Ch. 361A Fateful Bond (Thanks to a Little Chara for the Tip)
Chapter Summary: “A Fateful Bond”
Key Plot Points and Events
- Hu Yang and his Pokémon remain stranded in the ancient world, long before humans, plants, and most Pokémon life have appeared.
- Regigigas finally notices Hu Yang and communicates with him through Telepathy. Hu Yang explains that he is a human from the distant future.
- Hu Yang witnesses Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre battling. Their struggle between land and sea gradually creates the world’s first continents and oceans.
- After exhausting their Natural Energy, Groudon and Kyogre return to their normal forms and retreat to rest. Regigigas then resumes dragging newly formed land across the ocean.
- Hu Yang asks Regigigas whether it has seen other living beings. Regigigas identifies only Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, and Hu Yang, emphasizing how empty and primitive the world is.
- Hu Yang spends more than two months searching for a way back to the future. His food supplies dwindle, and Cramorant becomes discouraged after repeatedly failing to locate a path home.
- Hu Yang realizes that Cramorant cannot find Dialga because Dialga exists in a special dimension rather than the ordinary world. He then develops a new plan: use Cramorant’s Spacial Rend to tear open a Spacetime Rift.
- Before leaving, Hu Yang and his Pokémon move away from Regigigas to avoid harming it. Regigigas shrinks to a smaller form and asks whether it can accompany Hu Yang to the future.
- Hu Yang refuses, fearing that removing Regigigas would disrupt history, prevent the creation of the Regi trio, and alter the future regions he knows.
- Cramorant successfully uses Spacial Rend to create a rift. Hu Yang promises Regigigas that they will meet again, then enters the rift and disappears.
- Regigigas continues dragging land through the ancient world. Much later, after sleeping, it awakens to find humans and creates stone, ice, steel, lightning, and dragon companions to help them—becoming the origin of the legendary Regis.
Character Developments
- Hu Yang: Becomes increasingly attached to Regigigas despite initially viewing it mainly as a means of transportation. He shows compassion toward Cramorant, recognizing its limitations and valuing its loyalty rather than judging it for failing to find Dialga. His observations of the ancient world also lead him to a clever solution for returning home.
- Regigigas: Develops its first clear emotional connection. Initially simple-minded and unfamiliar with concepts such as loneliness, it becomes curious about Hu Yang and the future. Its request to travel with him demonstrates trust and attachment, while its later goodwill toward humans is influenced by their meeting.
- Cramorant: Shows unusual loyalty and determination by repeatedly trying to help Hu Yang, despite its limited intelligence. Its failure leaves it dejected, but it ultimately proves crucial by using Spacial Rend to open the escape route.
- Gengar, Gardevoir, Charizard, and the other Pokémon: Remain supportive companions, sharing Hu Yang’s anxiety and excitement and helping him prepare for the journey home.
Significant Themes
- Friendship across time and species: Hu Yang and Regigigas form a bond despite their radically different origins and inability to fully understand one another.
- Loneliness and companionship: Regigigas does not understand loneliness intellectually, but its reaction to Hu Yang’s departure reveals that it has become accustomed to his presence.
- The creation of the world: Groudon and Kyogre’s battle symbolizes the formation of land and sea, while Regigigas’s labor represents the shaping and ordering of the ancient planet.
- Fate and historical consequences: Hu Yang refuses to take Regigigas with him because even a seemingly small change could alter the future and erase the world he knows.
- Acceptance and loyalty: Hu Yang accepts Cramorant’s limitations and values its devotion, showing that usefulness is not the only measure of a companion’s worth.
- Memory’s influence on history: Regigigas’s positive first encounter with Hu Yang helps explain its later kindness toward humans and its creation of the Regi companions.
Important Character Interactions
- Hu Yang introduces himself to Regigigas and explains the existence of future humans.
- Hu Yang questions Regigigas about other life forms, learning about Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza.
- Hu Yang discusses loneliness with Regigigas, though Regigigas cannot understand the concept.
- Hu Yang comforts the discouraged Cramorant and reassures it that its inability to find Dialga does not diminish its value.
- Regigigas asks to visit the future with Hu Yang, but Hu Yang gently refuses and tells it to sleep until humans appear.
- Before entering the Spacetime Rift, Hu Yang promises Regigigas that they will meet again, leaving Regigigas with a lasting emotional connection to humanity.