Chapter 261: Meteor Shum Light!

The blue crystal is a crystallized soul of one of Almia’s three princes, an incredible mythic mineral; even a fragment of the blue crystal itself can unleash unprecedented radiance when amplified by psychic power.

The ancient spirit-controlled Magmortar flapped its wings, scattering endless sparks and scale powder in all directions; the Plasma Gang grunts who entered with Yorgs were nearly terrified, hiding behind pillars, some even fleeing outright.

Fire Dance! Cover your body in flames and attack with wing strikes. Sometimes raises your Special Attack!

The Magmortar leapt into the ancient Sun Dance, unleashing overwhelming power as infinite flames erupted between minds; the Shieldon refused to yield, raising its great shield in royal posture and directly repelling the flames with its golden shield!

Double-Edge Headbutt! The King’s Shield transformed into rock-like textures and charged toward Magmortar with unstoppable force!

Huh—

Magmortar flew straight into the sky; Shieldon’s “Shield Rush” missed it, instead knocking Yorgs flying backward.

But the ancient spirit controlling the old sage had long since drowned his consciousness; the ancient spirit within the body felt no fear or pain, and against such an overwhelmingly powerful ancient spirit, even the knowledge of two heroes proved ineffective.

Huh—

Again came the sound of light projectiles tearing through the sky: Litleo’s Psychic Bullet, Miss Mauville’s Sunbeam, and Sandshrew’s Seed Machine Gun struck Magmortar in the sky from three directions at once!

And Guang Tai also pulled out his magic branch.

The power of Yiche Forest—bring down the Magmortar flying in the sky!

“Don’t let those moves get close! Defend!”

Yorgs waved his hand; the light gushing from his eyes made Guang Tai think the old sage’s eyes would be blind after this battle, while a pale green, enormous shield unfolded before Magmortar—its size was extraordinary!

All four attacks struck the shield without even ruffling its surface; the ancient spirit had massively amplified Magmortar’s power!

The power of Yiche Forest?

Though the power of the ancient forest is great, against the civilization-altering force of ancient power, the strength of a single forest is but a drop in the ocean!

The Pokémon standing before you now is the one that protected an entire civilization, worshipped as the embodiment of the sun!

At this moment, with Magmortar’s momentum, Guang Tai’s Landclaw made its evaluation.

Hmm, even if it entered, it’d probably take two slaps—this ancient spirit’s power is too overwhelming!

Magmortar’s eyes glowed with eerie radiance, unleashing vast invisible forces in all directions, engulfing all of Guang Tai’s Pokémon and even the Trainer himself!

“Bug Resistance!”

Bug-type Pokémon emit invisible shocks to resist and attack opponents, lowering the opponent’s Special Attack!

Continuous Bug Resistances tried to reduce Guang Tai’s Pokémon’s Special Attack to its lowest point—yet!

The knowledge of the two heroes activated at this moment!

Temporary immunity to negative status effects; though the negative status still takes effect, it becomes extremely difficult to be inflicted with status conditions!

Though its stats dropped, the actual reduction was nullified—so did it drop or not?

Sandshrew seized the moment, roaring as the great tree on its back swayed, and massive dust surged from the ground!

Quicksand Hell!

The violent sandstorm tried to drag Magmortar from midair—but immediately, something illegal happened: Magmortar flapped its wings violently, the quicksand beneath it igniting into a blazing tornado of fire!

Quicksand Hell → Fire Tornado!

Magmortar harnessed the furious, scorching vortex and hurled it back!

And the ancient sage whispered something terrifying:

“Do we have no counter to quicksand and sandstorms? How naive!”

Sandshrew was stunned—how could such a thing exist? He quickly memorized it, planning to use it in a future battle; but now, since Magmortar had intensified the light here, light-based moves required no charge-up!

Sunbeam!

A fierce beam of solar flame erupted from the great tree on Sandshrew’s back, striking the fire tornado and halting its advance; at the same time, Shieldon’s Cannon Beam also surged forward, shattering the fire tornado!

But the explosive heat had already crystallized the sand; as the fire tornado exploded, Magmortar flapped its wings and unleashed a massive heatwave engulfing the entire underground city!

Heat Wave! Blow hot air at the opponent to attack. Sometimes causes burn status!

It wasn’t over—behind the Heat Wave came—

Hurricane!

Attack with powerful winds. Sometimes causes confusion!

Though Hurricane’s accuracy drops under sunny conditions, that doesn’t matter—if you expand Hurricane’s range to cover the entire room, it can’t possibly miss!

Everything in this room had been enhanced under the protection of the ancient spirit: the sturdy ancient pillars stood tall, the vibrant pottery glowed brightly, the murals behind seemed to come alive, twisting and trembling; the two storms merged, birthing a move beyond imagination!

Fire Storm!

Shieldon still served as the defender, opening its King’s Shield to absorb all incoming attacks and impact forces!

But Guang Tai noticed the psychic power here gradually concentrating, and the controlled Yorgs no longer spoke; its eyes still burned with unyielding holy light, but the immense psychic force had linked its mind directly to Magmortar’s mind!

