Chapter 51: The Pillar of the Sky

Zhaofang shook his head. While he could theoretically blow the Sky Flute and see if Rayquaza would carry him back to Mount Chimney, he felt that would be rather inappropriate. It would be as ridiculous as saving Jack Ma, receiving a phone number to call for help, and then using that very favor to ask Jack Ma to give you a ride home.

Therefore, Zhaofang decided to try descending on his own first. With this in mind, he took out his Poké Ball, remaining ready to deal with any wild Pokémon that might suddenly leap out, and then walked toward the stairway.

How tall was the Pillar of Creation? In the video games, it had certainly been scaled down, but once Zhaofang started walking, he realized the Pillar was far more treacherous than he had imagined. Because it had been built so long ago, many sections had collapsed or fallen into disrepair. Along the way, Zhaofang exercised the utmost caution, terrified that a single misstep would send him plunging down—an outcome that would truly leave him helpless.

To his surprise, however, Zhaofang did not encounter a single Pokémon along the way. This led him to wonder whether the overwhelming, divine aura emitted by Rayquaza upon its arrival had terrified the other Pokémon, causing them to flee the area entirely.

Or perhaps there simply weren't any wild Pokémon inhabiting the Pillar of Creation in the first place? After all, the place was utterly desolate, consisting of nothing but stone. Zhaofang figured that unless those Pokémon subsisted on rocks, establishing an ecosystem in such an environment would be virtually impossible.

"Just how many floors does this pillar even have?" Zhaofang braced his hands against his knees and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had been walking for a little over an hour, yet he still hadn't reached the bottom level.

"This place is so high! I actually blacked out just now. Did something happen?" Rotom flew out of Zhaofang's pocket, looking around with a curious expression.

"You might find this hard to believe, but I was just brought to the Pillar of Creation by Rayquaza." Zhaofang's eyes lit up as he looked at Rotom. Since Rotom possessed the ability to fly, perhaps he could enlist its help?

Rotom's expression went blank for a moment, which Zhaofang assumed meant it was searching the Pokédex database for relevant information. A moment later, its eyes widened and it let out a sharp cry.

"Rayquaza? You mean *that* Rayquaza?!" Rotom shrieked in astonishment.

"Yes, unless there happens to be another Rayquaza hiding somewhere in the Hoenn region," Zhaofang replied with a chuckle, amused by Rotom's stunned reaction.

"This is an incredible discovery! I must have passed out earlier simply from the sheer pressure of Rayquaza's divine aura. Unbelievable!" Rotom zipped back and forth in front of Zhaofang in excitement, giving the young man a mild headache.

"Alright, Rotom, calm down. I should currently be inside the Pillar of Creation. Do you have any data on this place in your database?" Zhaofang waved his hand hurriedly to help Rotom settle down. Right now, he had no interest in bragging about having ridden a legendary Pokémon; his only goal was to escape this place as quickly as possible.

Although he had prepared plenty of provisions because of his intended trip to Mount Chimney, Zhaofang knew he needed to ration them carefully. After all, the Pillar of Creation stood on an isolated island in the middle of the ocean, surrounded entirely by water, a considerable distance away from the nearest town.

"The Pillar of Creation is a soaring tower located north of Route 131. It stands three thousand meters tall and consists of a total of one thousand one hundred floors. An unknown energy field inside the tower blocks and jams Pokédex signal transmission and reception. If you want to call for help, you'll have to walk outside first," Rotom retrieved the data almost instantly. This brought a wave of relief to Zhaofang; while three thousand meters was certainly high, it was much better than he had feared. In his worst-case scenario, he had imagined the tower might be over six thousand meters tall—otherwise, how could it pierce the clouds?

"Still, it's awfully tall..." Zhaofang scratched his head. He figured he had only descended a little over a hundred floors so far. The prospect of walking down the remaining thousand floors felt like an absolute nightmare.

Upon hearing Zhaofang's complaint, Rotom flew in a circle around the chamber and then zipped outside. Though unsure of what Rotom was up to, Zhaofang patiently sat down and waited, assuming Rotom had gone to scout the exterior conditions of the tower.

After a short while, Rotom flew back inside and shrugged helplessly. Understanding the gesture, Zhaofang sighed, stood up, and resumed his descent. Over a thousand floors—if worse came to worst, he would just walk for a whole day.

With Rotom keeping him company along the way, Zhaofang's spirits lifted considerably. To his surprise, he discovered that Rotom actually understood ancient scripts. Seizing the opportunity, Zhaofang began discussing the grammar and translation of ancient writing with it. The vast repository of knowledge stored within the Rotom Dex allowed Zhaofang to make rapid, leaps-and-bounds progress in his study of ancient languages.

When noon and evening rolled around, Zhaofang would pause to cook meals inside the tower and feed Gyarados and his other Pokémon.

He had briefly considered whether he should ride Gyarados down, but considering Gyarados's rather lackluster flying capabilities, he quickly abandoned the idea.

"Gyarados, you really are part Dragon-type. After all, how absurd is it for a Pokémon with the Flying-type to not even be able to fly?" Zhaofang patted the head of the Gyarados, which was currently devouring its meal with great enthusiasm, and chuckled.

When Zhaofang finally reached the ground floor, it was already noon on the second day. Having just finished feeding his Pokémon and walking around to aid his digestion, Zhaofang finally spotted a heavy, archaic double door—there were no more staircases on this level.

"Finally, freedom," Zhaofang let out a long breath. He had previously asked Rotom, and there were no guards stationed outside the Pillar of Creation, so he pushed the doors open and stepped directly outside.

Turning back to look at the towering Pillar of Creation piercing the clouds, Zhaofang clicked his tongue. This tower was indeed rather tedious—neglected for ages with nothing particularly special about it. No wonder there was no one stationed here; surely no one in their right mind would climb a tower of over a thousand floors purely out of boredom.

Emerging from the tower, Zhaofang found himself on a narrow, desolate island shrouded in thick fog. He picked a random direction and started walking, and after more than an hour, the vast expanse of the ocean finally came into view.

"Rotom, how do I get to the nearest town?" Zhaofang asked, looking out at the boundless sea with a conflicted expression.

"The closest place is certainly Pacifidlog Town. If you want to head there, you'll need to set sail from here, swim southeast for five nautical miles, and then travel forty nautical miles due west," Rotom provided a prompt and precise navigational route.

Zhaofang stared blankly at the sea before him. He remembered that one nautical mile was equivalent to 1.85 kilometers, meaning this distance was truly substantial.

"Rotom suggests pressing the distress button. Pokédex signals indicate another registered trainer is within three nautical miles," Rotom's eyes flashed as it offered a brand-new suggestion. Without a moment's hesitation, Zhaofang pressed the distress button.