[Unova Link (Activated): You have connected with the cosmic enigma energy at the summit of the Skyscraper.]
[Star Pulse – Intermediate: A power from the heavenly cosmos, originally an ability possessed by extraterrestrials, capable of amplifying all attribute energies.]
[Your Pokémon's offensive power, Defense, and Special Defense have been strengthened!]
[Your ability to survive in outer space +50%.]
Hikaru clenched his palm.
The Star Pulse he had obtained a long time ago was enhanced, and at the same time, this portion of cosmic power seeped into his Pokémon's bodies, seemingly causing a huge growth in their dual defensive capabilities.
This also matched the essence of "Cosmic Power."
So-called "cosmic power" is originally a Psychic-type move, generally only learned by Pokémon that come from space, or are related to space.
Its effect is to boost both defenses by one stage. In battle, it's a very troublesome status move.
And the Star Pulse from the stars, also called O-Powers, is one of the systems newly added in Generation VI. It is very similar to the Pass Powers of Generation V and the Rotom Powers of Generation VII.
It has multiple modes and can boost the player's stats in specific situations. It can also help the player increase Pokémon catch rate, as well as boost the experience and prize money obtained after winning battles and so on.
This function is not only for personal use; it can also be shared with companions.
Compared to Pass Powers, the strong point of O-Powers—this so-called Star Pulse—is that it can truly raise a Pokémon's five battle stats, and can even increase HP recovery, critical-hit rate, and accuracy.
Of course, it's said that in ancient times, Pass Powers also possessed equally powerful strength. What exists now is merely a crippled version.
Speaking of which, what exactly is "space survival ability"? Being able to appear in outer space with your bare body without a spacesuit and without breathing? Or improved adaptability to harsh environments?
"At this rate I've turned into some bumpkin from the cosmos."
『Deoxys has learned "Miracle Eye" and "Cosmic Power"!』
[The cosmic energy here is very similar to that in Giant Chasm. My growth rate has increased again. I feel like now I can stay active outside for a longer period of time.]
When Deoxys is in a place where cosmic energy is abundant, it can remain outside its containment for a long time, and the same applies within the Black Skyscraper. It felt that right now it should be able to fight outside… ten minutes?
And also—
Deoxys felt a completely new current of cosmic energy flowing inside its body, perplexed:
[I seem to have gained some new ability through the cosmic energy, but I can't understand it yet.]
"Let me see what's going on."
Hikaru linked with Deoxys.
『Affected by the cosmic energy of Giant Chasm and the Black Skyscraper, Deoxys's power has undergone an abnormal evolution.』
『It has gained a new Ability—switchable via fluctuations in cosmic energy.』
"A new Ability?!"
Deoxys's Ability is Pressure, the so-called "legendary-exclusive Ability."
In game battles that counts as a pretty useless "blank" Ability, but in real combat it's still somewhat effective. After all, PP is stamina and energy; once stamina drops, moves become difficult to use.
However, Deoxys originally only had this one Ability, and even in the Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire remakes it regretfully did not receive any upgrades.
Now, though, an abnormal change had occurred!
『Deoxys's Ability has been increased →→→ Magic Guard!』
Magic Guard: the Pokémon takes no damage from weather, held items, Abilities, status conditions, stat-change recoil, or other damage sources except direct attacks.
Simply put—it takes no damage except from attacks!
"This Ability is—"
Hikaru immediately grasped the key point.
That's right, Pokémon that also come from space: it's an Ability possessed by the Clefairy family. Among them, the baby form "Cleffa" is believed to have come to this world riding on a meteor.
In other words, Magic Guard is also a cosmic-derived Ability.
Other Pokémon that share this kind of Ability include "Sigilyph," which can use Cosmic Power, as well as the Solosis family that's believed to be able to survive in outer space, and that first-generation scam-artist Alakazam.
However, for Alakazam, Magic Guard is its Hidden Ability. That's also because it's the only Pokémon among this group that has nothing to do with outer space.
