pertwk Chapter 260 A Clear and Warm Sorrow
Chapter 260 A Clear and Warm Sorrow
As the Gym Leader of Fuyu City, Fuyu certainly couldn't possibly forget the location of the Tower of Paradise.
Moreover, thanks to the presence of the Volcano from the Ardek Champion, this ancient building is now as bright as a lighthouse at full power.
And so, in the still faint morning light, the wind and dew, riding on the dancing swans, easily arrived at the top of the Tower of Paradise.
To her surprise, the top floor of the stone tower felt rather crowded.
"Hey, Fenglu. How's the repair permit application for the Tower of Heaven coming along?"
Before even landing, I saw the evil-looking king with an exaggerated hairstyle waving at me.
When rumors of this gambling king's defection from the alliance circulated a while ago, Feng Lu was worried about the future of the United Alliance.
However, it now seems that the terrible rumor was probably not true.
In the past, when Fuu had just taken over the Fuujou Dojo, the League examiner who assessed her qualifications to serve as the Dojo Leader was none other than this now infamous Evil-type Elite Four member.
After meeting him face-to-face, the girl vaguely felt that although Lingju seemed a bit unreliable, his ability and character as the League's top player were trustworthy...maybe.
"The permit has been issued by the City Hall of Fukichi. This is the authorization document from the Cultural Heritage Planning Bureau and the Public Resources Management Department, which approves the application for repairing the load-bearing area of the Tower of Heaven and adding a barrier-free elevator block, allowing construction to begin immediately. There are also many other miscellaneous application materials, and relevant alliance civil servants should contact you one by one later."
As she descended the tower, Fenglu recalled Swan into her Poké Ball while taking out a document from her side bag and handing it to Elite Four.
This is something the other party asked her to handle yesterday, supposedly related to the championship match.
At that time, she had just chased Team Plasma members riding their symbolic birds across most of Fuyu City until they slipped into the terminal of Fuyu Airport and disappeared into the crowd. Only then did Fenglu return to the Pokémon Center in the city with no other choice.
It was there that she met Lantana, Cattleya, and Lianwu, who were waiting for the elf to receive treatment.
"Perfect timing, we need your help with something here."
Seeing the travel-worn Feng Lu, the controversial gambling king revealed an expression of having received a good hand and said happily.
The gist is that Aldac will be holding a championship match within the Tower of Heaven to determine the title holder. Although Aldac has said he will try his best to maintain the safety of the arena during the battle, anything can happen once the fight begins, and some minor damage to the arena is quite possible. Since the Tower of Heaven hasn't been repaired for many years, it might be a good opportunity to renovate it.
"Hmm... Indeed, people often complain that the stairs to the Tower of Heaven are too steep, making it too strenuous for many elderly people to climb the tower to worship..."
As the head of the Fukiyo Dojo and also the ace driver of the Fukiyo Freight Center, Furu was quite adept at handling such official business, so he readily agreed to the request.
Because this application involved the local gym leader, the Elite Four member, and even the Alder Champion, the city hall system in Fuyuki City suddenly displayed astonishing efficiency today, completing most of the necessary procedures for the renovation in just half a day.
"Also, the suspicious person you asked me to keep an eye on has left. It seems he was just resting there and didn't do anything else."
Fenglu added.
The blueberry nodded, smiling as she took the document.
"Wow, you've really been a great help. Thanks to you, otherwise our league champions might have been forced to pay a hefty fine for damaging ancient buildings. However, this application was requested by him beforehand."
"Adeke is the champion? I didn't expect him to be so thoughtful. It seems the challenge match will be very intense."
After glancing at the conspicuous hole in the center of the tower, Feng Lu shifted her gaze to the figure standing in front of the Bell of Heaven.
Fiery red hair, a flaxen shawl, twelve Poké Balls hanging from his neck, and the Sunbug standing beside him.
It was the same person the girl remembered, the champion Ardek who reigned supreme at the top of the Unicron League pyramid.
Besides Volcarona, he was surrounded by eleven powerful Pokémon. These were the main Pokémon who had accompanied Champion Alder on his journey to the top and defended the Unova League Championship for decades.
However, now, almost all of them are covered in wounds.
Especially the five spirits: Old Craftsman, Red-faced Dragon, Double Ice, Knight Snail, and Agile Bug. Their auras were exceptionally weak, and their wounds had only received basic medical treatment, clearly indicating that they had just experienced a fierce and brutal battle.
"Hehe, perhaps you can only call him Mr. Adek now," Yueju said jokingly.
"Oh, stop joking."
