Chapter 168 Manaphy's Castle

Ash and Lillie are now at the Night Club the next day, and they find the Ringmaster at the counter this time, maybe this is their first time seeing her there.

Ringmaster: Hi, Ash! After having not one, but two of these ragtag little gremlin creatures' shenanigans affecting my circus endeavors, I've decided I live here now! If anything else goes wrong, I'll at least know about it. And hey- who knew remote management could be so practical?! Speaking of remote management, we're getting some kind of reading in a pretty remote location lately. Namely, the Mirage Tower.

Ash: Seriously? The Mirage Tower?

Ringmaster: It's faint, but definitely there. Apparently, it's submerged somewhere? Or at least that's what the guy with the whatchamacollit says- I don't know how all that works. So, what do you say for your next act, you get out to the Mirage Tower and investigate? And look for somewhere underwater. Does a place like that even exist there? It is the desert, after all... Anyway, I'll be here if you need any support, or just want to notify me of hazards flying into my circus. Come to think of it, I guess that was how we met...

Lillie: So what is this Mirage Tower? You don't seem to like this place.

Ash: Trust me, it is very hard to find...

Amaria: (Walks towards them) Did I hear about underwater? If it is possible, I want to check it out as well.

Ash: Sure, the more the merrier. But what about Tania?

Amaria: She has another business, probably another Anomaly. So I'm free right now. And I like to come with you.

So Ash, Amaria, and Lillie are going to the Mirage Tower, and much to their delight, when they get to 1R253 Scrapyard, they find a teleportation portal that leads to the interior of Mirage Tower, so they quickly get there. But just as they get outside, they can only find shallow water.

Lillie: So this is in the middle of the desert...but I don't think this water is deep enough for us to dive...

Ash: Maybe it is in another one of the spots...that's also where I found a Phione-(Gasps) Manaphy...this must be the quest for Manaphy!

Lillie: Are you sure about this?

Amaria: Manaphy sounds like a cool Pokemon, and I would like to see one in person.

After they get inside the Mirage Tower, Lillie is looking at the puzzles with awe, but Ash has already finished them, so there's no need for them to do it again. Then they cliimb the stairs until they reach the other exit, which leads to a place similar to the entrance area.

Amaria: Looks like the water is deep here, we can dive from here.

Lillie: Then what are we waiting for? Let's go.

Ash and the others then decide to wear their scuba diving suits before diving under the place. As they dive underwater, they find a portal and head inside, and they are now at a place known as Splash Grounds.

Ash: It's a good thing that we have scuba diving gear, or else it will be a problem for us. Especially since that time when you're trying to drown me.

Amaria: (Guilty) I'm sorry about that. I was just depressed that Tania didn't come back with you.

Lillie: (Looks around) But it seems like this place is ruined...maybe Manaphy is inside?

Ash nods as they get inside, and they can find some Relic Copper, Relic Silver, and Relic Gold on the ground.

Ash: There are a lot of treasures, just think about how much money we can get by selling them.

Lillie: I agree...even though our family has a lot of them.

Ash: (Turns to Amaria) By the way, Amy. I want to know why do you love Tania?

Amaria: It's because she's the only one-...who let me. When I was crying, she stayed. When I was bleeding, she stayed. And when I was dying- The first, the second, the eighteenth time- She's still here. And I know... I know she deserves better. I know- She doesn't love me. It shows in the half-second before every hug, and in the taste of disdain within every kiss. But... She's the one who keeps coming back. And I can't say 'no' to her either.

Lillie: I see...

Amaria: At first I thought that you were the one who stole Titania, but then again, you didn't see her soft side before, right?

Ash: The truth is, I have, but that's after she accidentally killed Solaris' son...she was depressed that she didn't kill Lin, which was just a doll at that time.

Amaria: I know. Tania told me about this. Do you ever think about how fragile we are as people? It's so peaceful down here. But one mistake could fill our lungs with water and make us rot from the inside out. Maybe someday I'll have a lucky mistake.

Ash: I hope that won't happen because I know that Tania and the rest of us still need you...

After getting to the room, they find a board with some words on it.

"When first it appeared, we thought it a higher being. But its actions are that of a petulant child. Left unchecked, this sacred place would become a watery grave. With great reluctance, we have sealed the child away. Three doors. Three seals. To those who follow, heed our words or face destruction. The strongest currents are best kept under lock and sea."

Amaria: So what does that mean?

Lillie: Ash, there are Manaphy Gems here...maybe we should take it with us.

Ash: I just hope this isn't a trap.

