Chapter 212: I Am This Land's Guardian Deity
Rota City. On the second floor of Cameran Palace.
The people attending the annual evening ball suddenly felt the earth tremble, falling into a momentary daze.
"Look! Toward the Tree of Beginning!" a voice cried out.
Everyone, including a Queen Ilene now in her thirties, walked to the second-floor balcony to look in the direction of the Tree of Beginning.
In the distance, they could see a green shadow in the sky stomping a massive black shadow down toward the earth.
"What is that?"
"I don't know. It looks like two Pokémon fighting."
"Are you serious? Do you know how far the Tree of Beginning is from Cameran Palace?"
"If it really is two Pokémon fighting, then just how big must they be?"
"But it really does look like they're fighting. Look, there's a small white Pokémon, too... oh... it just turned red."
The people chattered, watching the distant battle, completely unaware of what was truly happening. The ground trembled nonstop. Panic began to set in.
They couldn't comprehend what kind of Pokémon could unleash a battle whose aftershocks could be felt from so far away.
Pokémon from the nearby forests and lakes began to flee, racing away from the Tree of Beginning.
Flash!
Suddenly, just as the people were wondering what to do, a large crystal on the balcony began to glow with an eerie red light. Its temperature rapidly rose, and the radiating heatwave forced many people to back away.
Immediately after, from all over Rota City and the surrounding forests, red glows and black smoke began to rise. The superheated crystals were igniting flammable objects around them.
"What's happening?!"
"Look at the Tree of Beginning! Something's on it!"
"It just got pulled off!"
"We don't have time for that! Put out the fires!"
The spreading fires snapped the people out of their festive mood. They rushed with their Pokémon to extinguish the flames. But they soon discovered something was wrong. Not only would the crystals' temperature not decrease, but it was also continuing to rise!
"Your Majesty?" The elderly head maid looked at Queen Ilene with concern. Ilene's lineage had ruled Cameran Palace for thousands of years. Perhaps their records explained this phenomenon.
"The Tree of Beginning's self-defense system has been triggered," Ilene said, gripping her Aura staff and biting her lip. "Something is attacking it."
"Could it be... those two black creatures?" the head maid asked in alarm. "Especially the second one that appeared—it was directly on the Tree. The defense system activated right after that."
"It must be."
"I will go notify the Kanto and Johto Leagues! They're at the Indigo Plateau, which is very close. They can send reinforcements at once!"
"Go." Ilene nodded calmly, but her expression remained grim. As the head maid ran off, Ilene stepped forward. "But... can humans even stop that?" she whispered, staring worriedly toward the Tree.
Flash! A potted plant next to her burst into flames, ignited by a nearby crystal. Ilene didn't flinch or retreat. She gripped her Aura staff and prayed with all her might.
"Aura Guardians of ages past... please, help the Tree of Beginning."
Back at the Tree of Beginning.
Whoosh!
A giant, flame-wreathed figure and a sky-splitting streak of electricity clashed. Both figures crashed to the ground. Shadow Lugia beat its wings, trying to get airborne again.
But Will's first instinct on hitting the ground wasn't to stand. He slammed his giant tail into the earth.
A massive, sharp rock instantly erupted from beneath Shadow Lugia, launching it upward. Pushing himself up, Will leaped into the air to pursue it.
But to Will's surprise, despite taking a super-effective hit, Shadow Lugia broke free from its stun instantly. It flapped its wings, blasting a violent Hurricane at the airborne Will.
The sharp gales slashed at Will, leaving shallow cuts across his body. The force of the wind nullified his momentum, and he began to fall.
Shadow Lugia didn't miss the opportunity. Its body ignited with that azure, flame-like energy again, turning into a meteor and diving at the falling Will.
Will, with no leverage in the air, swept his arms forward. An endless Leaf Storm erupted, surging toward Shadow Lugia like a tidal wave.
BOOM!
Shadow Lugia's momentum was too great. It plowed straight through the Leaf Storm and crashed into Will. The next moment, Will plummeted to the ground like a bird with a broken wing.
"SKREEE!" Shadow Lugia roared in excitement. It decided to have Will as an appetizer before the main course. It eagerly dove at the fallen Will, jaws wide open, ready to bite.
