LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 207: Where Are the Ruins?
Once the dazzling light faded, a brand-new Pokémon appeared before Angie and Astrid.
Or rather, it was two Pokémon, because inside the Kangaskhan mother's pouch was a baby Kangaskhan.
After Mega Evolution, the baby Kangaskhan jumped out of the pouch.
"Kangaskhan~ Kangaskhan~"
The little Kangaskhan was extremely lively. After Mega Evolution, it leaped out of the pouch and started throwing punches at Angie and Astrid, looking full of energy.
This was the effect of Mega Kangaskhan's ability, Parental Bond, which allowed the originally powerless baby Kangaskhan to temporarily gain strength.
In other words, their opponent would have to fight two Pokémon at once.
However, the baby Kangaskhan could only exert one-fourth of the mother's strength.
"Kangaskhan, Fake Out!"
As soon as the Mega Evolution was complete, the young man commanded his Pokémon to use a priority move.
"Kangaskhan~"
"Kangaskhan~"
Following the young man's command, the Kangaskhan mother and child flanked Darkrai from both sides.
However, Darkrai was still Darkrai. Priority moves were useless against it. With a flicker, it vanished from its original position and reappeared behind the mother and child duo the next second.
"Darkrai~"
With a deep growl, Darkrai unleashed a Dark Pulse in a sweeping motion.
Having missed their target, the Kangaskhan mother quickly noticed the incoming Dark Pulse and instinctively shielded the baby Kangaskhan, countering with a Mega Punch.
The mother's punch clashed with Darkrai's Dark Pulse, but she was clearly no match for Darkrai.
Seeing its mother struggling, the baby Kangaskhan rushed out from behind her and also used Mega Punch against the Dark Pulse.
The result was both mother and child being sent flying.
"Kangaskhan!" the young man shouted in panic. He couldn't help but complain, "I told you I can't fight Darkrai..."
Despite taking a hit from Darkrai, the Kangaskhan mother and child quickly got back up. White energy flared around their fists as they once again charged at Darkrai, one in front and the other from behind.
They were using Drain Punch, a move that would restore some of their HP while dealing damage to the opponent.
Unfortunately, the result was the same as before. Darkrai vanished once again, leaving the mother and child to strike at thin air.
As they turned to face Darkrai, they were suddenly engulfed in darkness and lost consciousness the next second.
Darkrai had used its signature move, Dark Void, plunging the mother and child into a deep sleep within a dark realm.
Seeing them peacefully snoring away, Darkrai followed up with Dream Eater.
Surprisingly, this time the dreams it consumed weren't as unpleasant as it had expected.
Pure dreams.
After being hit by Dream Eater, the Kangaskhan mother and child lost their ability to fight and reverted from their Mega Evolution.
Seeing Kangaskhan collapse, the young man wanted to take action, but Angie had already appeared beside him in a flash. He tried to dodge, but Angie firmly grabbed his arm.
Against Angie, the young man had no strength to resist. With a swift chop from Angie, he fell limply to the ground.
As he collapsed, a thought crossed his mind: "Professor, you're on your own now!"
Once the young man was down, Angie searched him thoroughly and quickly found Kangaskhan's Poké Ball.
Just as he was about to return the mother and child to the Poké Ball, his eyes caught sight of the Mega Pendant hanging around the young man's neck.
He yanked the pendant off.
"Hand it over! It's mine now!"
Next, he walked over to Kangaskhan and removed the Mega Stone from its body before finally recalling it into its Poké Ball.
Holding both the Key Stone and the Kangaskhanite, Angie turned to Astrid and asked, "Do you want these?"
Astrid waved her hand dismissively. "They're your spoils of battle." She wasn't shameless enough to take them.
Hearing this, Angie laughed heartily. "Haha~ I was just asking. I wasn't really planning on giving them to you."
Astrid: ...
After tying up the young man, Angie said to Astrid, "Let's head inside."
"Alright." Astrid nodded.
