The lightning calamity had completely destroyed the battle zone of the Shalour City Gym.
With the guide gone, the storm clouds in the sky finally began to disperse.
Everyone stared at the devastated battlefield, speechless for a long time.
Seeing the ruined Gym, Bai Chen nodded in satisfaction.
This time, sending Kirin into battle had served a very specific purpose.
He wanted to see whether a native Elder Dragon, when brought into the Pokémon world, would still give rise to a true natural disaster.
The result was exactly as he had expected.
An Elder Dragon was an Elder Dragon—
Even in the Pokémon world, its title as a walking calamity remained unchanged.
With the battle over, Bai Chen had no intention of lingering. He turned to leave.
"Knight Bai Chen, please wait."
Valerie hurriedly called out to him.
Bai Chen turned his head slightly.
"There's no need to give me the badge."
"That's not what I meant," Valerie said gently. "May I invite you to have a cup of tea?"
Bai Chen glanced at the time.
There was still quite a while before dinner back home.
Another friend meant another path forward. As long as no trouble came with it, accepting the invitation cost him nothing.
And if this led to future Pokémon battles, that would be a steady source of experience.
"…As long as there are sweets."
"Of course," Valerie nodded.
Under her guidance, Bai Chen was led to a tea room on the other side of the Gym.
During the fight, Bai Chen had deliberately restricted the scope of the calamity.
The lightning disaster had only obliterated the battle zone itself.
Elsewhere in the Gym, at most a few stray lightning strikes had landed.
Along the way, Bai Chen passed by the Gym's clothing boutique.
Looking at the kimono designs on display, he thought to himself:
Valerie's skill as a fashion designer is genuinely impressive.
Tinkatuff would probably like her a lot.
Forging equipment was never just about hammering metal.
Design was always the most time-consuming step.
Each time Tinkatuff forged gear, the design phase alone took the longest.
"Please, have a seat, Knight Bai Chen," Valerie said.
Bai Chen nodded and sat down across the tea table, removing his helmet.
Valerie froze for a moment.
On the way here, she had imagined many times what kind of face lay beneath that armor.
But when she finally saw him, she was still stunned.
She wasn't the type to lose her composure at the sight of a handsome man.
Still, after a brief moment of surprise, she politely continued to look at him.
"Knight Bai Chen, have you ever considered becoming a model?" she asked sincerely.
"If you entered the fashion or entertainment world, I believe you would gain tremendous support."
Bai Chen shook his head.
"I'm not interested."
Compared to challenging Legendary Pokémon and Elder Dragons, becoming a public figure stirred nothing in his heart.
Besides, money was no longer a concern.
After receiving several high-quality shares from Lusamine, his assets were increasing at a visibly rapid pace every day.
"That's truly a pity," Valerie said with some regret.
She had hoped, if possible, to invite Bai Chen to model for her designs.
But since he had no interest, she did not press the matter.
She shifted the topic back to Kirin.
"Knight Bai Chen… is your Kirin a Legendary Pokémon? The thunderstorm it caused reminded me of the world-scale disaster involving Groudon and Kyogre ten days ago."
Bai Chen immediately caught the keywords.
"Groudon and Kyogre… caused a global disaster?"
Valerie looked at him in surprise.
That incident had shaken the entire world.
She hadn't expected Bai Chen to be unaware of it.
As if triggered by a keyword, the Monster Ball at Bai Chen's waist opened, and Nergigante leapt out.
"Roar."
She urged Valerie to explain what had happened.
Valerie was startled by Nergigante's sudden appearance.
She looked at Bai Chen, asking what the monster had said.
"She's asking about Groudon and Kyogre," Bai Chen replied.
"We've been in closed-door training recently and didn't know what was happening outside."
"I see," Valerie said, without suspicion.
She explained carefully:
"Ten days ago, in the Hoenn region, near Rustboro City, Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre clashed. The commotion was enormous. In the end, Mega Rayquaza intervened and stopped the battle. And starting from the following day, abnormal weather phenomena appeared across all regions worldwide."
Hoenn was a region deeply etched into the memories of many.
Its guardian Pokémon were Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza.
The Ruby and Sapphire games of childhood had all taken place there.
"Are there news reports or footage from the scene?" Bai Chen asked.
He had already sensed something was wrong.
"Please wait a moment."
Valerie brought over her tablet, searched for the relevant news, and handed it to him.
Bai Chen accepted it, scrolling rapidly through photos, videos, and reports.
One video showed Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre in violent combat.
The collateral destruction far exceeded anything Bai Chen had seen from any Elder Dragon so far.
As expected of a first-tier Legendary Pokémon, he thought.
Their combat power is terrifying.
He continued watching.
