After a while, in the early afternoon, Al was still in his hammock, dozing peacefully.
A small group of goblins approached, hesitant at first. One of them finally stepped forward.
"Sir… Rimuru-sama has fallen into a deep sleep."
At the word sir, Al's eyes snapped open. He pushed himself upright with a lazy yawn, then fixed the goblins with a sharp, raised brow.
"And what do you expect me to do about it? Ruru entrusted you with guarding his body. So get to it—and make sure nothing happens."
His words started as a question but ended like an order.
"Sir, yes, sir!" the goblin replied, quickly turning back to rally his group.
Before they could leave, something clattered to the ground in front of them. A small wooden canister.
"And by the way," Al said, dusting off his hands, "if things get messy, break that open. It'll release a signature only I can sense, and I'll come running. Use it for real emergencies."
The goblins stared, wide-eyed, as Al stretched, then smirked.
"Oh—and one more thing. From now on, call me General Solis."
He started to walk away, but one of the goblins called out.
"Are you leaving?"
Al stopped and glanced back over his shoulder.
"Nah. I'll be close. Just got a new skill I'm itching to test out."
His body shimmered, shrinking into a small brown mole-like creature—Diglett. Then, without hesitation, he burrowed straight into the ground with {Dig}, the earth closing over him as if he'd never been there.
---
After a moment, Al tunneled through the earth as {Diglet}, his tiny form gliding easily beneath the soil.
But then he stopped.
'What happens if I become Dugtrio?'
The thought lingered, buzzing in his mind. He began circling a spot, the dirt shifting as he looped tighter and tighter.
'Do I just… duplicate? Then what if I become a Dugtrio while already a Dugtrio? Would that mean… a clone technique?'
His little beady eyes widened. He surfaced slightly, then forced the transformation.
{Transform}
His body split into three—three {Dugtrio}, each connected, each sharing his consciousness. His perspective fractured into three sets of eyes, three bodies burrowing at once. Yet his mind stayed whole, unified.
'So… a hive mind.'
The three Dugtrio emerged, staring at one another, their dirt-smeared heads tilting in sync.
'What if I can stack this? Ten Gigantamax Venusaur, all stomping down an army at once… Arceus help me, this is insane!'
Excitement coursed through all three bodies.
Then, with a shimmer, each Dugtrio surfaced.
{Transform}
Three identical green-haired young men now stood in a rough circle. Al turned his head left, right, seeing himself reflected twice.
"This… is weird," all three said at once.
Then one broke into a smile. "Oh my Arceus… I can summon the entire Pokédex as an army."
He tested it. Raising his right arm—three right arms lifted in unison. He tried to force only one down. With effort, one hand lowered while the other two stayed raised. Progress. Then he jumped. All three jumped.
'Okay… I need finer control. Maybe with psychic abilities, I can separate the commands. Focus.'
He concentrated, splitting his will.
One body shifted into {Zapdos}, wings crackling with restrained power, then took to the skies toward the dugout.
The second body melted into the shadows as {Gengar}, grinning wide, then slunk back toward the goblin village.
And the main body? He stretched, smirked, then walked off into the forest clearing.
'Perfect spot to test Z-Moves. And maybe… finally test out Dynamax.'
---
Minutes later, Al found a clearing with shallow puddles and uneven ground — not much, but good enough for what he had in mind.
He stretched his arms and, with a flicker of light, {Transform}.
In his place stood {Mew}, small and pink, feline tail swaying lazily. He flexed his tiny body, rolled his shoulders, and sighed, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought.
'Alright. Let's start with something I always use… Genesis Supernova.'
Closing his eyes, Al gathered energy. When he opened them again, a glowing symbol pulsed out from his body before fading. His fur shimmered purple, and dozens of psychic orbs—thirty-two by instinct—blinked into existence, hovering in a slow orbit around him. He knew he could push for more, but held back.
The orbs began to spin, their trails weaving together until they formed a luminous strand resembling DNA. The pattern fractured, collapsed inward, and then fused into a massive psychic sphere.
Al floated behind it, his tiny paws glowing with {Psychic}, and shoved the orb forward.
It surged across the clearing. The instant it struck the ground, the sphere expanded—dragging in soil, stone, and even water molecules. Everything caught inside was crushed and compacted into the center, reality itself folding under the pressure.
Then, silence.
The glow faded, leaving behind a wide crater. Water from the puddles trickled down its slopes, collecting into the hollow like a newborn pond.
Al shifted back into his human form, eyes wide, jaw slack.
"…What the fuck. I used that on an innocent Yungoos."