At the summit of Stark Mountain, waves of scorching heat rolled endlessly through the air.
Inside the volcano, magma churned and surged without pause, like raging tides ready to swallow everything in their path, threatening to erupt at any moment.
At this time, Heatran was sealed deep at the bottom of the volcano. The immense volcanic power continuously supplied energy to sustain the seal.
As long as the volcano could be made to erupt completely, Heatran's seal would be lifted—and that would be the moment for them to move in and capture Heatran.
Just then, the space near the crater suddenly twisted and distorted. Aven's figure slowly emerged, accompanied by Lilligant, Froslass, and Gardevoir.
"Hm? They're here?" The four Grand Sorcerers quickly turned their heads toward the direction where Aven appeared, facing him across the volcanic crater.
"So, the Grand Sorcerers of the Sorcerer Organization… looks like we made it just in time."
Aven's expression was solemn as he looked toward the Grand Sorcerers. Beside each of them stood several Pokémon.
The brown-robed Grand Sorcerer was accompanied by Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon. He was clearly the controller of Landorus, specializing in Ground and Rock-type Pokémon.
Beside the blue-robed Grand Sorcerer were Electric-type Pokémon—he was undoubtedly the controller of Thundurus. As for the green-robed Grand Sorcerer, the Pokémon at his side were Flying-types, corresponding to Tornadus.
TN: I think they're based on the color of the Force of Nature Pokémon they're controlling not on typing.
The last was the black-robed Grand Sorcerer, someone Aven knew all too well. He had once controlled Darkrai and specialized in Ghost-type Pokémon. After such a long series of battles, he was clearly the weakest among the four Grand Sorcerers.
"Black Robe, be ready to capture Heatran at any moment. Leave this guy to us," the brown-robed Grand Sorcerer said coldly.
From Black Robe's reports, they already knew how terrifying Aven's strength had become. Ordinary King-level magical beast were simply incapable of standing against him.
The blue-robed and green-robed Grand Sorcerers nodded simultaneously, waving their hands toward the Pokémon beside them. In an instant, a large number of Pokémon surged forward, charging straight toward Aven as violent energy fluctuations erupted from their bodies!
"Garchomp, Nidoking, Infernape, Golurk, Dusknoir… everyone, come out!"
The moment Aven appeared, he grabbed the backpack behind him. With a firm pull, Poké Balls spilled rapidly from within.
In the next instant, a large number of Pokémon appeared on the battlefield. These were all King-level and pseudo–King-level Pokémon Aven had subdued during this period. The aura they released was not inferior to their opponents in the slightest!
Very quickly, the Pokémon from both sides collided. Explosive waves of energy thundered across the battlefield, splitting it into numerous zones of combat. Attacks of every element flew chaotically through the air!
"So, these are the so-called Poké Balls… truly unbelievable creations," the brown-robed Grand Sorcerer exclaimed with emotion.
The first time he had seen Poké Balls, he had been shocked. Almost instantly, he realized just how enormous their value was.
If they could successfully obtain these Poké Balls, they would be able to capture all kinds of magical beasts far more easily. In a sense, Poké Balls were vastly superior to traditional beast-controlling gears!
His gaze lingered on Aven with great interest. If possible, he intended to capture Aven alive. Such an outstanding talent not serving their Lord the Demon God was simply too great a waste.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Lilligant beside Aven suddenly moved. She directly activated Grassy Terrain, spreading it across the battlefield. It suppressed the Sorcerers' Pokémon while simultaneously healing Aven's side.
"We should move as well. End this battle quickly."
"As long as we use the Capture Rings to capture Heatran, we can deal with the Lake Trio immediately afterward."
The brown-robed Grand Sorcerer no longer hesitated. Together with the blue-robed and green-robed Grand Sorcerers, he stepped forward. At this moment, standing beside them were a Tyranitar, a Manectric, and a Pidgeot.
The moment these three Pokémon appeared, they locked onto Lilligant, Froslass, and Gardevoir from afar. Powerful energy fluctuations erupted from their bodies, far surpassing those of ordinary King-level Pokémon!
