Chapter Sixty-three: The First Day of Not Being Human

Chen Ou released the Flame Emperor, letting it carry the two Snow Faeries and the unconscious Xue on its back. As for why Xue only brought two Pokémon, that ties into another trainer’s habits.

It’s well known that a trainer’s command ability has limits, which is why most battles are one-on-one; unless it’s a matter of life and death, there’s rarely a chaotic six-on-six brawl. With every additional Pokémon on the field, the difficulty of command increases exponentially. If commanding one Pokémon is rated at a difficulty of 10, then commanding six simultaneously would be a staggering 1,000,000.

Thus, the profession of trainer demands extraordinary talent. To become a professional trainer is already a one-in-ten-thousand achievement.

And those who can command six Pokémon at once are the elite among elites. Trainers like Red, Green, and Lance—each hailing from regions with populations in the tens of millions—can be counted on one hand, and they’re not even of the same generation.

Granny Kikuko and Professor Oak belong to one generation. Lance, Siebold, and Lorelei to another. Red, Green, and Chen Ou form yet another. That’s just by age. If you judge by timing, Chen Ou would be of the same generation as Ash, who is just about to embark on his journey…

There aren’t many people like that—perhaps a few Gym Leaders at most…

With limited high-end resources, the trainer profession is fiercely competitive!

But it seems Chen Ou won’t have to worry about this anymore…

He can hardly be considered human now…

Could he, perhaps, be with Gardevoir…?

No, he couldn’t—at least he shouldn’t…

Chen Ou pondered his own identity, then slowly walked toward the exit—which was also the entrance. For some reason, he felt a bit nauseated as he walked.

The distance wasn’t far, and he’d figured out everything that had happened. The Poison Plate, upon discovering this stowaway, decided to meet him. But due to the recent emergence of the so-called “Deity Attendant” organization, the Poison Plate chose to keep a low profile and created a cave, which turned out not to be natural at all—it had been corroded out by the Poison Plate. It even strengthened the area into a miniature alternate dimension.

The energy leaking out attracted a large number of Pokémon. As for why most were Muk—first, Muk is highly sensitive to energy fluctuations, and second, Chen Ou suspected that other Pokémon might be hidden in that sludge, though…

The real world is never all glitz and glamour.

Chen Ou had seen enough not to feel much emotional disturbance.

All the Muk had been devoured by the giant Muk. But thanks to Arceus—or rather, the Poison Plate—the giant Muk’s energy response was tightly suppressed, not leaking out at all.

In a sense, Chen Ou had avenged everyone.

Muk was captured, awaiting the League’s verdict, and Arceus had been compromised (in a haze).

A happy ending of sorts; after all, the dead are gone. Chen Ou wouldn’t mourn a bunch of Pokémon he’d never met—not out of coldness, but because that’s human nature. A gentleman keeps his distance from the slaughterhouse; nothing more.

As for Xue, she somehow learned about the Poison Plate’s activities. She got involved in Cerulean City’s Waterworks drama, using the company as a cover to obtain the Plate and minimize her presence.

But, unlucky for her, Chen Ou appeared…

Thus, everyone’s plans except Arceus’s fell apart.

Thinking about it, Chen Ou laughed—his knack for being outside the script worked not just for his own plans! It seems the cosmic will (the author) truly loves him!

Now, another round of dull cleanup work awaited him. Chen Ou was becoming more like a janitor: first cleaning up after the time-space dragons, then Hoopa, now Arceus…

Had he been standing with the legendary beasts all along?

Chen Ou scratched his head. It sounded like a long time, but it had only been about two months.

To think of it, his fate was truly full of twists—most people wouldn’t encounter such crucial events in a lifetime, but he’d run into so many…

A real unlucky fellow.

“My happiest time was those first five years, holed up in the lab, reading papers and writing articles. I don’t like legendary beasts! I have no interest in them!”—by the Sinnoh Champion, Beastmaster, Humanoid Pokémon, Uncrowned King of the League, Chen “Unlucky” Ou.

Chen Ou sighed lightly. Why must handsome people bear so much responsibility?

Exhausted—let the world end…

Of course, it was just talk. People can say discouraging things, but mustn’t do discouraging deeds.

Keep going. Either you see dawn, or you grow accustomed to setbacks.

That’s the strength of humankind.

Chen Ou reflected as he climbed upward step by step.

Thankfully, the slope wasn’t steep…

When he finally emerged, he collapsed onto the ground, panting. Flame Emperor, following behind, shook its head, thinking Chen Ou really should work out.

After all, bearing Arceus’s certification as a legendary beast, how could his stamina be so weak?

It secretly resolved to train Chen Ou’s physical fitness.

Danger—Chen Ou—in danger.

Chen Ou still didn’t know he’d been scheduled for boot camp by Flame Emperor. All he felt was utter exhaustion, physically and mentally.

Honestly, today he’d fought two battles, faced one-eighteenth of the strongest legendary beast, and spent the day on edge. If he weren’t tired, it’d be a miracle.

He’d entered the cave at noon and left at night—about ten hours.

Ten grueling hours.

But at least it ended safely. Though Chen Ou never showed it, he worried every day that, as a stowaway, he might one day be summoned by Arceus for a “chat,” or worse, destroyed by Judgment.

After meeting the time-space dragons, Ho-oh, and other gods, he felt a bit more at ease, but the anxiety lingered. Now, after these events, having become Arceus’s subordinate, he could finally relax and live in this world without reservation.

Looking up at the star-strewn sky, Chen Ou finally allowed himself a rare, relaxed smile.

“Rotom, contact the League and tell them to send someone to fetch me. I have a lot to report!”

“Understood, Rotom! I’ve already started drafting the mission report. The moment we have a signal, I’ll send a message to the League officials. Given their efficiency, they should arrive soon. Rotom.”

So proficient it hurts…