Even Dragonite would occasionally spar with them to warm up.
Dragonite's level wasn't very high.
Only Lv. 85.
In the current five-member squad.
She, the oldest, was only stronger than the two who hadn't been born long.
This was normal.
After all, Dragonite never had a battle-loving personality.
He remembered three hundred years ago.
When Kazuya met her again, Dragonite was only at the Elite Four level, and you could say half of her strength was built up by sheer time.
Until the Great Darkness event broke out.
Dragonite was forced into action, engaging in non-stop, high-intensity battles to protect the Dragon Clan, which is how her level rose to her current mid-tier Champion status.
Of course.
The issue of old age had to be considered as well.
Many Pokémon in the anime saw their strength decline significantly as they got older.
So a Pokémon's level could potentially decrease with age.
Dragonite's level.
Was a result of both the accumulation of lifespan and the limitations of lifespan.
Her age severely restricted her growth speed, and she might even be declining a little bit every day.
Under these circumstances, still being Lv. 85 was already very impressive.
In the blink of an eye, over half a month had passed.
Kazuya and his group finally arrived at Azalea Town.
The Azalea Town of the past was surrounded by forest, and it still was now.
It's just that the trees in these forests had become those dark, sharp Iron Thorn Trees.
The Azalea Town of League Calendar Year 250...
Was still not large in scale.
You could only say it was much, much larger than the village in Kazuya's memory.
But among the towns in the Johto region.
It was still ranked at the bottom.
You couldn't blame the Pokémon League for not putting effort into Azalea Town's development; rather, it was because they put too much effort into it that it never really expanded.
One of Azalea Town's features included the dense ring of forest surrounding it.
To expand Azalea Town.
One must log.
And logging was equivalent to reducing Azalea Town's features, while simultaneously exploiting the living space of wild Pokémon.
That went against the Pokémon League's development principles, and wouldn't be accepted by the townspeople of Azalea Town, who loved the forest and Pokémon.
Therefore.
Azalea Town's scale remained this modest size.
In the League era.
This wasn't a good thing.
But in the New Magical Beast Era.
This place was very good.
Thanks to the Indigo League intentionally hiding Azalea Town in the past.
When the Great Darkness event broke out, there weren't many Pokémon left in this town, so the number of magical beasts wandering in the town now was pitifully small.
"This place is very suitable for solo survivors."
Lucario commented the moment he stepped into Azalea Town.
He used to be a solo survivor.
He loved coming to this kind of place the most.
The threat of magical beasts was low, and resources weren't scarce, so one could live here long-term very well.
"It was also very suitable for the former Team Rocket to build an underground base."
Kazuya glanced at the surrounding Iron Thorn Trees and muttered.
He didn't say anything more.
He led the Pokémon straight to the Tetsuya family home in his memory.
And when they arrived at the place in his memory.
That sweltering small wooden cabin had vanished, replaced by a blacksmith shop of considerable size.
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