Chapter 159:The Abandoned Temple in the Secret Realm! Phione!

“Milotic~”

Milotic leaped out of the water's surface.

Natsume glanced at the ice continent created by Dragonite.

By now, most of the students had already evacuated.

Natsume flew over to Milotic. “Did you find it?”

Milotic nodded slightly and then dove back into the water-filled valley.

Natsume followed Milotic.

In the central region of the valley, there was a whirlpool.

The seawater was continuously pouring out from there.

Clearly, this whirlpool was the entrance to the secret realm.

Natsume returned to the ice surface.

Notice: Rescue task complete.

By this time, everyone within the space-time distortion had exited.

Under the powerful presence of Dragonite and Gardevoir, the Pokémon in a state of confusion were unable to disturb those on the ice, ensuring a smooth evacuation.

“Infernape, Sirfetch'd, go outside and help Chansey keep order.”

“Infernape~”

“Dragonite, Gardevoir, Milotic, Arcevee, come with me to the secret realm.”

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite and the others acknowledged.

Natsume dove back into the water.

Dragonite and Milotic followed closely beside him.

“Sirfetch'd~”

As Natsume submerged, Sirfetch'd and the others moved toward the exit.

Before the whirlpool underwater.

Natsume gestured, and Dragonite used Protect, taking the lead as it swam in.

Natsume and Gardevoir followed.

With Arcevee now as Vaporeon and Milotic bringing up the rear, they swam into the whirlpool.

Glub, glub~

The water swirled.

Swish~

Natsume passed through the whirlpool, entering this unknown secret realm.

As soon as Natsume entered the secret realm, a small, blue Pokémon suddenly appeared before him.

“What is this?”

Natsume stared in astonishment at the Pokémon in front of him.

Manaphy?

It was a Pokémon with a large round head.

Its body was very small.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite swam to its side and poked its body.

“Phione~”

Name: Phione
Type: Water
Level: 58
Ability: Hydration
Individual Values: HP 30, Attack 30, Defense 30, Special Attack 30, Special Defense 30, Speed 30
Moves: Water Gun, Whirlpool, Water Pulse, Rain Dance
Potential: Elite

So it wasn't Manaphy; it was a Phione.

It is a Pokémon born from Manaphy in Ranger and the Temple of the Sea.

Although it's Manaphy's child, it doesn't seem to have the ability to grow or evolve into Manaphy.

“Phione~”

This Phione didn’t seem very afraid of people.

Being near Elite level, its strength was still quite formidable.

It was simply curious about Natsume and the others.

Natsume looked around, and to his surprise, there weren’t just one Phione here.

A total of four Phione floated around, curiously watching Natsume and the others.

Unlike the thunder and lightning within the space-time distortion, it was very calm inside the secret realm.

The space-time distortion acted like the boundary between two merging worlds.

Just like how two moves colliding could cause an explosion, the merging of two worlds also produced some energetic reactions.

The space-time distortion was a special energy field formed when the secret realm and the main world blended.

Natsume looked up toward the water's surface.

They weren’t far from the surface.

Natsume swam upward and emerged from the water.

He looked around to see the vast blue sky and the endless sea.

Not far away, there was also a lone island floating quietly.

“Phione~”

Phione emerged alongside Natsume.

It looked at Natsume with wonder and said, “The Pokémon from the murals.”

“The Pokémon from the murals?”

Natsume looked at Phione in confusion and asked, “Are you talking about me?”

Phione nodded, “Phione~”

Natsume became curious and asked, “Can you take me to see these murals?”

Phione made a funny face at Natsume.

It didn’t want to.

“Dragonite.”

Dragonite reached out and patted Phione, signaling it to look at him.

“Phione?”

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite took a deep breath.

“Roar~”

Dragon Pulse!

A dazzling beam pierced the sea surface.

In the distance, with a loud boom, a massive water column shot up from the sea.

The column exploded in the air, turning into heavy rain that showered back into the sea.

The aftermath of the explosion rippled across the sea, creating huge waves.

The sea churned.

“Phione”

Phione scratched its head while watching the scene, then turned and swam into the water.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite called out proudly, signaling for Natsume to follow.

Natsume chuckled, “As expected, the universal language of the world is a show of strength.”

“Gardevoir, let’s follow them.”

Gardevoir used Psychic to create a circular barrier.

The barrier protected Natsume and Gardevoir from the underwater pressure.

The air inside would also allow Natsume and Gardevoir to breathe for a while underwater.

Natsume followed Gardevoir under the protection of the barrier, swimming into the sea along with Phione.

The underwater world was bright.

Ahead, a Lanturn swam by.