"Congratulations are in order! Magic Guard should be an extremely powerful Ability. Indeed, if you want to be able to move freely in all kinds of extreme environments, this Ability is essential. Warriors of Light excel at fighting anywhere!"
Hikaru wholeheartedly blessed his partner's growth. Then he suddenly remembered the thing Gimmighoul had looted off a corpse earlier.
"Right, speaking of space travel, there's also this."
It was the activation power core taken from Beheeyem's spaceship. Although the item description said it could empower Celesteela, no one knew how exactly it was supposed to be used.
"Celesteela-member, this is for you."
[Th-this is a charm?]
"Oh? You know what a charm is?"
[U-un… in those worlds full of 'paper people,' they have these things.]
That Kartana's Ultra Forest would have charms was no surprise. After all, sacred paper itself is a kind of "omamori."
Hikaru walked a circle around Celesteela, then locked his gaze onto Celesteela's forehead.
But if he mounted it there, wouldn't it end up looking like Meowth?
In the end he gave up on that plan and found a spot on Celesteela's back. He slotted the power core into place.
"Not bad. If it's on your back, that makes it a hidden power source on your back."
[Uwaaah! A-a surge of energy just poured in! Captain, I can feel it, I feel like I'm able to do something now!]
Celesteela immediately raised her thrusters. A massive energy surge condensed inside them, and then—
Boom!
The already somewhat damaged thrusters—which still hadn't been fully repaired—suddenly belched out a gigantic plume of flame with a deafening sonic boom and shockwave, blasting Celesteela straight off the spot and slamming her into the wall of the Skyscraper!
[That hurts!]
[Oh!] Deoxys's eyes lit up. [A move with huge power, but it has a drawback!]
Hikaru: "No, that's just a rocket-engine blast. It's not a move."
[But… are moves really such inconvenient things?] Deoxys wagged a finger. [As long as you consider this to be a move, then it is a move!]
[As for the power, judging from the output, I feel like if you fired at full strength, it'd be about on par with my Meteor Beam!]
Hikaru thought to himself: "If this energy blast looks similar to Meteor Beam, doesn't that make it Meteor Beam?"
"It can't possibly be Prismatic Laser or Photon Geyser, the effects don't match at all."
Forget it, better not overthink it!
Anyway, there are tons of these "light-bulb-moment" special moves.
Just like how Trainers represented by Ash always manage to create some amazing tricks that don't appear in the Pokédex at all.
Things like 'Ice Aqua Jet' or 'Counter Shield' are classic examples of such illegal moves.
Deoxys: [Then this will be "Rocket Meteor Jet"!]
[Hmm, but judging from the recoil, it's also kind of like a supersized Hyper Beam.]
Celesteela, meanwhile, didn't care at all about Hikaru and Deoxys's commentary. She was immersed in the bliss of increased power and having learned an illicit move, giggling "ehehehe" to herself in her own little dream world.
Unfortunately, she was collapsed in a corner, her steel body still twitching and making metallic creaking sounds, which made everyone's gazes turn rather strange.
"Forget it, let's hurry up and fix you first. Aegislash, give us a hand!"
——————
Area Eight.
Giovanni felt the slight tremor from the upper floors. That intense sense of space-time distortion was quickly fading, which made his usually calm face show surprise.
That meant the being perched on the very top—the one who had likely even created the Black Skyscraper—had already vanished.
That young man… actually cleared Area Ten?
The power of time had already weakened. Truly unexpected…!
"Lambert-san!"
At that moment, Haru Shion, along with the Gatekeeper Trainers from the previous areas, arrived in Area Eight by elevator.
When they saw Area Eight blasted into such a wreck—several floors' slabs destroyed—the shock on their faces was impossible to hide.
"Just now we were down below and could hear explosions and shouts from the upper areas. The atmosphere felt super dangerous. I-is everything okay?"
"It's not like we were scared, mind you. We're strong enough to make it here after all."
"This building was made with the latest materials…"
"Even so, no one ever said who actually built this tower, did they?"
"I heard it was some big conglomerate? Built to find strong Trainers?"
