Chapter 663 - 663: 660
Darkness shrouded the land.
People panicked as countless Flying-type Pokémon gathered in the sky like dark clouds. Wild Pokémon rampaged throughout the wilderness, and ordinary Rangers stationed across the region, responsible for destroying Gigaremo units and calming the public, witnessed it all.
However, just as Professor Hastings had instructed them earlier, all they had to do was hold their positions.
Once the Anti-Gigaremo Devices had been installed, they would draw the Emblems of Light across the darkened sky!
At that moment, the people raised their hands.
They did exactly what the people of ancient Oblivia had once done, and what the people of distant Alola still did!
"Raise enormous stone tablets upon the earth, then use the light drawn upon them to summon Pokémon for a Duel!"
"Afterward, share your own light and soul with the summoned Pokémon to create an aura."
Almia possessed no system capable of supporting such a method.
Still, borrowing a battle system from distant regions for this one emergency should not be a problem!
Professor Hastings murmured to himself.
"Almia's descent into darkness was inevitable. It was merely delayed by three thousand years. Still, perhaps that was for the best. Let us swear upon our souls here and now."
The epitaphs upon those stone monuments were filled with a suffocating sense of helplessness.
They had witnessed kings create worlds and sacrifice themselves.
They had witnessed nations rise to prosperity and collapse into ruin.
They had witnessed the cycle of the apocalypse and the decay that followed.
Perhaps bringing this ruined age to an end would mark the beginning of a new and glorious era!
"All Anti-Gigaremo Devices have been installed!"
Nema was operating the systems inside Ranger Union Headquarters.
"The core technology of these Anti-Gigaremo Devices resembles that of the Gigaremo. By replacing the Shadow Crystal with fragments of the three colored Gems, each set of three can nullify the Gigaremo's influence. When combined with the electrical signals from the Anti-Colress Device, the waves transmitted to the Pokémon can be completely neutralized!"
"Now we'll integrate that system into the Styler! Vatona, Nage!"
"Carry the energy amplifier to the highest level of headquarters, beneath the Tree of Harmony. Elaine, transmit the Fusion Program to every Ranger!"
"This program will integrate the power of the three Gems into the Capture Disc. Under the influence of light and fusion, blue, red, and yellow radiance will intertwine around the Capture Disc!"
"In other words, any Pokémon captured by a Fusion Styler will immediately be freed from control and become our ally!"
Fusion Summoning was the noblest of all summoning methods!
"Isaac's program really is impressive, but it didn't take me long to crack it. Piece of cake!"
"Nema, what's going to happen to my brother afterward?"
Nema heard the little girl's voice behind her.
It belonged to Melody, Isaac's younger sister.
Isaac's family had originally been brought here to prevent anyone from using them to threaten him. Judging by the current situation, that decision had been absolutely correct.
Team Dim Sun really had hired mercenaries to attack the Ranger Union.
"Even someone as foolish as Isaac must have realized that something was wrong by now," Nema said. "Just look at this pitch-black sky."
"But don't worry. Professor Hastings said that Kincaid deceived him, and there's also a Top Ranger willing to vouch for him."
"Don't worry," Elaine added. "Even I was called back from a distant land to help. You can rest easy!"
"You, Isaac, and all of Almia will have a bright future!"
Elaine checked the operating status of every Capture Styler.
Aside from a small number that had malfunctioned, most were performing at or above normal levels!
"Program transmission preparations complete!"
"Operation Brighton... codename changed!"
"The new operation is designated Hunt the Lord Soul!"
"The Ranger Union hereby issues its highest order. Attention, all Rangers! Those carrying fragments of the three Gems may now prepare for battle!"
"Use your cards and activate the Fusion Program!"
"Everyone, draw the Emblem of Light."
"Adorn the heavens!"
As the program was transmitted, the Capture Stylers carried by Rangers throughout Almia began radiating three-colored light.
In the original story, only one Vatonage Styler possessed the ability to fuse with the three Gems.
Now they had practically mass-produced them!
This was the precious gift that a Top Ranger from a distant land had left to the region.
It was a power capable of opening the way to a new age!
