The ocean's currents were still surging.
But at least they returned to the City of Water in a way people could accept.
The waterways filled again, the dried-up stretches were moistened, and even the boats that had been swept away were washed back into place. Other than Team Rocket's trio being accidentally carried off somewhere, no one suffered any secondary harm.
Inside the Cathedral, everyone watched the Eon siblings fly back from over the sea, overjoyed.
Ash stopped playing the flute. Pikachu also wagged its tail, ears perked up happily.
However, behind the Alto Mare siblings, there were two more purple Pokémon.
[To think Alto Mare would suffer such a major disaster. Still, I don't recall there ever being something like an "Infinite Flute" on this island.]
[Boy. Where did your flute come from?]
"It talked!"
Ash jumped, staring at Mega Latios. The latter's brow furrowed slightly as it looked toward the Alto Mare siblings.
[What's going on? Don't tell me you still haven't learned to use telepathy yet?]
Only then did the two Eon Pokémon from Hoenn realize the key issue.
These two Eon Pokémon of Alto Mare still hadn't learned "Telepathy"!
That clearly meant they hadn't been adults for long. In other words, among Latios and Latias as a whole, they were still in the "youngster" stage!
And Alto Mare's Latios froze in place.
Telepathy? What was that?
[Hehe. Telepathy is the ability that lets us communicate with different forms of life on the level of the mind. Both Latios and Latias can do that, you know.]
Mega Latias covered her mouth and laughed.
According to the Pokédex, it goes like this.
Latios is highly intelligent and can understand human speech. It dislikes conflict and is gentle, only becoming close to kindhearted people. It can show what it has seen and thought to others as imagery, an ability called Dream Projection.
Even if it disappears without a trace, it still possesses psychic sensing, allowing it to know where its companions are and how they feel.
Latias is also highly intelligent and can understand human speech. Through telepathy, it exchanges emotions with humans, and it can sense the human heart with exceptional acuity.
Although Telepathy is also an Ability.
Most Psychic-type Pokémon, as long as they're even somewhat powerful, especially those with legends and stories tied to them, often possess this capability.
The Alto Mare siblings showed expressions of confusion and embarrassment.
Just then, Brock seemed to remember something and reminded Ash:
"There's no need to be that surprised. Lugia and Entei seemed to do the same thing, didn't they?"
"Oh, right."
Ash recalled it, and his momentary amnesia was basically "cured" by Brock.
[Forget it. We'll teach you how to use telepathy later. First, let's talk about this Infinite Flute.]
Mega Latios looked into the distance.
[Can you feel it? Other companions roaming the sea are also rushing here.]
[They should be carrying the Soul Dew.]
Latios looked at this senior.
It answered honestly.
It had entered a strange dream. In that dream, it saw a human craftsman as well as several Legendary Pokémon. That craftsman foretold tonight's disaster, and handed this flute to it.
[You're saying that, inside a dream, there was a world, and within it there were humans and Legendary Pokémon?]
[That's unbelievable. Under normal circumstances, I'd call it a hallucination. But Alto Mare truly doesn't have an Infinite Flute. This flute was brought out from a dream.]
[Big brother! The legend of the Southern Island, do you remember it?]
Mega Latias looked to her brother.
Words carved by ancient humans of Hoenn, from who knew how long ago.
The engraved message surfaced in their hearts.
[Every dream is another reality. Do not ever forget it!]
Mega Latios suddenly felt that those human words might not be something simple at all. It was as though they were telling of something deeper.
A world within dreams. The dream world?
[I remember now, big brother!]
Mega Latias suddenly thought of something.
[I once met a Latias from Unova. She told me that world over there is really interesting. When you dream, you can even see a marvelous new world!]
[That should be the world inside dreams, right? She said she dreamed it at a place called the Dreamyard.]
The siblings from Hoenn naturally didn't know Unova's secrets.
But Unova also had their kin.
That's right. In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Latios and Latias can appear at the Dreamyard at level 68. After battling them, they will leave behind the Soul Dew.
Unova's Latios and Latias hid themselves extremely well.
They rarely appeared before the public, to the point that no legends or stories about them existed at all.
Mega Latios said, [Hard to believe. This is the first time I've heard of such an otherworld. I suppose traveling more really does have its benefits. So the flute truly was made by some mysterious craftsman? That's unbelievable. There shouldn't be many people who know how to make an Infinite Flute in the first place.]
It looked at the still-bewildered Ash, then glanced at Alto Mare's Latios.
[You don't have Mega Stones either, so you can't Mega Evolve. Of course, you're still too young. Using Mega Evolution would put a huge burden on your bodies.]
Mega Latios had originally planned to give the Mega Stones to the Alto Mare siblings, but it turned out they couldn't even use telepathy yet. That meant they were too young to control the power of Mega Evolution, and might even lose control and self-destruct.
So, better to wait until they were stronger.
"Wait, this is it!"
Brock suddenly shouted like a master detective. He looked at Ash and Misty, his expression serious as he analyzed in a low voice:
"A craftsman in a dream. A person who appears mysteriously and disappears mysteriously. Think about it. We know someone like that too, don't we?"
"The Hikaru-san we met on the green grasslands was exactly that kind of person!"
Misty recalled, "Ah, that guy! But even if his tools are amazing, he can't really make something as incredible as an Infinite Flute, can he?"
"No. You're wrong!"
