Pokemon Paldea [382-383] (Patreon)

Chapter 382– Furious Rebuke

“What!?”

Even someone as dignified and composed as Entei couldn’t help but let out a cry of disbelief after being knocked over by the thing that suddenly shot out.

“Papa!”

Little Molly, who cared most about Entei, shouted anxiously.

“I– I’m fine, Molly.”

Entei stood back up, face hostile as it turned to look at the Arcanine revealed as the smoke around it dissipated—along with the human on its back, Lucas.

“Who are you!”

Entei’s majestic voice rang out like thunder from a clear sky. A heavy pressure poured out; even the air itself seemed to fill with the stench of sulfur.

Even if this Entei was just a false phantasm born from Molly’s dreams, the phantasmal Entei was still based on the legendary Pokémon, the embodiment of volcanoes.

Before that volcano-like power was even unleashed, the shockwave swept outward first.

Aside from the area where Molly stood—which Entei had deliberately avoided—both Lucas and Arcanine, as well as Ash and Charizard, took the full brunt of the blast.

Charizard, already in poor condition, could barely stay on its feet under the impact of the shockwave. Feeling Charizard’s body wobbling beneath him, a thought Ash didn’t want to believe from the bottom of his heart rose up.

Entei—still wasn’t using its full strength.

Standing firm within Entei’s oppressive shockwave alongside Arcanine, Lucas gestured, and Delibird flew over to the stunned Misty, Brock, Delia, and Molly, thumping its chest as if to say, You guys are under Lord Delibird’s protection from here on out.

After sending Delibird out as their bodyguard, Lucas picked up an Ultra Ball, rolling it in his palm. He paused for a moment, then said meaningfully, “I’m just a passerby… forget it, you can think of me as someone who came to bail you out.”

Looking at the surroundings, and at little Molly, who was hiding behind Delia with a face full of fear, Lucas clicked his tongue inwardly.

They say “better to arrive at the right time than early,” but clearly this time he was a bit wrong-timed.

If he’d come just a bit later, Molly probably would have already run out and redeemed this daughter-con Entei. Now things had turned into Entei being full of hostility toward him, and Molly hadn’t spoken up to stop Entei either.

Snapping out of it, Misty and Brock stared at Lucas’s back in surprise. “That gentleman is—”

The Team Rocket trio stared at the Arcanine. Meowth’s eyes bulged as he clapped his paw over his mouth and whispered, “What kind of Pokémon is that, nya?”

Ash looked stunned, recognizing the man on Arcanine’s back. “Mr. Lucas!”

“Ash! That was really down to the wire just now.”

Lucas greeted Ash, then met Entei’s intense gaze head-on.

“Rooaar!”

The drifting white volcanic smoke behind Entei swelled even larger. The fire energy within its body surged, making everyone feel as if it could trigger magma deep underground to erupt at any moment.

“Quit roaring. Your opponent is this one.”

Lucas tossed the Ultra Ball in his hand.

In the next instant—

An aura even older and more ferocious than that of the phantasmal Entei rose into the air. Raging Bolt’s massive body appeared before everyone. A flash of wariness passed through Entei’s furious eyes; wrapped in white light, it lunged straight at Raging Bolt.

“Heavy Slam!”

But Raging Bolt’s move came even faster than Entei’s.

Though surprised that Lucas had sent it into battle instead of Dragonite, Mimikyu, or Moltres, Raging Bolt didn’t underestimate its foe in the slightest. It opened with its signature technique.

“Thunderclap!”

Lightning as fast as the limit of speed exploded from the thundercloud mane around Raging Bolt’s neck. Before the lunging Entei could even react, it was blown away at a speed even faster than when it had charged in.

“...!”

Crashing into the ground again, Entei looked somewhat at a loss, disbelief flickering in its eyes.

It was confident it could beat the Pokémon that human had been riding. This Pokémon’s power was clearly about on par with its own—so why were its attacks faster than Entei’s?

Lucas had no intention of explaining anything to Entei. He lowered his voice to give a command: “Electric Terrain.”

Bzzzt—

Dense electromagnetic waves rippled out from Raging Bolt as the center. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding area became a field where sparks of electricity crackled through the air.

“Pika~”

Weakened from its battle with Entei, Pikachu’s ears twitched. It rubbed the electric sacs on its cheeks with its little paws and let out a comfortable cry.

Thanks to the power of Electric Terrain, Pikachu’s weakened condition improved somewhat.

“This move… is so amazing.”

