Being prepared for a rainy day is never a mistake.
Bai Chen's warning made Lusamine realize the gravity of the situation. She pondered for a moment before saying, "I need some time."
Bai Chen shrugged indifferently. "At least the situation hasn't reached a critical point yet."
After causing such a scene in Lumiose City, Bai Chen knew perfectly well that he would catch the attention of certain people with hidden agendas—especially Team Rocket, who were intensely interested in powerful Pokémon.
Rather than facing them alone, it was better to bring Lusamine into the fold to resist them together, which would significantly reduce the pressure on him.
After a brief chat about other matters, Bai Chen hung up. He did not mention to Lusamine that he had entered a "special period." Saying so wouldn't provide any help and would only add to others' burdens.
Returning the phone to Lillie, Bai Chen said, "Once everyone has recovered, let's go travel around the Kalos region."
Lillie nodded repeatedly. She had thought the trip would be postponed after the incident, but Bai Chen had unexpectedly brought it up himself.
"Mr. Bai, are you really okay?" Lillie's intuition told her that Bai Chen was hiding something important.
"I'm fine. I've been a bit tired lately, so let's just go relax together."
Bai Chen might have hesitated before, but with his body in its current state, he had no choice but to rest even if he didn't want to.
"Is everything really okay?" Lillie looked as if she could see through his disguise.
"Of course. Now, the others haven't finished their treatment yet. Please help Indeedee."
Bai Chen nudged Lillie along. Seeing no physical abnormalities in him, Lillie wondered if she was being too sensitive and let the matter drop.
In the afternoon, Tinkatuff gazed excitedly at the new material in her hands. It was the protruding lower jaw (snout) that had been broken off Mega Rayquaza.
The two jaw pieces were a full two meters long. They were lightweight yet incredibly hard. Most importantly, this "beak" emitted a type of Delta Particle that could generate air turbulence, preventing abnormal weather.
"With this, that weapon can be taken a step further!"
Tinkatuff kept Bai Chen's previous instructions firmly in mind.
The only problem was that the material's grade was extremely high; with her current skills, it would be difficult to process it perfectly. Forcing the issue might result in a "trash" quality weapon.
However, before that, Bai Chen had given her a new task—to forge an ordinary Great Sword, making it as light as possible. Tinkatuff began rummaging through materials. An ordinary sword was no challenge for her. Hunters often carried mundane weapons for everyday use in addition to their primary battle gear.
She understood Bai Chen's physical condition. Until he completed his evolution, she wouldn't forge any more armor for him, fearing the equipment would become obsolete the moment he changed.
Tinkatuff went to her workshop and began sketching design blueprints. She had gained several excellent items during this trip as well. The addition of Moltres had provided her with a brand-new Fire Soul.
[Moltres Fire Soul (Rarity: 8)]: The eternal sacred flame draws out the maximum potential of materials. Weapons forged with this flame can be self-repaired by heating them in fire if they are damaged.
Unlike the Marowak or Zorah Magdaros Fire Souls, which added direct attributes, this one focused on potential. This was highly practical; the last one with a similar effect was the Growlithe Fire Soul, but its potency couldn't compare to Moltres's. Furthermore, bombs made with this soul would create persistent, burning flames upon detonation.
"Tinkatuff," Bai Chen suddenly called out.
"Yama?" She turned to him inquisitively.
"I just finished talking to Lusamine. She's sent the parts and components for the assembly line to your underground production base. You'll need to handle the assembly and debugging yourself later."
Tinkatuff's underground base wasn't on this island, but on Melemele Island—the very place she had hidden after stealing Bai Chen's sword with her Pickpocket ability. It was a base she had dug out herself.
Since Bai Chen had caught her, the place had sat vacant; now, it was perfect for building the Fire Soul Bomb production line. The Aether Foundation would handle the legal and privatization paperwork for the site.
Tinkatuff nodded happily, saying she would head there to build the line once the sword was finished. Forging the casings for Fire Soul Bombs manually was a massive drain on her time. The bombs that destroyed Lysandre's lab had been handmade by her.
Recently, between repairs, building houses, and making bombs, she had zero time for research. Now, she could finally be free from repetitive labor.
Bai Chen looked over the materials in the temporary workshop: feathers from Articuno and Moltres, Mega Rayquaza's jaw, and various other bizarre items. Every single one was a "Legendary" grade material.
"I wonder if I can pluck some materials off Squishy. He is one of the strongest legends, after all. Speaking of which, did that guy actually run off?"
On the other side of the world, atop the Prism Tower in Lumiose City...