Brock shook his head solemnly.
"He left using Teleport. The only ones who can use Teleport are powerful Psychic-type Pokémon, or psychics like Sabrina."
"Don't forget. He also knew the Legendary Pokémon of Johto. And he's mysterious, isn't he? On the surface he looks like an ordinary craftsman, but whether it's how he left, or the guesses we formed from what we learned from Professor Oak, it all points to him not being ordinary."
"And didn't that other Latios say it too? Alto Mare doesn't have an Infinite Flute, and it shouldn't have any way to make one."
"Someone who can appear and vanish mysteriously, who knows legends and prophecies, who's also a craftsman, and even has the ability to handle these incidents. There's only one person that fits. Him!"
Ash and Pikachu scratched their heads in sync.
"Uh, I didn't really understand your deduction, but basically, this flute might've been made by Hikaru-san, right? Like that flute from Celebi."
"If that's true, next time we see him we really have to thank him properly!"
"But there's also something bad. I don't have much money on me. He won't charge me for it, will he? This thing has to be expensive."
Brock sighed. "He probably won't. If he gave it to Latios and had it search for the one who would play it, that means this flute isn't something he's charging for."
[You know the flute's maker?]
Mega Latios asked the group. Misty waved her hand.
"No, we're just guessing. We're not sure we're right."
"Latios, didn't you ask for his name in the dream?"
Latios froze, then lowered its head in shame.
It really hadn't asked.
It had been too anxious, and it couldn't even recognize all the other Legendary Pokémon around him at the time.
But now it knew. So his name was Hikaru?
Next time… they should be able to meet again in the dream, right?
[If you can enter the dream world, then there shouldn't be any real barrier. Just meet him next time.]
[A craftsman who knows all kinds of prophecies and legends, and can make an Infinite Flute… interesting.]
Mega Latios and Mega Latias exchanged a glance. The Hoenn siblings both looked thoughtful.
They began whispering to each other.
Hoenn was facing a tremendous crisis, which was why they had come to Johto with Brendan. It was a problem only Rayquaza could solve. Yet Rayquaza had hidden itself.
Humans speculated that to stop the clash between Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, Rayquaza had expended an enormous amount of power, and hadn't recovered to its former level for nearly two years. That made it intensely uneasy, so it left Hoenn.
[If we can borrow the power of this mysterious craftsman, maybe we can find out why Rayquaza is hiding. The Draconid people are no longer something we can rely on.]
And in the coming months, the Sky Tournament that might be held in Hoenn also had to do with this.
Come to think of it, if Rayquaza was found, that event would merely be a grand celebration, a festival!
If Rayquaza could not be found…
Then that "tournament" was, in truth, an invitation to Sky Trainers from every region to participate in the search for Rayquaza together!
The siblings nodded to each other, stopped whispering, and instead addressed the Alto Mare siblings and Ash's group with a serious request.
[If you encounter that craftsman again in the future, you must tell us where he is.]
It wasn't only because of Rayquaza.
Even among their own kind, the Infinite Flute had already become a rare relic from the past.
Perhaps they should ask that craftsman for help, to recreate the Infinite Flute and bring it to companions scattered across the world.
As long as the flute still existed…
No matter where you were, no matter what kind of danger you faced, you could receive help from your companions!
[Johto is peaceful. It's not like Hoenn, where nature's struggles are fierce. So it's understandable that you're a bit weaker.]
This was Ho-Oh's land. As long as Ho-Oh still existed here, nothing truly catastrophic would happen.
As for the recent climate anomalies and Lugia's incident… that happened in Kanto. What did it have to do with Johto? Cut it off and move on.
[Since that boy has obtained the Infinite Flute, then he has the power to call for us at any time. However, you can have him form a contract with you. That way, the flute's guidance will point toward you, and it won't summon all of us at once.]
Mega Latios looked at the bewildered Ash, and found that expression rather pleasing.
Just like Brendan's face back when he first set foot on the Southern Island.
Besides, Latias here seemed very close to him, circling around him right now.
[Boy. Would you be willing to form a contract with Latios and Latias? Especially Latias. This is not capture. It's an agreement of mutual aid.]
"Huh? Me, with Latias?"
———
The dream world.
Hikaru and the assembled Legendaries, using Giratina's water mirror to watch, witnessed what happened in Alto Mare.
When it came time to form the contract, Hikaru led the applause.
Ash had finally formed an improper relationship with Latias.
The two "people" lived happily ever after.
Congratulations. Congratulations indeed.
But the muttering of the two Hoenn Eon Pokémon made Hikaru knit his brow slightly.
"So those two really are Brendan's partners. That means the protagonist has come to the vicinity of Johto?"
"But why?"
"And they even mentioned Rayquaza…?!"
Hikaru couldn't quite understand.
Through the water mirror, some of the dialogue couldn't be heard clearly. And with them using telepathy to whisper, Hikaru had even less ability to know the specifics.
With the mirror between them, what Hikaru could glean was quite limited.
Could it be… the Embedded Tower plotline from HeartGold and SoulSilver?
But shouldn't that be triggered by Johto's protagonist, Ethan or Lyra? How could it be related to Hoenn's protagonist, Brendan?
Forget it. If he couldn't figure it out, he couldn't figure it out.
He should go back to Paldea and settle down for a while.
The dream… should end now!
(End of Chapter)
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