Chapter 407: Black Rayquaza, Incoming! (Daily 10k Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Union Calendar Year 798, August 23rd.

Having confirmed his participation in the Summer Ice Sculpture Competition, Luo Mu began pondering how to proceed with carving practice.

The Pokémon responsible solely for producing ice blocks had it easy; their greatest worry was merely figuring out how to condense ice into the shapes Luo Mu needed, whereas the carving Pokémon had far more to consider.

Even if Ice Rider Calyrex, that hot-tempered Pokémon prone to charging recklessly, couldn't do anything at all, wasn't Regice and Crown Tundra Calyrex, who rides Ice Rider, still available?

In contrast, for the carving Pokémon to learn how to carve and train until their work was at least recognizable as something specific, even starting practice immediately might not be enough time.

The Summer Ice Sculpture Competition was scheduled for the last two days of August; during this period, after arriving at the venue prepared by the organizers, contestants would collaborate on-site with their Pokémon to carve ice sculptures.

In other words, by rough calculation, Luo Mu had only about a week left for practice.

Furthermore, the time allotted to contestants and their Pokémon for carving during the competition was a mere two days.

Compared to the situation before Luo Mu transmigrated, where projects often took over half a month, and as precision increased, the construction time would multiply exponentially.

The time limit given by the Ice Sculpture Competition couldn't even be considered extreme; it simply showed no intention of allowing anyone to successfully carve a work to their own satisfaction.

Of course, all these premises were merely Luo Mu applying the logic of his previous world.

This world possessed Pokémon.

Was the ice sculpting activity, which could only collect ice blocks when lake water froze in winter and had to be carved before the weather warmed up, truly limited to those short few months of life? Now, Luo Mu could simply ask Crown Tundra Calyrex to bring Ice Rider Calyrex and work with Regice to create a massive glacier.

As long as they didn't mind the trouble, they could reinforce it daily with Ice Beam, ensuring this great glacier would not melt in the scorching summer heat and would last until winter.

With the power of Pokémon, as long as one had a concrete idea and no issues with technique, two days were indeed sufficient to complete an ice sculpture work to one's satisfaction.

After confirming his participation in the Ice Sculpture Competition last night, Luo Mu had opened his laptop, logged onto the temporary website built by the organizers, and completed his registration.

He also took the opportunity to check his thread on the forum.

Regrettably, there was still no sign of a reply from the Captain; he was likely still exploring some ruin somewhere.

Fortunately, neither Luo Mu nor Greavard was in such a rush to immediately collect all the Paldean Gold Coins; they still had the patience to wait.

After all, collecting all 999 ancient gold coins was no easy task.

The farm's ice cellar.

After a brief consideration, Luo Mu decided to use this location as the venue for his ice carving practice during this period.

It was currently raining heavily outside, and the region would remain in the rainy season for quite some time to come.

Whether or not Thundurus had caught the "Husky spirit" from Arcanine, it insisted on running up the slope where it usually trained its moves—electrifying the ground until it was scorched black—just to stand in the rain.

Luo Mu did not wish to practice carving while soaked in rain, and the Pokémon couldn't endure it either; after much thought, he ultimately chose the underground ice cellar.

Although the temperature here was lower, the environment was indeed very suitable for practicing ice carving, and it was also perfect for the Sandslash couple, who were constantly worried about their children.

Since this place was near their nest, they could feel more at ease and focus more intently on learning carving techniques alongside Luo Mu.

Meanwhile, Luo Mu himself could wear extra layers of clothing, experiencing a winter-like environment while learning a new skill.

Just as Luo Mu gazed out over the ice cellar's pure white environment, covered in ice and snow apart from the storage area.

The dot-like eyes on Regice beside him blinked a few times, finally emitting a series of cries that seemed somewhat understandable to humans.

"Beep beep beep—"

At this moment.

Luo Mu miraculously understood Regice's meaning.

He nodded to Regice and said, "Yes, this is the spot; please create an ice block this large!"

As he spoke, Luo Mu roughly gestured the size of the ice block to Regice with his hands.

