Chapter 294: The True Ideal Messenger!
Terapagos replied imposingly, “Status about the same as yours.”
Hearing this, Groudon narrowed its eyes: “Tier 1 God?”
Terapagos nodded.
“A Tier 1 God created by humans—that’s really interesting.” Groudon teased.
“No no no…”
Terapagos shook its head repeatedly and said, “It’s not that humans created It, but that It chose to be born in human hands.”
What a joke!
Mastering part of the world origin, innately possessing the world’s authority—such an existence even Arceus couldn’t create barehanded, let alone mere humans.
“The world is getting livelier, with more and more new gods being born as the world origin grows stronger.” Groudon sighed.
Groudon suddenly changed the subject, teasing, “But what I’m more curious about now is… the power that little guy possesses.”
“Don’t ask me, this might be Arceus’s arrangement.” Terapagos unhesitatingly threw the blame to the missing Arceus.
“What I’m interested in now is whether that special power of his has value for gods of our status.” Groudon probed.
This was also the reason It condescended to stay by a mortal’s side—if divine beasts had factions, Groudon would definitely be one that didn’t like humans much.
The reason It chose Lu Li was solely because of Lu Li’s power, not extending to all humans.
Terapagos didn’t answer directly, but countered, “You’ve already guessed in your heart, haven’t you?”
“I hate riddle people.” Groudon pursed its mouth, then kicked Terapagos out of the mind world.
………..
After returning to the villa, Lu Li saw Wei, who was covered in dirt but almost fully recovered.
Upon seeing Lu Li appear, Wei grabbed his hand with a face full of anxiety and asked, “Lu Li, where’s Bao Bao? Did you find her?”
“Didn’t catch up, they’ve already left the Jiuzhou Region for the Golden Triangle Region.” Lu Li shook his head.
Hearing this, Wei’s face paled; if not for the Wobbuffet beside her supporting her, she would have nearly collapsed to the ground.
Seeing the important Wei like this, Lu Li couldn’t bear it and comforted, “Don’t worry, I used Ideal Power to check the future—Bao Bao isn’t in danger this time, and will even turn misfortune into fortune?”
“Really?”
Wei, whose face had been ashen, finally showed a glimmer of light, looking at Lu Li with hopeful eyes.
“Of course! I swear on the Ideal Dragon.” Lu Li guaranteed confidently.
He didn’t dare swear casually on Arceus, but the Ideal Dragon was fine.
After all, he now seemed to have a backer, though that backer was unreliable and a bit of a pit.
After experiencing so much, Lu Li could confirm there was definitely a “two-faced turtle” behind him.
Otherwise, why would Gimmighoul have inexplicable fondness for him? Even directly becoming his companion.
Having rallied herself, Wei said through gritted teeth, “That’s good, was it those Divine Cult bastards?”
After confirming her sister would be fine, Wei now only thought about quickly bringing Bao Bao back—after all, her sister had never been away from her since childhood.
“Don’t worry! In less than half a year, you’ll see Bao Bao again.” Lu Li guaranteed.
Afraid Wei still wouldn’t be at ease, Lu Li added, “And by then, she’ll definitely give you a big surprise.”
Of course Wei couldn’t fully relax, even with Lu Li’s guarantee, but Wei had always been strong; he knew worrying more wouldn’t help.
Because her current power simply couldn’t retrieve Bao Bao.
What kind of existence was the Divine Cult?
It was the world’s strongest evil organization, even harboring legendary master-level trainers.
Wei didn’t dare hope Lu Li would rescue Bao Bao at all costs—leaving aside whether it was appropriate, Lu Li facing them now would be like an egg striking a stone.
She still understood this much.
Looking at the somewhat dejected Wei, Lu Li opened his mouth, hesitated to speak, and finally could only encourage, “Work hard to get stronger.”
Looking at the villa reduced to ruins, Lu Li thought of Ai Ke and the others.
“Right, are those Wildfire Gang kids okay?” Lu Li asked.
Yao Yifei beside him said, “The Wildfire Gang wasn’t attacked, but Ai Ke might be in trouble.”
