Naoki nodded with a smile, "Yeah!"
The group began to wander around Apple Hill.
During this ti, Naoki noticed vans parked along the road.
So farrs and Pokemon were loading freshly picked apples into cardboard boxes and then moving them onto the trucks.
The village chief, watching this scene, chuckled and said, "These apples will be transported all over the world—Kanto, Sinnoh, Paldea, Unova, Kalos—so everyone can taste Kitakami’s apples."
"That’s amazing!" Naoki marveled.
To think, in a ti when the internet wasn’t as developed and all comrcial publicity relied on newspapers, Kitakami apples managed to sell worldwide. It really showed their worth.
At this mont, the village chief suddenly spoke up: "There’s plenty of interesting things in the town, it’s just a sha you ca at the wrong ti. If you ca in the sumr, you could have joined the town’s Mask Festival!"
Hearing this, Naoki was taken aback: "The Mask Festival?"
The village chief explained, "That’s right! It’s an annual grand festival held specifically to celebrate the valor of the three Loyal Three. It attracts not just the townsfolk, but many Trainers from other regions too!"
"Everyone wears masks and heads to the Shrine in the center of Kitakami to enjoy the festivities!"
Masks... masks again.
It seed like everything around Kitakami was connected to masks.
Naoki thought back to the green Pokemon he encountered yesterday and the mask it held, feeling a stir in his heart. He then asked:
"By the way, village chief, are there any unique Pokemon here in Kitakami?"
"Pokemon in Kitakami?" The village chief seed a bit surprised, but still replied, "Of course! The most famous ones are the three Loyal Three Pokemon who sacrificed themselves to protect the village."
Munkidori, Fezandipiti, and the rest.
But that green Pokemon looked nothing like a dog, monkey, or bird.
After a brief thought, Naoki asked again, "Besides the three Loyal Three Pokemon, are there any others?"
"I saw an unknown Pokemon with a mask in the mountains before. Is it also a Kitakami Pokemon?"
Naoki was curious; he wanted to ask if the village chief knew anything about that Pokemon.
But unexpectedly, the old man’s face changed dramatically upon hearing his words.
"A masked creature wandering the mountains? Did you encounter a ghost?!"
Naoki was stunned on the spot.
What did he an?
Was that timid Pokemon actually the ghost from Kitakami legends who killed the three Loyal Three?
How could that be possible?
It was so timid that it shivered the mont anyone got close, and eventually ran away out of fear.
Could such a Pokemon really be a ghost?
Naoki’s first reaction was that it couldn’t be; either the legend was wrong, or there was another story behind it.
"That was a brutal ghost!" the village chief expressed fearfully, "I advise you not to go near the Shadow Cave anymore. If you anger the ghost, you’ll end up in a very dangerous situation!"
Naoki trusted his eyes more than legends.
There was no way he could believe that Pokemon was the violent ghost.
He remained silent, while Koraidon next to him suddenly roared at the village chief:
"Graah!"
The village chief was startled and instinctively took a few steps back. What was wrong with this Pokemon? Why did it suddenly charge at him, roaring angrily?
Seeing Koraidon’s reaction, Naoki sensed sothing was off and quickly stopped Koraidon, soothing its emotions with his hand.
Only then did Koraidon calm down.
The village chief breathed a sigh of relief, then looked ahead toward the hill and said:
"Phew... Loyalty Plaza is just up ahead. That’s where the townsfolk of Kitakami buried their remains. Would you like to visit it?"
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