Didn't wait too long. A small black dot appeared in the sky, rapidly growing larger against the backdrop of the clouds. It was Honchkrow, who had been sent by Aoki to find Magearna. Clutched firmly in Honchkrow's feet was a huge, silver-white spherical object, resembling an oversized Pokeball. Strange patterns, akin to intricate lace, were carved into its metallic surface. This was Magearna. As a mechanical Pokemon, her body was capable of transformation; this spherical form was a self-defense mechanism she assumed when encountering danger or something she wished to avoid. In truth, however, this form offered little practical protection if someone truly intended to harm her.
Soon, Honchkrow descended and presented itself before Aoki. It cast a surprised glance at the slumbering Volcanion, having been somewhat concerned about the potential battle between Aoki and the powerful Pokemon before its departure. It had flown at its maximum speed, hoping to complete its task and return swiftly. Unexpectedly, upon its return, Volcanion had already been subdued and fallen asleep.
With a heavy thud, the giant metal ball that was Magearna was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. Its substantial weight caused it to crater the earth where it landed. Although Magearna possessed a mechanical, genderless body, her creator had designed her with the appearance of a princess, and internally she identified as such. However, her entire body was constructed from metal, making her extremely heavy. Consequently, Magearna despised any mention of her weight; what princess would ever want to be so heavy?
Aoki's system scanned Magearna's information.
Pokemon: Magearna (Light Purple)
Gender: No gender
Level: 50
Attributes: Steel + Fairy
Characteristics: Soul Heart
Held Item: Soul Heart
Egg Moves: None
Basic Moves: Defense Curl, Shift Gear, Gear Up, Iron Head, Helping Hand, Sonic Boom, Round, Shadow Ball, Lucky Chant, Aurora Beam, Mirror Shot, Lock-On, Flash Cannon, Fleur Cannon
Learnt Moves: Magnet Rise, Recycle, Pain Split, Electroweb, Heal Bell, After You, Iron Defense, Zen Headbutt
TM Moves: None
Strictly speaking, Magearna could be classified as a legendary Pokemon, a mythical beast, albeit an artificial one, similar to Mewtwo. However, Mewtwo was created from Mew's DNA and infused with genes from numerous other Pokemon, engineered specifically for combat, resulting in its extraordinary battle prowess even without divinity. Magearna was different. Her purpose for existing was protection, not fighting. Naturally, if she were trained and developed an affinity for battle, the power she could unleash would be considerable. The primary issue was that Magearna's peaceful and somewhat timid nature made it impossible for her to enjoy combat. She had shown no sign of reverting from her ball form since being dropped by Honchkrow.
Aoki then focused on Magearna's unique characteristic and her held item: Soul Heart. She was the only Pokemon in the world with this ability. Its effect was peculiar: whenever another Pokemon fainted nearby, Magearna's special attack would rise. Perhaps it was her concern for her companions that caused this inner power to surge. The existence of the Soul Heart ability was intrinsically linked to the "Soul Heart" listed in the item slot. In a strict sense, the mechanical body before them was not the true Magearna; the Soul Heart was the real essence of her being.
This Soul Heart was the lifetime creation of Nikola, the most talented scientist in the history of the Azoth Kingdom. The phantom Pokemon, Magearna—her true form was that very "Soul Heart." Roughly five hundred years ago, Nikola, a genius scientist from Azoth, collected vast amounts of life energy from Pokemon and infused it into a container, creating an artificial life: the Soul Heart. He then built a mechanical body for it, which became the "Magearna" seen today. This achievement represented the pinnacle of occult science.
It was precisely because of this Soul Heart that the Kingdom of Azoth nearly faced destruction. Nikola loved his country deeply, and his talent was too immense. He sought to use his abilities to protect his homeland, leading to Magearna's creation. To complement her, he constructed mechanical walls and an entire mechanical kingdom for Azoth. By activating hidden mechanisms within the castle, special machinery could combine the kingdom's walls into a massive aerial fortress. The energy core of this fortress was Magearna's Soul Heart!
Somehow, news of this leaked out, and individuals began to covet the Soul Heart to seize control of the aerial fortress. Instead of protecting the kingdom, the Soul Heart nearly incited a civil war. To prevent conflict, Nikola sealed away both Magearna and the fortress. The sealing place was the Nibel Plateau. Perhaps it was the irritable Volcanion's mountain-destroying rampage that inadvertently broke the seal and awakened Magearna, leading to the scene Aoki witnessed.
Therefore, anyone within the Azoth Kingdom who knew of Magearna's existence and obtained her Soul Heart could, by unsealing the fortress, become the new ruler of Azoth. Furthermore, this aerial fortress concealed a vast arsenal of weapons, treasures left behind by Nikola for his kingdom. The combat power these weapons could unleash far surpassed that of Team Rocket's own sky fortress. This was the absolute peak of mechanical and occult science development. Nikola's talent was unmatched in the Pokemon world, even to this day. Five hundred years had passed, yet not only had Azoth's mechanical and occult sciences failed to advance, but the loss of some of Nikola's research had actually caused their capabilities to regress.
Within the Kingdom of Azoth, the highest honor for any occult scientist was to study and master Nikola's research; the more one mastered, the greater the respect they received. There was virtually no innovation of their own. Perhaps only a man named Jarvis could even approach Nikola's level slightly. This was also the person Aoki had asked Team Flash to locate. He was the creator of a branch of occult science that excited Aoki a great deal.