When Gongping and Lance arrived at Cinnabar Lab, the devastated scene was almost unbearable to look at. Countless Pokémon corpses lay there, including many babies born not long ago. Gongping walked up to a Sandshrew that had long since stopped breathing and stood in silence.
Picking up the newborn Sandshrew, Gongping felt its cold body and saw its frightened expression. His heart ached.
Local communications gradually returned to normal. The personnel stationed there, including Yin and Blaine, also showed sorrow and anger when they saw the tragedy at the lab.
The overall atmosphere of this world was very simple and earnest. After a century of education by the Pokémon League, ordinary people had long regarded Pokémon as equally intelligent beings. The sudden occurrence of such a vicious incident frightened Nurse Joy to tears on the spot.
Tyranitar and the other three Pokémon carried the unconscious Dr. Fuji out of the lab. Seeing the devastation on the ground, they found it just as hard as Gongping to suppress their anger.
Perhaps, if they had noticed something wrong a little sooner, there would not have been so many victims.
"Let's bury these Pokémon."
Sharing Gongping's feelings, Tyranitar gave a soft, mournful cry. Endless sand swept in, and in an instant, a fissure opened in the earth. Tyranitar buried all the Pokémon that had died in this disaster deep underground.
"I hope you won't suffer like this in your next lives."
The earth returned to its original state. As Gongping walked across the restored ground, his gaze grew ever more resolute. After the local Pokémon Center and Pokémon League staff successfully restored communications through sustained effort, Gongping took out a diamond-set necklace bearing an age Key Stone.
The sharp-eyed Lance caught sight of it and was somewhat surprised.
An age Key Stone? Did he have the corresponding stone and Pokémon, too?
Since beginning his journey, Gongping had traveled through the Unova Region, Hoenn Region, and Kanto Region, and had also stayed briefly in places such as the Kalos Region. Yet the extensive records of his competitions had never shown him using age Evolution or an age Pokémon.
"These two blood-red luxury Poké Balls cost me a fortune to have made. Do you like them, Gongping?"
Each held a blood-red Poké Ball. As they gripped them, Gongping smiled and took a necklace from inside his clothes as well. "Of course I do. I have a present for you too, Rosa."
"This is an age Key Stone necklace..."
Without giving Rosa a chance to speak, Gongping smiled and fastened the necklace around her neck. "Wasn't this just what you were missing?"
Feeling Gongping's warm breath against her ear, Rosa flushed slightly. "Oh, stop it. Don't you need one yourself?"
"It's fine. Even without Mega Evolution, I won't be any weaker than you."
Rosa...
Lend me your strength.
A blood-red Poké Ball of the same design as Tyranitar's arrived through Gongping's Pokédex transfer system. Picking up the Poké Ball that had once belonged to Rosa, he looked at Tyranitar beside him. Tyranitar nodded, and an invisible restraint of sand was instantly released.
It turned out that this Poké Ball had been bound by Tyranitar's sand all along. Only upon reaching Cinnabar Island, with Tyranitar's help, could Gongping fully release the power inside it.
Gongping took a deep, heavy breath. "Come out, Salamence!"
Salamence was known by various names among ordinary people, including Bloodwing Dragon and Salamence. Legends said that Salamence could turn the earth into a burning plain. So violent was it that it would even attack the Trainer who had raised it.
It was also known as the bloodstained crescent moon!
At Gongping's call, enormous wings spread across the sky, and a dragon of extreme ferocity and brutality appeared proudly overhead.
Terrifying air currents swept toward them. The giant Salamence hovered in the air, its frightening gaze sending chills down the spine as it faced Gongping. In fact, this Salamence had been quite obedient before evolving.
When Rosa entrusted it to Gongping, Salamence had still been a Bagon. Just like Ash's Charizard, once it reached its final form as Salamence, its temperament had grown increasingly irritable and vicious.
As if sensing Salamence's presence, another Poké Ball at Gongping's waist flashed as well. After emerging, Lileep abandoned its usual playful demeanor and stared fixedly at Salamence opposite it.
Under Lileep's control, Tyranitar's Sandstorm formed a terrifying mass of fine sand particles. Poison floated throughout the air, as though Lileep would move to subdue Salamence the moment it did anything unusual.
Salamence had gone berserk and lost control several times during Gongping's past training sessions. Even with the power of Tyranitar's Sandstorm, Lileep sometimes struggled to fully restrain its wild nature.
More precisely, Salamence had been born with that bloody urge to slaughter.
This Salamence could be called the hardest member of Gongping's team to control. All of Gongping's Pokémon gathered around their Trainer, guarding against Salamence suddenly attacking as it had in the past. After all, its destructive power was simply too great.
In Pallet Town's breeding grounds, Salamence generally lived in a special area and rarely interacted with other Pokémon. When it was inside its Poké Ball, Tyranitar would bind it with sand to keep it from casually coming out and causing trouble.
Tyranitar, Scizor, Lucario, Swampert, Lileep, and Salamence, which filled the gaps in their defensive coverage and possessed a powerful Mega Evolution, formed the core of Gongping's Sandstorm team.
"Salamence, are you willing to help me?"
Looking at the boy before it, Salamence gave a very proud snort and slowly lowered its body, signaling for Gongping to climb on.
"What are you planning to do?"
Gongping switched on his VR goggles, and an automatic D map navigation display slowly appeared. "During the battle just now, Swampert planted a tracker on the masked woman. She's moving fast. Right now, she's heading toward the Seafoam Islands."
Learning that Gongping intended to go to the Seafoam Islands, Blaine cautioned him, "According to the weather reports from the past few days, the magnetic fields and air currents around the Seafoam Islands are even more dangerous than those around Cinnabar Island. This is too dangerous."
"I'll go with you. Dragonite isn't afraid of those storms."
In response to Lance's suggestion, Gongping recalled his other Pokémon and shook his head from Salamence's back. "You have to stay here and guard this place, sir."
As Gongping spoke, a number of victims' relatives came in from outside. Seeing the horrifying state of their loved ones, they immediately broke into cries.
Faced with a disaster of this magnitude, the Pokémon League needed an important figure present to calm people down. Lance was better suited to that than Gongping.
"Salamence, get ready to leave. We're heading to the Seafoam Islands!"
This time, Salamence, do whatever you like. I won't stop you.
As if sensing its Trainer's thoughts, the naturally savage Salamence revealed a bloodthirsty grin. At the same time, the necklace Gongping wore suddenly blazed with brilliant rainbow light, merging with Salamence's body.
Mega Evolution-Mega Salamence!
A thunderous roar swept across the entire sea. Even the clouds above Cinnabar Island seemed to be torn apart, and its tremendous penetrating force instantly ripped an opening through the chaotic air currents surrounding the island.
Compared with Lance's Dragonite, Gongping's Salamence flew far more wildly. Seemingly heedless of how Gongping felt on its back, it charged toward the Seafoam Islands at top speed.
Vast expanses of white snow covered the main peak of the Seafoam Islands. An Eevee affectionately approached a blond boy and acted cute. The boy gently picked up his Eevee and gazed toward the distant sea. "The weather on the island seems especially... today..."
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