"Whooo—!!!"
Gale-force winds lashed Kael's face as they cut through the night sky, forcing him to narrow his eyes.
His thoughts drifted to the Abyssal Demons organization.
Just like every Pokémon world, this film-and-TV–fusion world also had its ultimate villain faction.
Most evil organizations only sought world domination—but Abyssal Demons wanted to destroy the world entirely.
They were hated worldwide.
From what Kael had gathered online, their leader was known as the Abyssal Lord Azathoth.
Beneath him were seven High Priests, embodying Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust.
Below them were the Abyssal Apostles—essentially cannon fodder.
They possessed the ability to forcibly demonize Pokémon, turning them into Magical Beasts.
This demonic corruption occurred in three stages:
Type I (Infection Stage): Eyes glow purple, personality mutatesType II (Mutation Stage): Dark-matter crystalline armor formsType III (Abyssal Form): Complete loss of biological traits
That was all Kael knew. Anything deeper remained classified.
As he was thinking, Corviknight arrived above the incident site.
Below, thick smoke billowed into the sky, flames raged, and cries for help and screams echoed everywhere—punctuated by urgent commands.
"Arcanine! Flamethrower!!"
"Golduck! Hydro Pump!!"
"Wartortle! Hurry—put out the fire! Save people!!"
Elemental attacks lit up the battlefield.
On the ground were hundreds of grotesque creatures—rotting bodies, blood-red eyes filled with madness—rampaging through buildings and lunging suicidally at anyone nearby.
"Damn it!! Ursaring—Slash!! Kill these disgusting monsters!!"
A teenage boy roared in fury, veins bulging on his forehead.
A towering Ursaring, over two meters tall, burst forward like a cannonball. Its massive body slammed a demonized Pokémon flying.
"ROAR!!"
Ursaring bellowed as its claws elongated into razor-sharp blades. It pounced, slicing another demonized Pokémon clean in half.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Yes! Ursaring—beautifully done!!" the boy shouted excitedly.
But before he could celebrate—
A bizarre figure appeared in front of Ursaring like a ghost.
It moved impossibly fast.
Twin blades rose high—
One strike would have crippled Ursaring, if not killed it outright.
"Ursaring—watch out!!!" the boy screamed, eyes splitting.
Too late.
"Air Slash!!"
A cold voice rang out.
Two crescent-shaped blades of compressed air tore through the night, slamming into the bladed demon Pokémon.
"BOOM!!"
Dust exploded outward.
When the smoke cleared, the bladed monster had been blown to pieces.
Ursaring was caught in the shockwave, but thanks to its thick hide, it only suffered minor injuries.
The boy finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked up.
In the air hovered a Corviknight, like a steel helicopter—its blood-red eyes sweeping downward with overwhelming pressure.
"Kael!!!" the boy shouted in delight.
Crouched on Corviknight's back, Kael smiled. He leapt down.
"Boom!"
He landed heavily on the concrete road, cracking it beneath his feet.
"Damn it, Kael—I knew it was you!" the boy laughed as he hurried over.
Kael grinned back.
"Riven, you were way too careless. If I hadn't arrived in time, you and Ursaring would've been staying here forever."
The boy was Riven, from Growing Pain.
Kael and Riven had met during their very first Secret Realm expedition. Both inexperienced, both facing slaughter for the first time—they'd survived by relying on each other.
They'd shared life-and-death moments.
Kael thought highly of Riven. Though a rich kid, he had none of the usual flaws—aside from being a bit of a simp for Skylin.
Otherwise, he was solid.
"Yeah… I got careless," Riven laughed awkwardly.
"BOOM!!!"
Another explosion rocked the ground.
"Looks like catching up will have to wait," Kael said, glancing into the distance.
"Yeah. We'll meet again in a few days," Riven nodded.
"Stay alive," Kael added. "I don't want to attend your funeral."
In the next instant, Kael shot skyward like a cannonball. A massive black shape streaked past like lightning, scooping him up and vanishing into the night.
"Damn it, Kael!! I don't want to attend yours either!!" Riven shouted after him.
"ROAR—!"
Ursaring roared as well, clearly echoing the sentiment.
"Haha—Ursaring, let's go too. We can't lose to Kael," Riven said, slapping Ursaring's massive head.
"ROAR!!"
Ursaring bellowed and charged forward like a tank, its claws gouging deep scars into the ground wherever it ran.