The clicking sound of the gear shifting wasn't loud, yet it was exceptionally piercing.
Squishy (Z1) felt as if he had sensed the most dangerous thing in the world. He craned his neck, looking up at the skyscraper toward Nergigante, who had remained largely unnoticed until now.
"What is that energy?"
First Gear: Engaged. 10% of Nergigante's hidden potential was unleashed. Crimson killing intent leaked from her body, staining the surrounding air a dark, bloody hue. In this state, her base stats received a massive boost.
Having mastered Aura Sphere to strengthen her mind, Nergigante could now maintain complete control over the First Gear, remaining unbound by her own murderous instincts.
Click. The gears turned again. Second Gear: Engaged. The crimson aura distorted the light around her, making the sun in the sky look like a blood moon.
In this state, Nergigante could use the natural energy she absorbed to generate jet-black thorns capable of eroding the very earth. After weeks of practice, she could now hold her sanity in this state for three minutes.
With 30% of her potential awakened, plus her innate growth characteristic, she was now far more dangerous than the overcharged Zinogre!
Nergigante pounced from the rooftop toward Mega Rayquaza. Her right arm swelled in size as a Nergigante Palm strike readied.
Rayquaza countered with Dragon Tail. When they collided, raw strength alone favored the "Eater of Elders." Rayquaza was swatted out of the sky and slammed into the ground.
With a sharp shing, black thorns erupted from Rayquaza's tail, encasing it completely. Rayquaza was stunned; he whipped his tail against the pavement to shatter the invasive thorns. He tried to take flight, but Nergigante gave him no quarter, pinning him to the earth in a brutal melee.
Bai Chen didn't waste the time Nergigante bought him. He called Gravios to his side, his eyes fixed on the Giant Rock.
Steven Stone, sensing Bai Chen's intent, asked, "How are you going to handle that thing?"
"Do you have a way to recover it right now?" Bai Chen countered.
Steven shook his head. This was Team Flare's territory; the lab was in chaos. It would take at least half an hour to bring in the necessary equipment. By then, Lumiose City might be a crater.
"If you can't recover it, the only way is to destroy it and make Rayquaza lose interest," Bai Chen lied smoothly. He couldn't admit he wanted the Rock for himself. He needed a righteous excuse to "claim" it.
"I'll help," Steven offered.
"Follow me."
Bai Chen had Gravios minimize and perch on his shoulder as he flew toward the Rock. Within 500 meters, the air became a furnace. "The temperature is still rising..."
Steven, on his Metagross, couldn't handle the heat once they hit the 500-meter mark. The air was over 100°C. He stopped. "How can a rock be this hot?"
Bai Chen asked Gravios, "Can you swallow it?"
Gravios shook its head. The heat wasn't the issue—it was the energy. The Rock's power was so vast that if Gravios swallowed it whole, it might simply explode. Even Ultra Devour had limits.
Bai Chen frowned. Do I really have to destroy it? Or let Rayquaza take it? If he came all this way and got nothing, it would be a massive loss.
"Bai Chen! Let's attack it together!" Steven shouted.
"Fine. Let's do it." If the whole thing is too much to handle, we'll break it into smaller, manageable pieces, Bai Chen thought.
"Mega Metagross, use Flash Cannon!" "Gravios, use Super · Magma Cannon!"
Gravios returned to its full size. Energy converged in its maw. Two beams struck the Giant Rock simultaneously, but instead of shattering, the Rock absorbed the attacks, turning the energy into light particles that fed its core.
"It absorbed them?!" Steven gasped. "How can an energy mass absorb even more energy?"
Bai Chen realized the Giant Rock was far more anomalous than he had thought.
Whirr— The Rock pulsed with prismatic ripples, its temperature spiking further. Steven was forced back to a distance of 2,000 meters.
He tried to coordinate another attack, but the Rock simply ate everything. Physical attacks fared no better; Metagross's Meteor Mash was met with a violent energy backlash that sent the Steel-type flying.
Steven realized the situation was out of control. It would take specialized, heat-resistant containment to touch this thing now.
Meanwhile, the fight between Nergigante and Mega Rayquaza had reached a fever pitch. With her potential partially liberated, Nergigante was managing a 30/70 win rate against the hidden strength of the legendary dragon.
