Dark Continent.
On an empty patch of land, Akira's figure suddenly materialized.
After a month of preparation, he had arrived here today through Porygon-Z's spatial abilities.
Unlike last time, he was alone now, allowing for greater freedom and flexibility in his movements.
No need to worry about too many constraints.
He currently stood at the same spot where they had left last time—the clearing just beyond the swamp forest.
This was also where they had first encountered Ging.He would now take this place as a new starting point and advance deeper.
His first target was the volcano faintly visible in the distance.
If Ging's information was correct, the Kurta Clan lived there.
To call them by that name wasn't entirely accurate, however.
The Kurta Clan was named as such because they lived in the Kurta region of the Six Continents.
The Kurta Clan now residing in the Dark Continent were remnants from ancient times who had not migrated to the Six Continents with the others.
Simply put, the Scarlet Eyes people of ancient times had split into two groups—one that followed the others to the Six Continents,
becoming the so-called "Kurta Clan,"
and the other, as Ging had mentioned, who settled at the foot of that volcano.
But for convenience, Akira still referred to them as the "Kurta Clan."
During his earlier conversation with Kurapika, he had already confirmed his intention to visit the Kurta Clan on the Dark Continent.
He had also asked Kurapika whether he wanted to meet these "clansmen" he had never seen before.
Kurapika's final answer was yes.
Though he had never lived with or known these people,
they shared the same eyes and the same bloodline, so he still wished to meet these "clansmen."
Akira had no objections—after all, he also planned to see them for himself.
Who knew? Perhaps a second Unown could be born there.
The Kurta Clan was, in a way, an intelligent species.
At the same time, the volcanic region was a unique terrain that might give rise to some Fire-type Legendary Pokémon.
Akira still remembered how, after leaving the Samoc Desert on the Six Continents, he had traveled to Mount Kila.
Back then, he had nurtured an Arcanine there. This time, of course, would be different.
Based on the caliber of Pokémon he had encountered before, Akira estimated that this volcano could at least produce a Moltres or Entei-level Pokémon.
And if he let his imagination run wild, maybe even a Ho-Oh would appear?
Akira shook his head, dismissing the fanciful thoughts.
He would find out when he got there.
With a thought, a flash of white light suddenly appeared beside him, and a purple figure materialized at his side.
It was a bipedal, insectoid robotic Pokémon with a metallic shell and a disc-shaped head.
Its entire body was purple, with two red eyes and tooth-like structures beneath them.
Its slender arms ended in sharp claws, and its shoulders bore gray circular patterns, while its abdomen had gray stripes.
Its form resembled that of a giant insect, encased in purple armor, with a devastating cannon mounted on its back.
This was the Mythical Pokémon known as the "Extinction Pokémon"—Genesect.
It was also the second Mythical Pokémon Akira had obtained.
After all this time, this would only be the third time he called upon it.
Akira patted its cold metal shell and grinned.
"You'll be carrying me later, alright?"
"Genesect."
Genesect's mechanical eyes flickered with light as it nodded, then swiftly began transforming.
Its long limbs folded inward, attaching to its torso like metallic struts.
After a transformation reminiscent of a Transformer, Genesect shifted from its original walking form to a high-speed flying form.
Genesect was a rare human-modified Pokémon, not originally like this.
For instance, the large cannon on its back was the result of modifications by Team Plasma.
This was also why Genesect could learn the move Techno Blast, giving it a highly technological appearance.
Now, it was about to serve as a mount, carrying Akira forward in flight.
Akira had many Pokémon capable of flight at his disposal, but currently, Genesect seemed the most suitable.
Kyogre, though more powerful, was too conspicuous—its mere appearance could destroy countless things.
Landorus, on the same level, could also fly but couldn't match Genesect's speed.
As for other flying-capable Pokémon like Hydreigon and Dragonite, they were still within the S-rank range.
Their strength wasn't impressive enough, and their speed paled in comparison to Genesect.
All things considered, Genesect was the best choice for a flying mount right now.
Akira swung his leg over and settled cross-legged on Genesect's back.
Genesect's body was sizable, and with its limbs retracted, its back expanded even more, easily accommodating several people. It was quite spacious.
Once Akira was seated securely, Genesect automatically levitated, as if breaking free from gravity's constraints.
It rose to a certain altitude, and then a faint Aura shimmered around its body, vaguely forming a protective barrier around Akira.
At this moment, Akira felt like he was piloting an aircraft, with the Aura barrier acting like the plane's protective canopy.
The next instant, Genesect's eyes flickered rapidly, seemingly marking the distant volcano, before shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow. In its wake, an unimaginable gust of wind erupted.
As it took off, a brief but violent storm was left behind, sweeping fiercely across the surrounding ground. A single takeoff from Genesect kicked up clouds of dust.
Genesect's speed was staggering—even Akira could barely make out the scenery below.
Only by focusing intently could he discern the terrain; otherwise, everything was just a blur.
For anyone else, it would likely seem like the ground was rapidly receding, with no clear details visible.
Yet despite the incredible speed, Akira felt no discomfort or turbulence.
It didn't feel like he was riding a high-speed Genesect but rather a slow, steady Mudbray.
