Chapter 24: Phoenix King
(Second Update! New book, please collect and leave flowers!)
Walking out, he found a note stuck on the outside of the tent, which read: “Gone for special training.”
Xia noticed and thought to herself, "This boy is quite thoughtful."
"In that case, I'll prepare breakfast!"
Although they had only known each other for a day, they already felt like long-time companions. They worked together while camping.
...
"We're almost finished with today's mission, Pikachu, Kingdra, put in a little more effort!" Running 10-20 kilometers every morning for three years was nothing for Satoshi.
But it was harder for Pikachu and Kingdra. Although Pokémon’s stamina definitely surpasses humans, one was carrying weight while the other was moving entirely with its tail. Naturally, they were more tired than Satoshi.
However, Satoshi had been keeping track of the distance. For the first time, it was already quite good. The two Pokémon were very determined, and they had been pushing themselves step by step.
"Pii-pii-pii!!!"
Especially Pikachu. Kingdra wasn't reacting much yet as it was mostly in the water, but Pikachu could only be heard panting "pii."
"We're here! Whew... let's stop!" Satoshi calculated the distance, stopped when they reached the end, and then signaled to the two Pokémon.
"Pii… ka~~~"
Pikachu immediately collapsed on the ground. Its tail, which had always been stiff and erect, immediately went limp. Kingdra also popped its head out of the water, panting heavily. It looked wise, though, and its expression was hard to read.
"You worked hard. You did great today." Satoshi smiled, walked to the river, untied the vine that was holding Kingdra's weight, and unloaded it. Kingdra happily swayed its body in the water.
Pokémon's recovery ability was still stronger than humans'. As long as they weren’t injured, only tired, they would recover quickly. After resting for a while, they returned the same way with Pikachu and Kingdra.
The journey back took about half an hour. They returned while it was still early, and the sky was only just starting to brighten.
As they walked back, they saw a figure sitting on a rock in front of the tent, her chin resting on her hands, seeming to wait for something.
"Morning!" Xia noticed as Satoshi approached, and he greeted her as she looked over.
"Morning! Uh… I wanted to make breakfast, but I don’t really know how to cook, so I gathered some berries." Xia quickly stood up when she saw Satoshi, and said a little embarrassedly.
It was embarrassing for a girl to not know how to cook. Satoshi paused slightly, looking at the berries placed on a rock not far away. There weren't many, but enough to fill their stomachs.
"Thanks. You can have some too!" Satoshi wondered if he was imagining things. He felt like this Xia was a little different. Maybe she had been soul-transmigrated too?
Actually, that wasn’t the case. While Xia was sometimes a bit willful, her personality was straightforward. In the anime, she appeared fierce, but the main reason was because the anime’s Satoshi was too much of a straight man, which often annoyed her.
Xia had found some simple Bluenberry and Sweet Peach. Sweet Peach had some antitoxin and detoxification effects, and was a good emergency choice in the wild if one was poisoned by a Poison-type Pokémon.
Bluenberry was used to recover stamina, and also had some wound healing properties, but the effect wasn't as good as potions.
"Here you go!" Satoshi took two Bluenberries each, one for Pikachu and one for Kingdra. Then he picked up another and gave it to Xia.
Soon, they and the Pokémon were all full. With the help of the Bluenberries, Pikachu and Kingdra’s condition recovered a lot.
After eating, they prepared to continue on their journey. Satoshi went into the tent to pack up. He found that the two blankets were already folded, but his backpack was still untouched.
It was evident that Xia, while seemingly carefree, was attentive to details. She tidied the blankets, then packed up the tent as well.
By now, the sky had brightened. The sun was out, and the rain had only stopped recently, so the entire forest was still filled with a humid air. The sunshine shone down, bringing with it the scent of grass and a sense of warmth. A rainbow was reflected in the sky.
"There's a rainbow! Why is there a rainbow at this time?" Xia couldn't help but say, looking at the sky.
Satoshi paused slightly, instinctively looking up at the sky. At that moment, a colorful light emerged at the end of the rainbow, where the sun was rising.
"Ah! That's!!! So beautiful!" Xia looked at the figure that appeared in the sky, her expression full of shock. She had never seen such a Pokémon before.
Its whole body was enveloped in a colorful light, and its feathers of various colors emitted a divine glow. It flapped its wings, emitting a faint light.
Satoshi looked at the figure in the sky too, a flash of awe crossed his eyes, then his eyes showed expectation, and he murmured softly.
"Phoenix King!"
"Huh? What did you say, Satoshi?" Xia didn't hear clearly, and asked unconsciously.
"Nothing!" Satoshi shook his head slightly after hearing this.
The Phoenix King, the god of rebirth, represented rebirth and a new beginning for Pokémon. It was a legendary Pokémon.
It had been a myth in the Chengdu region, but because of human greed, it abandoned humans and would only appear before righteous trainers.
It could bestow life upon creatures, had the mysterious power to resurrect the dead, and was also a powerful legendary Pokémon.
Although in his previous life, it was often ridiculed as a shiny Big Bird, but a legendary Pokémon was a legendary Pokémon. Even just from afar, the overwhelming pressure it emitted was not something ordinary Pokémon could possess.
Perhaps sensing Satoshi’s gaze, the Phoenix King did not stop, but its eyes swept down.
WHOOSH!
A light breeze blew past. It flapped its wings, and a speck of light fell from the sky, emitting a faint colorful glow, falling from the air.
"Hmm?" Satoshi instinctively reached out. The speck of light fell at the same time, landing softly in Satoshi's palm.
A seven-colored feather radiating a colorful glow gradually lost its light and became an ordinary feather, though it was still colorful even without its glow.
PS: With the appearance of various legendary Pokémon, the God of Life has been confirmed to be Xerneas, the God of the Sun is Solgaleo, and the God of Light is Necrozma. Actually, the anime has not explicitly stated the Phoenix King's position, because the setting was not mature in the early stages. Therefore, the bottle has positioned it as the God of Rebirth in this book.