In the sky, Dragonite's figure flickered faintly within the thick clouds, its entire body wrapped in countless terrifying streaks of lightning.
The leaders of the three Pokémon groups were all defeated by just one Thunder from Dragonite. Though they were all Elite-level Pokémon, Dragonite was only one step away from the Master level, so naturally, they couldn't withstand a full-force attack from it.
Once the three leaders fell, their respective groups descended into chaos. The oppressive force emanating from the clouds above made them increasingly panicked and confused.
Crack~ Crack~ Crack~
The thunder in the sky continued to rumble loudly. Some of the lower-level Pokémon didn't even dare to move. As for those that attempted to resist, they were struck down in the next moment by a bolt of lightning from the sky.
Gradually, not a single Pokémon in the three groups dared to resist Yuga anymore.
Yuga nodded in satisfaction, but then he suddenly felt something wasn't quite right. Why was the pressure from the sky growing stronger and stronger?
Because Dragonite was flying so high, Yuga's voice couldn't reach into the cloud layer. So he sent Dusknoir to call Dragonite down. The situation had been resolved; it was time to come back.
Dragonite had always been in sync with him—why wasn't it taking the hint today? Yuga grumbled a bit internally.
Dusknoir nodded and quickly flew up into the sky. Just as it was about to approach the clouds, a thunderous CRACK echoed out—a lightning bolt as thick as a water barrel struck down, almost hitting Dusknoir, who hastily backed away from the cloud layer.
Seeing this, Yuga's brows furrowed deeply. "What's going on with Dragonite?"
Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~
The clouds showed no sign of dispersing. In fact, their coverage was rapidly expanding, while muffled thunder continued to roll from within.
Dusknoir observed the sky for a while before retreating swiftly. It was already a Level 100 Pokémon, and naturally had the ability to break through cloud cover created by Dragonite—but it seemed unnecessary now…
When Dusknoir returned, Yuga asked anxiously, "What's wrong with Dragonite?"
"Dragonite~ Dragonite~ Dragonite~"
I think it's about to break through.
"Break through? Now?" Yuga was both delighted and worried. He hadn't expected such an easy battle to become the catalyst for Dragonite's breakthrough to Master level.
"Nothing bad will happen, right?" Yuga looked up at the thickening clouds, his face filled with concern.
The clouds were still expanding, and countless streams of Electric-type energy were beginning to gather within them, mixed with traces of Dragon-type and Flying-type energy.
Even though Yuga was far away, he could still sense the immense power—this wasn't a small event.
"Dragonite~"
It should be fine.
Dusknoir comforted Yuga. Dragonite had always been steady and disciplined. This breakthrough was something that had come naturally, and unless something unexpected happened, it would be fine.
The pressure in the sky was growing stronger by the second. The remaining conscious Crustle, Gigalith, and Swoobat on the ground were all trembling violently.
So terrifying! So terrifying!
Crack~ Crack~ Crack~
The cloud layer hung directly above the three groups, and each bolt of lightning that cracked down from it sent shivers through them. They didn't dare move a muscle—they thought Yuga was still commanding Dragonite to keep electrocuting them.
Diddly diddly~ Diddly diddly~
At this moment, Yuga suddenly heard a strange noise. He immediately recognized the source—he was all too familiar with this kind of cry because his Ecopark had many of these Pokémon.
Sure enough, before long, groups of Magnemite, Magneton, and Magnezone gathered below the clouds, greedily absorbing the strands of lightning leaking down from the cloud layer.
Electric-type Pokémon from the Magnemite line have a habit of absorbing natural lightning during thunderstorms. Now that Dragonite was on the verge of a breakthrough and had drawn almost all Electric-type energy in the area toward itself, the Magnemite living in the prairie had naturally been drawn to the phenomenon.
The Magnemite didn't dare get too close to the cloud layer, because the lightning there was far too intense. Not only could they not absorb it, but if they were struck, they'd end up injured. So they could only keep a distance and try to "sip the soup" from afar.
Still, even so, Dragonite's breakthrough was an incredibly rare feast for the Magnemite line of Pokémon.
"Roooar~"
No one knew how much time had passed when suddenly a loud and high-pitched dragon's roar rang out from within the cloud layer. In the next moment, countless golden lights began to blossom inside the pitch-black clouds. Lightning, like golden snakes, shot outward in all directions, exploding like a massive firework in the sky—glorious and dazzling—turning the entire land below into a field of gold.
