Awakening
After finishing the tree berrys, Yuga stood up and followed Mr. Kunio, guided by the Cacturne, to the shrine.
The shrine's door was closed, so Yuga couldn't see what was inside.
"Use the key I gave you to open the shrine's door," Mr. Kunio instructed.
"This one?" Yuga raised the golden key that had been hanging on his wrist all along.
Mr. Kunio nodded.
Yuga removed the golden key from his wrist and unlocked the shrine. Inside, he saw a wooden statue of Celebi. It looked quite rudimentary, and Yuga might not have recognized it if he didn't already know what Celebi looked like.
Once the shrine was open, Yuga stepped back from it and turned to Mr. Kunio, silently asking him what to do next.
"Now, I'm going to help you awaken your abilities. Are you ready?" Mr. Kunio asked.
Yuga nodded, and then he noticed Mr. Kunio's entire body emitting a rich green glow. This radiant energy flowed toward the wooden Celebi statue inside the shrine.
As a strange and melodious chime echoed in their ears, a transparent ripple suddenly appeared in the temple. From within it emerged a Celebi.
"Celebi!" Celebi happily circled in the air and then landed, scanning everyone in the room before locking its gaze onto Yuga.
It swiftly flew up to hover above Yuga's head, and then it began a soft, melodic chant. However, the sound was not Celebi's usual song but rather a series of pleasant bell-like tones.
As these bells resonated, the trees all over the island's forest began to sway gently.
In response to Celebi's call, or perhaps inspired by it, all the plants began emitting clusters of green light.
These green lights resembled twinkling fireflies as they floated into the temple, landing on Yuga and his three Grass-type Pokémon.
Celebi then enveloped Yuga and the three Grass-types in a green column of light.
As Celebi's bell-like sounds became increasingly urgent, more and more light orbs flew out of the forest, and all the Pokémon in the area gazed upward, captivated by the breathtaking scene.
During this time, Yuga and the three Pokémon, their eyes closed, felt as if they were soaking in warm water.
Inside Yuga's body, the blessed seed started growing, nurtured by the green light and the light column, transforming into a flowing green energy.
This energy began resonating with Celebi and emerged from Yuga's body, circling around Celebi once before repeating the same process with the three Grass-type Pokémon. Finally, it returned into Yuga's body.
This process lasted for over an hour.
Once it concluded, Celebi emitted a deep-green light ring that expanded outward and swept across the entire forest on the island.
Every plant touched by the green light seemed to have been rejuvenated, appearing even more vibrant.
After completing this, Celebi waved its hand, and the transparent ripple reappeared, allowing Celebi to vanish into it.
When Yuga opened his eyes again, Celebi had disappeared without a trace.
Yuga looked up at Mr. Kunio, realizing that Celebi had disappeared, and asked, "Did my awakening succeed?"
Mr. Kunio nodded and said, "Yes, it was successful. Try to feel the power within your body."
Yuga closed his eyes and sensed a warm energy flowing within him. He attempted to guide this power towards his right hand and saw a green light briefly appear in his palm, similar to the one Mr. Kunio had produced, albeit smaller. However, the light vanished after a moment.
Mr. Kunio explained, "You've just awakened, and your internal power is still weak. With time and practice, it will gradually become stronger."
Suddenly, Yuga noticed that Mr. Kunio's complexion was extremely pale. Concerned, he asked, "Master, are you alright?"
Mr. Kunio shook his head and replied, "I'm fine; it's just a bit of energy exhaustion. I'll recover after resting for a while. Now that you're my disciple, don't call me 'Mr. Kunio' anymore; call me 'Master.'"
Yuga, reassured by Mr. Kunio's words, addressed him as "Master."
At the same time, Yuga finally noticed a significant change in his unchanged status panel.
...
[ Host: Yuga Shimizu ]
[ Age: Seventeen ]
[ Gender: Male ]
[ Pokémon: Florges, Absol, Chimecho, Vivillon, Dragonair, Charmander, Bellossom, Ivysaur, Shroomish. ]
[ Special Ability: Celebi's Blessing ]
[ Skills: Pokéblock Crafting (Intermediate), Pokémon Training (Intermediate) ]
[ Identity: YoYo Day Care Owner, Grass-Type Master's Disciple ]
...
Not only was the Special Ability section no longer blank, but a new layer had been added to his identity.
Upon seeing the "Special Ability" section on his status panel for the first time, Yuga had wondered what he had to do to fill it. However, it remained empty until today when it finally displayed his new ability.
Furthermore, Yuga noticed that the potentials of the three Pokémon he had released had all changed.
When he activated his Insight ability, Bellossom emitted a dazzling blue light, reaching the pinnacle of blue potential.
Ivysaur's potential had directly advanced to half-indigo, on par with the Roselia from Yuga's Ecopark.
The most significant change occurred in Shroomish.
Perhaps due to its originally low potential, it had directly transformed from yellow to green, even awakening a new skill.
...
<<Shroomish (Toxic Orb)>>
Type: Grass
Ability: Poison Heal
Gender: Male
Potential: Green
Level: 18
Moves: Tackle, Stun Spore, Headbutt, Worry Seed, Leech Seed.
...
Although Shroomish still appeared somewhat shabby compared to Yuga's other Pokémon, it was a tremendous improvement from its previous state. Yuga also felt a unique connection with these three Pokémon, as if their thoughts were now in sync, which was quite remarkable.
It wasn't just Yuga who felt this way; the three Pokémon experienced the same sensation.
This awakening had brought Yuga an enormous reward.