Ogerpon's Masks and the Coming of Christmas

Now that Mingyou knew an Ogre truly existed in Kitakami, he was determined to track it down. He turned back to Xuezhong, hoping to ask him a few things.

"By the way, sir, do you know much about Oger... Ogerpon?"

"Of course... My ancestor made her four masks."

Xuezhong spoke slowly. He was the only person who knew that now. If Mingyou hadn't said he was a friend of Carmine and Kieran, Xuezhong might have thought twice before telling him.

At those words, Mingyou and Ogerpon both froze. His family had made the Teal Mask?

"What exactly..."

"My ancestors were mask makers. Back when the villagers of Kitakami drove Ogerpon away for killing the Loyal Three, my ancestor tried to clear her name and tell everyone the truth..."

Xuezhong paused, then continued in a heavy voice. "But no one believed him. They thought the Ogre had bewitched him. In the end, they persecuted him to death. So even though our family knew the truth, we couldn't tell anyone."

"..."

Mingyou's face darkened. He hadn't expected something like that to have happened. But centuries ago, in a feudal age when people still called Pokémon monsters, anyone who saw the truth while the rest of the world was blind was branded a heretic.

"But is it really okay to tell us this?"

Xuezhong shook his head. "You're from out of town, so it's all right to tell you. Still, you'd better not spread it around. The people of Kitakami aren't the same as they were back then, but these legends have become a source of income for them..."

"It won't be long before that changes."

Mingyou spoke earnestly, then asked, "I heard the three masks stolen by the Loyal Three were kept somewhere in Kitakami. Is that true?"

"It is, but I