The Ilex Forest Shrine
Note 1
Itās probably 2 p.m. but I canāt tell, the trees are so tall and thick and the sunlight canāt cross the green leaves to illuminate the ground. How do the flowers grow in this forest?
I left Azalea Town this morning. I arrived yesterday night but I didn't have much time to visit the city. Roselia is so happy about this adventure. Her flowers shine a bit brighter every time we visit forests and gardens, she feels the natural energy and the vibrations boost her spirit, probably. Now we are sitting down after two hours of walk in the glittery darkness of the forest, we need to rest. Roselia is napping under one of the rare rays of light peeking through the trees, she feels the warmth of the sun through the red and blue hand-flowers. The perfume of her body is calming all of the wild PokƩmon around us, I can see them sleeping on the trees or between the bushes, this place is packed with wild creatures!
Yesterday night I met Kurt, the famous PokĆ©ball maker. My professor told me to trust everything he would have said (note for myself : I need to write a letter and thank him again). Heās one of the last artisans that still keeps alive the old tradition of hand-made pokĆ©balls. Itās truly fascinating. When I think about the Hisuian Museum in Sinnoh, or the massive factories in Kalosā¦ we came so far, today technology is baffling!
Kurt showed me his library and some old books about the history of the Ilex Forest and the secrets of the wooden shrine. The sightings of Celebi are pretty rare: legends say that he appears only during peaceful times and, as we know, today's world climate isnāt one of the bestā¦ I donāt know if Iām going to meet them today, Iām gonna keep my fingers crossed but I think itās pretty impossible.
I do have my photo scanner with me: I want to perfectly map the inscriptions written inside the shrine and study them back at university. I might be able to unlock some hidden secrets, who knows. All the books I found back in my Universityās library show photos where the moss is growing all around the shrine, inside and outside, Iāll gently scrape it off and finally get a complete version of the inscriptions.
Kurt gifted me a small token of fortune for my small adventure, a rare GS-ball. Yes! When he gave it to me, I gasped. It wasnāt my first time handling one of those special pokĆ©balls but, normally, they are always stored in museums and they are broken or just consumed by time. This one is actually working!
Also, when I named it the gold-silver ball, he corrected me immediately. In my books back home, thatās the name for this celebratory pokĆ© ball, but Kurt told me I was wrong. The eastern world thinks that the G stands for gold, and the S for silver. This is a common mistake. The Alolans call it the āgreatest smithās ballā, but also this tale is wrong. Dramatically, while he dropped the ball in my hand he said to take care of the generation sympathy ball, the GS ball, thatās the right name! The one thing that could actually bring me closer to Celebi. Kurt told me about the myth surrounding the GS-ball, an old tale I heard before once or twice, but never in such detail. Letās write it down:
In ancient times, the friendship between the Azalea Village and Goldenrod was ruined by the rivalry of the people in power. While Azalea was thriving via the commercial routes with Kanto, Goldenrod was achieving glory through the sea: in the middle, suffering from the dispute, the PokƩmon of the Ilex Forest were in danger.
While the animosity became stronger, Mother Nature punished the region with the strongest storm humans ever lived: after that it was impossible to travel via water for Golderod, or cross the mountains to Kanto for Azalea. The crisis broke the spirit of the two towns. The people were now obliged to exchange goods between them to raise themselves back up from the ashes, like Ho-oh. A new sense of friendship was born and peace became the new way of living. During the signing ceremony of the agreement, a Celebi appeared playing with the people of Azalea and Goldenrod. People of both parties celebrated that day, looking at the time travelling PokƩmon as an omen of good luck.
The same day one GS-ball was forged and left inside the shrine of the Ilex Forest. During the celebration, people heard a voice singing and a flute playing, and just like that the GS-ball disappeared. At that moment they knew Celebi appreciated the shiny gift.
Iām going to stop writing for now, there is a Hoothoot looking at me in a funny way, just over a tree, next to me. Is it already night time? It isnāt possible! It might be because the forest is so thick that night-time creatures come out during the day, I read something like this somewhereā¦
