Time passed like a puff of smoke, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Fourteen years slipped away just like that, and the tiny infant who once cried out in the cradle had grown into a fourteen-year-old young man—Chén Nuò.
Over these fourteen years, Chén Nuò had gradually figured out what kind of world he was in. It was a utopian paradise quite similar to the Pokémon world from the anime.
In this world, there were all sorts of Pokémon, each possessing unique abilities. For the past fourteen years, Chén Nuò had been studying at a school in Alola.
That was right; Chén Nuò lived in Alola.
It was a place similar to the Hawaiian Islands, filled with numerous islands—and his own friends!
"Alola! Gladion."
Today was a rest day for Chén Nuò, so he was fishing by the sea, but he happened to run into someone familiar.
Gladion was Lillie's older brother and the young master of the Aether Foundation.
Both Chén Nuò and he attended school in Alola, a year ahead of Lillie. Of course, that didn't mean Chén Nuò didn't know Mallow and Lana; on the contrary, they were quite close.
As a young master, Gladion naturally had a somewhat arrogant personality, and most of his classmates weren't very familiar with him.
Only Chén Nuò maintained a pretty good relationship with him.
After all, Gladion wasn't a native of Alola; his family had moved there en masse to research Ultra Wormholes, making him a proper wealthy young master.
Chén Nuò's own background wasn't ordinary either. His father was the mayor of Lumiose City in the Kalos region, located in an extremely bustling and prosperous area.
Chén Nuò himself also hailed from Lumiose City, except that his mother was from Alola, and Chén Nuò had always lived with her in Alola.
After all, Alola was a wonderful place with a beautiful environment and no urban hustle and bustle, and his mother even ran a small pastry shop here.
Chén Nuò loved it here.
With a stern expression, a heavy frown, and a low, resolute tone, Gladion said, "Chén Nuò!"
His voice carried an undeniable majesty and determination that compelled people to look his way.
His deep gaze seemed to pierce through everything, staring straight ahead as if pondering something important.
At this moment, Gladion radiated a powerful and steady aura from head to toe, resembling an unshakeable mountain.
Chén Nuò was momentarily startled. He rarely saw Gladion look like this. Although the kid was usually extremely aloof, today he carried an added sense of composure and seemed to have matured a lot.
"What is it, Gladion?"
As one of Gladion's few good friends, Chén Nuò asked with concern.
"I'm leaving!" Gladion said with a cold expression.
"Leaving?" Outwardly, Chén Nuò looked shocked, but inwardly he had anticipated it long ago.
"Have you ever heard of Ultra Beasts?"
Gladion explained slowly in a low tone, his gaze fixed solemnly and intently on the endless ocean.
The sea wind roared past, fluttering his clothes and hair, but he seemed completely oblivious to it.
His gaze pierced through the turbulent surface of the sea, as if seeing unknown dangers approaching from afar.
In his eyes, the ocean was no longer a calm and peaceful sight, but a battlefield fraught with countless challenges and variables.
"Ah, what Ultra Beasts?"
Of course Chén Nuò knew what Ultra Beasts were, but he couldn't act like he did. After all, his main persona since childhood had been one of pretending; possessing the mind of an adult, he could shamelessly play the child.
"My family moved to Alola specifically to research Ultra Beasts. You can think of them as a kind of Pokémon from another world. Just yesterday, something went wrong in the Ultra Space, and an Ultra Beast appeared. My father has vanished, and Lillie..."
Gladion drew a Poké Ball from his waist.
"If not for him saving me..."
Listening to Gladion, Chén Nuò understood which stage the plot had reached. He knew the general storyline, but he hadn't chosen to prevent any of this.
It was because he simply couldn't prevent it; he didn't know at which point in the story things would spiral out of control. There was no way he could have waltzed up to Gladion and told his family to stop researching Ultra Beasts!
Their entire family had relocated there precisely to study Ultra Beasts, so this was a matter he could neither manage nor stop.
"And Lillie—is she okay?"
Chén Nuò thought of Lillie from the original story. It wasn't as though he hadn't done anything at all; he had helped Lillie get in touch with Pokémon beforehand.
At the very least, Lillie was able to boldly accept Pokémon now, he just didn't know if she would still be able to be like her old self after this sudden crisis.
"I'm leaving to go on a journey, to become stronger! But the person I worry about most here is Lillie. That's why I came specifically to find you. Lillie has always been closest to you—something that's made me quite jealous over the years—but this time, you're the only one I can turn to. Please, protect her!"
Gladion said with utmost solemnity, his words sounding almost as if he were giving his final instructions.
"Don't make it sound so heavy, as if I wouldn't protect her unless you asked. You want to go get stronger? I support you. Besides, I'll be heading out on a journey myself before long. I'm going to get stronger too!"
Chén Nuò gazed far out across the ocean, as if something on the other side was constantly calling to him.
"You're going on a journey too? Ah, well, of course—how could you possibly stay on this island forever? In that case, if you can, please take her with you! If it's you, she'll be willing."
Gladion said.
Chén Nuò smiled without a word. He could clearly sense a hint of jealousy in Gladion's latter remark. Still, Chén Nuò didn't bother to explain; after all, abducting someone's sister meant taking a couple of parting jabs was to be expected.
"That's it, then. We'll meet at the summit!"
Gladion shouted loudly toward the ocean, then turned and ran off with the Poké Ball in his hand.
Long after the shouts had faded away across the sea surface, Chén Nuò slowly reeled in his fishing rod.
"You brat, couldn't you have picked a better day to leave? Don't you know today is my birthday?! Did you pull this stunt just to dodge getting me a birthday gift?"
Muttering under his breath, Chén Nuò didn't waste any time, quickly packing up his fishing rod and little stool, ready to head home.
Yet, just as he loaded his things onto his bicycle, he looked back to gaze out at the ocean once more.
He whispered softly under his breath, "Then let's meet at the summit."