1034 Giratina and Cocoon of the Stars
How did Giratina enter the Ecopark?
Yuga involuntarily glanced at the Reverse Mirror placed on the stone steps. It should be because this one, right?
Soon, Yuga's speculation was confirmed by Dusknoir. Giratina and Jellicent did indeed emerge suddenly from the Reverse Mirror, and appeared in the Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark.
Giratina's appearance immediately caused panic among all the Ghost-type Pokémon here.
It was the first tine Dusknoir saw Giratina, but it could still feel Giratina's terrifying presence, so it didn't make any rash moves, and waiting for Yuga to arrive.
"Have Dragonite and the others returned from the Distortion World?" Yuga asked Dusknoir.
"Dusknoir... Dusknoir..." Dusknoir shook its head, indicating no.
Yuga nodded and said, "Take me to Giratina."
Dusknoir opened its massive arms and embraced Yuga, then flew towards the location of Giratina.
"Giratina!" When they got closer, Yuga shouted at Giratina.
Giratina, who was happily playing with Jellicent, paused upon hearing Yuga's voice. It turned its head, and its voice echoed in Yuga's ears: "Oh, it's you, human! I remember your name is Shi... Shi... Shi..."
"Shimizu Yuga!" Yuga, realizing that Giratina couldn't recall his name, so he reminded its loudly.
Honestly, who was the one saying, "I remember you" in the first place!
"Ah! Right, Shimizu Yuga, that's the name." Giratina suddenly realized and then asked, "Is this your place? I came here without permission, please forgive me."
Yuga didn't expect the infamous Giratina to be quite polite. He nodded and said, "It is my place. It's my honor that you can come here. I welcome you."
Giratina, upon hearing this, slowly immersed its body into the water of the Ghost Sea. Then, it sighed, "This is indeed a good place; there's a thick aura of life flowing everywhere."
Yuga: ... Why do I sense envy in that tone?
"Can I absorb a bit of the life force in this water?" Giratina suddenly asked Yuga in a friendly tone.
Yuga didn't expect Giratina to be so approachable. If it were another arrogant Legendary Pokémon, it probably wouldn't seek the owner's opinion and just go ahead. After all, a mere human doesn't weigh much in the eyes of a Legendary Pokémon.
"Sure... go ahead, if you want to absorb it," Yuga said, thinking it's just a sip, how much energy could it consume? There's plenty of life force stored in the Ghost Sea, more than enough for Giratina. Giving it a sip wouldn't make a difference.
However, soon Yuga witnessed that Giratina's idea of "a sip" was quite different from his imagination.
After getting Yuga's consent, Giratina gratefully said, "Thank you very much."
Giratina usually feeds by absorbing the life force freely present in the air.
Whether in the Distortion World or the real world, as long as living beings are engaged in life activities, they constantly emit life force.
This life force has a very short lifespan; if no one captures it, it quickly transforms into other forms of energy and returns to nature.
So, the life force Giratina usually absorbs is completely different from the vast and pure life force stored in the Ghost Sea.
Giratina lowered its body and, along with its head, submerged itself in the Ghost Sea. Immediately, Yuga saw a vortex forming on the Ghost Sea, centered around Giratina.
The Ghost Sea water itself is colorless and transparent, but due to the stored life force, it appears green. The more life force stored, the greener the water becomes.
The vortex Yuga witnessed wasn't formed by the flow of seawater but by the rotation caused when life force inside it was absorbed.
Seeing this vortex, Yuga was astonished: Is this... just one... not billions?
Under Giratina's absorption, the Ghost Sea water visibly changed from dark green to green, then to light green. Yuga's heart was pounding at this spectacle.
The change in the Ghost Sea caused even more panic among the Ghost-type Pokémon in the Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark. They could keenly feel the diminishing life energy in their home.
Seeing the Ghost-type Pokémon panicking and running around, Yuga felt the urge to reassure them but was powerless to do so.
After what felt like a long time, Giratina finally emerged from the Ghost Sea, satisfied. It let out a comfortable groan, and the Ghost Sea water, originally dark green, had turned almost transparent.
