Chapter Eighteen: The Verdant Earth and the Divine Capital

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“A fervent Arceus fan, known as Alpaca Brother, an ancient form of Gardenia... He’s actually alive today without any change? He must be over a hundred years old!”
“Hmm, but in the Pokémon world, there are indeed some immortals who have lived on for various reasons. Has Wang Luo found the secret to immortality? Or was he immortal to begin with?”
This was one of the long-standing questions among players, because after Wang Luo lost to the protagonist in the former Verdant Era, he had once said in frustration:
“[One day, one day! I will unravel all the mythological mysteries of the Verdant region’s Pokémon. And I will meet Arceus! No, I will make it obey me! Whether it takes years... decades... or centuries, I am willing to pay any price!]”
Such words made many believe that Wang Luo had lived for a very long time, and that he was acquainted with “Wusi,” the human avatar suspected to be Arceus, and quite familiar with him—though Wang Luo himself probably didn’t realize Wusi’s true identity.
Moreover, Wang Luo, Wusi, and Gardenia bore striking resemblances to each other. Wang Luo might be Gardenia’s ancestor, while Wusi’s identity remains enigmatic. If Wang Luo is the ancient form of Gardenia, then Wusi could be the primordial Gardenia...
Perhaps the ancient Sinnoh people naturally had different lifespans from ordinary humans.
“I’m a craftsman from a nearby village, sent by the villagers to deliver supplies here. Of course, I do have some interest in the ruins of Shinto.”
Guangtai put aside the chaotic thoughts swirling in his mind and began to engage seriously with the other person. At the same time, he led Doduo to the cabin’s doorstep, tying its reins to a post. The Pokémon curled up and closed its eyes, seemingly ready to rest.
“Your clothing doesn’t look like that of a village craftsman. Are you from another region? It’s surprising that anyone would settle in this forgotten land of Shinto.”
Wang Luo smiled. The attire of outsiders and villagers was indeed distinctly different. He also noticed a Honedge peeking inquisitively from Guangtai’s back.
“Oh... that’s a Pokémon I haven’t seen before.”
“Yo~” Honedge’s single eye glanced at Wang Luo with interest.
A traveling merchant!
This guy must have some treasures.
Wang Luo led Guangtai into the largest wooden cabin, where an elderly man and a Kadabra lived.
In the game, when the protagonist enters the Shinto ruins area, they can teleport home via the mountain elder’s Kadabra.
“Grandpa, someone from the village has come to deliver supplies.”
Hearing Wang Luo call the mountain elder “grandpa,” Guangtai initially thought Wang Luo was pretending to be younger despite being older than the elder. Though knowing it was a disguise, he couldn’t help but smile. Then he realized—Wang Luo might not actually be younger than the elder.
What if this old man is also a descendant of the ancient Sinnoh people?
Ordinary people wouldn’t live near such ruins! As a guardian of the ruins, he must have a profound connection to this place!
“Oh, thank you... but I don’t think I’ve met you before. Are you a new ruins investigator?”
“Oh, a renowned ruins research team from the Johto region has been here before... They left about two months ago. They were investigating the connection between the Arufuo Ruins in Johto and this place, but it seems they didn’t find anything useful.”
The mountain elder shook his head. Wang Luo then introduced himself to Guangtai:
“My name is Wang Luo. I’m an unremarkable merchant who loves history and mythology. I came here seeking ancient knowledge, and I’m currently working as a guide for mountaineering and ruins exploration.”
“But not many researchers come to this place. Mainly because it’s not easy to reach alone. From late spring through the entire summer, there’s no blizzard—making it a suitable time to enter. But once summer ends, you might see autumn in the distant villages, while here it will start snowing immediately.”

