novelraw Chapter 149 149: Drifters Chasing an Illusion
Chapter 149 149: Drifters Chasing an Illusion
"Those who are not chosen will spend their entire lives without ever beholding the face of a god."
Within the ancient ruins, the man in a sunhat slowly read aloud the archaic words carved into the stone tablet.
Under the blazing sun—
the young Axew, still too immature to understand the meaning of those words, tugged at the man's pant leg, urging him to leave.
It never noticed the expression hidden beneath the brim of his hat.
But now, looking back…
What kind of expression was that?
Confusion? Sorrow?
Or perhaps disbelief?
Axew had once heard the man speak of his past.
According to him, his family lineage could be traced back a thousand years to the Kingdom of Arceus.
After Zekrom destroyed the original Arceus Kingdom, the crown prince rebuilt a new kingdom from the ruins, relying on his immense prestige.
Burdened by guilt—for having once deceived Zekrom into lending its power under the coercion of the former king—the prince spent his entire life searching for Zekrom.
He wanted the former guardian of the kingdom, the symbol of harmony between humans and Pokémon, to return.
He wanted… to personally apologize.
However—
after the destruction of the original kingdom, Zekrom vanished without a trace.
No matter how hard the prince searched, he could never find it.
The man's ancestor had once been one of those dispatched by the prince to search for Zekrom.
He recorded everything in meticulous detail within the family chronicles.
Every word carried the weight of regret—regret for failing to find Zekrom, and for failing to fulfill the prince's final wish.
Time passed. Ages changed.
Eventually, that record of the family's history was discovered by the man.
As a child, he read those stories—
and was deeply influenced by the obsession contained within them.
When he grew up, he became a trainer.
In those days, there was no League.
His greatest passion was exploring ancient ruins across the world.
Especially those tied to the Arceus Kingdom and Zekrom—
whenever he heard of one, he would go without hesitation.
Without realizing it—
searching for Zekrom became his own obsession.
One year. Five years. Ten years. Twenty years…
During that time, Axew—who later evolved into Haxorus—stayed by his side.
It watched as the man went from youth to adulthood…
from adulthood to old age…
yet still failed to glimpse even a shadow of Zekrom.
In the end—
the man reached the end of his life.
With longing and regret, he sank into eternal rest.
Because he had spent his entire life searching for Zekrom, he never settled down.
After his death, aside from the Pokémon who had accompanied him and a few close friends, he left behind no descendants.
After his passing—
some of his Pokémon, like the Axew that had already evolved into Haxorus, returned to their homeland.
Others—
inherited his obsession.
And continued the search.
For an entire lifetime—
chasing something as illusory as a dream.
"…."
Chen Mo fell silent.
In his hand, Zekrom's energy orb still glowed with a deep blue light.
Electric arcs flickered within it, resonating faintly with the dragon scale.
Back in his previous life, when watching the anime—
Legendary Pokémon didn't feel common, like wild Rattata in the grass…
but they also didn't seem completely out of reach.
Take Ash, for example—
a chosen one blessed by countless legendaries, who could encounter Ho-Oh just by stepping out on a journey.
Or those villainous leaders—
who could easily locate the resting places of Legendary Pokémon, capturing them almost like a game… even if things often spiraled out of control.
So when Chen Mo heard the story of this unknown trainer—
he didn't know what to say.
At the same time—
he felt lost.
Others had spent their entire lives searching and failed to find Zekrom.
Could he really do it?
Could he fulfill the request left behind by Mr. Arceus?
Or was he supposed to rely solely on… "the guidance of fate"?
Chen Mo stared blankly at the energy orb in his hand.
After a long while, he let out a quiet sigh.
Haxorus looked at the faintly glowing scale in its palm and spoke through telepathy.
"If I had found this scale before my master passed away… he would have been much happier."
He had searched his entire life—
yet aside from seeing murals of Zekrom, he had never come into contact with anything truly connected to it.
Chen Mo felt a deep sense of emotion.
It was true.
Even a single scale…
would have been some form of comfort.
Yet even that small consolation—
the man had never obtained.
After a moment, Chen Mo asked curiously,
"After all these years… did you ever leave your clan to search for Zekrom again? Like your companions did?"
He had expected another long, adventurous tale.
But instead—
Haxorus shook its head.
"No."
"My master once told us that after his passing, we should not live like him."
"We should live for ourselves."
"So I never actively searched for Zekrom… and rarely even left the forest."
"…Huh?"
Chen Mo froze.
Something didn't add up.
If it never searched for Zekrom—
then where did this scale come from?
Just as Chen Mo was about to guess that perhaps another Axew had brought it back—
Haxorus spoke again, its gaze complicated.
"This scale…"
"was discovered only after we came to this world."
"It was found… in the forest where we originally settled."
"Wait—what!?"
Chen Mo was stunned.
Very quickly—
he realized what that meant.
If the scale had been found there…
then Zekrom might have appeared in that forest.
Without hesitation, Chen Mo asked,
"Can you tell me exactly what happened?"
"Of course."
Haxorus nodded.
According to its account—
the scale was first discovered by a Fraxure near a riverside.
At the time, the Fraxure simply thought it was a good object for sharpening its teeth, so it brought it back to the clan.
It wasn't until Suicune arrived—
and sensed the lingering aura of a Legendary Pokémon—
that the aged Haxorus finally realized:
the owner of the scale…
was Zekrom—
the very being it had spent nearly a century searching for.
The irony of it all filled the already aged Haxorus with emotion.
Later—
after learning about Chen Mo from Suicune—
it dragged its frail, aging body,
leading the entire Axew clan,
to this Hongjingpo Forest.
And waited—
for the day—
it would finally meet him.
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