Time slipped by in a blur.
In Bill's system, the instruments tracking that colossal energy spike showed it drawing steadily closer.
Technically, they could've used every scanner they had to actively probe it by now.
But that would've been a terrible idea.
The other side was coming to answer a call.
You waited for a guest like that—you didn't go poking them with a stick.
On the screens, the huge signal grew brighter, its path gradually swinging toward Vermilion City.
The lighthouse wasn't far from Vermilion at all.
Who knew whether Lt. Surge at the Gym had noticed the strange readings?
Not that Vermilion City really had jurisdiction out here anyway, especially with Bill's status.
…What Lt. Surge chose to do about it, though, was anyone's guess.
That night—
The alarms suddenly shrieked through the lab, red warning lights spinning silently overhead.
The soft blue light running through the energy conduits flickered, like something had just grabbed the entire system and shaken it.
"Analysis model initializing… energy readings spiking hard… it's accelerating!" Bill's voice was tight with urgency—
And barely contained joy.
After such a long wait, finally, a result.
Through the mouths—and memories—of these living fossils, these long-lived Pokémon, they could see the real history of this world firsthand.
So much better than piecing together broken ruins.
Even if those ancient creatures were biased or flawed, they could always cross-check against archaeological records later.
Whichever way you looked at it, it was a massive win.
Gardevoir faded into view beside Bill, red eyes glowing with Psychic power.
He was on full alert.
Bill only had to think about the research.
Gardevoir had to think about everything else.
If a fight broke out, he was the one who would stand in front first.
If they had to run, he'd be the one to teleport everyone out.
[Professor, the harbor barrier generators have auto-boosted to maximum output.]
His telepathic tone was calm—but heavier than Ash had ever heard it.
That "envoy" of the Sea Emperor…
Strong.
Very strong.
"Hahahaha—" Bill spun around, looking at the three kids, excitement and gravity warring on his face.
"You're about to see it for yourselves."
His voice cut through the alarm's drone with the weight of the tide behind it.
"It's already here."
On the main screen, the light representing the "envoy" suddenly flared.
Under the torrent of data streaming across the display, its shape began to resolve—
A colossal shadow, large enough to make anyone tremble, like a moving mountain range rising from the ocean, turning its gaze toward a human city.
The lab lights flickered once, as if the whole building shuddered for a higher being's arrival.
Ash, Misty, and Brock all swallowed hard.
The silhouette on the screen grew clearer, the outline finally distinct enough to recognize.
"That's… a Dragonite?" Brock could barely get the words out.
Even by Rock-type standards, some Pokémon were huge.
But even the biggest Onix he'd ever seen looked like a garden snake compared to this thing.
"…This is way too big." Misty whispered.
She guessed it was close to fifty meters tall.
——So my parents went after something like this?
——How could anyone win against that?
——If I get the chance… can I ask it?
Misty clenched her fists.
If there was a chance, she would ask.
She had to know if her parents were truly gone—or not.
"What a beautiful, mysterious, and powerful creature…" Bill murmured in awe.
[Professor… it's too strong.]
Gardevoir's voice was low and grim.
"Height, roughly fifty meters… estimated weight, over 24,650 tons…"
Bill didn't seem to hear the warning.
He was already deep in his own calculations.
One punch from that would be a literal million-ton impact.
"Its tail strikes would be comparable to localized seismic events. We're talking shock forces in the tens of thousands of kilonewtons…"
"Not a move-based Earthquake—just raw physical impact causing a quake."
"And without direct tissue samples, we can't know how much its body structure diverges from a typical Dragonite, but…"
"Even ignoring abilities, stats, and moves, the scales alone should be able to shrug off heavy artillery."
Even without lab data, Bill's mind was racing.
"…" Gardevoir was speechless.
[Stay close to me. If anything goes wrong, I'll get you out of here first.]
There was no way they could beat a monster like that.
But running? That was still an option.
That was the strength of Psychic-types.
Unless some even stronger Pokémon locked down space beforehand, a teleport-capable Psychic could always flee.
Power levels varied wildly between Pokémon.
Even within a single type, there were gods—and absolute trash.
Psychic-types, though?
They had never truly fallen out of the meta.
Even their most basic move, Confusion, had ridiculous versatility and coverage.
Using it, they could manipulate matter, and even tug at the edges of space itself.
The power of Psychic-types didn't really need an explanation.
Somewhere along the way, the alarms had stopped.
The weight in the air, however, had only grown denser—pressing down on the whole lighthouse like a physical mass.
One of the Five Sea Kings, a Pokémon with the right to stand on the world stage…
That was the level they were dealing with.
In Gardevoir's red eyes, Psychic light swirled, bright and restless.
He tilted his head, voice sounding in their minds again, tinged with a subtle surprise.
[It's stopped… just outside.]
[No hostile intent… it feels more like it's… waiting?]
Which, considering the situation, just showed how rattled Gardevoir was.
If it had been hostile…
There wouldn't be a "waiting."
Bill lunged for the main console, fingers blazing over the controls as he switched the external sensor feeds up to the main screen.
At first, the image shook violently, then gradually stabilized.
Under the night sky—
A shape too big for the mind to easily grasp stood over the sea.
Moonlight traced its mountain-like outline: rounded head, tiny wings, thick limbs, and a long, muscular tail.
A Dragonite.
But scaled up to myth, a giant godbeast stepping out of legend.
The waves lapped at its feet like a tame stream. The lighthouse's searchlights couldn't even fully light its body.
Most unsettling of all were those enormous eyes, glowing softly like spotlights—
Calmly watching the lighthouse.
Not vicious. Not rampaging.
Just… deep.
Ancient.
Curious.
"It's… looking at me?" Bill's voice trembled.
He reflexively straightened his lab coat.
"It understood my signal."
"It really came here to answer me."
His face shone with something like religious awe, all previous tension drowned by sheer joy.
"Professor, it's too dangerous!" Brock warned, worry written all over his face.
Misty clutched Ash's arm, fingers tight.
In front of a being like this, every human instinct screamed the same thing:
Run.
Huge.
It was too huge.
But Bill's resolve didn't waver.
"Gardevoir, open the exterior barrier path." His voice was iron. "I have to go speak with it…"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
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