In a distant, alternate dimension, there was a world where the sky was pitch-black, and the only way to obtain light was through the gigantic light-energy tower in the center of the city.
That tower's official name was Megalo Tower. Of course, calling it the Spark Tower wasn't really wrong either.
This was a tower the people of that world built with the power of their civilization's science. It illuminated their world. It was an artificial sun. It was also the strongest restraint device they had.
The city's skyscrapers carried an ultra-futuristic vibe, a colossal metropolis of science.
Its name was—Ultra Megalopolis.
Yet the city's overall silhouette was uniformly black, like sharp mineral spires. You had to look carefully, relying on the tower's glow, just to make out whether the buildings even had windows.
Under the light, the architecture took on a faintly cyberpunk feel.
The people who lived here were different too. Their skin tone wasn't like that of people in the normal world—without constant illumination, it appeared as an eerie pale blue.
"The tower exists to suppress the Blinding One."
"We just want the rampaging god to stop going mad."
No one knew who said it. Someone was watching the plasma-bright tower from afar.
At the very top of the tower, a massive creature—pitch-black all over, like a prism twisted into a mechanical shape—was crouched there, drawing in those meager sparks of light.
UB: Black.
Its name was Necrozma, also known as the Light-Devouring Pokémon.
The power of science was gradually failing to hold this violent god in check. It still worked, but only barely. And then—suddenly—Necrozma, the colossal beast the distant Alola region called the Light-Devouring Pokémon, sensed something.
From the gaps and fractures in its body, particles of light began to seep out in a constant surge.
That light pierced distant spacetime, resonating with the Prism Star fragments that had fallen into other dimensions. Through that resonance, Necrozma sensed something even brighter.
Most of the lights were weak.
Some, however, were far too strong.
And some had fallen into worlds of dusk, aridity, bitter cold, and darkness—forgotten, unclaimed, impossible to retrieve.
But not long ago—
Within one Prism Star, it had felt a violent flare of light.
And along with it, a faint echo, barely there.
"Rii-no!"
"Rii-no" meant "shining" in that faraway place.
It was the howl Necrozma made when it craved light.
Its former mighty form had vanished completely. All that remained was a physical wreck of itself, a body that existed for revenge.
Its reason had long since evaporated into nothing.
What remained was only instinct—an animal hunger for light—and a wrathful heart that raged like a beast.
A Prism Star. Found it. Found the Prism Star that was glowing.
"Ahh… the Blinding One sensed something…?!"
"Blinding One, please don't be angry again…"
Below the tower, a group of people in strange investigation uniforms—like a security unit from a sci-fi film—were praying.
The civilians who had gathered near the metropolis had already been evacuated into high-rises and homes to shelter.
It wasn't as if scientific instruments would break that easily.
But what had the Blinding One seen, to become so excited and violent?
Not long ago, the same thing had happened. Vast energy had pulsed outward through Megalo Tower, throwing the entire city into chaos.
The investigators murmured among themselves.
A young man named Dulse said, "It's missing part of its body. It can't control light, so it can only suffer… endlessly."
"We've always used science to suppress Necrozma, while also using science to manufacture light."
"The Blinding One and us—we both lost our original light, and we've endured these long ages in a way no one ever wanted."
A young girl named Zossie said, "Our tests are almost complete. We'll repay the sin our ancestors committed."
"When the Child of the Stars finishes evolving into Lunala, we'll be able to cross the distant spacetime and go to the other world where you once scattered your radiance, and investigate."
Zossie lowered her head.
"Please… endure it."
Necrozma searched.
It sifted.
It clawed through endless spacetime, hunting for the source of that energy.
Where was the coordinate of the Prism Star that had found new light?
It was… the same coordinate as last time, when it had resonated with some wicked ideology.
And yet, the painful echoes weren't confined to one place.
That meant that in every parallel timeline, its body had been stolen.
Necrozma crouched back down, continuing to drink in the Spark Tower's light, listening to the girl's prayer.
In the eternal pain brought by that plasma Spark Tower…
Zossie's words became the pillar propping up the god of light—
Please endure it.
Those words were a curse.
——————
On Hikaru's backpack, inside the Master Ball, Deoxys's eye suddenly lit up.
The Warrior of Light sensed it.
A ripple from a distant spacetime seemed to be searching… scanning…?
