Chapter 1: No Right or Wrong
Alliance Calendar Year 52—
Southwest coast of the Eastern Continent—
The flames of war had spread for months. Humanity had pushed all the way to the coast, where they encountered the mythical beast Lugia, known as the Sea God, blocking their path.
After a day of battle, a weary Arthur returned to the camp.
Along the way, all the soldiers and trainers respectfully greeted him.
"Heavenly King Arthur, greetings."
"Heavenly King Arthur, you've worked hard."
"Heavenly King Arthur, get some rest."
Today, he and his Pokémon were crucial in suppressing the rampaging Lugia, a vital asset in stabilizing the battle.
Returning to his tent, Arthur collapsed, wanting only to sleep.
At this moment, a graceful figure swiftly slipped in, carrying something in her hands, and hurried to his bedside.
"Master, happy birthday~ Get up and have some cake~"
The newcomer was his disciple, Lyneth Everhart.
"Heh, you're certainly energetic," Arthur complained weakly, still lying on the bed, not wanting to move at all.
"Well, no matter how tired you are, life goes on, right?"
Lyneth Everhart cheerfully sat down at the table.
"Master, do you know? The Lugia you're fighting used to be the revered sacred beast of my hometown.
When I was little, my grandma would tell me stories of the Sea God every night before bed, and we'd pray for its blessings. But now, I'm here, planning with you on how to take down the Sea God.
And yet, I'm still as energetic as ever, right?"
Despite discussing such heavy topics, Lyneth Everhart cheerfully lit the birthday candles.
Perhaps, as she said, life goes on no matter how tired you are.
After a while, Arthur got up and sat across from her.
He could tell that the girl before him wasn't as carefree and composed as she pretended to be.
"Did you have another argument with your family?" Arthur asked calmly.
"Yeah... It's been like this ever since I joined the army to fight the Sea God," Lyneth Everhart gave a wry smile.
After a long silence, Lyneth Everhart suddenly asked softly, "Master, why do we have to fight the mythical beasts?"
Arthur leaned back in his chair, tilted his head slightly, his gaze drifting away.
After a moment, he replied indifferently, "Probably to compete for living space..."
A coldly realistic answer, lacking warmth.
But also an utterly truthful one.
The living space this planet can provide is limited.
When human ancestors, Homo sapiens, were still hunting with spears and stone tools, wild Pokémon already populated every corner of the land and sea.
Thousands of years later, as human civilization arose, population growth rapidly increased the demand for land and space.
However, the planet's total area has always remained the same...
Humans need to expand, and wild Pokémon are unwilling to give up their homes.
Ultimately, the conflict erupted unavoidably.
Mythical beasts are the guardians of the planet and Pokémon, but not of humans.
This is the origin of the war—in Arthur's view, it has nothing to do with justice; both sides are simply loyal to their own species, with no right or wrong.
Just like now, the Eastern Alliance in the Eastern Continent needs this prime sea outlet and the surrounding offshore oil fields, but Lugia and the sea Pokémon are unwilling to give up their ancestral home.
In the face of survival, there is no right or wrong.
Faced with this cold answer, Lyneth Everhart could only sigh in resignation.
"Yeah, it's all about competing for living space, what can we do?"
They sat facing each other, silent for a moment.
Then, Arthur gently blew out the candles on the cake.
It was his twenty-ninth birthday.
Two years ago, he became the youngest Heavenly King trainer in human history, and to this day, he still is.
...
Early the next morning, the bugle sounded, Arthur rolled out of bed and quickly finished his personal grooming.
The war continued!
The other Heavenly Kings of the Eastern Alliance would still need a few days to arrive, so for the next few days, he would have to suppress Lugia alone.
Arriving at the coast, he took out a Poké Ball and pressed the Dynamax band on his forearm.
A dazzling red light flashed, and the next moment, a colossal creature tens of meters tall appeared on the sea, like an island suddenly surfacing.
This was one of his partners: a Dynamaxed Lapras!
Then, another Pokémon flew out of his Poké Ball, quickly ascending into the sky, and also emitting a dazzling flash of light in mid-air.
When the light faded, a ferocious gray-black flying dragon appeared above him—Mega Charizard X!
In the distance, the sea surface broke, and the giant bird Lugia, with a wingspan of over a hundred meters, rose from the sea, soaring into the sky, facing Arthur, who stood on Lapras's back.
The clash between a Heavenly King and a mythical beast, both being the pinnacle of this world, no one dared to be careless.
However, Arthur quickly noticed that today's Lugia seemed somewhat unusual.
Yesterday, the Sea God was raging like a beast, but today, it was unusually calm, simply facing him across the sea, not attacking immediately as before.
Through the psychic link provided by the Poké Ball, Arthur ordered Charizard, "Go up and probe, be careful."
Charizard roared and flapped its wings towards Lugia.
Soon, Arthur's second and third Pokémon joined the battle.
They fought fiercely, evenly matched.
However, Arthur's unease grew stronger.
Compared to yesterday's rage, today's Lugia was too composed, seemingly fighting intensely but not giving its all.
This composure was unsettling.
"What is it waiting for?" Arthur wondered, on high alert.
Just then, a streak of light pierced the sky, heading straight for Arthur!
Sensing the danger, a black shadow quickly appeared behind Arthur—
It was Gengar, who had been hiding in his shadow!
However, the streak of light ignored Gengar's obstruction, passing through its gaseous body as if it didn't exist, and pierced Arthur's chest in an instant.
"What—is this?!"
In that instant, a strong sense of detachment swept over Arthur.
He felt like the entire world was moving away from him!
The scene before him seemed to be fast-forwarded, suddenly becoming bizarre.
It felt like water was washing over his skin, yet he felt no dampness.
It felt like a moment, yet like a thousand years had passed...
Arthur shook his head, finally waking from the dizziness.
However, when his vision focused, he was horrified to find that everything had changed!
The battlefield, the coast, Lugia, all gone!
Before him was an unfamiliar alley, an unfamiliar city.
The buildings on both sides of the alley were very tall, much taller than the city buildings in Arthur's memory. The streets outside were exceptionally wide, and the vehicles on the road had a futuristic feel to them.
"Where... am I?!"
Before he could figure out his situation, a woman's scream from behind drew his attention.
Turning around, he saw a fashionable young woman staring blankly at him.
The next second, the bold lady tilted her head and asked, "Why aren't you wearing any clothes? Is it some kind of special exhibitionism?"
"Huh?"
Arthur was stunned.
Then, he was shocked!
Looking down, he realized he was completely naked.
"Crap!"
He was shaken to the core.
It wasn't about a special preference; he was horrified to find that—
The Poké Balls on his waist, the Dynamax band on his wrist, and even the Mega Evolution Key Stone on his chest had all vanished with his clothes...