The two of them stepped through the large doors together.
As soon as they entered, they saw a bald-headed scientist busy at work and a Zygarde Core trapped inside a glass chamber.
Seeing them enter, the scientist's face twisted with displeasure. "Tch~~ That idiot Migu was useless."
There was no doubt that Migu was the Kangaskhan's Trainer.
At the same time, Angie gasped, "A Zygarde Core?!"
The Zygarde Core looked like it was in immense pain.
Just as the scientist was about to complete the final touches on his mental control system, he clapped his hands. A roar echoed through the lab as a hidden wall panel slid open, revealing a Pokémon stepping forward with icy eyes.
This Pokémon stood at least two meters tall, clad in green armor with sharp spikes protruding from its head, neck, and shoulders. A thick, powerful tail swayed behind it.
Tyranitar, the Armor Pokémon. A Rock-type and Dark-type Pokémon known for its sheer strength—it's said to be capable of reshaping terrain and mountains with a mere movement.
The scientist sneered. "This is the test subject for my mental control system. You two will make perfect test subjects."
The so-called mental control system was a dark technology capable of controlling Pokémon's thoughts.
Tyranitar, now under the scientist's control, had become an unwilling slave to his commands.
"Tyranitar, crush them for me!" the scientist ordered coldly.
"Tyranitar~"
Tyranitar let out a deafening roar and lunged at Angie and Astrid, its enormous jaws glowing with dark energy—it was using Crunch.
Without hesitation, Astrid's Absol leaped forward, the scythe-like horn on its head enlarging and glowing a yellow-green hue, forming a slash aimed directly at Tyranitar.
It was using Megahorn, a Bug-type move that was super effective against Tyranitar.
Unfortunately, it was ineffective. Tyranitar swatted the energy slash away with its claws and caught Absol mid-air, gripping it tightly around the waist before sinking its fangs into it.
"Absol!" Astrid cried out in distress.
Though Absol resisted Dark-type moves, it still let out a pained scream from the powerful bite. If it weren't for its resistance, it would have already lost its ability to battle.
At this moment, Darkrai sprang into action, firing an Ice Beam at Tyranitar.
Even after taking the hit, Tyranitar refused to release Absol from its grip.
Under the scientist's mental control, it had become nothing more than a relentless fighting machine.
Seeing this, Angie commanded, "Darkrai, Will-O-Wisp!"
Darkrai understood immediately. With a swift gesture, ghostly blue flames floated toward Tyranitar one after another, striking it repeatedly.
"Tyranitar~"
Tyranitar let out a miserable cry as it was burned.
At the same time, Astrid commanded Absol, "Absol, use Thunderbolt!"
As soon as Astrid's words fell, golden electricity erupted from Absol.
Tyranitar, in pain, finally threw Absol away.
Absol crashed into the wall, and after struggling to get back up, it panted heavily and exited its Mega Evolution form, clearly unable to continue fighting.
After throwing Absol away, sharp rocks emerged all over Tyranitar's body. Under its control, the rocks shot out in all directions like exploding fireworks.
Angie swung his fist, imbued with Aura energy, shattering all the incoming rocks.
Munchlax swiftly moved in front of Astrid and swung its fist, performing a heroic rescue.
Due to being burned by Darkrai's Will-O-Wisp, Tyranitar's physical attack damage was halved, making it relatively easy for Angie and Munchlax to deal with the Stone Edge attack.
While dodging Tyranitar's attack, Darkrai countered with Blizzard.
The chilling wind mixed with snowflakes slammed into Tyranitar, causing it to howl in agony.
Taking advantage of the fight between Darkrai and Tyranitar, Angie said to Munchlax.
"Munchlax, follow me!"
"Munchlax~"
Munchlax responded and followed its master, quickly bypassing the battlefield and heading towards the bald scientist.
Seeing things go bad, the bald scientist quickly tried to run away, but it was too late. Angie approached and delivered a powerful kick, sending him flying.