This was still the original-series Ash; just seeing a move like “Electric Terrain” was enough to make his eyes go wide.

Entei was a being born from Molly’s dreams via the Unown. It wasn’t an ordinary Pokémon, and thus possessed extraordinary intuition.

That intuition told Entei that Raging Bolt’s next move would be very bad. In order to keep the bad guys from taking Molly away, Entei didn’t hesitate to unleash its full strength.

The hazy white smoke on its back turned into a blazing red mass and began to change shape. Terrifying molten flames brewed inside, growing even more violent with Entei’s fury.

The next second—

Flaming red volcanic vents formed from the smoke erupted with a terrifying pillar of fire. With a deafening boom, countless blazing flames turned into a meteor-like rain that crashed down from the sky.

Lucas had no doubt that even a Water-type Pokémon would probably end up with severe burns if it took that Flamethrower head-on.

What was surprising was that, perhaps due to the power of the Unown, Entei’s Flamethrower was kept well confined to the area where Lucas, Arcanine, Victini, and Raging Bolt were.

Facing this strike from Entei, Lucas—who had decided to finish things quickly—naturally chose to respond with full power.

Victini had already finished powering up Raging Bolt. Looking at the sky turned crimson by the flames, Lucas lightly raised his right hand toward the heavens and said calmly, “Rising Voltage.”

Vmm——

The already-trembling air let out a hum that seemed to shake the soul. All the electricity within the Electric Terrain converged on Raging Bolt.

BOOM!

In a blinding flash, raging lightning turned into a pillar of light that erupted from beneath Entei’s horrified face, obliterating the apocalyptic rain of fire as well.

The bone-shaking thunderclaps went on and on. Only after quite a while did the rampaging lightning slowly dissipate, allowing Ash and the others to finally open their eyes.

What they saw left them stunned.

That Entei that had just been so awe-inspiring was now missing half its body, lying weakly on the ground.

Yet because Entei wasn’t made of flesh and blood to begin with, the parts of its body that had been blasted apart by Rising Voltage lit up with a bright blue radiance and began rapidly regenerating, just like those crystal structures.

Though far weaker than the real Entei, as long as this phantasmal Entei remained inside the domain created by the Unown, it could practically regenerate indefinitely.

Riding Arcanine, Lucas approached Entei.

“...Bastard.”

Watching Arcanine’s forepaw drop into his field of vision, now only a few inches away, Entei felt humiliated—yet more than anything, it just wanted to hurry up and repair its body. It absolutely couldn’t let these people take Molly away.

Noticing the defiance in Entei’s eyes, Lucas rubbed his temples and said helplessly, “Still want to keep fighting?”

Entei was just about to spit out some harsh words when a panicked cry from Delia came from behind.

“Molly!”

The little girl, about six or seven, stumbled over to stand between Entei and Lucas. With her back to Entei, tears in the corners of her eyes, she shouted at Lucas, “Don’t bully Papa!”

Entei froze, calling out anxiously, “It’s dangerous here, don’t come!”

Perhaps because this was a mindscape world manifested from Molly’s heart by the Unown:

[Entei is Molly’s father]

[For Molly’s happiness, the father will do anything.]

Under those rules, as long as it was for Molly’s sake, Entei could unleash unimaginable power.

Maybe worried that Lucas might hurt Molly, Entei roared, desperately trying to repair its body with all its strength.

Lucas really didn’t understand how he’d somehow become the big bad villain oppressing this father and daughter.

He spread his hands. Raging Bolt, which had been giving Entei enormous pressure, stepped back. Lucas said frankly, “Since that’s what you say, then we won’t fight.”

To be honest, if it wasn’t to scare Entei into behaving—since Molly hadn’t been able to stop it thanks to his earlier intervention—Lucas hadn’t wanted to fight it at all.

With that time, he’d much rather be thinking about how to deal with the Unown, who would definitely go berserk.

Lucas had gotten to bow out gracefully; Entei, on the other hand, was left completely stunned.

What did this human even mean?

He barged in, picked a fight for no reason, and now he was just saying it was fine not to fight?

Entei’s rage, wound halfway up, suddenly got stuck. It couldn’t help but feel like it might have taken that beating for nothing.

Molly, too, stared up at the handsome big brother in confusion with her beautiful blue eyes.

Lucas slid down from Arcanine’s back. With Victini overstuffed from Victory Star’s buffs perched on his head, he asked Entei just one question.

