Chapter 753: The Ending That Should Have Been
Shadow form.
This was not an exclusive ability of Darkrai.
Rather, it was a common ability among some Ghost-type Pokémon. A move derived from this ability was called [Phantom Force].
Simply put, it meant diving into the spatial gap between the living world and the spirit world to hide oneself.
Leaving behind only a lump of black shadow in the living world.
This was also the only flaw of the shadow form.
99.99% of Pokémon that could enter a shadow form possessed the Ghost typing, and even some Ghost-type Pokémon couldn't master this move.
The special thing was that Darkrai, being a pure Dark-type Pokémon, could also turn itself into a shadow.
Practicing this move was not easy for Kazuya.
After all.
The Ghost typing.
Truly fell into his blind spot of knowledge.
Throughout his eight lifetimes.
Kazuya had never been a Ghost-type Pokémon. He didn't even know many Ghost-type moves, and the number of times he fought Ghost-type Pokémon was among the lowest of all typings.
So, turning into a shadow was not very easy for him; it might require more time.
But he had to learn this move.
After all.
In this completely dark world.
The shadow form was simply a godly skill for concealing oneself.
For creatures who hadn't mastered Aura and psychic powers, discovering a shadow-form Darkrai in this dark world would be incredibly difficult.
Therefore.
Even if it took a long time.
Kazuya would set aside some time every day to learn this move.
As time passed.
No problems arose on Kazuya's side.
Instead, the Scizor nearby seemed increasingly anxious.
That anxiety didn't stem from unease about the upcoming battle, but something else.
Just as Scizor turned his head to look at the horizon once again.
Kazuya couldn't help but ask, "What are you guarding against?"
He wanted to practice his abilities, so he had to find some test subjects.
And naturally, the targets for practice to increase his proficiency had to be those magical beasts on Mt. Silver.
So, without realizing it, Kazuya had already browsed through the entirety of Mt. Silver.
He had to admit.
The number of surviving creatures on Mt. Silver was pitifully small.
On such a massive mountain.
The number of creatures might not even reach a thousand.
Those magical beasts had been attacking and hunting each other for decades, causing the number of creatures in this world to dwindle to an unknown fraction of what it used to be.
Those able to survive now were basically either relatively smart individuals or relatively powerful ones.
However.
On this Mt. Silver, the only thing that could threaten Scizor was that magical beast Scizor.
And it was merely at the low-tier Champion level.
Now, suffering from Kazuya's nightmare harassment every day, it was probably spending its days catching up on sleep.
Scizor was also fully prepared to battle it at any time.
So.
Kazuya didn't know what else on Mt. Silver could make Scizor so vigilant.
"So-rai..."
Scizor shook his head.
Hearing his master ask this, he realized there was still something he hadn't told him.
"What's the matter?"
"So-rai..."
Scizor spread his hands and explained.
According to his observations and understanding over these years, Legendary Pokémon seemed to naturally emit a certain aura, and this aura held an extreme attraction to those corrupted Legendary Pokémon.
If a Legendary Pokémon stayed in one place for too long, this aura would continuously become thicker and more alluring, thereby attracting those...
Demon Gods.
The Gods among magical beasts.
That is, corrupted Legendary Pokémon.
Of course.
This knowledge was something Scizor had concluded himself.
He suspected that the reason those Legendary Pokémon fell one by one and suffered tragic fates was precisely because of this.
However.
Because he wasn't a Legendary Pokémon, he couldn't confirm the accuracy of this point, and didn't pay much attention to it in the past.
But now that Kazuya was here.
He had to pay attention to it.
Kazuya had already been on Mt. Silver for six days.
If that aura truly existed, then perhaps nearby Demon Gods had already noticed some clues. Maybe in another two days, a Demon God would follow the scent right to their doorstep.
So...
"If that's truly the case, then it seems we must depart as soon as possible."
Kazuya sighed, raising a hand to his forehead.
He felt it was necessary to take what Scizor said to heart.
After all.
Scizor had mentioned before.
The two blockheads of Hoenn were corrupted by shadow energy while they were sleeping.
Then the question arose...
One slept deep underground, and the other slept in the deep sea; how did the shadow energy find them?
So.
Scizor's guess.
Was highly probable.
If that were the case.
Kazuya had to move his base of operations as soon as possible, and he would need to change locations frequently, unable to stay in one place for long.
He was still relatively weak right now.
Not only had he not yet retrained his various abilities, but his level was also a mere Lv. 80.
Let alone fighting those first-tier Gods.
Even fighting a second-tier God would be strenuous.
"So-rai!"
Scizor snapped his pincers shut, turning his head to look at his master.
"Are you planning to make a move now?"
"So-rai!"
Scizor nodded heavily.
They had no time to continue wasting here.
Coincidentally.
The shadow energy on his body's surface had been completely eradicated.
They could launch a counterattack right now.
"Good, then let's go find him."
Kazuya stared at him for two seconds, then nodded in gratification.
Scizor had changed.
He wasn't the Scizor from a few days ago.
