Chapter 955: Jade Mountain
Following Mr. Kuni'o's instructions, Yuga spent three days traveling from the Azure City in Kanto to the Jade Town in Johto.
Jade Town is located in a remote area, situated between the Blackthorn City and Mt. Silver. Strictly speaking, Jade Mountain, near Jade Town, is considered a part of Mt. Silver.
Mt. Silver cover a vast area and are rich in ecological resources. It's an important Pokémon conservation area established by the League, home to many rare Pokémon, with the most famous one is the Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon, Tyranitar.
Every year, numerous Pokémon poachers attempt to venture into Mt. Silver for illegal hunting, hoping to capture the Pseudo-Legendary or their offspring, which would make them rich overnight.
Ignoring the inherent dangers of Mt. Silver, they also have to contend with the numerous forest rangers dispatched by the League, acting as the first line of defense against intruders.
Although Jade Town is adjacent to the well-known Blackthorn City, due to its rugged terrain and inconvenience, it remains a remote town. Even with the establishment of a Gym and the League's support in recent years, the local development hasn't seen much improvement.
Yuga landed just outside Jade Town, riding on a Charizard. At the entrance was a suspension bridge with iron chains and below of it was an abyss, from which the sound of flowing water could faintly be heard.
Looking at the swaying iron chain bridge over the abyss, Yuga sighed. It's no wonder that no one came to this place; just this bridge and abyss are enough to scare away large number of people.
Jade Town is backed by the rugged Jade Mountain, surrounded by cliffs and precipices, and the only way in and out is this suspension bridge over the abyss.
At this moment, there was a cry from the sky, and Yuga saw two individuals flying towards him on Pokémon. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be Sora and Lance.
These must be the people my master mentioned who would assist me, thought Yuga.
After landing, they recalled their Pokémon, and Sora greeted Yuga first, saying, "You've finally arrived."
Initially, when Jade Town was in trouble, he had wanted to ask for Yuga's help, but Yuga had left Hoenn. He didn't expect Yuga to eventually come.
Yuga nodded, "Nice to see you again."
Lance also approached and said, "Mr. Shimizu, I've heard so much about you."
Yuga quickly replied, "Mr. Lance, its should be my honor."
Unlike Cynthia and Steven, Lance had become Johto's Elite Four at a young age. In addition due to Johto's lack of a Champion for a long time. He was almost considered as the default champion of the Johto League, and he always been the League most watched Trainer.
Reportedly, due to some special circumstances, after this year's Elite Four Tournament, Lance would likely hold the titles of both the Johto and Kanto Champions and Elite Four.
Lance had been very active these years, and his reputation among Elite Four was extremely high, and his strength had long reached a Champion level, so becoming the Champion of Johto was a natural fit.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Yuga asked, "May I ask why I've come here?"
He was quite curious about what had happened in Jade Town. Not only did Lance be dispatched, but he, a Hoenn person, was also asked came over temporarily to provide support.
Lance sighed and replied, "I can't explain it all at once, but when we get to the town, Professor Oak will provide you with the specifics information."
Given the seriousness of the situation, they were unable to spare any personnel at the moment, which is why they requested Yuga's assistance that still in Kanto at this time.
Yuga was surprised and asked, "Professor Oak is here as well?"
While Professor Oak was now known as a Pokémon Professor and had achieved fame far and wide, Mr. Kuni'o had mentioned that he was the closest to becoming a Master Trainer, so it was expected that Kanto would soon have a new Master Trainer. This would mean the League would not have four Masters but five.
Lance nodded and said, "As soon as we received Jade Town's request for help, Professor Oak was the first to arrive."
Afterward, Lance glanced at Sora.
This inexplicable glance left Sora feeling both guilty and helpless.
When the incident occurred in Jade Town, the town's mayor's initial instinct was to conceal the situation rather than report it to the League.
As a Gym Leader, Sora was informed by the mayor of the true situation behind Jade Town, and he also chose to keep it a secret. This led to his journey to the Verdanturf Town.
Finally, due to the situation escalating beyond their control, Jade Town had no choice but to seek the League's assistance.