Startled, the Magnemite, Magneton, and Magnezone all scattered and fled in panic. In no time, they had vanished without a trace.
With a loud BOOM, the cloud layer burst apart, and Dragonite's majestic figure was fully revealed.
...
[ Dragonite ]
Type: Dragon, Flying
Gender: Male
Ability: Multiscale
Potential: Purple
Level: 91
Moves: Rain Dance, Twister, Thunder Wave, Dragon Rage, Dragon Tail, Aqua Tail, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Extreme Speed, Fire Punch, Brick Break, Roost, Outrage, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush, Hurricane, Dragon Claw, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Dragon Pulse.
...
Dragonite had finally become a true Master-level Pokémon.
Its breakthrough was so dramatic that it drew attention from many Pokémon across the grassland—especially from the deeper parts, including the lord of the grassland, who had been constantly attacking the Pioneer Army.
The lord of the grassland could clearly feel the immense power of the Pokémon that had just broken through, but it didn't know that this Pokémon belonged to the humans. It merely assumed that a powerful Pokémon in the grassland had reached a breakthrough by chance.
Its original territory was on the other side of the battlefront. While it had some knowledge of this area, it didn't know it thoroughly. It only had a general idea of where the powerful Pokémon in this region were hiding.
Still, it was puzzled—why did the location of the breakthrough feel so much like the place where its subordinates were stationed?
Thinking this over, the lord of the grassland decided to put aside what it was doing and go check on things first.
Although that part of its army was just a small division, they had earned merit for it in previous assaults on the Pioneer Army and had fought with great dedication. It couldn't allow them to fall at the hands of some unknown Pokémon for no reason.
After seriously injuring General Toyama, the lord of the grassland had initially planned to take a squad to launch a sneak attack on the Pioneer Army, but now it had to abandon that plan.
At this moment, Yuga still didn't realize that Dragonite's breakthrough had actually helped avert a crisis for the Pioneer Army.
Elsewhere, the Emboar who had been at the cave entrance was on its way home. Suddenly, it noticed the commotion in the distant sky. It hesitated for a moment, then a look of wild joy appeared on its face, and it immediately took off at full speed in the direction of the lightning.
Back on Yuga's side, Dragonite descended slowly from the sky after completing its breakthrough, its face filled with joy. Seeing this, Yuga praised it heavily.
"Not bad, not bad at all. I didn't expect you to break through so easily. That really caught me by surprise…"
"Dragonite~ Dragonite~"
Dragonite let out a cheerful cry.
Embarrassed by Yuga's compliments, Dragonite scratched its head sheepishly, a hint of shyness gleaming in its eyes.
After chatting with Dragonite for a moment, Yuga began dealing with the Crustle, Gigalith, and Swoobat. These Pokémon had already been scared out of their wits by the chaos caused during Dragonite's breakthrough. When Yuga went to capture them, they didn't resist in the slightest.
Afterward, Yuga began inquiring about General Damov and the others. The Crustle, Gigalith, and Swoobat were too afraid to lie and revealed everything they knew—but unfortunately, they all stated that they had no idea where General Damov and the others were.
Just as Yuga was feeling troubled, a Swoobat revealed that perhaps their leader might know something.
Unlike the Crustle and Gigalith, two groups that the lord of the grassland had only subdued after arriving in this area, the Swoobat group had been long-time subordinates. The Swoobat leader in particular was deeply trusted by the lord of the grassland.
The reason the Swoobat group had pledged loyalty to that lord of the grassland was because the lord of the grassland had once saved their leader's life many years ago. After that, the leader led the entire group to join under the lord of the grassland's command.
So Yuga went ahead and revived the Swoobat leader, who had been struck unconscious by Dragonite's lightning. Unexpectedly, the leader did know about the whereabouts of General Damov and the others. However, unlike its kin, the Swoobat leader was extremely loyal to the lord of the grassland. No matter how much Yuga tried to intimidate or bribe it, it refused to betray the lord of the grassland.
There was only one reason—the lord of the grassland had once saved its life.
Seeing how stubborn it was, Yuga began spouting nonsense.
"He may have saved your life, but I spared your life! You and your whole kin are in my hands, you're now my captives. I didn't kill you—that's the same as saving all of you.
He saved only you; I saved your entire group."
The Swoobat leader got confused by Yuga's twisted logic and actually started to think it made sense.
"Well… okay then, I… I'll tell you."
The Swoobat leader, who didn't seem too bright, agreed in a daze. The other Swoobats couldn't bear to watch. They'd never realized how silly their leader was before.
