Having learned about Celebi's temple, built by William Thomas, Victor grows extremely curious about it. Looking at the Furrets, Victor takes a deep breath and begins using his Viridian Force.
With his body now exuding a warm and comforting natural aura, he approaches the Furrets.
"Hey, little guys. I'm Victor, Furret's partner. He told me you're having trouble with a thief. I can help investigate if you'll allow me," Victor says as the Furrets and Sentrets start approaching him, drawn in by his natural aura.
As he pets the Furrets, Victor asks, "Have you ever seen this thief?"
"Fu?"
"Furr."
"Fuuurr Fu Furret." The Furrets respond, describing its appearance.
They say it is a shadow, appearing only at night. It seems to be made of dark-colored smoke, and whenever they tried to attack it, their attacks had no effect.
Almost every time, they ended up falling asleep during battle.
'Hmm… that description… a Gastly? That's very likely, considering that Sentrets and Furrets usually only learn Normal-type moves, except for Sucker Punch without focused training.
I was already thinking about building a second team—this could be a great candidate,' Victor ponders, analyzing the potential strategy for his second team.
A Gengar would be a solid addition—few Pokémon have a trickier movepool. Plus, it has strong moves and an impressive Special Attack.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Victor speaks to the Furrets.
"Where is your elder?"
"Furret."
The leader Furret then motions for Victor to follow him. Following the leader Furret deeper into the grove, Victor sees a particularly well-kept den, its entrance formed beneath intricate roots that shape a perfect circle, resembling a portal to another dimension.
As if by instinct, Victor takes out his camera and photographs the entrance.
"Furret."
While Victor captures the scene, Furret enters the den. The burrow is deep, stretching dozens of meters in length.
Navigating its winding paths and multiple entrances, Furret quickly reaches the bottom, where he finds a very old Pokémon, Cinccino.
Unlike the younger members of its species, this elderly Cinccino no longer has silky, shiny fur. Due to its advanced age, its coat is now dull and brittle.
"Furr Furret."
"Cino?"
Facing his tribe's elder, the leader Furret explains that a human has come to help with the berry thief problem. Listening to the explanation, Elder Cinccino requests to see the human.
After discussing the matter further, both Pokémon ascend back up the tunnel Furret entered from.
"Fur?" "Cin?"
Reaching the surface, they find Victor with several Sentrets hanging from his shoulders and head, attentively examining his camera as he takes photos of the grove.
"Could you guys hop down, little ones?" Noticing the arrival of Elder Cinccino and the leader Furret, Victor smiles at the Sentrets.
After they hop off, Victor speaks to the elder Cinccino.
"Hello, Elder. They told me you're having trouble with a thief. I'd like to help if you'll allow me."
"Cinccino Cino."
After pondering for a moment, Elder Cinccino nods in agreement. Receiving the elder's approval, Victor smiles and checks his watch.
'There's still some time before nightfall… Maybe I should check out the temple.'
"Elder, may I see the temple the Furrets mentioned?"
Victor asks hopefully, eager to learn more about the mysterious site.
"Cino? Cinccino."
Hearing Victor's question, Cinccino lifts his head and looks questioningly at the Furrets, who lower theirs slightly in embarrassment.
With a sigh, he agrees. With the elder's approval, they head toward the southern part of the grove, where a path leads up the side of a cliff. There, a staircase is embedded into the rock wall.
"This is incredible. William Thomas really went all out to build this," Victor says, gazing up at the massive stairway, which ascends about seventy meters to the top.
Climbing the stairs, Victor notices they are remarkably wide, providing enough space for even large Pokémon to ascend with ease.
Near the top of the cliff, Victor glances to the side and takes in the vast expanse of the forest, with Purple Town visible in the distance. Several bird Pokémon soar through the sky under the afternoon sun. Seeing such a breathtaking scene, he smiles as the wind brushes against his face before taking a photograph to immortalize the moment.
Now at the cliff's peak, Victor spreads his arms and takes a deep breath, feeling the energy saturating the environment.
"This..."
Crouching down, Victor places his hand on the ground, sensing a pulse of energy extending throughout the entire region.
'Where have I felt this before?' Focusing, Victor's eyes begin to emit a green glow.
Now with his abilities activated, he walks to the edge of the cliff, overlooking the vast forest.
From Victor's perspective, energy lines pulse throughout the entire forest in a brilliant green.
Turning his head left and right, he sees the same lines everywhere, pulsing with faint beats, like a heartbeat.
"What kind of madness is this?"
Victor unconsciously murmurs in shock, trying to comprehend what he is seeing.
"Furr?"