Upon hearing that Professor Oak had arrived, Yuga realized that the situation was indeed quite serious. He inquired, "Is the situation very severe?"
Lance replied, "Alright, let's first take you to the town to meet Professor Oak. He will explain the details to you. We can discuss the rest later."
With that said, the three of them each climbed onto their respective Flying Pokémon and flew to the other side of the iron chain bridge. After passing through a forest, Yuga saw a quaint little town.
The town's buildings were constructed from wood and stone, elegantly scattered on both sides of the streets, giving it a distinct character. This architectural style was prevalent in ancient times but not so common in modern times.
However, the Johto region retained the most ancient architecture and cultural heritage, so it wasn't surprising to find such a town hidden deep in the mountains.
Once they entered the town, they couldn't continue flying on their Pokémon. As Yuga and the others descended from the sky, the town's residents curiously observed the strangers, including Yuga.
Sora had grown up in the town and was now the Gym Leader for Jade Town, so the town's residents always greeted him warmly when they saw him.
Yuga observed the busy townsfolk and noticed that nearly every household had a Dark-type Murkrow. Curiously, he asked, "Is it popular to keep Murkrow in this town?"
Sora's expression changed, remembering what the mayor and he had discussed before. He replied, "It's not about popularity; it's a tradition passed down from our ancestors."
Yuga nodded and didn't press further.
Soon, they arrived at Jade Gym. After arriving in Jade Town, Professor Oak had been staying at the Gym.
The gym building was quite ordinary, similar in architectural style to the rest of the town, but it occupied a large area.
Upon their arrival, Yuga saw Professor Oak engrossed in complex equipment, holding a glass bottle with a piece of black rock inside. Through the bottle, Yuga could sense a strong ominous aura emanating from the rock, which made him feel dizzy and disoriented.
Especially the special ability from Celebi flowing through his body was practically screaming at him to stay away from that black rock.
Seeing Yuga's sudden change in expression, Lance asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Yuga shook his head, indicating he was fine, but his eyes remained fixed on the black rock.
Yuga's and Lance's arrival didn't initially disturb Professor Oak. He continued his research. The two of them sat quietly, waiting for Professor Oak.
As for Sora, he had left earlier due to some prior commitment.
After some time, Professor Oak stretched and, along with his assistants, paused their work. He noticed Yuga and, after a moment of surprise, smiled and said, "You must be Mr. Kuni'o's disciple."
"Professor Oak," Yuga greeted respectfully.
Professor Oak waved his hand, saying, "No need to be formal. Come, you've just arrived. Let me fill you in on the situation here."
After that, he signaled to his two assistants, and they discreetly closed the door.
Noticing Yuga's surprise, Professor Oak chuckled and whispered, "Walls have ears."
Yuga immediately understood that this small town probably didn't see eye to eye with the League's representatives or was hiding something regarding the current situation.
Professor Oak and Yuga, along with Lance, sat around a table, and Professor Oak began to explain the situation in Jade Town.
Over a month ago, a group of people arrived on Jade Mountain, and shortly after that, an explosion occurred in Jade Town.
Jade Mountain had a relic site, the place where the town conducted its annual ceremonies, believed to be a legacy of their ancestors.
The relic was not particularly large, nor was it outstanding in its construction. It seemed ordinary at first glance, and such small relics could be found in abundance in the Pokémon world.
Ancient people had customs of worship and reverence, so relics like these were prevalent, especially in remote areas.
Even in this age when the worship of deities had waned, some remote areas had not abandoned their ritual practices, and they had gradually evolved into a unique culture.
An example would be the festival held in Verdanturf Town every year during the New Year, which had likely originated from the ritual worship of deities.
However, as time passed, the residents of Verdanturf Town had long forgotten which deity they used to worship. The ritual had slowly transformed into a New Year celebration.
But the relic in Jade Town was evidently different. After the explosion, Jade Mountain experienced a series of problems.
The damaged relic began emitting a black mist, and the plants on Jade Mountain, which were exposed to this mist, withered rapidly. Even wild Pokémon that touched the mist started experiencing issues one after another.