This was the highest point in the city, and fortunately, it hadn't been destroyed in the battle. At the summit, Squishy (Z1) and Z2 looked down at the devastation. The destruction of a human city meant nothing to them; they cared only about the balance of the ecosystem.
Z2 broke into a cold sweat. "What terrifying power."
Squishy remained silent. To them, the ruins were just the background. What truly frightened them was the crimson energy permeating the city. This energy was invisible to ordinary humans and even most Pokémon.
"That is a Destroyer of Worlds. We must eliminate such a dangerous existence," Z2 said sternly. He immediately shared his vision with Zygarde cells across the globe.
He soon located Bai Chen and his partners in the Alola region. Zygarde cells were distributed everywhere, particularly in Alola (where they could even be caught in the Sun/Moon games). They were guardians of global order, not just Kalos.
"I found them." Z2 wanted to depart for Alola immediately to eliminate the threat.
But Squishy stopped him. "Don't you find it strange?"
"Strange?" Z2 frowned, looking back at the crimson energy floating in the city. "Nothing is strange. Come with me."
Squishy shook his head. "I have a pact with him. Until that pact is fulfilled, he cannot die." Squishy didn't elaborate. He simply hopped away. "I have things to investigate. Watch your back; those evil humans haven't been fully purged yet."
Z2 was fuming. He warned seriously, "If we let them grow, it will be the end of everything once it reaches an irreversible point."
Squishy did not answer, leaving the Prism Tower on his own.
News of the disaster in Lumiose City quickly spread across the world. Reactions varied.
Take the Team Rocket trio (Jessie, James, and Meowth), who were indirect participants. Seeing the reports, they were proud of their "grand work" but annoyed that they had lost the Giant Rock.
Jessie: "How are we going to explain this to the Boss...?" Meowth: "I heard the Rock just disappeared. Maybe there's another way to find it, meow." James: "It was right in our hands, and we still got stopped." Meowth: "We ran into one of the Elite Four! There was nothing we could do, meow!"
Suddenly, the communicator Team Rocket issued to them rang. It was designed without privacy; the connection opened automatically.
"The three of you have disappointed me greatly."
On the screen, Giovanni sat in his plush chair, stroking Persian's head. The trio knelt on the ground, heads bowed, not daring to speak.
"I will give you one chance at redemption. Depart for the Alola region immediately. I need the three of you to establish a Team Rocket branch there."
Meowth looked up, surprised. "Boss, what about the Kalos region, meow?"
"Execute the order." Giovanni had no need to explain his future strategy to three grunts. He added coldly, "Do not fail again. You know the consequences..."
Click. The transmission cut off. The three shivered; the consequences Giovanni spoke of were more than they could bear.
After a while, Meowth asked, "Why the sudden move to Alola, meow?" James and Jessie shook their heads, bewildered. They only knew that building a base meant Team Rocket was expanding into Alola.
"The Boss must want a branch there. As the vanguard, we'll be rewarded if we do a good job!" Jessie was optimistic.
James thought of Ash and his friends heading toward Anistar City. "What about Pikachu? And that legendary 'Nergigante'? Do we still catch them?"
Meowth snapped, "Is that even a question, meow? We still have plenty of funds from the Boss. We'll catch them and then go to Alola."
The three reached a consensus.
Reconstruction and rescue efforts were in full swing. Five days passed in the blink of an eye. In an inn in Coumarine Town...
Bai Chen was in his room, bored, watching Nergigante and the newborn Velkhana chasing each other.
"Ao!" Nergigante roared angrily at the Velkhana behind her, her voice full of threat. Any ordinary dragon would have been scared off, but Velkhana showed no fear. She ran up and rubbed her head against Nergigante's neck like a child acting spoiled with its mother.
The contact left a layer of white frost on Nergigante's neck. Nergigante shook her head uncomfortably to dislodge the frost.
Annoyed, she pinned Velkhana to the floor with a paw and roared again, telling her to get lost. Velkhana didn't struggle or get angry; she just let Nergigante hold her down.
Seeing no resistance, Nergigante let go with a final warning. But it had zero deterrent effect; Velkhana stood up and trotted right back after Nergigante. Nergigante had no way to deal with this thick-skinned, fearless dragon, so she resorted to running away.
Thus, the amusing scene: two dragons, one chasing, one fleeing, circling the room.
Watching them, Bai Chen, who was lying on the bed, suffered collateral damage. They both stepped on his back, and his bones let out a crisp crack.
Bai Chen winced. He sat up and scooped both of them into his arms.
"Ao!" Nergigante huffed. "Can we just release this thing into the wild?" She was sick of being followed for five days straight!
