Chapter 269: The Blossoming of the Distortion World
Making flower cakes wasn't too complicated, but with only one Moon Rose and so many Pokémon on the ranch, Naoki needed more ingredients to make enough for everyone.
To ensure that every Pokémon could have a piece, he headed to the glass greenhouse and picked a basketful of flowers, nearly clearing out all the edible blooms in the greenhouse.
Butterfree and Combee watched him with teary eyes, looking sorrowfully at the petals he collected.
Naoki paused, feeling a bit guilty.
Just then, Calyrex, watching with an amused smile, raised a hand. Instantly, vibrant flowers bloomed on the bare stems, restoring the garden to its full glory.
Butterfree and the Combee buzzed happily, gazing at Calyrex with admiration.
"free!" Butterfree chirped, clearly impressed. 'So amazing!'
"Buzz buzz!" Combee added.
With a calm smile, Calyrex gracefully picked up a teacup and sipped his black tea, the very picture of elegance. Butterfree and Combee, completely captivated, flitted around him joyfully.
Naoki sighed in relief. It was great having Calyrex around.
With a grateful nod to Calyrex, he returned to the kitchen with his basket of flowers.
"Ai-ye?" 'What are all these flowers for?' asked Sister Indeedee, peeking curiously into the basket.
Naoki chuckled, "I'm going to try making flower cakes, though it's my first attempt. I'll have to see if my method is right."
The process started with making rose jam, the key ingredient for the cakes. However, true rose jam required a month of fermenting before it would be ready to use, which meant that the flower cakes would have to wait a little while.
After some thought, Naoki decided to begin with the jam. Carefully, he separated the petals, washed them, and let them dry. Once ready, he mixed the petals with sugar, gently pressing them together.
Naoki carefully poured the rose petals into a glass jar, added a layer of honey to seal them, and then securely closed the jar. Now, all that was left was to wait for the petals to ferment.
He ended up making three jars of rose jam in total.
As he looked at them, an informational prompt appeared in his mind:
[Unfinished Rose Jam: A jam made from freshly picked rose petals, with 30 days left to ferment.]
"Just as I thought—30 days to ferment," Naoki murmured to himself.
He placed the jars in a cool, dark corner of the kitchen to let them ferment naturally.
Next, Naoki retrieved the frozen "Water of the Distortion World" from the refrigerator. He thawed the ice, brought it to a boil, and used it to brew tea.
The "Reversal" series of dishes he was preparing had three types: Heart, Body, and Technique. To calm the fiery temperament of Giratina, he would need to use a "Heart" infusion.
After brewing three pots of black tea, Naoki finally achieved the desired result.
[Reversal Black Tea·Heart (S): A black tea brewed with water from the Distortion World and tea leaves.
Effect: Reverses traits. Upon consumption, the hearts of humans and Pokémon may be reversed—kindness becomes cruelty, timidity becomes bravery, selfishness becomes generosity, and vice versa.
Note: Handle with caution!]
"Perfect. Now I'll just need to add it to tomorrow's offerings for Giratina," Naoki planned thoughtfully.
He mentally mapped out the next steps. First, he would use the tea to reverse Giratina's personality, making it more receptive. Then he would bring Calyrex and Koraidon into the Distortion World.
Once there, he'd search for suitable land to plant seeds and use Calyrex's powers to nurture them. If the seeds grew, it would confirm that crops could flourish in Giratina's realm.
And so, Naoki could fulfill the task Giratina had given him—to transform the barren Distortion World into a vibrant, green haven.
For a farmer, turning a desolate world into a land brimming with flowers and greenery would be deeply fulfilling.
...
The next morning, after completing his daily chores on the ranch, Naoki shared his plan with Calyrex.
"Yesterday, you saw that Pokémon from another world—a shadowy realm filled with floating islands, barren and devoid of life. It's a place that feels heavy with destruction."
"I stumbled into that world by accident once and met a Pokémon named Giratina. It has a surprising love for flowers and asked if I could plant some in its world."
"But that world is... different. It exists as a shadowy counterpart to ours, where there's no sunlight, no real soil, just shadows everywhere. So, we'll need to check if we can even plant seeds there."
Hearing this, Calyrex nodded thoughtfully. "I see. I'm happy to lend a hand, especially if it brings a bit of life and beauty to such a place."
While Giratina's presence had indeed felt powerful and intense, Calyrex was sure that any Pokémon with a fondness for flowers couldn't be all bad.
With Calyrex's agreement, Naoki smiled brightly. "Then I'll trust you with this task!"
Naoki, however, was careful not to rush into the Distortion World too quickly. He hadn't forgotten how Giratina had nearly pelted him with its fierce attacks last time.
To avoid that, Naoki went to the ranch lake with his carefully prepared offering infused with the reverse black tea.
Sure enough, as if Giratina had sensed him from across dimensions, a purple vortex began to swirl over the lake, forming an entryway to its world.
Naoki tossed the tribute into the vortex and waited by the lake.
After a moment, a calm, inviting voice echoed from the whirlpool:
"My friends, you may enter."
The reversal had worked!
Naoki stood up, giving a nod to Calyrex and Koraidon. Then, climbing onto Koraidon's back, he rode forward with Calyrex following, and together they leaped into the glowing purple vortex.
In the desolate space of floating islands, a massive Pokémon with golden eyes and a pure white, ethereal body marked by blue stripes hovered slowly in the void.
"Nice to meet you," said Giratina, its expression oddly friendly for its usually grim demeanor.
Naoki blinked. He still wasn't quite used to this newly amiable Giratina. After a moment's pause, he responded, "I think I've figured out a way to plant flowers here, just as you asked before."