Pillars of light rose into the heavens one after another. Different trails and emblems appeared across the sky as the overwhelming presences of Legendary Pokémon emerged in rapid succession.
The Pokémon being controlled by the Shadow Crystal's waves had formed the King of Almia's final defensive position, his very own Army of the King.
Now that army began to collapse!
["We are the Knights of the Round Table. We have come from the temples of Galar to take vengeance upon the Dark Lord Soul that polluted the Crown Tundra!"]
["Let Galar's roar resound across this land!"]
The army had turned against its master!
Pokémon robbed of their wills and controlled through their souls were breaking free one after another. Pillars of light rose from every corner of Almia!
"What is happening?! The Pokémon army's formation is collapsing!"
President Blake Hall had never imagined such an enormous upheaval would occur now.
He had activated the machine ahead of schedule, dropped all pretenses and forced Isaac to work without rest. He had even sacrificed part of the Shadow Crystal to obtain crucial technology from Galar.
He had made every possible preparation before initiating the Second Long Night.
Yet now, the Rangers appeared to be using those solemn pillars of light to deliver a declaration directly to him.
[It was not merely you who made preparations. We were also waiting for this moment!]
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Are you saying that you were also waiting for the opportunity to hunt me?!"
"Do you possess the same foresight as I do? Could you also predict what was going to happen?!"
"The Pokémon army has been freed!"
"King of Almia! Shadow Crystal! You useless things!"
"A worthless king without talent, betrayed by his three sons, betrayed by his followers, and left with his soul sealed away!"
How could someone like that be called the oldest sorcerer?!
That was both Blake Hall's furious roar and the self-mockery of the Dark Lord Soul possessing him.
Fear began to spread.
It was terror accumulated over three thousand years, because the princes were returning!
How could the gathering of the four Lord Souls become such a nightmare?!
"They're coming... My sons are coming!"
"The royal fortress has fallen, and only desolation remains..."
"I don't want that ending!"
"I will control Pokémon according to my own will! This is the Dream Energy I, Blake Hall, have always longed for! It is also the key the King of Almia sought, the power that would allow his kingdom to protect itself during the Great War!"
"They're attacking!"
"They're attacking!"
President Blake Hall released a distorted howl.
His utterly loyal servant was startled and hurriedly asked, "President, what's wrong?"
"Get out!"
Blake Hall spun toward him.
"Wheeler, get out of here!"
"Can't you see what the control center in Altru Building is detecting? This place can monitor the life energy and growth conditions of every Pokémon in the entire Almia region!"
"They're fighting back!"
"Pokémon we've never seen before are appearing everywhere!"
"No, we have seen them. They're Pokémon from distant lands, and they possess extraordinary power! They're wreaking havoc everywhere!"
"They're attacking! Don't you understand?!"
"Almia has fallen into war, and our army is collapsing!"
"The Galarians! The Galarians and their Pokémon are attacking!"
"The ferocious army of Kalos, the monsters of Galar, Alola's guardian deities and soldiers, the King of Unity who summoned a hundred thousand Pokémon, Oblivia's Sky Fortress..."
Blake Hall clutched his head.
"What are these memories?!"
"This pain... These are the memories of the kings from that age!"
Almia meant soul.
Because it had been the weakest of all the kingdoms, every negative emotion in the world had gathered here.
Among the ancient kings was one who claimed to have been ruled by foolish emotions.
The first king to experience regret.
His name came from the blue sky.
Azur.
AZ.
The God of Destruction had been the king who ended the war.
However, the terror he inflicted upon the world's kings surpassed even the fear they had experienced during the Great War. He reduced the land to scorched earth, then vanished from the world.
From that point onward, the ancient nations gradually collapsed and disappeared for one reason or another. Legendary Pokémon began appearing in the world to quell the spreading disasters.
Some kingdoms vanished into the long river of history.
Others were reborn.
The King of All People.
The King of Harmony.
The Four Kings of Alola.
The Golden King.
Ascended.
Slain in battle.
Buried.
Destroyed.
Even Blake Hall's utterly loyal servant trembled as he watched his president howl like a wild beast.
