Chapter 108: Lugia

Celebi avoided cities entirely, gliding instead through forests and villages.

Before long, it reached the swirling vortex-filled waters that had remained in perpetual turmoil for centuries.

These whirlpools were like pinholes in the ocean, with fierce currents and an immense gravitational pull. All major shipping companies steered clear of this treacherous sea to avoid being swallowed whole. Only the League's most advanced submarines dared to explore its depths.

Legends spoke of ancient ruins lying beneath these waters, hiding untold treasures. Such rumors had drawn countless treasure seekers over the years, yet the sheer difficulty of entry had thwarted all but the most determined.

However, what posed an insurmountable challenge to humans was of little consequence to a Mythical Pokémon.

A faint emerald glow shimmered around Celebi's body, flecks of light drifting like tiny stars as it curved gracefully through the air and dove straight into one of the swirling maelstroms.

Using its skills to change its Ability to Water Absorb, Celebi neutralized the crushing force of the ocean. The violent turbulence failed to hinder it in the slightest, and even the immense pressure couldn't shift its trajectory by a fraction.

It moved effortlessly through the water, descending rapidly into an abyss so deep that even light failed to reach it.

Flash.

A burst of radiant light erupted from Celebi's body, illuminating the pitch-black depths.

The brilliance revealed a myriad of deep-sea Pokémon—creatures few humans had ever laid eyes on. Startled by the sudden brightness, they instinctively scattered into the darkness.

"You have arrived."

A voice resonated within Celebi's mind.

With its mastery of psychic abilities, Celebi had no difficulty locating the source of the voice through sheer mental perception.

Wasting no time, it accelerated, streaking toward the voice's origin.

Its glowing form cut a sharp, unwavering path through the ocean depths, completely unbothered by the crushing pressure. From a distance, it appeared as though a brilliant white line had split the dark abyss in two.

Soon, Celebi reached an undersea palace.

No one knew when this grand structure had been built or when it had sunk beneath the waves. Yet even now, resting silently on the ocean floor, it exuded an air of majesty and grandeur.

Many deep-sea Pokémon had made the palace their home, swimming through its corridors, wary of the powerful, luminous newcomer that had intruded upon their domain.

Celebi flew swiftly through the palace, reaching its farthest chamber.

At the end lay an immense underwater cavern.

Despite being deep beneath the ocean, the cavern remained free of water. The air was dry, and a towering waterfall, over a hundred meters high, crashed down with a deafening roar.

Celebi soared past the waterfall and entered the chamber's innermost depths.

There, at the heart of a vast, mirror-like lake of pure blue water, was a Pokémon of unparalleled beauty and authority.

It had an elegant, streamlined form, a long, slender neck, and a sleek silver body. Its underbelly was deep blue, and its sharp, piercing eyes and prominent back fins gave it a regal presence.

Majestic and awe-inspiring—this was Celebi's immediate impression.

Lugia. The legendary Pokémon of myth.

For centuries, humans had revered it as the Guardian of the Seas, erecting temples in its honor and offering prayers for calm waters and bountiful harvests.

Unlike other Legendary Pokémon that resided in grand palaces, this sea deity had chosen a vast yet unadorned underwater cavern as its dwelling.

"You have arrived," Lugia spoke—this time, not through telepathy, but in perfectly enunciated human language.

Its voice was ethereal, otherworldly—like the song of the heavens themselves.

Celebi—or rather, Anabel—nodded in response.

Concentrating, she adjusted her vocal cords, managing to speak in human language as well. "I heard your summons."

It had been a long time since the world had seen Mythical Pokémon. More often than not, they acted through their emissaries—such as Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, who carried out Ho-Oh's will.

Yet on that day, while Anabel was laying Espeon to rest, she had suddenly heard Lugia's call.

The divine resonance, spanning vast distances, had even shielded her from the viral pheromones within her body—severing the influence of the one who sought to control her.

This unexpected intervention filled Anabel with hope.

Perhaps—just perhaps—a Legendary Pokémon could rid her of the plague-like virus that had infested her very being.

"I called you here for an important reason," Lugia stated.

"What does the Guardian of the Seas wish of me?"

Even a Champion would not dare show the slightest disrespect before a Mythical Pokémon. Their power far surpassed human comprehension—Kyogre and Groudon's battle had once reshaped half the world's geography, after all.

The more one wielded power, the more one realized its unattainable vastness. This absolute gap in strength filled even the Champion Leader with deep reverence.

"A hundred years ago, Arceus foretold that a cataclysmic disaster would befall this world. This calamity, caused by dimensional disturbances, could potentially wipe out both human and Pokémon civilization." Despite speaking of such a terrifying prophecy, Lugia's voice remained calm and unwavering.

However, Anabel felt differently. Though she was now a Pokémon, her soul had once belonged to a human. Anything concerning the fate of the world stirred an instinctive urgency within her.

"Dimensional disturbances? Could it mean a large-scale invasion of Ultra Beasts?" Anabel asked, puzzled.

As the head of the UB Countermeasure Headquarters, preventing the invasion of Ultra Beasts from other dimensions was her top priority. Over time, more and more species of Ultra Beasts had begun appearing in this world, causing increasing destruction. The situation was worsening, and the future looked even bleaker.

"Perhaps," Lugia replied. "But right now, we face an even greater threat."

With that, Lugia transmitted an image directly into Anabel's mind using a psychic imprint.

It was a scene of an unstable subspace, its surroundings an endless chaos of swirling purple and black. Two Pokémon were locked in an intense battle within it—one was Dialga, the Legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh's mythology, the God of Time. The other, to her shock, was a Celebi—one entirely pitch-black, covered in eerie, pulsating runes.

This Celebi exuded an overwhelming aura of malevolence. Its once-adorable features had been twisted into something utterly nightmarish. Strange, spectral symbols flickered across its entire body, as if it had been enhanced by some form of dark magic. Yet, what horrified Anabel the most was that it was trading blows with Dialga—the very god that ruled over time itself.

Having once merged her consciousness with a Celebi, Anabel knew well the limits of a Time Travel Pokémon's strength. Even with psychic enhancements, Celebi could at most reach the pinnacle of the King tier—a force formidable within human society, but still incomparable to a Mythical Pokémon. Against a true Legendary, the gap was as vast as the skies and the earth.

A "Time Travel Pokémon" like Celebi possessed the ability to perceive and manipulate the flow of time, allowing it to traverse different eras through its unique powers.

But Dialga wasn't merely a traveler of time—it was the creator and absolute ruler of time itself. Its signature move, Roar of Time, could erase opponents from existence entirely, as if they had never even been born.

And yet, this mutated Celebi was actually holding its own against Dialga in a subspace battlefield.

How could this be possible?

And more importantly—what exactly was this altered Celebi?

A sudden realization struck Anabel like a bolt of lightning…

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