My First Close Encounter with Arceus

"Xiao Ze, wait."

Just as Lu Ze was about to head out with his Pokémon, Hoopa Confined seemed to remember something and called out to him.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Curious, Lu Ze turned toward Hoopa Confined, who was beaming with excitement.

Hoopa Confined had been like this since yesterday.

He had been confined here for so long.

Thanks to his Golden Rings, he could peek at the outside world now and then.

But staying in one place all the time was still incredibly boring.

Only he knew how much he envied Mew, Victini, and Manaphy, who could travel the world.

So Lu Ze was curious. They were finally about to leave—why had Hoopa Confined stopped him?

"Hehe~"

Hoopa Confined chuckled, closed his eyes, pressed his hands together, and began muttering toward the sky.

Darkrai knew this routine very well.

But Darkrai was currently being forced to agree to some unfair terms, so he could not come out and tell Lu Ze what Hoopa Confined was doing.

Lu Ze tilted his head curiously as he watched.

Dratini and Zorua, nestled in Lu Ze's arms, tilted their heads too.

Seeing them, Victini tilted his head as well from Lu Ze's shoulder.

Cottonee, perched atop Lu Ze's head, wanted to copy them.

But without a neck, she clearly could not manage it.

As Hoopa Confined kept muttering, the white light around him grew brighter.

A moment later, a mass of white light appeared above the valley.

Lu Ze looked up curiously.

The light burst apart, revealing a white Pokémon that resembled a centaur.

"Alp—"

Lu Ze blurted out the first syllable, then hurriedly shut his mouth and swallowed.

Better not finish that nickname. Arceus probably would not know what it meant anyway.

But it still felt disrespectful.

The one before him was