At the same time, on the western side of Glaseado Mountain—
Under the night sky, the rival battle began swiftly. Grusha served as the referee.
In a short time, Rika had captured three new Pokémon, and their typings had clearly been chosen with care.
To raise Pokémon to near her team's average level in such a short period—those Pokémon's natural levels had to be high to begin with.
Hikaru said, "Gallade, sure, fine. But why are the other two specifically aimed at Steel-types and Fighting-types? Aren't you the Ground-type Elite Four member?"
"You're not even bringing out a single Ground-type in the rematch?"
Rika shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Honestly. If Paldea had Gliscor, I'd absolutely make it my ace."
"Next time I add Gliscor to my team, it'll be when I have time to go back home."
"But even if it's not Ground-type, who cares? I'll just Terastallize into Ground. Terastal solves everything."
Hikaru's gaze shifted over Rika's lineup, because one Pokémon was staring at his side with intense hostility—no, more like a blazing urge to challenge.
"By the way, that Primeape…?"
It looked familiar.
"You're… are you the one I ran into before?"
Besides the noble, knightlike Gallade, Rika's two new partners were Primeape and Corviknight.
A Ground-type Elite Four member with no Ground-types—fine, Terastal fixes everything.
Primeape's brow bulged with angry veins, its fists windmilling as it practically seethed.
Rika said, "I ran into this Primeape on the road. It looked like it sprinted here from really far away. It beat up a lot of Pokémon along the way. I saw how strong it was, fought it, and then I caught it."
She looked confused. "Do you know it? It's getting way too excited after seeing you."
"Excited, huh." Hikaru's expression turned extremely subtle. "Yeah, its anger is basically spilling out of its pores."
"Do you know Primeape's defining trait?"
Rika's smile turned a bit dopey. "Huh? It used to be common in Kanto, right? Not as common in Johto. I'm not a Fighting-type specialist—just heard it gets mad for no reason, and once it gets mad it starts punching everything. Super strong. Hard to make it a partner. I had a rough time with it, too."
Hikaru said, "Exactly. Primeape goes into a rage for reasons no one understands. If you meet its eyes, it gets mad. If you turn to run, it gets mad. Even if it flattens the target, it's still mad."
"It doesn't forgive the person or Pokémon that angered it. It'll chase them nonstop, and even after beating them until they can't move, it still won't forgive them."
"It's a brutal Pokémon that will pursue whatever made it angry all the way to the ends of the earth and crush it."
He paused, then pointed at himself.
"In other words, the thing that's got it this furious is me."
"Huh?" Rika froze, glanced at the restless Primeape beside her, and looked completely at a loss.
Hikaru thought for a moment. "My Charcadet, back when we were in the western area, ran into a wild Primeape. They fought for dozens of turns. We finally beat it, then got back on the road. It was a pretty grueling match."
Rika said, "So it left absolutely no impression on you at all! Oh—Primeape looks depressed. Uh? It's even angrier now?!"
Primeape started swinging its fists, like it was about to explode from sheer fury. Its anger surged upward.
"Okori!"
It screamed something unintelligible and suddenly went berserk, throwing a punch straight at Hikaru.
Rika jolted. "Primeape!"
"It's fine." Hikaru spoke faster than Rika could react. He caught Primeape's fist cleanly—then felt an eerie energy inside that strike.
"Oh, nice. That's the move you used before, but it's stronger than last time. So you came back to challenge us again?"
"That means you've completely turned that ghostly iron fist into pure rage. I can read it."
"But even if that move hits hard, your Fighting fundamentals are still too soft. You're not developed enough yet."
As the words landed, Primeape felt the world flip.
The human in front of it suddenly dropped low, and a tremendous force lifted Primeape up—
Then Hikaru slammed it aside and flung it away.
A heavy shock thudded into the ground. Primeape landed on its butt, stunned.
That human—TMD, that human just threw me?!
What was that? A move?!
Hikaru said, "I didn't spend seven days and seven nights training for nothing. Tonight's the seventh night."
"Besides, some moves were originally developed by humans and later learned by Fighting-type Pokémon. And some martial techniques used by Fighting-type Pokémon can be learned by humans too. Fighting is a surprisingly broad 'type,' when you look at it that way."
"What I just used was Circle Throw."
Power 60. Priority -6.