Though the speed was impressive, Akira still instructed Genesect to slow down a bit.
While the volcanic region was enticing, the unique landscapes below might hold surprises worth exploring.
Perhaps they could even harbor some unexpected Pokémon.
Sure enough, it didn't take long before Akira spotted an exceptionally peculiar terrain below.
He immediately decided to have Genesect descend gradually and come to a stop.
Genesect's flight speed was so fast that this short trip had already covered what would have taken them a full day on foot.
Emerging from the marshlands, they found themselves in a vast wilderness—the starting point of their flight.
Beyond this wilderness lay an extremely bizarre landscape.
This was a world of pure whiteness, not because it was covered in snow.
But because it was filled with bone-like substances.
Countless chaotic, irregular white structures of varying sizes formed the vast terrain.
At the same time, the surface appeared corroded, riddled with pits and hollows.
At first, Akira thought these must be some peculiar type of rock—after all, if they were all bones, that would be too absurd.
Most likely, they were some kind of water-eroded rock, with rain carving out these countless pits and holes.
But when Genesect descended, Akira realized these hollows weren't isolated—they were all interconnected.
Beneath this "bone-white" world lay an unfathomably deep lake, stretching endlessly into the darkness.
Akira sat atop Genesect, not in a hurry to step onto the white ground. Instead, he reached into the void and pulled out—
A live, squawking chicken appeared in his hand. He released it, letting it drop onto the surface.
This chicken was his test subject.
Small animals were perfect for exploration—unlike inanimate objects, they carried life energy.
In the Dark Continent, carrying a few small creatures could prove unexpectedly useful, even life-saving in critical moments.
The rooster flapped its wings before landing on the bone-white ground. At first, nothing unusual happened.
But Akira, sharp-eyed, noticed countless needle-like protrusions covering the surface.
The white surroundings made them hard to spot.
Akira suspected that if not for the murky pools of water scattered around, anyone staying here too long would suffer snow blindness.
Admittedly, these spikes were insidious—stepping on them carelessly would be disastrous.
Bare feet would naturally be injured, but he wasn't sure if shoes could withstand them either.
Then another thought struck him.
What would happen if someone got pricked by these spikes?
No sooner had the idea formed than Akira heard the rooster let out a sharp cry of pain—piercingly loud in the silence.
Looking closer, he saw the rooster had hopped twice, only for its foot to be impaled by one of the razor-sharp spikes.
Akira's lips twitched. He had just been wondering about this, and now the rooster had stepped on one.
But he couldn't blame the bird—the spikes were densely packed. Only its small claws had delayed the inevitable.
In an instant, an inexplicable sense of danger prickled at Akira's instincts, as if something terrible was about to happen.
He patted Genesect, who understood and ascended to a safer height.
The moment they stopped, Akira witnessed a horrifying scene below.
The once-solid white ground suddenly writhed like a living creature—though only in that immediate area.
The rooster, still crying out, seemed to sense the danger and flapped desperately to escape.
But the more it panicked, the more spikes it stepped on, its body soon riddled with wounds.
Then, before Akira's eyes, the rooster rapidly withered into a desiccated corpse, its body shriveling at an alarming speed.
All that remained was a shriveled husk lying on the ground, its feathers dull and lifeless.
Right where it fell, the ground twisted again, sprouting another small spike from the earth.
Now Akira began to doubt his earlier judgment.
Did these spikes consume flesh as well?
No, they must be absorbing moisture instead—otherwise, they wouldn't have left the corpse intact.
After a moment of thought, Akira instructed Genesect to fly a little farther to the side and land in a different spot.
Finally, Akira managed to find a relatively open area with few ground spikes and decided to land there.
Judging from earlier observations, as long as he didn't step on the spikes, there shouldn't be any issues.
Even if there were problems, he had every opportunity to escape.
Upon landing, Akira noticed something odd about the ground—it made a crisp sound underfoot.
It seemed hollow inside, not entirely solid.
At the same time, he kept an eye on his mental awareness.
The moment he stepped on this ground, a new incubation bar abruptly formed.
This indicated that this peculiar terrain indeed spawned Pokémon, and the incubation bar was progressing rapidly.
What kind of Pokémon could it be?
Akira glanced around suspiciously.
Aside from the strange ground, there was only the occasional small pool of water.
Ground-type or Water-type?
Something felt off to him.
The place gave off an eerie vibe, and that rooster earlier had died inexplicably.
If he had to guess, Akira thought a Ghost-type Pokémon would fit better.
The rooster's fate resembled having its life force drained—a common ability among Ghost-type Pokémon.
With a puzzled expression, Akira used his Pokédex ability on the white ground.
[White Bone Coral]: An extremely hard, bone-like structure created by White Bone Coral Worms.
It corrodes upon contact with water but grows when exposed to blood.
If pierced by the coral, the White Bone Coral will twist and violently absorb the blood of living creatures.
With this blood supply, the White Bone Coral Worms beneath will continue producing new White Bone Coral.
...
So it's coral after all?
Akira's eyes widened slightly.
He hadn't expected what he assumed was "ground" or "rock" to actually be coral.
But if it was coral, the range of possible Pokémon narrowed significantly.
At the moment, Akira could only think of a few that matched the current situation.
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