Chapter 249: The Great Enhancement of Psychics

Outside San'yao City, the ruins of a massive research facility lay abandoned, clearly bearing the marks of having been blown apart by some explosion.

An overload of research into dream energy caused the facility’s explosion; now only exposed ruins and a buried basement remain, where researchers and psychics still delve deep within, while outside, children play among the wreckage.

The abandoned buildings had become a playground for the children.

Steel skeletons glowed with bluish-gray rust under the sun; the once sky-piercing towers now curled like ancient tree roots.

“Hey! Outsider Trainer, battle me!”

“Oh! Are you Dr. Juniper? I’m so sorry!”

Such remarks echoed around Guang Tai, but Dr. Juniper’s sudden appearance halted the eager youths; when asked why they challenged strangers, the children gave a short, forceful reply:

“When two Trainers lock eyes, the battle must begin!”

The boy in shorts, Goro, seemed the local ringleader, owning two Pancham and one Jigglypuff, utterly immersed in battles every day.

“I’m going to challenge the Unova League! I have clear goals and my Pokémon beside me—I won’t give up no matter what happens!”

“Alright, everyone, keep battling!”

Though young, his love for Pokémon was utterly genuine; Guang Tai could feel the heat in his heart—his soul pure, brimming with hope and longing for the future.

What? What do you mean you can’t survive without fighting?

Guang Tai silently scoffed in his mind, and soon they reached the vicinity of the basement.

In the game, deep within the Dream Ruins’ basement, a Dream Eater with a hidden ability appears every Friday; it seems Juniper’s current target is precisely this one.

Yet as they entered the basement, Guang Tai immediately encountered one of its essential rituals—

Psychics bouncing around everywhere!

In the game, trainers in the depths of the Dream Ruins are programmed to avoid battling the player at all costs.

Yes, they are the only trainers who never initiate attacks—and even run away!

“What are they jumping around for? Some kind of ritual?”

Dr. Juniper’s timely comment kept Guang Tai from speaking.

She was practically his verbal echo.

“Hmm, over there… let me see… ah, Sae!”

Juniper spotted a female researcher she knew; though thrilled to share progress on the C-device, Guang Tai had warned her not to speak freely, so she swallowed the words and instead asked if Sae had seen any Dream Eaters lately.

Sae, one of the basement’s female researchers in the game, indeed owns a Level 60 Dream Eater—but based on the basement researchers’ dialogue, this Dream Eater was likely caught months after Juniper invented the C-device.

So now, Sae only has a Drowzee.

“Hmm, Dream Eater? Come to think of it, I did see one recently—probably last Friday—but it vanished quickly. Why are you looking for it?”

“Still researching the dream world? Oh, Doctor, you’re still thinking about that? We’ve confirmed through multiple psychics that it’s impossible. The dream world is dead.”

“Current research focuses on psychic abilities and the human subconscious. We study dreams too, but not the same dream world you mentioned. This place still holds immense mysterious energy. Psychics here consider it ideal for training.”

“Psychics’ dreams can influence the subconscious—repairing psychological trauma, for example. That’s the kind of research we’re doing.”

The basement wasn’t as chaotic as in the game; researchers and psychics still lived here, so it had been converted into a habitable underground apartment complex.

As for the ruins aboveground? That was unavoidable.

“Indeed, the mysterious energy here has slightly boosted my power.”

Guang Tai sensed his mental ability growing active; his spiritual power also strengthened significantly, perhaps due to the connection between dreams, subconscious, will, and soul.

The psychics noticed Guang Tai too—they all simultaneously felt the immense power radiating from him!

Their eyes lit up!

“Strong psychic! You’re here to feel the mysterious power of dreams and train your own abilities too?”

“Want a Pokémon battle?”

The psychics were eager; many had trained here for years since the Dream Institute’s destruction, convinced their psychic and Pokémon skills were now flawless.

“No. Fighting here would destroy this basement completely.”

Guang Tai refused. If he scared off the Dream Eater, it would be disastrous—his Pokémon knew devastating moves; this basement couldn’t withstand the impact of two powerful ones.

This wasn’t a game—if it collapsed, it was over.

The psychics sighed in disappointment, but they weren’t battle fanatics; they quickly shifted the topic to psychic training, and through conversation, Guang Tai learned many applications of psychic power.

They lacked the strength of Gardevoir, Koga, or Nidoqueen; their psychic abilities remained basic—telekinesis, object manipulation, and rudimentary precognition.

