Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice

Zamazenta, the Hero Pokémon that Saved Galar 3,000 Years Ago.

But now, it has almost been forgotten in the annals of history.

 Along with its sibling, Zacian, it resides in seclusion deep within the Slumbering Weald, south of Postwick.

However, unlike its sibling, who cares for nothing but sleep and remains oblivious to the outside world,

 Zamazenta occasionally finds lying around in the forest all day quite boring.

 So, from time to time, it takes a stroll around the outskirts of the forest for a bit of idle amusement.

 Even so, it rarely ever appears before humans.

This time, however, during one of its casual strolls, Zamazenta happened to spot a human girl training with several Fighting-type Pokémon.

 Though their skill level was insignificant in its own eyes, what it witnessed still shattered the worldview of Zamazenta.

What the—!?

 In just a few years of sleeping in the Slumbering Weald, had humans already evolved to this level!?

Not only were they running faster than Pokémon, not only did they have endurance surpassing Pokémon, but they were even able to fight Pokémon directly!?

And the techniques that the girl was using...

 Zamazenta had never seen them before.

Just as Zamazenta was about to take a closer look, it suddenly noticed a Bewear sitting at the edge of the battlefield stand up and lift its arms.

"Hm?"

 Zamazenta 's expression shifted slightly as it instinctively sensed danger.

 Just as it was about to move—

BOOM—

With a swing of Bewear's massive arm, a colossal, overwhelming force materialized into a devastating storm, roaring toward Zamazenta like a raging tornado.

"Wangwu!? (What the heck!?)"

 Having left its shield behind, Zamazenta had no choice but to brace itself for impact.

The immense white shockwave stormed through the forest, uprooting trees and violently lashing against Zamazenta 's body.

"Doom oh! (Show yourself!)"

After blocking the attack, Zamazenta heard the Bewear's warning growl.

 It hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to turn back toward the Slumbering Weald.

After all, both it and its sister had avoided human contact for thousands of years.

However, just as Zamazenta took a step to leave—

Whoosh!

A sharp sound of something slicing through the air erupted from behind.

Before it could react, a massive force clamped down on its shoulder.

Turning its head, Zamazenta was met with a rapidly enlarging bear face in its vision.

Its pupils shrank.

This guy's speed—!?

In an instant, Bewear's other hand reached out, gripping Zamazenta's front shoulders on both sides.

"Doom oh!"

With a mighty roar, Bewear lifted Zamazenta high into the air—

 and tossed it toward where Stephen and the others were standing.

A perfect throw to reveal the identity of this lurking observer.

"Wangwu!? (This bear!?!)"

Zamazenta's expression changed once more mid-air.

Not only was this bear incredibly fast, but its strength was just as monstrous!?

Despite its shock, Zamazenta's reaction speed remained swift.

Its front left paw gleamed with golden light—

Metal Claw!

With a fierce swipe, it latched onto Bewear's shoulder, preventing itself from being thrown away.

At the same time, Zamazenta opened its mouth, gathering a glowing, light brown energy sphere—

Focus Blast!

BOOM—

The powerful energy blast struck Bewear directly, sending a shockwave through the area.

The ground trembled from the explosion, causing Stephen and the others at the battlefield's edge to stagger.

Some of Bea's lower-leveled Pokémon, like Machop and Hawlucha, even stumbled and fell.

As the dust settled, Zamazenta glanced back toward the forest outskirts.

Damn, that was too loud.

There would likely be a crowd of humans gathering soon.

 It had to leave.

With that thought, Zamazenta turned once again to retreat deeper into the Slumbering Weald.

At the same time, it silently muttered an apology to Bewear in its heart.

Sorry. I might've overdone it just now.

Step—

Whoosh—

However, just as it took another step—

The fierce sound of something slicing through the wind rang out once again.

A violent gust howled past Zamazenta's ears.

This time, it didn't even need to see—

 it instinctively gathered power in its head and lunged in the direction of the incoming danger.

Iron Head!

CLANG—!!

