Just as their own energy was about to be completely exhausted, the aftershocks of the massive explosion finally faded.
The next second, the three Regis collapsed to the ground—now, they didn't even have the strength to lift a finger. Their levels, which had briefly surged to 98, also dropped back to 95.
As for the Ancient Giant Tree, it could be considered "saved"—though many of its branches were destroyed, and nearly a third of its canopy had been obliterated.
But the main trunk remained intact. As long as the trunk survived, the lost branches and leaves would regrow within a few decades.
The Regi trio had successfully blocked the Self-Destructs' impact from hitting the trunk directly.
However, the shockwaves of the Self-Destructs were omnidirectional—so every area not shielded by the Regis had been reduced to nothing. Nearly the entire surrounding forest had been obliterated—with only a small portion behind the Ancient Giant Tree remaining.
The blast's aftermath also destroyed over half of the technological city nearby.
Fortunately, this was a Ruin with few Pokémon living in it. If it had been in a Secret Realm, the death toll could have easily reached into the hundreds of millions.
To the Regis, as long as the Ancient Giant Tree was safe, everything else could be sacrificed.
Still, they couldn't help wondering—why hadn't Lord Mew appeared despite such a commotion? Could it really be sleeping that deeply?
In reality, Mew was no longer inside the Ancient Giant Tree. It had taken the exclusive Pokéblocks Julian gave it and happily returned to the World Tree, munching away in bliss.
Otherwise, it would have intervened long ago to stop the explosion.
"I didn't expect you to actually block it."
A mocking voice suddenly rang in the Regis' ears.
Struggling to lift their heads, the three weakened Titans saw a stranger standing a few dozen meters away, accompanied by a Chandelure.
Norman's eyes gleamed as he stared at the Regis. He had assumed the massive Self-Destruct explosion would be enough to finish them off—but surprisingly, they had endured it.
But it didn't matter now. The Regis had no strength left; they were nothing more than lambs waiting for slaughter.
"By devouring your souls, my Chandelure will complete its final transformation… becoming a true Champion-tier Pokémon."
Norman walked toward them step by step.
He had no intention of capturing them. For any Mythical or Legendary Pokémon, unless they followed you willingly, even if you captured them, the rule power within them would break the Poké Ball.
So Norman had no plans for capture—he simply wanted to kill the Regis and use their souls as nourishment for his partner's final breakthrough.
Three mid-stage Champion-level Pokémon—Legendaries at that—would have souls far superior to those of any ordinary Pokémon at the same tier.
Once Chandelure absorbed them, its power after breaking through to Champion rank would be unmatched.
"Kill them," Norman ordered coldly.
Chandelure had long been impatient. To break through to the Champion tier, both it and its trainer had gone to extreme lengths already.
It had devoured over a million souls—yet still couldn't reach the Champion-level.
The main reason wasn't the quantity—it was the lack of quality.
Unless it consumed tens of millions of souls, it could never break through.
But that plan had failed.
"Grandpa, I told you I was right."
Just as Chandelure was about to finish off the defenseless Regis, a new voice cut through the air.
"Who's there?!"
Norman instantly leapt back, releasing five Psychic-type Pokémon to shield himself.
Julian and John—riding a Dragonite and a Skarmory, respectively—stared down at him with cold eyes.
Seeing Julian return to the Ruin, and with John Walker himself in tow, Norman's expression flickered briefly before quickly returning to normal.
"Champion Walker? Julian? What brings you here?" Norman asked with feigned confusion.
Julian crossed his arms and sneered.
"Still acting, huh?"
Norman frowned. "What do you mean? If this is about me ignoring your advice and entering the forest, causing casualties in the expedition team… then yes, I admit that was my mistake."
In seconds, Norman had already crafted a plausible excuse—one that almost sounded convincing.
But Julian wasn't in the mood to waste time on verbal games.
"You were the 'mysterious man' behind the Haitian City incident. You captured Manaphy, lured Kyogre, and tried to use Kyogre to slaughter tens of millions of people in Haitian City."
"You wanted to use the souls of those millions of civilians to push that Chandelure of yours into the Champion tier, didn't you?"
As he spoke, Julian shifted his gaze to Chandelure.
---
Pokémon: Chandelure (Ghost / Fire)
Level: 90
Potential: Blue
Ability: Flash Fire
Held Item: Dusk Stone
Gender: Male
Moves: Smog, Astonish, Ember, Minimize, Confuse Ray, Hex, Will-O-Wisp, Fire Spin, Night Shade, Curse, Shadow Ball, Inferno, Imprison, Pain Split, Overheat, Memento
TMs: Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Thief, Protect, Sunny Day, Trick Room, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Dark Pulse, Poltergeist, Spite
Egg Moves: Acid Armor, Haze, Clear Smog, Power Split
Note: After devouring countless souls, Ghost-type moves power has increased by 30%.
---
Within its Blue-grade potential, four-fifths had already turned Purple.
If Chandelure really absorbs the three Regis' high-quality souls—its potential would undoubtedly break through to Purple-grade.
And with its accumulated foundation, once it reached Purple potential, it wouldn't just reach early-stage Champion—it would skip straight to mid- or late-stage Champion-level.
Back then if Julian hadn't summoned Mewtwo that day, he would have been killed outright by Kyogre's Origin Pulse—and that attack would have instantly destroyed the entire Haitian City.
The tens of millions living in Haitian City would have perished in an instant.
This man was truly ruthless—just to increase his own strength, he had plotted the destruction of an entire city, and had nearly succeeded.
If this were a cultivation novel, he'd be the very definition of a demonic cultivator—someone who casually sacrifices an entire city's population in a blood ritual to advance his power.
"Julian, I don't know what you're talking about. What does the Haitian City incident have to do with me?"
Norman stared intently at Julian. He didn't believe that Julian could have recognized him from that time.
Back then, he had masked both his presence and Aura, and even the mask he wore was specially crafted to block most detection abilities.
At that time, Julian had only been a pseudo–Elite trainer; there was no way he could have known that the mysterious man was him.
Most likely, Julian had merely noticed something suspicious and was now deliberately trying to bait him into confessing.
Norman didn't know where exactly he had slipped up, but as long as he refused to admit anything, Julian could do nothing to him.
"Or perhaps I've offended you somehow? If so, I'll gladly apologize—there's no need to bring Champion Walker into this."
Julian wasn't the one Norman feared—what truly made him cautious was John. After all, that man was a Champion.
*****
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