Celebi
After their conversation with Shadowsong and the others, Mr. Kuni'o opened the shrine containing the somewhat unattractive Celebi statue.
Then, Mr. Kuni'o took out a green leaf-shaped object. This leaf wasn't an actual leaf; it was crafted from a material Yuga didn't recognize, crystal clear and quite beautiful.
Mr. Kuni'o muttered a few words, placing the leaf in front of the Celebi statue. The leaf began emitting a soft green light.
Gradually, the green light spread onto the Celebi statue, and suddenly, the statue emitted a bright white light. Before Yuga's eyes, a rift in time appeared, and a Celebi emerged from it.
Yuga was astonished when he saw Celebi because it wasn't the one that had helped awaken his abilities; it was the one that had blessed him and allowed Shadowsong to travel through time.
Although the two Celebi looked identical, those who had received Celebi's blessing, like Yuga, could easily distinguish between them.
Mr. Kuni'o had also noticed the difference, leaving Yuga with just one question: What was the relationship between these two Celebi?
Once the Celebi emerged, its first action was to circle around Gardevoir, who was standing beside Yuga.
Before Mr. Kuni'o and Shadowsong could make any requests, another space-time rift appeared next to Celebi, enveloping not only Shadowsong and Hubert but also Yuga and Gardevoir.
Seeing this unexpected turn of events, Mr. Kuni'o tried to grab Yuga, but Celebi was too fast, and Yuga vanished before him.
As Yuga was pulled into the time rift, his mind went blank. After a dizzying moment, he was thrown out of the rift, along with Gardevoir, Shadowsong, and Hubert.
Before Yuga could grasp what had happened, a relentless barrage of attacks descended upon them. At that moment, Gengar and Mismagius, hidden within Yuga's shadow, appeared to shield them from the incoming onslaught.
With no time to think, Yuga realized they were surrounded. The people surrounding them spoke in a rapid, unfamiliar language, the same language Shadowsong and the others used. The system didn't have a chance to translate for Yuga, so he understood none of it.
"We...we've returned..." Shadowsong finally managed to say after a moment of confusion.
Seeing their surroundings, Yuga asked Shadowsong, "Can you explain what's going on?"
"This is where Celebi took us. These are the people who are after me and Hubert," Shadowsong explained in a hushed tone, as he and Hubert released their Dusknoir and Sceptile from their Poké Balls.
The sight of Pokemon emerging from the Poké Balls astonished the people around them. These people still referred to them as "monsters."
Yuga finally began to piece together the situation. He and Gardevoir had been brought here a thousand years into the past by Celebi. But why?
Yuga couldn't help but feel frustrated with Celebi for putting them in this predicament. There was no time for further contemplation as the group of people and their Pokemon launched another assault.
Their attire and the two distinct Pokemon species among them, Gligar and Vibrava, resembled the two mysterious figures in black Yuga had encountered initially. However, their strength was considerably weaker.
Hubert wasted no time and displayed a deadly efficiency in combat, quickly dispatching several of them along with his Dusknoir.
Even Shadowsong, typically gentle, showed no mercy. His Sceptile's Leaf Blade resembled the scythe of the Grim Reaper.
Yuga initially struggled to adapt because the fighting style of these people was entirely different from modern times, ruthless and vicious.
Eventually, Yuga also threw caution to the wind and fought alongside Gengar and Mismagius, defeating dozens of black-clad individuals and their Pokémon.
As Yuga looked at the lifeless bodies and crimson blood covering the ground, he felt nauseated.
In contrast, Shadowsong and Hubert remained remarkably composed, as if they were accustomed to such violence.
"Let's leave this place quickly," Shadowsong suggested to Yuga.
Yuga nodded in agreement. At this point, he had no choice but to follow Shadowsong and Hubert, the locals.
Gengar and Mismagius returned to Yuga's shadow, and he followed Shadowsong out of the forest with Gardevoir.
During their journey, Yuga learned some details from Shadowsong, although even Shadowsong seemed somewhat unclear about the situation.
Shadowsong and Hubert had embarked on a training journey, but they had been pursued, which meant they didn't know who was after them.
On the way, Gardevoir secretly spoke to Yuga, saying, "Now that we're in the past, should I go and kill that old man, Rode?"
Gardevoir appeared dead serious, not like she was joking at all.
"We should take things one step at a time for now. Perhaps, in this time, you're still alive, and we might have a chance to rescue you," Yuga replied.
Listening to Yuga, a thought crossed his mind. Did Celebi bring him and Gardevoir to the past to save Celebi, who had been killed by Rode? But wouldn't that change history?
Upon hearing Yuga's response, Gardevoir shook her head and said, "It's impossible. If my past self is already dead, then there's no way our present selves can save my past self. History corrects itself. If my past self is saved, the future we know will no longer exist."
As a former Celebi, Gardevoir was well aware that altering history was challenging. Even though they could traverse time, they couldn't easily disrupt the timeline.
"But you just said you wanted to kill Rode!" Yuga retorted, exasperated.
"That's because there's no Rode in the future. I don't know what ultimately happened to him. Maybe I, from the future, killed him," Gardevoir cunningly argued.
Yuga rolled his eyes; that possibility seemed highly unlikely.
"By the way, Shadowsong, how is our country's guardian deity, Celebi, doing now?" Yuga asked Shadowsong directly.
Yuga figured that asking Shadowsong was the quickest way to learn about Celebi's current situation.
"How did you know that our guardian deity is Celebi?" Shadowsong was taken aback. He hadn't told Yuga this information.
"Never mind how I know. Just tell me about Celebi," Yuga insisted.