【Obtained: Insight of Psychic Hope / Psychic Tatsuki / Psychic Mirai!】

【Description: Knowledge gained from conversations with these three psychics!】

【Effect: Hope’s Psychic—Mental Power and Resilience +50%; Tatsuki’s Psychic—Psychic Defense and Counter +50%; Mirai’s Psychic—Precognition +10%, Curse Power +20%, Insight +20%.】

【Note: After battling any psychic, you may receive a basic telekinesis reward.】

“Seriously, I just turned them down.”

Guang Tai shook his head.

Fine, I’ll spar with them a little when we leave.

When they learned Guang Tai’s psychic ability was the rare mental power, their interest surged again!

“Eh? A psychic that shatters the mind? I’ve never heard of that—can you try it on me?”

The psychic named Hope pointed to himself:

“Lately, I’ve felt my mental state declining. The mysterious energy here seems mixed with something else—strange. It’s affecting our minds.”

Hope said the Dream Ruins had recently shown unusual activity, but they couldn’t pinpoint its source, so they could only slowly suppress it. Logically, daily training here should awaken dormant powers and bring joy—not leave them feeling depressed like now.

It was as if… they were haunted by nightmares!

“Hmm, if you need it, I’ll begin.”

Guang Tai raised his palm toward Hope.

Mind Break!

Boom!

Hope’s squinted eyes snapped wide open—he instantly felt a “negative emotion” inside him shatter like a broken mirror!

“Oh! What is this?!”

“I shattered your inner darkness with Mind Break. Now you should feel…” Guang Tai said, then immediately saw Hope’s power surge!

Solidified, pale-pink psychic waves rose from Hope; his emotions soared.

“My dormant power has awakened! Oh my, my mental state has never been this good! Thank you so much!”

“Oh, this is my dormant psychic power? I… HAH!”

Hope slammed his palm against the nearby iron door—a palm-shaped dent exploded into its surface!

Such immense psychic power!

Even Guang Tai stared in shock.

Helping a psychic with Mind Break actually strengthened their emotions and power?

Come to think of it, that’s exactly the lore—some psychics’ abilities stem from “mental barriers.” Nidoqueen and Gardevoir once had psychological issues; the more isolated they were, the stronger their powers became.

That’s why I gave them the Riolu doll—it worked as therapy.

Now… does my ability surpass Riolu?

Ah, only the doll.

Mind Break shattered their mental darkness—and their mental barriers—like turning a faucet to full blast, unleashing their psychic power?

“So strong! Me next! Me!” The female psychic Mirai rushed forward; Tatsuki wasn’t far behind: “I’ve been feeling low and unstable too—please heal me, Master!”

Master?!

That scammer title isn’t needed!

Under their intense demands, Guang Tai grabbed one in each hand and used Mind Break on both at once!

“Wah! I saw the future! Heavy rain in three days! My dream is to foresee everything!”

“This is my power—so strong! Watch my barrier! Look how it reflects like a mirror!”

Both instantly went into frenzy—massive power boosts left them ecstatic. Mirai, in her euphoria, tried to glimpse Guang Tai’s future—only to be slammed back by “Psychic Counter” knowledge, her head spinning, nearly fainting on the spot!

“Ah! I can’t see your future! Your future is utterly mysterious! My head hurts!”

Mirai clutched her head and crouched down, drawing laughter from the others.

Guang Tai sighed.

Precognition again. Every psychic I meet treats it as their ultimate trick or daily convenience. But even powerful psychics like Koga and Gardevoir can’t foresee their own futures.

By the way, helping them with Mind Break—is that even considered a battle?

“Hey hey! Everyone, I convinced Sae—she agreed to help us find the Dream Eater!”

After Juniper’s relentless pleading, Sae finally agreed to assist in capturing the Dream Eater and restarting research—but reluctantly, insisting this was a one-time deal; if it failed, she’d never return to the project.

“The dream world is just shattered dreams. Pouring effort into a dead-end research project is painful.”

“Follow me—I’ll take you to where that Pokémon appears. It should be this way…”

The basement within the Dream Ruins was enormous; researchers and psychics used only a tiny fraction—less than a third—unlike in the game.

At a spot where the ceiling had collapsed, lush green plants grew wildly; after human structures were destroyed, nature reclaimed the area—vines climbed walls, cables embedded in basalt twisted with tree roots into spiral twin forms.

