CHAPTER 721: ARCEUS’S ENVOY WAS SET UP (1/3)

“AZ, do you know what ‘friend’ means?”

A tall vagabond rested a hand on the strap of his tattered backpack. Beside him, Princess Diancie wore a smile in her eyes.

“What…” the man said hoarsely, staring straight ahead.

“It means helping one another, being happy together, someone very important!”

Diancie said proudly, “Since I started traveling, I’ve learned a lot~”

“Friend…” a trace of recollection flashed through the man’s murky gaze.

“Mm.” Diancie nodded, smiling lightly. “AZ is my human friend, so if he stays with me, AZ won’t be sad, right?”

A faint smile tugged at the man’s lips as he asked slowly, “Why did you go traveling, Diancie?”

“Because my country suffered a disaster.”

Diancie answered earnestly without guard, “I’m going to look for the legendary Xerneas and, with its fairy aura, gain the power to make the ‘Sacred Diamond’!”

“…Don’t tell strangers about something so important.”

“But aren’t AZ and I friends?”

The man fell silent for a long moment, then lifted his head to the sky and said, “Long ago my country was invaded. I also tried to find the legendary Pokémon for help.”

Diancie blinked. “And then?”

“And then… I succeeded, and I borrowed the powers of Xerneas and Yveltal.”

The man’s lips moved into a pained smile. “So I believe you can do it too.”

“Thank you, AZ~” Diancie said politely.

“…I can take you to Orus Forest.” The man paused. “Assuming your companions allow it.”

Yveltal is about to awaken. With its power, perhaps it can end my endless pain…

Diancie turned and saw her three Ralts followers had caught up to her.

Right now, the three companions were trembling as they stared at AZ’s overly towering figure.

“No need to worry. This one is my friend~”

“P-princess… he looks more like a robber!” one Ralts said.

“Robber? What does that mean.” Diancie blinked.

Shing, shing, shing!

Spotlights dropped;

a voice-over sounded from nowhere. Diancie looked around.

“A robber is someone Princess Diancie gets taken away by us, meow~”

The Trio wore white uniforms and struck poses. In the middle, Meowth licked its lips and operated a machine. Mechanical arms grabbed the bewildered Diancie and stuffed her into a sack.

“According to the officer’s mission.”

Meowth glanced at the vagabond who ‘didn’t look like a good person’ and thought, We have to hide Diancie first and make sure she’s safe until we meet the officer!

The Ralts cried out anxiously, “Your Highness!”

The man hunched his shoulders and shuddered all over. Fear of losing Flabébé surged in him again;

despair flooded back, his efforts of resistance futile, leaving him dizzy and nauseous.

Jessie put her hands on her hips and looked at the coughing tall man. “This guy… is his constitution really that weak?”

“He looks malnourished. Don’t bother with him—meeting the officer is the priority!” James said.

“Then we’ll be off, meow~” The Trio hoisted the sack containing Diancie and vanished down the alley in a blink.

The three Ralts spun around in a panic.

Hearing the commotion, Ash came running and glared at the ‘not-a-good-person’ King AZ, sending out Pikachu:

“Don’t be scared, little Ralts. I’ll take care of this guy!”

Behind him, Clemont and Bonnie were out of breath. Serena shouted, “Don’t be reckless, Ash.”

King AZ, irradiated by the Ultimate Weapon, stood three meters tall. White hair hung past his brows and down his back. His clothes were ragged;

he lived by rummaging through garbage year after year.

Endless life had not given him corresponding strength. He was like a quietly burning candle, never quite extinguished.

Seeing Pikachu sent out by Ash, AZ paused slightly.

During the war era, people controlled Pokémon with iron harnesses (as depicted in the Arceus movie);

they wouldn’t even know what a Poké Ball is.

In AZ’s memory, those people would be called handlers of war beasts… Pokémon to them were nothing but war machines.

“You…” AZ looked at Pikachu, which had crouched low, and said slowly, “You are an envoy of the thunder beast.”

“What thunder beast?” Ash retorted. “That’s my Pikachu. I’m a trainer from Pallet Town named Ash. Battle me with your Pokémon!”

“Trainer… Pokémon battle…”

AZ shook his head slightly, a bitter smile on his lips.

A war beast—once a tool of war—now lives peacefully alongside a “trainer.”

The term “trainer” only came into use in the last century;

AZ still couldn’t fully grasp the meaning behind it.

“Do as you like, envoy of the war beasts. Your Pikachu cannot kill me.”

