Chapter 694: You Were Born a Demon Pill
Half a month had passed.
Kazuya stood blankly inside the Azoth Kingdom's treasury.
He simply couldn't believe it.
This dark room in front of him, which even rats wouldn't want to enter, was actually the treasury of the largest country in Kalos.
Could it have been robbed?
And the Azoth soldiers just didn't notice?
Kazuya would rather believe this excuse he made up for himself.
"What is this?"
Kazuya picked up a shriveled thing from the ground, looked at it for a long time, and still couldn't figure out what kind of treasure it was.
"It looks like a dried-up, shriveled Sitrus Berry, and it's even been stepped on until it's black."
Volcanion's voice came from the side, a hint of amusement in His tone. "It seems you have no way to evolve into Gallade. Give up. You were born a Demon Pill, this is your destiny!"
"...To hell with your destiny! My fate is up to me, not the heavens! Whether I am a demon or an immortal, I decide for myself!"
Kazuya threw the dried fruit in his hand to the ground and stomped on it fiercely twice.
The treasury was storing shriveled dried fruit.
It was too ridiculous.
When he went back in the future, he absolutely had to report this to all of Kalos.
Kazuya turned around and left the treasury in a huff.
He had been in this era for two and a half months already.
In the past.
He would have reached around Lv.35 by now no matter what.
Yet now he was still stuck at Lv.27.
All of this was because of that damn evolution problem.
There were three human countries in the Kalos region during this period. Among them, the Azoth Kingdom was recognized as the strongest, with the largest territory and the most superior geographical location.
The other two countries had to unite to attack the Azoth Kingdom just to barely match it.
What was the situation in the Azoth Kingdom?
The king almost completely ignored state affairs.
Important national matters were all dumped on his younger brother and ministers to handle.
Even with this.
They could still fight one against two.
When Kazuya first learned about the situation, he thought the Azoth Kingdom's treasury must surely store a massive amount of treasures, and finding a Dawn Stone would be a piece of cake.
Who would have thought.
This treasury could only be described with the word "shabby."
He should have realized it sooner.
AZ had used everything usable for researching mysterious science.
Special items like Dawn Stones, which contained elemental energy, were even less likely to be left behind by them.
Do I really have to just accept it?
Kazuya muttered in his heart.
Without the help of human resources, a wild Pokémon finding a Dawn Stone truly depended entirely on luck.
Even in the League Era, wild Gallade were pitifully rare, much fewer in number than the Pseudo-Legendary families, and this was the reason.
Only within the teams of those trainers.
Could one see the existence of Gallade.
"What do you plan to do now?"
Volcanion stepped forward and asked.
Jokes aside.
He still hoped Kazuya could be happy.
If he couldn't evolve into Gallade, Kazuya would probably be quite sad, right?
"I don't know... There's no need to stay here for now. Let's go back."
Kazuya shook his head and sighed blankly.
There really was no need anymore.
He initially decided to come to Azoth for two reasons.
One was to see if there was a Dawn Stone here.
The other was to check AZ's progress on researching the Ultimate Weapon, and pick an appropriate time to advise AZ not to build that dangerous thing.
But now.
It seemed there was little hope of finding a Dawn Stone in Azoth.
As for the other point...
This was also what Kazuya had been paying the most attention to over the past half month.
Having come to Azoth four times.
Kazuya had run to the basement every single time.
Ostensibly because he was interested in mysterious science, but in reality, to see what those people were researching.
As a result, he discovered.
The plan for the [Ultimate Weapon] hadn't even been born in AZ's mind yet.
More accurately.
Only a prototype had been born—the Soul Heart.
That is, Magearna's "heart."
The energy source of the Ultimate Weapon.
The thing that drew out the elderly Alva in the future.
AZ wanted to integrate his lifelong profound knowledge of mysterious science, and his vision was an infinitely supplying energy core, hoping to use this core to ensure the entire Azoth Kingdom would never lack energy again.
It had to be said.
AZ even thought of Azoth while doing scientific research.
It seemed he wasn't as completely indifferent to the Azoth Kingdom as he appeared on the surface. It was just that the importance of the Azoth Kingdom ranked behind Floette and mysterious science.
Previously, AZ only had this plan in his mind, but completely lacked any clues.
Until.
Kazuya explained the concepts of elemental energy and natural energy to him.
Only then did a specific conceptual plan gradually form in AZ's mind, and he began to conduct research.
AZ's favorable impression of Kazuya greatly increased, and he had already regarded him as his friend, telling him everything he knew without holding back.
It was precisely because of this.
That Kazuya came to know.
The idea of using the core to forge a weapon or something... did not yet exist in AZ's mind.
Moreover.
The Ultimate Weapon didn't have to be forged.
But the Soul Heart must be created.
With the Soul Heart.
There is Magearna.
Magearna and Volcanion were both Kazuya's friends, and the former even called the latter 'father' (or a similar figure depending on adaptation/headcanon context, note: in canon Magearna and Volcanion have a strong bond but not explicitly father/daughter).
