A feeling of gratitude emanated from the stone tablet, and when Hikaru saw the signature, his eyes widened slightly.

This name… it felt familiar. It should be from the game.

Fragments of strange, scattered memories flashed through his mind, but they vanished as quickly as they appeared. Suddenly, Hikaru felt a headache, and at the same time, Giratina’s ghostly energy took over the core of his spiritual power, stabilizing his mental state.

He never expected that the hot-tempered Giratina would actually help him stabilize his mind!

[“Your soul is unstable. Memories that shouldn’t exist have surfaced. But don’t worry, this should be a normal phenomenon.”]

Giratina’s whisper echoed within his soul, yet Hikaru didn’t quite understand what it meant.

What did it mean by “things that shouldn’t exist”? And why was that considered normal?

As expected of the ruler of the Reverse World—its words made no sense.

[“If I put it this way…”]

Sensing Hikaru’s confusion, Giratina carefully chose its words before continuing. It didn’t want to be a cryptic “mystery dragon.”

[“When the past is rewritten, these kinds of things happen. The timeline is out of sync. But this isn’t my area of expertise, so I won’t say too much.”]

Giratina left half of its explanation unsaid. If it spoke recklessly about time-related matters and got it wrong, it would be a huge embarrassment!

That wouldn’t do. It was the ruler of the Reverse World, the great shadow lurking behind the real world. If it lost face in front of its soul-bound partner, how many excuses would it take to recover its dignity?

It was all Dialga’s fault! Messing around with time travel again. That guy was always doing this kind of thing!

Hikaru thought of something—the events in Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life. In that movie, when Arceus, enraged, was about to destroy the world, Dialga had sent Ash and his friends back in time a thousand years to rewrite the history of Michina and thus change the future.

At that moment, the white stone tablet before Hikaru emitted a faint glow. He instinctively took a step back as the Pokémon around him, along with Steven, kept their eyes fixed on the changing tablet.

“Yooonuuun!”

Dusknoir suddenly grew excited!

The soul was about to awaken!

Its mission was finally complete!

It grasped Hikaru’s small hand with its large one and shook it vigorously, expressing its gratitude. As a wisp of ghostly blue fire emerged from the tablet, it transformed into the indistinct shape of a young girl.

A soul had materialized, though her appearance remained somewhat unclear. She wore ancient clothing, its colors resembling those of Celebi. Seeing Hikaru, the girl first looked surprised before breaking into a delighted smile.

[“When you write words on a white stone, you can precisely convey your gratitude to a friend.”]

[“The person I want to thank the most is Hikaru.”]

At that moment, Hikaru’s memories returned!

Vessa—wasn’t she the soul sealed within the Odd Keystone in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?

The Odd Keystone was the object used to seal Spiritomb, a Pokémon formed by the fusion of 108 souls. It was believed that some of these souls were particularly malicious, making Spiritomb a sinister entity created from evil thoughts. Having committed numerous misdeeds, it was eventually bound to the Odd Keystone by a mysterious spell to prevent further harm.

In the Pokémon world, all Spiritomb were suspected to have been sealed by a legendary traveler skilled in mystical arts! In the anime, that traveler was an Aura Guardian accompanied by a Pikachu.

However, not all the souls within the Odd Keystone were evil. Vessa was one such soul—a normal girl. In the Hisui era, a massive Spiritomb had escaped from the giant Odd Keystone at Cloudcap Pass. To reseal it, Vessa sought help from the protagonist in Jubilife Village, gathering 108 ghostly flames to subdue Spiritomb once again.

But that happened in Hisui!

Why was one of Spiritomb’s 108 souls, Vessa, appearing in Sinnoh?

And why was her attire different from what it was in the game?

“Do you know me? Why are you thanking me?”

Hikaru asked the ghostly girl in disbelief, and Vessa tilted her head slightly, as if realizing something.

[“Ah, I see. While I have met you, the current you does not yet know me.”]

[“But even so, you are still you. I must thank you. Thank you for giving me new life.”]

[“You must be wondering why I am here.”]

[“Because I was originally from Sinnoh.”]

According to the game’s lore, Vessa had mentioned that the Spiritomb binding her had once caused disasters in Hisui centuries ago before being sealed away by the spell of a mysterious traveler.

And now, she was saying she was originally from Sinnoh—meaning that Vessa was one of the people of Shindo!

“The People of Shinto Dispersed, Returned to Hisui, and Then Perished…”

Hikaru realized something.

Between 1,000 and 700 years ago, the people of Shinto gradually disappeared—some integrating into Johto, while others returned to Hisui.

Some of those who crossed the sea back to Hisui founded the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan, shifting their faith toward Dialga and Palkia, losing their original belief in Arceus.

