Chapter 116 ⇾ The Secret Beneath the Deep Pool

Over the next few days, Cole helped heal portions of Milotic's damaged energy circuits. Gradually, its voice transformed from hoarse to increasingly melodious.

His Pokémon formed stronger bonds with the local Pokémon, particularly the shy Swablu, which began naturally joining Brionne's singing group.

Heliolisk showed remarkable initiative. Within days, it mastered the electric-type moves Thunderbolt and Magnet Rise from Kilowattrel, while also studying dragon-type moves — Dragon Pulse and Dragon Tail — from a Dragonite. Though Heliolisk found the dragon-type moves more challenging than its natural electric abilities.

Brionne, ever diligent, seized the opportunity to learn from Milotic's expertise. Under its "Master's" guidance, Brionne learned both the powerful water-type move Hydro Pump and the sound-based move Hyper Voice, showing impressive growth.

These powerful moves proved challenging to master. For now, Brionne could only perform them at a basic level and needed dedicated practice to perfect them.

That day, after Cole finished treating Milotic, he found it gathering with Brionne again.

During these past few days, Milotic had clearly grown fond of the sea lioness. It treated Brionne as a true disciple, sharing not only battle moves but also intricate singing techniques.

"La~ lala~ lalala~"

Milotic's song floated through the air. Though not yet at its peak, its recently recovered voice rang with beauty. Most striking was how its melody created a unique atmosphere, weaving an illusion that naturally drew listeners in.

Remarkably, when the little Misdreavus heard Milotic's song, it regained consciousness. Though it would eventually return to its manic state, both Cole and Mismagius noticed its periods of lucidity growing longer with each performance.

This development brought tremendous hope.

Today, Milotic's song carried a different quality, and as it sang, Brionne began humming along.

While Brionne's voice was beautiful and melodious on its own, when combined with Milotic's song, it became discordant, disrupting the enchanting atmosphere Milotic had created.

As the song ended, frustration crossed Brionne's face — a clear recognition that its voice fell short of Milotic's, resulting in their imperfect duet.

Milotic consoled it, explaining that Brionne was still young and that reaching such mastery would come naturally with continued practice.

Cole approached them and asked, "Milotic, what was that song you were singing? How did it create such a beautiful vision?"

The vision had revealed azure skies, emerald grasslands, joyful Pokémon, and a magical music tree with branches and leaves formed of musical staffs and notes.

He wasn't alone in experiencing it — all the Pokémon who heard the song had shared the same vision.

Milotic replied, "It's the Relic Song, passed down from Meloetta. Though I can sing it, I cannot wield its mysterious power as Meloetta does."

Brionne chirped and squawked in protest at Milotic's casual revelation — it had been planning to surprise Cole with this song!

So this was the Relic Song that Brionne had been learning from Milotic.

Cole asked with wonder, "Milotic, have you met Meloetta?"

Milotic shook its head, "I haven't."

"Then how do you know this Relic Song?" Cole asked, even more intrigued.

"You." Milotic answered with a gentle smile.

Its personality had grown more playful and lively as its voice healed.

"Very curious." Cole nodded.

"Well then, I'll show you."

Before Cole could react, Milotic gently flicked its tail, sending him into the water.

Brionne quickly dove in after him. As Cole hit the water, a blue barrier materialized around him, shielding him from the pool water.

"What's this?" He marveled, looking around and realizing he could breathe freely underwater.

"Follow me!"

Milotic swayed its elegant tail gracefully, and the protective barrier around Cole followed as they descended to the pool's bottom.

Only then did he grasp the true depth of this home pool — or rather, the hidden wonders it contained.

As they descended deeper, Cole noticed something peculiar: instead of darkening, the environment began emanating traces of light.

When Milotic stopped, Cole found himself before a luminous statue of Meloetta. The statue portrayed two forms of the Pokémon — Aria Forme and Pirouette Forme — side by side.

The craftsmanship was so exquisite that Cole felt as if Meloetta itself stood before him. He wondered about the mysterious material that could emit such constant light in these sunless depths.

Behind the Meloetta statue stood four stone tablets, each inscribed with strange, unrecognizable symbols that resembled writing.

Milotic settled gently before the statue and began humming the melody — the same Relic Song it had sung with Brionne. Despite being underwater, Cole heard the song with perfect clarity.

As the melody rose, the symbols on the four tablets began to glow. In that moment, Cole's mind grew hazy as a beautiful Pokémon materialized before him.

It was the legendary Melody Pokémon — Meloetta.

"Hehe~" Meloetta offered Cole a gentle smile and extended its right hand.

He took its hand without thinking, and in the next instant, it pulled him skyward, the wind whistling past his ears with startling realism.

"Hehe~"

In Meloetta's cheerful laughter, Cole found himself drawn into a beautiful realm teeming with Pokémon.

As Meloetta appeared, the Pokémon gazed skyward and erupted into enthusiastic cheers, calling out its name.

"Melo~ Melo~"

Still holding Cole's hand, Meloetta descended onto a massive stone platform that resembled a concert stage, bowing gracefully to its adoring fans below.

The gathered Pokémon responded with another wave of thunderous cheers.

Meloetta released Cole's hand and performed an elegant twirl before gently tapping the ground. Instantly, streams of multicolored light burst from the platform, spinning and weaving together to form a towering tree.

Its branches and leaves were crafted entirely from musical staffs and notes. Through the Pokémon's excited calls, Cole learned its name: the Melody Tree.

"Melo~ Melo~ Meloetta~"

With graceful movements, Meloetta circled the Melody Tree's trunk once before returning to Cole. Taking his hand again, it carried him up into the tree's canopy.

After settling them both on a branch, Meloetta closed its eyes and began to sing.

"La~ lala~ la~ lala~ la~ la~"

Though it was the same Relic Song that Milotic had performed, Meloetta's version resonated with profound difference. An ancient, mysterious atmosphere enveloped them, and Cole felt as if he experienced the joys and sorrows of two lifetimes in a single moment.

Meloetta's voice wielded the power to touch and guide the emotions of all living beings.

As the song filled the air, the Melody Tree swayed in gentle rhythm, its branches sparkling with points of light that bloomed like multicolored flowers.

All the Pokémon below the platform stood motionless, entranced by Meloetta's song.

Cole too forgot everything in that moment, completely immersed in the melody. Time lost all meaning until the song ended, and everyone gradually returned to their senses.

To his amazement, the multicolored flowers on the Melody Tree had vanished, replaced by five musical note-shaped fruits of different colors and shapes.

The Melody Berries! They swayed on the branches, creating crisp, melodious tinkling sounds.

"Hehe~"

With a soft laugh, Meloetta flew up and gently tapped with its small hand. The Melody Berry directly above Cole's head fell, landing perfectly in his palm.

As it fell, the entire scene — including Meloetta — vanished before his eyes.

"Ah~" Cole gasped, finding himself still floating in the protective barrier at the bottom of the deep pool.

Looking at his empty palm, he realized it had all been an illusion.

A sense of loss washed over him at this realization. Brionne, who had shared the same vision, seemed even more disappointed than he was!

Milotic swam up from the stone tablet and asked them both, "How was it? What did you feel?"

Cole replied thoughtfully, "It was amazing, like a dream."

A dream that felt completely real!

Brionne remained in a daze, deaf to Milotic's words.

Milotic gently tapped it with its tail, "Brionne, would you like to try?"

The question snapped Brionne back to reality, and it looked at Milotic with excitement, "Can I really?"

Milotic nodded, "Give it a try."

Brionne swam eagerly to the stone tablet and began singing, mimicking its master.

As its song rang out, the symbols on the tablet flickered with a brief glow before fading to darkness. Despite Brionne's repeated attempts, the tablet remained silent, much to its frustration.

Cole turned to Milotic, "Why is there a statue of Meloetta here?"

Milotic shook its head — it had simply discovered this place by chance and made it its home.

Its singing had grown different from other Milotic because it had spent countless hours studying the Relic Song from the stone tablet.

The tablet's symbols were a special script evolved from Unown, recording the Relic Song. While humans couldn't decipher them, Pokémon understood their meaning instantly.

Cole thought to himself: Pokémon truly hide many secrets unknown to humans.

After exploring the pool's depths, Milotic guided them back to shore. The sea lioness was still dejected about its performance.

Yet Brionne wasn't one to dwell on failures. Instead of giving up, it grew more determined, seeking Milotic's guidance with renewed enthusiasm to master both singing techniques and the Relic Song.

Having shared the statue's secret with Cole and Brionne, Milotic became an even more dedicated teacher.

As Milotic's treatment progressed and its throat healed, Cole noticed a remarkable improvement in Brionne's singing.

That day, Milotic approached him on its own.

"My throat is almost completely better now — we can set out."

Milotic was a Pokémon that kept its word. Having agreed to his request, it would certainly fulfill its promise.

Though it truly didn't want to visit the human world — and especially didn't want to interact with Ember — leaving the matter unresolved made it feel uneasy. It decided to let Cole depart early, reasoning that the sooner they went, the sooner they could return, and then it wouldn't have to worry about this anymore.

"Really? That's wonderful! I can prepare to leave anytime!" Cole's face lit up with joy.

"Of course it's true. Let's hurry up and meet that person so I can come back quickly."

From Milotic's tone, he could hear its strong aversion to Ember.

That day, they prepared for their journey. Milotic instructed Kilowattrel and Dragonite to look after home, while his Pokémon said goodbye to their new friends.

Swablu was the most reluctant to part with Cole, but it understood that he couldn't stay here forever, and so it cried profusely.

Though he also liked the little one, he didn't force it to leave with him — after all, this was where it had been raised and where its family was.

✲✲✲

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