Hearing this, Lu Li grew anxious too.
Ai Ke was the capable subordinate he had carefully nurtured, with high training and talent, good character—aside from some black spots, almost no flaws.
“What happened to Ai Ke?” Lu Li hurriedly asked.
“Ai Ke seems to have been teleported away. He rushed over to support after hearing the commotion at the villa, but due to weak strength, Ai Ke and his Pokémon didn’t last a few rounds before being defeated.”
“In the end, no one knows how, but a special energy fluctuation passed, and Ai Ke mysteriously disappeared.”
Lu Li thoughtfully asked, “Mysteriously disappeared? Was there spatial fluctuation?”
Yao Yifei shook her head: “Don’t know, the battle was too intense then; I had no time to pay attention to anything outside the fight.”
“Sigh! Hope he’s okay.”
Lu Li said as he took out the turtle shell again: “I’ll use Ideal Power to check his current situation.”
Ancient copper coins landed, and Lu Li kept calculating.
Moments later, Lu Li frowned tightly and put away the turtle shell.
A very strange thing.
The divination showed Ai Ke was not in this world, but also that Ai Ke wasn’t dead; when he tried to calculate deeper, a great power blocked his divination.
This divination was very odd; after so long up to this point, it was the first time Lu Li encountered such a divination.
Seemingly true yet false, impressively vague.
Seeing Lu Li silent for a long time, the impatient Wei urged, “How is it? Found that Ai Ke?”
Lu Li shook his head: “Very strange, can only confirm Ai Ke is still alive, don’t know where he went, or even if he’s in this world anymore.”
“Could he have been sent to a secret realm?” Yao Yifei analyzed.
Lu Li shook his head: “Unlikely, secret realms and this world are essentially the same world; even if Ai Ke was teleported to a divine beast’s secret realm, it wouldn’t count as not being in this world.”
“Could it be… Ai Ke really went to other worlds?” Wei was quite accepting of such outrageous settings, not even doubting if Lu Li had calculated wrong.
Lu Li sighed, “Sigh, hope that child can turn danger into safety; what we can do now is take good care of the Wildfire Gang for him.”
If Bao Bao could still be salvaged, Ai Ke was truly beyond reach.
………..
A parallel universe under the Pokémon Anime world worldview.
Three years in this world, and Ai Ke still often thought of his companions back home and that boss he owed a lifetime of gratitude.
Though this world was wonderful, Ai Ke still hoped to return to the original world.
This was a world even better than Utopia, the world of his ideals.
Here, almost everyone was equal; humans and Pokémon lived in harmony, with no territory disputes or fights over Pokémon secret treasures.
This world even had no Pokémon eating each other—an almost anti-natural utopian world.
Here, even an orphan could capture bug-type Pokémon by personal ability and embark on a trainer’s journey.
Most importantly, traveling out in this world didn’t mean worrying about never returning.
Ai Ke sincerely loved this world, its harmony, and everything beautiful here.
It was a dreamlike world, but he didn’t belong here, no matter how dreamily perfect.
（Later, when free, release a short Ai Ke in the anime world side story.）
Lying on the vast wilderness, arms behind his head, Ai Ke gazed blankly at the sky.
He missed that home again, that not-so-wonderful, even cruel real world.
In a daze, Ai Ke felt as if he were in the starry sky.
An ethereal yet immensely majestic voice echoed through the entire starry sky.
“Is this the world of your ideals?”
“Yes.” Ai Ke nodded without hesitation.
“Is this the future of your ideals?”
That majestic voice resounded again.
Hearing this, Ai Ke hesitated.
Was this the future he idealized?
No siblings, no boss, just a dreamlike perfect society.
Ai Ke shook his head firmly, refuting in a determined tone, “No! This isn’t the future I expect, nor my ideal world.”
“No! Your ideal is for everyone to freely become trainers, journeying with Pokémon without fearing wilderness dangers or never returning—that’s your ideal world.”
This time the voice was much lower, even carrying a hint of temptation.
