When Cole arrived at Captain Talonflame's quarters, he found him having dinner.
"Well, well, look who's learned to stay out all night!" He muttered after hearing what had happened.
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Meanwhile, Chief Trevenant was leading Daisy deep into the forest, followed by a large group of Phantump.
Though pitch black outside, will-o'-wisps floated throughout the forest, one or two hovering beside each Phantump like lanterns, illuminating their path.
From outside the forest, one would witness a spectacular sight — the will-o'-wisps appearing like fireflies, beautiful yet unapproachable.
Up close, these will-o'-wisps revealed their true nature, transforming the forest into a ghostly realm.
As they approached the forest's center, a circular pool appeared before Daisy, filled with emerald-colored liquid.
The green liquid glowed on its own — even without the will-o'-wisps' light, this pool would stand out in the darkness. No wonder it was hidden so deep in the forest.
Chief Trevenant took the lead, walking into the pool and submerging its body. In the blink of an eye, all the battle scars on its body vanished completely.
"Come try it too!"
It said to Daisy.
Daisy stepped into the pool. As the cool liquid gradually submerged her, she felt her body absorbing energy from the water.
The energy quickly began healing her injuries.
"What is this place? It's miraculous." Daisy asked in wonder.
"I don't know." Chief Trevenant shook its head.
Their tribe had lived in this forest for many years. The pool had always been here, so they had taken it upon themselves to protect it, keeping it hidden from outsiders.
Suddenly Chief Trevenant exclaimed, "What's that on your chest? Why is it glowing?"
Daisy looked down to see her chest faintly glowing. When she took out the necklace Ember had given her, she discovered the pink diamond was the source of light.
She noticed that the diamond was surrounded by an energy that felt similar to the pool water.
Before she could grasp this connection, Chief Trevenant exclaimed again — a point of light had appeared in the center of the pool.
The two Pokémon leaned in closer and saw a green gemstone embedded in the pool bottom, no larger than a human thumb, emitting the light.
The green gemstone's light seemed to respond to the diamond in Daisy's hand. When she instinctively brought the two gems together, her consciousness grew hazy.
This moment might have lasted a second, or perhaps an eternity...
Daisy saw many visions.
A giant captured a green, cell-like Pokémon and transformed it into a black weapon, causing its owner to fall into slumber.
War erupted across the land, with a black bird lurking in the shadows, its face twisted with malice.
A deer-like Pokémon and a bird-dragon-like Pokémon joined forces against the black bird.
During their battle, the deer-like Pokémon's rainbow-glowing antler was severed, and one piece transformed into a green gemstone left on the battlefield.
The scene shifted to a cave where Diancie and Ember lived together for what seemed like ages.
In a distant forest, the deer-like Pokémon lay mortally wounded. Ember and Diancie found it, and Diancie ultimately sacrificed itself to save the creature.
In a final vision, the deer-like Pokémon shared its life force with Ember before transforming into an ancient tree and falling into eternal slumber in the forest.
Many more chaotic images flooded Daisy's mind, nearly making her head explode.
"Garde!!!"
Daisy screamed and suddenly opened her eyes. The visions and the headache vanished instantly.
She stared bewilderedly at the diamond in her hand, then at the green gemstone embedded in the pool bottom. Both stones had stopped glowing.
Reflecting on her visions, Daisy realized the green gemstone must be the transformed piece of the deer-like Pokémon's broken antler.
"Daisy, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Daisy shook her head.
Trevenant sighed in relief.
That night, sleep eluded Daisy. She clutched the pink diamond tightly, sensing its power while studying the pool's energy signature. Unconsciously, she tried to make her own Source Energy match that frequency.
Yet despite her efforts, she couldn't align her Source Energy with the pool's unique characteristics.
Only as dawn approached did Daisy finally close her eyes.
Unknown to her, at that precise moment, a special wave of energy flickered across her body for just an instant.
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Neither Daisy nor Cole had slept well — dark circles shadowed his eyes the next morning.
The reason was clear to everyone: his mother hadn't come home last night.
When Daisy returned around noon, she expected anger from Cole. Instead, he acted as if nothing had happened.
This reaction made her uneasy — shouldn't a child worry when their mother doesn't come home all night?
The atmosphere between parent and child grew awkward. When other Pokémon noticed, they found the pair's behavior ridiculous — was it really such a big deal?
The tension didn't last long, though. After just half a day, Daisy couldn't bear it anymore and took the initiative to make up with Cole.
But making amends was one thing; preventing it from happening again was another. The very next night, Daisy didn't come home again.
Cole was nearly driven mad with anger. What's going on, are you planning to move in there permanently?
Yet his objections made no difference. From then on, Daisy would stay at Trevenant's place every few days, then return home acting affectionate with him.
Cole couldn't sustain his anger, but he couldn't help feeling upset. It was truly frustrating.
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In a forest on the eastern side of Mt. Ascendant, a Pidove was being chased by a flock of Spearow.
It carried a black stone on its back, and no matter how many dangerous situations it encountered, it never once considered abandoning that stone.
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