Salamence froze for a moment before hurriedly shaking her head.
"Roar!"
(The fighting deep inside Meteor Falls is way too dangerous right now. We shouldn't go!)
"You don't know a damn thing. If we don't get over there soon, something seriously bad is going to happen!"
Chen Shi's face was filled with urgency.
"You just need to lead the way. As long as I'm here, I guarantee nothing will hurt you."
If this had been before, Chen Shi really wouldn't have had the nerve to say something like that.
There were undoubtedly plenty of powerful Pokémon deep inside Meteor Falls. With his previous strength, forget protecting Salamence—being able to protect himself would already have been impressive.
But now he had Jirachi with him.
The Pokémon deep within Meteor Falls simply weren't enough to pose a threat.
Salamence looked at him suspiciously.
She knew roughly how strong Chen Shi was.
That Dragapult of his was indeed powerful, but compared to some of the Pokémon living deep inside Meteor Falls, it was still far from enough.
Chen Shi knew exactly what she was doubting, but there was no time to explain.
Every second they wasted meant another second of danger for this entire area.
"If I dare say something like that, it means I'm confident I can do it."
"You just need to take me there. Consider it repayment for helping you find your child."
Hearing that, Salamence stopped hesitating.
She immediately took off, preparing to lead him back toward Meteor Falls.
Chen Shi quickly looked down at Jirachi in his arms.
"Jirachi, there's something very important I need your help with right now. Are you willing to help me?"
"Sure, sure! Jirachi wants to help!"
Jirachi enthusiastically nodded its little head.
"Good. Then could you take me and this dragon over to that big mountain?"
Chen Shi pointed directly toward Meteor Falls.
"No problem!"
Jirachi waved its little hand.
A barrier of psychic energy spread outward, enveloping both Chen Shi and Salamence.
The next second—
Chen Shi and Salamence vanished from in front of Aji and the others.
In the blink of an eye, they appeared beneath Meteor Falls, with the entrance right before them.
"Quick! Lead me inside!"
Chen Shi released Dragapult and immediately jumped onto its back, then told Salamence to lead the way.
Although Salamence was stunned by Jirachi's abilities, she quickly recovered and charged straight into the entrance of Meteor Falls.
"Xiaoshi, what important thing are we going to do?"
Nestled in Chen Shi's arms, Jirachi looked up curiously.
"It's hard to explain right now. Let's go take a look first."
Chen Shi didn't elaborate.
Inside, however, he was growing increasingly anxious.
If nothing unexpected happened, that Giant Energy Stone was probably what would cause Groudon and Kyogre to awaken—and subsequently trigger their great battle.
They had to take advantage of the fact that the two Legendary Pokémon hadn't awakened yet and throw the Giant Energy Stone out into the ocean.
That way, even if the battle still happened, the damage would at least be minimized.
It wasn't as though Chen Shi hadn't considered simply hiding the Giant Energy Stone.
Perhaps doing that would prevent Groudon and Kyogre from fighting altogether.
But if Groudon and Kyogre didn't fight, wouldn't that alter history?
If it were some minor event, that would be one thing.
But something as significant as the battle between Hoenn's three great Legendary Pokémon was not something Chen Shi dared tamper with recklessly.
Who knew what kind of unbearable consequences might result?
Besides, he still needed to help Rayquaza Mega Evolve so he could complete the task Arceus had given him.
As long as he could move the Giant Energy Stone out to sea before anything happened, there shouldn't be any major problems.
"..."
"How much farther?! When are we getting there?!"
After traveling for some time, Chen Shi shouted impatiently.
Up ahead, Salamence continued flying at full speed and didn't hear him at all.
Chen Shi felt helpless.
If Meteor Falls weren't such a complicated maze, why would he even need Salamence?
He could've just had Jirachi teleport them directly there.
They flew for a little longer.
By now, Chen Shi no longer needed Salamence to tell him anything.
He knew they had arrived.
The battle ahead was simply too intense.
Even from a considerable distance, he could hear continuous explosions and feel the ground violently trembling.
"Dragapult, let's go! Hurry!"
Chen Shi immediately gave the order.
Dragapult said nothing.
It instantly accelerated past Salamence and rushed forward.
Deep within Meteor Falls, in an enormous open cavern, powerful Pokémon were locked in a chaotic battle.
Brilliant attacks streaked back and forth through the cavern.
Roars, screams, and explosions echoed endlessly.
And right at the very center of the melee—
A strange, enormous rainbow-colored stone floated silently in midair.
Its entire surface radiated such dazzling brilliance that it was almost impossible to look at directly.
The moment Chen Shi entered, his gaze was instantly drawn toward the giant stone.
He cursed under his breath.
"Fuck. That's definitely the Giant Energy Stone."
Before he could react—
A Hyper Beam came blasting straight toward them!
Dragapult instantly dodged aside with Chen Shi on its back.
Then it glared furiously at a Dragonite in the distance.
That Dragonite had been the one to attack them.
Clearly, it had mistaken them for another group trying to seize the Giant Energy Stone.
"You little—!"
Chen Shi was irritated too, but the Giant Energy Stone was more important right now.
"Jirachi, can you take us and that giant stone away together?"
"Ah... um..."
Jirachi, which had been hiding timidly in Chen Shi's arms because of the chaotic battle, raised its little head and looked toward the Giant Energy Stone.
"Xiaoshi... I'm a little scared."
Chen Shi lifted Jirachi up and comforted it.
"Don't be afraid. Did you forget that you can teleport?"
"All you need to do is teleport us over there, take the Giant Energy Stone with us, and immediately teleport away."
"There's no way they'll be able to catch us."
"Umm... okay then~"
Although it was still frightened, Jirachi wanted even more to be able to help Chen Shi.
The moment it agreed, Chen Shi's face lit up.
If this were Jirachi from a thousand years in the future, it definitely wouldn't be this timid.
It certainly wouldn't be frightened by a group of Elite Four- and Champion-level Pokémon.
But the current Jirachi hadn't experienced nearly as much with Chen Shi yet.
It was understandable for it to be scared.
Jirachi's round little eyes darted around the cavern.
Then—
Its psychic power flashed.
In an instant, it teleported Chen Shi directly beside the Giant Energy Stone.
The Dragon-type Pokémon guarding the stone didn't even have time to react before—
The Giant Energy Stone's presence suddenly vanished.
Gone.
Completely gone.
The Dragonite, Salamence, Altaria, and all the other Pokémon from deep within Meteor Falls that had been fighting over the stone collectively froze.
The furious battle that had been raging just moments earlier came to an abrupt halt.
One Dragonite even rubbed its eyes in disbelief, convinced it had to be hallucinating.
How could such a gigantic stone suddenly disappear?
Impossible!
Yet no matter how many times it looked—
The stone really was gone.
Whether they were Pokémon from the dragon den or outsiders that had come to fight over the Giant Energy Stone, every single one of them instantly flew into a rage.
And right at that moment—
The Salamence who had been leading Chen Shi finally arrived.
In an instant, every Pokémon in the cavern turned toward her.
Salamence had barely flown in when countless hostile gazes locked onto her at once.
Cold sweat immediately broke out across her body.
She hurriedly looked around.
Chen Shi was nowhere to be seen.
A terrible feeling instantly rose in her heart.
Salamence swallowed hard.
Wait, bro...
This is how you protect me?!
...
Meowscarada
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