Dragon-type items!?
A Dragon Gem!?
Shiko felt his heart jolt.
Wasn't this exactly what he'd been wanting!?
If that was the case…
Wouldn't the 50% Dragon-type law required for evolution finally have a way to be fulfilled!?
Sure enough—when one road ends, another appears.
After hearing this, Shiko's thoughts began to lean more and more toward choosing the Military.
"Shiko? Are you listening?"
"Go on," Shiko said, snapping back to his senses and nodding.
"I'm leaning toward the Military for an even bigger reason," Himeko said.
"If the timeline hasn't gone wrong… then according to my memory, the Military should have already started research on the Key Stone."
"It won't be long before they make a breakthrough."
"Some Pokémon will be able to break through their limits—Mega Evolution—shattering their original species boundaries."
Himeko paused there.
She turned her head…
Looking at the Lopunny and Kirlia sitting on either side of her.
Then her gaze returned to Shiko.
"Lopunny and Kirlia are both Pokémon that can Mega Evolve."
"Charizard can too."
"But with your current form… I don't know if you still can."
"Don't feel down. Even if you can't evolve any further, it's fine."
"Your strength right now is already fully comparable to a Mega Evolved Charizard."
Himeko seemed worried Shiko might feel sad, so she quickly comforted him.
Though it wasn't really "comfort," either.
Because the terrifying strength Shiko had already shown…
Had long surpassed a Charizard of the same level.
If he kept growing…
He wouldn't be inferior at all to those Mega Evolved Charizard.
Shiko snorted two streams of hot breath.
He wasn't going to feel sad over something like that.
What he wanted was WarGreymon.
Compared with Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y, it wasn't just a little stronger—it was on a completely different level.
With a future and prospects like that…
What was there to be unhappy about?
"Of course, if we join Pokémon Paradise…"
"The benefits won't be bad either, and it'll be a bit more comfortable—more stable growth."
"Which one do you choose?"
Himeko fed Shiko a huge spoonful of Pokéblock as she asked for his opinion.
"The Military."
Shiko didn't hesitate for even a second.
Compared to a comfortable, peaceful life…
He wanted to evolve into WarGreymon as soon as possible.
Besides.
Why was he usually so lazy and lying flat?
It wasn't because he was truly lazy.
It was to complete daily quests…
Get experience points…
And grow stronger.
If he could lie flat at a Pokémon university…
Why couldn't he lie flat in the Military?
When Himeko heard his answer…
She felt a surge of joy inside, and also a bit of surprise.
She'd thought Shiko's laid-back personality…
Would strongly reject Military life.
She hadn't expected him to make the exact same choice as her.
"Good! I understand!"
Himeko let out a breath of relief, a smile appearing on her face.
...
Night fell gradually.
Inside the Amano family villa…
Akio looked ashen.
He sat heavily in his chair, his expression grim.
Joji was wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
Only his eyes were visible.
He sat in a wheelchair, right beside his father.
From time to time, the two of them lifted their heads…
And looked toward the front door outside.
Their faces were filled with worry and fear.
Suddenly—
A layer of black fog swirled up out of nowhere outside.
After the black mist vanished…
A figure appeared abruptly at the doorway.
The person who walked in was a tall, powerfully built man.
Under a black combat uniform, his muscles were sharply defined.
He looked overflowing with strength.
"Long time no see, Amano-san. I'm here to collect the money today~."
The burly man walked in and flashed a bright smile.
Two neat rows of white teeth glinted in the dim light.
"Could you… give me a few more days? Right now we really don't have—"
Akio's voice grew weaker and weaker.
The look he gave the man was full of pleading.
The burly man's smile vanished in an instant.
The atmosphere in the room became oppressive and stifling.
"More days?"
"Team Dark is an evil organization, not a charity!"
"The Pokémon tournament is already over. The money you raked in from the betting pool should be enough for this payment, shouldn't it?"
The burly man's tone turned icy.
He was a cadre of Team Dark.
Between Akio and them…
There were plenty of connections in the shadows.
In fact—
The Amano family's rapid rise to this scale…
Had included no small amount of Team Dark's help.
An evil organization needed funds to operate.
But because they were wanted across the entire League…
This was the kind of method they used…
To squeeze money out.
"That's true, but the problem is—my son didn't win. He lost the match!"
"To make money, when I opened the betting pool, that girl's odds were ten-to-one! I'm basically ruined now!"
Akio's face twisted with bitterness.
This…
Was exactly why he'd been so obsessed with winning this tournament.
He'd opened the betting pool…
And to lure more people into betting on Himeko…
He'd directly offered an absurd ten-to-one payout.
Meanwhile, the odds for his own son winning were only one-to-one.
And on top of that, in the earlier elimination stages, Himeko really had shown talent and battle power beyond ordinary people…
Becoming a genuine top contender for champion.
So under that enormous temptation…
The millions of residents of Wintergreen City…
Had poured bets onto Himeko…
To the tune of roughly ten billion.
That money…
Was the very sum Akio had planned to hand over to Team Dark.
But what he never imagined was—
In the end, he'd already thrown away his dignity and gone that far.