Noticing Victor's strange behavior, Furret tugs on his pant leg in confusion.
"Sorry, Furret. Whoa! Wait! Is all of this… Viridian Force?"
Feeling Furret's touch, Victor responds, still in shock, before catching sight of an intense green glow out of the corner of his eye.
Looking up, he turns toward the temple, only to be momentarily blinded by the radiance.
After a moment of thought, he concludes that this must be Viridian Force.
'That makes sense. The Viridian Force is a blessing granted by the forest, and Celebi is considered the Forest God. But still, why is all this energy converging here? Unless…'
Victor's eyes widen as realization dawns upon him.
'It's not converging toward the temple, it's coming from the temple. The blessing Celebi grants to the forest… That's it.'
Shaking his head in thought, he concludes, 'Celebi stores energy here and then distributes it throughout the entire forest.'
Victor begins walking toward the temple, accompanied by Furret, Stoutland, Elder Cinccino, and the Leader Furret.
As they walk, he finally gets a full view of the temple, massive stone pillars intricately carved with images of Pokémon, including Scyther, Heracross, Butterfree, Beedrill, Ariados, Venomoth, and other insect Pokémon.
The pillars are also covered in vines, showing signs of wear from time. Passing through the pillars, Victor notices an image partially covered by vines.
Feeling something strange upon seeing it, he steps closer to clear the vines away.
"What is this?"
The image resembles a Scyther, but its scythes are different, more brutal, resembling axes. The entire appearance of this Pokémon is fierce, wild, and dominant. Upon recognizing it, Victor's eyes widen in surprise.
'Kleavor! But what is a Pokémon from Hisui doing here? William was a bug-type specialist, so it makes sense that he would know about Kleavor, but it's still a Hisuian Pokémon. William became famous around a hundred years ago, and Hisui's colonization timeline should be about two hundred years ago. However, Lucius had a Kleavor, and he was from the same era as William... so it's plausible that he had one,' Victor quickly analyzes, processing the known facts.
"Furr?"
Noticing Victor's distraction, Furret calls out to him.
"Huh? I spaced out a little. Let's check out the temple,"
Victor says, smiling at Furret. Glancing once more at Kleavor's image, he shakes his head and continues toward the temple with a resigned sigh.
Further ahead, past the pillars, Victor sees a large stone temple with massive double wooden doors.
Judging by their thickness, the doors must be incredibly heavy.
"Locked? When does the temple open?" Victor asks curiously, looking at Elder Cinccino with a doubtful expression.
"Cinccino Cin..." Cinccino explains that the temple only opens once a year, on the first day of spring.
"The first day of spring, huh? So, that's about a month from now," Victor murmurs, mentally calculating the time.
As he approaches the temple, he feels an inexplicable pull, drawn in by the energy emanating from it, despite Elder Cinccino's warnings not to get too close.
Fixating on the door, Victor reaches out toward it with a vacant look.
The moment his fingers touch the surface, a surge of energy courses through his body, flowing through every pore of his skin.
Before he realizes it, the energy is on the verge of surpassing some kind of limit.
"ARGH!"
With a cry of pain, Victor feels that limit shattering before he is forcefully thrown backward, flying several meters.
"CELEBI..."
As he crashes onto the ground, his consciousness begins to fade, his vision darkening.
But just before everything goes black, he hears an ethereal sound, a voice, almost childlike and melodic.
With what little sight he has left, he catches a glimpse of a vague green silhouette flying above him. He isn't sure if it's real or just a hallucination.
--- Some time later, at night
As Victor slowly opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is Furret's fluffy tail.
"What the hell is this?" He asks, deadpan, staring at the tail right in front of his face.
"Furr Furrr Furret!"
Sensing Victor's movement, Furret turns around in concern, staring at him to check if he's okay.
"I'm fine, Furret. But if you don't get off my chest, I might actually suffocate..." Victor says, trying to push Furret off him.
"Furr."
With a small jump, Furret moves away, looking at Victor apologetically.
"Ugh, my head..."
Sitting up, Victor rubs his temple, wincing from the headache.
As the pain starts to subside, he notices something strange.
Looking at his right hand, he tries to manipulate the energy within his body and realizes it feels much stronger than before, as if it has evolved.
"Furret, come here," Victor calls, motioning for Furret to approach.
As Furret moves closer, Victor extends his hand toward him.
Taking a deep breath, he follows his instincts, guiding the energy in his body toward Furret.
"Incredible," Victor exclaims as he watches the energy leave his body. In his vision, a soft green glow flows toward Furret, merging into his body.
