"What!?"
"Chaamo!?"
Aki and Combusken both gasped in shock at the sight before them. That Crystal Onix… what on earth was it? Neither fire nor water seemed to have any effect on it!
As Aki reeled in disbelief, the Crystal Onix struck again, unleashing another blast of Icy Wind.
"Chaamo…" Combusken braced itself, arms crossed, face twisted in pain.
"Now's the chance—use Bind!" Yozora shouted, seizing the opportunity.
"Rooaaar!"
The Crystal Onix lashed out with its long crystalline tail, coiling around Combusken and lifting it effortlessly off the ground.
Combusken struggled, its body tightening under the crushing restraint. Aki's eyes filled with panic as his partner writhed in pain, unable to break free.
At that moment, Combusken's limbs were immobilized. Only its beak remained free.
"Don't give up, Combusken! Hit it with your strongest Flamethrower!" Aki roared.
"Chaamo!!" Combusken's cheeks puffed, unleashing a torrent of fire with every ounce of strength it had left.
But…
Just like before, the flames were absorbed harmlessly into the Crystal Onix's glimmering body. Not a single scorch mark appeared.
"This… this can't be…" Aki's heart sank into despair. His Combusken, exhausted and powerless, was whipped away by Crystal Onix and hurled aside.
In one fell swoop, Crystal Onix had crushed all three of Aki's Pokémon.
"Whoa! That's crazy strong!"
"Yozora's amazing! No wonder he's the Champion of the Indigo League Conference!"
As the match ended, cheers and admiration erupted all around. A few brightly dressed girls even swarmed forward, asking Yozora for his autograph.
"No autographs. I'm not some big-shot celebrity. My name really isn't worth much." Yozora waved them off, quickly leaving the crowd behind.
Once outside of New Bark Town, he wandered into a lush, open field. Taking a deep breath of the fresh countryside air, he allowed himself a rare, satisfied smile.
"Bzzzzzz…"
Suddenly, a group of dragonflies buzzed overhead.
"Ninjask!" Yozora's eyes lit up with excitement.
Ninjask were rare Pokémon, seldom seen in the wild—yet here was an entire swarm flying right above him!
Even better, Ninjask naturally possessed the Speed Boost ability.
For the Torchic evolutionary line, Speed Boost was a hidden ability, with only about 10% born with it. But for Ninjask, Speed Boost was a standard ability—common among many of them.
To Yozora, this was the perfect chance to harvest a whole collection of Speed Boost abilities!
"Come forth, Crystal Onix—use Icy Wind!"
The wild Ninjask were swift, but not strong. As soon as Crystal Onix emerged, it swept through them with ease, knocking dozens out of the air.
Within moments, Yozora had acquired more than ten Speed Boost abilities, along with a few Compound Eyes.
Compound Eyes was decent—it allowed the user to pierce through fog, smoke, and moves like Double Team, improving accuracy.
But compared to Speed Boost, it was far inferior.
…
Yozora's Charizard already had all five ability slots filled: Water Absorb and four variants of Blaze.
So instead, he assigned Speed Boost to his Gengar, Dratini, and Miltank.
As for Crystal Onix, it currently only had four slots. Once Yozora formed a full bond with it, the fifth slot would unlock, and then he'd bestow Speed Boost upon it too.
Since each Pokémon seemed to only drop abilities once, farming repeats was useless. With a reluctant sigh, Yozora let the remaining Ninjask swarm go.
Opening his map, he confirmed his heading and began walking toward Violet City.
Within the forest, Yozora deliberately suppressed his Aura powers. Instead, he attuned his heart to the natural world around him.
The more he focused, the calmer he became. His heart overflowed with joy, and his awareness of his surroundings grew sharper.
At any moment, he could hear the thoughts of Pokémon, or sense the faint presence of those hidden in the underbrush.
To test this new Mind's Eye, Yozora often pushed aside bushes—almost always uncovering a Caterpie or Weedle.
He would first sense their aura, then confirm it by actually finding them. His accuracy was uncanny.
"Help… someone, please… save us…"
Suddenly, Yozora froze. His ears caught a chorus of desperate cries.
Not just one Pokémon—but many. All weeping in pain.
His heart tightened. Locking onto the direction of the voices, he sprinted toward them.
At this moment, Yozora had become one with nature itself, no different from a wielder of the Power of Viridian. This was true harmony of man and nature, the ultimate focus—the awakening of the Mind's Eye.
Before long, he burst through the trees and came upon a shocking sight: an armored vehicle barreling through the woods. Behind it trailed massive iron cages, each filled with brutally injured, half-dead Pokémon.
And they were all rare species: Pinsir, Scyther, and even Eevee.
Illegal hunting—Pokémon poachers!
Yozora's adrenaline spiked.
"Go, Gengar—disrupt them!"
With a wicked grin, Gengar darted ahead, appearing directly before the armored truck. It twisted its face into grotesque grimaces, sticking out its tongue at the driver.
"Outta my way! Get lost!" the man shouted, panicked and unable to steer properly. But before he could react, Gengar phased into his body, seizing control.
The armored vehicle swerved wildly, then overturned with a deafening crash.
The cages spilled onto the ground with a thunderous clatter.
Yozora rushed forward, smashing the locks and freeing every Pokémon, spraying them with healing mist from his medicine kit.
Meanwhile, Gengar drained the life from the driver, leaving behind nothing but a shriveled husk. The man hadn't even released a single Pokémon to fight back before his life ended.
"Chaaaar…"
"Scyther!"
"Eevee!"
One by one, the rescued Pokémon recovered under Yozora's care. Grateful, they crowded around him, their eyes shining with thanks.
Pinsir didn't interest him much.
But Scyther and Eevee—those caught Yozora's attention. He immediately scanned their potential with his system.
[Scyther]: Senior-level, Elite potential
[Scyther]: Early Elite-level, Elite potential
[Scyther]: Senior-level, Lord-tier potential
…
[Eevee]: Junior-level, Elite potential
[Eevee]: Senior-level, Commander-tier potential
[Eevee]: Senior-level, Elite potential
[Partner Eevee]: Senior-level, Elite Four potential
…
As he finished his assessment, Yozora's eyes widened. Among them was a Partner Eevee. Its gaze burned with intelligence, its fur sleek and radiant. One look was enough to tell—it was special.
"Eevee…"
The little fox's eyes sparkled as it met Yozora's gaze. Tail wagging, it pressed itself against him, rubbing its head against his arm affectionately.
"Eevee… would you like to come with me?" Yozora asked softly, gently stroking its head.
…
…
(End of Chapter)