"Decidueye, detonate the leaf blades inside Golurk."
Before the Earth Priest could even react, a cascade of brilliant green light erupted from deep within Golurk's frame.
A deafening detonation tore through the golem's interior. The blast blew away nearly half of Golurk's upper body, exposing the sun-like energy core throbbing within its chest.
"Finish it, Decidueye! Strike the core!"
That glowing orb was Golurk's true lifeline.
A flash of green arc light cut through the air. Seizing the exact microsecond before Golurk could regenerate, Decidueye launched a single, piercing Leaf Blade straight into the exposed core.
Crack.
A jagged fracture split across the surface of the orb. Golurk clutched its chest, staggering backward several paces as black miasma poured uncontrollably from its wounds.
"No... No!"
Tormented by the hellfire scorching his soul, the Earth Priest let out a shrieking howl of absolute agony. His body convulsed violently as he watched, helpless, while the unholy flames reduced his flesh and bones to ash.
Up in front of him, Golurk's shattered core splintered into a million glowing fragments. A massive surge of Ghost-type energy leaked into the surrounding air, streaming directly toward Decidueye.
Swallowed by the concentrated energy, Decidueye was instantly sealed inside a colossal, pulsing black cocoon.
"Congratulations, Feng Che. Infused with such a massive concentration of primal Ghost-type essence, Decidueye should easily break through and reach the Champion rank," Mewtwo congratulated calmly.
"Looks like the four priests of the Heaven Cleansing Cult are just running a delivery service for experience points," Feng Che chuckled lightly.
He and the cult were already locked in a blood feud. Eliminating the four priests here and now would severely cripple the organization's active strength.
Suddenly, the surrounding black fog billowed and thinned, parting to reveal an adjacent battle arena.
Outside the mist barrier, Zekrom was unleashing furious bolts of lightning, bombarding the barrier with unadulterated wrath. The Sky Monster's arrogant intrusion was a direct slap in the face to the legendary dragon.
Yet, rather than scattering under the relentless thunder, the black fog grew even denser, absorbing the violent electrical surges.
"Where in the world did Feng Che find a divine beast with this kind of terrifying power? Good thing my strength has recovered a fraction..." the Sky Monster muttered within the shadows of the mist, watching Zekrom throw out Gigavolt-tier attacks without a care in the world.
"Lord Zekrom, is Feng Che alright?"
"What on earth is that terrifying faction?" Zinzolin asked, his voice thick with panic.
Having only just reclaimed his long-lost grandson, Zinzolin hadn't even had a moment to enjoy the reunion before plunging headfirst into this nightmare.
"Don't worry. Feng Che's strength is immense, and I can sense a presence protecting him that is every bit as powerful as my own," Zekrom reassured him in a deep, steady rumble.
Inside the shifting fog barrier, the Water Priestess stepped forward.
She was a vision of seductive, dangerous beauty, her slender fingers clutching a Poké Ball alongside a dark, ominous feather. Her mesmerizing eyes burned with miniature black flames, giving her the appearance of a siren straight out of the abyss, complete with vestigial wings of hellfire sprouting from her back.
"That useless fool Earth Priest got himself wiped out in the blink of an eye," she sneered. "Go, Walrein!"
Walrein's massive frame was insulated by thick layers of blubber. Its coat was a deep azure, marked by pale white neck rings and striped flippers, while its imposing white tusks framed a blunt, rounded nose and striking yellow eyes.
A thick ruff of white fur covered its neck and face. Walrein was renowned for its ability to shatter massive blocks of ice with its tusks, while its dense body fat not only repelled freezing cold but deflected enemy blows.
"Go, Togekiss."
Feng Che deployed his Togekiss—the ultimate gamble-master capable of pulling off legendary signature moves straight out of Hoenn.
"You're sending out a Togekiss? Are you looking down on me?" the Water Priestess hissed in annoyance, having wiped out countless opponents using the same species.
"Walrein, use Blizzard!"
"Togekiss, use Metronome!"
Walrein threw its head back, vomiting a blinding, howling blizzard across the field.
Before the freezing gale could reach them, a searing blade of molten magma materialized in front of Togekiss, instantly vaporizing the blizzard into a massive wall of rising steam.
"Precipice Blades?! How is this Togekiss so obscenely lucky?!" The Water Priestess grit her teeth.
Before she could recover, Togekiss radiated a brilliant golden aura. In a flash of motion, it slammed directly into Walrein with crushing force, sending the heavy Pokémon sprawling into the dirt with a whimper, unable to find its footing.
