Cain narrowed his eyes as he looked at Volcanion.
Pokémon: Volcanion (Light Black)
Gender: Genderless
Level: 74
Types: Fire + Water
Ability: Water Absorb
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: None
Basic Moves: Steam Eruption, Flare Blitz, Take Down, Mist, Haze, Flame Charge, Water Pulse, Stomp, Scald, Weather Ball, Body Slam, Hydro Pump, Flare Blitz, Overheat
Learned Moves: Superpower, Stomping Tantrum, Heat Wave, Liquidation, Snore, Earth Power, Water Pulse, Defog
TM Moves: None
Seeing the data that the system had scanned on Volcanion, Cain calmly analyzed it.
Level 74. Although it seemed high, for a legendary Pokémon it was still low.
Now Cain confirmed it: this Pokémon was a legendary, yes, but not a true Pokémon god.
How to explain it? It was like the difference between Lugia and a small Lugia. If the small Lugia grew up, perhaps it would become a being like this Volcanion.
It possessed the status of a legendary, but not the divinity of one.
Although Cain didn't understand how this Volcanion had appeared, at least he felt a little more at ease.
This way, fulfilling his goal became less complicated.
In fact, from the beginning Cain had suspected the strength of this Volcanion. According to the information he remembered from his past life, although it was powerful, it had never shown absolute supremacy over other Pokémon. That's why he guessed it wasn't a true legendary.
A real legendary, like Lugia, could with a simple flap of its wings cause torrential storms lasting forty days across an entire region.
Ho-Oh, with its Sacred Fire, had the ability to resurrect Pokémon and even grant them divinity.
Groudon, the god of the earth, enraged, could evaporate the world's oceans. Kyogre, on the other hand, could submerge the entire planet in endless seas.
The mythical Pokémon also displayed unique powers: Celebi could travel through time, Manaphy control the seas, and Dialga and Palkia manipulate time and space.
And this Volcanion?
The most notable feat in its record was having destroyed a mountain. A feat that didn't even seem impossible for Pokémon like Cain's Tyranitar.
However, its build, its potential, and its aura were closer to a legendary than to an ordinary Pokémon.
That's why Cain classified it as a "divine pseudo-legendary," similar to a small Lugia that had not yet reached true divinity.
With the data confirmed, this assumption was practically proven.
"Volcanion, the guardian of the Nebel Plateau?" Cain asked as he put away the Poké Ball he held in his hand.
It seemed he didn't need to resort to Kommo-o.
Volcanion was strong in bursts of power, but not so much in endurance. As a steam Pokémon, it required a constant water supply during battle.
Once depleted, many of its moves became unusable.
It was a dangerous dependency, one of its weaknesses.
The red ring on its back, with six blue spheres embedded, served as an indicator of its water reserve. When the water was consumed, those blue spheres turned red.
"Human, you know my name?" asked Volcanion in surprise.
It had lived in this place for countless years, and never had any human or Pokémon called it by name.
After living with so many Pokémon abandoned by humans, it had developed a strong prejudice against them. To it, all humans were unworthy of trust.
"Of course I do, Volcanion," Cain replied with a smile. "The Pokémon capable of shattering a mountain. Of course I know your name."
Cain's words left Volcanion even more astonished.
Did he know about that mountain it had destroyed?
That was a story it had shared with only a single Pokémon.
For an instant, the image of that Pokémon crossed its mind, but it quickly shook its head.
Impossible. She had never left this place, much less contacted humans.
"Volcanion, may I ask you to allow me to see Magearna?" Cain suddenly said.
That sentence was like striking the Pokémon's most sensitive point.
Clang!
The ring on its back split into two enormous tubes, aiming like cannons at Cain.
White smoke gushed from within: Volcanion was already building up energy.
Tyranitar stepped forward, standing firm between Cain and Volcanion, its gaze locked on the legendary Pokémon. If it dared to attack, it would counter immediately.
"How do you know about Magearna?" roared Volcanion in fury.
The Nebel Plateau, Goodra, humans... none of that mattered anymore.
For it, Magearna was its only true friend. Magearna had never left the plateau, so how could this human know of her existence?
Magearna.
That was Cain's true purpose.
Magearna was a Pokémon, one not inferior at all to Volcanion.
An artificial Pokémon.
Before Team Rocket created Mewtwo, someone had already been able to make a Pokémon with the power of the legendaries.
That Pokémon was Magearna.
Created by the wisest man of the Azoth Kingdom, Nikola, who dedicated his entire life to shaping it.
Nikola conceived it as the guardian of the kingdom.
At first, Magearna was welcomed with joy by the whole nation. It even lived in harmony with the heirs of the royal family.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
But when Magearna's true power was revealed, ambition began to corrupt the Azothians. The struggle to possess it broke out, and soon that struggle consumed the entire kingdom.
Instead of saving Azoth, Magearna became the spark that ignited its destruction.
In despair, Nikola had no choice but to send it away, to this forgotten place of the Nebel Plateau.
Here, Magearna met Volcanion, who had just arrived a little earlier.
Since then, the two chose to stay. Volcanion became the guardian of the plateau... or more precisely, the guardian of Magearna.
The simple act of hearing her name ignited Volcanion's fury.
Anything but her. No one could touch Magearna.
Volcanion had always been irascible. Only at her side did it find calm, only Magearna could soothe its spirit.
And now, it faced Cain full of rage.
The two enormous tubes flared, releasing steam that grew denser and denser.
It was Volcanion's signature move, one not easy to stop.
(End of chapter)