The thunderous commotion continued, but things weren't as simple as Steelix had expected.
The [Formless Rock]'s body shrank first, countless rocks falling to the ground—only for them to reattach in the blink of an eye.
Like Hisoka's chewing gum Nen Ability, it fell and then returned, sticking together like glue.
After [Formless Rock] restored itself, the aura it emitted rose to another level.
It had now found the head it had been desperately searching for!
That's right—it intended to use Steelix as its own head.
If it succeeded, not only would its strength skyrocket, but its potential would also be greatly elevated.
[Formless Rock] stomped the ground violently, instantly tearing open a massive chunk of the already ravaged terrain.
Cracks rapidly expanded from thin fissures into enormous crevices, forming a "winding, Snakeine shape" that surged toward Steelix.
Steelix's eyes gleamed with ferocity as it writhed, its golden, glittering body segments shaking continuously.
Surrounded by countless electric sparks, its body levitated into the air, unaffected by the ground below.
Suddenly, its enormous tail swung with tremendous force, coated in diamond-like material.
This elevated the damage to another tier.
This was the [Gemstone Power] ability gained from consuming stone diamonds.
Thus, an enhanced Iron Tail shot straight toward [Formless Rock]'s torso, carrying the weight of a thousand jun.
Even the swing alone produced an incredibly heavy sound of splitting air, stirring violent winds in the valley.
[Formless Rock] reached out with both hands, attempting to swiftly grab Steelix's Iron Tail.
However, the moment its hands made contact, the overwhelming force proved impossible to withstand—its hands were instantly shattered!
The Iron Tail's momentum didn't falter, crashing squarely into [Formless Rock].
BOOM!
An explosion akin to a missile detonation echoed through the valley, as if [Formless Rock] had endured multiple rounds of missile strikes.
Its torso was instantly obliterated, with countless rocks and thick dust spreading across the battlefield.
As Steelix gained a surge of new experience points, [Formless Rock] was completely annihilated.
Seeing this, Steelix didn't hesitate and began voraciously devouring the rocky debris.
While gaining new experience, Steelix also acquired a new ability.
[Powerful Repair]: If its body sustains damage or loses a body part, the separated piece will automatically reattach and merge with the main body.
However, if the damage is too severe, it cannot be repaired, and the ability consumes a significant amount of energy.
With this ability, Steelix became the ultimate five-sided tank.
Offensively, it had Explosion, Toxic, and Diamonds.
For support, it had Gas.
Defensively, it had Dark Tremor and Diamonds.
For mobility, it had Shadow and Electromagnetic Levitation.
And for healing, it had Powerful Repair.
After devouring [Formless Rock], Akira continued riding Steelix deeper into the cavern.
Along the way, nothing particularly noteworthy appeared—the surrounding walls remained an orange-red hue.
Strangely, though, aside from the first batch, no more rockfish appeared.
Perhaps their numbers were simply scarce, making encounters rare.
However, one thing struck Akira as odd.
The deeper he ventured, the thinner the mist in the air became.
At the same time, the progress bar for the newly forming entity in his mind advanced rapidly.
Such incubation bars were rare for him—the most memorable one was Gengar's.
He had obtained it in the Harimu Ruins, where continuous exploration was required for it to fully form.
In other words, this incubation bar, like Gengar's, required him to keep pushing forward.
Generally, when such a situation arose, something extraordinary lay in the depths.
Sure enough, after advancing quietly for over ten minutes, Akira suddenly noticed that the rock wall beside him had changed.
The originally bare rock wall now bore dense, intricate patterns.
Some of these patterns twisted like earthworms, while others were rigidly square.
Together, they created a strangely unsettling sight.
But the most prevalent were dot-like patterns resembling Braille, scattered almost everywhere.
These spots formed some kind of message unknown to Akira, while also emitting an eerie green glow.
In the dim depths of the valley, they provided considerable illumination, allowing visibility over a greater distance.
So… was this some kind of ruin?
Akira stared at the cryptic symbols on the rock wall, his brow unconsciously furrowing.
He couldn't shake the feeling that these chaotic patterns served some purpose—they didn't seem randomly placed.
They were almost like…
Divine Script.
However, Porygon-Z, who had studied Divine Script, confirmed that this wasn't it.
If anything, it belonged to another type of writing with special properties—just not Divine Script.
Deciphering it would take a considerable amount of time.
Akira wasn't bothered by this and told Porygon-Z to take its time. He wasn't in a hurry.
If this truly was a script similar to Divine Script, it suggested that someone—or some civilization—had once lived here.
And it predated the Kurta Clan's settlement in the area.
According to The Elder, their people had lived here since ancient times and had never encountered another human race nearby.
This implied that before the Kurta Clan, another species might have inhabited this volcanic region.
He referred to them as a "species" because Akira wasn't sure if they were human.
After all, based on creatures like the Stone Giants and Diamond Spirits he had encountered before, their intelligence was no less than that of humans.
In the Dark Continent, anything could possess wisdom—humans were no longer the dominant force.
Still…
The bizarre, convoluted patterns, combined with the various rock-type "disasters" encountered in this valley, made Akira uneasy.
A vague silhouette of a Pokémon flickered in his mind.
If his hunch was right, then his intuition hadn't failed him—this really was an excellent Pokémon.
With excitement stirring in his chest, Akira remained seated on Steelix's back as they steadily pressed forward.
However, after a stretch of uneventful travel, they inevitably encountered a new obstacle.
A towering figure blocked their path, leaving almost no gap behind it.
It seemed more like a preordained barrier, designed to prevent anything from passing.
Before Akira stood a "tree" several hundred—if not a thousand—meters tall.
These "trees" grew densely packed together, their "branches" interlocking and "leaves" overlapping.