It would probably take one or two years to restore its to the original amount again, right?
Under the abundant life force, Giratina seemed to undergo a transformation. The golden rings on its body shone brightly, as if coated with wax. The black and red stripes also became deeper and more mysterious.
Giratina comfortably stretched its body in the air without a care, and Yuga's face turned almost black...
At this point, it was Jellicent that used its tendrils to pat Giratina's head, reminding it that it went a bit overboard.
Realizing Yuga's dark expression, Giratina, now back to its senses, apologized with a guilty look, "I'm really sorry; I couldn't control myself. I got too carried away..."
The life force in the seawater was too rich and pure, and it couldn't resist.
Yuga wanted to say it's okay, but it really wasn't okay; it was very much okay!
Before Yuga could speak, a small ball suddenly popped out of the seawater. It hovered in the air, loudly scolding Giratina, looking extremely furious.
Looking closely, the little ball making a fuss in front of Giratina was none other than Cosmoem from Yuga's home.
It turns out Cosmoem had also been absorbing life force in the Ghost Sea earlier.
Giratina's appearance may affect ordinary Ghost-type Pokémon, but Cosmoem is completely indifferent.
Cosmoem originally belonged to the Psychic-type, but after some modifications by Bridges, it gained the Ghost-type attribute, making life force also a part of its diet. Hence, it frequently visits the Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark to feast on life force.
However, being still young, Cosmoem doesn't have as excessive a demand for life force as Giratina. So, it leisurely soaks in the Ghost Sea, enjoying the nourishment of life force.
No Ghost-type Pokémon would dislike the feeling of life force passing through their bodies. Even if they can't consume it, soaking in the Ghost Sea is still a form of enjoyment. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Litwicks and Lampent leisurely soaking in the Ghost Sea all the time.
Initially, Cosmoem was comfortable while soaking, almost falling asleep in a daze. However, the life force suddenly became thinner. When it woke up, the entire Ghost Sea had only a thin layer of life force left.
Cosmoem immediately noticed Giratina absorbing life force energetically, hence why it become angry.
Looking at the little one yelling at it, Giratina:...
This little one gives it a strange feeling; there seems to be a power in it that can match its own. However, this power seems somewhat incompatible with the Pokémon world...
Both are Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon. While Giratina possesses Legendary Aura, Cosmoem has the Ultra Aura. Although different, they converge on the same goal, similar to how the Sinnoh people and Alolan people, despite different appearances, are still humans.
This "incompatibility" made Giratina deeply furrow its brows.
"Is this little one yours?" Giratina asked Yuga in surprise.
Yuga, not expecting Cosmoem to be here, and momentarily forgot about Giratina draining dry the Ghost Sea. He nodded, saying, "Yes, it's mine."
At this moment, Cosmoem also noticed Yuga. With a swoosh, it instantly appeared in front of Yuga, burying itself in Yuga's arms, and accusing Giratina sadly.
Fortunately, it remembered to control its weight with psychic power; otherwise, this sudden movement might have given Yuga internal injuries.
Giratina seemed a bit embarrassed by Cosmoem's indignant words but wasn't angry. As an elder, it didn't need to be bothered by a child's babbling.
"This little one is good. Cherish it," Giratina said meaningfully. It hasn't encountered a Ghost-type Pokémon that can rival it before. It hoped that this little one could grow into its level one day.
"I will," Yuga replied, smiling as he patted Cosmoem's sturdy shell.
Cosmoem nudged Yuga back and then gave Giratina a stern look. Giratina not only wasn't angry but burst into laughter, treating Cosmoem completely like a junior.
Feeling relaxed after Cosmoem's playful scolding, Giratina suddenly had an idea. It suggested to Yuga, "How about this? Since I took advantage of you so much, why not compensate on this little one?"
Yuga's eyes lit up at the idea. With Giratina's help, Cosmoem's growth cycle might significantly shorten.
