stonecrandall Chapter 318 This is me, Zygarde
Chapter 318 This is me, Zygarde
"That's right! It's you! Li Luochen, we're partners! Have you forgotten? Oh no, we've never met before, so it's no wonder you're so hostile towards me. Now, everything makes sense."
The sticky rice cake projected a phantom image of Tao Dailang, its voice carrying a seductive power, attempting to shake Li Luochen's resolute heart: "Well, you don't believe me anyway. But, I do know some of your little secrets~"
"What little secret?"
Li Luochen raised an eyebrow; he wanted to hear what Tao Dailang had to say to him.
"Let me think about it~ Never mind, you'll find out later."
"..."
Li Luochen seemed to be a little angry, as this was the first time a Pokémon had ever teased him like this.
Don't think that just because you're a projection, I can't do anything to you.
"What? Does that look on your face mean you want Zygarde to open an account at my current location?"
Tao Dailang anticipated Li Luochen's actions.
"Oh? You know I have Zygarde?"
These words did not anger Li Luochen; instead, they calmed him down and made him consider the truthfulness of Tao Dailang's words.
Not many people actually know that Zygarde is a character in the game.
Most importantly, his Zygarde can mimic, meaning that in many situations, it will change its skin color to match the surrounding environment.
In this situation, Tao Dailang's sudden statement made Li Luochen feel that there was a chance that what he said was true.
but!
Since Momo was with me for a period of time, it should have become a legitimate Pokémon. How did it turn out like this?
"partner!"
Tao Dailang's voice carried a rare hint of reproach, as if he felt wronged by Li Luochen's "lack of understanding": "Do you think that I allowed the sea monsters to rise again and invade Aldomaree so that I could destroy that city? So that you could perish at sea?"
Its tone turned somber: "You're mistaken. Even without my sticky rice cakes, without Jirachi's blessing, the Black Tide will still rise again, it will still descend once more."
"And now?"
It looked up at Li Luochen, its gaze carrying a serious "you should understand me" quality: "With the blessing of my and Jirachi's wishes, the Black Tide did indeed awaken ahead of schedule. But what about the harm? It was reduced to the minimum."
"Destruction that unconsciously engulfs everything, like Snorlax!"
"It's changed; it's only aimed at you."
It suddenly chuckled softly, a chuckle that held a hint of gambler's cunning, as well as a certainty about Li Luochen: "I admit, there was an element of gambling in it."
"But who told you to be there?"
"With your abilities and your character."
"Getting through this won't be difficult."
"so."
Li Luochen narrowed his eyes, almost getting caught up in the trap: "Aren't you still targeting me?"
He waved his hand, signaling Tao Dailang to stop, and steered the conversation back on track: "In the end, aren't I still the victim?"
Tao Dailang showed no embarrassment at being exposed; instead, he nodded matter-of-factly, "That's right, I went there for you."
Then it changed the subject: "But have you noticed that your character has changed since then?"
It stared into Li Luochen's eyes, speaking each word clearly:
"No longer worrying about gains and losses, no longer caring about the opinions of the world."
"Isn't that enough?"
"..."
Li Luochen frowned, then managed to stammer out, "Nonsense."
"Hahaha! I never expected to see this side of you!"
Tao Dailang laughed.
They laughed with righteous indignation and without any remorse.
"Let them be unreasonable."
It shrugged, its tone nonchalant: "Anyway, you weren't really angry."
Then Tao Dailang looked at Li Luochen, staring intently at his clenched fists, which looked like they were about to punch him at any moment.
Tao Dailang blinked.
Then, it disappeared.
Only that pink sticky rice cake remained, gently falling from the air and landing in Li Luochen's outstretched palm.
It feels warm to the touch and has a faint, sweet fragrance.
The next second, the sticky rice cake transformed into starlight, slowly spreading between Li Luochen's fingers.
"..."
No matter how unwilling I was to believe it.
Li Luochen still had to admit it.
Tao Dailang is right.
……
……
Hunan Province, Changsha, a Secret Realm of Prayer
Momo and his Eternal Team moved into Jirachi's secret realm, also known as the Wishing Realm.
After severing contact with Li Luochen, Tao Dailang slowly floated to a giant rock.
It landed, its small figure leaning against the rough stone surface.
The memories begin.
At that time, Tao Dailang was still very weak.
I understand nothing, I fear nothing, and I care about nothing.
Until I met that young man.
Despite his young age, a heavy weight was weighing on his brow.
That deep, somber aura that only those who have walked the edge of the abyss possess.
We spent some time together.
It asked him: Why are you sighing all the time?
The young man glanced at it, his eyes showing weariness but not self-pity.
"This world is imperfect," he said, "and is constantly in crisis."
At this point, the young man's voice lowered, as if he were saying to himself:
"Disasters continue to occur in various places, but I alone am powerless."
"I tried my best, but I couldn't save everything."
Even if it's just to the best of my ability.
"Yet we still watched helplessly as our companions vanished."
"That……"
Tao Dailang looked up at the young man who was always sighing, his eyes sparkling: "What if one day I can help you?"
The young man was taken aback.
He then laughed.
The smile was faint, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, about to go out.
"if you can."
The young man gazed into the far distance, as if looking at an impossible dream: "How wonderful it would be if all the dangers could fall on my shoulders alone."
Puzzled, Tao Dailang tilted his head and asked again, "Why?"
The young man withdrew his gaze, looked down at it, and saw something in his eyes that it couldn't understand at the time.
Self-deprecation? Or resignation?
"Because..."
The recollection abruptly ended, not because the young man didn't want to talk about it.
Rather, it was the youth who disappeared at that time.
Momotaro inherited the youth's will and united some powerful Pokémon to establish an organization called "Team Eternia".
This unchanging principle is for the sake of upholding this original aspiration, forever.
"Even if the world doesn't recognize us, even if we treat everything as pawns and are scorned, it's all worth it as long as we can repair this chaotic world."
As the recollection ended, Tao Dailang stood up, turned his head to look at the deep purple boulder, and sighed softly, "Having borrowed so much of your willpower, it's time to find an opportunity to awaken you."
"So, that's your reason for doing things so extremely?"
"Who's there?!"
"I am Zygarde."