After a while, as the Aura fluctuations around Shaymin and Blissey gradually weakened before finally settling into complete stillness.
The black mist surrounding Don had completely dissipated, and his appearance had undergone a tremendous transformation.
His formerly withered and frail body was gone, replaced by what should have been his true form all along.
Standing about two to three meters tall, his body was now filled with lean, powerful muscles, covered by a glossy black robe.
His previously pale and weak face had gained some color, and his once-turbid eyes had become completely clear.
His gaze now brimmed with vitality.
At this moment, the impression Don gave Akira was that of an extremely active volcano on the verge of eruption.
His body was filled with an immense amount of energy, any slight release of which could cause significant disturbances.
Now that the [Disaster] within him had been completely eradicated, he no longer needed to expend most of his energy suppressing the illness.
At the same time, all the energy he had consumed was replenished.
It could be said that this was the true Don at his peak, unaffected by [Disaster], capable of unleashing his full strength.
Akira now activated his Pokédex ability, which showed that Don had fully recovered, his strength rating restored to SS-class.
This meant that if Don were defeated now, Akira would gain SS-class experience points.
The difference between minor tiers within S-class was already vast, and the gap in SS-class was even greater. The experience from SS- couldn't compare to full SS-class.
This potential gain alone made treating Don completely worthwhile.
Not to mention the two additional conditions that came with it.
For Akira, this exchange was all benefit with no drawbacks.
However, what Akira didn't expect was that Don's transformation didn't stop there.
Watching the silent but increasingly excited Don, a look of surprise appeared on Akira's face.
[Is this... a breakthrough?]
Don's aura had previously stabilized, but after pausing for a few breaths, it suddenly began climbing again.
This was clearly a new breakthrough beyond his original level.
After reading the Pokédex ability's explanation, Akira understood why Don had achieved this breakthrough.
It wasn't simply due to the treatment.
It also involved [Disaster].
Originally, Don's Aura wasn't that strange black-and-white energy but pure white Aura.
However, due to [Disaster's] influence, his body had been eroded, and even his Aura had been tainted with a dark hue.
This resulted in the peculiar black-and-white Aura.
Over long-term exposure, Don not only endured the erosion but also contemplated how to utilize it.
Eventually, he managed to develop some abilities that allowed him to use his Aura to produce certain [Disaster] effects.
In other words, he forcibly turned a negative effect into something with both advantages and disadvantages.
However, this made [Disaster] even harder to remove and separate from him.
But he wasn't afraid of this because his method of dealing with [Disaster] was unique.
He relied on death, then resurrection through his soul, ensuring previous negative states wouldn't carry over.
This had always been his way of avoiding risks.
Who would have thought that today, Akira would directly cure him.
And then coincidence struck.Although Shaymin and Blissey had cleared the [Calamity], the portion that Don had utilized did not vanish.
Instead, it further integrated with his body, forming new effects.
This led to breakthroughs in his physique, strength, and other aspects.
This time, Don not only eradicated the [Calamity] but also used it to elevate his power to new heights.
A few minutes later, Don abruptly opened his tightly shut eyes, a fleeting glint of eerie intensity flashing through them.
At the same time, his Aura surged to its peak, an indescribable pressure enveloping the entire space.
Though he remained at SS-rank, he had undoubtedly made significant progress.
At this level, even the slightest improvement was nothing to scoff at, and advancing to the next minor stage was as difficult as scaling the heavens.
"Haah—"
Don exhaled a turbid breath, feeling as though countless years had passed, his transformation immense.
With a complicated gaze, he examined his body, easily sensing the astonishing energy brimming within every inch.
[Not only did it help eliminate the threat, but it even pushed my strength further…]
Savoring the vitality coursing through him, Don momentarily lost himself in the euphoria of newfound power.
But his eyes quickly regained clarity, becoming piercingly clear, as if capable of seeing through all things in the world.
