[Bonus chapter for Powerstone]
Early the next morning, inside the Shalour Gym.
A strange rumor had begun circulating through the building.
"They say that last night, Lord Bai exhausted Miss Valerie all night long. When people saw Miss Valerie this morning, she was so tired she could barely speak, while Lord Bai was full of energy."
Naturally, Valerie immediately came forward to refute the rumor.
When asked what had really happened that night…
After a long pause, Valerie only said one word:
"Monster."
After an entire night of high-intensity combat, Bai Chen was still in excellent spirits.
After acquiring the Ultimate Psychic skill, he could now go nearly a full month without sleeping.
Even though he had fought all of Valerie's Pokémon one by one throughout the night, his level only rose from 46 to 47.
The higher the level, the more experience required to level up, and the slower growth became—there was no helping that.
Back at the camp, Bai Chen checked his skills.
Nothing significant had changed.
He could have learned Reflect and Light Screen from Sylveon—one reducing physical damage and the other reducing special damage.
But after careful consideration, Bai Chen decided not to.
He already had body-enhancement skills and Protect.
If he could tank it, he would rely on his body and Ultra Regeneration.
If he could not, he would use Protect.
And for attacks even Protect could not block, Reflect and Light Screen would not help either—they would only increase his maintenance burden.
Everyone was having breakfast.
Bai Chen looked at Froakie.
He had not forgotten why he was traveling with Ash—to uncover the secret behind Greninja's Bond Evolution.
Froakie was already level 38.
Normally, a Frogadier should have evolved by now, yet it was still stuck in its second form.
"Does it need to reach level 40… or even 50?"
Ash's Greninja was special, so a higher evolution requirement made sense.
Bai Chen then noticed Trevor frantically taking photos.
"What are you doing?"
"Mr. Bai, is all this armor real? Can I touch your greatsword?"
"It's all real. The sword is dangerous—don't touch it."
Trevor became even more excited.
He stepped closer to the Zorah Magdaros armor.
But the intense heat forced him back.
"So hot…"
"This armor was forged from lava. The surface temperature reaches eighty or ninety degrees Celsius."
"How do you even wear this?!"
"I'm a little special."
Everyone finished breakfast.
"Let's head to Mt. Altaria."
Bai Chen used psychic power to carry everyone over the snowy mountain range.
The volcano was gray and barren.
At the crater, white smoke rose endlessly.
They landed.
Trevor was trembling.
"That… that was wild."
"You get used to it."
Bai Chen focused on the lava.
According to memory, Moltres lived here.
He activated Super Perception and scanned the crater.
Ash asked, "Is Moltres really in there?"
"I didn't see it on the way here. If it's here, this must be its nest."
Clemont nodded.
"Moltres enters lava to heal."
But Bai Chen found nothing.
"Good thing I brought Gravios."
He released Gravios.
"Search inside the magma."
Gravios submerged.
Trevor was amazed.
"It went straight into lava…"
Indeedee kept mental contact with Gravios.
The magma chambers were enormous.
"This will take one or two hours. Let's split up."
Trevor went north.
Ash and Clemont west.
Serena and Bonnie east.
Bai Chen stayed at the crater.
He released Valstrax.
"Search for battle traces."
Valstrax's Hunter Vision could detect movement from 10 kilometers away.
"Perfect for high-speed pursuit."
Valstrax departed trailing red dragon energy.
Bai Chen waited.
Gravios soon returned—bringing Moltres feathers.
Eighteen in total.
He kept five and sent the rest to Tinkaton.
"These flames only reach 40–50°C. Interesting."
"This confirms Moltres lives here."
He handed one feather to each person.
Bonnie was thrilled.
Trevor photographed nonstop.
Serena hesitated.
"These are just shed feathers. I kept the rest."
They accepted.
Clemont then revealed his device.
"Energy Analyzer One!"
It detected residual energy and calculated power values.
"Average humans are 15."
Bonnie tested Clemont.
"Five?!"
She tested Serena—14.
Trevor—15.
Ash—128.
Pikachu—3154.
Then Bai Chen.
"13,428?!"
Clemont confirmed—it was accurate.
Bai Chen explained calmly.
Bonnie concluded:
"That means Mr. Bai could fight four Pikachu."
Then Valstrax returned.
"Moltres and Articuno are on the Snow Mountain."
Bonnie sighed.
"My brother's invention finally worked… and still got upstaged."