He didn't want to stop the creation of the Soul Heart.
That might result in the future Magearna not being born.
So Kazuya had no reason to stop AZ from continuing his research, and let him be.
Right now.
Kazuya could no longer find a reason to continue staying in Azoth.
Staying here didn't bring them any benefits, and Volcanion didn't like coming to this place either.
The two prepared to return.
Floette coincidentally also planned to go play on the Nebel Plateau.
So she came along.
Three Pokémon, plus an armored cavalry squad of over fifty men, set off in the direction of the Nebel Plateau just like that.
This scale was enough to deter all the Pokémon they encountered along the way.
A cavalry squad of over fifty men.
Was no small number in this Magical Beast Era.
The soldiers of the Azoth Kingdom numbered only two or three thousand at best.
Those who could become cavalry were even fewer, only a mere few hundred.
And even this military strength had to be dispersed among seven or eight towns within the Azoth Kingdom for defense. Even in the capital, Azoth, the number of cavalry probably didn't exceed a hundred.
This was pulling out half of them.
Just to escort the little princess of the house to the neighboring plateau to play.
No wonder later generations had such an impression of AZ.
There was absolutely no problem with it.
"What is the actual point of these human soldiers escorting us?"
Volcanion glanced around.
He truly couldn't understand.
Having followed Kazuya back and forth between Azoth and the Nebel Plateau for half a month, Volcanion had gained an understanding of humans' combat power.
It had to be said.
There were indeed very few exceptional humans who possessed monster-like constitutions comparable to Pokémon. By utilizing the equipment and weapons in their hands, they could even go toe-to-toe with some Lv.40 or 50 Pokémon.
But humans of this level were ultimately a tiny minority.
Most soldiers were like paper in front of Pokémon.
The so-called army and formations.
Would collapse at the first poke.
If a Pokémon truly decided to launch an attack on this group, as long as its level was slightly higher, this escort team would be instantly scattered, and these cavalrymen would probably have no way to deal with it, at most only able to stall and intimidate slightly.
"How can it be useless? This number is still quite bluffing. The sheer momentum alone can scare off many Pokémon. Moreover... these humans are already very strong."
Kazuya shook his head.
He felt Volcanion's experience was still lacking.
In this world where Pokémon held an absolute numerical advantage, the fact that humans could carve out a living space in the most resource-rich areas was in itself an explanation.
The strongest point of humans lies in their intelligence and unity.
They know very well how to utilize small characteristics to form a huge advantage against Pokémon.
Just like right now.
With a sufficient number.
They could make those solitary wild Pokémon stay far away.
The vast majority of Pokémon, upon seeing humans, wouldn't even dare to attack to test their strength.
Even Volcanion in the beginning.
Felt apprehensive towards humans He didn't understand.
It was only now, knowing the weakness of humans and His own strength, that He began to look down on them.
But the problem was.
Pokémon with high intelligence like Volcanion.
Were ultimately a minority.
Many Pokémon didn't have a profound understanding of their own strength, nor did they know how to observe exactly how strong humans were.
Therefore.
The escort of this team was still necessary.
As long as they didn't intrude into the territory of a certain Pokémon group, they wouldn't be attacked.
Moreover.
Kazuya really felt these human soldiers were quite strong.
The physical constitution of humans in the Magical Beast Era and humans in the League Era were completely different.
In order to survive in this era.
Humans of this era would desperately train their bodies and strengthen their combat power.
They didn't have the various technological weapons of the future to rely on, nor did they have partners with miraculous powers like Pokémon to protect them.
The only things they could rely on were ordinary equipment and themselves.
Therefore.
They would constantly hone their bodies.
To the point where each one's combat power was now comparable to a Lv.20 humanoid Pokémon, and the kind that knew how to fight as a team and possessed high intelligence at that.
A single human with combat power comparable to a Lv.20 Pokémon might not be much.
But what about fifty?
Even if Luxray came over, he might be surrounded and annihilated.
Just as the group was about to leave the plain and enter the Allearth Forest.
Rumble—!
The earth shook continuously, and a cloud of dust rose in the distance.
"Some Pokémon are coming, a large number."
Volcanion narrowed His eyes, staring into the distance.
"A herd of Tauros running wildly. It seems they've been provoked by something."
Kazuya stood on Volcanion's back, standing on his tiptoes to look far away.
Standing high, seeing far.
He could tell what those Pokémon were.
"Run! Into the forest!"
It wasn't Kazuya who spoke, but the leading soldier.
Years of escort experience and a track record of hanging around the plain for many years allowed him to make the most correct decision in the first instance.
The entire team immediately took Floette and dodged to the side, avoiding the charge path of the Tauros herd.
"Follow them, there's no need to fight."
Kazuya kicked Volcanion with his foot.
"Is it necessary? Why not just knock them all down directly?"
Volcanion grumbled.
But He still obediently listened to Kazuya's words and plunged into the forest ahead with the Azoth soldiers.
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