Just as Guang Tai connected psychically with his Pokémon, the ancient spirit was doing the same to control Magmortar! No words meant no delay in reaction; the Pokémon could now observe surroundings through the Trainer’s perspective, power surging, movements growing faster!

Yorgs merely flicked his glowing disc.

Magmortar’s body erupted with unimaginably powerful Psychic energy.

Meditate, calm the mind, to raise your Special Attack and Special Defense!

Normally, Meditate raises only one stage of Special Attack and Special Defense—but under the ancient spirit’s amplification, a single Meditate raised Magmortar’s Special Attack to its maximum, triggering six consecutive stat boosts!

“Oh no, Master Yorgs has gone mad!”

Among the Plasma Gang grunts, some still remained conscious amid the overwhelming assault; they trembled, watching Yorgs transformed into someone entirely different, filled with terror and regret. Magmortar’s power was too immense—they could never control it!

To truly capture it, we’d need all Seven Sages present!

Likewise, Guang Tai, who could now fight the abnormal Yorgs, filled the Plasma Gang grunts with dread; though they didn’t know who he was, no human could possibly battle a Pokémon of such power!

If they tried to free this man’s Pokémon, they’d surely be killed—this thought arose simultaneously in all their minds.

Guang Tai had no time to care for the Plasma Gang grunts; behind the frenzied Magmortar, near the distant mural, he spotted a suspicious head peeking out.

Ah, it’s Flareon!

Now that he confirmed Flareon was safe, the next battle—!

“Ulr!”

Magmortar let out a terrifying roar, its six wings blazing with searing firelight.

Flamethrower ×6!

Then, at its chest, a dazzling, brilliant holy flame coalesced!

Fire Blast!

The attack erupted from seven directions—no blind spots whatsoever! The ancient spirits thrilled, howled, shrieked in fury! They would use this overwhelming flame, this scorching solar radiance, to annihilate every unwelcome intruder in the ancient city!

The majestic figure, scattering flame scales as it flew, was feared by ancient people as the wrath of the sun!

Miss Mauville tried to use Rain Dance, but the move failed; the intense heat here created an environment like Drought, rendering Water-type moves useless.

Shieldon continued holding up its King’s Shield, and at this moment, Litleo seemed to grasp something!

Its Starlight Aura was rapidly surging in power!

When the opponent has stat boosts, deal 50% more damage—that is, 1.5x! And under different environments, certain Auras are strengthened; what Litleo sensed from Landclaw’s battle and now felt was—

Behind Shieldon’s shield, Litleo gathered power; orange-yellow light condensed in its hands, then erupted forward!

Earthquake!

Attack using the terrain’s power; the move’s type and power change depending on the terrain’s condition! Though named Earthquake, it is actually a Normal-type move.

The orange-yellow light struck Magmortar—but had little effect; its flames paused for only an instant, then erupted again with even greater fury, scattering countless flame scales through the air!

This time, the firelight blazing from its six wings was even fiercer!

“Ugh,” the blue-haired puppy glared resentfully at the flying Magmortar; it hadn’t expected its newly learned move to fail. Guang Tai was surprised too—Earthquake should be a move only Lucario can learn… had it learned it early?

Shieldon lowered its shield, swung its ribbon arm, and slammed forward!

Rock Slide! Summon countless boulders to attack! If this hit—!

But the ancient spirit had foreseen this; the extreme heat instantly melted the charging rocks into molten liquid—1500°C temperatures vaporized every flying stone, leaving only glittering crystals.

Shieldon flew upward!

Blessed by Arceus, it possessed an iron body impervious to fire; its blade now glowed, and a spectral holy sword slashed straight forward!

Holy Sword: Rapid Slash!

But Magmortar flapped its wings once, and a storm of strange power halted Shieldon midair, then blasted it back as a red flash into its Poké Ball!

Knock Off!

Knock off the opponent, forcing a replacement Pokémon to enter. If the opponent is a wild Pokémon, the battle ends immediately!

Shieldon was blown back into its Poké Ball and lost its temporary ability to battle; after eliminating Shieldon, the ancient spirit seized the moment!

Heat Wave + Hurricane—the two furious storms surged again like a colossal whirlpool, merging into Fire Storm!

But replacing Shieldon was—

Brilliant light formed a shield, blocking Magmortar’s Fire Storm; a different kind of psychic power, originating from the cosmos, now manifested. Guang Tai was startled: though Deoxys had entered, its chest still bore a Poké Ball.

Huh? Is that Landclaw?!

“Ladon!”

Landclaw was curious about Deoxys, the Pokémon born from a meteorite—just as planets have soil, large meteorites carry cosmic soil too, though barren of nutrients.

In their exchange, Deoxys faintly sensed its core becoming highly active, gradually radiating powerful energy ripples; under Landclaw’s influence, some force seemed ready to erupt.

Cosmic power merged with terrestrial power!

Thus, Landclaw agreed to help Deoxys awaken that immense power—it wanted to see what abilities a Pokémon from the cosmos would master!

Ground? Rock? Steel?

Which one? Let’s find out now!

Oh, buddy, let’s perform a Fusion!