Having endured countless trials of willpower, he could now confidently claim immunity to any temptation—
Even the allure of strength.
After briefly acclimating to his body, Don turned to Akira, who had remained silent all this while, and spoke sincerely:
"Akira, thank you."
Don didn't see this as a transaction—it felt more like Akira had helped him, even the condition of "copying memories" included.
After the treatment, Don was now fully convinced that Akira harbored no ill will toward him.
Otherwise, there would have been no need to go this far, no need to take such pains.
He also trusted that his intuition wouldn't be wrong.
Akira chuckled lightly. "It was nothing. Besides, you didn't walk away empty-handed either."
Don nodded, then asked curiously, "Then who will be my next sparring partner…?"
It wasn't arrogance—the current him was simply too different from before.
If it were still that steel behemoth, there would be no way for it to match him in combat.
Unless he suppressed most of his power, a single move would be enough to defeat it.
And if it were that terrifying Aura Beast with an oceanic presence, then sparring would be even more pointless.
He might as well concede outright—there'd be no need for a match.
Unless…
Don's brow twitched as another possibility crossed his mind.
Akira's figure flickered as he retreated to a distance—roughly where he had stood earlier—and replied:
"It's not an Aura Beast you've encountered before. You'll find out soon enough."
The moment he finished speaking, Akira's shadow seemed to come alive, writhing violently as if something monstrous were emerDon from it.
Then, like raDon flames, the shadow rapidly expanded in all directions, spreading like an enormous black cloth.
The sandy ground was naturally engulfed, and even the surrounding white space turned pitch-black.
It was as if the entire world had been swallowed by darkness, leaving almost no light.
Along with this sudden transformation came an eerie, unfathomable presence!
An endless surge of black Aura, like an ink-formed sea, swiftly drowned the entire battlefield.
A suffocating, oppressive aura permeated the Digital World, making it feel as though one were submerged in the depths of the ocean.
Suddenly, a petite figure materialized on the scene, appearing and vanishing like a ghost without a trace.
At first glance, it resembled an oversized black cotton candy—yet this adorable creature radiated such terrifying energy!
It was none other than the Mythical Pokémon—Marshadow!
"Oh?"
Marshadow tilted its head slightly, placing a tiny hand near its mouth in a gesture reminiscent of a child sucking its thumb, letting out a soft cry.
Marshadow's design brimmed with mystery and fantasy.
Its head seemed adorned with a smoke-like helmet, with two curved horns protruding from either side.
The tilt of its head caused the horns to slant as well.
At the very center, a flowing, horsetail-like horn swayed gently.
Marshadow's eyes were a vivid orange-red, with yellow pupils, each crowned by a yellow oval-shaped marking.
Within those yellow pupils, Don's figure was reflected, and a glimmer of excitement flickered in its gaze.
To Marshadow, Don was nothing more than a playmate—someone it could indulge in unrestrained fun with.
...
Don narrowed his eyes, subtly scanning his surroundings, which were now shrouded in an inky blackness.
[To think its mere appearance could alter the environment to this extent...] Don mused silently.
Had something gone wrong somewhere?
Why was it that every single one of Akira's Aura Beasts could exert such a massive influence on their surroundings?
But that wasn't the focus of Don's concern.
As he observed the child-like Aura Beast in the distance, a sudden realization struck him, causing his pupils to constrict slightly.
Just how many Aura Beasts did Akira possess?!
Until now, he had never given it much thought.
Conventional wisdom held that the number of a Nen user's Aura Beasts was inversely proportional to their quality.
After all, a Nen user's Aura and innate talent had their limits.
If one prioritized quantity, the quality would inevitably suffer—and vice versa.
Thus, most Nen users had anywhere from one or two Aura Beasts to a dozen or more.
Yet, without exception, the most formidable Aura Beasts Don had ever encountered all belonged to Akira.
And that alone would have been remarkable—but Akira also possessed an unusually high number of them.
