Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 522 The Origin of Phantom Pokémon
Natsume ignored the accusing eyes of the man with the middle parting and instead raised his head, staring straight at the sky.

A distortion occurred in the void, and Loletton, who had just condensed and was preparing to launch a shadow strike, was forcibly pulled out of his stealth state.

The shadow energy surrounding it hissed as if it had been splashed with strong acid, and was instantly devoured by the white beam of light.

Lollerton's scarlet eyes were filled with astonishment and confusion.

Even the massive Dynamax Diglett could feel the immense Dynamax energy within its body leaking out uncontrollably, being forcibly plundered by the terrifying white beam of light.

Natsume used the same trick again and captured both Pokémon.

This white beam of light is absolutely domineering.

It greedily absorbs all forms of energy on the battlefield, whether it is enemy or friend, physical or illusory.

It's like a bottomless black hole, turning all the power it comes into contact with into its own, making itself even larger and more terrifying.

To Natsume's astonishment, the white beam of light that had absorbed Zapdos's Air Blade, Loreton's Shadow, Diglett's Max Energy, and many other unknown powers had expanded to an astonishing size.

It was as thick as a pillar supporting the sky, and its diameter even exceeded the enormous body of the phantom Reshiram in the deep pit.

Inside the pillar of light, the violent energy was like boiling lava, emitting a deafening roar and radiating a terrifyingly high temperature and a destructive aura capable of distorting space.

At the bottom of the deep pit, a sudden change occurred.

When the white pillar of light, imbued with the aura of the square monument and possessing unparalleled dominance, was fully formed and emitted a terrifying suction force that made all things tremble, the phantom Reshiram, who had been staring blankly, actually showed a human-like fear in its eyes!
Its enormous head, burning with blue-green flames, suddenly rose, its golden pupils fixed on the floating monument atop the giant dragon's head.

Those dragon eyes, which should have been dull, now clearly reflected an unprecedented fear.

It wasn't the vigilance in the face of a powerful enemy, but rather a deep-seated fear, like a prisoner seeing instruments of torture.

what happened?

Natsume was taken aback. He looked at the square tablet and then at the phantom Reshiram.

The phantom Reshiram's massive body began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

The blue-green flames at the tail, symbolizing true power, flickered wildly, their colors becoming dull and unstable.

It even gave up trying to break free from the pit, its huge dragon claws digging into the rock wall as if trying to hide itself.

A short, sharp hiss, filled with undisguised panic, came from deep within its throat; the sound was nothing like its previous majestic dragon roar.

Instead, it was filled with despair and a certain indescribable sense of familiarity?
It was as if it had faced this power countless times before and been utterly crushed by it.

However, it was too late.

"boom--"

The giant dragon suddenly pointed its head at the deep pit.

The pure white beam of destructive light, which had absorbed endless energy and expanded to its limit, fell down like a sword of divine punishment, carrying the momentum to annihilate everything!
The beam of light penetrated the deep pit precisely.

There was no explosion, no flames.

Only pure, ultimate power is annihilated.

The rocks, soil, steel bars, and ruins surrounding the crater—all matter—vaporized and vanished silently the moment they came into contact with the beam of light, as if they had been thrown into the core of a star.

The beam of light pierced through the bottom of the pit with unstoppable force, penetrating the massive energy body of the phantom Reshiram, who was frozen in fear and had even given up resisting.

The white dragon let out a shrill and short wail, a sound mixed with pain, yet also carrying an indescribable sense of relief.

Its body, composed of pure energy, melted and disintegrated rapidly under the onslaught of the white beam of light, like ice and snow under the sun.

The azure flame at its tail, a symbol of true power, was extinguished in an instant, like a candle flickering in the wind.

The beam of light continued its relentless advance, piercing through the earth and leaving behind a massive, bottomless pit with smooth, mirror-like edges before finally disappearing into the depths of the earth at the edge of sight.

The smoke slowly dispersed.