Regice nodded lightly (actually leaning its body forward); a cold Ice Beam shot out, and within mere breaths, a massive ice block matching Luo Mu's requirements formed.

The ice block itself, per Luo Mu's request, was a perfectly square cube.

Luo Mu hadn't expected Regice to understand aspects of shape so quickly; it was just like a mobile 3D ice printer.

When Luo Mu wanted to pat it in praise, he remembered Regice had once mentioned that because it emitted cold air every moment, it dared not let other Pokémon or Luo Mu touch it, so he ultimately settled for verbal praise instead.

"Well done!"

"Reji-ei!"

The frequency of the blinking yellow dots on Regice's face accelerated; it seemed extremely happy to receive praise, even swaying its body with greater amplitude.

After praising Regice, Luo Mu turned to look at the other Pokémon confirmed for the competition beside him.

There was Vulpix, ready to freeze a new layer of ice with Icy Wind whenever a carving mistake occurred, giving the team countless opportunities to try again.

There were the Sandslash couple, responsible for rough processing before carving, capable of creating the general shape.

And finally, Mimikyu and Ceruledge, who would carve the details and polish the shapes alongside Luo Mu.

Originally, Luo Mu had planned to invite Luxray and the others as well.

However, Serperior said it was busy teaching Combee what it means to be a queen, while Dragonite, due to the rare heavy rain, planned to take Hakuryu and the others for a walk in the sky outside.

As for Luxray, while guarding their safety, it also hoped to find a thundercloud with Dragonite's help to absorb lightning falling from nature, seeking to maximize the effects for when it later consumed the Spicy Herb.

By now, Luxray and the others should have already found the place where thunderclouds were gathering.

Pondering this, Luo Mu took out the blueprints he had specially printed and said, "Today's task is very simple; we just need to follow the steps on the blueprint to carve an ice sculpture basketball with a diameter of approximately 2.5 meters."

"Basically, the process is to cut and polish this ice block into a smooth ice sphere, then carefully carve the basketball patterns onto it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Mu looked at the several Pokémon and, seeing the light of understanding in their eyes, nodded and said, "Without further delay, let's begin!"

Meanwhile, in the wild.

Inside a tree hollow that was mostly hollow, a small pink figure curled its body up, carefully avoiding getting wet from the rain outside.

Tinkatuff tightly clutched more than ten black metal feathers it had collected against its chest, hoping these dozen feathers would bring it a sliver of warmth.

Although its current situation and appearance were somewhat down-and-out, Tinkatuff was extremely happy.

Not only had it discovered it was getting closer to those Corviknight that constantly shed feathers and were once targets of attacks by elders in its clan.

More importantly, such a life of struggle likely held great appeal for it.

At this moment, a sudden sound of hurried footsteps and flapping wings rang out from outside.

The little blacksmith couldn't resist its curiosity and peeked out of the tree hollow, only to immediately shrink its head back in.

What had it seen? A Luxray that looked extremely formidable, leading several other equally intimidating Dragonites and Hakamo, was running toward the direction where that mass of dark thunderclouds had gathered!

Why were they heading in that direction!? The little blacksmith felt somewhat afraid; not long ago, it had fled from that very direction.

Just recalling the sight of that long, slender figure shining with a faint golden glow, moving like a swimming dragon within the pitch-black cloud layer, made the little blacksmith's body tremble uncontrollably.

It knew that this big fellow was different from those Bisharp that had tried to snatch its hammer, and different from those Skarmory that could be knocked down by stones thrown by its elders.

That was a monster-like, powerful Pokémon that made other Pokémon unable to raise even the slightest thought of hostility from the bottom of their hearts.

That big fellow seemed to have an extremely strong territorial instinct; when the little blacksmith avoided its sharp edge and fled toward this side, many Flying-type Pokémon fell from the sky as if dumplings were being dropped into boiling water.

Pokémon like Trumbeak and Kilowattrel, among others.

After a while, the little blacksmith poked its head out again, looking toward that direction with some worry.

But the figures of the Luxray, the Dragonites, and the Hakamo had long since disappeared.

On the other side.