It throws the target and forces a switch. If the target is a wild Pokémon, the battle ends immediately.
And in human martial arts, Circle Throw is the classic sacrifice throw in judo—dropping yourself to execute a toss.
In other words, it's a kind of grappling technique.
Rika said, "That's ridiculous. That was an extremely enraged Primeape!"
"You caught its punch with your bare hands, and then you just tossed it. What is your body made of? Your specialty is Steel—did your flesh turn into steel too?"
Grusha said, "I really want to say that was a chilling strike, but I can't even get the words out. That was absurd."
Then the ice-cool pretty boy suddenly got curious and asked with genuine interest, "So… could you throw something like a Cetoddle too? Could you? I want to see."
Rika just stared at him. "Grusha, don't ask weird questions like that. Do you want to stop being human? He's not a circus act."
Then she turned back to Hikaru. "What was up with that punch?"
"You said you learned a new move. I felt something ominous coming off that fist… like—ugh—bone-deep cold. But I didn't feel that earlier on Glaseado Mountain. Is it because Volcarona is too far away now?"
Hikaru waved it off and tapped his head. "Not exactly. There's a kind of cold that hits your soul. That's the shiver Ghost-types give you."
"They say Primeape's rage accelerates blood circulation and makes its muscles stronger, but it slows the brain down."
"And sometimes it gets so angry it just dies. When it dies, its expression is peaceful."
"But compared to other Pokémon, its brain blood vessels are sturdier, so even if it keeps raging it can stay energetic."
"So if it reaches the critical point of rage—but doesn't get to die peacefully—then it…"
He looked at them. "Paldea hasn't observed Primeape's evolution yet?"
Rika and Grusha blurted at almost the same time, "Evolution?!"
Primeape's "death foreshadowing" has been around for ages. One era said its rage accelerates blood flow. Another said it can die of rage with a peaceful expression.
So the question becomes—maybe its evolution had been in the design notes for a long time.
"When its rage breaks the limit, when it can't die, when its power explodes and breaks free of the flesh—Primeape evolves into a higher stage!"
"Looks like you two don't know that Pokémon yet? But you'll probably discover one soon."
"All it needs is to know one move and use it twenty times."
"The move is Rage Fist—turning rage into power. The more times it's been hit, the stronger the move becomes!"
"This guy's used it quite a few times already. When it fought us before, it lasted thirty turns. It didn't use the move on every single strike, but it probably grasped it by instinct back then. Now it's refined it."
"If it lands five more uses, it'll evolve. Its name is… Annihilape. The Rage Monkey Pokémon."
"Legends say it condenses the rage buried deep in its heart into its fists, and the power sinks into the opponent's bones and shatters them completely."
Annihilape—an answer of "it died," and yet it didn't. The result is deathlike.
"Legends?" Rika looked baffled. "We've never even seen that Pokémon. How can there be legends about it? When I was in Johto, I never heard Primeape could evolve."
She turned to Grusha. "Have you?"
Grusha thought for a moment. "...Maybe I've heard something."
"Huh?" Rika blinked.
Grusha explained, "In Montenevera, there's a rapper. She claimed she's seen something called 'a thing not of this world.' She said it looked like a monkey."
"Now that I hear Primeape has an evolution, and it's tied to death… then its evolution is Ghost-type?"
Hikaru snapped his fingers. "Correct. Same typing as the shadow of a god from distant Alola's legends: Fighting/Ghost."
"As for abilities: Vital Spirit, Inner Focus, Defiant."
"And don't bother guessing how I know. Legends didn't spread in the past—but starting now, they're spreading from me."
"What people pass along by word of mouth becomes a legend."
He blinked. "But do you really want to evolve?"
"After you become Annihilape, you'll live in constant rage. I mean, you're basically already there, but as far as I know—"
"Only when no one is around you do you stop being angry. And almost no one has ever witnessed that."
"Sometimes… you just want to let a monkey be alone, you know?"
"Please endure it."
Primeape didn't speak.
Its rage abruptly halted, and it went strangely quiet, rubbing its almost-nonexistent chin with a bizarre expression.
Well, maybe it wasn't rubbing its chin. Maybe it was rubbing its nose.
Evolution always carries risks, but if I can't wash away that humiliation, then even dying won't let me rest.
"And if you die and still can't wash it away?"
(End of Chapter)
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