The next second, a deafening metallic clash echoed through the air.

Zamazenta felt its forehead collide with something unbelievably solid.

 Lifting its gaze—

It was that bear face again!

From the other side, Stephen and his companions only saw another fierce gust tear through the battlefield.

The trees before them were completely uprooted by the wind pressure and then came crashing back down.

With all obstacles cleared, the scene before them was finally revealed in its entirety—

A massive Pokémon showdown.

A wolf and a bear, their foreheads glowing with brilliant silver light, locked in a head-to-head collision.

The impact of Iron Head vs. Iron Head erupted with unimaginable force.

The grassland within tens of meters of their clash was completely flattened, leaving behind a barren, concave patch of land.

"That Pokémon…!?

Bea gasped in disbelief.

"Oh my god! There's a Pokémon that can match Bewear in strength!?"

Even Will was utterly shocked.

It was his first time seeing any Pokémon go head-to-head with Bewear without being completely overpowered.

Meanwhile, in the Luxury Ball on Will's waist, the Galarian Articuno silently muttered to itself:

["No, the real question is—'That bear can match the strength of the Shield King!?'"]

Three thousand years had passed, and the people of Galar had forgotten the true hero who once saved them.

But legendary Pokémon like Articuno, still recognized their old acquaintance.

Yet what truly astonished Galarian Articuno wasn't Zamazenta—

 but the fact that Bewear could rival Zamazenta 's strength!?

At the same time, Beartic on the sidelines looked on with admiration.

["So strong… As expected of my goddess!"]

"Stand down, Bewear."

Stephen finally called back his Pokémon.

At his command, Bewear withdrew its strength and silently returned to his side.

However, it couldn't help but take another long look at Zamazenta.

This was the first time it had encountered a Pokémon that could effortlessly withstand its attacks.

"Pardon me, I didn't expect to meet Galar's true hero."

Stephen nodded slightly toward Zamazenta as a gesture of respect.

"The true hero?"

Hearing these words from Stephen, both Will and Bea couldn't help but look at him with curiosity.

"Hmm..."

A hint of surprise flashed in Zamazenta's eyes.

After all these years, was there still a human who knew about its past?

"Hey, hey! What's going on!?"

"What was that commotion just now?"

"Is there a wild Pokémon causing trouble?"

One by one, the lights in the village houses behind them lit up.

The earlier loud noises had drawn attention.

Not wanting to be discovered by humans, Zamazenta finally made its escape this time, swiftly turning around and dashing back into the Slumbering Weald.

Seeing the villagers gathering, Will blinked and said, "This could be a bit troublesome. How are we supposed to explain this if they ask, Stephen?"

"Let's head inside too. I just remembered there's something I need to get," Stephen decided after a brief moment of thought.

Ten minutes later, deep within the Slumbering Weald—

The sanctuary where Zacian and Zamazenta, the sibling duo, had resided for the past three thousand years.

...

By the lakeside—

["Sis, listen! Just now, I saw a human girl battling a Pokémon outside. She even had a bear with her! She was incredibly strong—she could fight me evenly! Of course, if we had continued, I would have won for sure. And I wasn't even using my shield! If I had..."]

Excitedly, Zamazenta rambled on about its recent experience with its sister, Zacian.

["Shut up!"]

Lying on the ground with all four limbs sprawled out, Zacian, who had been resting, couldn't help but snap at her chatterbox of a little brother, cutting him off mid-sentence.

["That just means you're not strong enough."]

Zacian closed her eyes again, continuing her rest.

A bear managed to fight her little brother to a draw?

If it had been any other Pokémon saying that, Zacian would have thought it was a joke.

But since it was Zamazenta himself recounting the battle… hmm, that only meant this foolish little brother had been slacking off recently.

["Hmm?"]

Suddenly, Zacian lifted her head and muttered to herself, ["A human has entered."]

With that, she prepared to summon a thick mist to drive the intruding human away.

Over the past three thousand years, countless human Trainers had wandered into the Slumbering Weald.