He'd even handed over his own Pokémon for his son to use in competition.
And yet…
He still lost!?
The match was lost. Their face was lost.
And worst of all—how could they possibly pay out with odds that high?
The moment the match ended…
The Amano family was effectively declared bankrupt.
"You think I'm an idiot?"
"Don't think I don't know you even used Gym-level Pokémon. How could you possibly lose a rookie trainer tournament?"
The burly man snorted coldly, suspicion written all over his face.
He'd only just arrived in Wintergreen City.
The moment he entered…
He'd come straight here, so he hadn't had time to investigate the tournament.
In his view…
Those rookie trainers…
At most used Entry-level Pokémon.
Even if someone was more talented…
The most extreme case would be Professional or Elite.
But the Amano family had sent out even Gym-level Pokémon!
How could they lose?
Did they think they could fool him like he was stupid?
"It's true, sama! How would I dare lie to you!? I have the finals recording—just watch and you'll understand!"
"What happened in this tournament even shocked major figures inside the League."
"All written records and video materials were destroyed. I only managed to preserve a single copy with great difficulty."
As Akio spoke…
He turned on the TV.
The burly man felt nothing but contempt in his heart.
Ridiculous.
Wasn't it just a rookie trainer tournament?
It even alarmed major League figures?
They destroyed all the materials?
Was this guy's brain broken?
Did he really think he could treat him like a fool?
On the TV screen, the finals matchup appeared.
The burly man forced himself to keep watching.
Himeko's first Pokémon to take the field—Lopunny—
Really did make his eyes light up with surprise.
But…
If the opponent's Pokémon were only at that level…
And the matchup was a 6v3 advantage…
How could they still lose?
He kept watching.
When Himeko sent out Kirlia…
That terrifying control and mastery of Psychic-type energy…
Immediately seized his curiosity and attention.
Kirlia!?
He suddenly recalled a report about a Ralts that had gone missing in Wintergreen Forest—one from the research lab.
It was said that this Ralts…
Was the only survivor after having the genes of some Legendary Pokémon transplanted into it.
It was extremely important for the organization's research and development.
After that Pokémon went missing…
The organization had sent many people to search Wintergreen Forest.
But unfortunately…
They found nothing.
Now that he'd seen this Kirlia…
The burly man instantly linked it to that incident.
Could it be…
That the Ralts that escaped the lab and then disappeared…
Was this very one?
He quietly filed it away.
Afterward, he would find a chance to investigate.
The broadcast progressed to this point.
Kirlia was injured and left the field.
The final situation became 3v1.
And the Gym-level Pokémon hadn't even entered yet.
How could they lose?
That question had barely formed in the burly man's mind…
When, in the next second—
He saw Shiko brutally one-shot Dragonair, scaring him stiff.
This!?
This was… absurdly strong!?
Then he watched as Shiko forcefully won a battle of flames against the Gym-level Magmar.
The shock in his heart was beyond words.
As a cadre of Team Dark, he himself was already an Elite Four-level figure.
But even so…
He had never seen such an outrageous Charmeleon.
Yet what came next…
Completely and utterly…
Made this great figure of Team Dark…
Feel his eyes fall out and his worldview collapse.
Walking out of the white light of evolution…
Was not Charizard.
It was a terrifying, vicious, upright tyrannosaur-like monster!
Staring at this brand-new, never-before-seen dreadful colossus…
Watching it easily crush and defeat the peak Gym-level Lanturn…
The burly man sucked in a cold breath.
Insane!
This was way too insane!
But after marveling for only a second…
His expression turned joyful.
This recording…
The boss would definitely be extremely satisfied with it.
Team Dark's most important research project…
Was currently stuck at a bottleneck.
Maybe…
This Charmeleon that evolved into such a special form…
Could become the best solution to break through that problem.
"Give me the tape."
"No problem, sama!"
Sensing the oppressive atmosphere in the room loosen a little…
Akio finally let out a breath of relief.
He nodded eagerly.
"Sama… about that money… could you still give us a few more—"
"Back off. Run."
The burly man took the tape.
At the same time, he released a red-and-white spherical Pokémon from the Poké Ball at his waist.
Electrode floated in midair.
It bared its mouth in a mischievous grin at the burly man.
"An extension of a few days, right? No problem."
The man nodded.
Akio and Joji heard that and immediately relaxed.
"Electrode! Use Protect!"
In the next second…
A protective barrier formed from hexagonal energy panels covered the man's entire body.
Then—
In the stunned, horrified eyes of Akio and Joji…
He issued an order that made their scalps go numb.
"Electrode! Self-Destruct!"
[Author Notes]
I don't want to write the next stage evolving into MetalGreymon or SkullGreymon, because I think those two aren't as cool as Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y.
And I'm guessing everyone doesn't want to see it either—you all want WarGreymon.
If I really wrote the next stage as MetalGreymon or something and dragged it out for hundreds of thousands of words, you'd feel sick reading it and I'd feel sick writing it.
So I'm going to speed up the pace a bit—WarGreymon still has other forms that need to appear ^_^.
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]