"No wonder!"
"So that's why… she isn't made up purely of Gardevoir genes, and that's why this happened."
"If she wants to achieve Mega Evolution next, she'll have to resolve this problem first."
Teacher Boo studied the data report, frowning slightly.
Hearing that, Himeko-san hurriedly pressed Teacher Boo for what method could be used to fix it.
After all, she had finally managed to obtain such a powerful Pokémon.
Himeko-san couldn't bear to watch Gardevoir's potential stop here.
She clearly ought to have an even more dazzling future.
"I can't do it. Only the original owner of the Legendary Pokémon gene within her has the ability and the authority to help her resolve it."
Teacher Boo shook his head.
With current research methods and capabilities, this situation simply couldn't be handled.
The one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it.
To completely eliminate this drawback and problem, they had to find the original possessor of that segment of genes.
Himeko-san nodded.
Her brows had already begun to knit.
It wasn't as if she had never asked Gardevoir about it.
But ever since Gardevoir had first possessed memories, that segment of genes had already existed inside her body.
And during her childhood, she had spent almost all her time in Team Dark's underground, sunless base.
So as for that segment of genes—where it came from, and which Legendary Pokémon it had been copied from—she truly knew nothing at all.
There was no choice.
For now, they could only set this matter aside and take it one step at a time.
Or…
They could only try to pry some information out of Team Dark's people.
"Chubi!"
Lopunny looked at Gardevoir's dejected expression after the failed Mega Evolution.
She walked over and gently patted Gardevoir's shoulder in comfort.
Although the two Pokémon were usually at each other's throats—rivals who never saw eye to eye—
in truth, they had long since acknowledged one another.
Seeing her companion suffer such a setback, Lopunny still showed her gentle side.
With Lopunny's comfort, Gardevoir's mood really did ease up, becoming brighter.
The experiment ended there.
Teacher Boo was still satisfied with this demonstration.
Gardevoir's situation had been outside expectations—an uncontrollable factor.
Meanwhile, the strength and progress Lopunny displayed after a flawless Mega Evolution
had already made Kenjiro realize just how important Teacher Boo's research truly was.
From that tiny, faint spark of light,
Kenjiro seemed to be able to vaguely see an incomparably radiant future for humanity.
Next, he unhesitatingly nodded and approved Teacher Boo's funding request and materials request.
That made Teacher Boo delighted beyond measure, smiling so widely the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.
"How about it, Shiko—just agree already!"
"Let your Dragonite and my Mega Charizard fight and see!"
"My Charizard gained the Dragon type after Mega Evolution—let's have a match!"
Outside the research lab, Ukyo-san clung to Aisa-san and kept pestering her.
His Charizard was already out, standing at his side.
Hearing its Trainer's words, Charizard nodded.
It let out a roar, eyes blazing with fierce battle intent.
"Two muscleheads."
Aisa-san sighed as she looked at the man and the Dragon.
Ukyo-san was good in every way…
except that his combative temperament was a bit of a problem.
And his Charizard had perfectly inherited its Trainer's personality.
Good thing her Dragonite wasn't here.
If it were,
with Dragonite's fiery temper,
it wouldn't even take Ukyo-san bringing it up—
Dragonite would already be throwing down with that Mega Charizard.
"Dragonite is training in Dragon Valley right now."
"It won't be back any time soon."
Aisa-san shook her head and refused.
Dragonite was still in Dragon Valley,
training and cultivating alongside GeoGreymon.
She couldn't exactly call it back specifically for a spar, could she?
But then again…
she also didn't know whether, after these three months,
Dragonite had become stronger or not.
"What a buzzkill!"
Ukyo-san looked disappointed when he heard the news.
The Charizard beside him also looked downcast.
Even the blue flames burning at the tip of its tail weakened a little.
"Hm?"
Just then,
Ukyo-san suddenly noticed a figure in the distant sky rapidly growing larger as it approached.
"That is… Dragonite?!"
That yellow figure flying in from afar—
was unmistakably a Dragonite!
And if you looked closely,
there was still someone riding on its back.
The yellow figure swept across the sky,
stopped above their heads, then descended.
"Dragonite?!"
Aisa-san stared at that plump, round, Dragon-type Pokémon.
It was exactly her Dragonite.
"Why are you back?"
Aisa-san asked.
Wasn't Dragonite training in Dragon Valley?
Why had it suddenly returned without a word?
And on its back…
Wasn't that the Military member they had dispatched to monitor Dragon Valley operations?
Why did he look so disheveled?
What happened?
"Commander… the valley… something happened in the valley!"
The Military trooper panted hard,
forcing out that sentence in broken bursts.
"Don't panic—explain clearly!"
Aisa-san's expression instantly turned grave.
After a moment of catching his breath, the trooper finally gave a complete account.
"All the Elite Four-level dominant Pokémon in the valley… went mad!"
"They're fighting each other together—desperately trying to force their way into the mountain peak at the deepest part of Dragon Valley!"
"And because of that, the weaker Dragon-type Pokémon in the valley have also fallen into chaos!"
The mountain peak at the deepest part?
Hearing that, a trace of confusion appeared in Aisa-san's eyes.
Dragon Valley had been given a preliminary exploration long ago by the Military.
They also knew that, at the very deepest part of the valley, there was an especially mysterious mountain peak.
It was suffused with overwhelming Dragon-type pressure and energy fluctuations.
That powerful aura
had cut off any possibility of Dragon-type Pokémon entering it.
"Aren't they supposed to be unable to get in? Why are they suddenly trying to break in like they're possessed?"
Aisa-san pressed.
"They couldn't before, but we don't know what happened—starting yesterday, the powerful pressure shrouding the outside of the mountain peak clearly weakened!"
