Caleb's Viridian energy had been completely exhausted.
He walked over to Dragonite, who was covered in scorch marks, and the dragon grinned at him despite its pitiful state.
"You look awful," Caleb said with feigned disgust, wiping the soot off the chonky dragon's face. He then tried to squeeze out even the slightest bit of remaining Viridian Power to heal Dragonite.
Dragonite pouted, thinking it wasn't ugly... just dirty! A quick wash, and it would be a perfectly clean dragon again.
When his attempt failed, Caleb looked up and saw Blastoise, the Pokémon belonging to another player, being blasted over a dozen meters back by Lugia's Hydro Pump. Its massive body crashed through several charred trees before finally coming to a stop.
After dealing with Blastoise, Lugia turned its attention to Mimikyu...
Mimikyu had already reached its limit. Facing Lugia's attack head-on, it used Destiny Bond, a move it hadn't relied on in a long time.
Just a second before Lugia's attack struck, Destiny Bond took effect.
*Boom!*
Mimikyu's body plummeted downward. As it fell, its severely damaged disguise shattered, exposing its true form beneath.
At the same time, Destiny Bond activated... Dark energy surged around Lugia's body, rapidly draining its strength.
In the final moment, Mimikyu and Lugia had pulled off a desperate one-for-one trade.
Lucario, who had prepared for this in advance, caught the unconscious Mimikyu mid-air and carried it over to Caleb.
"You did great," Caleb said softly.
He returned Mimikyu and Dragonite to their Poké Balls, then sat down wearily with Lucario to watch the ongoing battle in the sky.
After repeatedly using moves like Sacred Fire, Flamethrower, and Brave Bird, Ho-Oh's energy (PP) had been completely depleted. Its attack speed slowed noticeably.
Ye Fan and Gyeol's eyes sharpened. At this moment, they commanded their remaining Pokémon to launch a final assault on Ho-Oh.
At last, at the cost of dozens of the players' Pokémon, the rampaging Ho-Oh and Lugia had been subdued.
Then, a system-wide announcement echoed across the battlefield:
[Congratulations to all players for defeating Ho-Oh and Lugia and completing the Main Quest!]
[The top three players in the damage rankings will receive one Gacha draw each!]
The players froze for a moment before hurriedly checking their damage contribution screens:
1. Caleb Chase – Damage Contribution: 15.7%...
2. Priya Yadav – Damage Contribution: 14.2%...
3. Kabir Bobo – Damage Contribution: 13%...
4. Ye Fan – Damage Contribution: 8.2%...
5. Baek Gyeol – Damage Contribution: 7.2%...
'Caleb Chase?! Caleb is here?!'
The name immediately sparked recognition among the players.
At that moment, the Infinite World, in its usual dramatic fashion, transformed the three Gacha draws into gold, silver, and bronze beams of light, descending upon the top three players.
The players watched in stunned silence as the golden light landed on the exhausted young man sitting on the ground with his Lucario.
And then... collective shock.
"F*ck, THAT'S Caleb Chase?! HE'S SO HOT!"
"Hey, man, that's not the point! The point is, he did more damage with just two Pokémon than those two combined! That's insane!"
"Pfft. So this is the first and third-ranked player? Pathetic."
Ye Fan and Gyeol's expressions darkened at the words...
The system announcement continued:
[Determining eligibility for the Mythical Pokémon Contest...]
[Eligibility confirmed! Participants: Ye Fan, Baek Gyeol, Caleb Chase!]
[Welcome to the Mythical Pokémon Contest! Defeat your opponents' Pokémon! The contest will conclude once only one player's Pokémon remain standing. The last survivor will earn the right to capture the Mythical Pokémon, Celebi!]
Around them, the other players dissolved into scattered light particles, vanishing from the battlefield. With their main quest completed, they were automatically transported back to the Infinite World.
In the blink of an eye, the ravaged land was left with only three people; Caleb, Ye Fan, and Gyeol... along with the unconscious Masked Man, the defeated Ho-Oh and Lugia, and the Legendary Beast trio: Entei, Suicune, and Raikou...
A translucent barrier descended from the sky, encasing the three of them and forming a small battlefield.
A radiant glow enveloped the area as the Infinite World restored Ho-Oh, Lugia, and the Legendary Beasts to full strength.
Ho-Oh and Lugia exchanged a glance, realizing the destruction they had caused, then immediately took off in remorse to heal the Pokémon harmed during their rampage.
The remaining Legendary Beast trio; Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, looked at each other.
Suicune and Raikou turned and gracefully departed the forest, not sparing a single glance at the trainers they had once chosen.
Entei, however, watched them leave, then remained. With dignified steps, it strode toward Caleb
A notification popped up:
[Entei's friendship has reached the required level! It will stay and assist you in the Mythical Pokémon Contest!]
Caleb glanced at Entei. Right now, the only Pokémon he had left for battle were Lucario and Deino. Even with Entei's help, he wasn't sure if he could defeat the other two.
Ye Fan and Gyeol exchanged glances.
"Fair competition?" Ye Fan said calmly.
Gyeol nodded, then turned to Caleb and gestured, "Let's get rid of him first."
"Agreed." Ye Fan raised his wrist, pulling back his sleeve to reveal a bracelet embedded with a Key Stone.
The Metagross by his side immediately erupted in a dazzling light, indicating a Mega Evolution.
Gyeol smirked and summoned her reserved Altaria, using her own Mega Bracelet to trigger its evolution into Mega Altaria.
Ye Fan looked at Caleb and said, "I respect your performance earlier. But there's only one Mythical Pokémon. Sorry."
Entei took a step forward, firmly placing itself between Caleb and the others.
Caleb raised his eyebrow, asking, "Are you really sure you want to fight me?"
Ye Fan thought the guy was an idiot. Without another word, he commanded, "Metagross, take them down!"
The Mega Metagross lunged forward at terrifying speed, aiming straight for Entei.
Caleb's expression didn't change at all... His gaze drifted past Ye Fan's shoulder, toward something behind him.
He took a deep breath, then grinned, saying, "Well then… this is…"
Before he could finish...
*BOOM!*
A sonic blast ripped through the air.
Mega Metagross was blown away, sent flying like a ragdoll.
"Who–?!" Ye Fan whirled around, then his eyes widened in shock.
Before he could process it, another disturbance erupted from a different direction.
The ground trembled. Bruno and Lorelei rode in on an Onix.
Lance soared in on his Dragonite, his expression grim.
Caleb stood up, dusting himself off:
"Welcome to my world," he said, smiling, "...Friends."
~~~
{T/N: Stones and Reviews, please. Especially Reviews...
150 PS = 1 extra chapter.
300 PS = another
450 PS = another
And so on...}