Chapter 1083: Persuading Floette

Chapter 1083: Persuading Floette Yuga thought the moment he saw Darkrai: It really is Darkrai. However, he didn't expect Darkrai to be so alert; he and Floette were discovered as soon as they got close.

Recognizing that this was the same Darkrai from the Mirage Tower, Yuga assumed it would immediately attack him upon seeing him, considering their previous unpleasant interactions.

Last time they managed to escape unscathed, thanks to the sudden eruption of the Seed of Unknown from Absol, but the eruption of the Seed of Unknown was purely coincidental. This time, luck might not be on his side, so Yuga was very wary of Darkrai.

However, things did not unfold as he had imagined. Upon seeing him, Darkrai's expression was somewhat inscrutable.

What Yuga didn't know was that while he was wary of Darkrai, Darkrai was also cautious of him.

Previously, Absol had absorbed a considerable amount of Darkrai's original energy using the power of the Seed of Unknown, leaving Darkrai unable to move for several days. That experience was so unpleasant that Darkrai never wanted to go through it again.

Darkrai was unaware that the eruption of the Seed of Unknown had an element of randomness to it; it still believed that Absol could control that ability at will.

So, upon recalling the feeling of being pinned down by Absol and unable to resist, Darkrai's first reaction upon seeing Yuga was not to attack but to retreat.

Yuga: ...

Darkrai: ...

This subtle misunderstanding left both Yuga and Darkrai momentarily at a loss for words.

However, this strange atmosphere was quickly broken by Floette. Upon seeing Floette beside Yuga, Darkrai set aside its wariness of Absol and directly launched an attack on Floette.

"Darkrai!" How dare you come back!

Yuga only heard Darkrai call out and then saw Dark Pulse shooting towards him without hesitation. Even though he wasn't the target of Darkrai's attack, he couldn't avoid the collateral damage. Fortunately, Chimecho was by his side, which kept him safe.

What kind of deep-seated grudge could exist between Darkrai and Floette that they would fight upon meeting? Yuga couldn't help but wonder from his hiding spot.

Could it be that Darkrai was jealous of AZ for not being able to attain Floette, who was deeply loved by AZ, and then felt compelled to attack upon seeing it? Yuga's mind involuntarily played out a melodramatic scenario.

Moreover, what exactly made Darkrai leave the Mirage Tower? Didn't Cresselia say that they promised to guard AZ until he awakened? Could it be that AZ has already woken up?

Yuga watched the fierce battle between Darkrai and Floette from a distance, filled with confusion.

It was evident that this place used to be beautiful—a stunning garden hidden in the center of the Petalburg Woods—but now it was a complete wreck. There were remnants of flowers and trees scattered everywhere, and the numerous craters created by explosions made this once rare garden look like a bald beauty.

However, just as Yuga guessed, Floette was indeed overly powerful. He had witnessed Darkrai's strength; even with his strongest Pokémon combined, they couldn't defeat it. Yet, Floette managed to easily suppress Darkrai.

After watching for a while, Yuga finally understood that Floette was not trying to fight Darkrai but was forced to counterattack, which was why it was frequently getting injured.

"Hey, come help me! Didn't you say you would help me take back my home?"

Seeing Yuga watching from the sidelines, Floette shouted loudly while resisting Darkrai's attacks.

Help you take back your home? Did I ever say that? Yuga instinctively refused, not wanting to engage with Darkrai.

What's the point of taking back a home that's already been reduced to ruins? Why not just find another place and build a new one? Yuga genuinely wanted to say this to Floette.

When Floette turned around to Yuga for help, Darkrai momentarily paused its attack. Seeing that Yuga had no intention of intervening, it resumed throwing Shadow Balls at Floette, one after another.

Boom!

Floette was knocked to the ground by Darkrai's Shadow Ball. After regaining its composure, it flew back and directly hid behind Yuga. Yuga was left dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events. What happened to being kind? Is this what it means to be a natural villain?

It must be said that a Pokémon's fighting spirit greatly impacts its battle prowess. Although Floette was not inferior to Darkrai in strength, it was being overwhelmed because it lacked the will to fight.

Seeing Floette hiding behind Yuga, Darkrai instinctively stopped its attack out of caution. Seizing the opportunity, Yuga called out to it, "Why don't we stop and talk?"

