"Mewtwo, do you think those dragon horns on his head are real?" Feng Che asked, eyeing Taki with deep suspicion.
"They are real. I just scanned all three of them," Mewtwo replied. "Their bodies have been integrated with Pokémon cellular tissue. Technically, they aren't fully human anymore—they're more like hybrids."
"I see. Because they have Pokémon DNA, my telepathy can tap into their thoughts just as easily as it does with actual Pokémon," Feng Che realized, everything clicking into place.
Taki: So annoying. This is so annoying. I just want to finish this fight and go back to my bed made of gold coins.
Taki: I can't fall into a deep sleep unless I'm embraced by the gentle, charming glow of gemstones and the musical jingle of coins.
"Gold coins? Gems? This guy really has a one-track mind," Feng Che mused. He remembered the vast hoard of the Sand Pirates he carried in his storage—an almost infinite supply of gold and jewels.
"Kommo-o, use Dragon Pulse!" Taki commanded.
Kommo-o opened its maw, unleashing a torrent of golden energy beams. The attack struck Togekiss directly.
"Haha! Don't bring out such a weakling just to embarrass yourself!" Taki bragged.
But a moment later, his pupils constricted. The golden beams of the Dragon Pulse dissipated harmlessly against Togekiss's feathers. The Fairy type's absolute immunity to Dragon-type energy was a discovery scientists were still testing in laboratories; the general public still believed Togekiss to be a Normal/Flying type.
"Togekiss, use Air Slash."
Feng Che snapped his fingers. Only then did the Pure Heaven Sect members notice that Togekiss had already seeded the air with translucent, razor-thin blades of wind. Under Togekiss's command, the storm of blades descended upon Kommo-o.
"Watch out!" Taki shouted.
The gale of blades struck Kommo-o's scales. Instead of just blood, the impact produced a shower of sparks and a rhythmic clink-clank-clink sound. Under the relentless barrage, Kommo-o was repeatedly flinched by Togekiss's Serene Grace ability. It stumbled back, scales shattering and blood beginning to pool on the ground.
"Kommo-o!" Taki felt the dragon's pain. Even his Dragon Force couldn't knit the wounds fast enough to stop the bleeding.
Suddenly, one of the scales on Kommo-o's neck stood perfectly upright. A dragon's reverse scale.
Entering a primal Outrage, Kommo-o lost all reason, driven only by a berserk instinct to destroy.
"It's gone feral," Feng Che noted calmly. "Let's see if this works."
He pulled a single gold coin from his storage ring and flicked it toward the dragon. The coin hit the stone floor with a sharp, clear ring.
Kommo-o lunged for it instantly, but Taki was faster. He dove for the coin and snatched it up.
"Yes! Gold! I'm rich!" Taki's eyes literally turned into dollar signs.
To obtain that tiny bit of gold, Kommo-o actually snapped out of its Outrage and began brawling with its own trainer.
"Give it back! That's my coin!" Taki yelled as Kommo-o snatched it from his hand. The dragon bit the coin to test its purity, leaving a row of tooth marks, and grinned broadly at the glittering prize. Taki looked at the drool-covered gold, his heart bleeding.
Taki: Damn it! If I weren't sure I'd lose a fistfight with my own dragon, I'd take it back by force!
"You and your partner are quite talented," Feng Che said, addressing them both. He had identified their fatal flaw: an absolute, pathological greed for anything shiny. "How about it? Want to work for me instead?"
Life is precious, loyalty is high, but for the sake of gold, both can be cast aside.
"I am a top elite of High Priest Shaka! Give up on that idea!" Taki said righteously, though his eyes never left the coin in Kommo-o's claws.
Snap!
Feng Che snapped his fingers, and a literal pile of gold coins rained from the sky. Taki and Kommo-o stared, their jaws hitting the floor.
Slurp! Feng Che heard them both swallow their saliva in unison.
Taki: I am a member of the Pure Heaven Sect... I cannot betray...
Kommo-o: WHOA! Look at all that gold!
"Well? Willing to switch sides now?" Feng Che smirked.
"No... I can't..." Taki forced his gaze away. Taki: I have two fist-sized gems back at the Sect. This gold isn't worth as much as those gems. I can't lose the forest for the trees!
Snap!
Feng Che snapped again. This time, a dozen fist-sized, multicolored gemstones tumbled onto the grass.
Taki: High Priest Shaka, I'm sorry. It's not that I wanted to betray you, it's just that Feng Che offered too much.
Taki dropped to one knee instantly. "Master Feng Che, I am your most loyal subordinate from this day forward!"
Kommo-o, seeing the gems, began drooling. It mimicked Taki, kneeling to show its newfound allegiance.
"My name is Zhi," the girl with the green hair said softly, stepping forward. A path of flowers bloomed in her wake, and the vines on her arms sprouted colorful buds. "I can feel a power within you similar to my own."
"I am a master apothecary. I can sense the medicinal properties of any plant just by touching it." She opened her hand, and a rare Haban Berry—essential for strengthening Dragon-types—grew from her palm.
This is similar to the Power of Viridian, but specialized in cultivation, Feng Che thought.
Maki, watching from the side, remained tense. When her eyes are green, she is gentle—that is Qing Zhi. But once they turn crimson, her second personality, Hong Zhi, awakens.
As if on cue, Zhi's eyes shifted to a deep, blood-red. The thorns on her vines grew jagged and sharp, and the air filled with the heavy, intoxicating scent of datura flowers. The floral path at her feet turned into a field of dark crimson blooms.
A sudden gust of wind tore the petals from the flowers, sending them screaming toward Feng Che like razor-sharp blades.