As Larry continued exploring with Kurapika, he silently formed a contract with the newly born Sableye, binding it with Nen restrictions and an oath.
***
Species: Mega Sableye
Type: Dark, Ghost
Ability: Magic Bounce
Strength Rank: B+
Known Moves: Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, Foul Play, Detect
Description:
When Sableye Mega Evolves, the gem embedded in its chest enlarges into a massive shield, which it uses to deflect attacks.
Its ability, Magic Bounce, repels status moves, making it a strong counter to setup and disruption strategies.
Mega Sableye prefers to battle defensively, waiting for opponents to falter while retaliating with ghostly slashes and deceptive feints that play on fear and confusion.
***
Its power wasn't overwhelming. Even in its super-evolved state, even after being reinforced by restrictions, it still only ranked as B+.
But that didn't disappoint Larry.
Instead, it helped him understand how the system of power worked. Everything had its place, and Sableye, born of the dead, was just the beginning.
The strength of a Pokémon seemed to be closely tied to its base stats, or what Larry referred to as IV values. Pokémon like Tyranitar and Dragonite, considered pseudo-legendaries with a base stat total of 600, were clearly classified as S-rank.
Gengar, with a racial value of 500, would fall under the A-rank category. As for the newly born Mega Sableye, its racial value was only 480.
Even after being strengthened through Nen restrictions and oaths, it didn't quite reach that next threshold, capping its rating at B+.
Larry figured the system was probably structured this way, 600 for S-rank, 500 for A-rank, and anything below that fell into the B category. But this method clearly had its limits. After all, what about actual Legendary Pokémon that also had 600 in base stats?
They were definitely stronger than pseudo-legendaries. So there had to be another layer above S-rank, meant only for those mythical beasts.
Still, even if the Pokémon he just obtained wasn't particularly powerful by combat standards, Larry wasn't disappointed at all. On the contrary, he felt excited.
The real takeaway was that it was possible to breed Mega-Evolved Pokémon directly, without relying on Key Stones or battle-triggered transformations.
That changed everything. And despite its lower rank, Mega Sableye wasn't useless either.
Its ability, could be incredibly helpful depending on the situation. It could reflect status moves, which meant it had the potential to completely turn a battle around when used right.
The secret realm they were in wasn't very large. Kurapika had already taken Larry to most of the important places. Despite the passage of time, the remnants of daily life still lingered throughout the ruins, leaving behind traces of a once peaceful and ordinary existence.
For example, a flower pot still sat on a windowsill, weathered but intact. The hand-painted graffiti on its surface showed a simple drawing clearly done by a child depicting a family of three.
A mother, a father, and their child standing proudly in between. You could almost feel how much that pot meant to its owner.
In the kitchen, jars and containers lined the shelves, along with a worn recipe book written in the Kurta language.
After Kurapika translated it, Larry realized it was filled with homemade cooking notes, carefully recorded tips and techniques for preparing family meals. These small things so ordinary told stories of warmth, love, and daily joy.
But that peaceful life was gone now, shattered completely like a bubble popped in silence. Not a single person survived no men, no women, no children.
Every last Kurta clan member was hunted down and tortured, all for the sake of their scarlet eyes, considered one of the seven most beautiful things in the world. Only Kurapika had lived.
That was why Larry's first reaction upon seeing Kurapika's fiery red eyes was different from how he felt when he saw Water Glaze's.
The Scarlet Eyes were beautiful, yes, but Larry had no desire to possess them. Behind their beauty were rivers of blood and mountains of corpses. Each pair of eyes was a grave marker for a life stolen too soon.
After seeing all this, and with the conception of the Mega Sableye complete, Larry suggested they leave.
Kurapika agreed right away, his goal on this trip had already been fulfilled to return and pay his respects to his fallen people.
A ripple shimmered between the gaps in the rocks and trees, like a veil of water splitting open. Larry stepped through it first. He was used to this kind of travel, his strength helped, and it wasn't so different from being teleported by Gardevoir, something he'd experienced before.
Kurapika, on the other hand, was noticeably weaker. As he came out of the portal, he had to stop and steady himself, a wave of dizziness washing over him.
That's when Larry finally noticed he had a missed call.
He figured it must've come while he was inside the secret realm. Signal interference was normal in places like that.
Even if someone had a phone, they'd need to exit the realm and return to the outside world before making a call. That must've been what the elder did whenever he needed to reach someone.
At first, Larry assumed it was Menchi calling him. But when he checked , one he didn't recognize at all. That was strange. Not many people had his number in the first place.
Whoever this was had only called once and hadn't tried again after he didn't answer. That alone said a lot.
The caller was likely someone with emotional awareness someone tactful and considerate. Or maybe they were just the type who didn't waste time and preferred to get straight to the point.
Feeling curious, Larry decided to call back.
Beep, beep, beep…
The phone barely rang twice before the other end picked up.
"Hello? Who is this?"
Larry raised an eyebrow. If he had given someone his number before, he usually knew theirs too.
That way, it was mutual. But this number didn't match anyone in his contact list, which likely meant the person on the other end didn't actually know him personally.
So… why reach out?
A lively voice answered from the speaker. "Hahaha, finally got in touch with you, Larry."
Kurapika glanced over, hearing Larry's conversation. Seeing he was on the phone, he waited nearby silently.
The voice on the other end was casual, almost amused. "Since this is our first time talking, I should probably introduce myself. The name's Ging. Ging Freecss."
Larry's eyes narrowed, his expression flickering with disbelief. 'Ging Freecss?'
He let out a short laugh, half incredulous. "Seriously? The Ging Freecss? Gon's father? The guy who's somehow more of a legend than a parent? The reigning champion of the 'Worst Dad Award'?"