Half a month later, On Pokémon Island.
This was a volcanic region featuring a large crater with exceptionally intense flames.
The surrounding area was mostly barren with little vegetation.
Deep within the volcano lurked a massive figure with cracked crimson skin.
Its body brimmed with scorching magma, inspiring fear and keeping others at bay.
Periodically, it exhaled two pillar-like plumes of white smoke, radiating an intimidating aura across a wide radius.
Those majestic eyes slowly opened, glancing briefly at the nearby ocean before closing again without further action.
It preferred dwelling in volcanic areas.
Ever since Groudon's participation in that battle, its gestation bar had progressed rapidly.
Matching Kyogre's pace, it stabilized in its [Primal Reversion] form, becoming Primal Groudon.
Because of Primal Groudon's presence, the volcanic region became a forbidden zone where few creatures dared approach.
Only a handful of Pokémon dared reside in this fiery territory.
Such as the secondary legendary Chi-Yu.
Currently, it swam joyfully through the magma.
Most of its body was yellow, with tail and fins resembling flickering flames.
When moving, it resembled an exquisite firework dancing in the wind.
Two comma-shaped jade ornaments encircled each eye, their color fading gradually from the perforated end.
When excited, these jade ornaments would emit golden light accompanied by brief red flashes.
Immersed in magma, Chi-Yu's eyes sparkled with delight.
With a graceful flick of its magnificent tail, it propelled itself forward effortlessly.
Clank, clank, clank—
At the crater's edge, an iron "tortoise" crawled continuously, producing metallic sounds.
Its head appeared covered by a metal visor.
Its body was reddish-brown with mixed brown and orange spots, and its legs bore metallic anklet-like structures.
As the [Volcano Pokémon], Heatran particularly favored this terrain.
Each of its four-clawed feet arranged in a cross pattern allowed effortless movement across the volcanic landscape.
As it moved, body heat would melt its steel surface into molten droplets.
These precious metal droplets were carefully collected rather than wasted.
According to Meowth and Porygon-Z's analysis, Heatran's molten metal was exceptionally high quality.
Not only suitable for Steelix's consumption, but also perfect for crafting weapons, precision instruments... and various other applications.
By the villa, Akira, Menchi, and Pyon rested on lounge chairs, leisurely enjoying the afternoon.
Occasionally, Arcanine and other Pokémon would run past, chasing and playing together.
After the battle half a month prior, Akira's anticipated volcanic expedition had reached its "passive" conclusion.
After all, the entire volcanic region had been devastated by the battle, and to this day, it remains a scorched wasteland.
Not a trace of life can be seen.
So he decided to return first to rest for a while before continuing his next exploration.
During this time, other good news kept coming in.
First, the facilities on the first island of the Imaginary Continent had been completed.
Akira had gone to inspect it and was quite satisfied—all the necessary facilities were in place.
Currently, the advance team had already moved to the third island, with the first two islands fully completed and staff stationed there long-term.
Since the volcanic region had become a wasteland, completely unsuitable for living, the Kurta Clan, under the Elder's direction, had split off another group to settle on the Six Continents.
Some chose to stay on the Six Continents, while others joined the Imaginary Continent project.
The last group remained in their original Secret Realm, staying there with newly assigned personnel.
This made it the only remaining stronghold on the Dark Continent for now.
After a while, Akira slowly stood up and then vanished, reappearing elsewhere.
The two women were already used to this.
...
In the Digital World, Meowth was surrounded by a pile of miscellaneous items.
Seeing Akira appear, it immediately cheered, "You're here, meow!"
Whenever Meowth saw Akira, its tail would wag uncontrollably, and a smile would appear on its face.
"Meowth, how are the preparations going?"
Akira patted Meowth's head and asked curiously.
"Everything's ready, meow!"
Meowth proudly thumped its chest, looking as if nothing could stump it.
Recently, it had made a major breakthrough in the field of souls, allowing it to better utilize soul matter.
Whether it was enhancing soul strength or imbuing weapons with soul-damaging effects... it could now do it all.
"All we're missing now is soul energy, meow."
Akira nodded.
He understood the importance of souls and would solve this problem.
After encountering Don, the Cursed Snake Demon, and even the Snake Lord and Rock Lord, Akira had gained a deeper understanding of the soul's significance.
It involved a higher level of existence.
Now, after consuming many [Hope]s, his strength had reached SS-rank.
But the next obstacle couldn't be overcome just by consuming more [Hope]s.
He could keenly sense a clear barrier between SS-rank and SS+.
If he wasn't mistaken, reaching SS+ would be impossible without sufficient soul strength.
The uniqueness of SS+ likely lay in the fact that, upon reaching that level, a being would ascend to an entirely new stage.
The most obvious characteristic was probably the possession of one's own rule-based abilities.
With the method in hand, all that was missing now was the material—[Soul Crystals].