With a scream, the bald scientist collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
Angie pointed at the device the scientist had been operating and said to Munchlax.
"Munchlax, smash it for me!"
"Munchlax~"
Munchlax nodded, raised its fist, and used Thunder Punch.
Crackle~~
With the sound of electricity, the machine was destroyed, and the glass chamber containing the Zygarde Core slowly opened.
The weakened Zygarde Core jumped out of the glass chamber but collapsed onto the ground.
Angie quickly ran over and picked it up, "Zygarde, are you okay?"
Zygarde Core looked at Angie but said nothing.
Seeing this, Angie took out a bottle of Moomoo Milk to restore its energy.
Zygarde Core didn't refuse and soon gulped down the entire bottle.
Meanwhile, Darkrai finally defeated Tyranitar.
Defeating a burned Tyranitar wasn't difficult for Darkrai.
After drinking the Moomoo Milk, Zygarde Core looked much better. It glanced at Angie once before closing its eyes and falling asleep.
Seeing this, Angie put it in his pocket.
Then, he found Tyranitar's Poké Ball on the bald scientist, recalled the unconscious Tyranitar, and tied the scientist up with a rope.
After tending to Absol's injuries, Astrid recalled it into its Poké Ball and walked up to Angie, saying: "This bald guy should know how to open the cages!"
Angie nodded and pointed at the scientist, saying to Darkrai, "Darkrai, carry him and follow us."
Darkrai nodded, lifted the scientist in a princess carry, and followed behind Angie and Astrid.
The two returned to the secret chamber where the captured Pokémon were held. Swalot, Solrock, and Lunatone quickly approached them upon seeing their arrival.
Angie smiled and said, "We're here to save everyone!"
Hearing this, Solrock and the others looked at Angie and Astrid gratefully, and the Pokémon in the cages cheered excitedly.
At Angie's signal, Darkrai placed the bald scientist on the ground, and Angie splashed a bottle of cold water on him to wake him up.
"Open the cages and free everyone!" Angie demanded.
"Hmph~ Don't even think about it!"
Thinking of how his research was ruined just before completion, the bald scientist gritted his teeth in anger and refused to comply.
Angie clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes, threatening, "If you don't listen, you'll suffer for it."
The scientist stubbornly said, "Do whatever you want! I won't even flinch!"
"Alright, you said it yourself!"
Angie put on his Aura gloves, placed his hand on the scientist's shoulder, and the scientist's face twisted in pain, letting out a miserable scream.
"Stop! Stop! What did you do to me?!" he screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
Angie smirked coldly, "Keep being stubborn. Let's see how long you can hold out."
In truth, Angie hadn't done much; he had merely disrupted the scientist's Aura flow.
He had previously wondered, if he could balance the Aura of ingredients, could he also disrupt others' Aura?
Now he knew—judging by the scientist's reaction, it was clearly very painful.
At first, the scientist kept threatening Angie, but as time passed, the cold sweat pouring from his body soaked the ground.
Severe dehydration made his face pale, and in the end, he couldn't endure the torture any longer.
"I'll... I'll talk! Please... stop... no more!"
Satisfied, Angie withdrew his hand and said, "You should have been obedient from the start. Why suffer?"
The scientist was so weakened he couldn't even stand, and Darkrai had to carry him to the control panel.
After the earlier pain, he didn't dare to play any tricks and obediently opened the cages.
Now free, the Pokémon cheered and embraced each other, expressing their gratitude to Angie one by one.
As the celebration continued, a commotion sounded from outside, and soon, Braviary arrived with Officer Jenny and a group of police officers.
"Officer Jenny!" Seeing Officer Jenny, Astrid was overjoyed. "You're finally here."
"Did you report this incident?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Yes." Astrid nodded.
The two of them then recounted everything that had happened in detail to Officer Jenny.
"Thank you both!" Officer Jenny gave a formal bow to Angie and Astrid.
The other officers followed suit.