Landclaw unleashed the divine power of the earth, activating Deoxys’s crystal core; in an instant, the radiant warrior was engulfed in brilliant light, connected through the small tree on Sandshrew’s back to the cosmic stars!

Through telepathy, Guang Tai ordered Young Lady Qun to use the power of dreams to enhance Tutaigu’s abilities, while all the starlight Tutaigu received from outside the ancient city was channeled into Deoxys.

“What is that? Never mind the Dance of Fire!”

The ancient spirits possessing Yoge were unable to see the Pokémon within the blinding light!

And Volcarona, obeying the ancient spirits’ command, leaped once more into the Dance of Fire, symbolizing the sun!

Intense flames spread again throughout the Spirit Chamber, and the powerful ancient spirits surged like a tidal wave, aiming to immediately extinguish the cosmic spirit before them!

At that moment, Leafeon’s aura activated; the power from the cosmic stars allowed Leafeon to suddenly sense something—the earth’s aura generated an earth tremor, and the power from the cosmos was—

A meteor!

“Awooo!”

Leafeon’s star aura connected with the cosmos!

And Deoxys was the same—it gazed at Guang Tai, then at Mao Xiaogou; telepathy allowed them all to understand each other without words, knowing exactly what to do next!

Then, we’re counting on you, Leafeon!

Blue-purple starlight erupted from Mao Xiaogou’s paws!

The meaning of the meteor is: Dragon type!

“Leafeon has spontaneously learned ‘Dragon Aura’!”

Two beams of cosmic light, different in color, surged from its paws, then merged into one massive, multicolored dragon-shaped energy that bit down on its opponent, triggering a colossal explosion!

Among Pokémon, there is a move called Natural Power, which uses the forces of nature in battle—its form changes depending on the terrain. In the cosmos, this move manifests as the strongest Dragon-type technique: Meteor Shower!

The cosmos is the hunting ground of the great dragon—and its homeland!

Dragon Aura struck the incoming tide of flames; the furious fire compressed Dragon Aura’s power—then, at that exact instant, Deoxys completed its charge.

Powerful cosmic energy and light radiated from its body, forming a halo that raised its Special Attack by one stage—and then—

Deoxys absorbed the item “Life Droplet” granted by Guang Tai; in the instant it became immune to the fire impact, it crossed its hands in a cross shape—just as Guang Tai had shown it—and performed that especially flashy move!

“Deoxys is radiating cosmic power!”

The intense, pulsing energy sensed from the cosmic meteor, enhanced by Tutaigu, revealed its true form as a new move—

Meteor Beam!

Concentrate cosmic power to boost Special Attack, then unleash a violent attack!

Explosive cosmic rays shot from Deoxys’s arms, slicing through gaps in the firestorm and striking Volcarona with brutal speed!

The mighty Sun God fell before the assault of cosmic power; this final beam of light knocked it from the sky, and the endless ancient spirits were grievously wounded!

The tide began to recede; the ancient spirits were defeated. Without Volcarona as their vessel, they clung desperately to Yoge, waving the disc in their hands as if seeking a new target—or perhaps preparing to launch a Fighting move against Guang Tai!

“Mera!”

After hiding for ages, Pyroar finally seized its chance!

Eya! If I can’t beat Volcarona, can’t I at least beat you?!

Energy Ball?

No!

Watch me use Flame Charge, learned from Yan Emperor!

The old sage was knocked unconscious by Pyroar’s full-force impact, and the disc in his hand fell to the ground!

“Mera! (My attack worked!)” Pyroar, eyes sparkling with stars, strutted triumphantly over Yoge’s forehead.

But the disc still glowed fiercely, floating upward as if trying to possess Guang Tai’s body as a new vessel—when suddenly, the blue crystal pendant emitted a barrier of light to block its advance.

Along with it, the other pendant—the Miracle Diamond—also suddenly shot out a beam of light!

Enough!

The ancient spirits’ power began to retreat. Guang Tai seized the moment to pull Pyroar close, preventing the disc from any further aggression. Under the influence of both pendants, the furious ancient spirits finally understood: the hostile intruders who invaded the ancient city had been defeated, and the ones before them were the ones who had answered their call.

The intangible spirit energy coalesced into a solid, radiant orb like the sun, suspended above the Spirit Chamber, using the meditative disc as its vessel. From that solar radiance poured boundless emotion—joy, sorrow, anger—the ancient spirits, now embodied within the city, became an invisible, colossal source of searing power.

Come—

The solar spirit whispered a call, declaring that Guang Tai had passed their trial and successfully calmed them. As the one summoned, Guang Tai now bore a great mission—

“A great mission? You’re not going to say something like ‘revive the ancient city,’ are you? It’s been thousands of years—its people have spread across all of Unova, and all that remains here are ruins.”

Guang Tai preemptively warned them. The ancient spirits hesitated slightly, then quickly denied it.

Revival? Nonsense. Since the moment the ancient city fell, eons had passed—they knew it well.

But though the city was destroyed, the ancient will contained here must not be tarnished. It must find a worthy vessel.

We once existed. Time buried us—not anything else.

Therefore, there must be an “Ancient King!”

(End of Chapter)