Aven's gaze fell upon the three Pokémon, and his brows furrowed slightly. These were clearly the Sorcerers' trump cards outside of the Guardian Deities.
"Lilligant, Froslass, Gardevoir—be careful," Aven warned.
"Lilli!" "Lass~!" "Garde!"
The three Pokémon nodded in unison, their bodies lifting slightly as they advanced to meet Tyranitar, Manectric, and Pidgeot head-on.
Among them, Tyranitar was a dual Rock- and Dark-type Pokémon, a being known as a pseudo-legendary with terrifying destructive power.
Moreover, Tyranitar was known as the Desert Tyrant. If its ability was Sand Stream, it possessed complete control over sandstorms—much like Pelipper controlling rain!
"ROOOAR!"
Tyranitar advanced step by step. Compared to Manectric and Pidgeot, its speed was not fast.
However, its presence was incomparable. With every movement, a terrifying sandstorm erupted around it.
Pokémon fighting nearby were forced to retreat, avoiding the range of the sandstorm. As a result, Tyranitar advanced without a single Pokémon daring to block its path.
Another thunderous roar rang out as the sandstorm surged forward, sweeping directly toward Aven and engulfing Lilligant, Froslass, and Gardevoir within the raging sands.
"Lilligant, use Sunny Day to disperse the sandstorm!" Aven ordered immediately.
"Lilli!"
Lilligant nodded, her gaze piercing through the gray curtain of sand toward the sky.
Her body slowly merged with nature itself as she began to draw upon the power of the natural world.
Almost instantly, a powerful surge of solar energy descended from the heavens, forcibly dispersing the sandstorm energy across the battlefield. The raging sands rapidly faded away.
At this point, Lilligant had fully mastered the power of nature. She could even directly commune with the sun itself, merging her own power with solar energy to unleash an even stronger force.
Under such conditions, the Sunny Day she cast was powerful enough to directly disperse even the sandstorm generated by Tyranitar's Sand Stream!
"Lilli!"
After calming the sandstorm, Lilligant once again drew upon the life energy of nature.
This life energy condensed continuously, eventually forming an energy sphere that blasted straight toward Tyranitar!
Seeing this, the enraged Tyranitar unleashed Stone Edge, but it was instantly crushed by the overwhelming energy sphere. The powerful attack slammed directly into Tyranitar's body!
At this moment, Lilligant once again displayed her terrifying strength. With the blessing of natural energy, life energy, and solar energy combined, her combat power had already reached the absolute ceiling of King-tier Pokémon!
"Pii! Geot!"
High in the air, Pidgeot darted swiftly through the sky.
Facing it was Froslass, her figure drifting unpredictably through the air as she rode icy currents with graceful agility.
"Lass~"
Froslass floated lightly, gathering Ghost- and Ice-type energies simultaneously.
She then unleashed Ominous Wind, eerie gusts sweeping across the battlefield.
At the same time, she summoned a raging Blizzard, merging it with Ominous Wind. Instantly, the ghostly winds grew even colder—so frigid that it felt as if even souls could be frozen solid!
Thanks to the power of the yellow crystal within her body, Froslass now possessed far greater control over Ghost-type energy.
Combined with her naturally unique body formed from Ghost- and Ice-type energy, and after an entire winter of training, she had finally mastered the ability to fuse these two energies together.
Empowered by the yellow crystal, Froslass now stood among the absolute pinnacle of King-tier Pokémon!
"Pii! Geot!"
Sensing danger instinctively, Pidgeot flapped its wings violently and unleashed Hurricane, crashing head-on into the strange blizzard.
However, although both were storms, Pidgeot's Hurricane was no match for the fused ghostly blizzard. The tornado shattered midair, collapsing into nothingness!
On the other side, the battle between Gardevoir and Manectric was also unfolding—a pure contest of speed.
Manectric continuously stimulated its body with internal electricity, pushing its speed to extreme levels as it flashed rapidly across the battlefield.
Aven was very familiar with this technique. Luxray had successfully mastered it as well, relying on speed to advance to pseudo–King-tier, only one step away from full King-level status.
