Chapter 838: Power of Victory
Beneath the sea in the southern Unova region.
Samiya was slowly heading towards the northern border of the western continent.
The destination was naturally Chargestone Cave, located within the mountain ranges of the western continent.
At this moment, in the central hall of Samiya.
Kazuya hovered in mid-air, with a Dread Plate floating in front of him.
The other five Pokémon were positioned below, forming a circle, staring intently at the scene before them.
Dark Void.
Kazuya pressed his palms together, then slowly pulled them apart, drawing out a mysterious, deep black hole.
The current situation was already very clear.
Shadow had obviously taken precautions against the Plates, and had likely distributed the world-saving Plates among the various Demon Gods.
If Shadow Himself was also a Legendary Pokémon.
Then He might have even fused one of the Plates into His own body.
In that case.
The success rate of the conventional path to save the world would be horrifically low.
Kazuya had no choice but to take the other, extreme path.
Watching as the Dark Void move enveloped the Dread Plate.
He could clearly feel an endless stream of Dark-type energy continuously altering the nature of the Dark Void move.
He didn't know how long this process took.
Anyway, when Samiya docked at the shore of the western continent.
The process finally concluded.
"I think it succeeded."
Kazuya muttered to himself.
He couldn't be certain if he had succeeded.
After all, neither his status panel nor his appearance had undergone any changes.
But one Dread Plate had indeed disappeared.
Hum~
Accompanied by a sound like a whale song from the deep sea.
A black hole emerged above Kazuya's palm.
Compared to the original one.
The current Dark Void emanated a blood-red glow from the inside out, like the glint in the eyes of a starving wolf pack upon seeing prey.
This was the only difference from before.
"We'll know once we test it on Victini."
Kazuya got up and headed outside.
Three days later, he and his companions arrived at Chargestone Cave.
Reaching the deepest part of the cave, closest to the Dragon Veins.
Kazuya held the Scepter of the Earth in his right hand and opened a gap in the Pillars of Protection.
The little furball imprisoned inside rushed out without hesitation, transforming into a V-shaped fireball and crashing towards Kazuya, then plunging headlong into the Dark Void.
The intense Dark Void energy covered Victini's entire body.
An irresistible wave of drowsiness instantly flooded Its mind.
Victini immediately reached out Its hands, hugged Its knees, curled into a small ball, and fell into a deep sleep within the Dark Void.
Given Its level, it was truly too difficult to resist Dark Void.
"How do I devour?"
A trace of doubt arose in Kazuya's heart.
He didn't feel his Dark Void extracting anything.
After some thought.
Kazuya used Nightmare.
The expression on the sleeping Victini's face instantly drooped, clearly having plunged into a boundless nightmare.
And Its physical condition was also declining at a visible rate.
When Victini fell into a near-death state.
The red glow on the surface of the Dark Void became increasingly vivid, and the pitch-black color within grew even more profound.
Kazuya raised an eyebrow.
He felt the Dark Void transmitting some special power into his body.
Kazuya hurriedly opened his status panel.
In the skills column.
A new entry was faintly blinking.
Every word in that entry was very blurry and indistinct, but Kazuya wasn't disappointed by this. Instead, he grinned.
"Success."
Kazuya breathed a sigh of relief.
The companions around him, who had been quietly observing without daring to breathe loudly, also let out long breaths.
It couldn't be helped.
Whether this step could succeed was truly too important.
If it couldn't succeed.
Then they were truly out of options.
They would have to bite the bullet and walk the conventional path to save the world.
And that would be after having consumed a versatile Dread Plate.
But fortunately, the worst-case scenario didn't occur.
Kazuya's Dark Void successfully evolved, acquiring the power to devour other "gods."
It was just that this "devouring" was somewhat like capturing a Pokémon with a Poké Ball.
It could only successfully devour when the target's condition dropped to a certain level.
The devouring process wasn't slow.
It took less than a minute to finish.
And at this moment, Kazuya also saw clearly the new entry in his skills column—[Victory Star (Exclusive)].
This was Victini's exclusive power.
But now it had become Kazuya's exclusive power.
It's a good name.
Perhaps a good omen.
"What a terrifying ability..."
Kazuya couldn't help but mutter.
What he was referring to wasn't "Victory Star," but the devouring and plundering power of Dark Void.
To actually forcefully snatch away the authority of other gods.
It was simply the power of an evil god.
In the past.
If Darkrai had attempted to fuse the Dread Plate, He might have been obliterated by other Legendary Pokémon before He even succeeded.
However.
That didn't matter anymore.
Whether it was the power of an evil god or a malevolent deity, as long as it could save this world, it was the best power.
"It seems that after a Legendary Pokémon fuses with a Plate, their signature move becomes exceptionally terrifying."
Lucario crossed his arms, his expression solemn.
He was somewhat worried.
