Chapter 74: Lost, Drifting into the Ancient Era
"Isn't it a heartbreaking sight?" Pryce muttered to himself, pausing at a specific point in time as he watched his two Lapras perish on the icy plains, tears streaming down his weathered face.
This was the scene that Ryan and Celebi arrived to witness. Ryan sighed deeply and said, "Pryce, why are you doing this? You existed in that time period, and there can't be two versions of you in the same timeline. If you force your way in, only one version—either present or past—will survive. You, as the temporal intruder, will vanish. This is the fundamental law of time."
Ryan had extensively consulted with Celebi about temporal mechanics, hoping to help Pryce if possible. But after learning about this tragedy, he knew Pryce couldn't accomplish his goal alone. His attempt to capture Celebi by force would only end in disaster.
"I can help you," Ryan offered. "I wasn't present in that time period, so I can intervene without creating a paradox."
Pryce excitedly grabbed Ryan's shoulders and said, "You're really willing to help me! Thank you, thank you so much!"
Seeing the elderly Gym Leader clutching him and sobbing, Ryan couldn't bring himself to refuse. He sighed and said, "Celebi, let's enter that timeline."
Celebi shook its head and chirped softly in refusal. It knew that entering another time period carried risks—there could be temporal drift when returning to their original timeline. This error could be seconds or even years, and it couldn't let Ryan take such a dangerous gamble.
"Wait. Here are two Lapras Poké Balls. This will be more efficient," Pryce said, removing his ice mask and holding out two Ultra Balls.
"Celebi, let's try it," Ryan said, accepting the Poké Balls.
Celebi shook its head vigorously, absolutely refusing to let Ryan take such a risk.
"Use this. Please," Pryce handed one of the GS Balls to Ryan, then leaped into the time portal, vanishing from sight.
"Is love really worth this much?" Ryan muttered to himself. Gripping the GS Ball tightly, Ryan's expression grew determined as he whispered, "For Pryce's devotion to his Pokémon, let's give it everything we've got!"
Ignoring Celebi's protests, Ryan plunged into the timestream and soon arrived at a frozen wasteland. In the distance, he could see young Pryce and his two Lapras struggling desperately on the cracking ice.
"I hope I can reach them in time!" Ryan raced across the treacherous ice field. As he drew closer, he activated the Ultra Balls, successfully retrieving the two Lapras just as they were about to fall into the glacial crevasse.
He then tossed the two Poké Balls to the stunned young Pryce, but his momentum carried him forward, sending him sliding directly toward the dangerous crevasse.
"Look out!" cried young Pryce. Ryan helplessly realized he had no way to stop his slide and tumbled directly into the ice crevasse.
"Now or never!" Ryan instantly shattered the GS Ball, releasing Celebi from its confinement.
Just before Ryan struck the bottom, a swirling time portal formed beneath him, and he fell through it into the temporal vortex.
Entering the time tunnel, Ryan found himself spinning uncontrollably, constantly being pulled deeper into the timestream. Celebi communicated telepathically, "This is bad! You've created a temporal paradox by altering history. We're caught in chronological turbulence—there's no telling which era we'll be pulled into."
"Oh great, that's just perfect!" Ryan couldn't help but grumble sarcastically.
Suddenly, overwhelming temporal pressure washed over him, and he promptly lost consciousness, his body tumbling through the chaotic timestream as he was drawn into an unknown era.
In the primordial landscape, a human and two small Pokémon descended from the sky, landing hard on the back of a colossal creature. The tremendous impact caused Ryan, who had just regained consciousness, to cough up blood before blacking out again.
The massive Pokémon scratched its back curiously, then gently lifted Ryan and the two Celebi in its enormous claws to examine them. It recognized Celebi—the Time Travel Pokémon that governed temporal flow and protected forests. While their relationship wasn't particularly close, it harbored no ill will toward them.
But what was this other creature? Could it be a human from a different time period? It seemed different from the primitive humans of this era, the ancient Pokémon pondered. However, seeing the blood around Ryan's mouth, it realized he was injured and decided to help heal him.
Placing Ryan and the two Celebi on a flat boulder, the Pokémon lumbered away to search for medicinal herbs. If Ryan were conscious, he would have been absolutely stunned! This Pokémon was none other than Groudon—but not in its Primal Reversion form. This was ancient times, and this was Groudon's natural state.
Groudon gathered various healing herbs and found a small, bowl-shaped rock formation. It carefully placed Ryan and the Celebi in this natural basin, then crushed the medicinal plants, allowing their healing juices to drip into the makeshift bath.
Not wanting to waste the remaining herbs, Groudon chewed them briefly before swallowing the potent plants.
Ryan remained unconscious and couldn't hear the mysterious system notifications that would have thrilled him:
"Ding! Rare medicinal essence detected. Beginning absorption process."
"Ding! Constitution +1, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Strength +1..."
His carefully trained physical abilities were now rapidly increasing. These were the very healing herbs that Groudon consumed when injured. Considering Groudon's massive size—16 feet tall, Weighing over 2000 pounds—a single herb could restore the legendary Pokémon. For Ryan's human physiology, this was an incredible enhancement!
Ryan drowsily opened his eyes to see two Celebi hovering over him with worried expressions. He tried to speak, but suddenly Groudon's enormous head loomed overhead, completely blocking out the sky. A deep, rumbling cry nearly knocked him unconscious again.
After several minutes of recovery, Ryan managed to say, "I'm sorry for worrying you both."
"Young trainer, we're stranded in the ancient era. Don't attempt to travel yet—we must wait for rescue," the elder Celebi communicated telepathically.
His own Celebi also lightly tapped Ryan's head with tiny fists, chirping indignantly in what was clearly scolding him for being reckless.
Scratching his head sheepishly, Ryan suddenly noticed the colossal creature nearby and his jaw dropped in amazement. "Incredible! It's Groudon in its original form! Well, since this is the ancient era, I suppose this IS its original form."
Then Ryan noticed a sticky, greenish residue covering his body—even strands of his hair had a shimmering green tint. Puzzled, he finally registered the system notifications. Seeing his stamina and strength stats soar past seventy, he jumped up excitedly—and realized he had literally jumped over ten feet into the air!
Instinctively, he attempted the advanced techniques the system had taught him. His movements created sonic booms in the air, allowing him to briefly hover. Ryan burst into delighted laughter, then landed heavily on the rocky ground with a resounding thud.
Rubbing his aching body, Ryan was amazed by his newfound strength—he could now actually utilize the legendary combat techniques he'd learned.
"Thank you, Groudon," Ryan expressed his gratitude to the ancient legendary Pokémon, having learned from Celebi that Groudon had saved his life.
Groudon narrowed its massive eyes and nodded, then gave what might have been intended as a friendly smile—though on such a powerful creature, it looked somewhat intimidating.
There was no helping it—cuteness and charm weren't exactly traits that legendary Pokémon of this magnitude could easily display. At least it wasn't terrifying enough to frighten people to death.
(End of Chapter)
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P@atreon/Soulforger (45+ advanced chapters)