Despite understanding the implication of the evil-type king's words, Fenglu denied it without hesitation.
"The champion's Volcano is still standing unharmed next to him, don't tell such an easily exposed lie."
"No, Master Fenglu, what Yueju said is true. The challenger who visited late at night won the battle, and the four of us, the Alliance Kings, witnessed the whole thing."
Wearing round-framed glasses, King Wanlong walked out from the side, holding a notepad filled with notes in one hand.
She approached Fenglu and explained softly in a voice just loud enough for the two of them to hear—
"Although it's incredible, that battle is now a fact. In the very end, the challenger used every means to restrain Volcarona, then charged forward and held the weapon to Champion Ardek's neck. Since the duel was an unrestricted one, in a sense, Mr. Ardek was indeed defeated at that moment."
While strictly adhering to the rules, it wouldn't be unreasonable to consider the challenger who is unconscious first and has lost all their Pokémon as the loser. However, it's clear that the current Ardek Champion no longer possesses that same competitive spirit.
The Ardek champions have been defeated!
Feng Lu was speechless with astonishment.
Because the nouns, verbs, and subject-verb relationships in this intelligence were so mismatched, she didn't react for a moment.
The girl subconsciously recalled the date, confirming that today wasn't a suitable day for playing pranks. Then, she couldn't help but turn her gaze back to the tall figure standing before the Bell of Heaven.
“It’s natural that you can’t believe it,” Wanlong said reassuringly, looking at the Kaleidoscope-like ever-changing expressions on Fenglu Pavilion Master’s face.
"After all, even we who observed the entire battle couldn't fully understand the reversal that occurred at the end... No, rather, from the very beginning of the match, every turn on the battlefield was completely unexpected by all of us. It was certainly exciting, but it was still too chaotic."
"Then... where is that challenger you mentioned, the one who defeated the Ardek champion?"
Looking around at the crowd, besides Yueju, Wanlong, and Alder in the center of the tower, there was Iris taking care of a comatose Pokémon, and Lianwu, the Fighting-type Elite Four member, standing behind Alder with his arms crossed. There were no unfamiliar challengers in sight. Therefore, Fenglu naturally asked the question.
“She was taken to the hospital by Cattleya,” Wanlong replied with a sigh.
"The man took advantage of the fact that flames compete for oxygen and extinguish each other, using the 'Blazing' ability on his Pokémon to engulf himself in flames and thus traverse the fire net created by Volcarona's 'Heat Wave.' However, this ultimately led to him completely losing consciousness when the match was decided. It's unclear whether it was due to the temperature of Volcarona's 'Heat Wave' or being burned unconscious by the flames on his own Pokémon."
That's incredibly intense! It seems that the challenger didn't win easily either...
Feng Lu couldn't help but feel regretful—if it weren't for the errand-running and surveillance tasks, she could have witnessed this epic showdown firsthand.
"Miss Wanlong, was this battle recorded?" Feng Lu asked, still unwilling to give up.
"My Chandelure spirit recorded some footage of the match using Ghostfire, but due to the frequent changes in the battle arena, the first half of the footage was fragmented. And in the second half, for some reason, the Chandelure spirit became unresponsive, and almost no clear, identifiable footage was captured..."
The novelist, Tianwang, shook his head regretfully, then raised the notebook in his hand—
"In addition, I also tried to record the battle in writing, but that was only from the perspective of the narrator and could not cover everything. Many details need to be filled in. I can only ask the two parties involved slowly when I have the opportunity in the future."
"Then, may I take a look at that notebook?" Feng Lu asked expectantly as she looked at the novelist's notes.
Wanlong hesitated, saying, "It was an emergency, so I used a lot of shorthand symbols when I took the notes. If I just read them to you now, it would be hard for you to understand. Besides, we need to consult Mr. Adek and the challenger about whether to make this public. After all, not everyone wants their fight records to be made public."
Feng Lu hung her head in dejection: "Sigh, that's such a pity. I really wanted to see that championship battle in person. I was right near the Tower of Heaven at the time."
"Actually, there's nothing to regret."
Beside her, Cranberry suddenly whispered.
"If you include all the regional leagues, the champion changes every two or three years, which is not particularly rare. In my opinion, compared to what is about to happen here, the change of the title is nothing."
As it turns out, a gambler's intuition is always exceptionally sharp outside the card table.
Almost as soon as Yueju finished speaking, everyone's vision was suddenly enveloped in a dazzling white light.
The source of that light was the Volcano standing side by side with Alder.
It is radiating endless light from within, just like the sun.