If they only roamed the outskirts, it was fine.

But if they ventured too deep, Zacian would create a dense fog, causing these humans to unknowingly find their way back to the entrance.

Over time, fewer and fewer humans dared to enter this mysterious forest.

"Sorry to intrude."

However, just as Zacian released her mist and expected the human to be sent back as usual, a slightly teasing voice echoed from the only entrance to this sacred place.

["Huh?!"]

A flash of astonishment crossed Zacian's eyes for the first time in a thousand years.

Had someone broken through her Mist Maze?

["Sis! That's the bear!"]

Zamazenta excitedly shook his head toward Bewear, who was following behind Stephen, and whispered loudly into Zacian's ear.

["Shut up!"]

Zacian shot Zamazenta a fierce glare.

["How did you break through my mist?"]

Zacian's voice, dignified and commanding like that of a warrior queen, resonated in the minds of all three humans through telepathy.

"Telepathy?"

Will's heart skipped a beat.

Having encountered several Legendary Pokémon before, he had learned one thing—any Pokémon capable of telepathy was never ordinary.

These two before them were, without a doubt, legends.

"I didn't rely on my eyes. I used my senses."

Stephen gently stroked the fur on Bewear's back.

"Is this also an ability of Observation Haki?" Bea wondered to herself.

["Leave immediately."]

Zacian didn't probe further.

"Don't be so hostile, Galar's true hero."

Stephen took a few steps forward with his companions, speaking in a friendly tone.

"You've stayed here for thousands of years, never interacting with the outside world. Wouldn't it be nice to occasionally talk to humans for a change of pace?"

["I have no such interest."]

Zacian remained unmoved.

Stephen chuckled and pointed at the other legendary Pokémon beside him.

"Doctor, what do you mean by 'true hero'?" Bea asked curiously.

"Sit down; this is a long story."

Stephen patted the empty spot by the lake.

Without hesitation, Will plopped down, while Bea hesitated, still wary of the two imposing Legendary Pokémon.

Seeing that the red-and-blue, single-pony-tailed giant dog seemed intrigued, she finally felt at ease and sat down as well.

Zacian cast a cold glance at Zamazenta.

What an embarrassment!

"Three thousand years ago, a Pokémon called 'Eternatus' went on a rampage, absorbing Galar's energy to sustain itself, triggering a catastrophe known as the 'Darkest Day.' Have you heard of this?"

Stephen sat down as he spoke.

At the mention of Eternatus, the once stoic and expressionless Zacian, who carried herself like a refined, long-haired noblewoman, suddenly showed a flicker of disgust.

As a Steel/Fairy-type Pokémon, she had an instinctual aversion to the Poison/Dragon-type Eternatus.

Bea nodded. "Of course. The legend says that two heroes, wielding a sword and a shield, stepped forward and sealed Eternatus away, saving Galar. Statues of them are still standing all over Galar today. They're now known as the Galarian Royalty."

"Oh, I remember now," Will chimed in. "At that banquet, those two guys with the weird hairstyles—didn't Rose say they were part of Galar's royal lineage?"

"Then take a look at this."

Stephen pointed toward the ground near Zacian and Zamazenta's feet.

Following his gesture, BEa and Will looked over—

There, lying on the ground, was a pair of rusted, battered artifacts: a sword and a shield.

Covered in rust, worn and broken.

The sword's blade was even snapped in half.

They looked like discarded junk that no one would bother picking up from the trash.

Will complained, "What kind of junk is this…?"

But Bea reacted first, exclaiming, "Wait, are you saying that the ones who saved Galar 3,000 years ago were actually—"

"That's right. The ones who defeated Eternatus and saved Galar back then were those two."

Stephen pointed to the two large dogs, one near and one farther away.

Zamazenta lifted its head proudly, while Zacian remained as aloof as ever, not even sparing a glance in this direction.

"T-this doesn't seem right, Stephen."

Will recalled something. "The statues we saw in Galar were human, weren't they?"