But he also wasn't the young Scizor from the past either.
He was more composed, more responsible.
In his youth, Scizor was extremely self-disciplined, managing to catch up to the huge gap between him and Meowscarada in just over a decade.
Kazuya had praised his self-reliance and independence in his heart many times.
But.
The Scizor at that time.
Sought to become stronger purely for himself.
And now.
The reason Scizor wanted to become stronger included an extra element: becoming stronger for others.
These "others" could be Kazuya, could be Meowscarada, or could be other companions...
All in all.
He had grown.
From the young pirate hunter Zoro, he had grown into Roronoa Zoro.
A person.
Once they found a reason to become stronger.
Before that reason was completely shattered, they would forge ahead courageously, unstoppable.
The current Scizor.
Kazuya couldn't think of how he could lose.
They made their way up to the peak.
The former mountaintop plain had now become a bare, sunken rocky terrain.
And only one Pokémon lived here.
It was that magical beast Scizor.
At this very moment.
The other party was lying flat on the ground in a "spread-eagle" shape, sleeping soundly.
It was completely unaware of the two uninvited guests arriving here.
"So-rai?"
Scizor landed beside the magical beast Scizor, frowning and tilting his head in confusion.
Sleeping in such an open area in broad daylight?
He actually lost to this kind of trash?
Thinking about it now made Scizor feel embarrassed.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
He simply kicked out.
Bang!
Receiving a heavy blow, the magical beast Scizor was sent flying over a dozen meters, tumbling on the ground several times before stopping.
Moreover.
Even after stopping.
This guy showed no signs of waking up.
"..."
"..."
Kazuya and Scizor exchanged a glance, speechless.
The former blinked.
He seemed to have inadvertently overdone it.
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
Being harassed by nightmares for six consecutive nights.
And not just ordinary nightmares, but nightmares with the "Bad Dreams" effect attached, meaning they continuously dealt mental damage.
The current magical beast Scizor couldn't just be described with the word "sleepy."
Its mental state was at a critical point where it could collapse at any moment.
After waiting for a few seconds.
The magical beast Scizor kicked its right leg twice.
Then shivered all over.
Only then did it slowly open its eyes, staggering to its feet.
Its scarlet eyes were bloodshot and filled with brutality.
Waking up a severely sleep-deprived guy would make the other party extremely furious.
The magical beast, which had little reason to begin with, was now truly plunged into a berserk state.
Boom!
The magical beast Scizor kicked off the ground, instantly stomping out a crater.
Shattered stones flew.
The magical beast Scizor's figure instantly vanished from its spot, turning into a shapeless black blur as it charged toward Scizor.
Kazuya flew up into the sky.
Leaving the battlefield to the two Scizors.
At the same time, he quietly observed the battle below.
He saw Scizor stand his ground like a towering mountain. Facing the opponent's "Iron Head" attack, he chose to use Iron Defense to boost his physical defense and take it head-on!
Seeing this, Kazuya smiled and nodded.
Even if you take this kind of charging move head-on, it won't leave a wound, so there's no need to worry about being corrupted by shadow energy. On the contrary, you can use this move to seize the opponent's opening.
Boom!
A massive crash of steel colliding rang out.
An invisible, powerful airflow swept in all directions.
Even Kazuya in the sky was affected, the tattered cloth hanging from his shoulders blown messily.
One could only say it truly lived up to being a Champion-level battle. Even a little bit of the spilled shockwave was enough to instantly kill some weaker Pokémon.
The airflow dissipated.
Kazuya looked back at the battlefield.
He saw Scizor raise an arm, using "Bug Bite" to clamp onto the magical beast Scizor's head, while his other arm was raised high.
Acrobatics.
A cold gleam flashed, landing on the magical beast Scizor's slender waist.
With the Technician ability boost, combined with the doubled power from not holding an item.
This move was incredibly lethal to the magical beast Scizor, which lacked a resistance to Flying-type moves.
Crack—!
A sound akin to a bone breaking rang out.
The magical beast Scizor, smashed to the ground, seemed unable to maintain its balance. Just as it stood up, its waist gave out, and it pitched forward.
However, even so.
It still lunged at Scizor with red eyes, using "X-Scissor."
The latter raised an eyebrow.
Flapped his wings and retreated, dodging it swiftly.
It was precisely because of this move that he was corrupted by shadow energy before.
This kind of slashing move easily left wounds on the body.
Immediately after, he stepped forward and delivered a flying kick.
Close Combat!
A powerful kick slammed into the magical beast Scizor's head.
Causing it, already in an extremely poor state, to instantly roll its eyes back and faint.
This battle easily came to a close.
This was the ending that should have existed between these two Scizors.
It was only now that Scizor, having regained the heart of the strong, could unleash 100% of his true combat power.
"So-rai!"
Scizor looked excitedly at Kazuya in the sky.
He could finally leave with his master!
Kazuya smiled and nodded: "Let's set off. For our first stop, I plan to go check out the Tree of Beginning."
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