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“Of course, my reason for staying here is also because I love history and mythology. I yearn to learn more, hoping those researchers could uncover something here, and I hope to gain those rare insights...”
“After all, a merchant’s nature drives him to personally verify rare people, events, and things.”
“An excellent merchant understands how crucial information is, because if you can’t grasp the trends of this world, you’ll be eliminated by harsh survival competition. So I must gather fresh intelligence here.”
As he spoke, Wang Luo suddenly spread his hands and shook his head in disappointment:
“But the results have been less than ideal! I had hoped the researchers would discover something, but in the end, they found nothing. In my opinion, perhaps they weren’t chosen by the ruins... Ah, but that’s just my personal speculation.”
“Do you know about ancient poetry?”
Wang Luo smiled and told Guangtai why he had come here, his tone tinged with nostalgia:
“These were some ancient poems found in the Verdant region long ago. Every region has such things, right? If the meaning is unclear from ancient times... but what caught my attention was the content of one poem, though I saw it rather late.”
“[Pure and solemn, filled with an indescribable power.]”
“[The land of Verdant and Shinto indeed share similarities.]”
“The poem mentioned the land of Shinto, so I believe there might be the relic knowledge I seek here. But back then, I was still in Sinnoh... Oh, Verdant is the ancient name for Sinnoh, you probably haven’t heard that term before.”
“In the myths of Shinto, ancient peoples received the life of Pokémon and entrusted their own lives as well. Correspondingly, people and Pokémon formed bonds deeper than those of today. Every move people made was closely linked to the power of Pokémon.”
“The ancient ruins on this land inherited the legends of Johto’s Arufuo Ruins and Sinnoh’s Spear Pillar. This means that in ancient times, the people of Johto and Sinnoh had some contact on this land.”
“In ancient times, a group of Sinnoh people migrated to this land. Missing their homeland, they built a shrine here—that’s the Shinto ruins.”
“This shrine worships a Pokémon called a god—Arceus. Have you heard of that name?”
“However, no images related to Arceus remain, which is quite regrettable.”
Guangtai listened attentively. Some of Wang Luo’s lines nearly mirrored the game’s storyline, as if unfolding the plot.
“You also know ancient history? Let’s exchange information!”
Wang Luo smiled warmly, looking at Guangtai expectantly. Guangtai, however, wasn’t sure how to respond.
By the way, should I tell you Arceus’s base stats? You probably don’t know!
“I only know a little about ancient history. If you want valuable intelligence from me, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Though I once read some ancient myth books in Sinnoh’s Water Vein Library, they were just stories.”
“I read in ancient texts that Arceus was born from an egg in a void, creating the universe with a thousand arms, shining light upon Sinnoh’s land.”
“The migrants also brought special customs to Johto, commemorating legendary Pokémon with unique dance rituals, expressing the great power of the legends through music and dance.”
Guangtai recited the Pokédex descriptions and had no intention of revealing the truth about the Shinto ruins to Wang Luo.
But since Wang Luo mentioned the ancient poems... could it be that he has collected them all?
In the game, these ancient poems are not essential for completion; they are scattered across regions as a collectable element to enrich the world’s lore.

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It has been over a hundred years since, and Wang Luo already knows the conditions to meet Arceus. Yet he hasn’t seen it, which only means Arceus doesn’t want to meet him. Even if all conditions are met, the Hall of Origins remains inaccessible, so he must look for other ways.
After hearing Guangtai’s reply, Wang Luo’s disappointment was visibly apparent.
“I see.”
Most of the information was already known to him, but he was quite interested in the special dance rituals.
It would be necessary to continue investigating the Johto region.
And also the Mijina Ruins in Sinnoh.
Wang Luo pondered for a moment, then quickly regained his cheerful demeanor: “But it’s true, history and legends are fragmented, and many ruins remain in the world. Not everyone possesses unique information or knowledge.”
“Still, thank you for the news. Even without solid evidence, hearing a unique legend is a good outcome! I know about Johto’s dance customs but have never seen them. Those researchers never mentioned these; perhaps they consider them ordinary cultural heritage.”
“Oh, sometimes history and mythology hide within these common traditions. Without careful study, they can be overlooked!”
“And... have we met before?” Wang Luo suddenly seemed absentminded, staring at Guangtai with a thoughtful expression:
“For some reason, during our conversation, I gradually felt a sense of nostalgia.”
Guangtai shook his head: “No, we probably haven’t met. I only just arrived here. If we did meet before, it might have been a passing encounter somewhere in Sinnoh.”
Guangtai didn’t understand Wang Luo’s meaning, and Wang Luo didn’t delve deeper, simply nodding at Guangtai’s words: “Is that so... Ah, perhaps we had a brief encounter somewhere in the past.”
“By the way, since you’re a craftsman, would you like to buy some rare materials? I’m a merchant who’s traveled almost all over Sinnoh. I used to belong to a trade guild. We always like to collect rare materials—absolutely quality goods.”
Here it comes!
Guangtai played along, hoping to see if this guy had any good materials.
“Oh, speaking of materials, I have something mysterious here.” Wang Luo’s eyes gleamed as if he had thought of something. He took off his backpack and pulled out a “stone tablet”!
“Although I just found it in the mountains near the Shinto ruins.”
As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized stone tablet from his bag.
The tablet was deep red, one side polished smooth with nothing on it, and the other side engraved with some indistinct ancient inscriptions.
“This is an ancient tablet of unknown age. Similar ones have been found in my hometown. When used with Pokémon, it seems to enhance the power of certain attribute moves.”
“If you offer 20,000, I’ll sell it to you. It’s a special price!”