The Loyal Three felt the surge of new power coursing through their bodies. As memories long buried resurfaced, they exchanged glances before each letting out a triumphant roar.
"Chiz!"
"Mun!"
"Fezz!"
"Uh… Sorry, guys, I can tell you're excited, but I have no idea what you're saying." Summer scratched his head before turning toward Hatterene. "Mind translating for me?"
"They're saying… 'Poison Mochi,'" Hatterene's voice echoed in Summer's mind.
"Poison Mochi?" Summer frowned, resting his chin on his hand. "Can you explain in more detail?"
The three glanced at each other before Okidogi stepped forward, taking the lead. Among them, it was the most articulate.
"Before we were controlled, we all ate this purple Poison Mochi. From what I can tell, the toxins inside don't just poison you—they make you susceptible to mind control."
"If the chains wrap around you afterward, you lose yourself completely, becoming a puppet to that thing. Sometimes, it would return control to us… but by then, we were already consumed by our own ugly desires. Even without direct control, we still committed terrible acts. That's something we can't deny responsibility for."
"Aside from the control, the poison also enhanced our abilities. Since getting stronger was our greatest wish, we didn't question it. But now I don't understand—why did we still get stronger after breaking free?"
Listening to Okidogi's explanation, Summer gave his best guess.
"Maybe the poison didn't just unlock your potential—it was feeding your strength back to that thing. Now, you're just reclaiming what was yours."
"Or… it let you grow stronger but kept you just weak enough that you could never break free."
"Either way, what matters is that you're free—and stronger than ever. If that thing could feel emotions, I bet it's absolutely livid right now." Summer smirked at the thought.
"Watch out for Poison Mochi. Watch out for the chains. Now—do you remember what it looked like? The Pokémon's name is Pecharunt."
The Loyal Three flinched before shaking their heads. Their captor had been careful—never once revealing itself.
"Bon! Ni! Oh!"
At the mention of Pecharunt, Ogerpon's eyes widened in shock. It knew that name. That creature had been born on the same island as it!
"Ogerpon, you know about it?"
Ogerpon nodded—then hesitated before shaking its head. It didn't know much, only what the man it traveled with had told it.
"That's okay. Tell us everything you do know. Any clue could help us understand what we're dealing with."
Ogerpon took a deep breath, then began to recount its past.
It had been born from a massive, ancient tree known as the Wishing Tree, located at the heart of an isolated island.
The island was uninhabited by humans and even Pokémon were rare, aside from a few birds that stopped by to rest.
Despite this, the island was rich in food. Ogerpon had never once gone hungry.
The island was also filled with strange, gleaming crystals. The man it traveled with would often collect them, saying Ogerpon liked shiny things.
The very first thing Ogerpon saw after hatching was that man—kneeling before the tree, sobbing.
Feeling pity for him, Ogerpon had reached out and hugged him. The man wept even harder, murmuring the same name over and over.
"Earlquinn… Earlquinn…"
Later, Ogerpon learned that Earlquinn was the man's deceased daughter. He had searched desperately for a way to bring her back to life. That search led him to two things—the ancient treasure of the Paldean king and the Wishing Tree.
Ogerpon itself had been born from that man's wish to see his daughter again.
The name Ogerpon had come from her.
The Wishing Tree was said to take at least five hundred years to gather enough energy to grant a wish.
If someone prayed beneath it with true sincerity, their wish would be fulfilled.
Long ago, the Paldean king had made a wish at the tree.
He wished for eternal dominion over his empire.
Pecharunt had been born from that wish.
This was the only confirmed case in recorded history of the Wishing Tree granting a wish. There might have been other Pokémon born from it, but that was beyond the man's knowledge.
As for what happened to Pecharunt, history didn't say.
However, during the ancient king's reign, a small town in Paldea had mysteriously rebelled.
Records only described the rebels with a single word—"bizarre."
Then one day, the man told Ogerpon he wanted to show it the world beyond the island. He asked if it wanted to travel with him.
Ogerpon had eagerly agreed.
Together, they crossed vast oceans, endured hardships, and finally reached the man's homeland—Paldea.
For the first time, Ogerpon experienced happiness.
Though his daughter was gone, the man treated Ogerpon as family, pouring all his love into it.
Joy, anger, sadness, excitement—it was the first time Ogerpon truly lived.
Then, tragedy struck.
One day, while playing with the crystals the man had collected, Ogerpon accidentally released a burst of energy.
That incident was reported all the way up to the king of Paldea.
For generations, Paldea's royalty had been obsessed with the treasures of Area Zero.
Upon learning of Ogerpon's strange power, the king immediately summoned the man and Ogerpon for an "expedition" into the Great Crater.
But the man knew the truth.
No one who entered the Great Crater ever came back.
Explorers, treasure hunters, even criminals sent in as "scouts"—they all vanished.
Maybe it was to save Ogerpon.
Or maybe it was because he heard rumors of a lake atop a mountain in the eastern lands, where one could see the souls of the dead.
Either way, he fled with Ogerpon, heading toward Kitakami.
Ogerpon never knew if the man really saw his daughter's spirit.
But one day, when he returned from the mountain, he smiled peacefully—the most content he had ever looked.
From then on, they lived a simple, peaceful life in Oni Mountain.
Until the Loyal Three stole its masks.
Until that peace was shattered forever.
As Ogerpon finished its story, the Loyal Three lowered their heads in shame.
"Damn it. If I could go back in time, I'd slap the hell out of my past self."
Summer clenched his fists, anger burning in his chest.
Ogerpon had suffered so much already.
And the king of Paldea… was that the same one who unleashed the Treasures of Ruin?
Even if he wasn't, one thing was clear—Paldea's royalty was rotten to the core.
Rillaboom, always sentimental, wiped at his eyes, trying not to cry.
Hatterene, who had been translating this whole time, suddenly lunged forward and wrapped Ogerpon in a tight hug, sobbing.
"You poor thing…"
Summer sighed. Ogerpon had been through hell.
But they weren't done yet.
In Kitakami, the village chief was racking his brain.
He needed a way to impress the visiting students from Blueberry Academy.
What could make these city kids remember Kitakami?
Then, suddenly, inspiration struck.
BAM!
He slapped his bald head.
"Wait a second—mochi! They've probably never had real, freshly made mochi before! It's nutritious, delicious… it's perfect! Not to brag, but Kitakami's got some of the best mochi makers around. Damn, I might be a genius!"
(End of Chapter)