The Gatekeeper Trainers chattered away, but regardless of what they said, even if you amplified their Pokémon's power to the maximum, they still could not inflict any real structural damage on the Black Skyscraper's floors.
It was precisely that contrast that made the devastation in Area Eight look all the more terrifying.
Mr. Lambert's strength was beyond doubt, but no one knew why he had stayed guarding Area Eight instead of advancing to Area Nine. According to his own explanation, there was an even stronger hidden figure in Area Nine…
So what about now?
The battles in the higher areas had already ended? But judging from the tremors, it didn't seem as intense as Area Eight…
"Did that Trainer really reach the top of the Black Skyscraper?"
"What's actually up there?"
"They say it's the floor closest to space, the crystallization of human wisdom. The psychics say the higher you go, the stronger the cosmic energy gets."
"That's right, he went up there." Giovanni withdrew his gaze. "According to the theory of this challenge, from this moment on, he should be the Gatekeeper Trainer of Area Ten."
"The Heir to Time…"
"In that case, the broadcast should be making an announcement soon, right?"
As someone who had experienced the influence of temporal power firsthand, Giovanni knew very well how terrifying it was when a "timeline" was being manipulated.
For example, officially speaking, the Black Skyscraper was constructed and controlled by some conglomerate, yet no one here had actually seen any members of that conglomerate.
Although investigators had come one after another, everyone seemed to lack any memory of who built this building, and no one thought it strange. It was as if this tower had been standing here for a very long time.
That was the power created by timeline shifts.
In other words, the ones who had always been broadcasting and setting challenge rules—the so-called "conglomerate"—both existed and did not exist. They might not exist on the current timeline at all.
But now that the source of the temporal distortion had left, that also meant—
[Hello, Gatekeeper Trainers! I am Researcher Fabius!]
[Not long ago, someone completed the challenge of Area Ten! Congratulations!]
[This is an achievement that no one has ever accomplished before!]
[Those who reach the summit of the Black Skyscraper will not only feel the overflowing cosmic energy, but will also gain money, authority, and lofty status in the Trainer world.]
[As a challenge facility, we don't need to say how high our prestige is!]
[Trainers who can stand at the very top will definitely have a place in the Pokémon League as well! They are absolute powerhouses!]
[His name will be etched into the history of the Skyscraper, and at the same time, Gatekeeper Trainers in the lower areas may now challenge upward.]
[The Gatekeeper Trainer of Area Nine has resigned from his post. Therefore, those who wish to take over Area Nine can now issue a challenge.]
[Since there is no designated examiner, our conglomerate will dispatch Trainers strong enough to test you!]
[Of course, becoming the Gatekeeper of Area Nine doesn't mean you can relax. Just like in the earlier areas, once someone knocks you down, they automatically inherit your Gatekeeper position!]
[So keep battling, Trainers!]
[Let the power of progressive science surpass the atmosphere and head for the cosmos!]
Because the electronics in Area Eight were almost all destroyed, they could only hear the voices of these conglomerate operators via the broadcast. Even so, the Gatekeeper Trainers present were all stunned.
Ever since they had taken up their roles in the Black Skyscraper, this was the first time they'd heard the mysterious conglomerate talk this much.
"What mysterious conglomerate? They're just people who don't exist on the original timeline."
"In order to cope with timeline corrections, these people were created."
"As for the Gatekeeper of Area Nine, what do they mean 'resigned'? There was never anyone in that area at all."
Giovanni muttered to himself. It was only his speculation, but he had experienced something similar.
Being beaten up at Capital Falls was an eternal scar and hurdle he would never get past.
However, if Hikaru were here, he would immediately understand.
Dialga absolutely has that kind of power!
The same thing had happened once in the Distortion World. The protagonist who should have disappeared due to timeline correction was forcibly kept in existence by Dialga using the authority of time manipulation, steering the world line toward a HE good ending instead of a BE bad one.
For these legendary Pokémon who hold various authorities—
Fighting and raw power are not the only metrics by which their abilities are judged!