He sensed that something terrible was about to happen and began backing away.
However, "Blake Hall" had been completely overwhelmed by the terror dwelling within the King of Almia's Lord Soul.
He raised one hand toward his loyal servant.
"You're planning to flee as well!"
"My Royal Guard once followed me faithfully. After my sons used Aura to seal them within special Odd Keystones, they were transformed into a certain species of Pokémon!"
Wheeler froze.
"Th-Those were Spiritomb, weren't they?"
"Wait, what?!"
"The five Odd Keystones we saw when transporting the Shadow Crystal from Chroma Ruins were created by sealing human souls inside them?"
"Five... Five hundred people?!"
"But President, you're the one who told me to get out! I'm not trying to escape! I was only going to..."
Blake Hall was gone.
The figure standing there was the King of Almia!
"Darkrai!"
"Cast this traitor into the Dark World!"
A scream rang out.
The strongest Darkrai, the guardian that had remained at the Shadow Crystal's side, appeared within the darkness surrounding the crystal.
But a strange arrow of light hovered above Darkrai's head.
Rage and violence had drowned out its will. The Dark Lord Soul controlled it completely and forced it to unleash its ultimate move.
Dark Void.
A black abyss swallowed Wheeler.
His terrified screams gradually faded into silence.
"The three Gems..."
"My sons!"
"You have returned!"
The King of Almia raised both hands and released a piercing shriek.
At that moment, a Ranger team carried by the Yellow Gem's power arrived at the battlefield.
Hikaru descended directly onto the roof of Altru Building with Kellyn and Kate!
The three Rangers carrying the Tears of Princes had arrived from the sky, landing atop the building that released the Shadow Crystal's power!
"The tower was never completed, but Galarian technology allowed them to achieve the same effect without one," Hikaru said. "That drastically reduced the construction time."
"Unfortunately, that may not have been a good thing."
In the original story, three electromagnetic barriers protected the tower's upper floors.
Together with the darkness released by the Shadow Crystal and Darkrai, they prevented the airborne Rangers carrying the three Gems from approaching.
In the end, the souls of the three princes within the Gems had personally intervened.
They dispersed the darkness surrounding the tower's summit, finally allowing the airborne Rangers to approach the Shadow Crystal.
"By the way, I submitted your Ranger promotion requests while we were on our way here," Hikaru said.
"You've both been promoted to Rank 10!"
The battle in the Haruba Desert had allowed Kellyn and Kate to accumulate valuable experience in large-scale combat.
Together, they had defeated rampaging Pokémon, crushed Team Dim Sun's grunts, and used flawless teamwork to capture Regigigas!
Capturing the King of Giants would benefit them enormously. Regigigas's challenge had originally been a hidden mission that only appeared after completing the main story!
Reaching Rank 10 would not unlock many new functions, but it granted access to additional Defense Programs. That alone was a significant benefit.
More importantly, Rank 10 Rangers were virtually indistinguishable from Top Rangers.
It was the highest rank attainable through ordinary Ranger service. A Rank 10 Ranger could perform missions independently, confront an entire hostile organization, and assume the highest operational priority during regional emergencies.
They could even command local Officer Jennys and request cooperation from the International Police!
Of course, there was one other benefit.
Rank 10 Rangers were authorized to capture special Pokémon and transfer them to Generation IV regions.
That included Pokémon such as Riolu that knew Aura Sphere.
In other words, they had distribution privileges!
"We're Rank 10 now!"
"We've been promoted so quickly over the past two days that it feels like we were strapped to a rocket..."
The two young Rangers felt as though the past two days had been a dream.
But whether in the ancient castle, the volcano, or the final battle in the desert, they truly had defeated large numbers of enemies and captured Pokémon far beyond the limits of their previous abilities.
They had grown much faster than they did in the original story!
"Captain!"
Kate raised her Capture Styler, her face lighting up with delight.
"It's the program! The Fusion Program has arrived!"
"We can use Fusion Capture now!"
"Nema's technology can be trusted," Hikaru replied. "Every machine and program Isaac created has now been completely deciphered."
"Fusion is the noblest method of summoning!"
