Because Alamos Town existed, Route 204 and the Ravaged Path had beco extrely long, and the region had gained even richer natural scenery, making Sinnoh feel broader than ever.
Along the way, Hikaru told Dawn many stories and legends, which made Dawn complain that he sounded more like a tour guide.
"Still, an ordinary tour guide wouldn't know every story in Sinnoh. Compared to , an actual Sinnoh local, you seem more like soone from Sinnoh than I do."
"Well, I did live in Eterna City a long ti ago."
As a side note, Hikaru taught Dawn how to play the Celestica Flute. Sohow, perhaps because of so power passed down through her bloodline, Dawn played the correct lody the mont she touched the flute.
Which only made Hikaru's own version sound less authentic, because...
[You obtained the legendary lody "Celestica Sound"!]
[Description: A flute lody played with the Celestica Flute that can summon Noble Pokémon and ride Pokémon. If Noble and ride Pokémon exist, they will rember this tune and can be summoned at any ti. - [Aegislash has morized the flute's lody.]]
Aegislash: "...?"
Aegislash, which had just been casually chatting away, suddenly heard Dawn's flute and imdiately felt the pull of a summoning force, leaving Hikaru sweating a little.
Right. His Aegislash counted as royalty too.
[You obtained the legendary lody: "Celestica Flute - Irida's lody."]
[Description: The complete Celestica lody once played by a girl long ago, a heavenly tune that only she could perform in full. This legendary song no longer exists in Sinnoh's future. But perhaps because of mory carried in her genes, Dawn can also play the exact sa sound. This lody can carry to the ends of the earth.]
[Effect: After being played, it becos easier to encounter Pokémon you have never seen before. It also has a pure power that cleanses the heart. Purification 50%.]
It was Irida's lody.
Hikaru gave a small nod.
That settled it. Even if his own version was off, it didn't matter anymore. The authentic one had shown up on its own. He just hadn't expected Dawn to be the one to play it. Was that because of Akari's bloodline too?
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Irida was the only girl who could fully play the Celestica lody, and she even had her own exclusive BGM. Her tune really was as beautiful as sothing from heaven.
"Hikaru-san, the lody you play sounds kind of weird."
"...It is a little weird, but a long ti ago, most people only knew how to play that version. That lody was already enough to summon Pokémon. The one you played is the truly unique one."
"But it's not like I can't play other flute lodies. Back in Unova, I was the guitarist for a very famous band. People called the Guitar Hero. I'm also very good at the ukulele. As for flutes, though, I've got a hidden specialty too. Listen carefully."
Hikaru pulled out several special flutes.
Dawn looked at the differently shaped instrunts and asked curiously again, "Wow, they all look really unique... Are these flutes like the Celestica Flute too?"
"They really are special flutes, but you can't just play them casually."
"This is the Ti Flute. It can call the Mythical Pokémon Celebi. This is the Eon Flute. It can call the Legendary Pokémon Latios and Latias from Southern Island in Hoenn, and from Alto Mare in Johto."
Dawn stared at him with her mouth open.
Hikaru then put those two flutes away and took out the last "piece" of flute.
"This is... a conch shell? An ocarina?"
"That's right. It's a conch flute. The others shouldn't be played carelessly, but let perform with this last one."
"This is the Offering Flute. The lody it plays is called 'Lugia's Song,' also known as 'Flura's Flute.'"
"This lody can be played at certain ruins to activate their power and restore the Legendary Pokémon Lugia's health and strength."
"It's a legendary object from the Orange Archipelago, but even if it's called legendary... it isn't actually sothing difficult to make."
After all, the events of Pokémon the Movie 2000 had already passed, and Flura had already played the flute. The Offering Flute's effect was indeed very specific, but if you just listened to it as music, it was absolutely beautiful.
[You obtained the legendary lody "Flura's Flute." It can soothe the raging hearts of Legendary Pokémon, erase the conflict between the legendary birds of ice, fire, and lightning, and restore Lugia's full power. If played at the Sea God's ruins, its power can affect the entire southern sea and calm the rioting ocean currents.]
Hikaru had only made the Offering Flute on a whim, so this was actually the first ti he had played it. Still, with his gift for musical convergence and the lody preserved in his mory, recreating Flura's tune wasn't difficult.
Dawn was quickly captivated by the song and listened with complete focus. Even the Pokémon in the forest and along the road, as well as the Pokémon flying overhead, were drawn to it and followed the two of them as they traveled.