These wild Pokémon affected by the dark mist became abnormally aggressive and hostile. Soon after the relic was damaged, they launched an attack on Jade Town.
For over a month since these events began, Jade Town had never considered reporting it to the Pokémon League. Initially, the wild Pokémon attack was repelled quickly by the town's residents.
However, as the attacking Pokémon grew stronger, Jade Town found itself overwhelmed, leading them to finally seek help from the League.
By the time the League learned about this, a significant portion of the vegetation on Jade had withered. Although Jade Mountain was adjacent to Mt. Silver, it was not designated as a protected area and had no forest rangers stationed there. The forest rangers concentrated around Mt. Silver.
Upon investigation, Professor Oak's team discovered that initially, the League had intended to station a forest ranger in Jade Mountain.
However, local residents vehemently opposed it. Combined with the prolonged tranquility in Jade Mountain, the League eventually dropped the idea.
Once the League recognized the complexity of the situation on Jade Mountain, they dispatched Professor Oak to the area. However, the town's residents were uncooperative with his inquiries. In fact, they initially attempted to block Professor Oak from bringing his team to the relic on Jade Mountain.
However, Jade Town later faced another Pokémon attack, which Professor Oak and the League's team successfully repelled. Fearing Professor Oak's power, the town's residents no longer dared to obstruct the League's investigation.
Professor Oak placed the glass jar containing the stone on the table and said to Yuga, "This stone is what I found in the relic on Jade Mountain."
Upon close contact with the stone, Yuga felt a suffocating sensation wash over him.
"What... What exactly is this stone? I sense an extremely ominous aura emanating from it," Yuga gasped.
Professor Oak replied, "This stone was used in the construction of the Jade relic."
While Yuga could sense the strange aura on the stone, it wasn't surprising to Professor Oak, becaue he and Lance could also feel it, although their reactions weren't as intense as Yuga's.
Yuga asked, "So..."
"Obviously, the people of Jade Town have been hiding something very important from us. If we allow this black mist to continue spreading, it will soon affect even Mt. Silver," Professor Oak continued.
Lance added, "Based on my investigation, the explosion at the Jade relic is related to Team Rocket. I've dealt with Team Rocket on multiple occasions and have been investigating them. I've even seen signs of Team Rocket's activity near Jade Mountsin. They are just very cunning, and I haven't been able to catch them."
Yuga hadn't expected this situation to be connected to Team Rocket. After all, he had a history with Team Rocket, and it seemed like they were handed themself to his door?
Professor Oak then revealed another glass jar identical to the one that held the stone. However, this time, it contained a piece of jet-black feather. The aura from the feather was even more ominous than that of the stone, and it exuded a strong sense of malevolence.
Yuga exclaimed, "This is..."
Seeing the feather, Yuga's expression changed dramatically because he sensed the presence of divinity within it. Professor Oak's next words confirmed his suspicions.
"This feather is what I found in the relic. The people of Jade Town have no knowledge of this discovery."
Yuga wondered, "This feather..."
Professor Oak narrowed his eyes slightly, adding a stern note to his usually gentle demeanor. "I suspect this is a feather from Lugia."
Yuga muttered to himself, "As expected."
"So, is the situation on Jade Mountain related to Lugia?" Yuga inquired.
Professor Oak replied, "It is very likely that Jade Town's hidden secret is connected to Lugia."
Lance chimed in, "Team Rocket's goal might be the owner of this feather."
This was a certainty. Team Rocket didn't take action without a motive, and their attack on Jade Mountain was undoubtedly related to Lugia.
However, how could Lugia's feather become tainted with such a malevolent aura, even distorting the divinity within the feather? The situation was getting more complex, and Yuga couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
"I'm not sure if you've heard of the 'Ancient Clan Descendants'?" Suddenly, Lance spoke up.
"The Ancient Clan Descendants?" Yuga had no idea.
"You mean..." Professor Oak hesitated.
Lance nodded, "I suspect the people of Jade Town are, like our Dragon Tamer clan. They are most likely also descendants of the Ancient Clan."
Confusion washed over Yuga: What are you all talking about? Could you please take me in?
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