To commemorate the two heroes, statues of them had been erected all over Galar, depicting humans holding a sword and shield.

There were even such statues in the Rose of the Rondelands hotel in Wyndon City, where Stephen and the others had stayed before.

Those two statues were human, not dogs.

And if these two dogs were the real heroes, then what about the Galar royal family, who claimed to be the descendants of the heroes?

"Who knows? By the time Eternatus was defeated, these two were also seriously injured and had retreated to the Slumbering Weald to recover. Neither Eternatus nor these two siblings could speak, so if there were humans nearby who witnessed the battle and then stepped forward to claim they had defeated Eternatus, there would be no evidence to refute it, right?"

Stephen offered his reasoning.

As he spoke, he couldn't help but complain again—wasn't this just a repeat of the battle between Kakarot and Cell, where Mr. Satan stole all the credit in the end?

"That's way too despicable!"

Bea bit her lip hard. If what Stephen said was true, it completely overturned the story she had believed since childhood.

Even Will couldn't help but curse, "I thought I was shameless, but they're even worse!"

"Well, that's just how absurd this world can be."

Stephen shrugged.

Then, he suddenly recalled something.

The experience of the young widow in Pallet Town was quite similar to that of the Sword and Shield siblings.

The victim, yet rumors twisted her into the perpetrator.

Oh no, on closer comparison, the young widow seemed even more pitiful.

"Don't you two feel indignant about this?"

Bea couldn't help but ask the two large dogs:

"You were the true heroes who saved Galar, but others stole your glory. For 3,000 years, they've been enjoying the benefits of your achievements. Doesn't that bother you?!"

Bea, who had a straightforward personality, was already annoyed by the fact that Sordward and Shielbert lived in luxury despite having no real accomplishments, simply because they were born into privilege.

But she had tolerated it because their ancestors had supposedly saved Galar and endured hardships.

Now, however, she learned that their ancestors weren't even the real heroes. If Zacian and Zamazenta weren't angry, she certainly was!

What the hell was this?!

Zacian remained as aloof as ever, while Zamazenta blinked twice.

But in the end, they did nothing.

Just like how, later on, even Majin Buu's achievements were credited to Mr. Satan.

Zacian and Zamazenta were the same—they truly didn't care about these things.

Just like the Super Saiyans, who, after learning that Mr. Satan had stolen credit for defeating Cell, didn't react much either.

"Doctor, do you also think this doesn't matter?"

Seeing that the two big dogs did not react, Bea had no choice but to turn to Stephen.

Stephen shrugged. "If they don't care, why should we meddle like nosy busybodies?"

Indeed, back in his past life, when watching anime, Stephen had hated Mr. Satan.

He had thought that if he ever got transported into the Dragon Ball world, the first thing he'd do was kill Mr. Satan.

But as he grew older and gained more life experience, his mindset became much calmer.

After all, people stealing credit wasn't uncommon.

For example, in One Punch Man, King took credit for Saitama's achievements.

In One Piece, Momonosuke took credit for Luffy's victory.

Not to mention the classic case—Mr. Satan taking credit for the Z Fighters' work.

More importantly, since Zacian and Zamazenta didn't care about their stolen credit, why should he, an outsider, get worked up over it?

It was just like how Goku and Gohan didn't care that Mr. Satan took all the glory—so why should he interfere? Besides, they were family.

"T-this…"

Bea, who was boiling with anger, felt like her brain's CPU was about to overheat.

She was only ten years old this year, the same age when Stephen in his past life had started watching Dragon Ball—an age prone to getting overly invested.

She couldn't stay as calm as Stephen.

Will thought about it and realized Stephen had a point.

Even though he also felt the Galar royal family was utterly shameless, the real heroes themselves didn't care, so why should they be angry on their behalf?

And so, among everyone present, only Bea was still fuming.

"If nobody else cares, then I'll expose the truth myself!"

Bea angrily ran out of the forest.

"Kids sure are impulsive."

Stephen shrugged and smiled.