So far, Don had witnessed five distinct Aura Beasts under Akira's command!
Any one of them would have been the kind of Aura Beast a Nen user could typically only hope to master a single specimen of.
Yet Akira wielded them all simultaneously.
Even more astonishing was the possibility that Akira might still have more Aura Beasts he hadn't yet revealed.
Marshadow's appearance first and foremost shocked Don with the sheer quantity and quality of Akira's Aura Beasts.
[I'll have to ask him about this later.]
Recognizing that now wasn't the time for in-depth inquiries, Don suppressed his curiosity and turned his attention to Marshadow, who was poised and ready.
His expression shifted from calm to solemn.
This Aura Beast's presence was on par with his own!
Had he not just undergone an improvement, he would have been utterly overwhelmed—completely outmatched.
"Now this... is a perfect sparring partner!"
Don lowered his head slightly, muttering to himself as his eyelids drooped.
By the time he finished speaking, the fire in his eyes was unmistakable, his heart brimming with fighting spirit.
His earlier spar had left him unsatisfied.
Now, free of distractions, he was more than eager for another round.
Don's body suddenly erupted with terrifying Aura fluctuations, his messy hair shooting straight up.
Combined with the intense waves around his body, at first glance, it looked like a Saiyan transformation.
In an instant, Don abruptly turned around, leaving not a single afterimage, his right hand swiftly grasping forward like an iron clamp.
However, when his right hand lunged forward, it only dispersed a wisp of an illusion—nothing but air remained.
[An afterimage?]
[No… This is an illusion!]
Don's lips curled as the Aura on his body madly extended outward, expanding in the form of a semicircular space.
An enormous [En].
As he expanded his [En], a small black figure abruptly appeared beside him.
Then, with a sharp kick, it accurately struck Don's right waist, delivering a flying kick.
But the expected effect didn't come—Don merely shuddered before quickly recovering.
With his terrifying Aura capacity, every part of his body was covered in an extremely thick [Ken].
Marshadow's kick was entirely blocked by [Ken].
The same move, when used against opponents of different levels, naturally produced different results.
Jin had been sent flying by this simple kick, but Don only trembled slightly, completely unaffected.
The difference between the two was obvious at a glance.
Don glanced sideways at Marshadow but chose not to turn his body—that would take too much time.
Instead, dense, ink-black Aura suddenly seeped from his body, its eerie nature far surpassing that of death Aura by several times.
If this black Aura made contact, something terrible would surely happen.
Marshadow showed no fear. Before the black Aura could reach it, its body had already vanished from the ground.
Like a large piece of chocolate melting away.
As expected, Don's attack missed again.
Don snorted coldly, feeling quite vexed.
His earlier attack wasn't entirely useless, though—he had figured out this Aura Beast's ability.
It could move freely within this "dark world," appearing and disappearing unpredictably.
Now, capturing it would be much more troublesome.
He could only rely on [En], counterattacking the moment he sensed any movement.
The next moment, Don detected Aura fluctuations in a certain direction and abruptly looked up at the sky.
A black shadow suddenly descended, carrying no air currents or the sound of breaking wind.
"Boom!!"
Marshadow and Don's arms collided, two boundless surges of Aura erupting simultaneously.
The two were locked in a contest of strength.
From the point of impact, terrifying shockwaves radiated outward, stirring up eerie gusts of wind.
Don stared at the "little one" before him.
Though it seemed somewhat cute, he didn't dare underestimate it in the slightest.
Because its strength was astonishing!
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the force transmitted through his arm was still increasing!
At this moment, Marshadow's fighting spirit burned even fiercer—it had finally encountered an opponent it could go all out against.
As the struggle continued, Marshadow's body gradually began to transform, from the inside out.
Akira, sensing Marshadow's changes, felt both shock and a sudden realization.
Could this be…
Full-Power Marshadow?
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