Through a long spatial tunnel, Yuga arrived in the realm where the Arche Valley was located. What spread out before him was an endless expanse of fields, brimming with lush, green wheat seedlings, with laborers working diligently throughout the farmland.
This was completely different from what Yuga had imagined. He had thought the Arche Valley would be something mysterious, powerful, and unknown—certainly not a humble countryside scene.
Among the fields, the workers were busily tending to the crops with sweat dripping from their brows. Along the ridges, children laughed and played gleefully, their joyous voices echoing through the air.
Everyone was dressed in clothing similar to what Naya, Simon, and Max wore—simple white garments—but with variations that made them more suited for labor. These differences in design made practical sense for their farming duties.
In addition to the people, there were stone carvings of various sizes scattered everywhere, all shaped like Arceus's golden wheel. Some were as tall as a three or four-story building, while others didn't even reach a person's knee.
These sculptures made it clear just how deeply the Transcendence Clan revered Arceus.
As Yuga walked along the narrow paths between the fields, the people who saw Max and the others reacted with great surprise. They greeted them warmly and asked,
"Grandpa Max, what brings you back?"
As the gatekeeper of the Transcendence Clan, Max rarely returned to the Arche Valley. Likewise, Naya and Simon, who were assigned to patrol outside in turns, shouldn't have come back before their designated rotation.
"There's something I need to speak with the Chief about," Max answered with a cheerful smile.
When the people noticed Yuga walking behind Max, they looked surprised but didn't question it. Instead, they simply waved goodbye to Max with friendly smiles.
People continued to greet Max along the way. He responded to every one of them with a smile, without the slightest trace of annoyance. From this, Yuga could clearly see how highly respected Max was within the clan.
After walking for a long time, they finally left the farmlands and entered a village. The number of people they encountered gradually increased.
The village itself was very modest. Most of the buildings were wooden houses or bamboo lodges—there were even some thatched cottages. It was no different from any typical rural village outside. If anything, it seemed like one of the poorer ones.
Aside from the people, Yuga also spotted a variety of Pokémon within the village. Even rare ones like Lucario, Zoroark, and Goodra appeared—he saw several of each.
For a moment, Yuga wasn't sure whether the Transcendence Clan should be considered poor or wealthy.
The villagers they passed looked at Yuga curiously, as he was clearly a stranger, but not a single person approached him to ask questions out of curiosity.
Midway through the journey, Naya and Simon parted ways with the group to briefly return home for personal matters, leaving Yuga under Max's guidance alone.
Eventually, deep within the village, a humble thatched hut appeared before Yuga and Max. This was the residence of the leader of the Transcendence Clan.
At that moment, a young girl stepped out of the hut.
"Grandpa Max! You're back?" the girl exclaimed in surprise. Then her eyes fell on Yuga. "And this gentleman is…?"
"Meray, where is your great-grandfather?" Max asked. "I brought this guest to see him about something important."
"Great-grandfather, he…"
Meray seemed about to say something, but upon realizing Yuga was a stranger, she closed her mouth cautiously and fell silent.
Max seemed to pick up on this as well. After glancing at Yuga, he turned to Meray and said, "Please take this gentleman to rest for a while. I'll go find your great-grandfather."
With those words, Max hurried off, leaving Yuga alone.
"Th-this way, sir… Please come with me," Meray said.
"Alright."
Yuga nodded and followed her, suddenly feeling like the name "Meray" was familiar. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
Because they were unfamiliar with each other and had no topics to talk about, the two remained mostly silent along the way. The atmosphere felt especially awkward until finally, Meray gritted her teeth and took the initiative to break the silence.
"May I ask what I should call you, sir?"
"My name is Shimizu Yuga," he replied concisely.
"Oh…" Meray responded, "My name is Meray."
Yuga thought to himself: I already knew that.
However, just as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly remembered where he had heard the name before. Someone from the Arche Valley, and her name was Meray...
"May I ask you a question, Miss Meray?" he said aloud.
Meray responded, "Please go ahead, Mr. Shimizu. And just call me Meray."
"Meray, do you happen to know a boy named Ash?"
Meray's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know that? Do you know Ash too?"
Hearing this, Yuga thought to himself: So I was right.
