"ROAAAR!"
A thunderous howl exploded from the cave, shaking the surrounding forest.
The wild Pidgey perched in the nearby treetops were so frightened by the fury in that roar that they scattered in utter panic. A few of the more timid ones were so terrified they fainted outright, tumbling straight from the branches.
Rhydon slammed its massive fist into the neatly stacked phosphorescent ore, sending chunks blasting in every direction. Many of the stones shattered into powder beneath the crushing blow. A perfect circular cavity now marred the rock wall—
And the rainbow orb that had grown up alongside it since childhood was gone.
"ROAAR—!"
Rhydon beat its chest with arms as thick as stone pillars, producing heavy metallic booms. Its colossal tail swept through the cave, shaking the rock walls and sending debris flying.
The continuous, muffled thunder from inside the cavern made Kael—hidden atop a large tree not far from the entrance—wipe cold sweat from his forehead.
Good thing I ran when I did.
Who would've thought it would return this fast? If he'd been trapped at the cave entrance, things would have turned disastrous.
But beyond shock, Kael also felt confusion.
How had it known its nest had been stripped clean? It had been near the shoreline earlier, then suddenly accelerated and charged back at full speed.
He looked down at the orb still embedded in the chunk of stone he carried, brows knitting tightly.
Could there be some connection between this rainbow orb and the giant Rhydon?
No time to think about it now. The looting was done. Under no circumstances could that Rhydon discover he'd taken the orb. Otherwise, it would truly become a fight to the death.
With that thought, Kael wrapped the orb and its surrounding rock several layers thick in plastic wrap before tossing it into his spatial-fold backpack. With the backpack's dimensional concealment, the orb's presence should be masked from detection.
A beast over four meters tall and weighing 1.2 tons—once it went berserk, what did that mean?
Especially when that beast was a Pokémon capable of wielding terrifying power. It was no ordinary animal.
Finding nothing inside the cave, Rhydon lowered its head and charged out.
Surrounded by the familiar forest, it could no longer feel even the faintest trace of its treasure.
Overwhelming grief and rage twisted together. It clenched both fists, lifted one leg, and stomped down violently.
Crack—crack—crack—
Fractures split across the ground, spreading forward in jagged lines. The earth began to quake violently.
For a moment, it felt like the heavens and earth were shaking.
Boulders fell. Trees uprooted. The soil collapsed inward.
Already some distance away, Kael felt the tremors rumbling through the ground. Bracing himself against a tree, he looked back toward the cave's direction. Towering trees that had grown for decades were toppling one after another.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
Is that even an Earthquake move anymore? The whole island's shaking!
Avoiding a direct clash with Rhydon had absolutely been the wisest decision he'd made.
...
Dusk fell swiftly over the sea.
On an island, the temperature difference between day and night was stark. The blazing heat of the sun vanished, replaced by a moonlit night swept with chilling winds.
Kael did not return to the beach. Instead, he set up camp on the opposite side of the uninhabited island. The terrain here was higher—no sandy shore. Beyond the cliff's edge, waves crashed relentlessly below.
He lit a small campfire.
Sitting cross-legged on a cushion, Kael examined the rainbow orb carefully using a miniature telescopic microscope.
The outer shell—glass-like in appearance—did not match any known material. It wasn't as hard as expected; instead, it had a faint softness to it. Warm to the touch. Yet when pressed firmly, it felt impossibly slick, offering no point of leverage no matter how much force he applied. That peculiarity alone was remarkable.
If he had to compare it to a natural substance, jade would be the closest approximation.
He recorded every observed data point meticulously into his computer files. A precision camera scanned the orb, and soon an identical 3D model appeared on the screen.
Kael's long, nimble fingers moved across the keyboard like a pianist playing an intricate sonata. Streams of complex programming language cascaded down the screen.
Diameter: 8.14 cm
Surface temperature: 47.5°C
Preliminary energy radiation: 1568 J
...
Conclusion: Under direct sunlight, the orb's radiation spikes briefly to 4429 J.
If this level of radiation were harmful, prolonged exposure would be catastrophic. 1 hour nearby could trigger tissue abnormalities. 3 hours—muscle stiffening or even dissolution. 8 hours—
Death.
All living organisms emit bio-magnetic radiation. The stronger the lifeform, the stronger its field—powerful enough to influence the surrounding natural environment.
Legendary Pokémon were prime examples.
The legend of Ho-Oh, the so-called God of Life associated with the Bell Tower of Johto, and Lugia, revered as the Guardian of the Sea—both possessed terrifying biological magnetic fields.
More accurately, beings like them could no longer be classified as ordinary Pokémon. They had transcended a level of existence beyond comparison with humans. They could justifiably be called deities.
By comparison, a normal sapphire emitted around 0.15 J—harmless and inert. This rainbow orb emitted over ten thousand times that amount. Under peak sunlight, nearly thirty thousand times.
Kael wrapped a device resembling a blood pressure cuff around his right arm. Beneath the hardened fabric were one hundred hair-thin needles. They would pierce the skin and enter muscle tissue painlessly, leaving no aftereffects.
The device connected to his computer.
He intended to measure his current cellular activity and muscle strength—to verify a particular hypothesis forming in his mind.
"Lulu, I need your help," Kael called out.
Lulu immediately set aside the cookware she had been manipulating with telekinesis and appeared beside him in a blink.
She tilted her little head up, eyes bright with anticipation as she looked at him.