Kellyn's eyes widened.
"So originally, only one Styler could load this program. But now every Ranger can use it!"
"All thanks to the power of the three Gems..."
"Next, we must bring the three Gems close to the Shadow Crystal," Hikaru said. "Once we defeat or capture Darkrai, the Gems' light will erupt."
"Their purifying power will dispel the hatred and sorrow that have accumulated within the Shadow Crystal for three thousand years, along with all the darkness covering Almia!"
"We'll proceed exactly as we agreed on the way here!"
"I'll install the Yellow Gem!" Kellyn declared.
"I'll handle the Red Gem!" Kate said.
"And I'll take responsibility for the Blue Gem," Hikaru finished.
Darkrai slowly descended before them.
Unimaginably terrifying energy erupted from its body. The Shadow Crystal's corruption had filled it with surging power.
This was the King of Almia's final counterattack.
"Darkness..."
"Darkrai!"
The King of Almia glared at them.
"Do you truly believe it will be that easy?"
"You brought the Galarians into the Kingdom of Almia!"
"Urged on by my sons, you destroyed this region and brought ruin to my country!"
"Come, Darkrai!"
"Drag them into the Dark World!"
"Condemn them to eternal nightmares!"
Control Level: Forbidden Rank 4.
Mind sealed.
Emotional state: Extreme rage.
Darkrai, Almia.
Almia Browser Number: R-257.
Type: Dark.
Guardian of the Luminous Crystal and Shadow Crystal.
Original Trainer: Almia, the king's own name.
ID No. 03208.
Ability: Bad Dreams.
Abilities:
Ominous Wind: Creates sinister winds and releases Dark Pulses to attack.
Area Skill:
Dark Power, Dark Vacuum: Creates a field of darkness that drags people and Pokémon out of the real world and into an entirely separate dark dimension, trapping them in prolonged nightmares and suffering. This ability can also be used for long-distance transportation.
As the oldest sorcerer, the King of Almia possessed far more than that.
The Shadow Crystal behind him released wave after wave of black energy.
Those waves could sever the bonds between humans and Pokémon, disregard the connections between them, and produce strange transformations.
Control the soul.
Drain away life.
Then pour the power of that life into a Pokémon!
"Captain!" Kate shouted. "Something is surging out of the Shadow Crystal!"
The King of Almia, using Blake Hall's body, began to laugh.
"This is a replication of a technique used by a king from a distant region, recovered from ancient memories."
"I combined Galarian technology with the memories of Kalos!"
"I analyzed portions of Dynamax research and installed the results into this imitation device!"
"The power of life!"
"The will of the soul!"
"Rampaging life cannot be controlled. During that process, it releases a certain wave and a certain form of energy!"
"What will happen?"
"Even a talentless king like me does not know!"
"But to deal with you, I will summon every Pokémon in the surrounding area!"
"My final army!"
"I will defend my country here!"
"Invaders, leave!"
"Leave this final city and this final piece of land!"
Illuminated by the power erupting from the Shadow Crystal, Pokémon throughout the surrounding area began gathering around Altru Building.
Among them were Pokémon Hikaru recognized from the original story.
Spiritomb, which should have guarded the Shadow Crystal, appeared before them.
And these were the five-Odd-Keystone version!
At the same time, Dusknoir was summoned from Hippowdon Temple.
It had once lived there and guided Almia's departed souls into the afterlife.
"That makes sense," Hikaru said. "These were originally the opponents Kellyn and Kate had to face as the appetizers before their battle against Darkrai!"
"But far more Pokémon have gathered here than in the original story."
"Is this the King of Almia's final struggle?"
The princes' commission had already been completed.
Hikaru had also received the fragments of uncut stone they had promised him.
They were crystals of extraordinary purity and possibly possessed the ability to resonate with souls and life energy.
If the energy were released, causing a Pokémon's life energy to flow outward before combining within a specific wave, what would the final result be?
Hikaru considered the possibilities.
Then the three Gems emerged from connected space, releasing their fused radiance!
"Kellyn, Kate, let's go!"
"Advance beneath the protection and watchful eyes of the princes!"