"Damn it, Dragon Ascent?!"
"I can't afford to waste any more time."
The Water Priestess flung her hands upward, sending the dark feather spinning into the air as thick clouds of black miasma poured into Walrein.
Instantly, towering icicles erupted along Walrein's back, its body swelling to grotesque proportions. With a single open of its maw, an endless torrent of hyper-concentrated frost erupted.
"Togekiss, use Metronome again."
Six luminous orbs materialized around Togekiss.
Torrential water pillars burst from the orbs, colliding head-on with Walrein's blizzard. As the water columns froze solid mid-air, six giant icicles rocketed forward, crashing against Walrein's hide.
The dark aura swirling around Walrein absorbed the impact, twisting and snapping the falling icicles into dust.
Meanwhile, the hellfire consuming the Water Priestess had grown voracious, feeding directly upon her life force.
Her youthful beauty withered at a visible, terrifying pace until her skin sagged into the map of a heavily wrinkled old crone.
The Water Priestess clutched her face in horror, her eyes locking onto Feng Che with venomous hatred.
"Walrein, finish this quickly! I refuse to let anyone see me looking like an old hag!"
Walrein blasted a concentrated Ice Beam straight up into the upper atmosphere, manufacturing a towering, gargantuan iceberg that plummeted directly toward Togekiss.
Unflustered, Togekiss calmly spun through another round of Metronome.
Cracking arcs of golden thunder erupted from its wings, coalescing into a majestic thunder dragon that coiled around the falling iceberg. With a ferocious roar, the dragon bit down, shattering the mountain of ice into countless debris falling from the sky.
The residual electricity arced downward, slamming into Walrein. Thanks to its thick layer of fat, Walrein managed to dampen most of the electrical damage, but it was still sent reeling.
"Walrein, use Ice Spinner!" the Water Priestess screeched, the words forced out through gritted teeth.
Walrein threw its weight forward, unleashing a flurry of sharp ice chunks that converged into a colossal projectile.
Before the ice shell could strike, a massive iron wall of Stone Edge erupted from the ground, intercepting the barrage and grinding the ice shards into sparkling dust.
"Blind luck... nothing but blind luck!" the old woman wheezed, her voice raspy and aged.
Faced with Togekiss's absurd luck, even the Water Priestess found herself seething with bitter jealousy.
"Walrein's power has been boosted to the Champion tier! Why can't it take down a simple Elite-level Togekiss?!" she raged internally.
Feng Che, however, knew the exact reason. The moves Togekiss rolled were almost exclusively legendary signature attacks—or, at the very least, heavily amplified versions of standard moves. Even a freshly boosted Champion-tier Walrein couldn't easily withstand moves belonging to divine beasts.
Walrein slammed its heavy flippers onto the ground, causing jagged ice spikes to erupt everywhere.
At that exact moment, the terrain shifted underfoot, bubbling into a sea of roiling magma that melted the ice spikes into nothingness.
"As expected... in the face of Togekiss's Super Luck, even the Sky Monster's borrowed power has to take a knee," Feng Che muttered with a grin.
"The Sky Monster's enhancement must have a time limit. We just need to outlast it."
True to his prediction, the Water Priestess's body finally gave out.
"Feng Che... I'll be waiting for you in hell."
With a final raspy curse, her aged body dissolved into a pile of dry white bones, fading completely into the air.
Protected by the lingering blessing of the Sky Monster, however, Walrein grew even more frenzied. Thick plumes of black miasma continued to pour into its body, forming what looked like a grim, dark mask over its face.
"I never imagined a simple Togekiss could be this troublesome," the Sky Monster's voice echoed, possessing Walrein directly. "Let me handle you myself."
Walrein's offensive pressure instantly spiked to terrifying new heights.
"Is this Sky Monster completely shameless? It's personally stepping into the ring to fight a trainer!"
Feng Che used Teleport to blink safely to a higher ledge. Togekiss unleashed a razor-thin Air Slash, while Walrein countered with an absolute zero-degree frost breath.
Mirage mirrors fractured across the arena, multiplying phantom reflections of Walrein everywhere.
"Good grief. Possessed by the Sky Monster, this Walrein is basically running on developer cheats."
"Still, I trust my partner. My Togekiss isn't going down that easily."
Togekiss spun for another Metronome roll—though the luck finally dipped, causing a summoned magma blade to backfire and detonate harmlessly in a flash of sparks.