novelhk Chapter 240 Lights - Remnants of the Past and Present
Chapter 240 Lights - Remnants of the Past and Present
In this day and age, Chimchar is widely accepted as a beginner Pokémon in the Sinnoh region.
When the children, eager to receive their starting partners, excitedly entered the local research institute and saw this harmless Fire-type Pokémon, they might find it hard to believe that just a hundred years ago, before Pokémon research became an independent discipline, Chimchar was feared as a monster.
"Buttocks lit up...?"
Upon seeing the little fire monkey in front of her, Wanlong couldn't help but murmur aloud.
As a novelist who is also the Ghost King of the Unova region, Wanlong has always been very interested in the strange tales and legends scattered around the world.
At that moment, she recalled a legend that had circulated in the mountains near Lake Shinsei in the modern Sinnoh region—
In the dim light of dawn, woodcutters who go into the mountains early to chop firewood sometimes witness strange sights:
Despite the sparse population in the vicinity, one could faintly hear the laughter of children playing in the woods. Following the sound into the misty forest, one could indeed see children chasing each other under the trees.
Under the dim shade of the trees, it was impossible to see the children's faces clearly. If one were to call out at this moment, a horrifying scene would be witnessed.
The children, their faces blurred, suddenly stopped... Then, all the children turned their backs, and a burst of bright red flames suddenly ignited from behind their buttocks, as if lighting one bright lamp after another in the dim forest.
But that wasn't the most terrifying part. At the end of the story, among the group of children who had their backs to the woodcutter, one suddenly turned around, and in the red light, he was revealed to be a hideous demon with blue faces and fangs. The woodcutter, upon seeing this, was always so frightened that he would turn and run away on the spot, and from then on, he would avoid that forest when he went up the mountain to chop wood.
No one knows what will happen if they stay where they are after seeing the demon. Perhaps, if the woodcutter does that, they will never be able to leave that forest again...
Of course, with the Pokémon Pokédex collection system now so sophisticated, from a modern perspective, the so-called "children" in the forest are probably just a group of wild Chimchar.
Before their evolution, the little fire monkeys had no tails. Still young, they were all small in stature, and in the hazy morning mist, they naturally looked like young children.
Before going to sleep, these elves will deliberately extinguish the flames burning behind them to avoid fire. As a result, when they wake up, there will inevitably be an interesting scene of flames coming out from their buttocks.
Woodcutters in ancient times were not very educated and did not have much knowledge of Pokémon. It is not surprising that they would mistake the Chimchar for a monster with a "lit butt" when they witnessed such an absurd and bizarre scene in the early morning.
As for the "evil spirits" that suddenly appeared among the children's backs, they were probably other spirits.
The little chimpanzee has a light yellow face and its canines are not very prominent. No matter how panicked the woodcutter was, he wouldn't mistake this harmless face for a blue-faced monster. It's reasonable to assume that it was probably the leader of the chimpanzee group, an evolved form of Infernape or Blaziken.
However, the little Chimchar in front of me is neither Infernape nor its final evolved form, Infernape, but it still exudes a sinister aura like a ghost or demon.
The little fire monkey stood silently in the graveyard, watching the three people descending the stairs with neither relaxation nor anxiety—more specifically, the little monkey's dark eyes were fixed on the champion, Adeker, who was walking at the front.
The red flames swayed back and forth behind him, flickering and trembling as the only source of light in the cemetery.
"Little monkey, isn't your trainer here?"
The Adek champion seemed oblivious to the change in atmosphere, casually and warmly greeting his opponent before striding into the indoor cemetery without hesitation.
This is understandable, as the Unova champion has no reason to be so alarmed by a beginner Pokémon; even Wanlong herself, if she weren't facing the Pokémon raised by Hugo, she probably wouldn't have recalled the story of "butt-lighting" from the Sinnoh region.
The tiny monkey remained as still as a sculpture, while Adek stopped some distance away from it.
"Is the item he's wearing an Evolution Stone?" the old man muttered to himself before calling out, "Hey, if your master doesn't come out soon, I'm going to launch an attack now—don't forget, the battle is still going on."
Chimchar remained silent, staring intently at its opponent. If it weren't for its tiny chest rising and falling with its breath, Alder would have almost suspected that the Pokémon before him was merely a "substitute" or an "illusion."
