Spooky Plate and Draco Plate returned to Arceus’s body. Aside from the still-missing Psychic-type plate, the remaining seventeen plates had all taken their places. Meanwhile, the moment Spooky Plate was absorbed, the aura Arceus gave off became incomparably cold and sinister.
Even Shayna felt that chill. Not even the flames at her back could dispel that gloomy sensation, which was extremely rare for a Lunarian capable of adapting to all kinds of environments.
Fortunately, the feeling lasted only a very short time, otherwise, everyone on Genesis would probably have come down with a collective severe cold.
“Very good. Your world is almost ready as well. But before that, we need to make a trip to the underworld. Let’s go, Giratina. Take us to Darkrai.”
“As you command.”
Giratina opened a new portal, and under his guidance, Genesis followed him into this realm of the dead.
Even with Arceus himself aboard the ship, there were still crew members who felt uneasy about this voyage. Setting foot in the land of the dead, no matter how you put it, it sounded strange.
At the same time, there were also some people with rather peculiar ways of thinking.
“This is the second time we’ve entered the underworld, right? When we get back, I’ll definitely brag to my grandma about it.”
“Hey, isn’t your grandma over a hundred years old now?”
“Yeah, you remember pretty clearly.”
“With her age, if you don’t want to send her over here too, you’d better not talk about this kind of thing.”
Last time, Genesis had entered the outer fringes of the underworld by accident, but this time was different. It was a bold and open intrusion.
Previously, the consciousness of the underworld had used some of the power leaking from the Spooky Plate to control the power of the underworld. But the plate was originally Arceus’s possession, and after being influenced by it for so long, Arceus, entering the core for the first time, found it easier to take control of this place.
Without any report from Giratina or Darkrai, merely through the feedback of this world itself, he understood what had happened here. That was why he had activated his power and sent all the living beings out.
Since Zoro had played a small role, the Straw Hats were currently on the Sunny. If they left at this point, it would be fine, but if they still barged into Whole Cake Island, Arceus would no longer bother with them.
After that, Arceus began to scan the entire underworld, searching within it for certain things.
“Giratina, I’ve detected their approximate locations. There aren’t many of them, but they’re very scattered. Go and bring them here.”
“Yes.”
“Wait. Shayna, go with him. Prepare yourself mentally.”
Before Giratina set off, Arceus called out to him again, telling him to take Shayna along.
As he spoke, Arceus had already transmitted the locations into Giratina’s mind. After confirming that there were no further instructions, one person and one dragon flew away from the area.
Before leaving, Shayna had some questions, but she didn’t voice them. After all, this was the underworld; she could roughly guess some things. Since Arceus wanted her to see for herself, then she would.
After Shayna left, Genesis continued sailing along its original route, and before long arrived at the place where Darkrai was.
“My lord, you’ve come.”
“Well done. Over a dozen years weren’t wasted after all.”
“It was my mistake. Its ability to escape was too strong, but it was resolved in the end.”
“Mmm. Giratina will be returning to the Reverse World afterward. Since you’ve been pursuing things here for so long anyway, you’ll be the one to manage this place from now on.”
Darkrai hadn’t expected his new mission to come so quickly, nor for the area he had to oversee to suddenly expand so much.
“My lord, this matter… I have no experience.”
“It’s fine. You don’t really need to do anything. The souls here just need someone strong enough to suppress them. Before, it was the underworld’s consciousness. Now, it will be you.”
“If this place falls into chaos, it won’t be good for the world of the living either. It needs to remain stable. Other than that, you don’t need to do anything.”
“Yes, my lord.”
With things having been said this far, Darkrai naturally stopped refusing. Considering that managing the entire underworld alone might be too difficult for Darkrai, Arceus also provided him with some additional support.
After making his decision, Arceus stamped a foot onto the ground, and the underworld land in the surrounding area once again began to move.
Unlike the disturbance created earlier by the underworld’s consciousness, this movement was not meant to destroy the underworld.
The soil of the underworld gathered together as if it had come alive, fusing with the icy springs below to form a special kind of mud. This mud was shaped by Arceus’s power, quickly forming one armored giant after another.
The icy springs gradually flowed into their bodies, and rune-like markings lit up across their armor. As their forms were completed, more than a hundred guard-like clay figures stood upon the open ground.
The newly restored Spooky Plate also played its role at this moment, granting souls to these clay constructs before them.
Crack, crack.
Amid the sound of clay colliding, lifeless clay was imbued with souls, standing neatly before Arceus like a disciplined army.
Automation Pokémon—Golurk, a Ground + Ghost-type Pokémon.
Although their bodies were extremely heavy, they could fly, and at speeds exceeding the speed of sound at that, breaking the sound barrier with ease.
Because their bodies were filled with icy spring water from the deep layers of the underworld, these Golurk were exceptionally effective against Ghost-types, more than capable of assisting Darkrai in handling the problems here.
“Darkrai, from now on, these will be your subordinates. Whether it’s sending living beings who wandered into the underworld back out, or dealing with unruly dead spirits, they’ll be more than sufficient.
“And one more thing. Meowna, Wolff, they aren’t toys. Don’t climb all over them. If you like them, go back and have Queen make one for you.”
Possibly influenced by the earlier Germa combining robot, Meowna and Wolff had already been drawn to the newly born Golurk, curiously exploring the armor on their exteriors.
In fact, the birth of Golurk was itself very special, and they were quite different from Pokémon born naturally.