Just then, Will's eyes snapped open. He fired a massive golden Solar Beam straight from his mouth, pouring it directly into Shadow Lugia's open maw.
BOOM!
The intense beam blasted Shadow Lugia backward, knocking it flat on its rear.
Will sprang to his feet, lunged forward, and delivered a rapid one-two combo: two heavy Thunder Punches slammed into Shadow Lugia's chest.
"Skree~" Shadow Lugia cried out as electricity arced across its body. It was paralyzed.
Seizing the opening, Will swept his tail, which was now wreathed in dark energy, in a powerful Knock Off.
SMACK!
The hundred-meter-long Shadow Lugia was sent flying forty or fifty meters by the tail-whip, crashing hard against the crater wall.
Will rolled his ankle and shot forward again with Extreme Speed. But then, the situation changed.
Two black blades of air—Air Slash—shot down at him from above.
Will was furious at the sneak attack, but the power of the moves forced him to react. He leaped back more than ten meters, his eyes snapping upward. His pupils contracted.
The other Shadow Lugia had arrived. It looked like they planned to eliminate him first.
Will's expression darkened. He leaped out of the crater and looked toward the Tree. He saw Meowscarada, Scizor, and the Regi trio all collapsed at the base of the Tree, struggling but unable to rise.
Despite his brief surprise at Scizor's arrival, he had no time for a reunion with his former apprentice.
He had a much bigger problem. Will turned back to the crater.
The large and small Shadow Lugias stared at each other warily for a moment. Then, as if reaching an agreement, they both turned their gaze to Will.
"...This is bad." Will's breathing grew heavy.
Fighting one was exhausting enough. Now there were two. Even if this new one seemed weaker, it had still taken down the Regi trio. How weak could it really be? It had to be at least level 85 or 86.
Even Will himself no longer knew how they could win this.
The two Shadow Lugias gave him no time to think. Four black Aeroblasts shot at him simultaneously.
Will's body blurred. He timed it perfectly, spinning through the narrow gap in the center of the four vortexes and rushing the smaller Lugia.
The smaller Lugia's eyes flashed. An invisible psychic power radiated from its body. The pulsing force hammered Will's body, but it didn't stop his charge.
But the larger Lugia didn't just watch. Its body wreathed in flames, it slammed viciously into Will's side.
BANG!
The immense force sent Will tumbling, skipping across the ground like a flat stone on water.
"Mrow..." Meowscarada pushed herself up on her hands, her eyes filling with tears as she watched Will.
"Mew..." Mew groggily opened its eyes, floating unsteadily out of a hollow in the Tree. Its vision was blurry, but it could tell from Meowscarada's cries that the situation was desperate.
In the distance, the two Shadow Lugias attacked in unison, gliding in a semicircle before viciously cutting Will's abdomen with their wings.
BOOM!
This time, Will was thrown back over a hundred meters, crashing hard into the trunk of the Tree of Beginning before sliding to the ground.
It was too hard. This battle was just too difficult.
He wasn't just facing two high-level Legendaries; his type disadvantage was overwhelming. Lugia was immune to Ground, had a quadruple resistance to Fighting, and a double resistance to Grass. It resisted almost all of Will's best moves, except for Dragon-type.
Meanwhile, Will was doubly weak to Flying—Lugia's primary type.
"Mew..."
"Mrow..."
"Scy... ther..."
The three Pokémon lay weakly beside Will, their eyes filled with despair. If even Will couldn't win, what were they supposed to do?
"Hah... hah... Don't be afraid," Will panted, leaning against the Tree. "I'll protect you... I can't fall yet."
He looked at the small, defeated figures beside him, his expression hardening with a deep reluctance. Lips trembling, he reached deep into a hollow of the Tree.
He pulled out the small syringe, threw it into his mouth, crushed the glass, and swallowed the contents.
A moment later, a grim smile spread across his face.
"Come to think of it... Kanto, Johto, even the distant Orange Archipelago... this is all the territory of the Dragonite Kingdom... and if that's the case..."
His body began to tremble violently. His temperature skyrocketed as a blinding white light erupted from within, illuminating the entire world.
Even the two Shadow Lugias were forced to look away.
"Then I am this land's Guardian Deity."
The white light faded. Will rose to his feet. Standing tall beneath the Tree of Beginning was a... Mega Sceptile... over thirty meters high.
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