Human traces vanished; nature’s resurgence erased the once-majestic industrial structures, replacing them with thriving wilderness.

“The Dream Eater appears around here.”

Sae stared at the nature-covered area; every time she came here, she felt awe.

Human power meant nothing against nature’s might.

“But how do we find it…”

Juniper opened her device: “I’ve got a tool to detect Dream Eater’s ‘dream waves’—leave it to me!”

Previously, the research institute had studied Dream Eater, but after the institute exploded, that Dream Eater returned to nature, and no one could find it again.

However, Shinju still had its data; at this moment, Guang Tai suddenly remembered that Dr. Shinju should have had a Dream Eater, though its level was very low—only level 10.

It seems that at this point in time, Dream Eater has not yet returned to Dr. Shinju’s side, or perhaps Dr. Shinju has not recaptured it yet.

In the anime, Dr. Shinju also owned this Dream Eater.

The instruments began scanning the surrounding environment.

“Let’s help too, Leafeon—use Psychic.”

Beside Guang Tai, Leafeon closed its eyes, and invisible Psychic energy radiated from its body.

“That’s right! Psychic!” Shinju glanced at the blue-haired Eevee and clapped her hands: “You said earlier that Psychic could be used to survey the environment and see through objects!”

Leafeon’s Psychic swept the surroundings like a detector, and together with Dr. Shinju’s instruments, it quickly identified all Pokémon in the area—but this Psychic scanning agitated some particularly sensitive Pokémon, causing them to peek out from grass, ruins, and vines, seeing the sudden appearance of so many humans.

“There are so many Pokémon here. After human ruins were swallowed by nature, did the Pokémon make this their new home?”

Dr. Rowan’s eyes brightened.

Guang Tai knew why Dr. Rowan was so delighted.

Because Dr. Rowan’s “Origin” project included research on Pokémon habitats, which resembled Professor Oak’s research direction in Hoenn.

In Black 2 and White 2, Dr. Rowan’s father upgrades the Pokédex at the protagonist’s house; after upgrading to the National Dex, it adds a “Habitat” feature that shows which Pokémon can be caught at each location.

If you catch every species of Pokémon in a location, a solid Poké Ball stamp appears on the right side.

“Rattata. Aranara. Pincurchin. Applin. Pancham.”

Flash!

A sudden beam of light shot toward them—a Pokémon had been detected by the instruments and, for some reason, became furious, leaping out of the grass with blinding flashes, revealing a terrifying face!

The doctors were startled, but Guang Tai waved his hand; Leafeon halted its Psychic scan and immediately used Mind’s Eye + Quick Attack!

It punched the brightly glowing Pokémon, knocking it to the ground. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a terrifying monster at all—just a startled Watchog.

Watchog emits luminescent substances from its body to make its eyes and body patterns glow, scaring off enemies and causing them to recoil.

However, this Watchog did not have the Intimidate ability.

Its ability was undoubtedly “Illuminate.” Its accuracy changes cannot be lowered by any means, it ignores boosts to the target’s evasion, and it increases the chance of encountering wild Pokémon.

After being punched by Leafeon, the Watchog grew even more agitated!

As if it had once been provoked before, the Watchog lunged at Leafeon!

Move: Frenzy Bite!

Attacks by firmly biting the opponent with sharp fangs. Sometimes causes the target to flinch!

Leafeon dodged effortlessly, used Quick Attack to circle behind it, and under Guang Tai’s command, delivered a solid Psychic Bomb to its back!

For Normal-type Pokémon, Fighting-type moves are very effective; the Watchog was knocked down by the Psychic Bomb, but it did not lose its ability to battle—it quickly adjusted its stance, though it was clearly badly hurt!

“Huh? Not knocked out? This Watchog has high growth.”

Meaning, it’s a high level.

The Watchog’s eyes rippled with strange waves, and Guang Tai, sensitive to psychic energy, recognized the move!

It was Hypnosis!

Leafeon dodged the Hypnosis waves and countered with Copycat!

Copycat: Hypnosis!

The Watchog never expected Leafeon to copy its move—it was caught completely off guard and hit by Hypnosis, its eyes spinning as it collapsed onto the ground, falling asleep!

“Phew! Why did this Pokémon suddenly attack?!”

“Hey, wait—we’re surrounded by Pokémon!”

Dr. Rowan had been observing the surrounding Pokémon, but suddenly noticed they were gathering in greater numbers!

“Awooo!” Leafeon quickly returned to Guang Tai’s side, politely halting their advance.

