Professor Oak rushed out of his lab with his white coat on inside out.
He looked up at the sky, and his expression changed drastically.
"Everyone! Evacuate to safety immediately!"
Professor Oak organized the residents' evacuation as he ran toward Lu Chen's farm.
Delia also ran out of her house, holding Mr. Mime in her arms, her face full of worry.
When they reached the vicinity of the farm, this was the scene they saw.
The gigantic Dragonite was covered in wounds: frostbite, blast injuries, and lacerations covered its entire body.
Several patches of scales had been torn from its wings, and dark red dragon blood dripped steadily from the wounds.
Lu Chen stood beside a ridge in the fields, holding Zorua, who wanted to watch but did not dare.
Beside Lu Chen, Aerodactyl, Lapras, and Gengar formed a triangle, surrounding Dragonite.
Professor Oak's jaw dropped.
Delia also covered her mouth in shock.
At that moment, the battered gigantic Dragonite finally realized what was happening.
It could tell that the three of them-Aerodactyl and the others-were coordinating so well not simply because they had good teamwork.
It was because of that damned human below.
He was giving the orders!
Dragonite let out a furious roar, wheeled around, and charged toward Lu Chen.
It would take out the commander first!
At the sight, Lapras, Gengar, and Aerodactyl all panicked and rushed toward Lu Chen at once.
But Lu Chen did not move.
Lu Chen looked at the Starf Berry saplings, now bent every which way, and at Pallet Town, where the evacuation alarm was already sounding.
"It's about time this farce ended."
A sound came from behind Lu Chen.
It was Gouging Fire's unhurried footsteps.
Gouging Fire ambled up beside Lu Chen, its enormous crest gleaming dark gold in the moonlight.
The greatest contributor to Lu Chen's rise to become the top Trainer of the super-ancient era was Gouging Fire, who had always remained quietly by his side!
Gouging Fire raised its head and looked at the gigantic Dragonite diving toward them.
Its gaze was calm.
"Gouging Fire! Fire of Life!"
It slowly lowered its head, and terrifying golden flames began gathering on its enormous crest.
Those flames were unlike ordinary fire. They resembled a sun compressed countless times over, gathering above Gouging Fire's head into a tiny point of light that no one could look at directly.
The surrounding air began to warp, and even the moonlight was drowned out by that golden radiance.
For the first time, the gigantic Dragonite felt its heart lurch.
Then came unparalleled terror.
It wanted to dodge, but it was already too late.
The instant Gouging Fire raised its head, the golden flames became a pillar of light that pierced heaven and earth, striking the gigantic Dragonite squarely in the chest.
Boom-!
There was no explosion.
There was no shock wave.
Dragonite's enormous body froze.
It looked down at its chest. A charred wound lay there, the scales along its edges vaporized outright, exposing the flesh beneath.
Then its vision went black, and its enormous body crashed down onto the open ground outside the farm, throwing up clouds of dust.
It was completely unable to battle.
Silence fell over the scene.
Only Lu Chen's quiet voice drifted through the night breeze:
"What a shame. A final creation from the super-ancient era."
Professor Oak heard those words.
He abruptly raised his head and looked at Lu Chen.
An empire from the super-ancient era?
Professor Oak's lips trembled.
He suddenly realized that what he knew about Lu Chen might not amount to even the tip of the iceberg.
After the gigantic Dragonite was defeated, Professor Oak and Delia approached.
Lu Chen glanced at Professor Oak, his tone somewhat apologetic. "Sorry, Professor Oak. I accidentally caused a disturbance."
Professor Oak waved a hand.
"What are you talking about? The residents of Pallet Town can't thank you enough. If you hadn't been here and that Dragonite had gone berserk, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
As he spoke, Professor Oak stroked his chin and continued, still somewhat puzzled.
"I just don't know why this gigantic Dragonite came to Pallet Town. How strange. There are still so many mysteries surrounding Pokémon."
When he heard Professor Oak say he did not know why the gigantic Dragonite had come, Lu Chen scratched his head awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Professor Oak clearly was not paying attention to Lu Chen.
By now, Professor Oak's gaze had drifted uncontrollably toward the gigantic Dragonite lying on the ground, covered in wounds.
He looked just like someone who had gone hungry for three days spotting a freshly roasted whole lamb on a table.
"Well... Lu Chen..." Professor Oak rubbed his hands together, his voice filled with barely suppressed longing.
"This gigantic Dragonite, could you let me..."
"I'm afraid not."
Lu Chen cut off Professor Oak's idea directly:
"His body is too huge. We have no way to restrict its movements, and at that size, a Poké Ball can't possibly catch it."
Professor Oak opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only nod helplessly. "You're right..."
