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The killing intent that had been locked inside Kael for over three months finally erupted.
Ghost-type energy dense, ancient, and violent roared out of his core like a storm breaking free of its cage.
It clawed outward, flooding the clearing with a cold, suffocating malice that felt capable of swallowing the world.
Kael was laughing.
Not from joy.
Not from relief.
But from a shivering, feverish excitement.
The kind of laugh born from holding back too long… and finally being allowed to snap.
"Grr… khh—khh—"
He couldn't contain it.
Ever since the surgery that force-fused Ghost-type energy into his body, his temperament had been warping becoming harsher, darker, more ruthless.
He still had his human consciousness, his self-control…
but in battle, the cracks had already shown.
A growing burst of aggression every time he fought.
A creeping thrill whenever he smelled blood.
Three months of strict training at the Fighting Dojo had kept the monster caged.
Now that he was leavingvnow that there were no restraints—
The lock finally broke.
Thud… thud… thud…
Footsteps echoed across the clearing.
Every step was like a war drum from somewhere outside reality.
Leavanny's heart hammered wildly.
Her blood surged hot.
Cold sweat slid down her back.
Her instincts screamed.
A pressure she had never felt before deadly, enormous, crushing filled the air like invisible blades pressing into her skin.
Don't move.
Don't breathe.
You'll die.
"You'll die…
You'll die…
YOU'LL DIE—!"
The thought repeated uncontrollably in her frozen mind.
She couldn't think.
She couldn't react.
Her thoughts drowned beneath the suffocating wall of killing intent.
Something… something monstrous… was coming.
A flicker of light caught her eye.
Two bright, glowing crimson pupils stared out from the darkness sharp enough to feel like knives pressed into her soul.
She had only a split second to see them.
Then—
FWOOOM—!
A burst of searing, sun-hot radiance tore upward.
Evolution light.
But not the usual white-blue glow seen in normal Pokémon.
This one burned dark red.
Kael wasn't waiting anymore.
He chose this moment to evolve.
A violent hum tore through the air.
Black-red energy wrapped around Kael's entire body like a living nightmare. The ground trembled beneath him. The air warped and shook.
Blood-scented energy spiraled outward, thick enough to choke on.
Killing intent mixed with Ghost-type power until the entire atmosphere felt like a battlefield drenched in centuries of death.
Three months of training had pushed Kael's Machop-tier body to absolute peak condition.
Not one more ounce of power could fit inside him.
This was his perfect moment to evolve.
Under the shroud of crimson light, Kael's silhouette swelled.
Taller.
Broader.
Denser.
The ground beneath him cracked like dry bones under a hammer.
Magnetic pressure warped the air into chaotic waves of distortion.
Even time felt as if it stuttered.
Leavanny stood frozen mid-motion, arms half-extended toward Croagunk.
Her pale face and wide eyes showed nothing but pure horror.
The pressure alone had paralyzed her.
She didn't know who the newcomer was but the oppressive aura told her everything she needed:
She was in unimaginable danger.
At last—
A harsh crackling sound split the air.
The evolution reached its peak.
The dark-red glow shuddered then shattered like glass, exploding into drifting star-like embers, a tiny meteor shower of crimson dust.
When the light faded—
Kael stepped forward.
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His evolved form was monstrous.
Over eight feet tall twice the height of a normal Machoke.
His muscles were carved like stone, stacked with impossible density, forming a living suit of organic armor.
Yet nothing about his build felt bulky or slow it looked dangerously explosive, like a powder keg shaped into a man.
The Ghost-type energy inside him, once unstable, had fused perfectly during evolution.
Dr. Darr's life's work the human-to-Pokémon hybridization was complete.
His skin had shifted from deep black to a cold, iron-lavender shade, marking the merge between Fighting-type strength and Ghost-type essence.
Wispy trails of faint purple flame drifted off his body, vanishing like smoke into another dimension.
His eyes—
No longer even resembled eyes.
The original crimson irises had vanished.
Now, two glowing scarlet orbs burned inside black sockets like embedded lights feral, unblinking, predatory.
Six claw-shaped marks on his arms pulsed with eerie violet light in rhythm with his breath.
The golden belt once used by trainers to help Machoke control their power?
Gone.
He didn't need one.
The brutal regimen of the Dojo had already taught him how to restrain or unleash his strength at will.
Kael inhaled slowly through his long, reptilian jaw and exhaled a plume of mist that blasted the dust around him into swirling clouds.
He flexed his right hand.
CRACK—!
The air itself seemed to burst under the pressure, crying out in protest.
Power surged through him endless, intoxicating, overwhelming.
His glowing red eyes scanned the three nightmare Pokémon in the clearing.
And a vicious grin twisted across his face.
"So…" he murmured, voice like gravel scraped across metal.
"Who wants to die first?"
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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