Even in the Pokémon world, where all kinds of gifted individuals existed, Aura Guardians were an exceptionally unique group.
Compared to ordinary psychics, Aura Guardians exercised their powers with far greater restraint. They would never abuse the power of Aura for selfish ends and possessed an unwavering sense of justice.
Likewise, many other extraordinary individuals who shared that same strong sense of justice were often bound by various responsibilities, limiting where they could travel.
As a result...
Although Aura Guardians were exceedingly rare, legends about them could be found all across the world.
Some humans.
Some Pokémon.
Held Aura Guardians in the highest esteem.
While others...
Feared them from the bottom of their hearts.
Among Dark-, Ghost-, and Poison-type Pokémon, there were many species naturally inclined toward causing trouble.
And because of that...
They often became the special targets of Aura Guardians.
Naturally...
The Tentacruel clan—a Water/Poison-type species infamous among humans as the "Sea Bullies"—had once received that very special attention.
It was a chapter of history they never wished to remember.
The Tentacruel would never forget that overwhelmingly powerful human who could form Aura Spheres with his bare hands, fighting alone without sending out a single Pokémon, and beating their entire clan until they fled in complete panic.
From that day onward...
The Tentacruel developed a deep psychological trauma toward human Aura Guardians.
The power of Aura...
Was something they could never forget.
Inside one of the Gullwing's guest cabins.
Through Pikachu's translation, Chen Mo caught the word "Aura."
He immediately realized...
The rest of this conversation absolutely could not be broadcast.
Fortunately...
Neither the crew aboard the ship nor the millions of viewers watching the livestream could understand Pokémon speech like Chen Mo could.
So after briefly brushing the matter aside...
Chen Mo had Hao Tianyu end the livestream.
Using "discussing the migration details" as an excuse, he brought the Tentacruel leader back to his room.
Now that no outsiders remained...
Chen Mo asked about Aura once more.
Thus...
After hearing how the Tentacruel clan had once been thoroughly beaten by a legendary powerhouse who could casually throw Aura Spheres with his bare hands...
Chen Mo finally understood why they had always looked at him with such fear and caution.
"Am I basically borrowing someone else's reputation?"
He almost laughed.
The Tentacruel had cooperated every step of the way...
Never imagining that, let alone firing Aura Spheres by hand...
Chen Mo's own use of Aura barely extended beyond sensing his surroundings.
Looking at the Tentacruel leader before him, carefully avoiding even the slightest possibility of offending him...
Chen Mo coughed lightly.
"Although I really am an Aura Guardian..."
"I think your clan has misunderstood something."
"I never intended to force you to follow me or become my Pokémon."
"My goal remains exactly the same."
"So long as your clan gives up fighting the Horsea for territory..."
"And follows humanity's guidance in relocating..."
"Then everything that happened before will be considered settled."
Confusion appeared on Tentacruel's face.
But in the end...
It obediently nodded.
To its clan...
If they could obtain a new territory without sacrificing their own companions...
That was naturally the best possible outcome.
Thus...
The territorial conflict between the Tentacruel clan and Kingdra's Horsea clan was finally brought to an end.
However...
Calling Tentacruel into the room wasn't only about resolving the dispute.
"Tentacruel."
"Since you've encountered Aura Guardians before..."
"You should know that we Aura Guardians prefer to uncover the full truth behind every incident."
"We try our best to avoid misunderstanding others because of a one-sided perspective."
"So..."
"I'd like to know."
"Why did your clan suddenly abandon your original home?"
"Did some kind of disaster occur there?"
The moment those words fell...
Chen Mo noticed Tentacruel's expression suddenly become rather strange.
"Wait..."
"Did I describe Aura Guardians incorrectly?"
"Did Tentacruel see through me?"
The thought flashed through Chen Mo's mind.
But he quickly dismissed it.
Although he had never personally met a true Aura Guardian...
Manaphy—the ultimate social butterfly among Legendary Pokémon—had met several.