“I Have Been Waiting Here… Just to Thank You. Just to See You One More Time.”

Vessa turned toward Dusknoir.

[“That object… is it in your hands? Thank you for keeping it safe for me. Now, it is time to return it.”]

“Yooonuun?!”

Dusknoir suddenly realized something. It reached into the mouth on its belly and pulled out a red orb!

“That’s—!”

The moment Steven saw the orb, he immediately recognized it.

It was an extremely rare mineral found in nature. Its formation process remained a mystery, and even Devon Corporation had attempted to manufacture it artificially—but with little success.

Steven exclaimed, “That’s a Life Orb! A very precious stone!”

Dusknoir handed the red orb to Hikaru and explained to Regirock that the Scizor from before had heard rumors about a mystical orb in this place, which was why it had tried to steal it. The item it had been guarding all along was this red orb discovered near the tombstone.

[Precious Material: Life Orb]

[Description: A gem infused with immense life energy, rumored to be crystallized from the souls of humans or Pokémon. Similar crystals occasionally appear in nature. When held, it slightly drains HP with each attack but significantly boosts the power of moves!]

[Acquired Knowledge: +1]

[Bond of Life: Your and your trained Pokémon’s HP and strength increase by 30%!]

[Acquired Crafting Skill: +1]

[Orb Crafting (A+): Allows the creation of unique orbs using corresponding natural energy crystals and materials from Pokémon. (Requires Spirit Forging Technique and Awakening Power.)]

Hikaru could sense an extraordinary pulse of life energy within the orb, while Vessa simply smiled at him.

[“It’s time for me to go. This life you once gave me, I now return it to you.”]

[“Thank you, Hikaru.”]

Vessa embraced Hikaru briefly before waving farewell. As Hikaru stood in a daze, Dusknoir grasped her hand and emitted a signal indicating the completion of its task.

At the same time, Dusknoir turned toward Hikaru with a reminder.

“Yooonuun! Yoo… nuuun!” Although you’re powerful, there’s something that needs to be said. Whether it’s appropriate or not, well… I’ll just say it!

Dusknoir’s eyes flickered with an eerie red glow.

“Yooonuun~” Your soul is deeply connected to the ruler of the Reverse World, but your spiritual energy is too similar in nature to the Distortion World. Because of this, you must be cautious—the Distortion World has an inherent pull.

As a guardian of the spirit realm, Dusknoir knew well that the Distortion World harbored a certain hostility toward the real world. Life and death were naturally opposing forces. Malicious Pokémon and wayward spirits that had escaped from the spirit realm often lurked around those with unusual soul abilities. Hikaru needed to be extremely careful!

Do not be swayed by the power of the Distortion World and fall into its grasp!

And there was something else!

Dusknoir reached into the mouth on its belly and pulled out a piece of Reaper Cloth, though something seemed to be wrapped inside.

“Yooonuun~”

As a token of gratitude, Dusknoir decided to gift Hikaru something it had once found in this cemetery—a mysterious stone tablet.

After all, this artifact was a relic of ancient Sinnoh. Now that its task was complete, and Hikaru had proven to be the one the spirits here had been waiting for, Dusknoir no longer had a reason to hold onto the tablet.

Additionally, the Reaper Cloth was another token of appreciation. However, Dusknoir wanted to trade these materials for Hikaru’s charms!

It then pointed toward Doublade, which stood beside them, looking utterly confused.

Dusknoir had seen the Purity Charm Hikaru used earlier and realized its effectiveness! If it could obtain those charms, its efficiency in guiding spirits would skyrocket!

So, trading some ghostly materials for those precious charms—wasn’t that a fair deal?

Hikaru accepted the cloth-wrapped object.

[Mythical Artifact: Spooky Plate!]

[Description: A Ghost-type plate that enhances the power of Ghost-type moves when held.]

[Acquired Vocational Knowledge: +1]

[Spirit Mastery: Increases friendship with Ghost-type Pokémon.]

[Acquired Unique Crafting Insight: +1]

[Discovered a Clue to the Crafting of a Mysterious Artifact: +1]

[Ghostly Crafting (B Rank)]

[Description: A secret crafting technique passed down in the Distortion World. It is said that only those who tread the path of no return can master it.]

[Effect: Items crafted using Ghostly Crafting will possess the special property of being “spirit-bound.”]

[Requirements:

Reaper Cloth / Tattered Cloth / Suspicious Powder / Ghost Gem / Ghost-type Pokémon materials

Mysterious Crafting Clue: [Shinto Flute]

Relevant Locations: Sinnoh Graveyard / Path of Ruin / Spear Pillar

Required Material: White Stone of Gratitude]

(End of Chapter)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep