In Shiko's eyes, the resources inside the valley were limited.
He still needed the Dragon Gems produced here to raise the attribute law power within his body to the perfect one hundred percent he wanted.
If, during this month, the valley's already scarce Dragon Gems were split up again—taken by people from the Military, or carved up by the major forces within the League—then even fewer would end up in his hands.
Right now, Shiko had already defeated every Elite Four-level Dragon-type Pokémon in the entire valley.
Without exaggeration, he was the only ruler here.
Just the vast dragon pressure he carried was enough to command every Pokémon in the valley.
Only under these circumstances did he have the confidence to reach one hundred percent within a month.
But if other people came in now to take a share, Shiko figured that in one month, he absolutely wouldn't be able to finish the remaining progress.
At minimum it would take two months—maybe even three.
Hearing Shiko's words, Aisa lifted her head and looked at him seriously.
Every time she communicated with Shiko, she got the same feeling.
The Pokémon in front of her had none of the simple, honest naivety that ordinary Pokémon had.
Those eyes that kept flickering with sharp, agile light were far too humanlike.
After a brief daze, Aisa didn't give Shiko an answer right away.
Because here, there was someone whose official rank was higher than hers.
She turned her head and quietly reported everything Shiko had said to Minister Kenjiro.
Minister Kenjiro raised his head and met Shiko's gaze.
Then, one man and one Pokémon looked at each other in silence.
After a moment, Minister Kenjiro nodded.
The whole valley had already been sealed off for three months.
Sealing it for one more month didn't matter.
And besides, if Shiko hadn't come out in time today to save the situation, his own circumstances would probably have become extremely bad.
If Shiko hadn't beaten the living daylights out of every Elite Four-level Dragon-type Pokémon in the valley and completely calmed the unrest here,
then the chaos inside Dragon Valley would likely have continued for quite some time.
So, both emotionally and logically, Minister Kenjiro decided to agree to Shiko's request.
"Then we'll withdraw first. We'll come back in a month!"
Seeing Minister Kenjiro and Shiko reach an understanding, Aisa nodded and prepared to leave.
"Take it!"
Himeko stood on tiptoe and lifted her hand high, only then managing to place that small pouch into Shiko's hand.
"Shubii!"
"Raru!"
Lopunny and Gardevoir looked at Shiko, reluctant to part.
After saying goodbye to him, they returned to their Poké Balls.
Waving farewell, the group mounted their means of transportation and headed out of the valley.
"You… know that Pokémon?"
Only now did Ukyo snap out of his stunned state, asking blankly.
"Yeah! That Pokémon is GeoGreymon!"
Himeko nodded as she answered.
GeoGreymon?
As one of the Elite Four-level figures of the Northern Military Division, Ukyo had long heard that name.
After his Charizard underwent Mega Evolution, Ukyo had even felt eager to try it—wanting to test his strength against that GeoGreymon said to have evolved from a Charmeleon, a being he had only ever heard about in rumors.
But now,
after seeing Shiko's terrifying performance,
that thought had been erased completely.
What a joke.
A Pokémon that horrifying—
his Charizard was absolutely not an opponent!
If he really fought Shiko,
then even if his Charizard Mega Evolved, it would still be torn apart alive!
Don't be fooled by the fact that GeoGreymon was only at the quasi–Elite Four level.
In terms of level, it was one tier weaker than his Charizard.
But the pressure on GeoGreymon's body naturally produced a powerful suppression and weakening effect on Dragon-type Pokémon.
If you wanted to use a Dragon-type Pokémon to resist it,
then at the very least, you would need a Dragon-type Pokémon two full tiers above GeoGreymon—
a Champion-level Dragon-type Pokémon—
to be able to contend with it.
"No wonder it's so strong. So that's GeoGreymon!"
Ukyo nodded.
He frowned, unable to figure something out.
Why was it that both were evolved from Charmeleon, yet GeoGreymon and Charizard had such an enormous difference in combat power?
He thought about it all the way from the valley to the camp outside the valley,
and still couldn't come up with an answer.
On Aisa's side, she had already begun preparing for the Military personnel to pack up and return to headquarters.
After all, the matter here was resolved.
Continuing to stay stationed here had no meaning.
They would only leave a small number of people behind,
just to keep an eye on the situation inside the valley—and on Shiko.
After giving those orders,
Aisa was about to ask Minister Kenjiro about the next plan and arrangements.
Before she could speak,
Minister Kenjiro happened to take a phone call.
A moment later,
the calm on his face was instantly replaced by dark clouds and a heavy, solemn look.
"I understand. I'll arrange people to act immediately."
"Watch closely. If there's any news at all, report to me at once."
After saying that, he hung up.
The heavy expression still pressed on his face, with no sign of easing.
Aisa was surprised by Minister Kenjiro's expression.
After joining the Military for so long,
she had never once seen her direct superior—
this Champion-level Trainer—
show such a severe expression.
What big thing had happened?
"Later, come back to the base with me and stand by. I'm guessing it won't be long before we have another operation. I'll be counting on you."
"What mission?"
Aisa asked curiously.
She had a vague sense that the "operation" Minister Kenjiro mentioned was very likely connected to that phone call just now.
"News from the Eastern Military Division has always been under our surveillance. That Pokémon that's been asleep for fifty years—Regigigas—has awakened."
"Right now, from the Eastern Plains, it's moving toward the northern region of the Great Axia Alliance."
"We still don't know the reason it woke up, or the reason for its direction of travel."
"However, because of its awakening, that Pokémon in the Mt. Silver mountain-range mine—Registeel—also seems to be showing signs of awakening."
"That area is within our jurisdiction. We have to spare people to investigate!"
When Minister Kenjiro said this,
his brows knit tightly, his expression shifting between light and dark.
As an older-generation Trainer,
unlike the young people or the middle generation of today,
he had personally witnessed the terror of First-tier Legendary Pokémon.
Decades ago,
when he was still a child,
the entire continent had, within a single day,
suffered extreme drought and terrifying floods in brutal alternation.
Those exaggerated, alternating natural disasters
had been caused by the clash of two First-tier Legendary Pokémon!
And that battle had taken place on a distant ocean.
Even separated by tens of thousands of miles,
the aftershocks of those two First-tier Legendary Pokémon battling
had still produced such horrifying effects.
That torrential rain,
that surging magma,
that lightning ripping open the black clouds,
that earth shaking violently—
everything,
all of it,
was displaying to the world the godlike, terrifying power that belonged to First-tier Legendary Pokémon.
If, in the end,
another First-tier Legendary Pokémon had not arrived
and brought that conflict to an end,
then the entire world
might have been torn apart.
And it was precisely that time
that made all Trainers truly, viscerally understand how powerful Legendary Pokémon were.
That kind of power
could cast a shadow over everyone's heart,
bringing a suffocating feeling as if someone had pinched your neck, crushed your throat, and left you unable to breathe.
That was why researchers like Professor Boo
devoted their whole lives to Pokémon re-evolution—
hoping that one day, humanity could grasp power comparable to those Legendary Pokémon,
and possess the ability to protect itself under such terrifying natural calamities.
Minister Kenjiro's head suddenly felt muddled.
For no reason, scenes of memory and thoughts began to breed.
They made him faintly feel that
the decades of peace this world had maintained
seemed to be slowly, gradually starting to break.
A storm was already brewing.
"First-tier Legendary Pokémon…"
Aisa's heart lurched.
Those words slammed into her chest like a heavy hammer.
She had only seen, in video footage,
that earthshaking clash of First-tier Legendary Pokémon from decades ago.
After that clash,
for reasons nobody knew,
all Legendary Pokémon hid their traces
and stopped appearing before humanity.
The whole world entered decades of peace.
During those decades,
some Trainers, by chance encounters,
discovered the sleeping habitats of these Legendary Pokémon.
So the Military dispatched teams,
day after day, year after year,
to monitor the movements of those Legendary Pokémon and report at any time.
As time passed,
everyone faintly began to feel that
perhaps those Legendary Pokémon would never wake again,
forever sunk into deep sleep.
But no one expected it.
Now, a Legendary Pokémon had awakened!
And the moment it happened,
it was a First-tier Legendary Pokémon—Regigigas!
Although no one had ever seen this Pokémon make a move,
everything about it
had already been decoded by League researchers from stone walls in some ancient ruin.
Regigigas was one of the few Pokémon said to possess authority over creation—
able to create life from inorganic matter, or from pure energy.
That kind of ability
was comparable to a creator.
And what it created were not ordinary existences.
Those Pokémon praised as the "Titans," each and every one of them was a Third-tier Legendary Pokémon!
"I understand. If there's anything you need me to do, just arrange it, and I'll carry it out!"
Aisa took a deep breath
and forcibly calmed her emotions.
Right now, all she could do was pray
that after this First-tier Legendary Pokémon awakened, it didn't have any destructive intent.
Not far away,
Himeko heard the entire conversation between the two of them clearly,
not missing a single word.
This news
made her face turn deathly pale in an instant.
"How is that possible?!"
"The timing… it's… it advanced by this much?"
Himeko's expression filled with shock.
This news didn't just bring her fear.
More than that,
it was disbelief—something far beyond her expectations.
Because as someone who had been reborn,
Himeko remembered the future trajectory with absolute clarity.
The collapse and chaos that began to tear apart the stable Pokémon World
started with Regigigas's awakening!
As it awakened, the three Titans were awakened in sequence.
After that,
more and more Legendary Pokémon
once again reappeared before humanity.
Friction and collisions between Legendary Pokémon grew more and more intense.
Every time they fought,
it involved areas where humans lived and operated.
Countless people died because of it.
The increasingly frequent clashes
forced humanity to collide with those Pokémon.
And beneath that most critical, terrifying might,
what awaited all of humanity was only one outcome—total annihilation.
Her mind couldn't help replaying scene after scene from her previous life.
Cold sweat broke out all over Himeko.
Why had Regigigas awakened so early?
According to the original trajectory,
shouldn't there have been more than thirty years left?
If that was the case,
then until the final turbulent collapse, there was less than a year remaining?
Less than a year!
In this short time,
forget surpassing the Himeko of her previous life—
even reaching the Champion level would be difficult!
A chill ran through Himeko's heart.
She didn't know why the worldline had shifted so drastically.
Her mind was a mess as she struggled to think of a way to break through this.
After finally being reborn once,
did she still have to face the same ending and the same outcome?
Then,
in her mind,
Shiko's silhouette began to surface faintly.
She suddenly lifted her head.
Her gaze pierced through layers upon layers of distance
and looked toward the outlines of Dragon Valley's towering peaks.
Maybe—
the only hope
rested on Shiko.
(End of Chapter)
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