Before finding Angie and Astrid, Officer Jenny had already led her team to search the entire base. The members of Team Flare whom Angie and Astrid had defeated were all taken into custody, so she knew they weren't lying.
Angie said, "It's everyone's responsibility to fight crime!"
This phrase sounded familiar. Hadn't Champion Diantha said something similar before? Officer Jenny couldn't help but think.
She then looked at Angie's face, a puzzled expression appearing. "Why do you look so familiar?"
Before Angie could respond, she suddenly realized, "It's you! The Trainer who helped Champion Diantha crack that fraud case!"
No wonder—he must have learned that phrase from Champion Diantha.
Angie nodded. "Yes, that's me!"
Officer Jenny once again gave Angie a respectful bow. "Thank you very much for helping to fight crime."
Angie waved his hand and said, "It's the right thing to do!"
Astrid looked at Angie in surprise. She hadn't expected that Angie had previously worked with a Champion Diantha to combat criminals.
However, upon thinking about it, she found it wasn't that surprising. This Angie was quite mysterious—after all, he could even command Darkrai, so it wasn't unusual for him to know a Champion.
Afterward, Officer Jenny and her team carefully searched the entire base once more, collecting all of Team Flare's research materials and taking them away along with the captured members.
The Pokémon belonging to Team Flare were also taken away. Once the criminals were brought to justice, their Pokémon would be placed in suitable locations by the Pokémon League.
Outside Glittering Cave.
Before leaving, Officer Jenny once again thanked Angie and Astrid. "Thank you both for your cooperation!"
Astrid said, "Officer Jenny, you've thanked us so many times already, no need to keep doing it."
"Sorry, I'm being too chatty." Officer Jenny smiled, then asked, "Are you two really not coming back with us?"
Astrid and Angie exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously.
"We came here for an adventure. How could we leave before it even begins?" Angie said.
Officer Jenny smiled. "Then I wish you both a successful adventure!"
Angie replied, "Thanks."
After Officer Jenny left, Angie felt something moving in his pocket. He reached in and took out the Zygarde Core and placing it on the ground.
"You look like you've recovered, so let's part ways here!"
Z2, however, remained distrustful of humans. Despite Angie and Astrid rescuing it, its opinion of humans had not improved. It glanced at them briefly before leaping into the grass and disappearing.
Astrid asked, "What kind of Pokémon was that? I've never seen it before."
She hadn't had the chance to ask earlier.
Angie explained, "That was one of the cores of Zygarde, the Order Pokémon. Zygarde is a legendary Pokémon that safeguards the ecosystem of the Kalos region."
Astrid was astonished. "That's incredible!"
Angie nodded and smiled. "Yes, it really is."
"No wonder Team Flare wanted to capture it," Astrid sighed. "I hope it doesn't get caught again."
Angie said, "Catching it won't be easy. I wonder what methods Team Flare used before."
After their conversation, Angie said, "Let's head into the ruins and see if Team Flare found them."
Astrid replied, "They probably didn't. The entrance to the ruins is very well hidden."
The two then returned to the laboratory.
The lab was in ruins after the battle between Darkrai and Tyranitar. Astrid walked around and estimated the layout in her mind. She pointed at a wall and said: "It should be here!"
She then released her Pyroar and instructed it, "Pyroar, use Flamethrower!"
"Pyroar~"
Pyroar roared and unleashed a stream of fire at the wall.
Under the intense flames, the metal wall slowly melted away, revealing a brown-colored wall behind it.
This base was a temporary construction by Team Flare, and the quality of the walls was quite poor.
Just as Astrid had said, Team Flare had not discovered the entrance to the ruins; otherwise, they wouldn't have built over it.
The reason they hadn't found the entrance wasn't due to carelessness—Astrid had taken away a key artifact that originally marked the entrance.
Without that artifact, the entrance blended seamlessly with the rest of the wall. Angie stared at the plain wall and asked, "Where's the ruins' entrance? I don't see anything."