Chapter 80: The Best Ending

Chapter 80: The Best Ending

To be honest, Celebi's practiced pose of covering her head with both hands truly reminded Arthur of the hamster expression packs he had seen online.

He couldn't resist reaching out and flicking Celebi's forehead.

"In that case, take me to see the place where she used to live. Do you know the way?"

However, just by raising his hand like that, the little Lapras whose forehead had been held down by that very hand seized the opportunity. Like a wisp of smoke, she slipped away past his legs, appearing as joyful as a driver on Mount Akina during a midnight run.

This gave the Milotic quite a fright.

If this little troublemaker were allowed to slip away, she would definitely go and use "Powder Snow" to freeze the Feebas in the jade pools again...

Now, the Milotic couldn't afford to attend to their guest; they all rushed out frantically in pursuit, leaving Arthur and Celebi facing each other inside the palace.

Well, now there's no choice.

Besides having Celebi lead the way, Arthur couldn't find any other guide.

"I... I saw some images. Let me think... it should be this way."

Celebi then led him deeper into the Coral Palace.

Along the way, Arthur asked her.

"Why do you know about my Lapras?"

Celebi floated proudly in the air and did a somersault.

"Hmph hmph, when I saved you on the ship earlier, I drew upon your energy and released my ability once, observing many scenes from the past."

"So, don't underestimate me just because I've been asleep for so long. I know even more things than you do now, oh! I even got to experience the new PS5 game."

Arthur shot her a sideways glance, "You drew my energy just so you could try out a new console game?"

Celebi shook her head back and forth, saying, "Why does it matter? It's not like you can find a partner of the opposite sex anyway. Since you don't need to reproduce, storing up so much body energy is just a waste. You might as well give it all to me."

"..."

No wonder Arthur felt so weak when he woke up on the beach, completely drained as if he'd been exhausted for three days and nights straight. Turns out it was all because you little rascal took a cut!

"Then what else did you observe? Do you know the endings for all of my Pokémon?"

"Uh, hehe, about that..."

Celebi once again attempted to get away with acting cute.

"Speak. Don't try to be slippery."

Arthur mercilessly flicked her forehead again.

"Oww, that hurts, meanie! We pinky swore, you bad person!"

"My ability to observe spacetime isn't omnipotent, you know. Many powerful Pokémon have the ability to evade my observation. Unless they trust me, it's very difficult for me to see their entire past."

"Like I said before, not many of your Pokémon were willing to trust us. Besides Lapras, there were very few whose pasts I could see."

Arthur fell silent.

It seems his journey as a trainer must continue after he gets back. If Celebi can't be relied upon, then he'll have to do as before: find ways through the Alliance network to search for traces of his partners.

However, at this moment, Celebi floating in the air seemed somewhat hesitant, as if there was something she wanted to say but didn't dare to speak out loud.

But Arthur, lost in his own thoughts, failed to notice.

Just like that, they walked past pavilions and towers, through gardens and along small paths.

They finally arrived before an ice-sculpted palace that radiated a chilling aura.

"This is?"

Arthur was extremely surprised.

The latitude here in the Crescent Bay Reserve was very low; it was situated in the tropics. It was hard to imagine seeing a palace entirely carved from pure ice in such a location. At first glance, it resembled a crystal dragon palace.

"Hmph hmph, didn't I say your Lapras lived well? Believe me now? Beneath this palace, there are eight large-scale ice-making machines sponsored by the Alliance, operating constantly. Above, Froslass and Bergmite help maintain the dome. All of this was done just to ensure your Lapras could live here comfortably."

Lapras's typing is Water and Ice composite. Normally, their habitats are in cold regions at high latitudes or high altitudes; the tropics are not suitable for their survival.

Although, given the strength of Arthur's Lapras back then, she wouldn't have been unable to endure even the equatorial tropics, having a cool place to live would certainly be more comfortable.

Seeing all this, the sorrow in Arthur's heart was somewhat alleviated.

Although he couldn't accompany his Pokémon through the entirety of her life, at least now he knew: she had lived well previously.

Upon entering the ice palace, the first thing Arthur saw was an enormous display cabinet. Inside were many old photographs, along with medals and various commendation certificates from the Alliance military headquarters, all meticulously framed and placed within the glass display case.

"These are?" Arthur asked.

"These were all sent by the Alliance," Celebi replied. "After the war ended, your merits continued to be recognized by the Alliance. As long as your Pokémon didn't stray onto the wrong path, they all ultimately received the title and honors of meritorious Pokémon. Lapras was no exception. Even though she later chose not to return to live within the Alliance, humans still sent all of these over."

"Incidentally, the establishment of Coral Palace and the transcendent status the Milotic clan enjoys here today are somewhat related to your Lapras. When humans were helping to renovate this island, they charged the Milotic clan almost nothing, largely out of respect for her."

Arthur smiled.

He suddenly understood. No wonder that little Lapras outside ran amok, making frozen fish sculptures out of Feebas with impunity, while the Milotic remained utterly helpless against their little ancestor.

He reached out and touched the display cabinet before him.

The glass felt cool to the touch, but his heart at this moment was warm.

Because this entire cabinet face, apart from the two outermost sections housing medals and some documents, was predominantly filled with only one category of items: various photographs taken of Arthur with his Pokémon back in the day.

Photographs from that era were mostly black and white, and few in number, as developing them was very troublesome.

But that didn't stop Lapras from tirelessly requesting them from the Alliance over so many years. Eventually, she had managed to fill an entire long row of the display cabinet here with photographs.

In many of the black-and-white photos, Lapras looked dirty, not pretty at all.

After all, she frequently had to carry people across war zones. Back then, she was far from the elegant and glamorous figure she later became living in the ice palace, venerated by an entire clan.

But Lapras still meticulously categorized and framed each and every one of these photographs, placing them in the most prominent position within the palace.

Solely because within these photographs, there was often a young man dressed in a military uniform, smiling faintly, reaching out without fear of the dirt to stroke her neck and forehead.

In that instant, Arthur's heart felt as if it clenched involuntarily, only to slowly smooth out again afterward.

She lived well later on.

But she never forgot me.

Perhaps this truly was the best possible ending after he was gone...

If every single one of his past Pokémon had met such an end, perhaps he could indeed peacefully accept this somewhat abrupt new era.

However, Arthur was ultimately not foolish.

He suddenly looked towards Celebi again, "You just said, 'As long as my Pokémon didn't go astray, they all ultimately received the meritorious Pokémon awards'?"

"Emmm, ye... yes."

Celebi suddenly began to stammer slightly.

This further confirmed certain suspicions Arthur held.

"Normally, you shouldn't need to specifically emphasize that condition. At least, before I was exiled, none of my Pokémon had ever rebelled against the Alliance. So, this must have happened after my exile, correct? Some of them went astray?"

"Uh, well... actually... there are some misunderstandings and complex reasons involved..."

Celebi fiddled with her fingers, her voice growing quieter and quieter, until she was startled into a jolt by a sharp reprimand from Arthur.

"Speak!"

"Wuwu, okay, okay, I'll talk, just don't yell at me."

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