"Bi..." Celebi descended from the sky with a terrified expression, vividly describing to Caleb what it had seen from above.
"So, this is a fragmented island floating in the void?" Caleb imagined the scene in his mind and asked.
"Bi!" Celebi quickly nodded its little head.
Hearing this, Caleb had a general idea. He broke off a long branch from a tree and retraced his first route to the spot where he had fallen.
Using the branch to push aside the obstructing grass and bushes, a scene reminiscent of Giratina's Distortion World appeared before him.
The sprawling forest came to an abrupt halt, and beyond was a cliff edge.
Caleb slowly approached the edge and, together with Celebi, peered down.
The same eerie red filled the void below.
Because the edges were not clearly defined, and were obscured by lush trees and bushes, it was impossible to see that there was no path ahead without looking carefully.
Caleb took a step forward. The prompt sound immediately followed:
*Ding!*
[You've fallen to your death. Retry challenge?]
This was now the third time.
However, unlike the previous two times, this time he did it to save time by taking a shortcut back to the respawn point.
"Can you find the very center of this forest?" He asked Celebi.
"Bi." The tiny Pokémon nodded gently.
Caleb thought for a moment and said, "Let's go check there first!"
"Bi!" Celebi responded, then fluttered its transparent wings and darted through the forest shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, leading the way.
Soon, Caleb spotted a familiar structure among the trees. It was the Ilex Forest shrine used to worship the Forest Guardian, Celebi!
And at this very moment, sitting inside the shrine as still as a statue was a Celebi shrouded in dark energy, its eyes tightly closed.
Caleb used Appraise on it:
[Celebi: A special Celebi influenced by dark energy, capable of manipulating trees and transforming into a wooden giant entwined with vines and trunks.
After defeating it, players have a chance to obtain the following rewards:
- Character Card (Celebi), 1%
- Pokémon Egg (Celebi), 0.01%
- Grass-type TM (Selectable), 10%
- GS Ball, 5%
- Leaf Stone, 10%
- Miracle Seed, 15%
- Random S-tier Item, 20%...]
Just as Caleb was reviewing the information from Appraise, the Celebi beside him suddenly let out a startled cry: "Bi!"
The next second, a dark green storm shrouded in black energy swept toward them.
Caleb felt his vision go dark, and then he was promptly sent back to the respawn point free of charge...
...
Fourth restart...
"We were one shotted?"
Caleb looked at the Celebi beside him.
Celebi met his gaze innocently: "Bi..."
'No, that's not right.'
The move used by the opponent was Leaf Storm. As a Grass-type, Celebi had a natural resistance to this move.
Moreover, before any modifications, its level had already been raised to 100 by Caleb. There was no way it should have been instantly defeated by the Dark Celebi.
That left only one possibility... he was the one who got instantly one shotted.
After all, this world wasn't the anime world. Pokémon moves were supernatural forces to humans, let alone a high-powered move like Leaf Storm.
To test this theory, Caleb retraced his path back to the shrine and used Appraise again to activate the Dark Celebi.
This time, he specifically had Celebi stand farther away while he faced the Dark Celebi's Energy Ball head-on.
The Energy Ball exploded, and Caleb's vision was engulfed in white light before he was sent back to the respawn point once more...
...
Fifth restart...
Caleb finally understood. He said to Celebi, "Okay, now we can officially begin!"
Celebi was full of fighting spirit: "Bi!"
The duo returned to the front of the shrine once again.
In this special challenge Instance, once the challenger died, the Instance would reset completely.
Caleb looked at the Dark Celebi with its eyes tightly closed, then exchanged a glance with his own Celebi.
"Go! Use Ancient Power!"
"Bi!"
Celebi responded and dove straight toward the shrine.
At the same time, a faint white light surged around its small body, condensing into a sharp force that struck the Dark Celebi.
Upon being attacked, the Dark Celebi, which had been in standby mode, was instantly activated. It flew into the air and, as if following a pre-programmed routine, showed no hesitation and swiftly used Magical Leaf on Celebi.
- Magical Leaf: A Grass-type move that scatters mystical leaves that track the target, guaranteeing a hit...
Sharp dark green leaves shot out from the Dark Celebi like homing bullets, closely tailing Celebi as it flew into the air.
Caleb said sternly, "Use Psychic!"
"Bi!"
Celebi responded somewhat flusteredly. Its eyes glowed with a light blue light as it hurled a Psychic energy ball made of psychic power toward the Magical Leaf behind it.
A few of the leaf blades were hit, glowing blue before weakly fluttering to the ground.
However, a few leaf blades slipped through the gaps and accurately struck Celebi's small body.
Celebi cried out in pain, stumbled slightly, lost its balance, and began to fall toward the ground.
"Hold on!" Caleb frowned.
Celebi, being a peace-loving Pokémon, didn't usually like to fight. Caleb respected its wishes and hadn't subjected it to systematic battle training.
This lack of experience resulted in Celebi having insufficient battle experience and poor coordination with Caleb.
Before Celebi could get up from the ground, the Dark Celebi began gathering a white light in its mouth.
That was Hyper Beam!
"Can you get up?" Caleb shouted.
If it didn't get up now, it would be pinned down by the Hyper Beam.
But it was too late.
As soon as Caleb finished speaking, the powerful white beam shot out and instantly engulfed Celebi.
Caleb's vision went dark, and the next second, he was sent back to the respawn point once again...
...
Sixth restart...
Celebi's condition was fully restored along with the Instance reset.
Before Caleb could speak, Celebi shouted angrily, "Bi!" (I must defeat that guy!)
Seeing this, Caleb dismissed the thought of asking if it wanted to switch out. After a moment's thought, he said, "Don't rush it. Let's formulate a battle plan first."
The opponents in the Extreme Realm didn't seem like they could be easily defeated. Moreover, that Dark Celebi's strength exceeded that of a wild Celebi.
Its reaction speed and ability to pin opponents down were as if it were being commanded by a trainer with skills no less than an Elite Four member.
Besides that, the power of its moves couldn't be underestimated. It had instantly defeated Celebi with just Magical Leaf and Hyper Beam, something even Hydreigon couldn't accomplish...