area51novel Chapter 257 The Mark - Fleeting Light in the Night
Chapter 257 The Mark - Fleeting Light in the Night
The giant Poké Ball traced a beautiful arc and expanded further in the air, instantly becoming several meters in diameter.
The moment it touched the ground, the crystal-clear sphere suddenly burst open like a shining star, and Piplup, covered in dark red light, burst out of the sphere.
"Po--Ga--"
Accompanied by a low, piercing cry that shook their eardrums, Cattleya and Lianwu, who were on the fourth floor of the stone tower, looked at each other in bewilderment.
Because they watched as a giant penguin head slowly emerged from the hole in the ceiling created by Garchomp.
With its blue head resembling a helipad, pale yellow beak like a car hood, and wide-open eyes the size of two windows, this Pokémon appears exceptionally eerie under the cover of night, like an urban legend awakening from a dream.
Above its head, three gray-red clouds swirled and circled.
Perhaps feeling that the ceiling was obstructing his view, Piplup's first action after growing larger was to raise its fins and flap them down some of the rocks connected by its psychic powers, smoothing out the edges of its vision so that it could clearly see the battle unfolding beneath its feet.
As if sensing the Psychic-type Elite Four member's hostile gaze, the giant penguin quickly raised its wings and assumed a stance to use the "Protect" move.
—Just in time to meet the surging heat wave!
Whoosh!
The attack unleashed by the Volcano was fierce and resolute, and of course, it would not be slowed down even slightly by the shock of the crowd.
Just as the giant Pigasman assumed its pose, the "chirping of insects" and the howling of "hot wind" violently crashed into it.
Generally speaking, given Piplup's current weakened state, no matter how many defensive moves it uses, it would be impossible to withstand a full-force attack from the champion's ace Pokémon.
However, despite the sound of flames exploding, Piplup's massive body remained standing in the battlefield—though it was shaken back several steps.
In front of it, a defensive light barrier, resembling a blue city wall, had already appeared.
"Wow! Bogarman has gotten so big!"
Only then did Alice in the stands come to her senses and exclaim in amazement, while Wanlong Tianwang next to the girl was even more excited.
She gazed intently at the towering figure of Bogarman, who was easily two stories tall, her eyes filled with curiosity, and she spoke rapidly to herself—
"Greatness triumphs in space, it's an overwhelming, boundless aura. Is that 'Max Guard'? A power-up 'Protect' move that can almost perfectly block all attacks! Could the changes Piplup is undergoing be the Galar-specific Dynamax phenomenon? But... this is Unova, the Tower of Heaven can't possibly have the facilities of the Galar Arena. How did Hugo manage to do this here? Could the item on his wrist be that Dynamax Bracer made from a Wishing Star dropped in the Galar region?"
"Maybe, but maybe not."
Lingju also tilted her head back, her fingertips touching her chin, and said with a face full of doubt.
"A two-story building is certainly very tall here. However, judging from the battle videos circulating from Galar, those Pokémon that have Dynamaxed and can almost take up half the stadium must be much taller than that..."
If it's just individual differences between Pokémon, the size difference after the transformation shouldn't be that much.
"Anyway, it's another prop I got from Miss Zhulan, right..."
Upstairs, Gadriya yawned, uninterested in the detective's outrageous behavior, and continued to work with the artificial cell egg, using her superpowers to maintain the stability of the battlefield.
Only Lian Wu, the king of fighting-type characters, frowned as he looked at the prop in the detective's hand. He felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen something similar somewhere before.
.
Hugo, caught up in the battle, was oblivious to the whispers of the audience. He continued running toward Aldac while waving his arms to command Bogarman behind him to unleash his next skill.
"Piplup, 'Max Water'!"
At the same time, the floor tiles beneath Volcarona's feet began to tremble, and Alder, who had been observing Piplup with great interest, raised an eyebrow—
"Oh? Not only the little guy that's grown bigger, but even the Garchomp from underground is coming up? This attack is going to be quite a spectacle... Let's step up our efforts too."
His clenched fist suddenly opened wide, like a megaphone, and the champion of United Nations spoke with a smile—
“A piercing sound!”
A piercing noise, like metal rubbing against stone, seemed to shatter clouds and crack rocks, emanating from beneath the mouthparts of the fire moth, making one instinctively want to cover their head and avoid it.
This disruptive move, which could reduce the opponent's defense, immediately took effect. The previously restless ground immediately quieted down, and even Piplup, who was about to unleash a skill, was stunned for a moment.
However, neither of the two duelists at the center of the sound waves covered their ears.
Hugo didn't stop there, and the United Champions weren't going to let their opponent off the hook either.
His Volcarona was filled with endless energy, so he didn't need to pause and charge up like other Pokémon before using a move.
To counter both ground and water-type moves, you should naturally use that skill!
"Vulcano, 'Ultimate Drain'!"
At the trainer's command, the flames surrounding the Sunbug suddenly seemed to possess their own will, rapidly twisting and elongating, weaving into strips of "roots" that shot towards Piplup and the underground simultaneously.
It instantly transformed the flames into grass-type energy, and could even attack two targets in different locations simultaneously!