Above the ruins, only the Great Dragonite slowly closed its jaws, the light of the monument behind it dimming.

At the bottom of the pit, the phantom Reshiram had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Only the enormous crater that pierced through the earth silently testified to the terrifying destructive power of that attack.

Natsume stood there, looking at the bottomless pit, then at the panting Dragonite beside him, and the middle-parted-haired guy and the other Pokémon with a look of "Who am I? Where am I?" His lips twitched slightly.

"Well done." That was all he could manage to say in the end.

But the phantom Reshiram's abnormal, fear-filled reaction at the end was etched into his mind like a brand.

Natsume turned his head and suddenly looked at the square stone behind the Great Dragonite.

This thing seems to be far more mysterious and dangerous than he imagined.

Just as Natsume was intently examining the square tablet...

Om-!
The seemingly silent square stele suddenly had its ancient and mysterious unknown totems light up.

The dim light flowed around, as if it had come to life.

Immediately afterwards, from the bottom of the deep pit where the phantom Reshiram disappeared, a faint but extremely pure white stream of light, radiating a scorching and real aura, suddenly broke through the smoke and dust and shot out, as if drawn by an invisible magnetic field.

It shot precisely at the monument, moving with lightning speed.

"boom!"

With a crisp sound, something struck the square stone.

At such a high speed, the object did not shatter, nor was it bounced away.

It was a transparent crystal, like flowing fire.

As Natsume approached, he discovered that the other party was firmly attached to the square stone, just like two magnets attracting each other.

"This is."

With some effort, Natsume managed to pry off the crystal, which was about half the size of a fingernail.

[A fragment of divine authority has been discovered—'Reality'. Should it be retrieved?]

The system suddenly spoke.

Natsume was stunned.

This thing is a divine function within Reshiram's body.
He stood there, silently gazing at the square monument.

If I remember correctly, this so-called strongest weapon from ancient Kalos is actually something left behind by Team Rainbow Rocket.

As if to confirm something, Natsume took out a crystal ball from his pocket.

Sunlight, after being refracted several times, created a miniature Kyurem image inside the sphere.

Natsume reached out and tried to bring the captured crystal ball closer to the monument.

"Buzz."

The crystal ball trembled slightly.

Looking down, they discovered that the Kyurem inside, just like Reshiram, had revealed an incredibly human-like look of terror.

Natsume abruptly retracted the crystal ball. The Kyurem phantom inside the crystal ball slowly subsided and fell silent again, but the lingering fear in the depths of its icy blue eyes was clearly visible.

"I see. I see!"

A sharp glint flashed in Natsume's eyes, and a bold and astonishing guess instantly took shape in his mind, connecting all his previous doubts like the sun breaking through the clouds.

He stared intently at the square tablet and crystal ball in his hands.

This monument, which possesses immense absorption power and was even called the ultimate weapon in the ancient Carlos region, is not a weapon at all.

It's just a Celestial Extractor for Team Rainbow Rocket!

Team Rainbow Rocket used the Monument to forcibly extract and strip away the divine powers from the true divine Pokémon.

Then these stripped divine powers were broken into fragments.

These fragments are the core raw materials used to create those phantom crystal balls.

No wonder. No wonder Rainbow N could so casually and without a care in the world drop a crystal ball containing Phantom Reshiram and walk away.

For them, the phantom crystal ball was nothing more than a consumable, a weapon mass-produced from fragmented divine shards.

No wonder. When the phantom Reshiram saw the monument and sensed its presence, it revealed a fear that came from the depths of its soul.

Because it is composed of fragments of divine authority that were forcibly extracted and torn apart by the square tablet.

Its lingering instincts instilled in it a deep-seated fear of the instruments of torture that had once torn it apart and imprisoned it.

That sense of familiarity stems from this.

Natsume frowned and stood there silently for a long time.

He realized that his previous guesses seemed to have been too optimistic.

If that's the case, then Sakaki's concerns are valid.

Team Rainbow Rockets might actually be able to mass-produce these Phantom Crystal Balls.
Where did this technology come from?
Natsume couldn't understand it.

In his mind, the Rainbow Rockets were far from reaching that level.

Unless, of course, another factor exists.

"Mr. Champion!"

Natsume turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.

The nanny worm was seen hugging a man, constantly spitting out silk threads, swaying back and forth among the surrounding tall buildings and trees.

Where did this Spider-Man come from?

Natsume looked puzzled. "The babysitter bug can be used like this?"

The other party stopped in front of Natsume, on a platform not far away.

The newcomer had beige curly hair, wore a green cloak, and dressed in an artistic style.

It was Aya, the gym leader of Feiyun City, whom I had met briefly in the Shuanglong City Council Hall before.

In the distance, a steady stream of Officer Jennys were heading this way.

"What happened, Mr. Natsume?"

Yati looked in surprise at the ruins behind Natsume.

"Do me a favor, take Officer Jenny back to investigate everyone here."

Natsume patted Aya on the shoulder, who was stunned for a moment before realizing that Natsume was pointing to the private hospital behind him.

"Yes, Mr. Champion!"

Yati nodded solemnly.

Natsume opened his phone, glanced at the time, and headed straight for the direction where Cattleya had fainted.

As I approached, the other person remained asleep.

The cold, operating lights had long been turned off; only a soft wall lamp illuminated the private hospital ward.

Caldelia lay quietly on the hospital bed, her long golden hair spread out on the white pillow, her face still pale, her breathing weak and steady, as if she had simply fallen into a deeper sleep.

However, Natsume stood by the bed with a slight frown on his brow.

He could clearly feel that the vast and pure telekinetic energy within Cattleya was now like a wild horse that had lost its reins, rampaging through her dormant mental world and stirring up chaotic waves.

Having lost the natural stabilizer and controller of the life doll, her control over her own power is rapidly declining.

Natsume recalled the information he had learned when he investigated Cattleya's background.

The Unova Psychic King of this world did not have a smooth childhood.

Her innate, extraordinary telekinetic abilities caused irreparable harm when they went out of control in her childhood, even affecting her closest family members. That accident is etched into her soul like a nightmare.

It seems that the other person's excessive sleepiness started around that time.

Is Natsume defined as a type of brain injury based on childhood trauma?
Now, the Life Doll has been forcibly taken away by Rainbow N.

That fragile balance was broken, and the deep-seated fear and the shadow of loss of control overwhelmed her again like a tide.

"Well"

On the hospital bed, beneath Cattleya's tightly closed eyes, her eyeballs began to move restlessly.

Her delicate brows furrowed tightly, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and her breathing became rapid.

His pale lips moved slightly, uttering soft, indistinct murmurs.

She's having a nightmare.

Natsume's telekinetic perception, like the most sophisticated radar, captured the storm in her mental world.

In the chaotic fragments of his dream, Natsume saw a young Cattleya, watching in horror as her out-of-control telekinesis transformed into an invisible giant hand, tearing apart her beloved dolls, overturning exquisite tea sets, and instantly reducing the beautiful paintings on the wall to dust.
Terrified screams, the panicked faces of family members. The scene twists and turns, finally freezing on a pile of ruins, where she helplessly huddles in a corner, watching the out-of-control forces destroy everything.
Then, a figure appeared in the dream.

It's Natsume.

But Natsume in the dream is not a savior.

He stood not far away, expressionless, his eyes sharp as if observing an experimental sample. He held a notebook in his hand, calmly recording data, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding destruction and her fear.

He even extended a finger and gently touched the out-of-control vortex of telekinesis, as if testing its strength.
"No...don't look." Cattleya pleaded weakly in her dream, tears streaming silently down her face.

Natsume: "."

How can I help you if you don't look for advice?

Natsume rolled his eyes.

Rather than relying on the power of "love and persuasion," he prefers to find scientific solutions.

After all, not everyone is Ash Ketchum.

(End of this chapter)