Chapter 257: The Final Step

The next morning, Huo La yawned and, still half‑asleep, curled up on the grass‑pile bed in the ShuWu when a rapid series of knocks went "thump thump thump" against the door, driving away his last drowsiness.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up, and opened the door; standing outside was Zhu Bei, whose crisp Pearl Team uniform made her posture upright, but her expression was unusually solemn.

"Captain Zhu Bei, what brings you here so early?" Huo La's voice was still hoarse from just waking.

"Come down quickly, we'll talk after," Zhu Bei said, her tone unquestionable, eyes fixed on Huo La, clearly urgent.

Huo La froze for a moment, seeing her grave demeanor, not a joke, and forced himself to rally: "Alright, I'll put on a shirt and come down right away."

Zhu Bei nodded, said nothing more, turned, and leapt down toward the base of the ShuWu.

Huo La peeked out and was instantly startled awake—the ShuWu was at least three stories tall, its base solid rock and massive roots!

In the next second, he saw Zhu Bei agilely touch a few interlaced branches, using them to cushion her fall, and in the blink of an eye she landed steadily on the ground, moving as smoothly as a Pokémon darting through the forest.

"Sure enough, she's a 'primitive' from Hisui; those skills are absurd," Huo La muttered inwardly, quickly turned, slipped on his coat, and hurried down the wooden ladder outside the ShuWu.

Just as he reached the plaza where he had dined with Ju Yi last night, Huo La saw Dr. Laventon bustling around a massive iron pot, a vigorous campfire blazing beneath it, bubbles gurgling inside, emitting a strange odor.

A few Pearl Team members were assisting nearby, some adding firewood, others passing items.

Ju Yi and Zhu Bei stood aside, their gazes focused on Dr. Laventon's movements.

"Dr. Laventon, what are you simmering?" Huo La stepped forward, unable to hold back his question.

Hearing the voice, Dr. Laventon immediately set down his stirring spoon, handed it to a nearby Pearl Team member, and instructed, "Keep stirring, never stop, until it becomes thick and immovable!"

After explaining, he hurried to Huo La and the others, his face alight with barely contained excitement: "Huo La, you finally came down! I have an idea that might completely solve the Axe Mantis King's RageState problem!"

"That fast?" Huo La's face was full of surprise. He had only just suppressed the Axe Mantis's RageState last night; a single night later, Dr. Laventon already had a solution?

"Not really fast," Dr. Laventon waved his hand, his tone earnest. "I've been studying spacetime fissures and Abnormal Energy near the Giant Tree Battlefield for several days; after watching your battle with the Axe Mantis King last night, the idea suddenly clicked, and I thought of this viable method. However, it requires your help."

"What do you need me to do?" Huo La asked immediately.

"Sit down first, I'll explain slowly." Dr. Laventon gestured for him to sit on a nearby stone, then sat himself and began, "Through my recent research, I've confirmed that the Axe Mantis King's RageState originates from the thunder that struck down from a spacetime fissure in the sky."

"That thunder carried a massive amount of chaotic Spacetime Energy, which penetrated its body and drove it mad."

"In theory, if we can completely strip away that portion of Abnormal Energy, it will return to normal," he paused, then continued, "The biggest hurdle before was how to approach it without harming it. With you now, that problem is largely solved."

"Me?" Huo La was puzzled. "I only barely suppressed it last night, didn't do anything special."

"Your battle style last night gave me the key insight," Dr. Laventon's eyes lit up. "Being able to directly contend with the Axe Mantis King in RageState is already difficult. Especially your use of a fiery vortex to scorch at high temperature, then having Sticky Beauty cool it with bubbles, was crucial."

"After the Axe Mantis King calmed down last night, I took the chance to observe it up close—after all it was poisoned and needed simple treatment. I found numerous fine cracks on its axe‑shaped forelimbs and on parts of its Rock Armor."

"I immediately guessed those cracks were caused by sudden water cooling after high‑temperature scorching. Back at the lab I ran experiments, and indeed, my hypothesis was correct!"