At the peak of the battle, a massive stone radiating seven-colored light appeared above the two Pokémon.
At the same time, Rayquaza descended from the sky.
Then the video abruptly cut off—as if the signal had been deliberately jammed.
"That's the Legendary Stone," Bai Chen said at once.
He recognized it immediately.
The Legendary Stone—the source of Mega Evolution—was not located in Kalos.
It was originally from Hoenn.
Bai Chen remembered this part of the story clearly.
The full tale was complicated, but in simple terms:
Someone deciphered ancient records on wooden tablets in Hoenn, broke a seal, and discovered the Legendary Stone.
The stone's energy drew Rayquaza from the sky.
Empowered by the stone, Rayquaza Mega Evolved, went on a rampage, and then the stone mysteriously vanished.
Later, the stone appeared offshore near Rustboro City.
Its energy awakened the slumbering Groudon and Kyogre.
What followed was the clash shown in the video—
The stone reappearing, Rayquaza Mega Evolving again, and the battle being stopped.
That was the simplified sequence of events.
As for what came after—
The abrupt cutoff of the video made it obvious that someone had intervened.
The ones responsible were Kalos's villainous organization—Team Flare.
Amid the chaos of the three Legendary Pokémon, they stole the Legendary Stone using a submarine and transported it to Kalos.
And that single action would later bring Kalos terrifyingly close to world annihilation.
Bai Chen's expression grew grave as he examined the photos.
Several images clearly showed members of Team Flare at the scene.
This is troublesome, he thought.
Team Flare had been entrenched in Kalos for many years.
Their influence was comparable to the Aether Foundation in Alola.
They had money, power, technology, and social standing.
Opposing them openly in Kalos came at a steep price.
They didn't control everything—but countering them required careful planning.
More importantly, at present, Team Flare has not revealed its true malice.
They operated under the guise of philanthropists and researchers.
They had countless supporters.
Acting against them now would likely result in public condemnation.
Stealing the Legendary Stone back from them won't be easy, Bai Chen thought.
I'll need to prepare thoroughly.
At least, this trip to the Shalour Gym had yielded valuable information.
He now knew where the Legendary Stone had gone.
"Roar."
Suddenly, Nergigante growled from Bai Chen's shoulder.
Bai Chen replied quietly,
"Yes, it's a shame—but there's no rush. We'll challenge them in the future."
Valerie listened, utterly confused.
From Bai Chen's tone, it sounded as though he intended to challenge those three Legendary Pokémon someday.
Her instinct told her it was impossible.
Yet remembering Kirin's overwhelming display, she found herself doubting her own judgment.
Perhaps… one day, the world really will hear his legend.
At dusk, after chatting for a while and exchanging contact information, Bai Chen departed from the Shalour Gym.
That evening, after returning home and meeting Lillie and Lusamine, Bai Chen introduced Kirin to them.
After dinner, Lillie reluctantly said goodbye.
She was currently on rotation duty at the Foundation and had far too much work to stay.
"I'll be busy in Kalos for a while," Bai Chen said gently.
"You don't need to come keep me company."
He then took out a delicate silver necklace, set with a golden gemstone.
"Here. This is for you."
"This is…?" Lillie accepted it, immediately noticing it had been custom-designed for her.
Bai Chen explained,
"It's a necklace made with decorative jewels, embedded with an Early Energy Jewel. It will help you recover stamina more quickly."
Monster Hunter World differed slightly from the games of his previous life.
There were decorative jewels—but no talismans.
After some thought, Bai Chen realized that talismans could simply be crafted using jewels.
He had Tinkatuff experiment with the idea.
The result was the necklace now in Lillie's hands.
"What about me?" Lusamine asked from the side. "Did you bring me a gift?"
"That's still in the testing phase," Bai Chen replied.
"Next time. I'll have Tinkatuff make one for the Chairwoman."
"You're really stingy," Lusamine said, though she knew Bai Chen was deliberately waiting. She didn't mind.
After watching Lillie put on the necklace, Bai Chen had Cosmog see them off.
That night, only Bai Chen remained at home with the butlers and maids.
He made a trip to the Galar region to replenish the Galar particles needed for Dynamax.
The next morning, after a night's rest, Bai Chen set out for Kalos once again.
After thinking all night, he made his decision.
His destination: Anistar City.
Anistar City housed the Psychic-type Gym.
More importantly, it contained one of Kalos's Seven Wonders—
The Sundial.
The Sundial possessed energy identical to that of the Legendary Stone.
Perhaps—just perhaps—it could allow Nergigante and the other monsters to undergo Mega Evolution.
The probability was low.
But it was enough to justify the journey.
Even if Mega Evolution proved impossible, studying the Sundial would still yield valuable insights.
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