"That was amazing..." Dawn listened in awe until the song ended, then looked around and realized a great many Pokémon had gathered without her even noticing.
"Well, of course. In terms of lody and power, the only ancient songs that can stand alongside Flura's Flute are Oración and the Celestica lody."
"Is Flura a person's na? Soone from long ago?"
"No. That girl should be about your age. She's soone living right now. Do you know about the strange disaster that happened in the Orange Archipelago before? During that incident, a boy and a girl who played the flute ultimately cald all the abnormal climate changes..."
"Oh, that! I know about it!" Dawn suddenly rembered. "Even over in Sinnoh, we saw the news. Back then, all of Kanto, and even Johto, had really drastic climate changes. A lot of people were terrified. They thought it was going to be another disaster like what happened in Hoenn two years ago!"
And just like that, by complete chance, Dawn learned a few things about Ash.
After two days and two nights of walking, crossing the long Route 204 and the rolling hills and plateaus, and traveling all the way from the lake near Alamos Town, they finally saw a place blooming with flowers.
"We're finally here! This is Floaroma Town, the town full of flowers!"
Dawn pointed ahead. Over these past two days, Manaphy's egg had also changed noticeably. It had grown much more active, clearly showing that Sinnoh's climate and environnt were helping it hatch.
It wasn't like May's case where "just hugging it made it hatch," but there was still an obvious difference compared to when the Rangers had carried it.
After all, Dawn might not have the blood of the Water People, but she was a descendant of the Hero of the Sea.
And what did being a hero an?
Knocking the Prince of the Sea and its three little followers unconscious with your bare hands. That was the qualification for becoming a hero.
"A long ti ago..." Hikaru began in his storyteller's tone.
"...Wait!" Dawn suddenly raised a hand to stop him, then confidently shut her eyes and declared, "Hmph. If I was going out on a journey, of course I did my howork on so of the famous places."
"Uh, well, I didn't know about a weird place like Alamos Town, but even though Floaroma Town doesn't really have any famous landmark buildings, the thing it's best known for is its flower fields. Supposedly, no matter the season, warm or cold, the flowers here never wither. They just keep blooming all year round!"
"It's famous for its special honey and for its sea of fragrant flowers that's everywhere!"
"Floaroma Town started out as a barren wasteland. People once tried planting flowers to bring life back to the place, but nothing at all would grow. Later, soone prayed and gave thanks for nature's blessings, and in an instant the whole hill blood with flowers of all kinds of colors!"
"They say so Pokémon did it..."
At that point Dawn cleared her throat, blinked, and made a grand "your turn" gesture.
"Why'd you stop?"
"Because I don't know the rest. Besides, I had to leave so of it for you to say too!"
Hikaru laughed. "Fair enough. That Pokémon was the Mythical Pokémon Shaymin. It's known as the Gratitude Pokémon, and its power is to instantly turn barren land lush and fertile."
"Even though it's a Mythical Pokémon, there are certain places in Sinnoh where you can see it. In northern Sinnoh, near Snowpoint City, in the northern mountains of Mt. Coronet, there's a flower field on a mountain peak called Gracidea."
"Every year, Shaymin gather there on schedule, transform into their Sky Fors with the others, and fly far away to create new gardens."
"The Gracidea flower is also a flower that expresses gratitude. It's extrely precious. You can get one from the flower shop in Floaroma Town. Let's go pick one up later."
"As for the legendary garden, that place lies in the eastern sea of Sinnoh. At the end of a certain route stands an ancient white rock, like a stone monunt shaped by history. That stone is known as the White Rock of Gratitude."
"Only by sincerely offering thanks to the white rock can you see the legendary Seabreak Path and the Flower Paradise."
"And the story of Shaymin and Floaroma Town goes back even further. One hundred and fifty years ago, this place was called the Wasteland Reclamation. It was truly barren, a land with nothing at all. And the one who turned it into a sea of flowers..."
Dawn imdiately sensed where this was going. "Don't tell this is related to my ancestors too?"
"There is so connection, yes. But the person who truly made this place bloom into a flower sea was another girl. Your ancestor only helped her find this forgotten place."
"Seriously? Why did my ancestor do everything everywhere?" Dawn looked speechless. It really was absurd to think that her ancestor had apparently been to every single place in Sinnoh. "What was she even doing, going all over the place like that?"
"The sa thing you're doing. Ecological surveys. That era had the very first Pokédex, though it was handwritten. In other words, a lot of the Pokémon knowledge people know now was first organized and studied by your ancestor, Lucas's ancestor, and a certain professor."
"Sinnoh is a region that has gone through several major historical upheavals. You could even say drastic ones. So the people living here have changed wave after wave. Add to that the region's original beliefs, and the distorted secondary beliefs that ca later, and its history becos almost myth-like, confusing and impossible to fully untangle. The sa is true of its ecology."
"In other regions, people and Pokémon had relied on one another since ancient tis. But the people of Sinnoh feared Pokémon. And people who had suffered war and hardship in other lands ca here seeking a new world without conflict, to this bitterly cold land, never knowing that unimaginable myths existed here."
"But the reason your ancestor is special is because... actually, that part isn't important."
"Hey, now you're doing the mysterious-riddle thing again!"
"Because I beca a riddler, I left Sinnoh."
Hikaru made a dry joke, but Dawn completely failed to get the humor in it. As far as she was concerned, the Sinjoh he'd ntioned during the trip was a completely unfamiliar place. She was just listening to it all as story material.
Still, that ant the journey wasn't lonely. Traveling alone was exciting because of all the unknowns, but traveling with soone else was even more fun.
Unfortunately, their ti together would end once they reached Eterna City. Thinking about that made Dawn feel a little regretful.
"Will you co back to Sinnoh again later, Hikaru-san?"
"If I finish what I need to do, I'll co back for a while. But I've got a lot of work in other regions too... and so people have even invited to even farther places to watch matches. My schedule is pretty packed."
"Then maybe I'll slow down my journey a little. Professor Rowan told to collect Pokédex data anyway. Apparently Sinnoh's ecology has changed recently, which is why this whole survey is happening."
"Traveling with you has been really fun, Hikaru-san... I get to hear so many weird stories. And your cooking is delicious too!"
Hikaru was fairly confident about that. "Well, of course. I do have the title of eccentric culinary master. And the ingredients I use aren't ordinary, either."
When the two of them drew near Floaroma Town, they discovered the place was preparing for a festival. After asking around a little, they found that it really was connected to an ancient legend.
According to the locals, a woman had once stood atop a hill and offered thanks, and suddenly the flowers had all burst into bloom. After that, full, healthy Berries had also grown.
That was how the ani described Floaroma Town's backstory, and unexpectedly, it matched Hisui's history almost perfectly.
"No one knows the woman's na anymore?"
After hearing the story, Dawn instinctively looked toward Hikaru. She felt that even if the locals didn't know, Hikaru definitely would.
Hikaru thought for a mont.
"The girl who prayed and brought life back to this place was nad Mai. She was just an ordinary mber of the Diamond Settlent... It's possible there are still people in Floaroma Town whose ancestors ca from the Diamond Settlent in the Crimson Mirelands."
Then Hikaru suddenly noticed soone in the crowd preparing for the festival in the distance.
"Long ti no see!"
A warm, magnetic greeting rose from the crowd. What Hikaru saw was, of course, that signature cascade of golden hair, along with an exceptionally stylish...
"Hm? Not the black coat today? So you changed clothes? That gray suit looks incredibly sharp on you."
The blonde woman smiled. "I changed clothes a little so I wouldn't attract attention. I am fairly famous, after all. Well? It looks good, doesn't it? I appreciate the complint."
"But after all this ti, is that really all you're going to say? The mont I got your ssage, I ca straight here. Looks like I arrived even earlier than you two."
"Cynthia. It really has been a long ti." Hikaru smiled and nodded.
Cynthia smiled back. "Congratulations, by the way... Unova Champion. I suppose that's what I should call you now? Defeating Champion Alder... that was an incredible result. Unova is packed with top-tier trainers. Anyone who can stand out there probably won't find anyone in Sinnoh who can match them."
"Shopkeeper..." Cynthia took a deep breath. "Back when we were at the Sinjoh Ruins, I already thought about the possibility that I might battle you soday. You know so many stories, and you have a connection to Arceus..."
"Just who are you, really?"
"Just a passing Pokémon Trainer."
Hikaru answered imdiately, making Cynthia stare for a second before covering her mouth and laughing. Then the Sinnoh Champion looked toward Dawn, who was still speaking with so other people in the distance.
"So that's the trainer... Not bad. She's been entrusted with the Prince of the Sea, and Professor Rowan asked her to complete the Pokédex too... Hmm. Co to think of it, in that case, I actually have sothing I'd like to give her too. I'd been wondering who to entrust it to."
