Want to read ahead. You know where
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"No…" he muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"If this keeps up, we'll be buried in this stampede…"
He looked ahead and spotted more pokemon stampeding toward their position, flames and fists blazing.
His mind raced.
They had to punch a hole through this chaos and get out, fast.
He focused his Aura.
"Lucario, Mega Evolve! Use Corkscrew Crash!"
"Darkrai, Black Hole Eclipse!"
"Silver, Aeroblast, now!"
Lugia shrieked sharply in reply, understanding him perfectly.
He gave the orders through Aura, his Aura syncing with each of his Pokémon like a heartbeat.
"Luka!"
Lucario's form erupted with a brilliant white light as he Mega Evolved, the energy searing through the battlefield like lightning.
His fur bristled, spike growing longer, Aura flaring wildly.
The very air around him trembled.
With a roar, he launched forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet as he spun into a deadly spiral, his Corkscrew Crash tearing through the enemy line like a drill.
Darkrai floated higher, gathering energy into a massive singularity.
"Darkrai… now!"
The Black Hole Eclipse bloomed behind him like a dying star.
It sucked in sound, light, motion, everything.
The forest dimmed for a heartbeat, and then the blast went off, exploding outward in a silent shockwave.
"Silver, finish it!"
Lugia flared its wings and screamed.
A piercing beam of concentrated air pressure, the mighty Aeroblast, blasted forward, slicing a path through the incoming swarm.
The forest shook. Leaves scattered like feathers.
Several Rapidash were knocked off their feet, tumbling away in a blur of flame and hooves.
Sam's heart pounded.
Even with all his knowledge and preparation, this was a disaster.
Still, he wasn't afraid.
He was in the middle of a wild, living storm.
He could feel the rhythm of it. Hear the pulse of the forest through his Aura.
And he wasn't done yet.
"Meteor Mash" Sam shouted.
Lucario didn't hesitate.
Aura crackled around his fists, blazing like white fire.
He threw himself forward with explosive force, slamming a thunderous punch directly into the lead Arbok.
The snake-like Pokémon hissed in pain as it was sent crashing through the undergrowth, colliding with several others behind it.
"Hissss!!!"
But they kept coming.
From above, Darkrai's shadow expanded.
The air grew cold.
Without a word, thick Haze poured from his body, spiraling and thickening, until it compressed into a giant energy sphere, dark, dense, and charged with malice.
With a flick of his hand, Darkrai sent it hurling toward the charging Sandslash, who were clawing their way through the earth in waves.
The explosion rocked the ground, throwing sand and shrapnel in all directions.
"Lili~!!!"
Sam turned skyward. Little Lugia's eyes narrowed.
Blue light glowed in its throat, growing brighter with each second.
Then, whoomph, it fired.
A pure white whirlwind, glowing with streaks of silver and blue, roared from Lugia's mouth.
The Aeroblast tore through the sky, blasting the encircling Fearow and Pidgeot out of the air like leaves in a storm.
Three Pokémon.
Three of his strongest.
Three of their most powerful attacks were unleashed in rapid succession.
The ground and air trembled in the wake of it.
When the dust settled, a sudden hush fell over the clearing.
The space around them, once filled with screeches and growls, was briefly, blissfully quiet.
Then came the ding in Sam's mind, the voice of the system he'd carried since arriving in this world.
[Lucario has reached the threshold. Level: 69. Status: Peak Champion Tier.]
[Darkrai has reached the threshold. Level: 69. Status: Peak Champion Tier.]
[Lugia has reached the threshold. Level: 60. Status: Early Champion Tier.]
Despite everything, Sam allowed himself a tight, grim smile.
All three of them had grown significantly from this battle, having earned their experience the hard way.
But there was no time to celebrate.
No time to relax.
That final combo had cost them badly.
Even with their strength, those powerful attacks had burned through energy reserves.
The trio was now caught in a cooldown window, a blank period where their strongest moves couldn't be used.
Sam's eyes sharpened.
"Silver, descend!"
"Lili~!"
Little Lugia gave a short cry and began to glide down, wings slowing its fall.
Its breathing was heavier now, muscles tight from overexertion.
As soon as his feet hit the forest floor, Sam sprang into action.
He held out both hands, drawing deeply from the ambient energy of the Viridian Forest.
Green pulses of life energy surged toward him, flooding into his body like a storm tide.
Roots shifted beneath the soil. Leaves rustled in response.
The entire forest recognized him.
He became a conduit, channeling the forest's power through himself and into his team.
His chest tightened from the strain.
Sweat rolled down his forehead in seconds.
But he didn't stop.
"Come on," he gritted through clenched teeth.
"Just a little more…"
Lucario, Darkrai, and Lugia all shimmered faintly as the Viridian Power restored them, muscles relaxing, wounds sealing, energy surging back into their limbs.
Sam's Aura pathways stretched wider from the force of it, his body evolving to withstand more.
He felt it.
His control over the Viridian Power is becoming more refined with every trial.
Finally, he exhaled hard and let his hands drop.
The connection faded, the energy around him settling once more.
"All right…" he muttered, breath heavy.
"That should hold you three for now."
Lucario rolled his shoulders.
Darkrai floated higher, no longer sagging from fatigue.
Lugia gave a proud cry, wings flaring.
They were battle-ready once again.
Sam quickly climbed back onto Lugia's back.
"Silver, don't fly too high. Stay close to the canopy."
He pointed toward the stampeding Pokémon ahead, still raging, still out of control.
"Lucario. Darkrai. Follow us from the ground."
"Don't fight unless absolutely necessary. Avoid conflict, stay close."
His voice was calm, but sharp with urgency.
There was no point in wasting time or energy on random encounters.
They weren't here to win a war.
They had a mission.
Sam's goal was simple: go deeper into the Viridian Forest.
Find the source of the sound waves causing this Pokémon madness.
Shut it down.
Until that device was destroyed, the entire ecosystem would remain in chaos.
"Luka!"
"Hissss~!"
Both Lucario and Darkrai nodded, understanding the gravity of the order.
"Let's move!"
With that, Lugia flared its wings, catching a wind current just above the treetops.
Sam leaned forward, eyes scanning the forest ahead.
They were running out of time, but he was getting closer.
The pulse of unnatural energy was stronger now.
The Aura around it was sharp, jagged, artificial.
He knew he was going the right way.
Now all that was left… was to end this.