Its trunk and leaves were pitch black, almost like ink, and the air around it felt unnaturally cold, sending a creepy chill through anyone nearby.
The thick canopy blocked out a large patch of sunlight, and dark, wispy fog seemed to seep from the tree itself.
Larry recognized this kind of thing immediately.
"How's that? Could it be a Death Aura?"
Ging approached Larry, hoping for answers.
The tree reminded him a lot of a Death Aura, so he turned to Larry, known among them as the "Exorcist Master."
"It looks very similar, but I can't say for sure," Larry replied, shaking his head.
"After all, on the Dark Continent, strange and unexplainable things are pretty normal."
While he couldn't confirm it was a Death Aura, he was certain it was something closely related.
Larry suspected that the strange ability to transform from a branch into a large tree was caused by the dark, gloomy black fog surrounding it.
After witnessing Miru cut off a branch only for it to immediately grow into a massive tree, no one dared to attack the branches again.
They feared that their attacks might inadvertently strengthen the enemy.
To boost their
morale, Larry shouted, "Don't worry, this ability only lasts for a limited time. It'll die out soon."
According to information from Shaymin, the branch originally held a strong life force, but as it grew into a big tree, that life force was being rapidly consumed. It was clearly a temporary burst of power, an intense but short-lived "glory."
Although the tree's strength increased dramatically in a short span, it would wither away once the time ran out. However, the tree didn't just stand there quietly.
After a while, colorful dust began to drift out from under its shade, floating toward the crowd even though there was no wind. Anyone could tell this dust was suspicious and dangerous.
Larry guessed it was some kind of paralysis or hypnotic powder meant to incapacitate them. Then, Beyond stepped forward and, with a casual slap of his palm, wrapped in bright, powerful aura, broke the steel-like branches.
But before he could celebrate, the fallen branches quickly took root in the soil and suddenly grew exponentially. Frowning, Beyond stomped the ground, sending soil flying into the air and launched himself backward to avoid the rapidly sprouting trees.
"This won't work.
We have to deal with the root cause!" he warned.
"Who knows how long this thing can keep attacking?"
Nearby, a golden fist glowing with fiery aura slammed into the branches with full force, but instead of being burned to ashes, the branches only had scorch marks and remained intact. Larry suspected the black fog above was protecting the branches somehow.
Ging's expression stayed calm, but he also retreated quickly, if he hadn't, he would have been crushed by the rapidly growing trees.
"Yes, plants have incredible endurance, especially when their vitality is this strong," Larry murmured, realizing just how tough their opponent was.
Ging stood firmly, brushing the dust off his clothes with a serious expression.
"Maybe they could fight non-stop for three days and three nights," he said quietly.
Just as one wave of tension seemed to settle, another surged. The enemies lurking in the shadows, frustrated by their failure to capture everyone, finally lost their restraint.
It wasn't just desperation, it was greed driving them, the desperate need to catch Shaymin clouding their judgment. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble violently, sending shockwaves through the area.
"What's happening?
An earthquake?!" bushidora shouted as he dodged swinging branches, focusing his aura into his feet to stay steady.
"No, this isn't an earthquake!"
Beyond's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched tightly. He shouted a warning, "The big one is coming out!
Everyone, step back!" With his experience, he spotted the truth before even Miru could, something massive was rising from beneath the earth.
The scene before them was like a natural disaster unfolding. The ground twisted and rolled like a rising sea, deep cracks splitting the surface.
In the distance, where the flower field lay, the earth lifted abruptly, transforming from flat land into a steep hill, continuing to climb higher and higher. Then, with a thunderous roar, soil and fresh grass erupted in every direction, thick dust sweeping through the air and darkening the sky above them.
Everyone's faces paled as a gargantuan shadow took shape.
"What kind of monster is that?" someone gasped.
"A giant tree man?!"
Bushidora yelled, so shocked he bit his tongue. Towering over them like a small mountain, the tree man was made entirely of dark, gnarled wood.
Its limbs and torso were massive and solid, but what was most unsettling was the bulge on its head, bark twisted into the shape of a human face with a strange, eerie smile. Dust and mud fell from its colossal form as it looked down at them, looming high above, casting a long shadow over the entire area.
Everyone was sweating and speechless as they faced this strange, towering figure. The tree man gave off an overwhelming sense of power that was hard to ignore.
If Larry had used his illustration ability to analyze it, he would have seen that this bizarre tree man had reached the peak of S-level, a rank just one step below SS-level, separated by what seemed like an unbridgeable gap. This explained its intense desire to capture Shaymin; with Shaymin in its grasp, it could finally break through to that higher level.
While everyone was stunned, Larry's attention was drawn to the Pokemon that had just finished hatching, the last from the two breeding slots. True to expectations, it was one of the three Forces of Nature: the Landorus, a second-level God among the trio and the highest-ranked of them all.
The Landorus appeared as an orange, muscular Pokemon. Behind its head was a white, log-shaped protrusion, and its face was framed by a jagged white beard with two pointed orange ears on either side.
Its eyes were yellow with small, round white pupils, and interestingly, the right eye was smaller than the left. Its upper body, set against an orange-yellow background, was scattered with dark pink spots of various shapes, diamonds, pebbles, and raindrops.
The Landorus's arms were strong and muscular, like those of a powerful man, while its lower body was completely enveloped in white clouds. Its tail was thick, curly, and made up of brown branches, with many flat bumps on the front side.
Larry suddenly realized that Shaymin and Landorus could work together perfectly. The Landorus could absorb wind and thunder, converting them into aura to nourish the soil and make the earth fertile.
The aura flowing from its tail replenished the soil's nutrients, helping crops thrive wherever it went. For this reason, it was known as the god of farmland.
The Landorus served to calm the incarnations of whirlwind and electric shock when they clashed, symbolizing that after storms and thunder, the earth would be ready for a bountiful harvest.