At this moment, the renowned novelist, Tianwang, failed to instinctively reach for his pen and paper as usual. He simply stood there, dumbfounded, like a bewildered child, watching this irreversible event slowly unfold.
Only then did she truly understand what Yueju had said earlier.
For Mr. Alder, compared to what is happening now, the gauntlet battle against the four Unova Elite Four members this morning, the legendary battle against the Team Plasma Sage, and even the highly anticipated, thrilling, and spectacular championship battle late at night, might really just be a boring pastime to pass the time while waiting.
"Has this day finally come...?"
Wanlong muttered to himself.
.
No one responded to the novelist's exclamation. The sky and earth fell into utter stillness in that instant.
The golden light grew brighter and brighter, yet surprisingly it wasn't scorching hot.
It's like a fireplace, conveying a gentle warmth that makes you feel utterly listless and inexplicably moved to tears.
For some reason, under this golden glow, both the wings of the Volcano moth and Adek's flamboyant red hair appeared somewhat pale.
Those are the marks left quietly by decades of time.
The marks of time are not only etched on their hair and cheeks, but also on the hearts of this champion duo.
Perhaps it was this aged appearance that caused him to lose to that young man in the battle. But it didn't matter, Adek thought.
Having fought to such an extent, neither he nor Volcano would hold a grudge. On the contrary, they would be pleased to have seen such an interesting young man.
It's like seeing a rare, exotic elf by the roadside after a long, exhausting journey. Even if you no longer have the energy to capture or tame it, it just makes you smile and feel lucky.
Under Alder's command, eleven Pokémon stood solemnly.
In addition to the five Pokémon that just participated in the battle, there are also Buffalo, Braviary, Artificial Egg, Krookodile, Chandelure, and another younger Volcarona.
They gazed at their companions with whom they had spent every day; some remained silent, some had tears welling in their eyes, and some trembled slightly, desperately suppressing their emotions.
Everyone had already accepted this unavoidable reality; back in the hospital, countless heartwarming farewells had been made in countless ways; everyone could understand that the fire moth had left no regrets in its life…
But at this moment, a silence called sorrow still flows slowly.
Volcarona is about to embark on an unknown world from which no one has ever returned, and this time, no trainer will accompany it.
As the sun slowly rises, the life-giving glory of the fire moth is about to come to an end.
Compared to dying on one's sickbed, is dying while fully conscious and facing the rising sun more merciful or more cruel?
Nobody knows the answer.
As if to break the dull silence, the fire moth, where everyone's eyes were focused, suddenly fluttered its wings and began to sing a melodious chirping sound.
The volcano moth doesn't have much musical talent, and in this unremarkable insect chirping, it naturally doesn't possess any special magic to move people's hearts. But it still vibrates its abdomen, like a bored vagrant humming a tuneless song.
Is he confronting the fear of death, or trying to comfort his partner and friends present?
It's probably the latter. However, even Volcano itself isn't sure of the real answer.
"Ugh……"
All his unspoken words were condensed into a long sigh as Adek placed his palm on the glowing wings of the Volcano for the last time.
During the years that Volcano was bedridden, Adek had already shared everything with Volcano. Now, they could almost instantly understand each other's thoughts just by looking into each other's eyes.
That is why words seem so inadequate at this moment.
Death is a wall that no one can cross. Even the most mysterious insects, which can disregard common sense, cannot bore a hole the size of a pinhole through it.
With this wall blocking the way, even the most willful words cannot be uttered.
The light grew increasingly intense, and the flames of the Volcano moth seemed to merge with the sunlight, gradually painting the world into a pure white expanse.
Clang—clang—clang—
Even though no living creature moved and there was no breeze, the Heavenly Bell at the center of the tower suddenly began to shake on its own.
Having lived under the clear skies of Fukiyoshi since childhood, Kazero had never heard such a clear and melodious chime from a tower bell.
"...Goodbye, old partner. Rest in peace."
While everyone was drawn to the sound of the bells, the Volcano Moth vanished without a trace.
This sunworm, born from fire, the most powerful Volcarona in the Unova region and even the world, did not unleash any earth-shattering flames at the end of its life, but simply disappeared into endless light.
Having bid farewell to battle and daily life, to worries and glory, to sickbeds and old wounds, they marched towards the eternal desert called death.
It burned away completely, leaving not even ashes.
All that remained were the melodious chirping of insects, though not quite melodious.
"Go away."
Adek turned around and spoke calmly to everyone.
He longs to return to the ranch in Suanmu Town and have a good cry in the deepest part of the forest where he met the Burning Bugs.
I just don't know if these tears of impending death will dry up before I get home.