However, no matter how fast Manectric was, it could not surpass Gardevoir, who possessed the ability of teleportation. At the same time, Gardevoir's powerful psychic force could even interfere with Manectric itself!
"So strong… for a human to raise ordinary magical beasts to this level!" The Grand Sorcerers could not hide the shock on their faces.
"Brown, this won't do. Let's use our trump cards and end this fight directly," the blue-robed Grand Sorcerer stepped forward.
The green-robed Grand Sorcerer shrugged. "Using this power will place an enormous burden on us. We won't be able to use it again for a long time—but right now, there's no other choice."
"Then let's do it. Finish this quickly!" The brown-robed Grand Sorcerer took a decisive step forward.
In the next moment, colorful orbs appeared in the hands of all three of them, each marked with a leaf-shaped symbol.
As they moved, the three King-level Pokémon retreated simultaneously. Brilliant, special light erupted from their bodies!
"This is… Mega Evolution?" Aven froze.
The moment he saw the Sorcerers take out those orbs, he had already realized what was happening. The aura radiating from the three Pokémon further confirmed his suspicions.
Mega Evolution—after Kirlia evolved into Gardevoir, Aven had attempted to explore the path of Mega Evolution by having Gardevoir master emotional energy and life energy.
Yet he never expected to witness Mega Evolution here—and one achieved through Mega Stones and a Key Stone!
"Garde…"
Gardevoir stared intently at the enemy, her expression solemn.
She could clearly sense a special emotional bond being formed between the Sorcerers and their Pokémon.
Guided by this unique emotional energy, powerful life energy surged continuously from within the Pokémon.
"Lilli…"
Lilligant focused intently, sensing the changes.
She could feel that the three Pokémon opposite her were evolving.
Intense streams of life energy flowed through their bodies, elevating their very level of existence!
Through her sensitivity to life energy, she could clearly perceive the transformation. It was similar to evolution—yet subtly different.
It felt as though this life energy was awakening something hidden within the Pokémon, a power originating from the special stones within their bodies rather than a true transformation of life itself.
"Lass…"
Froslass drifted back to Aven's side.
The surging power radiating from the three Pokémon made her feel a deep sense of threat.
The magnitude of this increase was terrifying—it seemed to have surpassed the King-tier entirely, reaching an entirely different realm!
High above Stark Mountain, the Lake Guardian Trio and the Forces of Nature Trio were locked in fierce combat.
Suddenly, Mesprit sensed something and turned her gaze toward Stark Mountain. From below, she felt an intense surge of emotional energy.
This emotional energy was extraordinarily unique—far stronger than any she had ever sensed before—and contained astonishing power!
Was this the emotional resonance formed between humans and Pokémon?
Her gaze pierced through space, falling upon the Sorcerers and the three King-tier Pokémon, witnessing the entire Mega Evolution process.
Uxie also noticed the sudden eruption of immense energy below, shock appearing on its face. This was a power it had never seen before, faintly touching upon an unfamiliar, special force.
"This power is already approaching Guardian Deity level… Aven is in trouble," Azelf said with concern etched across his face.
On the battlefield, the Mega Evolution of the three Pokémon was complete. Their forms had completely changed, and waves of violent power continuously erupted from their bodies!
"After Mega Evolution, they jumped directly from King-level to Champion-level?" Aven's expression darkened.
The combat strength of the three Pokémon had undergone a complete transformation. Lilligant, Froslass, and Gardevoir's previous advantage was now completely gone. It was exceedingly difficult for King-level Pokémon to contend with Champion-level beings!
The three Pokémon regrouped beside Aven, their expressions grave. If they could not defeat the enemy, their first priority would be ensuring Aven's safety.
"Don't worry. This power is only temporary."
"Mega Evolution places an enormous burden on Pokémon. As long as we hold on until the Mega Evolution energy fades, they'll fall into a weakened state."
Aven reassured the three Pokémon as his gaze shifted toward the distant volcano. If he could obtain Heatran's power, this crisis could still be resolved.
(End of Chapter)