But Professor Oak did not give up.
Professor Oak hurried over to Dragonite, took out the small toolkit he carried with him, and crouched down to begin collecting samples.
Using tweezers, he carefully picked up several shed scales and placed them in sample bags, then took out a small instrument to scan the structure of its skin.
Professor Oak muttered as he took pictures.
"So precious. These are all the freshest possible samples."
"Hehe, if Bill knew that the gigantic Dragonite he'd spent years tracking and only recording was now lying in front of me, unable to battle, letting me study it however I pleased, he'd probably cry with envy."
Delia walked over to Lu Chen and said gently, "I'm just glad you're all right, Mr. Lu Chen."
She looked Lu Chen over carefully, confirmed that he was unhurt, then turned toward Pallet Town.
"I'll go check whether any of the other neighbors were hurt."
Lu Chen nodded.
A few minutes after Delia left, Professor Oak was crouching beside Dragonite's claw, taking measurements, when he suddenly jumped backward and landed on his backside.
"It... it opened its eyes!"
Lu Chen turned to look.
The gigantic Dragonite, which had already been declared unable to battle, was slowly opening its eyes.
Its enormous pupils trembled and contracted constantly. Though weak, it had clearly regained consciousness.
"As expected of a gigantic Pokémon." Lu Chen sighed helplessly.
"It really is tough when it comes to taking hits."
Dragonite struggled to raise its head. Its enormous eyes looked at Lu Chen, then at the visibly nervous Professor Oak beside it, and indistinct sounds came from its throat.
Lu Chen turned to Professor Oak and said:
"Professor Oak, you should head back first."
Professor Oak looked at Dragonite, then at Lu Chen, and opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something.
In the end, he gathered up the materials he had collected and reluctantly left, glancing back every few steps, his retreating figure full of regret.
Outside the farm, in the open space, only Lu Chen, his Pokémon, and the battered gigantic Dragonite remained.
Lu Chen walked up to Dragonite and looked up at it.
"Can you calm down and talk now?"
The gigantic Dragonite remained silent for a long time.
Then it spoke, its voice deep and hoarse, carrying frustration and unwillingness to accept defeat.
Zorua poked its head out from beside Lu Chen's feet and translated quietly.
Dragonite said it did not want to talk.
But it had to admit that Lu Chen was the strongest human Trainer it had ever seen.
This time, it had not been strong enough and had failed to take Lapras away.
It accepted its defeat.
Then Dragonite closed its eyes, indicating that Lu Chen could do it.
It would never accept being caught by a human. It would rather die.
Lu Chen looked at Dragonite, which had begun seeking death, and suddenly laughed.
"Who said I was going to catch you or kill you?"
Dragonite's eyes flew open.
"You're not going to kill me?"
"Killing you wouldn't do me any good." Lu Chen shrugged.
"Besides, I might even have met your predecessors before."
"What?!"
Dragonite's eyes widened in shock.
It could not believe that a human had actually lived longer than it had.
Looking at its expression, as though it had seen a ghost, Lu Chen asked curiously, "How many years have you lived?"
Dragonite thought vaguely for a moment and said probably a few hundred years.
Then it looked cautiously at Lu Chen, its voice carrying a nervousness even it had not noticed:
"Just how long ago did you meet my kind?"
Its cautious manner was just like a child asking, "Have you seen my family?"
That timid gaze, carrying a little hope, made Lu Chen fall silent for a while before he explained.
"I traveled here from roughly tens of thousands of years ago, so the other gigantic Pokémon I met are probably all dead."
"What?!"
Dragonite was utterly stunned.
Seeing its reaction, Lu Chen simply decided to make things clear and tell the gigantic Dragonite everything he knew.
"Uh, how should I put this? Actually, gigantic Pokémon like you weren't born this huge. You were created."
"The super-ancient empire that created you was called the Ten Thousand Beasts Empire. At its peak, that empire had more than a double-digit number of gigantic Pokémon, but it fell long ago. Even its name might not have survived."
"So I think you're probably the last successful product of that technology." Lu Chen looked into Dragonite's eyes.
"It'll be extremely difficult for you to find companions again."
Dragonite fell silent.
Only after a long time did it speak.
"I... I understand..."
Just when Lu Chen thought the gigantic Dragonite might become dejected, or even give up on itself.
The gigantic Dragonite slowly spoke.
"Thank you for the information, but even if the hope is slim, I still won't give up searching for companions."
"Because that is my only goal in this life."
Hearing those words, Lu Chen sighed and said nothing more.
Lu Chen merely nodded. "Then I wish you all the best. I hope you find your companions soon after you leave here."
"You... you're just going to let me leave?"