“Isn’t living in such a wonderful world good? You’ve realized your ideal in just a blink of an eye.”
That devil-like whisper continued tempting Ai Ke’s mind.
“No! I want to go back!”
“This world is indeed my ideal, but I should strive for it with my own hands, not reap it ready-made! Not abandon my siblings or forget the boss’s kindness.”
Ai Ke shouted angrily; this was indeed his ideal world, but not the ideal world belonging to him.
The true ideal should be creating it together with his siblings.
The fully majestic voice resounded again: “Then… do you really want to return to that real and cruel world to create your ideal world?”
Ai Ke nodded heavily: “Yes! Even if the real world is crueler.”
“Very good!”
“Your pursuit of ideals has overcome your fear of reality; your grand ideal shall receive my blessing.”
As the voice fell, the surrounding stars began rotating ceaselessly; feeling the world spin, Ai Ke fainted again.
When Ai Ke woke again, he was in an even stranger place.
This was a dim secret room, surrounded by murals depicting faded paintings.
Ai Ke could confirm this strange place seemed to be in a circular building; most importantly… he seemed to be back.
“Am I really back?” Ai Ke unconsciously touched the Poké Ball at his waist.
Feeling that real touch, Ai Ke was overjoyed, even weeping with happiness.
“Really back… three years! Hope the siblings are okay, hope… sister-in-law Yao Yifei is fine.” Ai Ke murmured.
Then he thoughtfully looked at the altar atop the steps; a black stone floated on the altar, and by instinct, the rallied Ai Ke slowly ascended the steps.
Ai Ke’s Poké Ball suddenly flashed with beams of light; a Mightyena with fierce eyes in its gaze warily watched that glowing black stone.
Soon, a Zoroark of the same black color stood beside the Mightyena.
Mightyena, Zoroark, Greninja, and Roaring Flame Tiger all appeared behind Ai Ke.
In three years, Ai Ke had become a Gym Level Trainer.
Under that Pokémon world’s special rules, becoming a Gym Level Trainer in three years wasn’t praiseworthy for Ai Ke.
Because in that world, he met a youth named Xiao Zhi—a terrifying existence who was an Heavenly King Level Trainer at just 11 years old.
The black stone suddenly emitted huge radiance enveloping Ai Ke and his Pokémon behind him; the blinding light made Ai Ke and his Pokémon unable to open their eyes.
In the blur, Ai Ke seemed to see a pitch-black giant dragon gazing at him, its scarlet eyes full of appreciation.
As the radiance gradually faded, the black stone on the altar vanished without trace, but a black stone mark appeared on the back of Ai Ke’s hand.
At the same time, Ai Ke gained an extremely peculiar ability.
It was a strange power to twist reality, allowing him to return to one minute ago and start over.
If once doesn’t work, try again! Choose the best timeline among countless erroneous ones to craft the most perfect timeline!
“So… this is Ideal Power?” Ai Ke stared incredulously at the back of his hand and whispered.
“Wait!”
“If I’m an Ideal Messenger, then what is the boss?”
Ai Ke’s face instantly became extremely colorful; he seemed to have uncovered the boss’s secret.
（ps: Every Ideal Messenger’s Ideal Power manifests differently.）
“Whatever, whether it’s Ideal Power or not, the boss is still the boss; let the boss worry about that.” Ai Ke smiled relievedly.
The kindness he owed Lu Li was a lifetime’s debt anyway, with or without Ideal Power.
Now Ai Ke was also happy; he could finally help the boss.
“We gotta hurry back; the boss and others are waiting for me at home.” After muttering to himself, Ai Ke turned to his companions and said:
“We’ll be home soon, then we can see my family; I believe they’ll be very happy to see you too.”
“Woof~”
（I want to eat Round and Rolling’s pills!）
Thinking he could finally go home, the Mightyena excitedly barked loudly.
Ai Ke smilingly patted the Mightyena’s head and said, “No problem, then I’ll definitely ask the boss to prepare plenty for you.”
“Alright, let’s leave this place first.” Ai Ke recalled his companions and turned toward the exit.