Led by the Dragonite, three Hakamo, and the Dragonite leader—these five Pokémon with extremely high sensitivity to the weather—the Luxray successfully spotted that dark thundercloud, Lei Yu, within which lightning wandered and light flickered in and out.

It wanted to absorb electrical energy, and also because Luo Mu had mentioned that he would distribute the remaining spicy seasoning powder to the Pokémon on the farm later.

After hearing about the immediate effects the seasoning had on the Combee, the Luxray began considering how to supplement its own nutrients and energy, so that it could perfectly absorb everything through the spicy seasoning when the time came.

In the recent battles against Lei Guan Wang, although it had suffered repeated defeats, the Luxray had also learned many techniques for fighting against existences far stronger than itself, and its control over its own power had improved by a level; this was exactly the right time to integrate all these gains through an increase in strength.

"Bo-wu bo-wu?" (Are you going to draw lightning now?)

The questioning cry of the Dragonite came from behind the Luxray.

It turned and nodded to the Dragonite, "Meow-ao." (The electrical energy in the clouds has accumulated enough; it's just right to draw it all down at once.) "Bo-wu!" (Then we'll watch from here, and fly up to play in the sky after the lightning disappears!) Saying this, the Dragonite took its mother and its three godmothers to step back a few paces, quietly waiting for the Luxray's performance.

The dark clouds were like ink, piling up layer upon layer in the firmament.

Rain poured down as if the firmament had split open a huge mouth; the raindrops falling in torrents wove into a dense, impenetrable net of a rain curtain. Wild winds whistled wantonly within the rain curtain, sweeping up fallen leaves and dust from the ground to form swirling small wind vortices; these small vortices suddenly rushed in all directions, emitting bursts of low, powerful moans.

Tree branches danced chaotically in the wild wind; if they struck a person's skin, they would likely leave behind red marks.

But the Luxray ignored these threats as if they didn't exist; its clear golden eyes seemed to pierce through the rain curtain, staring straight at the rolling, lightning-flashing thunderclouds high above in the firmament, each step it took firm and powerful.

A few breaths later, the Luxray arrived directly beneath the thundercloud.

Without immediately starting to draw lightning, the Luxray first glanced at the area slightly farther away, its brows slightly furrowed, as if somewhat puzzled as to why such a situation had occurred.

Compared to the scene here of howling winds and flashing lightning.

The area several kilometers away actually had no rain clouds at all, but instead enjoyed clear skies and bright sunshine, a situation distinctly different from what was happening here.

The Luxray remembered that Luo Mu seemed to have told it about this phenomenon before; it was called something like localized rainfall? But next, the Luxray had no time to worry about that side anymore.

Boom!

Hearing only a muffled thunderclap that resonated across the sky, the Luxray knew the time was about right.

It held nothing back; golden electric currents flickered around its body, and with a low roar from the Luxray, these currents all merged into the layered thunderclouds.

The next instant.

Boom!

A blinding lightning bolt fell from the firmament, striking the Luxray with extreme precision, just as if it were equipped with automatic tracking.

The Luxray felt not the slightest fear regarding this; the weak electric currents surrounding its body played their proper role, not only helping the Luxray disperse the power of the lightning but also giving the Luxray enough time to absorb the power released by the core of this natural thundercloud.

A few breaths passed; this bolt of lightning raised not the slightest ripple, being easily absorbed by the Luxray.

But this was merely an appetizer; both the Luxray and the thundercloud knew that the real skill was yet to come.

As an even more fierce storm arrived, the lightning in the sky became increasingly dense; every flash heralded the imminent release of even vaster energy, yet the Luxray did not stop while ahead, but instead added fuel to the fire, once again performing the same action as before, continuing to guide lightning bolts down.

This time, the lightning was far more fierce than the previous instance, seeming to continue endlessly; bolts of thunder capable of easily destroying everything transformed into surging currents of electricity, bombarding the Luxray below in dense waves.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The thunder roared, incessant to the ear.

Amidst the dense thunderstorm, time seemed to freeze; the wind and rain, the lightning, and the figure of the Luxray bathing within them together constituted a shocking picture.