Seeing Yuga nod in agreement, Giratina breathed a sigh of relief. It felt awkward being scolded by a little one, but it really liked this little guy and couldn't get mad at it.
"By the way, what's the little one's name?" Giratina suddenly asked.
"It's called Cosmoem," Yuga honestly answered.
"Cosmoem? Never heard of that Pokémon," Giratina muttered but didn't ask further. It used strong psychic power to control Cosmoem, pulling it out of Yuga's embrace.
Cosmoem struggled intensely, but it couldn't break free.
"Cosmoem, calm down, stop struggling," Yuga scolded Cosmoem.
Hearing Yuga's words, Cosmoem immediately went still, but its eyes were filled with sorrow, leaving Yuga amused and helpless.
Giratina, controlling Cosmoem, floated it in front of them. Compared to Giratina's massive figure, Cosmoem looked like a tiny pebble.
Giratina took a deep breath and then forcefully exhaled a dark purple torrent towards Cosmoem. A powerful pressure erupted from Giratina, but it kept it within a small range. Apart from Yuga and Dusknoir, other Pokémon in the distance weren't affected.
Yuga could clearly sense that Giratina emitted pure Legendary Aura. The deep and obscure purple Legendary Aura was stronger than any power Yuga had seen before.
Legendary Aura is the foundation of Legendary Pokémon.
As the purple Legendary Aura engulfed Cosmoem, it shivered, but soon it sensed the gentle nature of the power. It instinctively began absorbing this force.
The constantly flowing Legendary Aura was absorbed by Cosmoem and instinctively transformed into its own Ultra Aura.
However, as Cosmoem absorbed more Legendary Aura, Yuga noticed subtle changes in its body.
While the myths of Lunala and Solgaleo were widely spread in the Alola region, no one could change the fact that these two Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon came from another world.
In other words, the Ultra Aura on Cosmoem, including on Kartana, didn't perfectly align with the Pokémon world. Ordinary Pokémon might not sense it, but a Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon like Giratina could easily see through it.
The integration of Legendary Aura into Cosmoem's Ultra Aura brought about a fascinating change. While the Ultra Aura remained, it seemed to suddenly harmonize with the Pokémon world.
It was like a human immigrant receiving a new citizenship, allowing them to integrate more deeply into the host country, and gaining acceptance.
Giratina had its own thoughts. Despite its fondness for the little one, it immediately sensed the dissonance between it and this world.
In its mind, a question arose: Would this outsider pose a threat to the world when it grows up?
To prevent such a scenario, Giratina considered changing the "citizenship." If the little one had the "citizenship" of this world, it would be challenging for any future outsiders to gain its trust.
This was a blatant strategy.
At this point, Yuga and Cosmoem were unaware of Giratina's calculations. Even if they knew, Yuga wouldn't mind; he'd just say: needless worry.
As long as helping Cosmoem grow was possible, Yuga wouldn't care about anything else.
With the increasing absorption of Legendary Aura, Cosmoem's aura became more aligned with this world. Its strength also grew more powerful.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Seeing the situation stabilizing, Giratina abruptly retracted the Legendary Aura it had emitted. It looked visibly exhausted, which showed that helping Cosmom once took a lot of effort
Feeling the enhanced power, Cosmoem couldn't contain its excitement. Even its eyes, which used to glare at Giratina had lost their hostility.
"Giratina, are you okay?"
Watching Giratina panting, Yuga asked with concern.
Giratina shook its head and replied softly, "I'm fine. Just need a good rest, and I'll be back to normal. Besides, the energy I absorbed earlier is insignificant compared to the life force I usually deal with."
Yuga finally felt relieved, and then shifting his attention to the still joyous Cosmoem.
...
Cosmoem (Directional Mutation)
Types: Psychic, Ghost
Ability: Sturdy
Gender: None
Potential: Unknown
Level: Unknown
Moves: Cosmic Power, Teleport
...
Although there were no apparent changes in Cosmoem's data, Yuga knew that the foundation of the "cocoon of the stars" was now more robust and when it evolved into Lunala it would undoubtedly be remarkable.