As a modern person versed in science, Huo La nodded, "When rock is heated then suddenly cooled, thermal expansion and contraction indeed cause cracks. The Axe Mantis King is Bug/Rock type; its armor is naturally rock, especially the twin axes, so the effect is even more pronounced."

"Exactly!" Dr. Laventon praised him, then pointed to the massive iron pot, "What's simmering in the pot is Strong Hypnotic Agent. My plan: you continue fighting the Axe Mantis King using last night's tactics; Captain Zhu Bei will have her Vaporeon support you—Vaporeon's Water‑type moves are stronger and can better cooperate with your Fire Rock Mouse to create a 'high‑temperature cooling' effect, aiming to shatter and crack its Rock Armor."

"Once the armor develops sufficiently large cracks, you'll throw this bottle of Strong Hypnotic Agent onto it. The agent will seep through the cracks into its body, rendering it fully unconscious. Then I can safely approach and attempt to strip the Abnormal Energy from within!"

"Um… good idea," Huo La said insincerely, though inside he couldn't stop murmuring—the plan sounds feasible, but the risk is huge, especially the final energy‑stripping step, which is completely unknown.

He paused, then asked, "Dr. Laventon, how will you separate the Abnormal Energy inside it?"

Dr. Laventon's excitement faded, his expression grew solemn; he tipped his hat, saying with a hint of helplessness, "There's no concrete method yet; we can only wait until it's unconscious, locate the core of the Abnormal Energy, then try to guide its removal with a specially made device."

He looked at Huo La, eyes firm: "But we have to try; otherwise we can't handle the crisis from spacetime fissures. If more fissure energy spreads to other Kings or Pokémon, the entire Hisui will fall into chaos."

Huo La fell silent, turned his head toward Zhu Bei, and asked, "Captain Zhu Bei, what do you think?"

Zhu Bei inhaled deeply, her gaze sweeping over the distant Giant Tree Battlefield, voice heavy yet resolute: "I support Dr. Laventon's idea. We have to try; it's the only option right now."

She paused, her voice dropping lower, tinged with a barely perceptible pain: "If in the end there's truly no solution, we'll have to take the final step."

"What final step?" Huo La's heart lurched, a bad omen rising.

Zhu Bei lifted her head, met Huo La's gaze, and said word for word, "Kill it."

"!!!" Huo La's eyes widened suddenly, disbelief in his stare, "Kill it? Why?"

Dr. Laventon took over, his tone equally grave: "If we can't separate it, killing it is the best way to stop the energy's spread; sacrificing one saves the whole forest, more Pokémon and humans. It's the cruelest, yet most helpless choice."

Huo La's heart sank.

He watched Zhu Bei and Dr. Laventon's solemn faces, knowing they weren't joking.

On one side stood the Pokémon King protecting Hisui; on the other, the safety of the whole forest. The choice was unbearably hard.

No wonder many Pokémon forms vanished in later ages; a large part of that reason lies here.

"I understand." Huo La remained silent for a long while, then slowly nodded, his gaze becoming resolute, "I'll cooperate with you. But I hope we succeed, so we don't have to take that step."

Zhu Bei looked at him, nodded, her tone carrying a hint of gratitude: "Thank you, Huo La. We don't want this either."

At that moment, a Pearl Team member handling the iron pot shouted, "Dr. Laventon, the hypnotic agent is ready! It's so thick it can't be stirred!"

Dr. Laventon immediately stood, hurried over, carefully poured the viscous liquid from the pot into a series of specially made glass bottles, tightened the caps, and handed them to Huo La: "These Strong Hypnotic Agents, keep them safe. Use them only after the armor has large enough cracks; otherwise they won't penetrate."

Huo La took the glass bottles; they were ice‑cold to the touch, the liquid a deep green, emitting a faint fresh scent, showing no sign of being a potent agent that could knock out a Pokémon King.

"Alright, it's getting late." Zhu Bei stood, summoned her Vaporeon, "Let's go. Hope everything goes smoothly."

Huo La nodded, summoned his Fire Rock Mouse, Leaf Eevee, and Claw‑tail Scorpion.

The three Pokémon, though still a bit weary, kept steadfast eyes, ready for battle.

The party walked toward the depths of the Giant Tree Battlefield, the air seeming to grow heavier.