Akira already had a solution for this.
He would have Meloetta use the Dark Sonata to extract the souls of numerous creatures.
This would require time to find places on the Dark Continent where large numbers of creatures gathered.
And the stronger these creatures were, the higher their soul strength would be.
So, besides his usual exploration, Akira now had another goal.
...
On the Dark Continent,
A purple figure streaked past, creating sonic booms as it tore through the air.
Akira sat cross-legged on Genesect's back, resting briefly before continuing deeper into the continent.
Since Porygon-Z had previously left coordinates in the original volcanic region, Don used this as his starting point to move forward.
According to the intelligence gathered, the world beyond would be even more terrifying—both in terms of [disasters] and terrain.
There was a massive rain zone where it rained every single day, all year round, across all seasons.
Within this rain zone stood an enormous statue-like object, eerily towering amidst the downpour.
There were also vast, sinister structures shrouded in perpetual darkness, resembling giant upright artillery shells.
...
And the place he was about to arrive at was equally bizarre.
It was an enormous crater, countless times larger than the six continents. It was hard to imagine how such a crater could have formed.
After some time, Akira glanced down at the situation below.
After departing from the original volcanic region, vast stretches of land appeared utterly devastated.
Only after flying for quite a while did he finally see untouched plains, though there was nothing particularly remarkable about them.
Continuing forward, he eventually caught sight of the boundless, colossal crater.
Landing at the crater's edge, Akira leaned slightly forward to peer down, but could only make out a hazy blur.
The crater was simply too massive, and its depth defied expectations.
If a unique ecosystem had formed inside, Akira wouldn't have been surprised.
It was like a Secret Realm, a world unto itself.
Without further delay, Akira continued his descent aboard the "Genesect" aircraft, probing deeper into the crater.
As he ventured further, two new incubation bars quietly appeared in his mind.
Akira wasn't surprised by this.
Given such a peculiar terrain, the appearance of incubation bars was only natural.
If they hadn't appeared, that would have been the real shock.
Two appearing at once was still within reason.
But...
What kind of Pokémon would inhabit such a massive crater?
Were there even Pokémon that lived in craters?
Akira raised an eyebrow, reining in his wandering thoughts, and turned his gaze to the air beside him.
As Genesect descended into the crater, tiny star-like particles occasionally drifted through the surrounding air.
These dust particles shimmered with a rainbow of colors, inducing an almost intoxicating sensation.
It felt as though staring at them for too long would lead to complete enthrallment, making it hard to break free.
After a brief glance, Akira averted his eyes, unwilling to linger on them.
After a while, Genesect finally brought Akira to the bottom of the crater, where he dismounted and landed on the ground.
The view before him was a desolate wilderness, devoid of anything particularly eye-catching.
However, if he looked up, he would see the sky above was a dazzling "starry sky," filled with countless "stars."
Akira took two steps forward before abruptly stopping, his expression turning serious.
In the next moment, his figure vanished from the spot, reappearing within Digital World.
Through the large screen, resembling a movie theater, he could clearly observe the situation outside.
Right where he had been standing, objects of varying sizes inexplicably emerged from beneath the ground.
There were about a dozen of them—the smallest the size of a fist, the largest as big as a human head.
These creatures had yellow bodies shaped like five-pointed stars, resembling tiny celestial bodies.
They emitted an orange-yellow glow, casting the ground in a warm, golden hue.
[Disguise Stars]: Star-shaped creatures of varying sizes, capable of sensing the presence of nearby living beings.If they detect the presence of living beings, they will actively follow them and can understand simple language.
They provide some assistance when beings encounter difficulties to better gain their trust.
When the beings let their guard down or lose consciousness, they will be attacked.
The remains of these beings will then transform into new Mimic Stars, further expanding the group's numbers.
...
Disguise Stars, huh?
They truly are creatures adept at disguise.
Akira nodded to himself.
Just by looking at these stars' appearances, one would hardly imagine that these beautiful stars were wolves in sheep's clothing.
Indeed, nothing in this Dark Continent should be judged by appearances alone—otherwise, you wouldn't even know how you died.
Still, these things hold considerable research value.
With a thought from Akira, a spatial rift appeared above the Disguise Stars.
A specially designed net promptly descended, accurately ensnaring every single Disguise Stars.
They would soon be sent for research.
Considering the unknown number of Disguise Stars—who knew how many lurked beneath—Akira decided to use an item to mask his presence.
It was an almost transparent cloak that made the wearer appear invisible when worn.
This was the [Invisibility Cloak], crafted by Meowth using raw materials obtained from the chameleon chimera ant Meruem, combined with other components.
When worn, it rendered the user completely invisible, even masking their aura.
Like an eraser wiping a person off the canvas of the "world."
This item far surpassed even the effects of advanced techniques like [Concealment].
Next, he would test this item's effectiveness firsthand.