Everything Chen Mo knew about Aura Guardians...
Had come directly from Manaphy.
It shouldn't have been wrong.
Just as Chen Mo was puzzling over it...
Tentacruel cautiously asked,
"Gruu..."
"Weren't you... sent from over there, Lord Aura Guardian?"
A very peculiar question.
Chen Mo froze briefly.
Then his expression slowly grew serious.
"Can you explain..."
"What you mean by 'over there'?"
The Tentacruel clan possessed strength rivaling even Kingdra's Horsea clan.
Naturally...
Their overall power was nothing to scoff at.
Like the Horsea...
Soon after arriving in this world...
The Tentacruel easily occupied an excellent territory.
It was another coral sea.
At its center stood a small island.
No Pokémon lived there.
But several Oran Berry trees capable of healing injuries grew upon it.
Because of that...
The Tentacruel treasured the island dearly.
In fact...
In their eyes...
Even Kingdra's present coral reef couldn't compare to their former home.
Had nothing unexpected happened...
They would likely have remained there for a very long time.
However...
About one month earlier...
While living peacefully among the coral reefs...
The Tentacruel suddenly sensed an overwhelming surge of Aura.
Centered on the island...
It spread across the entire surrounding sea.
Having long ruled that region unchecked...
Combined with their instinctive fear of Aura Guardians...
The Tentacruel didn't hesitate for even a moment.
That very day...
They decided to migrate.
Under cover of night...
They evacuated with their entire clan...
Searching for a new homeland.
Eventually...
They set their sights on Kingdra's coral reef.
And war broke out.
Still...
The Tentacruel understood that invading another species' territory was wrong.
So...
When Chen Mo arrived wielding Aura...
Intervening directly in the middle of the battle...
They were terrified.
Their simple minds unanimously concluded that Chen Mo was the Aura Guardian who had emerged from that mysterious island.
He had come...
To capture them.
Combined with being caught red-handed invading someone else's territory...
The Tentacruel had absolutely no doubt...
That Chen Mo would soon start handcrafting Aura Spheres...
And beat every single one of them senseless.
That was why...
Back on the deck...
In order to save their clan...
They had immediately declared loyalty...
Offering to obey Aura's teachings...
Hoping for a lighter punishment.
But then...
Something completely unexpected happened.
The Aura Guardian named Chen Mo...
Not only knew nothing about what had happened on their former island...
He also barely criticized them for invading another territory.
Instead...
He genuinely intended to help them find a new home.
The Tentacruel weren't particularly clever.
But they weren't stupid either.
After giving it some thought...
They realized they had probably misunderstood something.
Which was why...
They had asked such a strange question earlier.
"Gruu..."
Tentacruel secretly glanced at the Aura Guardian before it.
Only after a long silence...
Did Chen Mo finally speak again after hearing Pikachu's translation.
"Can you point me..."
"Toward the general direction of your former territory?"
"Gruu?"
Tentacruel still looked rather bewildered.
But an Aura Guardian's request could not be ignored.
Under Chen Mo's gaze...
Tentacruel raised several thick tentacles...
Pointing toward a single direction.
A direction...
Extremely familiar to Chen Mo.
"So it really is..."
Although the timing didn't quite match...
A tremendous surge of Aura suddenly appearing on an island where neither humans nor Pokémon had previously existed...
Immediately reminded Chen Mo of the Trial of Aura unlocked by the system.
Now...
The location indicated by Tentacruel...
Almost perfectly aligned...
With the direction Chen Mo had instinctively sensed all along.
That made things simple.
The Trial of Aura...
Was located within the sea that had once belonged to the Tentacruel.
The Gullwing remained anchored near the coral reef overnight.
Early the next morning...
Professionals dispatched by the Bureau arrived by helicopter.
"When you reach your new home..."
"Don't behave the way you used to."
Chen Mo reminded the Tentacruel poking their heads above the water.
"Every year..."
"I'll make time to visit."
