The Charizard beside him was barely holding on.
Fighting at a type disadvantage—and on top of that, being ambushed—yet still managing to take down two Elite Four-level Dragon-type Pokémon…
Even with Mega Evolution, that Charizard had already hit its limit.
Its blue tail flame flickered unstably, like it could go out at any second.
But seeing the Tyrantrum charging straight toward them—
There was no choice.
Ukyo could only make Charizard brace for battle once again.
Damn it!
How can I be this unlucky?!
The moment one leaves, another shows up!
Is this ever going to end?!
Ukyo kept cursing internally.
Then he looked again.
That Tyrantrum was charging dead straight at them without the slightest deviation.
When it reached a certain point, its speed suddenly changed—
It practically lunged at them.
"Heavy Slam?!"
"Charizard! Use Fly—pull away!"
Ukyo's heart jolted.
He instinctively assumed Tyrantrum had launched an attack.
With a quick motion, he swung himself up onto Charizard's back.
Charizard beat its wings and, with visible strain, forced itself into the air.
Only after gaining height did Ukyo realize—
That Tyrantrum didn't seem to be ramming them at all.
And it hadn't used Heavy Slam either.
It…
It looked like it had been chased here while fleeing for its life?!
That sudden change of speed—
That stumble—
Was because…
BOOM!!!
A deafening crash exploded.
Its massive body—well over five hundred jin—smashed down hard onto the ground.
The terrifying impact caved the earth beneath it into a huge crater.
Cracks spread in dense lines, forming a spiderweb that blanketed the entire area.
And only then did Ukyo finally see what had happened to Tyrantrum.
Behind it stood an incomparably burly, upright, savage dinosaur-like Pokémon—one he had never seen before.
A thick, intense deep-crimson light flickered around the sharp claws on its forearms.
With a ruthless strike, it brought a claw down and planted it on Tyrantrum's body.
That single blow shaved Tyrantrum's health down to a paper-thin sliver.
"What the hell…?"
Ukyo's pupils shrank sharply.
The psychological impact of that scene was immense.
That unknown Pokémon looked absurdly strong!
With just a brutal Dragon Claw, it had beaten an Elite Four-level Tyrantrum into this miserable state.
"Roar…"
In midair, Mega Charizard X let out a low, uneasy rumble.
Fear showed clearly in its expression.
It saw Shiko—
And from him, it felt a powerful sense of danger and an oppressive pressure that made its instincts scream.
Tyrantrum's huge body lay sprawled on the ground.
Deep-crimson Dragon-type energy coiled around Shiko's razor-sharp claws as he pinned Tyrantrum down firmly.
Tyrantrum wailed in pain.
Its body twisted frantically on the ground.
But no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't break free of Shiko's restraint, couldn't even get back up.
Not behaving?
Shiko frowned.
Tyrantrum's nonstop struggling irritated him.
He lifted his other arm and delivered another Dragon Claw.
That strike, wrapped in deep-crimson Dragon-type energy, landed with precision on Tyrantrum's spine.
"RAAAAH!"
Tyrantrum screamed again.
Dragon-type moves already dealt it double damage.
And Shiko's Dragon-type energy had become so dense and powerful it was downright exaggerated—
It had transformed from blue into an even deeper crimson.
With that blow, the overwhelming Dragon-type energy crashed through Tyrantrum completely.
It finally stopped struggling.
Because it passed out on the spot.
It fainted?
Seriously?
Useless.
Shiko clicked his tongue, speechless.
Now he'd lost the chance to interrogate it about those Dragon-type energy crystals.
Looks like next time he'd need to hold back a little.
He cast a somewhat disgusted glance at the unconscious Tyrantrum.
Then Shiko raised his head—
And suddenly noticed Mega Charizard X hovering in the air, wings beating, with Ukyo on its back.
That man and that Pokémon were staring at him with utterly stunned, shocked expressions.
Hm?
That Charizard's appearance…
It's Mega Evolved?
If that's the case…
Then that man must be from the Military?
Shiko gave him a brief look, then shifted his attention away.
His gaze moved to the towering peaks all around, considering which one to deal with first.
He had to seize the moment.
Those Elite Four-level Dragon-type Pokémon had just spent a lot of stamina fighting Himeko-san's group—they weren't at their peak.
That was the best time to strike.
If he delayed and let them recover back to full condition…
Then things would become troublesome.
So the next second, he didn't hesitate.
He took a step and sprinted toward a mountain he'd picked out.
The sheer movement made the earth roar and tremble.
He was like a high-speed war chariot, carrying terrifying momentum as he plowed across the terrain.
Watching Shiko's figure vanish into the distance,
Ukyo and Mega Charizard X finally loosened the tension in their bodies a little.
Good grief.
For that brief instant when Shiko's gaze had fallen on them—
Whether human or Pokémon, both had felt an overwhelming pressure.
Like being stared down by an ancient primeval beast.
Mega Charizard X, in particular, felt a deep instinctive terror.
Their nerves had been stretched to the breaking point.
They'd been certain that after killing Tyrantrum, that brutal dinosaur-like Pokémon would turn on them next.
But instead, it only glanced at them once and hurried away—
As if it hadn't even put them in its eyes.