In ancient times in the Pokémon world, people developed Golurk for the sake of progress. They used special clay to create Golurk’s bodies and endowed them with unique cores.
This energy source had always been a mystery; even Pokémon Professors had never fully understood how it actually functioned.
It was a product of what was known as “sacred energy” in the ancient civilizations of the Pokémon world, something that had long since vanished with the passage of time.
Originally, Golurk were created to protect other humans and Pokémon. They could till fields and plow land, split mountains and shatter rocks, transport goods over long distances through flight, or serve as fixed artillery within castles.
Later, after the passage of time, Golurk themselves changed. They were no longer merely man-made creations, but gradually became members of the Pokémon world.
Now, these Golurk had changed again. Their bodies were forged from the soil of the underworld, and as long as they maintained contact with its ground, they could continuously draw power from it.
The icy spring water stored within them were weapons specifically meant for the dead, capable of unleashing targeted Hydro Pump.
“My lord, there’s one more thing. While carrying out your task, I borrowed a bit of an outsider’s help. Though insignificant, this matter got resolved because of him.
“And what he’s interested in is this girl’s soul.”
“Arbitrary resurrection is impossible. Death must be revered. If there is no reverence for death, this world would fall into chaos. However, giving her an opportunity is not out of the question.”
Darkrai’s method of healing injuries was very special, which left Kuina still in an unconscious state at the moment. It would take some time for her to recover, so Arceus injected a portion of his power into her body, granting her a new trial.
As this power was injected, violet flames enveloped Kuina’s spirit, and Arceus’s gaze shifted to Tesoro.
“Tesoro, how is the task I assigned you coming along?”
“Most of it has already been completed. If the alliance at the tea party can conclude smoothly, then there will be no other dissenting voices in the Underworld.
“In addition, we’re gradually abandoning the Berry and switching to gold and other precious metals as trading currency.
“At the same time, we’re developing our own currency, though anti-counterfeiting is proving somewhat difficult and is still under research.”
Recently, the rate at which the Berry was depreciating had been accelerating. With various incidents breaking out one after another, the World Government chose a highly impactful method of handling the situation: issuing more currency.
The money printers were in their hands. However many Berries they wanted was just a matter of saying the word. But as vast quantities of Berry flooded the market, while it solved the immediate crisis, it also planted far deeper hidden dangers.
The rapid increase in currency led to inflation. Compared to many years ago, the purchasing power of the Berry had already dropped significantly.
Moreover, the Beasts Pirates were already on the brink of a major war, and a complete break with the World Government was only a matter of time, so naturally they made changes to their currency system.
“You don’t need to trouble yourself over this matter anymore. I’ll give you a kind of currency that outsiders won’t be able to replicate.”
As he spoke, a small, gleaming golden figure appeared beside Arceus. Its golden body radiated an air of luxury, red patterns adding to its aesthetic appeal, and the four braids atop its head jingled with the sound of money as it moved.
Though it looked like a single whole, its body was actually pieced together from coins.
Steel + Ghost-type, Coin Entity Pokémon—Gholdengo, the future chief financial officer and bill verifier of the Beasts Pirates.
Gholdengo perfectly matched Tesoro’s aesthetic sense; that golden brilliance was almost synonymous with wealth itself. However, as the user of the Gol-Gol Fruit, Tesoro could tell at a glance that Gholdengo was not made of gold.
“Lord Arceus, is this… the currency you were referring to?”
“To be precise, it will be your money printer from now on. Gholdengo, use your ability.”
At Arceus’s command, Gholdengo unleashed Make It Rain. Its power quickly generated more coins, which were not used as weapons but instead piled up in front of Tesoro.
“These coins are produced by Gholdengo. There are five fixed designs, and the value each type represents is for you to decide.
“Don’t worry about them being counterfeited. Unless someone can infuse the coins with Gholdengo’s soul power, it will be impossible to produce this kind of coin.”
To this day, the Berry had never truly become a unified currency across the seas. It was merely one of several commonly used currencies. On some islands, the Berry didn’t circulate at all.
In order to issue its own currency, the World Government had put in considerable effort; at the very least, they had abundant experience when it came to producing counterfeit money of other nations.
The materials Acier had previously developed weren’t suitable as anti-counterfeiting markers for currency, which was why Tesoro had always used gold as hard currency.
His Gol-Gol Fruit could prevent any adulteration within gold, making it far more reliable than any money printer.
But this method also treated only the symptoms, not the root problem. He couldn’t personally verify every single transaction. Now, with Gholdengo, this issue was finally resolved.
“Rest assured. Give me some time, and I’ll take care of everything.”
Because of the Gol-Gol Fruit, Tesoro had always been trading in gold to maximize his abilities, resulting in the Beasts Pirates possessing enormous gold reserves.
And across the seas, gold had always been a hard currency. With vast quantities of gold as a foundation and the monopoly of Beast Fruits as his guarantee, Tesoro was confident that he could roll out this new currency within a certain timeframe.
The matters of the underworld were largely settled, many long-standing problems had been resolved, and a change had also occurred on Kuina’s side.
The violet flames of the soul receded. Her body had completed its growth, returning to an adult state. There was no armor covering her body, but her right arm was encased in a violet gauntlet.
The purple weapon in her hand was identical to the Wado Ichimonji, and flames burned along its blade.
Over this period of time, she had achieved a breakthrough, shedding her single spirit and transforming into a new form—Ceruledge • Underworld Form.
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.
Become a Patron!