The Dragonite stared blankly at the exaggerated scene before its eyes, its dragon body trembling.

Good heavens, Boss Luxray is becoming even more fierce.

As for the Dragonite's three godmothers and its biological mother, these four Dragon-type Pokémon were so full of admiration they were nearly prostrating themselves before the Luxray.

A moment later, the lightning dissipated, the thunder gradually subsided, and even the rain seemed to lessen; the entire world seemed to fall into a brief instant of tranquility.

But at this moment, the Dragonite and the others had no time to attend to the changes in the climate, simply because the Luxray's current state was too conspicuous.

Perhaps because it had entered the 【Full Charge Overload】 state for the first time in ages, every single hair on the Luxray stood on end, its mane flowing smoothly in the wind as if it had used Head & Shoulders shampoo, its whole body enveloped in dazzling electric light, its golden eyes unusually bright, as if at any moment it would perform a 【Electric Eyes Compelling】.

The Dragonite suspected that the current Boss Luxray could knock it unconscious with a single slap; right now, it was truly terrifyingly strong.

Perhaps because all the electrical energy that had been accumulated for so long had been exhausted on the Luxray, the thundercloud began to disperse, and bright sunlight spilled onto the earth.

This made the Dragonite, which had still been flying wantonly in the sky amidst the heavy rain, extremely anxious.

It hurriedly let out a howl toward the Luxray, then took its mother and its three godmothers to fly up toward the sky.

Just at this moment, the cloud layer seemed to accelerate its dispersal speed due to some unknown factor; in just a moment, the surrounding sky no longer looked like it had been pouring with heavy rain just before.

The Dragonite had no special reaction to this.

It merely stared fixedly at the majestic dragon head that first emerged from the dispersing cloud layer, its dragon scales almost standing on end.

As more and more of the cloud layer dispersed, the body behind that dragon head gradually became exposed.

It was a Pokémon possessing a huge, streamlined, slender dragon body.

Its entire body was pitch-black; its tightly fitted, smooth dragon scales were like fine black jade, and its whole body was evenly distributed with golden patterns that shone with a faint light.

Those clear, brilliant golden dragon pupils locked eyes with the Dragonite; from them, the Dragonite perceived no emotion that could be considered friendly, only the sorrowless and joyless demeanor of a god standing high above the heavens.

Next, the other party seemed to notice something; that ethereal and spiritual temperament changed instantly, and a majestic and domineering aura swept outward like a storm; the Dragonite felt that the air around it had suddenly become viscous in that instant, making even breathing much more difficult.

The Dragonite subconsciously wanted to mobilize the airflow to send its mother and its three godmothers away first, but it discovered that the surrounding airflow had become as if frozen, causing its feeling of commanding them at will to vanish, leaving behind only endless coldness.

"Bo-wu..."

Dragonite's pupils contracted sharply; it looked at the majestic giant flying dragon before it in disbelief. This was the first time it had ever encountered such a situation! But in the next second, Dragonite had no leisure to ponder these things.

The other party seemed to have made some judgment; it opened its lower jaw and unleashed a dragon's roar originating from ancient times—

"ROAAAR—!!!"

The meaning of the dragon's roar was simple; as a Dragon-type Pokémon, Dragonite made its judgment and translation the instant it heard the sound.

This huge black flying dragon felt that they had intruded upon its territory.

In an instant, a heavy sense of crisis surged into Dragonite's heart.

Subconsciously, it condensed Dragon-type energy—this time encountering no obstruction—and unleashed a Dragon Pulse roaring toward the sky. Its target was not that pitch-black giant flying dragon, but rather the Dragonite leader and the three Hakuryu! The Dragon Pulse exploded; the Dragonite leader and the Hakuryu fell toward the ground like kites with severed strings. For this strike, Dragonite had gauged its strength perfectly: enough to carry the four elders, who had been awed by the opponent's aura, out of this trouble spot, yet not enough to inflict serious injury upon them.