"By today, that continuously weakening pressure finally dropped to the point where wild Elite Four-level Dragon-type Pokémon could enter!"
What?!
What was going on?
Aisa-san froze.
She had never anticipated this.
No wonder the disturbances in the valley—which had already calmed down—had erupted again.
So that was the reason!
"Our external observation outpost has also been besieged and destroyed by enraged Pokémon. Quite a few of our people are still trapped there."
"That's why I came out with your Dragonite first to request reinforcements!"
At that moment, Himeko-san's voice suddenly rang out.
She had just come out of the research lab,
and she happened to hear everything.
Thinking of Shiko still being inside Dragon Valley,
she immediately rushed forward and questioned the trooper.
"Where's GeoGreymon?! What about its situation?!"
"Not sure."
"The information we have is that it entered the mountain peak at the deepest part of the valley yesterday."
"After it went in, we detected two powerful energies colliding violently."
"Our guess is that GeoGreymon clashed fiercely with something inside the mountain."
"And it was only after that violent collision ended that the powerful pressure around the mountain peak began to weaken little by little."
The Military trooper answered carefully and truthfully.
Shiko had entered that mountain?
And violently collided with some existence?
Himeko-san grew even more tense.
"Then… did you see him come out?"
She asked anxiously.
"No."
"From yesterday until now, we haven't seen any sign of him."
The trooper shook his head.
Himeko-san's heart sank.
A powerful sense of foreboding rose up.
Had Shiko… gotten into trouble?
"Dragonite! We're going!"
After hearing it all,
Aisa-san knew they couldn't delay any longer.
Those troopers trapped in Dragon Valley needed her rescue now.
She swung herself onto Dragonite's back, ready to depart.
"I'm going too!"
Himeko-san hurriedly said.
Aisa-san nodded at her,
then helped her up so she could climb onto Dragonite's back as well.
"Count me in!"
Ukyo-san spoke up.
As a member of the Northern Military Division,
he naturally couldn't shirk responsibility when something like this happened.
What's more,
since his Charizard Mega Evolved,
it still hadn't had a real chance to fully display its strength.
There were so many Elite Four-level Dragon-type Pokémon in Dragon Valley—
the perfect opportunity to test Charizard's current combat power.
"I'll go with you too."
Just as Ukyo-san spoke,
another slightly aged voice sounded among the crowd.
Turning around—
it was Kenjiro!
"Minister, you shouldn't personally go into danger. Leave this to us—we can handle it."
Ukyo-san gave a simple grin and tried to persuade him.
Kenjiro was already up there in years.
A high-ranking figure like him, who held immense authority and commanded a whole division of the Military—
if anything happened to him,
it would be a loss for the entire Great Axia Alliance.
Considering safety,
Ukyo-san felt Kenjiro should remain here and direct things from the rear.
"What are you talking about?"
Kenjiro's face sank,
instantly making Ukyo-san's heart tighten.
"I may be old, but I still have Champion-level strength!"
With a cold snort,
Kenjiro didn't accept Ukyo-san's "consideration" at all.
As soon as he finished speaking,
he threw a Poké Ball.
"Kreeee!"
A steel giant bird clad in silver armor appeared before everyone.
Skarmory!
Kenjiro's ace Pokémon!
"Let's go."
Kenjiro vaulted onto Skarmory's back.
Skarmory beat its wings and flew at the front.
Behind it,
Charizard and Dragonite struggled to keep up.
Watching that silver figure always maintaining a gap ahead of them,
Aisa-san and Ukyo-san couldn't help but feel astonished.
Worthy of a Champion-level Pokémon.
Even though Skarmory was never known for speed,
in this aspect,
it still firmly suppressed an Elite Four-level Dragonite
and an Elite Four-level Charizard after Mega Evolution—
by a full tier.
Truly terrifying.
A few minutes later,
the group—along with the three Pokémon—
arrived near the valley.
Still some distance from entering Dragon Valley,
they could already hear enormous sounds from within.
All kinds of energies collided and surged inside.
Violent Dragon-type aura spread everywhere.
"They're over there!"
"Leave this place to Ukyo!"
"Shiko and I will head straight for the deepest mountain peak!"
"Ukyo—after you deal with the Pokémon here and rescue our people, come meet up with us immediately!"
Kenjiro issued combat orders at once.
"Understood!"
Ukyo-san didn't hesitate at all.
He nodded, and he and his Charizard dove downward.
"Roar!!"
A piercing dragonlike roar rang out.
Charizard opened its mouth.
While diving at high speed, it gathered energy—
and scorching blue flames erupted forth, sweeping across below.
That terrifying damage and destructive power instantly cleared out a huge area.
Seeing this,
everyone couldn't help being amazed at just how dreadful Mega-Evolved Charizard's strength was.
Compared to before,
it was stronger by far more than a small margin.
"Let's go."
Kenjiro withdrew his gaze.
He looked toward the deepest part of the valley.
There,
he had already caught traces of extraordinarily powerful auras—at least Elite Four-level.
The source of the unrest should be there.
As long as they could stop those Elite Four-level Dragon-type Pokémon from going berserk,
this turmoil could be calmed down!
…
Meanwhile,
deep within the mountain peak.
Shiko, who had slept for an entire day,
finally slowly woke up.
Those powerful, mixed energies he had absorbed yesterday—
after a night of rest and consolidation—
had finally settled completely.
They had fully become energy within his body.
Feeling the surging power filling him,
Shiko felt as if he had been reborn.
Stronger than ever.
"What's going on outside?"
"Why does it sound so loud?"
Shiko caught the immense commotion outside,
as well as one powerful aura after another colliding.
He couldn't help frowning.
What on earth was happening?
(End of Chapter)
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