Paradox Pokémon referred to Pokémon that did not exist in the modern era, but instead came from the ancient times or future. Strictly speaking though, they were not merely from the ancient times or future, but from another parallel timeline altogether.
The worlds of Ultra Beasts and Paradox Pokémon all truly existed outside the timeline of the main world, and naturally, the Pokémon there possessed different forms.
Iron Moth was the future Paradox form of Volcarona. It had changed, yet still retained some of Volcarona’s original characteristics.
Volcarona’s name originated from the fact that, long ago, they were regarded as the embodiment of the sun and worshipped because of it. Like other Fire-type Pokémon, Volcarona possessed flame organs within their bodies, the clearest manifestation being their flaming scales.
The colder a region was, the more its people worshipped this Pokémon. The scales they scattered unintentionally often saved creatures struggling through harsh winters. Of course, in tropical regions, this instead became a disaster.
When volcanic ash blocked out the sun, the Volcarona that appeared during eruptions were regarded by locals as a new sun, gradually earning the title deity of fire. In some places, they were also called the rage of the sun.
However, that was not the most terrifying aspect of Volcarona. Their flames burned differently from other Fire-type Pokémon. The scattered flaming scales could blanket a vast area in an extremely short time, consuming all the oxygen within and suffocating their enemies.
When the Paradox Pokémon Iron Moth appeared, this ability also mutated. Its mechanized body no longer scattered scales, instead evolving an attack method similar to a fuel-air explosive. Barro’s body was now continuously releasing comparable attacks.
His stamina was being converted through the ability into countless miniature bombs, causing the oxygen concentration within the training ground to plummet rapidly.
His body had also undergone massive changes. In addition to the four pairs of wings on his back, two extra arms had sprouted beneath his original arms, and even his vision had taken on the appearance of an electronic screen.
“This kind of power… If I had possessed this power back then, the ending would have been different.”
King and Avnisha were helping this old senior familiarize himself with his ability as quickly as possible, and the method they used was battle.
The Lunarians’ greatest strength was their adaptability. Within this low-oxygen environment, Lunarians were unaffected, but the same could not be said for other races.
When Barro began taking his next action, he noticed something different.
“Have the combat techniques changed?”
Fighting with four arms was different from fighting with two, but Barro already possessed abundant combat experience, so mastering it was not difficult. What truly surprised him was what he saw from King and Avnisha.
Though they were using combat techniques developed by Lunarians according to their racial traits, those techniques had transformed into another variant entirely.
The framework was still the same, but King and Avnisha’s fighting style had become far more aggressive—trading injuries for kills, targeting the lower body, and resorting to any means necessary for victory. It caught Barro completely off guard.
“Senior, the era has already changed. In the past, battle was for victory, but after that… it was simply for survival.”
The Lunarians of old had once been at the height of their prosperity. Some techniques had merely been intended to subdue and capture enemies alive. But after their decline, things became different. Their enemies pursued them endlessly, and only by killing those enemies could they gain even the slightest chance to breathe.
Times changed, and ancient things were not necessarily better than modern ones. Otherwise, they would not have vanished within the river of history.
If an era moved from chaos toward stability, then older techniques would naturally be more lethal. But the Lunarians’ experience had been the exact opposite.
“I see… Let’s stop here for today then. By the way, how do you leave this world?”
“The fixed entrance is over there, but you need a key bestowed by Lord Sacred Beast to open the door. Without a key, you can only search for the envoys created by Lord Sacred Beast. Only they can open the door. Isn’t that how you got in?”
“Probably by coincidence. I originally wanted to take a look around Wano Country, but I encountered a flying canine creature in the sky.”
“I see. I was just about to head out to find Lord Sacred Beast and Mr. Kaido anyway. Come with me.”
Avnisha returned to the settlement while King and Barro headed toward the outside world. However, Barro was writing things down in a notebook he carried with him, using this method to familiarize himself with modern society as quickly as possible.
Aside from Setsuna, who liked keeping a diary, Barro was the first person to record everything meticulously on paper, including both what he already knew and what others had told him.
【Entering and leaving the dimension created by Lord Sacred Beast requires special keys. Many of His creations possess this ability.】
【A Pokémon called Machamp has four arms. Perhaps it has some experience with four-armed combat.】
【The scholars of Ohara are excessively curious about knowledge. Better stay far away from there.】
Recalling the reactions of those scholars, Barro did not even know how to evaluate them. They had completely adopted a “might as well try asking” mentality when questioning him.