Lanturn generally inhabits the deep sea.

The light-emitting object on its head can even illuminate the ocean surface, earning it the nickname "Star of the Deep Sea."

Natsume intercepted it.

He intended to have Lanturn act as a spotlight for a while.

Gardevoir communicated simply with the Lanturn using Telepathy.

The conversation went smoothly.

In exchange for a bit of food, Gardevoir got Lanturn to help them illuminate this area of the sea.

“Lanturn~”

Lanturn swam alongside Natsume.

“Thank you, Lanturn.”

Natsume patted Lanturn’s body.

“Lanturn~”

Lanturn followed behind Phione.

Under Lanturn’s light, the underwater scene began to become clear.

“Remoraid~”

A large group of Remoraid swam toward them.

Noticing Natsume and his group, they quickly gathered together, forming an underwater storm as they darted past.

Natsume continued to descend with Lanturn and Phione.

In the coral reefs below, Corsola was bouncing around among the rocks.

A Clamperl opened its blue shell, and the pearl-like interior briefly caught sight of Natsume and Milotic swimming by before quickly shutting its shell again.

The underwater world was calm but teeming with life.

Ahead, near a trench.

A building resembling a palace suddenly appeared before Natsume.

“Phione.”

Phione reached out and pointed forward.

Natsume and the others accelerated toward it.

Whoosh~

Inside the palace, several radiant beams of sharp light suddenly shot toward Natsume and his group.

Some Pokémon used Pin Missile.

Milotic swam forward.

Aqua Tail!

Bang!

The ocean water shook violently as the Pin Missile was dispersed by the huge wave.

The water surged, and bubbles began to rise.

“Vaporeon.”

Vaporeon accelerated ahead.

A Pokémon nearing two meters in length, with a light gray body, suddenly burst out of the palace.

Name: Golisopod
Type: Bug/Water
Level: 57
Ability: Emergency Exit
Individual Values: HP 30, Attack 31, Defense 30, Special Attack 28, Special Defense 30, Speed 31
Moves: First Impression, Struggle Bug, Slash, Razor Shell, Liquidation
Potential: Elite
Absorbed Treasure: Mystic Water

This Golisopod had high strength and potential.

The reason it initiated an attack was clearly because it regarded Natsume and the others as intruders.

“Golisopod!”

Golisopod raised its sharp claws toward Vaporeon, who had swum to the front.

First Impression!

“Vaporeon~”

Vaporeon quickly released a light blue beam.

Aurora Beam!

The icy chill slowed Golisopod's movements.

Vaporeon used Double Team.

“Vaporeon~”

In the water, a large group of Vaporeon surrounded Golisopod.

“Vaporeon~”

The clones of Vaporeon charged toward Golisopod.

“Golisopod!”

Golisopod's six long arms rapidly swatted away each clone.

With its two massive claws and six defensive arms, Golisopod made it difficult for Vaporeon to find an opening to attack.

This Golisopod was quite strong, and it would be challenging for Vaporeon to take it down quickly.

However, Vaporeon wasn't as determined about battle as Infernape and the others.

Seeing that it couldn't take down Golisopod in a short time, Vaporeon looked toward Milotic and Dragonite.

“Milotic~”

Hydro Pump!

Bam~

A surging column of water crashed into Golisopod's back.

Golisopod was forced back against the outer wall of the palace by the force of the water.

Natsume stepped forward in front of Golisopod and pulled out a Poké Ball.

Shake~ Ding~.

Golisopod was successfully captured.

This Golisopod seemed to consider this place its nest.

Inside, besides Golisopod, there was a group of Wimpod.

They huddled in the corner of the palace, fearfully watching Natsume and his group.

Natsume thought for a moment, then released Golisopod once more.

Using Eternity Power, Natsume easily healed its wounds.

“Golisopod!”

Golisopod looked at Natsume warily.

Natsume smiled and gestured that he wanted to enter the palace.

Golisopod eyed Natsume, then stepped aside.

Immediately, the surrounding Wimpod gathered around Golisopod.

“Phione~”

Phione began to swim further inside.

Natsume and the others followed Phione into the palace interior.

This time, Golisopod did not obstruct them, merely watching Natsume and the others.

The interior of the palace looked dilapidated.

There were collapsed statues and broken stone columns everywhere.

Though it had become a complete ruin, the numerous murals on the stone walls still showed the former glory of this place.

“Milotic~”

Milotic circled above a stone tablet embedded in the fractured bricks.

The tablet had many inscriptions.

The writing was already quite blurred.

Moreover, it was a script Natsume had never seen before, resembling hieroglyphics.

