Chapter Fifty-One: The Unfettered Ruins

[Deoxys, would you like to travel with me?]
After having something to eat, Cheng Cheng asked Deoxys, hoping it would stay.

[I'm sorry, I want to see more of the world. I wish to travel alone.]

[I see, that's alright then. But, could we be friends?]

[Friends?]

[Yes, friends.]

[What are friends?]

[I'm not sure how to explain it either. Friends are people who can play together, share food, travel together. When a friend is in danger, you help them, like when Celebi helped both of us during the battle. Would you like to be friends with me, Deoxys?]

[Deoxys would like to be friends with Cheng Cheng.]

[That's wonderful, from now on we're friends.]

Cheng Cheng extended his hand. Deoxys didn't understand the gesture, but Celebi flew over and placed its tiny hand in Cheng Cheng's palm. Deoxys followed Celebi's example, placing its own hand on top.

Cheng Cheng laughed joyfully.

[Deoxys, are you leaving now?]
Cheng Cheng watched as Deoxys gradually ascended into the sky.

[Yes.]

[Will we be able to meet again someday?]

Deoxys nodded.

[Then, until we meet again.]

Cheng Cheng waved goodbye to Deoxys as it flew toward the horizon.

Watching Deoxys depart, Cheng Cheng felt a tinge of disappointment. Yet, with his current abilities, it would be difficult to control a Pokémon as powerful as Deoxys. He thought it was better to let Deoxys travel on its own.

Suddenly, Cheng Cheng sensed the weakened presence drawing closer. Deoxys appeared before him.

Deoxys reached out a tentacle and touched the leaf Celebi had given Cheng Cheng. Where the tentacle met the leaf, a faint purple light shone, and half the leaf turned from green to purple.

Cheng Cheng could feel Deoxys's presence on the leaf. Then, Deoxys departed, this time for good.

Looking at the leaf on his chest—half green, half purple—Cheng Cheng jumped up in excitement. Though he hadn't captured Deoxys, with this leaf, he could summon Deoxys for help, just like Celebi.

Cheng Cheng was overjoyed, spinning around with Celebi. Yet, on a distant rock, someone stood watching Cheng Cheng.

"Interesting."

......

Soon after Deoxys left, Celebi also departed. Cheng Cheng put away his happiness, took out his communicator and map, and searched for his location. He had already left the limits of Veil City; ahead lay Random Town.

Now, Cheng Cheng had two choices: head to Random Town or return to Veil City.

He pondered for a moment, recalling the events from Ash's journey in the Sinnoh region, and remembered the Random Ruins in the town ahead.

The Random Ruins seemed to be connected to Palkia and Dialga, and a group of Unown lived within.

Cheng Cheng decided to visit the Random Ruins, hoping to find information about Palkia and Dialga. Perhaps he could catch a few Unown—they were Psychic-types, though not particularly useful.

Following the map, Cheng Cheng walked toward Random Town. He wasn't far, and soon he saw a massive ruin—surely the Random Ruins.

But it was nearly dark, not the right time to explore. Cheng Cheng decided to rest at the Pokémon Center.

After an hour's walk, he arrived at the Random Town Pokémon Center. He handed his Pokémon to Nurse Joy for treatment and stayed overnight. Early the next morning, he set out for the Random Ruins with his Pokémon.

Soon, he saw the gigantic ruins again.

Standing before the ruins, Cheng Cheng spotted two statues: Palkia and Dialga. He examined them; they must have a long history, likely relics from ancient times.

Beneath the statues were inscriptions composed of Unown characters. Cheng Cheng knew there were twenty-eight known types of Unown, each representing a different meaning, much like letters.

He couldn't decipher the inscriptions, nor did he know how Ash and his friends managed to do so.

"System, can you scan and translate these inscriptions?"

"Of course."

"Ding. Scanning inscriptions."

A minute later, the system completed the scan and revealed a passage:

"All life encounters other life, and thus something new is born."

Reading this, Cheng Cheng considered several interpretations. The simplest was the birth of life. Another was that when Palkia and Dialga's powers meet, a new world is created.

Palkia and Dialga, created by the origin god Arceus, govern space and time respectively. Space is 'Yu', time is 'Zhou', together forming 'Universe'.

Cheng Cheng knew that besides Palkia and Dialga, Arceus also created another Pokémon for the Reverse World—Giratina, the Lord of the Underworld.

All broken rules in the normal world are repaired in the Reverse World. In this sense, Giratina acts as a caretaker for the Pokémon world.

Beyond these three legendary beasts, Arceus created the three Lake Guardians: Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit.

From Cheng Cheng's memory, he would soon encounter them. They, too, are Psychic-types, which excited him. He was determined to meet them, though he knew he could never capture them—it would still be worthwhile to see them.

After another glance at the statues, Cheng Cheng climbed the stairs and entered the ruins.

Inside, it was pitch black—a troublesome situation. What to do?

Cheng Cheng summoned Kirlia and purchased a Flash move, quickly teaching it the skill. With Flash, he could make out the path ahead. He realized he should carry a lighting tool; relying on Pokémon to use Flash wasn't always easy.

After traversing a long passage, light began to appear within the ruins. Still, there was no open sky; the brightness must have entered by some clever refraction.

Now, with the route faintly visible, Cheng Cheng let Kirlia rest.

He pressed on, feeling something darting around him—likely the Unown. Sensing no malice, he didn't disturb them.

Continuing forward, Cheng Cheng descended the stairs and entered a vast stone chamber. The walls once bore symbols, but since Team Galactic took the key, they had all transformed into Unown. The walls were now bare.

In the center, Cheng Cheng found a formation—probably the place to obtain the key.

Suddenly, he felt the surge of psychic energy around him, and saw dozens—no, hundreds—of Unown floating nearby. They moved swiftly around him, but showed no intent to attack.

Cheng Cheng quickly locked onto one Unown and checked its data:

Pokémon: Unown
Type: Psychic
Level: Unknown
Rank: Azure
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Levitate
...
Move: Hidden Power

He hadn't expected a random Unown to be of Azure rank. Cheng Cheng salivated—this place was a treasure trove. But he dared not make a move; their numbers were overwhelming, and their mysterious powers might have unforeseen consequences. Best to observe.

Using his psychic abilities, Cheng Cheng conveyed goodwill. The Unown floated to the stone walls, pressing tightly against them. They seemed to return to their original state, though not as script, but as vivid figures.

Cheng Cheng had the system scan all the walls and decode their meanings.

Once the system translated them, he discovered the three walls recounted three different tales.

The left wall told the story of Palkia, the god of space; the right, Dialga, the god of time. Both stories were similar: each Pokémon was created by Arceus, representing space and time.

Finally, Cheng Cheng read the central wall, which explained that when Palkia and Dialga's powers combine, they create a new world. This matched his earlier interpretation of the statues.

Reviewing the translations, Cheng Cheng noticed something peculiar—the system had mistranslated several places, reversing the order completely. As he was about to mock the system, a realization struck him. With the system's abilities, such errors shouldn't occur. Which meant...