"Isn't it nice? Just think of her as a little sister." Nergigante looked disgusted. She didn't need a sister this annoying. "I'm not releasing her, so just bear with it."
Bai Chen looked at the chilled little creature in his left hand. Her talent was no less than Nergigante's. Even as a newborn, she had already learned to control her ability to create natural disasters. Furthermore, her typing was exactly what Bai Chen hoped for: Fairy/Ice.
[Name]: Velkhana[Species]: Elder Dragon
[Attribute]: Fairy, Ice[Rarity]: 8
[Level]: 12 (328/1570)
[Ability]: Phantasmal Elder Dragon: Frost — Can freely manipulate cold air. In an excited state, significantly lowers the surrounding temperature and increases the power of Fairy-type moves.
[Skills]:
Legendary Elder Dragon (Rarity: 8) — Master (12/100,000): Ancient Elder Dragons have gained legendary power. All attributes increased, and vitality significantly increased.
Ultra. Frost Incarnation (Rarity: 8) — Master (2/100,000): A power move inherited from Nergigante. Physical strength significantly increased.
Absolute Zero Sovereign (Rarity: 8) — Master (8/100,000): Releases cold air to bring disaster, changing the field to [Absolute Zero Domain]. The Sovereign takes only 20% frost damage and continuously expands the disaster area. Domain Effect: Ice moves are significantly boosted.
Frost Crystal Body (Rarity: 8) — Master (230/100,000): Articuno's racial talent. When using Ice moves, power is ultra-significantly increased. Any target touching the holder has a moderate chance of being frozen.
Ice Armor (Rarity: 7) — Proficient (45/17,500): Velkhana's signature move. When excited, the body is covered in a layer of extreme frost, significantly increasing defense.
Tail Spear (Rarity: 7) — Proficient (23/17,500): Velkhana's unique move. Sharp as a rapier, it pierces all enemies. Benefits from both Physical and Special scaling.
Frost Breath (Rarity: 8) — Master (19/100,000): A fusion of Velkhana's [Cold Breath] and Articuno's [True Ice Beam]. Attacks with extreme low-temperature breath.
Ice Mist (Rarity: 7) — Proficient (20/17,500): Spreads mist to block sight. Combined with breath, can create ice walls and structures. (Strength scales with Absolute Zero Sovereign).
Ultimate Aura (Rarity: 8) — Novice (30/800): Wrapped in crimson aura. Size increases based on constitution. All attributes moderately increased; the highest attribute receives an additional moderate boost. High chance to Intimidate enemies, making them flinch or lose the will to attack. (Gains proficiency only by defeating opponents).
Nature Power (Rarity: 6) — Proficient (20/15,000): Can sense and attack with natural energy. Moves vary based on terrain.
Minimize (Rarity: 2) — Novice (69/200): Can shrink the body to increase evasion.
Having absorbed Articuno's talent, Velkhana's strength had seen a notable jump. Bai Chen had already used his accumulated proficiency points to bring her key skills to their current peak. With some effort, she would soon reach the team's core strength standards, like Valstrax.
Bai Chen let Nergigante go and held Velkhana in his hands, thinking. "Her skills are mostly Ice-type right now. It's a waste of a Fairy typing if she doesn't learn Fairy moves."
Powerful Fairy moves were rare, and the best ones were exclusive to legends like the Tapus' Nature's Madness or Xerneas's Geomancy.
"I'll give you Misty Terrain for now so you can create a Fairy field. You can switch between it and your Ice field depending on the enemy." He had finally collected that move during the past five days.
After teaching her the move, Bai Chen grabbed his mundane sword and headed out with the two dragons. Velkhana needed combat to level up. Unlike Valstrax, who was born at level 20, she—like Nergigante—started at level 3.
As for Bai Chen himself, he was bored to death during these five days. He had planned to relax, but now he was on "mandatory vacation."
His powers were unusable; any attempt resulted in "self-destruction." He discovered his physical stats had reverted to those of a normal human until the evolution finished.
But he couldn't stay idle. If he couldn't practice skills, he would practice technique and swordsmanship.
These quiet days gave him time to reflect. He realized he had become too reliant on the moves he copied, focusing on raw power while his technical development was nearly zero. His Great Sword techniques—Spirit Blade I, II, III, Roundslash, Foresight Slash—were fundamental but basic.
At the inn's Pokémon battle zone, Bai Chen drew his ordinary sword. He took a deep breath, centered himself, and began to strike the air, one swing at a time. He started with the most basic drills.
"If I can one day merge all my special moves into my swordsmanship, my strength will surely reach a whole new level!"
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