Meray was indeed one of the two people who had entrusted Hoopa Confined to Ash. The other one seemed to be her older brother… what was his name again? Bar… Barza? Or something like that...
Yuga couldn't remember Meray's brother's name exactly at the moment. After all, when Ash told him the story, he hadn't made an effort to remember the names—who would have thought they'd ever meet one day?
With Ash as their common topic, the two finally grew more comfortable with each other, and the atmosphere was no longer so awkward.
Since parting ways with Ash, Meray had never left the Arche Valley again, so she was particularly concerned about Hoopa's well-being under Ash's care. Upon hearing from Yuga that Hoopa was doing well, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Meray and her brother Barza had grown up alongside Hoopa, and the bond between them was extremely deep. If it hadn't been for the need to search for the missing Prison Bottle, they would never have felt at ease entrusting Hoopa to Ash's care.
Yuga recalled that Ash had once told him Meray and her brother had left in a hurry because of an incident in the Arche Valley. So, during their conversation, he casually asked about it. But Meray didn't answer—she changed the subject with an excuse.
Yuga guessed that this matter might be a secret for the Arche Valley, so he didn't pursue it further.
The Arche Valley hadn't had any outsiders enter for hundreds of years, so there were no guest accommodations to speak of. As a result, Meray brought Yuga to her own home, where he also got to meet her older brother, Barza.
Barza's house wasn't far from their great-grandfather's—the current leader of the Transcendence Clan—and the architectural style was nearly identical: all thatched huts.
But Yuga found something odd. There were only the two siblings living there, yet based on the number of rooms, it seemed there should have been more people in the household.
At first, Yuga thought maybe the others had gone out for work. But even when Meray came to call him for dinner in the evening, he still hadn't seen a third person.
What's more, during dinner, the siblings seemed distracted and preoccupied, both with heavy expressions, which led Yuga to suspect that something had happened in their family.
During this time, Max, for reasons unknown, was held up and never returned. Yuga had no choice but to stay at Meray's home for the night.
It wasn't until the next day, close to noon, that Yuga was finally informed that the clan leader wanted to see him.
So, under Meray's guidance, Yuga once again arrived at the thatched hut, where he met the current leader of the Transcendence Clan—Ghris.
On the way there, through his continued conversation with Meray, Yuga finally learned that Ghris was the very man who had sealed away Hoopa a century ago.
In other words, Ghris was now at least over one hundred and forty years old—significantly older than Yuga's own master.
However, when Yuga laid eyes on Ghris, he couldn't determine the elder's age just by appearance. Though Ghris's hair and beard were completely white, his overall demeanor and energy were comparable to that of a man in his sixties or seventies.
Inside the thatched hut, Ghris sat cross-legged on the ground and looked at Yuga, asking, "Did the Fairy Remnants send you?"
Yuga shook his head. "Not entirely. I came to the Arche Valley because I hoped to request a favor from your people. The Fairy Remnants's request was only incidental."
Hearing this, Ghris showed a hint of surprise. "If there's anything we can help with, please speak freely."
Ghris's attitude was warm and kind. For the sake of the Fairy Remnants, they would not hesitate to lend assistance where they could.
So, Yuga once again took out the clay jar and explained his purpose for coming.
Ghris stared at the jar for a long moment before speaking. "This indeed is one of the items our Arche Valley left with the Fairy Remnants back then."
Although many years had passed, the Transcenders had meticulously kept records of their dealings with the Fairy Remnants. As the leader, Ghris naturally knew of such matters.
"I could have helped with this," Ghris continued, "but..." He hesitated briefly before admitting, "I've suffered some serious injuries recently. I'm afraid I may not be able to assist as you wish."
To lift the seal on Chimecho, both Ghris and his Pokémon would need to act in unison. Unfortunately, both he and the necessary Pokémon were wounded and incapable of performing the ritual at the moment.
It was only then that Yuga noticed how pale Ghris 's face was—so devoid of color it seemed lifeless. At first, Yuga had assumed it was merely a result of Ghris 's old age, but now it was clear the elder was wounded.
But if Ghris had once sealed away Hoopa, a legendary Pokémon, then his strength had to be immense. Yuga couldn't help but wonder: what kind of being could possibly injure someone of his caliber?
Even so, Yuga didn't dwell on the matter of the injury. Instead, he pulled out a Max Revive and asked, "Would this help you, by any chance?"
If it could truly save Chimecho, Yuga didn't mind giving up a Max Revive. Though precious to most, it wasn't a rare item for him.
In fact, the Joy family probably didn't even possess as many Revival Herbs as he did. And with enough Revival Herbs, he could make as many Max Revive as he wanted.
"This is… a Max Revive?" Ghris immediately recognized the miraculous healing item. The Arche Valley had come into possession of a few in the past, but they had long since been used up.
They had even retained the method to craft Max Revive—but without Revival Herbs, it was all in vain. Revival Herbs were rare, and the secluded Arche Valley had no means to acquire more over the years.
Seeing the shard, Ghris's expression grew slightly emotional. "You're really willing to give this to me?"
Yuga nodded. "As long as you can help me release my Chimecho."
Without hesitation, Ghris agreed. "No problem."
Yuga gave him Max Revive. Immediately afterward, he watched as Ghris summoned a Pokémon.
...
[ Sigilyph (Near Death) ]
Type: Psychic
Ability: Miracle Skin
Gender: Male
Potential: Indigo
Level: 95
Moves: Gust, Miracle Eye, Hypnosis, Psybeam, Tailwind, Air Cutter, Light Screen, Synchronoise, Mimic, Gravity, Air Slash, Psychic, Cosmic Power, Sky Attack, Calm Mind, Roost, Safeguard, Shadow Ball, Aerial Ace, Dark Pulse, Dream Eater, Dazzling Gleam, Skill Swap, Signal Beam, Heat Wave.
...
Yuga hadn't expected that Ghris's Pokémon was even more seriously injured than he had imagined—it was already in a near-death state. They had just been staying within the safety of their own home. How on earth had they sustained such severe injuries? Yuga was filled with curiosity.
After Sigilyph was fed Max Revive, its condition visibly improved before his eyes. The "near-death" marker in its data also vanished.
Seeing Sigilyph had escaped the danger to its life, Ghris let out a sigh of relief. That old companion had been with him for decades—if it had passed on before him…
"Thank you very much, Mr. Shimizu. Sigilyph should be fine after a day of rest. Why don't I help you released Chimecho tomorrow?" Ghris said gratefully.
"Then I'll trouble you with that, Chief Ghris," Yuga nodded. Then, remembering the request from the Fairy Remnants, he took out the crystal left behind by Mew. "The leader of the Fairy Remnants asked me to bring this to you. He'd like you to examine it and see if there's anything unusual about it."
"This is…"
As soon as Ghris laid eyes on the Mew Crystal, he immediately sat up straighter. It was clear he, too, could feel the ominous energy radiating from within it.
Dark-type energy by nature wasn't inherently good or evil. However, if tainted by its wielder's violent emotions, it could become something entirely different.
Take the Shadow Lugia, for example—it hadn't originally been an evil creature. But after being manipulated by the Shadow Remnants, it became a bringer of destruction. Even Mew and the Unown were affected by its malicious energy, their personalities altered as a result. That alone showed the depth of Shadow Lugia's resentment.
After Yuga explained the origin of the crystal to Ghris, the elder let out a heavy sigh. "So that Mew ended up on this path after all."
That Mew had once been worshipped and revered as a god by the Psychic Remnants. It had shared a remarkably good relationship with humans. Who would have thought it would fall so far?
"I'll take care of both matters tomorrow—the one concerning the crystal and Chimefcho," Ghris promised.
Seeing that Ghris had everything under control, Yuga didn't press any further.
Just as Yuga was about to take his leave, there was a sudden, rapid knocking at the door.
"Come in."
Ghris instinctively raised his voice, a tension rising within him.
Max pushed open the door and entered, his expression filled with urgency.
"Chief…"
But noticing Yuga was present as an outsider, Max swallowed the rest of his words. However, Ghris already knew what he wanted to say. He stood up and turned to Yuga.
"Mr. Shimizu, I have something I need to attend to. I'll take my leave for now. If you're feeling bored, you can ask Meray and Baraz to show you around our place."
Yuga nodded and said, "Please, go ahead, Chief Ghris."
And with that, Ghris and Max hurriedly departed.
At the doorway, Meray and Baraz watched their great-grandfather's retreating figure, unbidden worry showing in their eyes.