These Pokémon carried faint hostility in their Psychic energy; when questioned by Leafeon, they refused to answer, only intent on fighting!

Then, the appearance of Shieldon halted them.

The King of Pokémon exerts influence over others; the gathered Pokémon sensed its immense power and the comforting energy it radiated.

“The Pokémon have stopped! Just like in the news footage!”

Dr. Rowan was astonished: “How did your Pokémon do that? It shouldn’t even know these Pokémon.”

Guang Tai: “My Shieldon is the ‘King’ of Pokémon. A King is a special Pokémon that possesses the power to command others.”

King—a type of Pokémon never heard of before. Dr. Rowan stared intently at Shieldon’s movements as Guang Tai explained:

“Shieldon is calming those Pokémon. Our scans yielded nothing—we need to ask the Pokémon directly. They say that not long ago, a group of people conducted harmful research on Pokémon here, so they’ve mistaken us for that group.”

“That’s impossible! We’ve never conducted any research harmful to wild Pokémon,” said Sazuko. The researchers in their group never came to this area covered in plants and nature!

And their recent research had shifted entirely to psychics—study of Pokémon dreams had long been abandoned!

Meanwhile, Shieldon and Leafeon communicated with the wild Pokémon, conveying Sazuko’s words, and asked if they had seen Dream Eater or Dream Eater.

The Pokémon whispered among themselves, then finally decided to follow the King’s will and head toward a certain area.

Upon hearing this, Sazuko suddenly remembered:

“That was the core area of the old institute. After the explosion, there should’ve been nothing left.”

“No, something remains there.”

Guang Tai spoke suddenly: “There remains ‘dreams.’”

“Dreams?” Sazuko was puzzled.

Guang Tai explained:

“The Dream Ruins were once an institute and a factory. People toiled day and night, pursuing ‘dreams’—working for the sake of ‘dreams.’ But when everything vanished, what remained here were only those ‘dreams.’”

“Exactly! The mysterious energy left by the explosion still lingers here—countless dreams still wander!”

“Wow, that sounds so romantic!” Shinju clapped her hands: “Indeed, your thoughts align with mine! I believe people’s dreams still linger here! If we can obtain Dream Mist, we can connect people’s dreams!”

“Correct,” Guang Tai nodded. “Human dreams never end!”

As they spoke, they arrived at the area. Beneath the light from the ceiling, Dream Eater emitted strange pink mist from its head; around it, countless phantoms gathered and dispersed like flowing sand—this was the first time anyone had directly seen those “dreams.”

In the games, Dream Eater, to rescue Dream Eater, used its power to manifest a phantom of Ghetsis, scaring off Plasma Grunts.

“Dreams became reality! That is Dream Eater’s power!”

Shinju was thrilled; she reached for her Poké Balls to capture it—but at that moment, Leafeon suddenly stared in one direction!

Psychic sensed hostility!

And the blue crystal pendant on Guang Tai’s chest glowed—a disturbing psychic wave emanated from the darkness!

【Affected by Nightmare Wave! You are immune to negative status effects from psychic power reduction!】

Simultaneously, the surrounding Pokémon showed expressions of pain and fled rapidly!

But Dr. Rowan, Dr. Shinju, and Sazuko all clutched their heads in agony—the strange signal was unbearable.

At the same time, they heard a voice:

“Dreams becoming reality? So this is possible! Our research direction was correct after all!”

From another patch of darkness emerged a group of researchers; simultaneously, attacks erupted from the shadows, striking Guang Tai’s group!

Various moves shook the ground and stirred up dust—the entire area seemed on the verge of destruction. Among the researchers stood an old man clad in a sage’s robe.

“We’ve been observing since they entered the basement and the old experimental zone. It’s confirmed: the young leader matches N’s description—he seeks something of immense importance.”

“And we never expected our research here would suddenly bear fruit—this Pokémon, capable of turning dreams into reality, is exactly what Team Plasma needs.”

“Hmm?”

The old sage Asura believed this attack would be flawless—but when the dust cleared, a massive golden shield blocked every strike!

King’s Shield!

Shieldon’s gaze carried a terrifying pressure; the old sage’s narrowed eyes opened slightly.

“That Pokémon—is it the ‘King’ of Pokémon mentioned in the intelligence?”

“Troublesome. Then I’ll hold it off—you go capture Dream Eater.”

“Come out, Death’s Coffin!”

(End of Chapter)