Chapter Ninety-Six: The Great Pokémon Chaos

"Bee~"

Cheng Cheng heard an exquisitely enchanting cry.

He saw the adorable green Pokémon, Celebi.

"That’s wonderful, Celebi. You found us!"

"Bee~"

"Celebi, can you take us back?"

"Bee~"

A moment later, a space-time portal opened before Cheng Cheng.

Just as he was about to step through it, Celebi suddenly shut the portal.

"Bee~"

[Did something happen, Celebi?]

[You can’t leave yet.]

[Why not?]

[I want to show you something.]

[Can’t I see it after we go back?]

[It’s right here.]

[Here?]

Cheng Cheng looked around. The sights before him were unfamiliar, but Celebi surely had not meant for him to look at these.

[What do you want me to see?]

[Wait a little longer. It will appear soon. I’ll stay here with you.]

[All right, then.]

Cheng Cheng sat down to rest properly. He had been traveling all this time, and before he had even slept, he had arrived here. He was beginning to feel tired.

He dozed for a while, and when he woke up, Celebi and Gardevoir were gone, while Slowbro remained by his side.

"Slowbro, Celebi and Gardevoir... never mind, there’s no point asking you. You wouldn’t know anyway."

Cheng Cheng spread out his psychic power, and at once sensed the two of them. Celebi and Gardevoir were drifting back toward him, carrying food with them.

"Bee~"

"Sona~"

Gardevoir and Celebi handed Cheng Cheng the food, which turned out to be berries.

"Thank you, Celebi. Thank you, Gardevoir."

Cheng Cheng examined the berries and judged that they were all edible. There were a few kinds he did not recognize; perhaps they were unique to this place.

He chose two berries that suited his taste and ate them, while Celebi, Gardevoir, and Slowbro found berries of their own.

He did not know what Celebi wanted him to see, but since Celebi did not want him to leave yet, he could only wait here. Since he had already come all this way, he might as well look around properly. Such an opportunity was rare indeed.

After eating, Cheng Cheng led his Pokémon onward, and for the first time he carefully observed the world around him. It did not differ greatly from the wilderness of the real world, except that there seemed to be no humans here at all, only Pokémon.

In addition to Archen, he also saw Tirtouga, Omanyte, and Aerodactyl. These Pokémon seemed to be ancient Pokémon, which meant this world must have existed before the extinction of the ancient Pokémon. Then the ones he had seen earlier must have been Pokémon of an even more primordial age. Those primordial Pokémon were far larger than the ancient ones, and far stronger as well. It seemed the primordial Pokémon had also passed through a period of annihilation, after which the ancient Pokémon appeared; then, after the ancient Pokémon perished, the modern Pokémon came to be.

Cheng Cheng knew that some ancient Pokémon had turned into fossils and had been revived in the present day. If that was so, might there also have been primordial Pokémon that had survived to this day? Suddenly, he thought of the giant Dragonite at the lighthouse in Kanto. That colossal Dragonite was very likely a primordial Pokémon. At the same time, he recalled the three enormous Pokémon in the canyon: Gengar, Alakazam, and Jigglypuff. They, too, might have been survivors from that remote age. There was still so much worth exploring.

All at once, Cheng Cheng sensed a great many Pokémon ahead, as though something had happened. He considered it for a while, then decided to go and see.

When he arrived, he found two groups of Pokémon locked in a standoff. One side consisted of Archen and several Archeops. The other side was Tirtouga and Carracosta. The air between them crackled with hostility; it seemed they were on the verge of fighting at any moment.

Cheng Cheng had originally intended to leave, so as not to be drawn into the conflict, but before he could, his Slowbro unleashed a Water Gun at the Archen side, instantly dragging both factions into chaos and sweeping Cheng Cheng into the battle as well.

"Slowbro, you bastard! If I ever let you out again, I’ll be a fool!"

Cheng Cheng had no choice but to fight back.

Besieging him were two Carracosta and two Archeops. They were all in their forties in level, and extremely dangerous.

"Go, Mr. Mime, Lunatone."

Cheng Cheng sent out four Pokémon of his own to battle them. The opposing Carracosta and Archeops used Ancient Power at the same time.

"Gardevoir, Shadow Ball; Lunatone, Wake-Up Slap; Mr. Mime, Barrier; Slowbro, Water Gun."

Cheng Cheng had his Pokémon each intercept the enemy attacks.

"Gardevoir, be careful, use Double Team. Lunatone, Confusion. Mr. Mime, dodge quickly."

Cheng Cheng realized he simply could not keep up with four Pokémon battling at once. No matter—he would let them fight on their own.

"Everyone, from here on out, battle freely!"

He allowed his Pokémon to fight independently. This was also a test of their battle awareness. From the very beginning of their training, he had decided they needed strong self-sufficient combat ability. That way, even when he could not give orders, they would still be able to bring their strength to bear.

Watching the four Pokémon put up such a lively fight against the Carracosta and Archeops, Cheng Cheng felt that his training had been very successful.

He watched the great melee unfold, and it was a fierce one. If not for him, perhaps this battle would never have broken out in the first place. Cheng Cheng decided he had to find a way to calm the chaos.

Just then, a Water Gun shot toward him, and Cheng Cheng had no time to dodge.

"Bee~"

Celebi darted in front of him and blocked the attack.

"Thank you, Celebi. Please, make them stop."

"Bee~"

Celebi showed no intention of intervening.

[What’s wrong, Celebi?]

[There’s no need anymore. The time has come. What I wanted to show you has arrived.]

From all around them came the cries of Pokémon.

The Pokémon began scattering in every direction, and the scene descended into utter disorder.

The battle between Tirtouga and Archen was forced to stop as the Pokémon broke and fled.

Gardevoir and Cheng Cheng’s other three Pokémon returned to his side, seeming frightened.

Now all the Pokémon were in terror, fleeing in panic. Many were crushed to death or trampled underfoot. Cheng Cheng watched with aching sympathy. He wanted desperately to save them, but he could not. This was a catastrophe too vast for him, and he did not even possess the strength to protect himself.

All the while, many Pokémon charged toward him, and Cheng Cheng nearly lost his life several times over.

He recalled his Pokémon and let Celebi move him to a high place where they were, for the moment, out of the worst of it.

Only from above did Cheng Cheng truly understand how dreadful the turmoil was. Tens of thousands of Pokémon were fleeing in all directions, and at every moment more of them were dying.

The sight reminded him of the great rainstorm at the Day Care Center, and of the Pokémon chaos in Viridian City. The scale of those two earlier incidents had been much smaller, yet Cheng Cheng was certain the cause behind all three catastrophes was the same.

[Celebi, you can save them, can’t you?]

Cheng Cheng looked at Celebi with hope.

Celebi shook its head.

Yes, even if Celebi was powerful, it still could not halt such a vast disaster. Then what sort of being had caused this chaos? Cheng Cheng could not imagine it.

"Bee!!"

Suddenly Celebi let out a sharp cry.

The sky changed at once. The blue overhead turned bloodred in an instant.

Blood-red? Was this the blood-red sky Natu had spoken of? Cheng Cheng could not make sense of it. And what did this blood-red sky have to do with him?

Then, in the crimson heavens, countless fireballs appeared and came raining down upon the ground, taking the lives of many Pokémon.

A natural disaster?

Had the ancient Pokémon gone extinct because of this calamity? And if so, was his own era also drawing close to destruction?

"Bee!"

Celebi’s cry jolted Cheng Cheng awake. A massive fireball was hurtling toward him, and Celebi threw itself in front of him.

"Bee!"

"Celebi!"