AZ turned and trudged forward in his muddy shoes, staring ahead. “Now, I must go save my… friend…”

“Pika?” Pikachu cocked its head toward Ash.

Ash scratched his head in puzzlement.

Bonnie hugged Dedenne with drooping eyelids. “I don’t know why, but he looks so sad.”

The three Ralts still circled anxiously.

“What are they saying?” Serena asked.

“Heh heh—now is the age of technology opening the future! Clemontic Gear, activate!”

Clemont adjusted his round-frame glasses and took an analyzer from his bag. “This device can translate the frequency waves of Pokémon speech into text humans can understand.”

He aimed it at the lead Ralts. The device displayed its plea for help.

[Princess Diancie has been captured by people in white uniforms! The tall man is going to rescue Princess Diancie!]

“It really can translate!”

Ash’s eyes lit up. “Science is amazing!”

At that moment, the analyzer suddenly sparked and neared its limit.

Boom!!

The analyzer exploded. Ash and Clemont were covered in soot, their hair puffed from the blast, and they coughed out black smoke.

“Of course…” Serena said helplessly. “I told you it’s unreliable.”

“Anyway, the white uniforms are probably Team Rocket.”

Ash shook his head, dusting off the soot. “We have to rescue Diancie quickly!”

“Brother, what kind of Pokémon is Diancie?” Bonnie asked, Dedenne perched on her head.

“She’s a mutated Ralts individual,” Clemont replied. “I have an illustrated book about her.” He flipped through his phone and showed Ash and the others.

“How beautiful!” everyone said in unison.

“No time to waste. Bunnelby’s scent tracking can detect Diancie—this way!”

…

Bineck Town, bell tower.

Moonlight streamed through the glass windows and spilled a silver sheen across the floor.

The bell tower’s mechanical gears creaked as they turned. The loft was full of sundries.

Team Rocket’s Trio faced the elegantly poised Princess Diancie, eye to eye.

“We’re really lucky, meow~” Meowth purred. “We completed the officer’s mission so easily!”

“You are robbers, right?” Diancie asked.

“We’re Team Rocket,” Jessie said. “We’re here to ensure your safety.”

Diancie raised her head and said with regal poise, “Robbers are people who casually take other people’s important things… I just learned that!”

“This world is complicated, meow~” Meowth wagged a finger.

“For an innocent girl like you, stay here and we’ll protect you.” James said.

“Unfortunately, I must return now.”

Diancie lightly hopped through the three and said gracefully, “I wish you good health.”

“You can’t leave now.” James blocked her path.

“Before the officer arrives, help us make some diamonds, meow~” Meowth rubbed its hands together, smiling.

“Diamonds? So you brought me here just to have me make diamonds.” Diancie looked around.

“That’s right.” Jessie put her hands on her hips. “With diamonds, you can buy huge mansions, become a big star!”

“You can exchange them for so many fish cans and coins, meow~”

“All right then~”

Diancie joined her hands and a brilliant light blossomed in her palms. “I will fulfill your wish.”

The Trio blinked in surprise. They hadn’t expected Diancie to be so obedient.

Then, huge, translucent pink diamonds poured from Diancie’s palms, forming a tide that lifted the Trio’s bodies.

The diamonds’ glare blinded Team Rocket for a moment. The unreliable Trio splashed and swam in the sea of gems.

Diancie smiled as she skipped down the loft stairs, removed the horizontal bar, and opened the door.

Moonlight poured in, illuminating the narrow stairwell. Diancie’s round pink diamonds shone in the moonlight, and a silver veil seemed to drape her.

She lifted her ruby-bright eyes and looked toward two uninvited guests at the doorway.

One was a black-haired youth in a casual shirt;

the other a blue-haired man in a suit.

The three of them stared at Diancie, falling into a silent pause.

…

Five minutes earlier.

Kalos region, Bineck Town.

Night approached and the lights came on.

The battle festival on the street went on, lively as ever.

Lu Ye had Haunter floating beside him and stole a glance at the Baby Cup area.

“Let’s focus on the investigation for now, Teacher Lu.” Steven noticed the thought.

“Sorry, old habit.” Lu Ye cleared his throat and checked his phone. The Trio’s location pointed toward the town’s bell tower.

He looked up. The bell tower stood directly in front of the square, its Gothic spire reaching into the night—a prominent landmark.