Many things could only be researched and inferred from historical records, but such speculation was far inferior to asking a living ancient person directly. As for whether that ancient person actually knew the answer, they would only know after asking.
Because of this mindset, the questions Barro faced were incredibly varied, spanning all kinds of fields. As long as something roughly matched his era, they would come asking him about it.
“Senior Barro, I still have things to do, so I won’t accompany you any longer.”
“I may have been born earlier than you all, but I’m not at the point where my limbs no longer work. You don’t need to keep accompanying me all the time.
“Oh right, are there any finished torches? It looks like night is about to fall.”
Although Lunarians had flames on their backs, they had no interest in using their own fire for illumination. Besides, torches were not something that could be made by simply burning a random stick of wood. That would not burn for long at all.
Cloth strips soaked in grease were decent tinder, but modern Wano Country no longer needed such things.
“Senior, there’s no need for that. Look at the sky, that’s one of the Pokémon created by Lord Sacred Beast, called Altaria. Every evening at six o’clock, they depart from the little Sky Island on schedule to send the craftsmen who have finished work back to the surface.
“And during this season, this also happens to be the time when the electricity comes on.”
“Electricity?”
Another unfamiliar term entered Barro’s ears. Before he could even ask about it, clusters of light suddenly illuminated Wano Country beneath the dim dusk. Street lamps located throughout the various districts lit up one after another.
“Senior, please enjoy the night scenery of eight hundred years later. Light can dispel darkness. We who have found our guiding light will also reclaim our dawn.
“Oh, and remember not to touch them carelessly. It might hurt quite a bit.”
Lunarians certainly would not be electrocuted to death. At worst, they would just end up with a new hairstyle. Compared to themselves, it was more likely they would cause nearby power lines to short out.
The sounds of battle within Onigashima had not yet ended, and according to experience, King had already guessed where Kaido was.
However, no matter who Kaido was fighting, he had no intention of interfering, so he headed directly toward Arceus’s location.
Meanwhile, Barro, high in the sky, could immediately make out the layout of present-day Wano Country. This was one of the characteristics of lights at night—through the distribution of light, one could instantly discern the arrangement of buildings and roads.
Even on today’s seas, there were only a handful of nations capable of laying down an electrical network across an entire country.
“So this era truly is no longer my era.”
With heavy thoughts on his mind, Barro returned to the ground. Yet on this island, there were still a small number of people troubled in much the same way as him.
“Do you Kuja people… all have problems recognizing gender?”
As time passed, this nation’s nightlife had gradually developed, and its prosperity today was no less than that of the celebrations held during the period of isolation.
Although it was not a festival, the streets were still crowded, and among those crowds were a few additional visitors.
“No, it’s just that this kind of thing is very common in Kuja.”
“I really should take you to see the classes the children here attend…”
“Classes?”
“Gender recognition classes.”
Ever since the Garp incident, some of the officers who had shined brightly during the operation had attracted the attention of Kuja women. And this category was not limited to men, it included women as well. Isuka was one such example.
In a certain sense, this was precisely why Kuja had gone astray from the very top. After all, there was still Hancock, who continued persevering despite having achieved no real results.
More accurately, Hancock believed she had achieved results, when in reality she had not achieved much at all.
As a result, when Kuja members were rejected directly, they would not immediately give up, but would instead continue persisting for a period of time. Marguerite was currently in exactly that sort of situation.
“Wait, something’s not right, how did you know I was here?”
Isuka had never revealed her whereabouts. Running into Marguerite here had been pure coincidence.
However, the Kuja were guests after all. Faced with this pursuer who was very polite and even somewhat timid, Isuka’s attitude was not particularly cold. She was simply trying to reason things out calmly.
But for Marguerite to know that she would come out shopping tonight and just so happen to run into her here—that was not normal at all.
“I-It really is just a coincidence.”
Marguerite and the snake on her body made nearly identical evasive expressions, clearly unwilling to betray the person behind this.
Not far away, atop the newly built Ferris wheel in Hakumai, someone was secretly observing the two of them.
“I already gave you Isuka’s whereabouts. As for how things turn out afterward, that’s none of my business.”
