Natsuhiko unfastened the Pokeball from his waist.
With a flash of red light, Abra appeared, its spirit fairly well-recovered.
As soon as Abra appeared, it sensed the presence of Agatha's Gengar, and sweat beaded on its forehead.
Particularly when Gengar's gaze fell upon it, its psychic powers even momentarily stalled.
"Abra!"
It was that terrifying Gengar again!
Abra muttered, gritting its teeth as it came to stand before Natsuhiko.
"Gengar."
Gengar laughed eerily, a hint of interest gleaming in its eyes.
Agatha's eyes flickered, "This Abra has improved, not bad."
It was hard to get her to say something was not bad.
"Abra, it's not an enemy."
Natsuhiko patted Abra's back to soothe it a little, then turned to Agatha:
"Ghost-type Elite Four Agatha, Abra can take us directly over."
Previously, Abra's abilities were at the Qualified Level, and long-distance teleportation was somewhat strenuous.
But now it has advanced to the Excellence Level, and with the stimulation of the 'Life Crystal' on its psychic power, it's possible to cross a Goldenrod City.
"Oh? That could save quite a bit of time."
Agatha came to Natsuhiko's side, and Gengar once again hid in her shadow, observing the surroundings silently from half-exposed from within.
Natsuhiko nodded at Abra.
Hearing Natsuhiko say it wasn't an enemy, Abra obviously felt relieved.
Good that it's not an enemy.
It couldn't possibly be an opponent.
It had already gathered all its strength when it came before Natsuhiko.
After slightly calming its turbulent spirit, Abra closed its eyes, and its unseen psychic power swiftly stretched out, crossing the great distance, quickly locking onto a previously set 'anchor' point.
The next second.
Natsuhiko and Agatha disappeared from the original spot with Abra's psychic power.
When they opened their eyes again, what lay before them was a landscape of chaos, jagged rock walls, with some Pokémon struggling beneath heaps of stones.
Above their heads, a massive broken hole.
Snow drifted gently through the opening, slowly piling up on the ground and rocks.
The departure of the Aerodactyl had caused too much damage to this cave.
The psychic 'anchor' point Abra had set wasn't originally here, as Abra was asleep at the time.
But later set points weren't far from the Aerodactyl cave, and now with the cave severely damaged, the massive rock collapses and landslides had brought them nearby.
Agatha tapped her cane, surveying the surroundings, densely packed with numerous cave openings.
Her eyebrows slowly knitted together.
Clearly, trying to find that group's secret base in such a complex place would not be easy.
But since Agatha found Natsuhiko and not Ann Ci, who had also been here, naturally, she had her reasons.
Looking at Natsuhiko.
"Where did you find that Onix, or rather, that Dark Stone?" Agatha asked.
At her words.
Natsuhiko finally understood how Agatha had found him.
'I wondered why she found me instead of Ann Ci...'
It seemed that the Onix and that Dark Stone involved far more than he imagined.
No wonder as soon as the Onix was put up for sale, he was targeted.
"Abra," Natsuhiko called gently.
Fortunately, after Abra woke, he had deliberately left psychic 'anchors' in various tunnel locations, initially planning to come back once stronger to explore further, perhaps finding something behind the Onix's cave rock wall.
He didn't expect them to come in handy so soon.
But the just-closed-eyed Abra quickly reopened them, shaking its head towards Natsuhiko.
"Abra."
"What's wrong?" Agatha also noticed Abra's peculiarity.
Natsuhiko pursed his lips and said solemnly:
"Abra says something is interfering with its Super Sensing, not strong, but enough to affect the lock on the teleport point, unable to concentrate its psychic power."
"That's good news," Agatha said instead.
Natsuhiko also nodded in agreement, lowering his eyes slightly.
That's right.
It was good news.
Abra's psychic power must have been affected by the group's setup.
It indicated Natsuhiko and the others were very close.
It's just...
Looking at the disordered cave and rocks piled up everywhere in large and small heaps.
'I wonder if Togepi can still recognize the way.'
While Natsuhiko pondered, Agatha reached into the middle pocket of her apron and pulled out a pink fragment the size of a fingertip, tossing it to Abra.
"Abra?"
Abra looked at the tossed item, wanting to seek Natsuhiko's opinion.
But from this small stone, it felt a huge attraction.
Causing it to instinctively envelop the fragment in its psychic power.
Not large.
But when Abra instinctively integrated it into its psychic power, its abilities, which had just transformed after absorbing the 'Life Barrier,' once again surged.
"Hmm?" Natsuhiko looked at Abra in confusion.
Noticing the small pink flake floating lingeringly beside Abra.
"This is...."
"It seems effective; it's useless to me, just consider it your payment for leading the way," Agatha said blandly.
Seeing its color and function, a bold idea flashed in Natsuhiko's mind.
So bold it startled himself into instinctive denial.
"Try again, little one."
"Abra?" Abra looked at Natsuhiko.
Even though it had just gotten a good thing from Agatha, it would still follow Natsuhiko's lead.
Snapping back to reality, Natsuhiko didn't hesitate, nodding slightly at Abra.
'If it's really that thing, even just a tiny fragment, Abra has hit the jackpot.'
This time, Abra's psychic power became even more stable, with both toughness and overall strength receiving a boost.
After exhausting some energy, it finally locked onto the location of the Onix's cave.
"Abra——"
Calling softly, psychic power wrapped around Natsuhiko and Agatha, teleporting again.
Onix cave.
The rock wall that Beedrill had forcefully split open to extract the Dark Stone still appeared the same; within the rock strata, the infiltration of ominous black material was clearly visible.
"Gengar!"
Upon arriving, Gengar emerged from Agatha's shadow, its face losing the previous playful, teasing expression, turning extremely solemn.
Agatha's expression also grew more somber.
Natsuhiko sensed the cold air around them, a thought crossed his mind.
'They seem very angry?'
Gengar moved towards the rock wall, its palm emanating black light as it pressed against it, releasing a Shadow Ball directly against the wall.
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion followed the trembling of the entire cave, and surprisingly, the incredibly thick rock wall was directly blasted into a massive hole.
However, upon seeing the scene beyond the hole, Natsuhiko's pupils constricted abruptly, his breath almost coming to a halt.
Abra, never before so wide-eyed, saw its psychic energy temporarily spiraling out of control around its body, its eyes 'spitting' furious flames.
Agatha and Gengar had some suspicions, but upon witnessing the scene before them, terrifying black energy erupted from Gengar's body.
Because what lay before them....
Was an overwhelming heap of thousands, tens of thousands, maybe even more Pokémon corpses!
This hellish scene.
Of course, it moved the hearts of Gengar and Abra, these Pokémon, and also shocked Natsuhiko, the Trainer.
No wonder.
No wonder Togepi had such a huge reaction just from touching the rock wall.