Just pointing fingers at plot holes is meaningless!
"Lambert-san, are you going to challenge Area Nine?"
Haru Shion looked toward Giovanni, but he shook his head.
"No, I'm leaving."
"Eh?" Haru was taken aback. The ojou-sama thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands.
"Could it be that your approval rating in the BOSS Fan Club has dropped—"
Giovanni let out a cough at once.
"Cough! Nothing like that. Besides, I've never joined that club."
He was already a criminal at large, still roaming free, and she expected him to join some kind of popularity-poll club? Wouldn't that just expose him to the public eye?
That's what Giovanni was thinking at the moment.
But if Hikaru knew, he'd definitely ask:
Then why did you join the World Championships? Isn't that even more high-profile?
Or is it that by the time you entered the tournament, you'd already finished your prison sentence?
What Giovanni himself was thinking now, though, was—
The International Police had already shown up.
They must have figured out his identity and extended an invitation to that promising young man.
That wasn't a bad thing.
A game of cat and mouse was far from over. There were even people who held positions both in criminal organizations and the International Police at the same time; such people were generally called undercover agents—for example, his old acquaintance Mordan.
However, that young man would never harbor such thoughts.
Pure, simple strength and action—that was all. Any other goals were just external trappings. That was very good.
Speaking of which, he was the one who had arbitrarily given the boy an internal code name in the organization. But that's what made it interesting. A one-sided recruitment is still recruitment. Just as he had silently mused before, if necessary, Team Rocket could be whitewashed, even cooperate with the International Police.
But for now…
He would leave for a while first. Besides, his training in the Unova region was more or less complete.
"So… where should I go next? Maybe it's time to finally go back to Johto and check on my son…?"
Giovanni pondered, then seemed to think of something and looked at Haru Shion.
"That Trainer—what's his approval rating?"
"Right now? Because of your battle with him, Area Eight exploded, and the whole Skyscraper felt the tremors. A lot of Trainers ran outside, so everyone knows about this legendary Trainer now!"
"Among the current BOSSes, his approval rating is at 77%!"
"That high?" Giovanni stroked his chin. He couldn't help but think once again: outstanding people were always popular, no matter where they were.
Yep, he was just casually asking, that's all!
"If he debuted as an idol, he'd definitely be super popular, right?"
Haru's eyes began to sparkle as something popped into her mind!
"Should I suggest it to him? Form an idol unit or something…"
Idol-type Trainers were quite popular in many regions, and as an idol herself, her life goal was the same!
Compared to pure entertainment idols, idols who could battle were even more beloved!
Granted, such people usually went to compete in Pokémon Contests and whatnot, but she wasn't interested in Contests.
After all, the Unova region didn't have that kind of thing anyway!
[Er, we'll cut in for a brief broadcast.]
[Although the rising-star Trainer has cleared Area Ten and become its Gatekeeper, he has no intention of serving as a Gatekeeper Trainer.]
[He will be temporarily leaving the Black Skyscraper, but his qualification as a past Gatekeeper will remain.]
[Therefore, Gatekeepers and challengers! After you conquer Area Nine, you can still continue to challenge Area Ten!]
[So do your best!]
The mysterious conglomerate's broadcast sounded again, delivering news that shocked all the Gatekeeper Trainers and challengers.
"Eeh?! He finally became the Skyscraper's top, and now he's leaving?"
Haru was stunned, but then she received a photo sent by Hikaru.
It was a space scenery shot taken from the windows of Area Ten.
Although the Black Skyscraper was very tall and could indeed see outer space, it obviously wasn't some space elevator stretching straight into orbit.
Even so—
The cosmic scene captured in the photo was breathtakingly beautiful.
The blue-haired idol girl blinked, as if mesmerized by the picture.
"To go beyond the sky, to reach the cosmos… ahh, I really want to see it with my own eyes."
"Places where humans can't go, places Pokémon don't want to go—as long as a Trainer and Pokémon cooperate like you do, they can reach any place."
"Mm. But your battling style is still way too rough, you know."
(End of Chapter)
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