The dark storm burst apart like a collapsing skyscraper, scattered winds spreading in all directions as the massive attack disintegrated completely.
Lugia plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the newly reinforced ice below. The impact sent fresh cracks spider-webbing across the frozen surface, the legendary Pokemon's massive form creating a crater in the solid water.
John floated calmly in mid-air, having already received the system notification that Lugia had been defeated. The massive experience gain had leveled up nearly every Pokemon he'd used in the battle.
He looked down at Lovrina in the distance.
The dungeon wasn't over yet, she hadn't been completely defeated. However, since Shadow Lugia had fallen, Lovrina had lost her greatest asset. She had already lost, and they both knew it.
Lovrina certainly thought so too.
After witnessing Zeraora's terrifying power, she couldn't even bear to think about trying to capture and convert it into a Shadow Pokemon. What she was thinking now was how to evacuate as quickly as possible and find somewhere she could make a comeback.
Since she'd been able to capture a Lugia and transform it into a Shadow Pokemon before, she could capture another legendary Pokemon to transform later.
She glanced at the Shadow Dragonite still being systematically suppressed by Mega Garchomp.
Forget it, no point in saving the Shadow Dragonite. It can't even defeat a single Garchomp.
The important thing was to escape and plan a sneak attack on another champion later.
Lovrina shot John a venomous look, memorizing his appearance. When she had enough strength, she would make her comeback and make him pay the price.
She raised her hand to signal Malamar to teleport her away.
But Lovrina waited on the spot for more than ten seconds, and found that she was still there. The scenery hadn't changed, and she hadn't been teleported away.
"Malamar?" Lovrina thought her Shadow Malamar didn't understand what she meant, and turned to look at it.
All she saw was a pair of eyes spinning like pinwheels, completely dazed.
Shadow Malamar was out of combat.
"What... when?!" Lovrina felt a chill of horror. The Shadow Malamar had been floating behind her the entire time, and even now it was still supporting her with Confusion. How had it lost its fighting ability so silently?
Lovrina suddenly noticed Mega Gardevoir in its elegant black dress.
It was quietly floating behind the Shadow Malamar, graceful and ethereal.
When did Mega Gardevoir get there?!
Before Lovrina could figure out what had happened, her eyes suddenly went dark, and her consciousness fell into a deep abyss, as if something was dragging her down and she couldn't resist.
John remained floating in the air.
Taking down Lovrina and Shadow Malamar couldn't have been easier, nothing more than a couple of Hypnosis attacks.
However, what puzzled him now was... why hadn't the dungeon been completed yet?
Lugia was defeated. Lovrina was also defeated. All the enemies that should have been defeated in the dungeon had been defeated.
Was there a more powerful existence hidden somewhere?
John frowned, thinking it over.
Come to think of it, this dungeon didn't seem to mention any specific task objectives...
This was the first time John had encountered such a situation.
He looked down at the unconscious Dark Lugia.
Could it be... a free dungeon, allowing him to capture Lugia?
John took out a Pokeball and threw it at the legendary Pokemon.
There was no resistance to the red light, and Lugia was captured immediately.
John raised his eyebrows in surprise. This Lugia hadn't been properly caught by Lovrina?
No matter, he'd never understand why villains didn't use Pokeballs after catching legendary Pokemon anyway.
It was a bit troubling, though, that this Lugia was an actual Shadow Pokemon. Unlike naturally dark Pokemon like his Aerodactyl, this Lugia was a Pokemon transformed by Lovrina using technology.
Without any self-will, it was just a weapon.
If he wanted to command and train it properly, it would be best to remove its Shadow Pokemon condition first.
"I remember in the games, if you want to turn Shadow Pokemon back into normal Pokemon, you have to go through something called a Purify Chamber," John murmured to himself.
That technology seemed to be only available in the Orre Region...
"Hey!"
John snapped his fingers.
Lovrina, who had lost consciousness due to Hypnosis, was suddenly awakened.
"Uh..."
A single word came out of her mouth before Lovrina lost consciousness again, but this time she didn't fall into a coma, she fell into a confused, suggestible state.
"What region did you come to Hoenn from?" John asked.
"Ferrum Region," Lovrina answered honestly, as if she were talking in her sleep.
"Ferrum Region?" The answer was completely different from what John had expected.
The Ferrum Region was the setting for "Pokemon Tournament" in the Pokemon series. Was this region related to Shadow Pokemon?
John thought about it carefully. The only thing related to Shadow Pokemon was probably the final boss "Shadow Mewtwo" in Pokemon Tournament.
Could it be that Shadow Mewtwo was also Lovrina's work?
Probably not. If it was her creation, she should have brought it with her. Then he would have had absolutely no chance to beat her so easily.
"Do you know the route to Ferrum Region?" John asked.
"Yes."
"How do you get there?"
"I have a map to Ferrum Region in my lab."
"Perfect!" John raised his eyebrows, never thinking there would be an unexpected bonus. He gestured to Mega Gardevoir.
Mega Gardevoir's psychic power immediately spread toward the depths of Sea Mauville, searching for the map to Ferrum Region.
"Then what region are you... originally from?" John changed his question.
"Orre Region."
Of course! John knew he was right.
"Then do you know the route to Orre Region?"
"I don't know..."
"You don't know? Then how did you get to Ferrum Region?" John was surprised.
"It was Professor Krane who sent me from the shadow organization's special transport to Ferrum Region for experience," Lovrina replied honestly.
Shadow, that was the name of the evil organization in the Orre Region. Professor Krane, an executive and chief scientist of the shadow organization, had overseen the research and creation of Shadow Pokemon.
"Did he say when he would pick you up?" John asked.
"Never."
Right...
It seemed his idea of going directly to the Orre Region through Lovrina wasn't feasible.
"Then... do you have a way to turn Shadow Lugia back into a normal Pokemon?"
"Yes."
"What method?"
"Through the Purify Chamber in my lab."
"Don't you want to transform all Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon? Why is there a Purify Chamber in your laboratory?"
"Occasionally, there are imperfect Shadow Pokemon that need to be reformed after purification."