"Oh? Truly?" Giratina sounded pleasantly surprised. "Is there anything I need to do?"
Naoki shook his head. "Just… maybe don't try to attack us."
With Giratina's approval, Naoki, riding atop Koraidon and joined by Calyrex, moved to a smaller floating island. Giratina floated behind, its immense form casting a calm yet curious gaze over Naoki's work below.
"What exactly are you doing? Digging around in the dirt like you did in your world?" Giratina asked.
Naoki chuckled. "It's called farming," he explained, inspecting the ground beneath him.
The soil on the island was a hard, reddish-brown, not exactly the best for planting. Naoki tried digging into it with a small hoe, but the soil was clumpy and resistant to farming.
After some thought, Naoki decided it was time to call in a little help. He sent Koraidon back to the ranch to fetch Diglett.
"Raao~" Koraidon chirped happily, dashing off and returning in record time with Diglett, who wobbled nervously at the sight of Giratina.
"Squeak?!" Diglett's eyes widened as it sensed Giratina's imposing presence and quickly hid behind Koraidon, shivering.
"Raao…" Koraidon nudged it gently, coaxing Diglett forward.
Naoki reassured Diglett with a gentle smile. "Don't worry, it's alright. I brought you here to help tidy up the land."
Hearing this, Diglett glanced nervously at Giratina.
"Squeak…"
Seeing that Giratina had no intention of attacking, Diglett felt a bit more at ease. With determination, it burrowed into the soil, tilling the ground efficiently.
As Diglett worked, the soil softened noticeably, ready for planting.
"Looks like we're good to start planting," Naoki thought happily.
Since this was a test run, he hadn't brought many seeds—just a few leftover berry cores. He was just about to plant them when he sensed a shift in Giratina's aura.
Turning around, he saw Giratina's eyes had returned to a fierce blood-red, with its body stripes changing back to black and red.
'Uh-oh. The effects of the Reverse Tea must have worn off!'
Naoki's heart skipped a beat, worried that Giratina might be angry. However, despite its menacing aura, Giratina remained silent. In fact, it even spoke in a surprisingly friendly tone, though a bit awkward:
"My friend, why are you looking at me like that? Go on, plant those crops!"
Naoki blinked, taken aback. 'Was Giratina… pretending nothing had happened?'
Confused, Naoki thought, 'Is it acting like the tea's effects are still working?'
Giratina, fully aware of what Naoki had done, retained all its memories from the Reverse Tea's influence. When it first found itself expressing such friendly thoughts, it had been as shocked as anyone.
And now, with the tea's effects gone, it still felt embarrassed and entered an 'Annoyed State,' its pride wounded but too stubborn to admit it.
Giratina was no fool; it knew that this human had come to fulfill the request it had made before—to plant flowers on the floating islands of its realm.
Giratina was eager to see if flowers could truly bloom here. So, as the effects of the Reverse Tea wore off, it decided to maintain a calm front, hoping not to frighten Naoki and his Pokémon. Giratina, however, hadn't realized that its "recovery" had already been noticed, nor was it aware that its body's color and appearance visibly shifted with its temperament.
Watching Giratina pretend to still be under the influence, Naoki felt a smile tugging at his lips. Since Giratina wasn't acting aggressively, he decided to play along.
With a nod to Koraidon and Calyrex, Naoki turned and buried the fruit seeds in the freshly softened soil.
Then, stepping back, he left the next steps to Calyrex.
The flower atop Calyrex's head glowed a soft blue, and in an instant, the buried seeds sprouted and grew, bursting forth as a tall fruit tree with lush, green leaves and branches laden with ripe, juicy peaches.
'Success!' Naoki beamed with joy.
The tree had grown perfectly, which meant that life could flourish here in Giratina's world.
Even Giratina couldn't hide its awe, its crimson eyes fixated on the vibrant fruit tree, clearly captivated by the sight of life thriving in a place once desolate.
In its own domain, a world filled with decay and shadows, fruit had actually grown!
For a moment, Giratina felt a surge of complex emotions.
Since the beginning of time, it had been exiled to this barren realm due to its tempestuous nature. Angry, restless, and full of resentment, it spent eons drifting alone, gazing up through distorted reflections to catch glimpses of Arceus, its creator, basking in the light of the other world.
Over millions of years, however, that initial storm of emotions quieted. Arceus and Dialga faded into the void, and Giratina came to accept this place as its own, occasionally peering through its lake to admire the sunshine, grass, and flowers of the other realm.
Now, here in its own world, a vibrant tree stood before it, filled with life.
Giratina watched the tree in silence, then turned its gaze toward Naoki and his Pokémon, as if in deep thought.
Meanwhile, Naoki was fully captivated by the fruit tree, specifically by the strange, shimmering peaches growing on it.
Something seemed unusual about them, and as he looked closer, information about the fruit appeared in his mind.
[Peach Fruit: A highly toxic fruit that causes poisoning if consumed. Despite this, it's highly appealing to certain Pokémon, especially Poison-types, who find it irresistible.]
Not only that, but the tree itself seemed affected by the unique properties of this world.
[Peach Fruit Tree (Eternal): A typical peach tree transformed by antimatter, giving it an eternal state. It will remain as it is—never withering, growing, or aging.]
"Wow!" Naoki whispered in awe.
At last, he understood the significance of the phrase, "All the rules in the reverse world are different from those in the real world."
...
This is a bonus chapter for reaching 2000 Power Stones.
The next bonus chapter will be released at 2500 Power Stones.
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