Want to read ahead. You know where
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In the original books, the Legendary Boulder was said to lie deep within the Hoenn Region.
It was the catalyst that once awakened the titanic battle between Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, and Mega Rayquaza.
In the end, it was Mega Rayquaza who quelled the chaos, restoring balance to the skies and seas of Hoenn.
But hidden within that chaos, another player had made his move: Lysandre, the ambitious leader of Team Flare.
When the dust settled, he secretly seized the Legendary Boulder for himself.
That much was only mentioned briefly in the anime, nothing more than a vague explanation.
But for Sam, that vagueness only deepened his curiosity.
After all, if even Rayquaza desired something… it couldn't be ordinary.
The wind rushed past as they soared above the lush fields beyond Lumiose City.
Sam closed his eyes briefly, focusing inward.
Using his three divine powers, he could sense something strange below.
There was life, faint but unmistakable, hidden beneath the earth.
He opened his eyes, brows furrowing.
"Silver," he called, gently patting Lugia's neck, "slow down. We're getting close."
She let out a soft cry in acknowledgment, wings beating slower as they glided through the air.
Below them, the forest thinned, revealing an industrial complex half-buried under the terrain, a Team Flare research base, hidden from plain sight.
Suddenly, alarms blared.
Red warning lights flashed throughout the compound as automated defense systems detected the presence above.
Inside the base, Claire, one of Team Flare's core members, stared at the surveillance feed in disbelief.
The image showed a young man riding a Lugia as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Her eyes widened.
"No way… using a Legendary Pokémon as transport? That can't be anyone else."
She didn't hesitate.
Tapping the communicator on her wrist, she connected directly to Lysandre at Team Flare's headquarters.
Moments later, the tall, sharp-featured man appeared in the holographic projection before her. His orange hair caught the red hue of the emergency lights.
"Report," he said flatly.
"Boss!" Claire saluted instinctively.
"Samuel is here, he's flying above our research site! From the looks of it, he's searching for the base!"
Her voice carried a mix of urgency and dread.
"What are your orders?"
Lysandre's eyes narrowed at the mention of that name.
For a brief moment, he recalled Sird's warning before she left: never engage with Sam directly.
He took a measured breath. "How far is he from the base?"
"About five kilometers and closing fast," Claire replied.
There was a pause, then Lysandre's voice came, low and calm but absolute.
"Evacuate all personnel immediately. Destroy every piece of research data before retreating. Do not leave anything behind that he could use."
Claire hesitated.
"Yes, sir! But— the boulder, we haven't had time to remove it yet. And the prisoner in the dungeon—what should we do about him?"
Lysandre's expression hardened.
"The boulder serves no purpose to our current plans. As for the prisoner… he's no longer of any use. We already have what we needed, the activation key for the Ultimate Weapon."
He paused, his tone turning colder.
"Ensure the researchers' safety first, then wipe the site clean. Our operation is at a critical stage. I won't allow any unplanned interference. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" Claire replied sharply, her voice tight with tension.
The holographic image of Lysandre flickered and disappeared.
Claire exhaled, straightening her uniform.
"You heard the boss," she muttered to herself.
"Evacuation protocol, now."
Around her, Team Flare grunts scrambled into motion, alarms echoing through the underground facility as systems began shutting down one after another.
And high above, unaware of their frantic retreat, Sam's sharp eyes caught sight of the faint glow of energy leaking through the ground, the same energy he'd sensed earlier.
He smiled faintly. "Found you."
Silver let out a low rumble, its wings tensing as if ready for whatever came next.
The hunt for the Legendary Boulder had just begun.
"Quickly evacuate the entire lab!" Claire's voice echoed through the corridors as alarms continued to wail.
But by the time the last of Team Flare's transports lifted off, the shadow of a silver-winged figure was already descending from the clouds above.
Sam leaned forward on Silver's back, his sharp gaze fixed on the ground below.
The faint energy he'd been tracking pulsed stronger than ever, radiating from beneath the earth like a heartbeat.
"It should be here," he murmured.
Then, pointing downward, he said, "Silver, use Shadow Ball."
"Lii–lii!" Silver responded, its wings spreading wide.
A sphere of dark energy coalesced between its jaws before launching downward in a thundering strike.
BOOM!
The explosion sent a shockwave rippling across the clearing, scattering dust and debris. When the smoke cleared, a massive crater had formed.
Beneath the torn ground, the reinforced outline of a metallic gate glimmered faintly.
Sam narrowed his eyes.
"Found it."
He could feel it now, that faint, rhythmic pulse of life. It came from below, deep within the hidden facility.
"Silver, use Air Cutter!"
With a low cry, Silver unleashed several sharp, compressed blades of air that tore through the air like invisible scythes.
Metal screeched as the iron gate split apart, revealing the dark tunnel beneath.
Sam jumped lightly from Silver's back, landing amidst the settling dust.
"Stay above and keep watch," he instructed.
"If anyone approaches, drive them away."
Silver gave a soft, approving rumble before taking to the sky again.
Sam turned toward the exposed entrance.
"Let's see what they were hiding," he muttered and stepped into the shadows.
The corridor beyond was dimly lit, the red emergency lights casting everything in an eerie glow.
Ash and soot coated the walls, clear evidence that Team Flare had already begun burning their research before retreating.
"It seems they just left," Sam said under his breath.
"Good. That saves me the trouble of dealing with them."
He followed the lingering pulse of energy through the winding halls.
As he walked, the feeling shifted, from faint vitality to something heavier, darker.
There was… sorrow. A deep, ancient sadness that seeped through the air itself.
Sam slowed, his expression tightening.
"What is this feeling…?"
He focused his senses.
The life energy and the sorrow both came from the same direction, the same person.
With his curiosity piqued, he quickened his pace.
The hall grew colder as he descended. The lights flickered.
Finally, at the deepest end of the laboratory, he reached a heavy steel door, cracked open as if abandoned in haste.
Inside, the chamber was almost pitch black.
The air smelled of dust and old metal.
But what caught his attention wasn't the room; it was the figure lying motionless behind a set of reinforced bars.
A man.
Even from a distance, Sam could feel it, the sheer magnitude of life force radiating from that body, vast and powerful, yet weighed down by despair.
He stepped closer, his eyes adjusting to the dim light.
The man's body was enormous, towering even while collapsed.
Sam, tall as he was, barely reached the man's waist when comparing proportions.
The figure had to be over four meters tall, a true giant.
Messy gray hair hung over his face, obscuring his features.
His clothes were old and tattered, nothing like the uniforms of Team Flare.
Chains bound his wrists and ankles, but even rusted and worn, they still pulsed faintly with containment energy.
Sam's breath caught. Recognition struck him like lightning.
"…AZ."
The name slipped from his lips before he realized it. The first king of Kalos was a man said to have lived more than three thousand years ago.