"So I hope your clan gets along with the neighboring Pokémon."
Hearing the warning that was practically spelled out...
The leading Tentacruel repeatedly nodded.
Though they looked as though they wanted to say something...
Chen Mo already understood.
If possible...
They hoped never to see another Aura Guardian for the rest of their lives.
Soon...
Guided by the helicopter...
The Tentacruel clan began migrating once more.
This time...
Toward a brand-new beginning.
Standing on the deck of the Gullwing...
Chen Mo watched them disappear into the distance.
"Marshadow."
"What?"
"Looks like it was just a false alarm."
When Jirachi had failed to uncover why the Tentacruel migrated...
Chen Mo had suspected some Legendary Pokémon or legendary artifact was involved.
Instead...
The truth was simply...
The Trial of Aura.
That...
Was indeed beyond Jirachi.
After all...
On the very night Jirachi awakened...
It had already attempted, at Chen Mo's request, to locate the Trial of Aura.
The attempt had naturally failed.
Some mysterious force had blocked the wish.
Although Chen Mo still didn't understand why Aura was somehow connected to Legendary-level phenomena...
At least...
Two mysteries had now become one.
That meant...
One fewer thing to worry about.
His mood naturally improved.
Marshadow, however, remained unconvinced.
"I don't know what this Trial of Aura really is."
"But judging from the word trial..."
"I don't think you should relax so soon."
"Let me remind you."
"Legendary-level trials are never easy."
"Even the Rainbow Hero's Trial..."
"Cannot guarantee the participant's safety."
"You know that better than anyone."
Chen Mo said nothing.
But he knew it well.
In the movie...
Ash had effectively died once during the Rainbow Hero's Trial.
Although, from an outside perspective...
That "death" looked suspiciously like Ho-Oh deliberately staging the scene...
It remained undeniable that the trial had never been completely safe.
There was always danger.
As for what exactly awaited him in the Trial of Aura...
Chen Mo believed...
He would find out soon enough.
After all...
This journey had not been without rewards.
Thanks to the Tentacruel...
He had finally confirmed his destination.
The rest of the voyage...
Would undoubtedly become much easier.
The Gullwing's departure horn sounded.
Just as Chen Mo turned around...
Planning to grab breakfast...
A figure rapidly approached from the distant coral reef.
With one tremendous leap...
The blue Pokémon seemed to fly through the air.
After a graceful flip...
It landed firmly on the deck before him.
"Kingdra?"
Chen Mo looked at the tall blue Pokémon standing even higher than himself.
Confusion filled his face.
"Is something wrong?"
Kingdra said nothing.
Instead...
It fired a thin jet of water into the sky.
Chen Mo's sharp eyes caught sight of something glimmering in the sunlight—
A deep sapphire-blue scale...
Radiating a noble, profound luster...
Flying directly toward him.
Instinctively...
He reached out.
And caught the half-palm-sized scale.
At the same time...
Kingdra finally spoke.
"...King."
"I still don't particularly like humans."
"But you..."
"You are someone I am willing to trust."
Chen Mo froze for a moment.
Then...
A brilliant smile spread across his face.
"It is my greatest honor."
"...King."
"Human..."
"I look forward to meeting you again."
"Don't die before then."
Kingdra still wore its usual cool expression.
Without waiting for another reply...
It turned around.
Leapt high into the air once more...
And disappeared into the sea.
Faintly...
Chen Mo heard Kingdra let out a long, melodious cry.
Understanding exactly what Kingdra meant...
Chen Mo raised the sapphire Dragon Scale high toward the sun.
The dazzling brilliance reflected from its surface sparkled brilliantly beneath the light.
Legend had it...
Certain ancient kingdoms regarded a Dragon Scale shed by Kingdra as one of the world's greatest treasures.
Even members of the royal family...
Could rarely obtain one.
Because...
A Kingdra's Dragon Scale would only ever be gifted...
To someone it truly acknowledged.
It represented—
A friendship that would last forever.
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