As for Dragonite itself, the moment it saw sky-blue energy suddenly wreathing the pitch-black giant flying dragon's body and that winding form straighten horizontally, it activated the only move that might allow it to contend with the beast—【Extreme Speed】! Under the state of Extreme Speed, Dragonite's dynamic vision, reaction speed, and flight speed all underwent a qualitative improvement; the atmosphere that had felt like a quagmire, making movement difficult, gradually vanished. Pity it could not use air currents to accelerate; otherwise, Dragonite would have become even faster.

Just as Dragonite intended to withdraw, find Luxray Boss to discuss whether to retreat, engage in battle, or call for reinforcements, a scene that filled it with horror occurred in an instant.

The opponent accelerated instantly, like an intercontinental ballistic missile traveling at supersonic speeds—no, far exceeding that. A straight sky-blue line, carrying overwhelming might, charged at Dragonite! The surrounding shockwaves scattered; air resistance was as good as nonexistent to the opponent.

Fortunately, it seemed that the Luxray below, upon seeing the Dragonite leader and the Hakuryu fall, had sensed something amiss. It launched a Thunder straight into the heavens. Under a fully charged, overloaded state, the power of Thunder was unparalleled; even that powerful pitch-black flying dragon could not ignore it, and its movements halted for an instant.

Seizing the opportunity created by Luxray Boss in that instant, Dragonite flapped its dragon wings with all its might, activated Extreme Speed, and plunged straight down toward the ground.

Luxray also used this chance to clearly see the true form of the creature attacking Dragonite and the others in the sky.

In just an instant, Luxray froze on the spot.

Wasn't that Rayquaza, whom Luo Mu had once told it about—the one reigning supreme at the apex of the sky, incomparably powerful, and also their goal to surpass? Up above.

Originally, after driving those weak ants out of its territory, Rayquaza had been too lazy to pursue them further.

But feeling a tingling sensation emanating from a certain part of its body, from the scales struck by lightning, it developed a keen interest in the fellow below that had aided that little dragon.

After a brief thought, Rayquaza twisted its form with extreme agility in the sky, released 【Dragon Ascent】, and flew downward.

It wanted to see whether this little fellow could bring it a surprise.

Apart from that green junior, who shared the ozone layer domain with it on the other end of the planet, it had not encountered anyone interesting in a very long time.

Farm ice cellar.

Looking at the ice-sculpted basketball before him, about 2.5 meters in diameter and covered in fine patterns, Luo Mu wore a satisfied smile.

After letting the Pokémon go off to play on their own and admiring the ice-sculpted basketball for a while longer, he walked out of the ice cellar.

The moment he stepped out of the ice cellar, Luo Mu froze on the spot.

The sky was cloudless for ten thousand li; warm sunlight showered down upon him, making Luo Mu, clad in thick cold-weather gear, even feel a bit stiflingly hot.

If not for the puddles still remaining on the ground, proving that the heavy rain just now had truly existed, Luo Mu would have almost thought he was still dreaming.

"That's not right; didn't the weather forecast say this period would be the rainy season?"

Luo Mu voiced a doubt similar to that of Meng Lei Gu.

At that moment, accompanied by a hurried sound of hooves and the splashing of puddles being trampled, two tall shadows blocked out the sunlight.

Luo Mu looked up slightly and discovered it was Shadow Rider and Lei Guan Wang, who was mounted upon Ice Rider.

Upon arrival, Lei Guan Wang did not beat around the bush and asked directly: "In an instant, the dark clouds in the sky were dispelled all at once by some kind of power."

"The scale of this power, in my estimation, radiates across the entire continent of Paldea and even parts of the sea. You understand what I mean, don't you?"

Luo Mu's pupils contracted; immediately, a figure he could never forget surfaced in his mind.

Could it be... Lei Guan Wang gazed toward some direction in the wild again, its eyes deep and far-reaching: "In the distance, there are fluctuations produced by fierce battles. One of those auras is extremely noble; I fear it is no less than mine."

"As for the other few..." Lei Guan Wang paused for an instant, then quickly continued: "They are the auras of Luxray, Dragonite, and Dragonite's family!"

(End of Chapter)