Marguerite’s good friend Aphelandra was here as well, and the information about Isuka had been leaked by Who’s-Who beside her. According to Who’s-Who, Isuka’s personality was too gentle and she lacked vigilance toward her own people, making it far too easy to figure out her whereabouts.
He felt absolutely no psychological burden over this kind of betrayal. They were just two women; whatever the outcome, he would not feel guilty in the slightest.
He himself was not opposed to social gatherings anyway, and since he had originally come to find someone, Who’s-Who was quite satisfied with the current situation.
Of course, aside from these lucky people, there were also two unfortunate souls.
One of them was Fourtricks. Having taken one of Garp’s punches head-on, he had behaved heroically and paid the heroic price for it. The entire Kuja knew there was a man who had been sent flying by a single punch from Garp and consequently missed the entire social gathering.
Although Fourtricks now frequently bragged about having fought Garp valiantly, almost nobody believed him.
The other unlucky one was Dobon. He had no problems during the battle and even gained some contributions by following Who’s-Who around. Originally, his future had looked bright, and the thing that had troubled him had already been resolved.
But in the end, he rejected Sweet Pea, who had shown interest in him and did not think he was too ugly, and the consequences arrived immediately.
Kuja’s social circle was only so large. Once the matter spread back there, Dobon’s reputation within Kuja plummeted straight downward.
Although Kuja women inherently admired strength, their criteria for choosing partners were generally an even split between strength and appearance. That was the first impression. On these seas, one could ignore family background, but personality was still something people considered.
If both sides confirmed an interest in developing the relationship further, then compatibility between the two became the deciding factor.
Dobon’s score in terms of first impressions was terrible, while his strength had not yet reached the point where it could reverse the situation. His combined score was still negative, and he had already missed his opportunity.
“Look, over there is the Flower Capital. At this hour, there should be a fireworks display.”
Who’s-Who had no intention of taking them sightseeing through mountains and rivers. Instead, he chose to use things Kuja lacked to capture their attention. Earlier, they had already witnessed the abilities of Pokémon Ability Users, and on the streets before this, they had also seen the Pokémon living here.
In Wano Country, native Pokémon were never domesticated animals, but an entirely new race.
The handle of the hammer that Tinkaton carries is often hung with shopping bags. Bisharp constantly lingered near blacksmith shops, and there were even stores specifically catering to Growlithe.
Chansey wearing nurse uniforms would also hang out here in groups, and Croagunk would even visit medicine shops certified to purchase venom to exchange it for Wano Country currency, occasionally spending some of it afterward.
Although nobody had guided it, the profession of Pokémon masseur had already silently appeared among Wano Country’s population. Perhaps one day, professions like Pokémon Breeders and Daycares would emerge here as well.
The daytime tour had already shown them plenty of Pokémon. Now, during the night, Who’s-Who intended to let them witness the changes brought by electrical power.
Besides people like them, there were also many young couples, families that had immigrated to Wano Country, native residents of Wano Country, and the Pokémon living here together formed a harmonious picture.
Yet within that picture, there was still one person unable to blend into it—Barro.
A beautiful life, happy families, a harmonious nation—none of these belonged to the Barro of the past.
After pondering alone in a corner for a long time, Barro made a decision and arrived at Arceus’s room under the cover of night.
“Lord Sacred Beast, I have an idea. Please allow me to leave this place temporarily.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“This country is wonderful, but it is not a country suited for my life.”
“There are remnants of Lunarians within the Reverse World. More people will gradually gather there. Though they are not from the same era, you share the same bloodline. You could remain there.”
“They are ultimately my juniors. If an outsider like me suddenly goes there, I would instead disrupt their way of life. I want to go out and see the seas beyond. Perhaps there are still remnants of our race left somewhere.
“I also want to witness what kind of new tricks these enemies have developed after eight hundred years of progress.
“I heard something about Twenty Kings appearing. I plan to visit the nations they once belonged to. Perhaps I can find something valuable there.”
Seeing that Barro had already made up his mind, Arceus did not force him to stay. After all, he had once been the tribe chief and had now obtained new power. Unless he drunkenly wandered into someone else’s prison like Kaido did, capturing him was practically impossible.
Since he wanted to see the entire sea, then so be it.
“Rest for the night. Tomorrow morning, you may depart. I’ll have people prepare everything you’ll need for your journey.”
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