After surfing forward, they find a notch on the door where something could be inserted, and Ash inserts the Manaphy Gem and the gate opens.

Ash: So those gems are keys, then we have to find two more doors to fit the gems...

Lillie: This one is much more interesting than the others, and we can also see the writings from the past as well.

The next room is filled with texts, and Lillie decides to read them.

"A terrible drought had befallen us for months. We were only living on rations that our small collection of Water Pokémon could save."

"Then one day, a strange Pokémon found us. They seemed to have a strong power over water, unlike any Water Type seen before."

After reading the texts, they head to the next room and find another door that needs the gem, after inserting it, they continue to move forward.

"They found fun in watering plants and would stay long after they'd finished as long as we read them a story each night. The years to come would be full of joy."

"We eventually agreed to build this castle in the Pokémon's honor, to thank them for saving us. We filled it with beds to sleep in, even more stories to share with them, and finally, a throne for them to rest in."

"They seemed to like it here and found even more happiness. Each morning they danced among the waves beneath the cliffs, and we danced too."

Lillie: So this is a castle for Manaphy and Phione...and that's the whole story.

Amaria: It sure is interesting, I can't believe there is something like this.

At the end of the room, they find an egg on the throne room, but the egg is having the Anomaly glow as well.

Ash: Are you kidding me? Even the egg?

Amaria: So that was Manaphy's Egg? I don't know even Eggs can be affected by Anomaly lights.

Then six Pokemon come to battle them, there are Heliolisk, Dhelmise, Nidoking, Tyranitar, Drampa, and Manaphy. Ash has Lillie protect the egg while Ash battles the Pokemon. Thanks to the Elemental Seeds, Ash's Pokemon can breathe underwater and even defeat all of them with their moves, Pikachu and Sceptile are the best battlers in this group because of their moves.

After the battle ends, Manaphy Egg hatches, and a Manaphy appears in front of them. The Manaphy starts to swim around them, much to their amusement.

Lillie: So that's a Manaphy...it is really cute.

Amaria: It sure is cute.

Ash: I know, I have met one back at Samiya, and I know how cute these guys are.

And Manaphy decides to go with Ash as he has imprinted Ash as his father while Amaria is his mother, causing both of them to become awkward. But Amaria lets Ash capture the Pokemon in the end.

Ash's New Capture in Splash Grounds: Manaphy (Event)

Just then, the ground shakes, and Ash and Lillie find a path to the exit, so they quickly swim there, only to find the Lin Portal in front of them.

Ash: Not again...

Lin: Why does the new world have lore. I like, JUST, made it. This is stupid. Did this place really generate an entire history that NEVER happened?!

Lillie: Or maybe this is not even from the New World, to begin with...

Lin: I should just delete this entire place. Bye-bye!

Ash and Lillie try to see if Lin has the power to destroy the place, but it turns out that nothing has happened.

Lin: I'm just kidding, that takes effort. The place IS kinda neat, despite the weird lore. I guess baby Arceus was the same way though. It didn't exist, and then it did, and then it made up its own past. I wonder- If I train it hard and give it lots of kisses- could I do that too? Imagine making history where I already won? That would be...

Ash: Just incredibly boring. Seriously...

Lin: Obviously I can't do that. Besides, it's ridiculous for two little girls to become the most powerful beings ever anyways. Like, I GUESS it's normal for 10-year-olds to become champions in other regions... Here too, in a way. But I'm pretty sure there's a legal age limit on divinity. Either turn 18 or get crucified, or something. Not that I care about laws. Let's just keep going.

And then the portal disappears, Lillie and Ash can only shrug at the sight.

Lillie: I wonder when she is going to stop messing with us?

Ash: Who knows? From her actual appearance, she's just a little kid, maybe the same age as Anna.

Amaria: And looks like we're done here, let's go back to the Night Club.

Ash and Lillie nod as they all head back, after bidding farewell to Amaria, Lillie decides to ask Ash about Amaria.

Lillie: So Ash, I was wondering, you have Celebi with you right? Why didn't you try to change the past so that Solaris' son can be revived, and your relationship with Amaria and Titania would be better?

Ash: I would want to, but it would be impossible. What if I changed the time, and then Team Meteor won the whole battle instead of us? Anything can happen once we change the past. And besides, Amaria is now returning back to her normal self thanks to Tania and her friends.

Lillie: If you say so...I just hope you're right about this.


And here is another new quest, as you can see, this one is the Manaphy quest, and I decide to add Amaria into this quest because I want her to talk about the things that she mentioned if you choose the Zekrom path since, in the Reshiram path, she will be very cold to you all this time. I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be the return of a rival of this game.