"Understood, Captain!" Kellyn answered.
"This is our team's final mission!" Kate declared. "I'll see it through properly!"
The Red Gem floated behind Kate.
It released fury like an erupting volcano and charged toward Spiritomb.
The Yellow Gem hovered beside Kellyn.
It radiated the desert's benevolent light and confronted Dusknoir.
Meanwhile, the Blue Gem floated behind Hikaru, releasing waves of Aura.
It was the prince's tear.
Shaped like a teardrop, or rather, identical to the Cascade Badge, the Blue Gem was the one crystal whose appearance truly resembled a tear.
"Darkrai is a Dark-type Pokémon," Hikaru said. "It's weak against Fighting, Bug, and Fairy."
Darkrai, Guardian of the Shadow Crystal, released a furious shriek.
An enormous Dark Vacuum appeared before the three Rangers.
If it swallowed them, they would be dragged into the Dark World.
However...
"I've encountered more than one Darkrai."
"Their thoughts, actions, and habitats were all different."
"But there's something interesting they had in common."
"They granted me the ability to move freely through the world of nightmares."
"And I also brought this!"
"Why was the Yellow Gem the most difficult one to obtain?"
"I don't think it was merely because the Yellow Prince had so many Pokémon friends."
"There was another important reason."
"Cresselia's Lunar Feather is the natural counter to nightmares!"
Three-colored light enveloped the Ranger team!
The Lunar Feather dispelled the nightmare!
"What is that?!" the King of Almia cried in shock.
"You've seen it before, haven't you?" Hikaru asked. "When the three princes counterattacked and sealed you away, Cresselia must have appeared!"
"However, the people of Almia don't seem to know the legend surrounding this item!"
"This feather shines like moonlight and conceals the power to dispel every nightmare!"
"According to Sinnoh legend, Cresselia leaves a brilliant trail of light behind as she flies through the night sky, like a celestial maiden drawing a river of stars across the heavens."
"No matter what kind of nightmare you create, the Lunar Feather will dispel it completely!"
A Poké Ball spun through the air.
It opened above Darkrai's head.
With a chorus of righteous cries, a six-member squad appeared with a resounding pop!
"When speaking of royal cities, one thing can never be overlooked."
"An army!"
"As it happens, some of my partners are an army all by themselves!"
"Falinks!"
"Swift First Impression!"
Bug type.
Power: 90.
Accuracy: 100.
It was an extremely powerful move, but it would only succeed if used immediately after the Pokémon entered battle!
"Falinks!"
The beloved royal troops used First Impression!
One, two, three, four, five, six!
We'll hit you twelve times at once!
Two differently colored Poké Balls opened beside Falinks.
Lucario emerged from the blue Great Ball.
Iron Valiant appeared from the white Cherish Ball!
"Fighting and Fairy!"
Of course, Hikaru also had Bug-type Pokémon capable of exploiting Darkrai's weakness.
Volcarona and Genesect!
When the sun god manifested, darkness had nowhere to hide!
When the ancient hunter began its hunt, even the soul of a king would tremble in terror!
His Fighting-type final defenders were Lilligant and Urshifu.
"The formula for victory has already been determined."
"So don't misunderstand the situation."
"We are the bosses!"
"You are the challenger!"
The expression on Blake Hall's face twisted violently beneath the King of Almia's control.
What did that mean?!
No matter what plans he made, Hikaru remained confident that he could defeat him?
Hikaru was the boss?!
"Furthermore, all three Pokémon I've sent out possess special circumstances," Hikaru continued.
A Mega Stone appeared before Lucario's chest.
A Soul-Heart had been installed within Iron Valiant's chest.
Lucario and Iron Valiant would continue growing stronger as the battle progressed.
And Falinks was an entire squad of soldiers specializing in surrounding and overwhelming a single opponent!
[The Arceus Phone is responding.]
[Disperse the Mega Power gathered by the Shadow Crystal.]
[Combine the released Mega Energy with the waves produced by the four Lord Souls.]
[If the timing and frequency are adjusted correctly, special Mega Stones will be created.]
(End of Chapter)
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