"Tsk." The champion, feeling neglected, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and a Poké Ball rolled neatly from his sleeve into his hand.
"In that case, let's communicate through battles."
As the red light of the released Pokémon appeared, Chimchar's gaze finally shifted.
As instructed by Detective Hugo, it was currently occupying the area with the highest density of tombstones in this cemetery.
The cemetery is where the souls of the dead rest. As the Unova Champion, the opponent, if he has the resources, will inevitably choose to send out the Pokémon whose aftereffects will have the least impact on the surrounding area. Hugo, back at the Pokémon Center, had already learned the list of all the Pokémon Alder was carrying from a chance encounter with a gambler.
With enough information, even rock-paper-scissors can become a fraudulent game with no chance of winning.
Of all the Pokémon that Aldera possesses, the one with a moderate size, the most agile movements, the ability to finish battles quickly, and relatively low damage to the terrain from its moves, must be a Bug-type Pokémon like Volcarona...
"Go on, old craftsman!"
A huge, muscular body suddenly appeared, and a Fighting-type Pokémon with a round, red nose broke through the red light and pounced on the Chimchar. Two concrete pillars drew semi-circular arcs in the air and slammed into the opponent.
Seeing the scene before him, the little fire monkey was clearly taken aback and quickly ducked to avoid it.
"Haha, I bet that detective gave you a lot of instructions before he left, right? But there's not much logic or reason to it in Pokémon battles. In this kind of situation where you have to be careful not to make a mistake, sending out a small, agile Bug is probably the right choice. That's what I was thinking when I was about to release my Pokémon. But what if I sent out a different Pokémon?"
Defeating an opponent while protecting the graveyard—this is certainly the task best suited for a nimble, agile bug. However, extreme power inevitably comes with exquisite skill. As a Pokémon deeply trusted by Champion Alder, who can doubt that this builder, known for his powerful and unrestrained attacks, is incapable of doing the same?
As Aldak's hearty laughter echoed through the fourth floor, the concrete pillars bypassed all the erected tombstones and collided just five centimeters above the little fire monkey's head. The earth-shattering sound of rocks colliding instantly drowned out everything else; the sound alone gave the little monkey a headache.
Fortunately, the attack was managed to be dodged, and the little Chimchar scrambled back. Without the trainer's command, the builder kicked out in an attempt to follow up, and the chimchar seized the opportunity to use the move "Protect".
Its weak moves were naturally no match for the Champion Pokémon's kick, but that was precisely what it was aiming for—as the protective barrier shattered, Chimchar used the momentum to fly backward. The Evolution Stone performed as intended, and the landing caused Chimchar almost no damage. Taking advantage of this moment, it extinguished the light on its rear end and fled into the rows of tombstones arranged like school desks.
Perhaps because of the presence of a cemetery, the fourth floor had far fewer square windows than the upper floors, resulting in a thinner moonlight stream in. As soon as the flames on the little fire monkey went out, darkness returned. Only the stands at the top of the stairs remained, illuminated by the Star of Victory.
In the darkness, Aldak spoke once more—
"Oh dear, you don't actually think my team doesn't have a single Pokémon that can use 'Flash,' do you? Chimchar, what's the point of you continuing to hide like this, looking so pathetic?"
The champion's powerful questioning echoed between the empty floors, a cold wind blowing through the cemetery turned into a chilling wind, and all around remained silent.
No, it is not complete tranquility.
Wanlong, her ears perked up, suddenly shivered – because she seemed to hear a child's laughter.
Alice, standing beside her, looked around. The girl's intuition kicked in at that moment, and she repeatedly scanned the darkness before her with a puzzled expression.
Adek slowly walked to the old craftsman's side, as if he was also on guard against something.
Hehe, hehehehe...
The children's laughter grew louder and louder, and the air seemed to grow even colder. Was this the little fire monkey's doing? Or was Hugo secretly pulling the strings?
Suddenly, something unexpected happened—
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Wanlong would never have believed it—
Like the strange tales of "buttocks lighting up the lamp" in the Sinnoh region—
in front of you.
Thousands of lights ignited.
Countless bright night lights instantly illuminated the fourth floor of the Tower of Heaven.