Only after he finally forced down his restless, pounding heart did Ukyo remember his mission.
He urgently urged Charizard onward, flying deeper into Dragon Valley.
He still needed to support Minister Kenjiro-san's operation.
Who knew how things were going on their side?
Still—
He could clearly feel that the intense energy fluctuations coming from that direction earlier were gradually settling.
Had it already reached the end?
Don't tell me something happened to them?
The thought made Ukyo's heart tighten.
He immediately wanted to rush over.
And right then—
He saw several figures appear in the sky.
Hm?
As they drew closer and became clearer, Ukyo recognized them at once.
Minister Kenjiro-san?
And Himeko-san and Aisa-san?
What was going on?
They were back already?
Did they resolve the problem that fast?
That efficiency was insane!
"Hey! I'm over here!"
Ukyo waved his arm hard at them.
It immediately caught Aisa-san's group's attention.
"How are you still here? Didn't I tell you to come support us earlier?"
Minister Kenjiro-san looked at Ukyo and his Charizard appearing here and instantly showed displeasure.
He had clearly assigned Ukyo to arrive early to provide support.
Running into him here—
Wasn't that neglecting duty?
However—
Seeing Ukyo and Charizard both panting hard, exhausted, covered in wounds, and in terrible condition,
Kenjiro-san understood.
They must have run into trouble on the way and fought a major battle to end up like this.
Ukyo explained what he had encountered.
Only then did everyone relax a little.
"I'm telling you, we should leave this place first—now!"
"Just now I saw a terrifying Pokémon! It's insanely strong!"
"See this Tyrantrum? That terrifying Pokémon is the one that beat it!"
Ukyo hurriedly shared what he'd just witnessed.
That massive dinosaur-like Pokémon was simply too frightening.
Seeing that Minister Kenjiro-san and the others had come out safely from deeper in the valley…
Ukyo also motioned for everyone to hurry up and get out of this horrifying place.
If their luck turned and they ran into that terrifying dinosaur-like Pokémon again later—
With their current condition, they really wouldn't be able to take it.
"The Pokémon you're talking about—was it over four meters tall, kind of like a Tyranitar-shaped dinosaur, with a black bony helmet on its head, and sharp horns on the helmet?"
Himeko-san looked at Ukyo and asked.
Ukyo recalled GeoGreymon's appearance in his mind, then nodded repeatedly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! That's the one!"
"You've already seen it?"
Ukyo blurted out.
Just thinking about it made his scalp go cold.
"Where did it go?"
Himeko-san pressed again.
Ukyo turned around and pointed toward a massive mountain range whose outline faintly showed to the east.
"What—don't tell me you're planning to chase it?"
"Don't be reckless! That thing is way too strong! With our current condition, it'll be miserable if we fight!"
Ukyo didn't understand why Himeko-san kept asking.
But it wasn't just Himeko-san.
Aisa-san and Minister Kenjiro-san also looked like they were about to go after it.
This is madness!
That Pokémon looked vicious as hell!
If they chased it and actually provoked it—
What if it attacked without holding back?
Just from how it had ended that Elite Four-level Tyrantrum in two hits—
Its combat power was absurdly exaggerated.
If a real fight broke out, there was a high chance something would go horribly wrong.
What are they even doing?!
Ukyo watched them head off into the distance.
He didn't have the confidence to run away on his own either.
Gritting his teeth, he could only follow along with Charizard.
On a towering eastern peak—
Shiko had already charged into the territory of that Elite Four-level Noivern.
Facing Shiko's powerful dragon pressure,
Noivern bared its two sharp fangs.
It looked fierce on the surface, but inside it was trembling.
That stiffness in its shoulders lasted only an instant.
Under the crushing dragon pressure, Noivern had no intention of fighting at all.
It beat its wings and immediately tried to flee out of the valley.
But it hadn't flown far before Shiko's Dragon Pulse blasted it down.
That scene—
Just happened to fall into the eyes of Himeko-san and the others rushing over.
It looked like a heavy ground-based weapon shooting a fighter out of the sky.
It was shockingly impactful.
"I told you! This Pokémon is ridiculously strong!"
"As long as it hasn't noticed us yet, we can still leave right now!"
Sensing Shiko's power up close again,
Ukyo couldn't stop worrying about his companions.
Why go anywhere near something that terrifying?
Wasn't that just asking for trouble?
But Himeko-san acted like she hadn't heard a single word.
She continued closing in on that mountain.
Are they crazy?
Or is this about Hypnosis or something?
Ukyo froze for a moment, then grit his teeth and hurried after them.
Shiko had already entered Noivern's cave.
This place was quite cramped.
The ceiling was under three meters high, and he could only go inside by bending at the waist.
After walking a short distance, the space opened up abruptly.
In the wide interior of the cave,
Shiko found what he wanted.
A whole chunk of pure Dragon-type energy crystal—
Altogether, about the size of two fists—
Sat quietly on a rock outcropping that jutted from the cave wall.
Shiko let out a breath.
Joy rose in his chest.
No effort wasted.
He finally found what he wanted!
This Dragon-type energy crystal alone should raise his mastery of the Dragon-type attribute law by another two percent.
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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