The moment Furret absorbs the energy, Victor feels an extremely powerful connection forming between them.
"I did it!"
With this connection, he senses Furret's aura growing stronger, and suddenly, memories flood his mind.
'Yellow! Yellow's ability to strengthen Pokémon! Does this mean my Viridian Force evolved? That silhouette... was it really Celebi?' Victor wonders in confusion as he deactivates the Viridian Force, breaking the connection with Furret.
"It's already nighttime? I really passed out, huh?"
Looking up at the dark sky, he realizes how much time has passed.
Suddenly, he senses a presence that wasn't there before.
Turning around, he spots a Noctowl perched on a tree branch, silently watching him with its head slightly tilted.
"That's creepy, Wait! You're Grandpa's Noctowl! Did he send you to protect me?"
Initially startled, Victor quickly recognizes the Noctowl and asks with an ironic smile.
"Towl!"
Noctowl confirms with a soft hoot, spreading its wings.
Smirking, Victor decides it's time to help the Furret tribe.
"Let's head down," he says, looking at the Pokémon around him.
Returning to the Furret tribe's forest, they see the Furrets and Sentrets asleep, lying on the grass. In the fruit tree orchard, a ghostly sphere of gas is floating, devouring the berries from the trees.
Spotting the Gastly, Victor quickly discerns that it is at level 31, three levels higher than Furret.
This surprises him, as the strongest member of the tribe is level 34. It's rare to see a lone Pokémon at such a high level; if they reach that level in the wild on their own, they must either be lucky or incredibly strong.
"Let's give it a try, Furret," Victor says as Furret steps into battle position.
"Fu!"
"Gastly?"
Sensing movement around it, Gastly glances at Furret. But, realizing it's just another Furret, it goes back to eating berries.
"Power up with Hone Claws!"
"Furr!"
Taking advantage of Gastly's distraction, Victor orders Furret to strengthen itself. Furret sharpens its claws against each other, boosting its attack and accuracy.
"Quick Attack and Shadow Claw!" At the command, Furret's body moves instantly, dashing toward Gastly.
"Ga?"
By the time Gastly notices, it's already too late, Furret is right in front of it, its left paw cloaked in a ghostly purple energy, forming a large, sharp claw.
"GAST!"
Struck by the attack, Gastly is sent tumbling to the side. It quickly recovers, glaring furiously at Furret.
"Gastly!" Its eyes glow as it attempts to hypnotize Furret.
"Furret, close your eyes!"
Noticing Gastly's move, Victor shouts a warning. Trusting his trainer, Furret shuts its eyes the instant it hears Victor's voice.
Realizing its Hypnosis failed, Gastly decides to flee. Now injured and unable to put its opponent to sleep, escape is its best option.
"Too late! Quick Attack and Shadow Claw again!" Victor smirks, recognizing Gastly's fear and desire to flee.
Catching up to Gastly once more, Furret meets its eyes and gives a sly grin before slashing downward with its claw. With the impact, Gastly is slammed into the ground beneath Furret.
"That's enough, Furret. It's already unconscious," Victor says, assessing Gastly's state.
"Furret?" Furret looks at Gastly, now lying motionless with spirals in its eyes, before stepping back and turning to Victor with a proud expression.
"Great job, Furret," Victor praises, approaching as he pulls out a Fast Ball.
"I'm going to make you a champion, Gastly," he says, tossing the Fast Ball.
One shake.
Two shakes.
Three shakes.
Caught.
Picking up the Fast Ball from the ground, Victor strikes a capture pose and shouts, "I caught a Gastly!"
With Gastly now captured, Victor decides it's best to head back to the ranch. Turning to Noctowl, he grins as an idea comes to mind.
"Hey, Noctowl. Can you give me a ride home?"
"Noctowl."
After thinking for a moment, Noctowl agrees.
"Alright, let's do this Red-style," Victor says with a smile.
"Noc?"
Noctowl tilts its head, confused by the reference.
"Oh? You grab my shoulders with your talons and carry me home," Victor explains as he recalls Stoutland and Furret into their Poké Balls.
"Ready?"
"Noctowl!" Answering with a loud chirp, Noctowl grasps Victor with its talons and takes off, its wings beating powerfully.
Victor closes his eyes at first, feeling a bit nervous, but after a few seconds, the sensation of the wind on his face calms him.
Opening his eyes, he looks down and sees the forest still full of life, glowing fireflies illuminating the night, giving the scenery an ethereal atmosphere.
"Beautiful..." Victor murmurs, widening his eyes, wanting to burn this image into his memory. With this breathtaking aerial view, Victor soars back home.
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