Worried whether other Demon Gods had also fused with the power of the Plates.
If each of them was like Kyurem, it would be extremely dangerous for them to encounter these Demon Gods again.
"It's not that easy."
Kazuya casually waved his hand, signaling everyone to relax.
Then he explained to them.
The combination of a signature move and a Plate.
Has a prerequisite that isn't too harsh, but can disqualify many gods—the type of the move and the Plate must match.
Take Lugia for example.
Although it is a Psychic/Flying dual-type god, it is also very adept at using Water-type moves in combat.
But because the move "Aeroblast" is a Flying-type move, if Lugia wants to evolve Its signature move, It must use the Flying-type Sky Plate.
Apart from this Plate.
Finding any other Plate wouldn't allow for fusion.
"Plates are not that easy to find. As we saw with the Flame Plate in Regice, even Shadow couldn't possibly collect all the Plates."
"And even if He finds a Plate, He might not be able to find a suitable fusion subject. Giving it to an unsuitable one is a waste, which is actually to our advantage."
"Like the Icicle Plate, there are very few Demon Gods that can fuse with this Plate, and Kyurem is the strongest among them, so it could only be given to It."
Kazuya stretched out his hand, and three Plates immediately appeared on his palm.
They were the Dread Plate, Splash Plate, and Flame Plate.
Actually, Kazuya also had the Earth Plate and Zap Plate on him.
But those two belonged to the second world and didn't affect the first world.
And these three Plates in his hand were all from the first world.
Which means.
At the very least, Shadow lacked the Plates for the Dark, Water, and Fire types.
Therefore, Demon Gods like Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Reshiram, and Yveltal definitely wouldn't possess overpowered abilities, and they didn't need to overly guard against their signature moves.
"Then if we find the Psychic-type Plate, could Mewtwo's signature move also evolve?"
Scizor turned to look at Mewtwo beside him.
Although Mewtwo was only Lv. 88 right now and couldn't sit at the table of first-tier gods for the time being, that was just a matter of time.
Moreover, among the six Pokémon, Mewtwo was the only "god" besides Kazuya, the only individual capable of fusing a Plate.
Letting Him fuse a Plate would be highly beneficial for the overall strength of the team.
"I have a signature move?"
A look of confusion appeared in Mewtwo's eyes.
"?" x 5
"Don't you have a move called 'Psystrike'?"
Kazuya stepped forward, looking at Mewtwo with a bit of a headache.
He had seen Mewtwo use this move plenty of times.
This guy.
Did He actually not know this move was His signature move?
"Do I?"
Mewtwo tilted His head in confusion.
How did He not know He had such a move?
"It's somewhat similar to 'Psyshock'."
"..."
Kazuya raised his palm and thrust it to the side.
Red psychic energy emanated from his palm, then materialized, turning into a shockwave that crashed into the rock wall beside him.
Bang!
A crater exploded on the rock wall.
The power wasn't strong.
Kazuya didn't use his full strength, mainly just to demonstrate the effect to Mewtwo.
"Isn't that just Psyshock?"
Mewtwo performed the same action as Kazuya.
Except His psychic energy was pink, the conventional color.
"No, this is Psystrike."
Kazuya shook his head.
"?" x 5
Still five faces of confusion.
Only this time, the five Pokémon besides Kazuya all looked puzzled.
They truly couldn't see any difference between the two moves.
The effects were identical.
And Kazuya, upon sensing their expressions, was stunned for a moment, then grabbed his forehead with a headache: "Ah... I get it."
Psystrike and Psyshock.
These two moves are indeed very similar.
No!
It should be said.
They are exactly the same.
Both are Generation V special Psychic-type moves, and their effects are completely identical; the skill descriptions don't differ by a single word.
The only difference is that the base damage of Psystrike is 20 points higher than Psyshock.
As a signature move.
Psystrike could be considered quite lacking in prestige.
It was almost the same as an ordinary Psychic-type move.
Just like Kazuya himself.
He mastered the move Psyshock, and at the same time carried a 'Twisted Spoon' and 'Soul Dew' on him.
With the item boosts.
His Psyshock was practically indistinguishable from Mewtwo's Psystrike.
Perhaps this was one of the flaws of artificial Pokémon like Mewtwo, or maybe it was inherited from their predecessor, Mew.
After all, Mew didn't have Its own signature move; Its greatest strength lay in Its ability to learn the vast majority of moves.
In Kazuya's view.
This wasn't a major nerf for Mewtwo.
He didn't need to rely on a signature move to fight; His numerous other moves were completely sufficient.
Kazuya spent a few more words.
To explain the difference between Psystrike and Psyshock to them.
Only then did everyone understand.
"If we can find the Mind Plate, we could indeed let Mewtwo try fusing with it, but I'm afraid that thing won't be easy to find."
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter