Mega Gengar was breathing heavily, its arms trembling slightly.
Fortunately, it was still in its Mega Evolution state — the speed at which it released energy was much greater than in its normal form; otherwise, it truly wouldn't have been able to endure it.
Gengar's condition gradually stabilized, and that dense Ghost-type energy stopped seeping into its body.
Letting out a long sigh, Cain collapsed heavily onto the ground, while Gengar also slumped down beside him. The energy of Mega Evolution slowly dissipated, returning Gengar to its normal form.
No one knew how much time had passed. Maintaining Mega Evolution while using his psychic powers to help Gengar dispel the mental confusion had left Cain completely exhausted.
As for Gengar, it was utterly spent after unleashing so many consecutive attacks.
Level 77.
Not only had it completed its breakthrough, but it had also risen by three levels.
If Cain hadn't stopped it in time, Gengar might have skyrocketed straight to level 78 or even 79. But had that happened, its quality would have inevitably fallen to Light Purple.
It had taken great effort to raise it to Purple quality — letting it degrade again was unthinkable.
Leveling up was easy; improving quality was the hard part!
Now, although its Purple quality had paled slightly in hue, it still remained within the Purple grade. As long as it continued consuming Cain's Pokéblocks for a long period, it would eventually recover.
"It seems that from now on, you'll have to work much harder on compressing your energy and stabilizing your foundation. Otherwise, the threshold to the Champion level could become your greatest lifelong obstacle," Cain warned after catching his breath.
"Kekeke!"
Gengar nodded. It understood perfectly.
This sudden jump in levels had granted it tremendous power, but it also caused occasional lapses where its body didn't respond properly.
Though it didn't appear serious, that instability meant a weak foundation.
And in battle, even a single imprecise move — one mistake in controlling the energy of an attack — could decide defeat.
In a life-or-death fight, everyone knew what losing meant.
Seeing Cain and Gengar sit down to rest, the other Pokémon also silently let out sighs of relief.
Cain stood and looked around. What had once been a relatively flat area of the Dragon's Tomb was now a complete wreck. The difference from when they had first arrived was staggering.
Still, there was a silver lining: after Gengar's massive barrage of attacks, all the nearby Ghost-type Pokémon had fled in terror.
It was Cain's first chance to examine the newly obtained Mega Stone.
A transparent crystal, with the red and blue symbol of Mega Evolution embedded within. A stone he had never possessed before.
Cain already had some suspicions about its function, but he would have to wait until he finished exploring the tomb to confirm them.
Looking around, he saw that the terrain was riddled with craters, and the once-intact dragon bones now lay scattered in fragments.
"Such destruction..." he murmured, though he calmly rose to his feet and continued advancing deeper with his Pokémon.
He still didn't know what made this tomb so special — not only did it continuously provide energy to the Dragon Pool, but it had also spawned aberrations like those three fused Gengar.
Moreover, the self-fusing energy trait they possessed only made Cain more curious.
Now that he was this close, there was no reason to turn back.
Perhaps because of the pressure Gengar exuded, or because the stronger Ghost-types had already been devoured by those three, Cain encountered no other high-level enemies along the way.
By time and distance, he should have already been nearing the center of the Dragon's Tomb.
The terrain grew increasingly flat — or rather, even.
Unlike before, where rocky formations jutted up and only one or two narrow paths existed, here the ground was completely smooth.
But Cain noticed something unsettling: there wasn't a single dragon bone in this area.
It was as if, upon entering the tomb, every Dragon-type Pokémon had deliberately avoided this place.
At first glance, the surface wasn't entirely uniform — it was crossed by cracks and grooves of varying depths, intertwined and crisscrossed to form an extremely intricate pattern.
"Could this be... some kind of special formation?" Cain thought, fairly certain that it was.
It wasn't the first time he had seen something like this.
At Mt. Pyre, where Gengar had evolved, the two guardian elders had prepared a similar circle to guide the evolution process.
But compared to that one, this formation was far larger and more complex.
Such formations had been lost in modern times. Only in ancient days — when humans had to face special forces and entities — had they been studied and developed.
Cain advanced carefully, avoiding stepping on the grooves and lines, for even a slight disturbance could irreversibly alter the entire site.
He didn't want the Dragon-type Pokémon of the region to see him as an enemy.
The fact that Drake had brought him here meant he regarded Cain as the successor to this space — the mediator between the tomb and the outside world. To Cain, that made this place almost like his own territory. He would not damage it.
Even so, he had his system scan the entire circle for later study using ancient texts. Perhaps he would discover something.
The ancients were truly impressive — their special techniques followed a path completely different from modern society. While today's world pursued science, they had pursued mysticism. Claydol and Golurk were their creations in that field.
Modern science, too, had found other methods to create Pokémon.
The Kingdom of Azoth and its arcane technology were prime examples of that.
Different paths, different destinies.
When Cain reached the center of the circle, he found what had been placed there.
A special statue — shaped like a dragon's claw pointing upward.
Three sharp, curved talons, as if holding something. But whatever had once been there was now gone.
"It seems someone took whatever was here... though I have no idea what it originally was."
Judging by the tomb itself, it was highly probable that this place had been created by the ancients — just like the one Cain had discovered inside Mt. Chimney with Groudon. The difference was that Groudon had destroyed that one, whereas this remained perfectly intact.
Cain thought silently, "Perhaps this place was inhabited by the ancients who worshiped Rayquaza. That would explain the enormous number of Dragon-type Pokémon here — and also the temple, the statues, and the vivid carvings of Rayquaza..."
Had those ancients vanished completely? Or had they simply left this place to live in the outside world?
It was impossible to know, and Cain didn't intend to dwell on it.
However, as he turned his gaze away from the dragon claw statue, he noticed something else.
"Could that be... a fragment of the Sky Plate?" he murmured in surprise, seeing the blue stone embedded within the statue.
Had Arceus already lost fragments of the Sky Plate since ancient times?
(End of chapter)