Dragons were synonymous with power.
Among all the Pokémon that bore the name "dragon" or possessed the Dragon type...
There were very few weaklings.
The might of dragons was etched into the very DNA of countless Pokémon species.
Because of that...
Some Pokémon were born yearning to become dragons themselves.
The Horsea line was one of them.
Unlike many Pokémon that dreamed of becoming dragons but simply lacked the potential...
Horsea truly possessed the ability to become one.
And not merely dragons in name alone.
They could become true Dragon-type Pokémon.
According to scholars from the Pokémon world...
When a Horsea evolved into Seadra, a brand-new gene appeared within its body—one that Horsea itself did not possess.
That gene represented hope.
The hope of one day becoming a dragon.
However...
That alone wasn't enough.
To truly become a Dragon-type Pokémon...
A wild Seadra still needed a certain opportunity.
That single hurdle...
Stopped countless Seadra in their tracks.
Only those fortunate enough to encounter that opportunity could evolve into Kingdra.
And the moment a Kingdra was born...
The leader of the entire clan naturally emerged with it.
Kingdra's strength needed no exaggeration.
Simply growing normally was enough for it to become the ruler of an entire stretch of ocean.
Such extraordinary power filled not only Kingdra...
But the entire Horsea clan...
With immense pride.
Even after being transported from one world into another unfamiliar one...
Kingdra relied upon its overwhelming strength to quickly establish itself as the dominant force of its new territory.
No Pokémon dared challenge their authority.
As kings...
Kingdra were proud.
Carrying true dragon blood within them...
Their tempers were somewhat milder than Gyarados, which bore only the dragon's name...
But...
Only somewhat.
Fortunately...
The Horsea clan generally stayed within their coral-covered territory beneath the sea.
They rarely ventured elsewhere.
As a result...
Although the rulers of these waters had foul tempers...
They seldom clashed with other Pokémon species.
Until one day...
A school of Tentacruel arrived.
"Thanks for your hard work, Pidgeotto."
Chen Mo waved toward the large bird as it soared back into the sky.
Although Lapras were hardly slow...
They couldn't quite match Pidgeotto's speed in flight.
So...
Before reaching the coral sea...
Chen Mo had sent Pidgeotto ahead to scout the situation.
The result...
Was exactly as expected.
The hatred between the two tribes far outweighed the fear inspired by Jirachi's Legendary power.
Not only had the two sides failed to stop after Sunny Day dispersed the storm...
They were fighting even more fiercely than before.
Chen Mo fell silent.
Nearby...
Jirachi, having recovered much of its energy thanks to the Comet Shards, looked puzzled.
"Chen Mo..."
"Why do they have to fight?"
"Why can't they live together peacefully like we do?"
"...Well..."
Chen Mo gently rubbed Jirachi's head.
"Every Pokémon species has its own instincts."
"Not every Pokémon can coexist peacefully in the same place."
"For example..."
"The Horsea clan led by Kingdra places enormous importance on its territory."
"They naturally dislike other Pokémon entering it."
"As for Tentacruel..."
"They even have a nickname."
"'The Ocean Bullies.'"
"They're a species that's notoriously unreasonable."
"So..."
"When those two meet and both want the same territory..."
"A fight is hardly surprising."
Jirachi nodded uncertainly.
After a long pause...
It asked another question.
"But..."
"Chen Mo..."
"The ocean is so... so huge."
"So why do they have to fight over one place?"
"Wouldn't it be better to simply live somewhere else?"
Chen Mo sighed softly.
"If only they could think that way."
"But..."
"For wild Pokémon..."
"Finding suitable territory isn't nearly as easy as you imagine."
Chen Mo remembered both species very clearly.
They had both appeared during the original anime series.
Whether it was Kingdra's Horsea clan...
Or the Tentacruel tribe...
Both had a particular love for coral reefs.
Normally...
Whenever two territorial species set their sights on the same location...
Conflict became inevitable.
Unless...
One side possessed strength so overwhelming that the other had no choice but to retreat.
According to Pidgeotto's scouting...