However, the Pokémon depicted in the patterns was clear.

It was indeed Manaphy!

Beside the tablet, there was a partially collapsed section of the stone wall.

This portion looked like it used to be part of the ceiling.

The images drawn on it were very similar to what Natsume had seen in the underground river outside his farm, depicting the Water Tribe kneeling before the Temple of the Sea.

“A destroyed Temple of the Sea.”

Natsume thought to himself, “So the theories about secret realms and parallel worlds seem to be correct.”

“The so-called secret realm is just a fragment of another realm.”

In mythology, Arceus created countless parallel worlds.

These worlds clearly followed different paths of development.

The secret realm before him might be a fragment of one of those worlds.

Since these worlds were created by Arceus, even if they were destroyed, they could still exist in a special form.

They wandered in the gaps between worlds, like ships drifting in the deep sea, searching for a harbor to settle in.

Clearly, the world Natsume inhabited was the harbor where this world fragment was preparing to dock.

“Hmm.”

Natsume suddenly noticed a transparent glass box among a pile of rubble.

Inside the box was a shell-shaped item.

Natsume picked it up.

Treasure: Shell Bell

Effect: Pokémon with the power of the Shell Bell will absorb life energy by attacking opponents.

Natsume tapped on it; the glass box felt sturdy.

He decided to wait until he was up top to open it.

Natsume looked around briefly; aside from the Shell Bell, he did not find anything else for now.

“Let’s head up.”

Gardevoir and Natsume both spread their Inner Focus.

“Teleport!”

Whoosh~

After using Teleport several times in succession, Natsume and Gardevoir returned to the surface of the water.

The underwater world felt quite oppressive.

Back on the surface, Natsume felt much more at ease.

“Phew.”

Natsume took a deep breath and said, “What a significant discovery.”

At that moment, Lanturn swam up to Natsume's side.

“Lanturn~”

Now that the path was clear, where was the delicious food they had talked about?

Natsume smiled at Lanturn and said, “The food is on hold for now, but I’ll get it for you once we head out.”

“Lanturn.”

Lanturn looked at Natsume with doubt.

“Don’t worry; I’m the farm owner. The one thing I have plenty of is food.”

After saying this, Natsume took out a Poké Ball and said, “You can go inside for now.”

“I’ll let you out after I bring you back to the farm.”

“And then I’ll treat you to a feast.”

It seemed that this Lanturn had never seen a Poké Ball before.

Curiously, it swam closer and touched it.

Shake~ Ding~.

Lanturn was captured.

Shake~ Shake~

But soon, the Poké Ball began to shake.

Natsume released Lanturn again.

“Don’t like the environment inside the Poké Ball?”

“Lanturn.”

Lanturn looked at the Poké Ball in Natsume's hand with wonder.

It didn’t dislike it; it just found it fascinating.

It reached out and touched the Poké Ball again.

Pop~

Shake shake~

Lanturn came out once more.

“Phione~”

Phione curiously floated over as well.

It lifted its head to look at Natsume.

Natsume asked with an odd expression, “Do you want one too?”

“Phione~”

Phione nodded.

“Alright then.”

Natsume smiled, took out another Poké Ball, and handed it to Phione.

Phione willingly entered the Poké Ball.

Shake~ Ding~.

Phione was successfully captured.

Secret Realm Exploration Mission

Task 1: Capture ten types of Water type Pokémon in the secret realm 4/10

The task progress was over halfway complete.

Natsume looked towards a nearby island and said, “Let’s go rest on the island for a bit.”

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite flew ahead toward the island.

The island was small, about ten square kilometers in area.

Natsume stepped onto the island from the edge of a sandy beach.

“Eevee~”

Arcevee reverted from its Vaporeon evolution back into its Eevee form.

“Lanturn~”

Lanturn watched Eevee with surprise.

It wanted to know if Eevee could evolve again.

“Lanturn~”

Arcevee nodded, then demonstrated its various evolved forms to Lanturn and Phione.

Natsume turned around to look at the sea.

The water here was crystal clear.

Natsume could see seaweed gently swaying beneath the surface.

Among the seaweed, a Skrelp carefully moved its body, hiding within the vegetation.

A Mareanie was also weaving through the seaweed, looking for something.

Whoosh~

A gentle breeze blew, causing the waves to lap at the shore.

Krabby poked its head out, glancing cautiously at Natsume before quickly burrowing back into the sand.

The Skrelp in the water was flushed up unwittingly.

It quickly jumped back into the water.

“This is a nice place,”

Natsume murmured. “If I can establish this secret realm, it should connect with the farm.”

“With that, I’ll have a seaside ranch!”