“The Pokémon we might encounter…” Lu Ye pondered for a moment. “Steven, be mentally prepared. Don’t be surprised!”

Steven looked slightly startled.

As Hoenn Champion, he’d traveled everywhere—what Pokémon hadn’t he seen? He’d even met Mew in a garden… Steven thought his experiences with Lu Ye had honed his psychological resilience.

He was no longer fazed by divine or mythical beasts at Lu Ye’s side.

The two approached the bell tower;

Lu Ye fell into thought.

Xerneas’s fairy aura strengthens Fairy-type energy and enhances life force.

Its signature move, Geomancer Control, draws on the aura’s Fairy energy to greatly boost its speed, special attack, and special defense.

That sounds somewhat similar to the effect of the Fairy Plate that Arceus uses…

After all, Arceus used the plate to draw energy and empower itself.

Lu Ye’s mood was complicated.

Arceus must have long suspected that the Fairy Plate was related to Xerneas. Due to his status, Arceus couldn’t intervene directly, so he sent “Arceus’s envoy” on the errand!

“The next time I meet Arceus…” Lu Ye thought, “I’ll have to discuss compensation more carefully!”

Darkrai sensed Lu Ye’s thoughts and paled.

Meeting Arceus next time!?

When Arceus appears personally, nothing good ever follows!

The bell tower was just ahead.

Lu Ye put his hand on the wooden door and was about to knock when the horizontal bar inside slid aside with a creak.

Lu Ye and Steven froze.

Diancie stepped out of the bell tower bathed in bright moonlight, gemstones shining with silvery light. She walked out with bold composure.

She lifted her bright eyes and met theirs, her gaze holding a trace of puzzlement before she gently smiled.

“Greetings, both of you.”

Lu Ye glanced at Steven.

The blue-haired man’s eyes flickered;

he said hoarsely, “Di…ancie…”

Lu Ye smiled inwardly.

It was rare to see Steven so nervous.

Gems, moonlight, and a speaking—this was a critical hit for Steven;

his composure momentarily collapsed.

Diancie said in surprise, “Do you two know me?”

Steven quickly recovered and exhaled lightly, hand to his suit. “I am Steven Stone. I heard the Mineral Kingdom is in peril, so Mr. Lu and I came to investigate.”

“Hello, Princess Diancie.” Lu Ye smiled. “This is Haunter.”

“Gengarrr…” Haunter awkwardly scratched its head and, surprisingly, didn’t stick its tongue out to make a face.

“Steven, Lu Ye, Haunter~”

Diancie’s gaze swept across them and she covered her mouth, smiling softly. “I will remember you, but… I must first reunite with my companions.”

“Three Ralts?” Lu Ye thought of the original timeline.

“You met them? If you can, please tell me where they are. I will reward you!” Diancie said earnestly.

Lu Ye felt moved.

She really behaves like a princess…

At that moment, a cry suddenly rang out from inside the bell tower.

“My diamonds, my diamonds!!”

Lu Ye paused slightly.

Those three idiots must have been dazzled by the ephemeral diamonds!

“For safety reasons,” Steven said cautiously, “please allow us to accompany you, Princess Diancie, until you reunite with your companions.”

Diancie looked at Steven, then at Lu Ye, and smiled. “All right. You don’t look like robbers… I will allow you to accompany me!”

“Found them!”

A Bunnelby darted out of an alley, followed by a man wearing a cold-weather hat and Ash’s group.

Ash halted, surprised. “Steven? Teacher Lu!”

Bonnie and Clemont’s eyes shone. “Teacher Lu!”

Lu Ye’s emotions were complicated.

In the end he still had to reunite with Ash’s group—could he not avoid Yveltal’s imminent awakening…?

Steven frowned slightly and tapped Lu Ye, signaling him to look at the overly tall man.

Lu Ye met the pale man’s foggy gaze under white hair.

For a moment, the Power of Transcendence transcended time’s laws and revealed the brutal war three thousand years ago, the desperate king, and the destructive Ultimate Weapon…

This person should not have appeared here but resembled the story Lu Ye knew… King AZ.

Lu Ye was briefly stunned.

The man sensed the same thing. His pupils contracted as he stared at Lu Ye in shock.

He was more than a handler of war beasts—he might even be the envoy of the deity who sees all!

Why is he here…

Or did he sense Yveltal’s near awakening and come specifically to deal with it?

Diancie stood between the two groups, looked around, and smiled:

“Is everyone hungry? I can pay with gems. Please, let’s eat~”