Although Kingdra was significantly stronger than any individual Tentacruel...
It still wasn't powerful enough to intimidate the entire Tentacruel tribe into withdrawing.
At the current rate...
Without outside intervention...
The conflict would likely continue until one side had lost over half its members...
Or been wiped out entirely.
Only then...
Would the territorial war finally end.
The Pokémon world...
Could sometimes be every bit as cruel as human society.
"...Wait."
Just as Chen Mo was lamenting that fact...
Something suddenly struck him as strange.
Wild Pokémon generally fell into three categories.
The first...
Territorial species.
Outside of expanding their territory...
They rarely left the area they called home.
The second...
Migratory species.
Because of climate...
Food...
Or breeding...
Some Pokémon periodically migrated.
Butterfree...
And Lapras...
Both belonged to this category.
The third...
Was a little more unusual.
Chen Mo jokingly called them the Mundo type...
Or simply...
The wanderers.
These Pokémon seldom settled with their own kind.
They wandered wherever they pleased.
Usually alone.
Kingdra...
And Tentacruel...
Should both belong to the first category.
Yet...
Pokémon had already existed in this world for quite some time.
By now...
Nearly every territorial species should already have established its own domain.
Logically...
They shouldn't leave it so easily.
As troublesome as the conflict between the two tribes was...
Chen Mo suddenly realized...
This might actually be the key to solving everything.
Turning toward Jirachi...
He made another request.
"Jirachi."
"I'd like you to use your wish-granting power again."
"I want to know..."
"Why the Tentacruel tribe abandoned its original territory."
"Roger!"
Having learned a military salute from several retired naval veterans aboard the Wingull...
Jirachi raised one tiny white hand beside its head in an adorably clumsy salute.
Then...
Just as before...
It clasped both hands before its chest.
The miraculous power of wishes surged once more.
To Chen Mo...
Discovering why an ordinary Pokémon tribe had migrated should have been effortless for Jirachi.
Yet...
Four or five seconds passed.
Chen Mo noticed something alarming.
The three wish tags attached to Jirachi's head...
Were shaking even more violently than when it had dispersed the storm.
A bad feeling rose within him.
Jirachi pouted.
Its eyes filled with tears.
"Chen Mo..."
"I failed again..."
The instant it finished speaking...
It threw itself into Chen Mo's arms.
Bursting into loud sobs.
Only ten minutes earlier...
It had proudly believed it could grant every one of Chen Mo's wishes.
Now...
It had once again encountered something beyond its power.
"It's alright..."
"It's not your fault..."
Chen Mo continued comforting Jirachi.
But...
His own heart slowly sank into the dark sea beneath them.
Marshadow's usually calm voice echoed inside his mind.
"That little crybaby may cry a lot..."
"But its abilities are genuine."
This should have been a trivial wish.
Yet Jirachi couldn't fulfill it.
The conclusion...
Was painfully obvious.
The Tentacruel tribe's migration...
Involved something at the Legendary level.
Chen Mo felt numb.
The Manaphy incident had been one thing.
He had voluntarily investigated Crescent Moon Town because he already suspected Legendary Pokémon were involved.
But now?
He had only been at sea for a single day.
Not even twenty-four hours had passed...
And he had stumbled into another Legendary-related incident?
Honestly...
Chen Mo suddenly remembered a conversation he'd once had with A-Hui during the Pikachu Cup.
"...Am I seriously cursed to attract trouble?"
Marshadow spoke again.
"In our original world..."
"There were several humans chosen by destiny."
"They encountered extraordinary events far more frequently than ordinary people."
"And certain beings would intentionally arrange those encounters."
"You are the Hero of Ideals."
"Just like the person you often think about..."
"The one called Arceus."
"You will inevitably shoulder more than ordinary humans."
The cold night wind brushed across Chen Mo's face.
Looking up at the moon...
He murmured softly,
"So..."
"Who's arranging all this?"
"Zekrom?"
"Ho-Oh?"
"Or simply..."
"Fate itself?"
This time...
Marshadow remained silent for a long while.
Finally...
It answered quietly.
"...Perhaps fate."