Rayquaza used Dragon Ascent. Nergigante stomped the ground, raising a forest of black thorns as a shield. The dragon tore through them, but Nergigante met him with a Nergigante Crush. The collision sent Nergigante through several buildings and knocked Rayquaza back a dozen meters.
Squishy (Z1) watched from a rooftop, protecting the bag with the Velkhana egg. He felt a literal threat to his existence from Nergigante's unknown energy. Earth shook, plants wilted, and the very air seemed to recoil.
As the Guardian of Kalos, he felt he should eliminate Nergigante for being a threat to the ecosystem—yet his instincts told him to stay his hand. It was a bizarre contradiction.
Suddenly, the bag beside him moved. Crack. A snow-white head poked out of the egg. A newborn Velkhana stretched its wings, curiously peeking at the world.
Z1 looked at the hatchling. He had promised Indeedee to protect it. "I must keep her safe... I will observe the Nergigante for a while longer."
The newborn Velkhana watched the sky, mesmerized by the violent, raw power of the red dragon fighting the green serpent. She was born into a world of pure strength.
Bai Chen sensed that Rayquaza was still holding back. Even with his system, he couldn't see the dragon's level—implying Rayquaza had at least half his power in reserve.
If this continues, Nergigante will have to risk going into Third Gear and losing her mind, Bai Chen thought.
Just then, his system chimed. The awakening energy of the Giant Rock had finally triggered a new prompt. Bai Chen read the mission and froze. After confirming he hadn't misread, he turned and flew directly into the scorching heat of the Rock.
"What is he doing?!" Steven yelled. It looked like suicide.
At 500 meters: 300°C. At 400 meters: 500°C. At 300 meters: 700°C. The energy was becoming thick like sludge, resisting every movement.
At 200 meters: 1,000°C. Bai Chen's Rathalos/Zorah Magdaros armor began to show signs of melting. His skin blistered inside the suit.
He pushed his Aura and Spirit to 80%, glowing with a bright blue light as he fought through the "energy marsh."
At 100 meters, the heat surpassed magma. His faceplate warped. At 50 meters, the pressure was suffocating.
Bai Chen activated Aura Hardening and every buff at his disposal. His skin was charred, but his cells were screaming with regenerative power. Finally, he reached out and touched the Giant Rock.
[High-purity 'Energy Crystalline Lifeform' detected. Absorption beginning.]
The system used Bai Chen as a conduit. [Reward distribution: Crystalline energy infusion. Individual 'Bai Chen' beginning 'Life-Level' Leap.][Progress: 0.1%...]
Outside, Bai Chen's body began to regenerate at an impossible speed. Dead tissue was replaced by super-cells in seconds.
Crack. A tiny fissure appeared on the Rock. It spread until it covered the entire surface.
Mega Rayquaza sensed the change. He abandoned his fight with Nergigante and soared toward Bai Chen. But before he could attack, a mental wave swept over him. Z1 had sent a stern warning.
Recognizing the Guardian of Kalos and weighing the risks of Nergigante's "infectious" energy—which was already burrowing into his scales like a parasite—Rayquaza decided he had lost enough.
He de-evolved and left the city. His state was poor; the black thorns were still rooted in his body. He had lost his snout-horn, and now the Rock's energy was being drained by a human. He retreated into the ozone layer to recover.
Z1 let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't have beaten Rayquaza alone, and Z2 was still unreachable. He looked at Bai Chen, who had now absorbed 70% of the energy.
"I must evaluate his impact on Kalos..." Z1 signaled Indeedee to take the Velkhana, then transformed into a dog and disappeared into the ruins.
When the Rock reached 80% depletion, it emitted one final blinding flash.
Bai Chen finished the absorption. As the Rock lost its luster and plummeted toward the earth, Gravios was waiting.
It opened its mouth and swallowed the remaining 10-meter stone in two bites. No one saw it. Gravios let out a massive belch—even the "leftovers" were a lot to stomach.
When Steven could see again, the Rock was gone. He only saw Bai Chen in free-fall. Nergigante caught him and brought him to safety.
She laid him gently on a rooftop, confirming he was only unconscious. She looked at the ruined city—one-third of Lumiose was in shambles. She quickly found Gravios's ball and recalled him to hide the evidence.
By the time Diantha, the Kalos Champion, arrived on her Gardevoir, Bai Chen and his partners were long gone. She stared at the devastation.
"What on earth happened here?"
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: Patreon.com/kazama677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 60 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.