They formed a structure resembling rock strata, occupying an entire area and elevating the terrain by a kilometer.
The reason for calling them "trees" was that they weren't actual trees—they were trees made of stone.
[Chaotic Rock Tree]: Though composed of rock, they grow endlessly like trees.
They possess their own root systems, branches, and leaves, with vast hollow spaces densely layered beneath.
Weak points exist between the branches—even a mouse stepping on one would immediately fall through.
Any creature that falls inside has no chance of escape and will only become nourishment for the [Chaotic Rock Tree].
The Chaotic Rock Tree bore peculiar fruits that looked exactly like ordinary stones.
They would stay on the Chaotic Rock Tree or scatter on the ground, exploding the moment any living creature approached.
The Rock Tree Seeds inside would immediately take root and parasitize upon contact with flesh, growing on the host organism.
Once they absorbed enough nutrients, they would detach and mature over time, their exteriors eventually turning completely into stone.
Their weakness was moisture—if drenched in water, they would cause little harm.
...
Facing the colossal entity before him, Akira raised an eyebrow but didn't rush forward.
Originally, he had only been mildly curious about the depths.
But after seeing this Chaotic Rock Tree, his curiosity grew stronger, solidifying his resolve to reach the depths.
This Chaotic Rock Tree was clearly placed deliberately to block creatures from going further.
So what exactly lay in the depths?
Was it Hope, capable of bringing immense benefits?
Or was it a Disaster, capable of destroying everything, including expectations?
Whatever it was, the moment the conditions were ripe, he was destined to venture into the depths.
Even if it was a Disaster, he could turn it into Hope in his hands.
For example, using it as experience points for his Pokémon?
Akira flipped down, landing steadily on the ground. After taking a few steps forward, he spotted a stone the size of a soccer ball.
Its color and texture were identical to the Chaotic Rock Tree that blotted out the sky.
Akira casually reached out, and the stone flew into his hand as if it had grown wings.
Boom!
As if sensing a living creature nearby, the stone exploded on its own, unleashing a force akin to a powerful bomb.
Strangely, there were no fragments—only powdery particles scattering in all directions.
They were searching for a host.
Yet they didn't find what they sought. Instead, they collided with a thin, greenish barrier.
Blocked completely, unable to advance.
"Quite sharp indeed," Akira nodded.
The stone had exploded about five or six meters away from him.
In other words, anyone who stepped within five or six meters of such stones would face this kind of attack.
Just imagining it, Akira could guess how others would fare in this situation.
These things couldn't be blocked by Aura—they would immediately take root in the body and rapidly spread.
That was why Akira had used Protection to block them.
Akira strongly suspected that this valley had once teemed with life, only to be devoured by the Chaotic Rock Tree.
Otherwise, how could the Chaotic Rock Tree have grown to this extent?
Alternatively, it was possible that creatures had actively provided nutrients during its growth, deliberately nurturing the Chaotic Rock Tree.
This theory also supported his belief.
There was likely something in the depths.
After his continuous advance, the area where the Rock Tree stood could no longer be considered part of the ravine.
He had now entered the interior of the mountain, with no path above to climb back.
In other words, something was likely hidden deep within this mountain.
Akira tapped the ground lightly with his foot and leaped, landing steadily on Steelix once more.
The next moment, Steelix and Akira submerged into the shadows, bypassing the Chaotic Rock Tree entirely and emerging behind it.
Who could have guessed there was such a method to reach the depths?
A few breaths later, Steelix carried Akira out of the shadows, revealing an unusually bright path ahead.
The mist was gone here, replaced by densely packed patterns covering the rock walls on both sides.
The markings here were even more numerous and tightly clustered than outside, as if the artist feared there weren't enough and had desperately added more.
The eerie green glow emanating from these patterns bathed the entire passage—including Akira's face—in a ghostly luminescence.
The atmosphere felt like something out of an old horror film, as if a white-clad specter might appear at any moment.
Those unsettling patterns resembled Taoist talismans, seemingly meant to suppress some kind of malevolent entity.
Akira remained unfazed, continuing forward on Steelix. He could faintly make out the end of the path ahead.
Steelix moved swiftly, reaching the end of the passage in no time.
The terminus was just a simple rock wall, adorned with the same markings as the sides.
At first glance, it seemed there was nothing unusual here—just more of the same patterns.
So far, all he had found were these strange markings, with nothing else of note.
Strangely, the incubation bar had stalled at 80% upon reaching this point, refusing to progress further.
It was eerily similar to when Gengar had been incubating.
After careful inspection, sharp-eyed Akira finally noticed something amiss.
Around the edges of the terminal wall were tiny, almost imperceptible cracks—but they were undeniably real.
Which meant...
This rock wall was actually a stone door.
And behind it lay the mystery he had been so curious about!
But now came the question—was there anything here that could open it?
At first glance, no. The door had no keyhole or obvious mechanism.
Should he force it open?
Just smash the stone door to pieces?
That approach was simple and brutal, but something in Akira's instincts told him it wasn't the right way.
In the end, he recalled Steelix and decided to use Gardevoir's Teleport instead.
The reason he didn't use Steelix was concern over limited space inside—Steelix might be too cumbersome to maneuver.
With a flash of dazzling pink light, Akira vanished, leaving only a faint glow behind.
When he opened his eyes again, he had bypassed the stone door and arrived at the space beyond.
Anticipating potential hazards, he had also brought along Meowth's specially designed multi-functional mask.
This mask provided protection against toxins, supplied oxygen, and more—perfect for exploring mysterious caves like this.
Before him stretched a wide passage, seemingly no different from the outside.
Except the glow on the walls had shifted from eerie green to a deep red, pulsing like waves of anger.
Whatever lay ahead... might be dangerous.
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