"I see."
Chen Mo's expression remained calm.
Marshadow spoke cautiously.
"Doesn't it bother you?"
"What?"
"The feeling..."
"Of having your destiny manipulated."
Marshadow continued,
"I once heard..."
"That Lord Ho-Oh arranged countless trials for one Rainbow Hero..."
"So that he would mature more quickly."
"But..."
"When that Rainbow Hero eventually learned everything had been orchestrated by Lord Ho-Oh..."
"He voluntarily abandoned his title."
"It dealt a heavy blow to Lord Ho-Oh."
"After that..."
"Lord Ho-Oh handed all future Rainbow Hero trials over to Suicune, me, and the others."
"It never interfered again."
Chen Mo was stunned.
Earlier...
After learning about the Rainbow Hero trials from Marshadow...
He had subconsciously imagined Ho-Oh as the sort of boss who delegated everything and disappeared.
He hadn't expected...
There to be such a story behind it.
After another long silence...
Chen Mo sighed.
"Do I dislike it?"
"Of course I do."
"But..."
"I'm just an ordinary person."
"I can't change what they decide."
"My greatest hope..."
"Is simply that..."
"If this world ever falls into real danger..."
"They'll step forward and save it."
"As for me..."
He paused.
If anyone wanted to talk about being arranged...
Then ever since he'd obtained the system...
His path had already been thoroughly planned out.
Fortunately...
He smiled.
"So far..."
"It's been a journey I've genuinely enjoyed."
He thought back...
To every Pokémon...
Every friend...
Every encounter along the way.
The corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.
Marshadow remained silent for a long time.
From within the Shadow Realm...
It could clearly feel Chen Mo's frustration.
Yet...
It could also feel the genuine happiness in his heart.
Neither emotion was false.
"...I really don't understand you."
Marshadow muttered, as always.
Chen Mo chuckled.
"Then let me tell you one more thing, Marshadow."
Looking toward the increasingly chaotic battlefield ahead...
He smiled.
"Humans..."
"Are just that complicated."
Above the coral sea...
The battle between Kingdra's clan and the Tentacruel tribe had reached its climax.
Both sides had already suffered heavy losses.
"Kingdra!!"
Kingdra darted through the ocean like a phantom.
Its Ability was Swift Swim.
The earlier storm had been created by Kingdra together with its fellow clan members.
Empowered by the rain...
The ruler of the sea had enjoyed the upper hand throughout the earlier battles.
But now...
Jirachi's Sunny Day had dispersed the storm.
Without the rain...
Kingdra's speed had fallen dramatically.
It now struggled far harder to evade the countless tentacles reaching toward it.
As its offensive slowed...
The Horsea clan's defensive line was steadily forced backward.
"Kingdra!!"
Watching the invaders continue advancing inch by inch...
Kingdra's fury reached its limit.
Its eyes gradually began glowing crimson.
As a genuine Dragon-type Pokémon...
Kingdra naturally knew the move Outrage.
However...
The move placed an enormous burden on its body.
Unless absolutely necessary...
Kingdra never used it.
After all...
It had held the advantage throughout the previous battles.
If Outrage failed to utterly crush the Tentacruel tribe...
They would almost certainly launch a devastating counterattack.
But now...
Kingdra no longer cared.
Not one of you will remain.
I'll drive every last one of you invaders away!
"KINGDRA!!!"
Just as it roared...
And Outrage was about to erupt—
A dazzling bolt of blue-and-gold lightning suddenly crashed down from the heavens.
BOOM!
The lightning slammed into the sea.
Towering waves exploded upward.
Countless arcs of electricity raced across the ocean's surface.
One of them wrapped itself tightly around Kingdra...
Interrupting Outrage before it could be unleashed.
"I'm sorry to interrupt."
A calm, steady voice echoed across the coral sea.
Both the Tentacruel tribe...
And Kingdra's clan...
Turned simultaneously toward the source.
There...
A young man rode atop a Lapras.
Slowly approaching across the waves.
The breeze carried his warning.
"I've come..."
"...to put an end to this conflict."
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