Golurk's power matched its massive size. Each punch carried overwhelming force.
Fortunately, its Ability wasn't No Guard. Otherwise, even Mega Gengar would've only managed a draw at best.
But if it was just Iron Fist or Klutz, then Gengar had nothing to fear.
"Keep your distance. Shadow Ball, continuous fire." No elaborate commands were needed, just repeated use of Shadow Ball was enough to toy with the slow-moving Golurk.
Boom Boom Boom!
After Mega Evolution, Gengar's lower half seemed permanently phased into another dimension, completely unaffected by terrain.
Gengar fired Shadow Balls in rapid succession, striking from a different position each time, circling Golurk nonstop.
Those giant iron fists were certainly intimidating… but what good were they if they couldn't land a hit?
"LUUUR!"
After taking over a dozen hits from Shadow Ball, even with Golurk's high defense and massive health, it couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Then, Golurk suddenly retracted its fists and slammed them straight into the ground.
Thud!
The deep impact echoed like a thunderous drum, and a dozen earthy-yellow energy waves burst outward, attacking everything indiscriminately.
Earth Power; in full-area mode!
Ralts quickly used its psychic power to lift Sato into the air, letting him watch in lingering fear as the ground collapsed beneath him into a massive crater.
Looking from above, centered on Golurk, over a dozen collapsed pits had spread out to cover nearly the entire cavern.
"Gar~"
Mega Gengar emerged from one of the pits. Had it not used Protect at the last moment, it might have come out in pieces.
"Keep going. Use Shadow Ball!"
Golurk's sudden outburst had its cost. It was the equivalent of firing off multiple Earth Power moves at once; it would need a while to recover.
And that was more than enough time for Gengar to act.
A barrage of Shadow Balls bombarded Golurk. No need to aim. Its massive body and the cavern's tight space made it impossible to miss.
After all, a powerful Golurk… could fly.
But Mega Gengar's Speed and Special Attack had received a huge boost. Even standard Shadow Balls were now packing terrifying power.
Though Golurk was extremely unwilling, it was ultimately overwhelmed by the Ghost-type move that countered it.
In the end, when the over-three-meter-tall Golurk collapsed, the tremor it caused shook the ground.
Proof of its sheer tonnage.
Mega Gengar pulled out the Blue Flag and casually handed the flag to Sato.
Looking at the ruined state of the cavern, Sato wasn't even sure if the hidden cameras had captured him obtaining the flag.
"…Let's just count it for now," Sato muttered to himself.
"Teleport. This place made way too much noise; others are bound to come," Sato said to Ralts on his shoulder while recalling Gengar.
Ralts's Teleport could only send them to places it had physically visited, so now it could take them straight back to the crossroads and escape pursuit.
This greatly sped up Sato's exploration, and it was the reason he had been so pleasantly surprised when Ralts asked to join the trial.
---
Meanwhile, outside Vertress Cave, countless corporate executives, League officials, and veteran Trainers were being jolted awake by a wave of panicked phone calls.
But when news came of a new kind of evolution -potentially not limited to a single Pokémon- everyone's first reaction was: how could that be possible?
There was a well-known fact in the Pokémon world: no matter how powerful a Pokémon is, it can only evolve twice at most.
And yet now, a Pokémon that had already undergone its second and final evolution had, with a Trainer's aid, undergone a third evolution.
All of this, orchestrated by a boy who looked no more than 13 or 14 years old…
That's right, a genius Trainer from League Headquarters.
One of those "country Trainers" they used to look down on?
Turning on the television, the footage of Sato commanding Mega Gengar in battle against Golurk was now being broadcast, complete with commentary.
["According to Elite Four Drake of the Pokémon League Headquarters, Mega Evolution is a temporary evolution initiated by the cooperation between a Trainer and their Pokémon.
Though temporary, the boost in power is immense. Originally, this Ghost-type Pokémon with golden eyes and a purple body -yes, this is Gengar- was only at Elite level.
But after Mega Evolution, it astonishingly reached Mid Pseudo-Elite Four…"]
---
On TV, the news about Mega Evolution continued looping, while Sato had already set off with his Pokémon toward the next suspicious location to collect Mission Flags.
'Toto, a lot of people are awake now. It'll be hard to avoid them all."
'Toto…?'
Ralts's Telepathy echoed in Sato's mind, as numerous green dots suddenly lit up and moved on the virtual map.
"Ignore teams of two or less. If it's three or more, avoid them for now," Sato said confidently, he could already take on two alone.
Ralts rolled its eyes. 'Isn't that all thanks to me?' Now he was acting all cool in front of their own team.
It made her want to call him out.
…But considering the long-term supply of Sweet Milk, Ralts chose to remain silent.
Following the newly marked suspicious point on the virtual map, Sato thought for a moment, then headed toward a fork with two flickering green lights.
"Ralts, prepare Hypnosis. Gengar, get ready for Dream Eater."
Gengar spent stamina could be replenished by using Dream Eater.
In the shadows, Ralts's blood-red eyes widened as invisible waves of hypnotic energy blanketed the dim hallway.
A boy and girl crept forward cautiously, accompanied by a Vanilluxe and a Cryogonal.
They looked like siblings. But even as they stepped fully into the range of Hypnosis, they showed no sign of awareness.
Thud! Thud!
Two heavy sounds came from behind. The siblings turned to look, but the moment they did, their heads went blank and their legs buckled, collapsing to the ground.
Sato slowly emerged, and Gengar trotted over on its own, golden pupils gleaming as if peering into the hearts of Cryogonal and Vanilluxe.
After a moment, Gengar -now looking re-energized- gave the two Pokémon a strange look, and Sato, seeing this, didn't waste any time and moved on.
Bit by bit, he made further gains. Counting everything, Sato had collected 5 White Flags, 2 Green Flags, and 1 rare Blue Flag… and by then, it was nearly five in the morning.
More early risers were starting to move about, so Sato gave up on solo actions and returned to the team.
.
.
.
150 PW ▼ Extra chap