"If you think highly of her, then she must be a remarkable girl. Though yes, she is very cute. My, my... traveling with a cute young girl must be pretty enjoyable, huh?"
Hikaru felt a teasing edge in Cynthia's tone and hurriedly waved his hands. "You can't just say things like that. Dawn is amazing. Her history is basically Sinnoh's history."
Cynthia paused at that assessnt, then looked at Dawn in the distance with an astonished expression.
"Basically Sinnoh's history...? What kind of thing are you saying? That's not exactly sothing you say casually."
"Don't worry about those stories. If you want to know, I'll tell you later, Miss Archaeologist." Hikaru gave her a secretive smile, happily enjoying being cryptic again, which left Cynthia thoroughly exasperated.
Then he asked about the serious matter at hand. "You brought sothing with you. What is it?"
Cynthia gave him a mysterious smile and took out the package she had brought. "It's this. This is..."
She paused slightly. "You guess."
The Sinnoh Champion had decided to return the favor by being cryptic with this old friend of hers, but to her surprise, Hikaru's eyes lit up.
"Oh! A Togepi Egg! So this is when you decided to give it away?"
"...?"
Cynthia blinked, then stared at Hikaru with open disbelief and confusion.
"How do you know this is a Togepi Egg?!"
"This egg hasn't even..."
"This egg was first discovered in Johto. Professor Elm wrote a research report on it, though it hasn't been made public yet. As far as we know, there have been... two, no, actually three hatchings."
"The hatchers were Misty from Kanto, Ethan from Johto, and Leaf from Kanto... or maybe Red."
"Before that, the Togepi Egg was the first of its kind ever found. At first, it was simply called the Mystery Egg."
Cynthia stood there stunned for quite a while. Then she saw Hikaru wave his hand.
"That kind of internal academic information, I wouldn't know. But the pattern on this egg is very familiar to ."
"I wanted to keep it a surprise, and you sohow know everything!" Cynthia pressed a hand to her forehead, looking thoroughly speechless. Then, as if striking back, she said, "Fine then. Guess where this egg ca from."
"Near Route 223, by the Battle Frontier. Or near Celestic Town."
"..."
The forrly confident Sinnoh Champion imdiately deflated like a disappointed young woman.
"I have no secrets in front of you."
"Don't say it like that. It sounds strange. Is Caitlin at the Battle Frontier right now?"
Cynthia brushed a strand of hair aside. "Caitlin? Right now she should be at the Johto Frontier. Darach is handling the Sinnoh side. She does have castles all over the world, after all. Though the challenge rules in the Frontier aren't like League battles. What, were you thinking about challenging her? She'd probably be very happy."
Hikaru shook his head. "...I still have too much work to do. Besides, she's trying hard right now to beco a better person and realize her dream. And with what's coming, Unova's going to have a lot of top trainers challenging the League. She's probably about to enter overti season too."
Cynthia looked genuinely startled, then laughed out loud. "Making that young lady work overti... what an utterly unprecedented path!"
"By the way, about the Valley Windworks. I got here early and found that sothing unusual is already going on."
Cynthia pointed in a certain direction and made a quiet shushing motion. From the nearby crowd, Hikaru picked up scattered bits of conversation.
And Cynthia slowly explained what she had heard.
"A strangely dressed purple-haired woman showed up here a few days ago."
"She seems to have co from sowhere else just to celebrate the festival. Sounds nice, doesn't it?"
"But the power supply's been unstable today."
"The police station is temporarily closed for the festival today too."
"The owner of the flower field said she'd be bringing Sweet Honey over today, but the person who went to hurry her along still hasn't co back. What's going on?"
"That's the kind of rumor I heard."
"They're moving that fast? Is it because they were exposed in Jubilife City, so now they're trying to seize electricity right away...?"
"But stopping by here to steal Sweet Honey on the way still feels completely absurd. Why rob it? Couldn't Team Galactic just buy it? They've got plenty of money, so why steal sothing like that?"
Hikaru asked around and learned the location of the flower field deeper inside Floaroma Town, as well as the direction of the Valley Windworks. Then he called out to Dawn.
"Dawn!"
"Yes! What is it?!" Dawn had been asking for directions to the Floaroma adow Flower Shop when Hikaru suddenly called her na, making her nearly snap to attention. Then she noticed Cynthia and looked confused again. Cynthia was famous, but ga Dawn did not actually know her.
She really did not watch enough television.
"We're going to the Floaroma adow now."
"Dawn... prepare for battle!"
(End of Chapter)
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