"Garuda, watch out for the ground!"
Seeing the Volcano's movements, Hugo immediately warned it, while awkwardly tilting his head to the side.
The next second, several absorbing roots, accompanied by a whooshing sound, flew past the detective's cheek and headed straight for the giant Piplup behind him...
But Hugo's warning came too late.
Since Garchomp is positioned directly beneath Volcarona, the roots that pierce it need to act even faster.
The golden ribbons, seemingly still retaining the intense heat of their flame form, effortlessly melted through the hard floor tiles, plunging straight down towards the spot where the ground had been trembling.
However, Garchomp's screams did not rang out. It wasn't until the roots of "Giga Drain" completely lifted the floor tiles that everyone saw that beneath where the floor tiles had been trembling, there was only a slowly rotating "Quicksand Hell".
"Ugh, I've been tricked again."
Alder sighed, rubbing his forehead. When did the Sinnoh Champion's Garchomp become so cunning?
Behind the red-haired champion, the figure of a deep blue earth dragon was silently emerging from the dark underground.
Holding his breath and concentrating, he raised his scythe-like claws, tensing the muscles in his arms as if about to unleash a powerful attack, like an archer lying in ambush in a dense forest.
Garchomp prefers simple things. If given a choice, it would rather be under Cynthia's command, engaging in one intense battle after another without expending too much brainpower. However, when its side is at a disadvantage, the competitive Garchomp is not afraid to make some compromises.
For example, right now—
"Scales Shooting!"
.
“I remember now, it was the device that the Galar Alliance sent.”
On the fourth floor of the Tower of Heaven, the usually taciturn Fighting Elite Four member suddenly spoke, his face showing a look of sudden realization.
Cattleya raised one eye to look at her colleague, waiting for him to continue.
Lian Wu was already used to the nonchalant attitude of the psychic king, so he didn't take it to heart and continued to recount what he had just recalled.
It's rare for him to feel this urge to speak out.
“When I was handling Alliance affairs on behalf of Master Adeker, I received a gift from the Alliance Chairman of the Galar region on behalf of Unova.”
"Is that the wristband that Hugo wore on his hand?"
Lian Wu nodded.
"I remember it was probably to promote the unique battle system of the Galar region. Anyway, the president gave us a set of special bracers that could unleash the power of Dynamax. The intention was that the Ardek Champion would one day go to their region's arena and experience authentic Dynamax battles there."
"However, my master was in that state at the time, so of course I couldn't accept the other party's invitation. But the guild leader insisted on giving us the item, saying that the wristband also had a projection function and could be used for display in the Unova region's competitions... that's roughly the idea. Afterwards, I put it in the storage room as the League's public property."
Lian Wuyue became increasingly uneasy as he explained, and Gadalia could tell at a glance that this overly serious martial artist was probably so confused by the other party's explanation of the principles of the technological product that he had completely forgotten the details that followed.
"So, this huge thing in front of us is actually just an empty phantom?"
The superpowered individual pointed to Piplup's enormous back of the head and asked.
"No, it doesn't seem like that..."
Lian Wu's thick eyebrows were squeezed together like a fiery monkey, and his eyes wandered aimlessly from side to side, trying to dig out details from the fragmented pieces of memory.
"It seems that some kind of particles are put in it to temporarily simulate the pulse of some point that is unique to their region, thereby reproducing part of the Dynamax effect. Only the part that is not enough is projected... It feels like the principle of 'if you don't have enough power, use technique' or something like that."
"I see, I understand now."
The Superpower Queen nodded expressionlessly. She didn't really understand the underlying principles, but her superpower intuition told her that saying this at this moment was definitely the right thing to do.
However, after Lian Wu's explanation, she understood most of the details.
The Galar region's champion would give such a Max Bracer to the Unova region, and naturally, he would give the same gift to the champions of other regions.
As the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia did indeed travel to Galar to participate in battles and exchanges. It's not impossible that the wristband she used might have been left unused at home and used by a detective.
...No, I'd say that's probably the case most likely.
At this moment, before the two who had fallen silent, countless invisible Galer particles gathered into an energy point pulse that was almost a physical entity, covering Bogarman with a huge energy shell.
Logically speaking, these meager Galar particles are absolutely insufficient to support a Champion-level main Pokémon in Dynamax simulation. Their own power is too great, so if they were forcibly used in the Unova region, they would only create a visual projection that is huge in appearance but has no increase in power whatsoever.
However, Piplup is completely different. The Galar particles stored in the Max Bracelet can't boost a Pokémon like Garchomp, but they work perfectly on Piplup, which is weak... and even have enough to unleash a Max Move!
"Po-ga-!!!"
Piplup, now transformed into a giant penguin, felt an unprecedented power. Almost endless water-attribute energy surged between its wings, and some of it even transformed into rain and mist.
Driven by the "turbulent" nature of the water, one's stamina, which is as fragile as a candle in the wind, becomes the key to unlocking one's inner potential.
The move he unleashed was undoubtedly the strongest attack Bogarman had ever been able to deliver since his birth.
Let it flow magnificently at this moment! Let it leave its mark in the center of this unprecedented battlefield!
"Giant Water Flow!"