But none of them reminded their leader. In fact, they encouraged it to tell Yuga everything.
Unlike their leader, the rest of the Swoobat group wasn't that loyal to the lord of the grassland. Over the years, the lord of the grassland had ordered them around without giving them much in return. Their resentment had been growing for a long time. Only their leader continued to obey unconditionally.
Now that they were already captives, wasn't it better to improve their situation a little?
Encouraged by its own group, the Swoobat leader spoke reluctantly about what it knew. Yuga gave the other Swoobats a look of approval, and they felt instantly delighted inside.
They had all contributed—surely this terrifyingly powerful human would treat them well, right?
The Swoobats didn't know that Yuga had never intended to mistreat them from the beginning.
However, Pokémon on the grassland were naturally fierce and ruthless toward prisoners, so it was understandable that the Swoobats were worried.
There was a cave on the grassland, and within it was a natural labyrinth. Once inside, few humans or Pokémon ever found their way out.
That was where General Damov and the others had been tricked into going—and now they were trapped inside.
This grassland was home to many powerful and mysterious Pokémon, especially deeper in. But the most powerful Pokémon in this area was an Emboar.
The one who had tricked General Damov and the others into the cave was that Emboar.
Not long ago, when the lord of the grassland had first arrived in this region, it had been in terrible shape, with very few subordinates left. Later, it sought out the Emboar.
No one knew what sort of deal the lord of the grassland struck with the Emboar, but afterward it began to "recruit soldiers and gather forces" again, quickly rebuilding its strength and launching a new campaign of vengeance against the Pioneer Army.
The reason why the lord of the grassland was able to recruit so many powerful Pokémon clans so quickly was mainly due to the Emboar's reputation.
In fact, most of the time, the Emboar did not appear in person, nor did it often directly support the lord of the grassland's operations. Otherwise, the pressure on the Pioneer Army would have been many times greater by now.
But just the fact that the Emboar was involved gave the lord of the grassland a tremendous advantage.
Not long ago, the lord of the grassland once again approached the Emboar and asked it to help lure General Damov and the others into the labyrinth cave. Considering the deal they had, the Emboar agreed.
The Emboar's mate was a Musharna, also one of the strongest Pokémon in this region. But what it was most famous for was its ability to weave dreams, able to create illusions without the target even realizing it.
Using its mate's powerful dream-weaving powers, Emboar successfully lured General Damov and several hundred others into the labyrinth cave.
After hearing what the Swoobat leader had said, Yuga became quite interested in the Emboar and Musharna, but thinking of General Damov and the others, he decided to rescue the people first.
"Then do you know where the labyrinth cave is?" Yuga asked.
Of course I do.
The labyrinth cave might be a deadly place for other Pokémon, but not for Swoobats, because they possessed special ultrasonic waves that allowed them to distinguish directions inside the maze.
The reason the Swoobat leader was so familiar with the labyrinth cave was because its parents had told it that a long, long time ago, the Swoobat group had lived inside the labyrinth cave. It was only due to some incident that they had left that place.
However, its father had also warned it that while their ultrasonic waves could help them navigate the maze, they must never approach the very center of the labyrinth. That place was extremely dangerous, and even ultrasonic waves would be useless there.
As for what exactly lay at the center of the maze, even the leader's father didn't know—only that it had always been strictly warned against since childhood.
"Since you know where it is, then guide me there," Yuga said to the Swoobat leader.
The Swoobat leader hesitated again upon hearing this, but its kin immediately began urging it to accept Yuga's request.
"Leader, agree to it, agree to it!"
"Say yes, say yes—he's a good person!"
…
At this point, the Swoobats were throwing themselves into flattering Yuga with all their might.
Sure enough, encouraged by its own group, the Swoobat leader agreed to lead the way for Yuga.
After Yuga had left—no one knew how long it had been—the lord of the grassland finally arrived at the area. Staring at the empty riverside, it felt a growing sense of suspicion and unease.
Where are my subordinates?
Even if that powerful Pokémon invaded, it shouldn't have wiped out every single one of them!
Looking at the traces of battle left around the riverbank, the lord of the grassland deduced that a horrific battle must have occurred here!
Could it have been a human?
Only a human could silently and mysteriously take away so many Pokémon at once.
The more it thought about it, the more suspicious and uneasy the lord of the grassland became.
At that moment, the Emboar also arrived. When it saw that the lord of the grassland was already here, doubt crept into its mind as well.