With its rationality returning, Darkrai dissipated the partially formed Shadow Ball, gazing deeply at Yuga before ultimately deciding not to continue the attack.

Yuga was somewhat surprised by Darkrai's cooperation, but it was all the better if it was willing to listen.

After some discussion, Yuga finally unraveled the "love-hate relationship" between Darkrai and Floette.

As expected, the reason Darkrai attacked Floette was indeed related to AZ, though it was nothing like the unrequited love that Yuga had imagined.

Although Darkrai has a rebellious personality, it is, as Cresselia said, inherently kind-hearted.

During the long years spent with AZ, Darkrai inevitably developed feelings for him. To Darkrai, AZ is someone who values emotions deeply; otherwise, he wouldn't have spent thousands of years searching for Floette.

Darkrai has always felt a deep sympathy for the lonely AZ. Through AZ, it seemed to see a reflection of itself—living for so long without any companions.

Thus, even though it had never met Floette before, Darkrai's first impression of her was quite negative.

Two months ago, a group of people entered the Mirage Tower and awakened AZ. Whatever they said to AZ is unknown, but ultimately, AZ asked them to help find Floette and left the Mirage Tower with them.

Before departing, AZ fulfilled his promise and restored freedom to both Darkrai and Cresselia. Cresselia immediately decided to return to the Sinnoh region, while Darkrai wandered around Hoenn, eventually arriving in the Petalburg Woods.

However, it never expected to encounter Floette in the center of the Petalburg Woods.

Although Darkrai had never seen Floette before, it had been with AZ for hundreds of years and had heard him mention Floette daily. In an instant, Darkrai recognized that the Floette before it was the very one AZ had been desperately searching for.

Seeing Floette singing joyfully in the garden filled Darkrai with rage. It felt that AZ had wasted over three thousand years of time for something not worth it and, unable to hold back, attacked Floette.

To Darkrai, if it weren't for Floette, AZ wouldn't be threatened by that group of people. (In Darkrai's eyes, AZ was indeed under threat.)

At first, Floette didn't understand why Darkrai suddenly attacked her, but upon hearing Darkrai's accusations, she fell silent.

If you were to ask Floette whether she wanted to see AZ, the answer would undoubtedly be yes. The bond between her and AZ was undeniable; even after a thousand years, AZ remained the most important person to her.

However, whenever she thought of AZ, she would recall the countless innocent lives lost beneath the final weapon, and her own life, which had come at the cost of countless corpses. The overwhelming guilt nearly suffocated her.

Floette's heart was filled with both resentment and hatred—resentment towards AZ for creating the ultimate weapon, and hatred for AZ's selfishness that led to the deaths of so many people and Pokémon.

At the same time, Floette also felt self-blame and guilt. She blamed herself for AZ losing his sanity and falling into madness because of her; she felt guilty for leaving AZ silently, allowing him to sink into endless suffering.

In short, the complexities of Floette's heart were far beyond the understanding of an outsider like Darkrai.

After hearing Floette's intricate self-reflection, Darkrai fell silent. It hadn't expected the relationship between Floette and AZ to be so complicated. The AZ it knew was just one side of him, the AZ of over two thousand years later; it didn't understand what AZ was like over three thousand years ago.

Only Yuga's focus was different from the two Pokémon. After listening to Darkrai share its experience, he suddenly asked, "You said AZ was taken away? By whom?"

Darkrai shook its head, indicating that it didn't know the individuals. Having stayed in the Mirage Tower for so long, it could hardly recognize them.

"What did they look like? What kind of clothes were they wearing?" Yuga continued to probe.

After Darkrai described them, Yuga thought to himself: Just as I suspected!

Lysandre's distinctive red lion mane was simply too easy to recognize.

As for why Lysandre would take AZ, Yuga could think of no other reason besides the ultimate weapon. AZ was the creator of the ultimate weapon, and finding him meant discovering a shortcut to obtaining it.

Yuga couldn't bear to think about the consequences if Lysandre obtained the ultimate weapon; it certainly wouldn't be anything good. The ultimate weapon was a devastating tool that should never have been created.

This matter had to be reported to the League as soon as possible! Yuga silently concluded.

He glanced at Floette, realizing that the most effective and powerful ally in preventing AZ from assisting Lysandre in creating the ultimate weapon was Floette herself.

It seemed he needed to coax Floette back!

"Floette, after all these years, haven't you thought about meeting AZ at least once?" Yuga gently prompted.

Floette nodded; she had thought about it, but she didn't dare to.

"I think you really don't need to cling to the past any longer. What's done is done, and no matter how much guilt or sorrow you feel, it won't change anything. So, why not allow yourself to be a little lighter? Try to forgive AZ; perhaps it's not as difficult as you imagine."

Floette pressed her lips together and shook her head, her eyes already brimming with tears. She wished she could do that, but she couldn't. The guilt in her heart tormented her constantly. So many innocent lives—more than thousands—weighted heavily on her, making it hard for her to breathe.

Yuga sighed. He couldn't fathom the pain in Floette's heart. Forcing her to meet AZ wasn't his intention, but it was the only way to ensure the greatest chance of stopping AZ from helping those who would do harm.

"Don't you care if AZ creates the ultimate weapon again?"

Upon hearing Yuga's words, Floette suddenly looked up. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Yuga continued, "The people who took AZ did so to create the ultimate weapon, and to find you. AZ will surely help them."

Yuga's words finally swayed Floette, and Darkrai provided support as well.

"I think I heard those people mention the ultimate weapon to AZ," Darkrai said.

Yuga pressed on, "So, Floette, come with me. Let's find AZ together, okay? Do you really want to see the ultimate weapon born again, taking countless lives? Once was enough for such a tragedy!"

After thinking for a long time, Floette finally nodded in agreement to leave with Yuga.

Seeing Floette nod, Yuga finally breathed a sigh of relief. Floette was indeed as kind as the legends claimed; as long as he grasped this weakness, she could only "obediently comply."

He felt a bit despicable! Yuga rarely began to confront his own nature.

But how could this situation be called despicable? He was saving the world! Yuga immediately made excuses for his own deviousness.

After persuading Floette, Yuga asked Darkrai, "Floette wants to come with me; what are your plans?"

Darkrai thought for a moment and said, "I'll just stay here; I'm not going anywhere." It didn't see itself as being in a subordinate relationship with AZ. Since Floette had decided to meet AZ, Darkrai didn't want to get involved in other matters.

Yuga responded, "You can stay here, but you mustn't cause any trouble for the Pokémon in the forest. Many Pokémon fell into slumber because of you, creating a lot of panic."

Darkrai nodded in agreement, promising not to use hypnosis on a large scale in the future. In fact, if the opponent weren't Floette, Darkrai wouldn't have used such strong hypnosis either.

After that, Yuga bid farewell to Darkrai and said goodbye to Nakamichi and Reisuke before leaving the Petalburg Woods with Floette.

Upon returning to Verdanturf Town, the expedition members breathed a collective sigh of relief upon seeing Yuga return safely.

After that, Yuga reported the situation regarding AZ to the League.

Yuga's unique identity, coupled with the testimony of the special Pokémon Floette, forced the League to take his words seriously.

Historical records in Kalos concerning AZ and Floette mostly exist in folklore; the ultimate weapon, the eternal flower, and so forth are too fantastical. Additionally, there hasn't been enough evidence in official history, which led to these accounts being dismissed as fabrications.

However, with Floette now appearing, the League had no choice but to believe. If the legendary ultimate weapon were indeed created by someone, it would undoubtedly be something the League wanted to avoid.

Lysandre was a well-known entrepreneur in Kalos, enjoying a good reputation in society. He had been involved in philanthropic work for many years, helping countless people.

Yet such a person was attempting to lay hands on the ultimate weapon!

Lysandre was a resident of Kalos, and the Hoenn League did not have the authority to directly investigate him; they would need to contact the Kalos League to reach a conclusion.

As the investigation had to be conducted secretly, Yuga and Floette were notified to remain on standby at all times.

However, since Lysandre had been hidden away for so long, and his public image was deeply ingrained in society, it would be very difficult for the League to uncover anything.

Two days after returning to Verdanturf Town, just after watching May's Pokemon Contest performance, Yuga received a notification from the League that he needed to accompany Floette to Kalos for a mission.

Upon receiving this notification, Yuga had to reschedule his gym battle with Ash to an earlier date.