“If Molly’s happiness lies in the world outside, what will you do?”

Ash and the others froze. This question from Lucas…

Maybe sensing that Lucas no longer had any hostility, Entei fell silent for a moment. Gazing at Molly with gentle eyes, it slowly said, “I exist as a father created for Molly’s happiness. If that is her happiness… I will let go.”

“Eh?”

Clutching Entei’s foreleg, Molly stared blankly up into Entei’s eyes, which overflowed with tenderness.

Just as Misty and the others wanted to strike while the iron was hot and tell Molly that the outside world was far more wonderful than this illusion, Lucas’s voice, brimming with fury, cracked like thunder over their heads.

“That’s complete and utter bullshit!”

The air fell silent in an instant.

Arcanine, Victini, Raging Bolt, and even Delibird—who had been dutifully guarding Delia and the others—were all stunned for a moment.

Ash and his friends were also taken aback.

Whether human or Pokémon, everyone was shocked that Lucas, usually gentle and calm, had suddenly exploded with profanity.

Entei opened its mouth, staring at this bizarre human in front of it, wanting to say something in rebuttal.

Lucas only gave a cold chuckle. “Don’t tell me you were about to say that love is about letting go?”

Entei: “...”

He called it.

“That’s nothing more than your own one-sided fantasy!” Lucas’s words rang out like a hammer blow. “No matter how beautifully you try to dress it up, the pain of separation doesn’t change. It becomes a thorn in the heart that will keep surfacing, again and again, over the long years of life!”

“Why not be a little greedy and want everything?”

“Can you swear that when I asked you just now, you didn’t once imagine going to the outside world with Molly and living together with her?”

Meeting Lucas’s blazing gaze, Entei admitted defeat for the first time, lowering its head guiltily.

“I can’t… I was born from Molly’s feelings. Without the power of those beings, I’m nothing but a phantasmal illusion.”

Under Molly’s pained expression, Entei slowly revealed the truth of its existence.

…

Chapter 383 – Calyrex’s Great Display of Power

If he had a choice, Lucas wouldn’t be playing the “talk-no-jutsu” route either.

But, judging by the events of the Crystal Tower incident orchestrated by the King of the Crystal Tower,

If you didn’t talk, the key problem simply couldn’t be solved. Even if you forced a resolution by brute strength, you’d just leave behind a huge mess and lingering issues that might grow worse over time.

Right now, Lucas was using his own “force” to forcibly enlighten Entei and, through Entei, guide Molly.

At its core, the fundamental cause of this entire event was Molly’s “loneliness” awakening the Unown sealed in the wooden tiles. Just like Molly’s heart, closed off because of her father’s disappearance, those Unown created this massive Crystal Tower as a symbol of her thick, towering “wall of the heart.”

Those crystal flower petals tightly shut in the outside world represented Molly’s closed heart.

The moment Molly truly wished to leave this place, those crystal petals would naturally bloom.

As long as Entei could leave this place together with Molly, everything would be resolved.

Looking at the Entei with its head lowered, a tear slid down Molly’s cheek. She clutched its fur, throwing a tantrum like a child being willful.

“I don’t care, Molly wants to leave with Papa!”

Those earlier words from Lucas hadn’t just shattered Entei’s emotional defenses; they had also stirred up Molly’s own desires. After meeting Misty, Brock, and Ash, she’d come to understand how wonderful the outside world was.

If she could go outside with Papa, make lots of friends, and fight many battles together, that would be so great.

Entei was born from Molly’s dream world; naturally, Molly’s wishes were transmitted directly to its heart.

Once its repairs were complete, Entei got up slowly. The previous majestic, domineering aura faded away completely, and it bowed its proud head toward Lucas.

“Molly’s wish is what I myself desire.”

“But I am a being born from the power of the Unown. If I leave them, I cannot maintain my form.”

“Since you rebuked me so harshly, you must have the power to change all this. Please, help us.”

“Of course.”

Lucas nodded slightly. He’d come precisely to indulge this heartfelt wish.

At that moment, Delia also crouched down, gently extending her hand toward Molly. “Come leave this place with everyone, Molly.”

“Mm…”

Molly glanced around timidly, her reply as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, then took Delia’s outstretched hand and pressed her cheek against it.

“So warm…”

Having grown up with her parents divorced, Molly savored the feeling of a mother’s hand with a hint of longing.

In that moment, the wall in her heart—built from the pain of her father’s disappearance and her parents’ divorce—completely melted away.

The entire Crystal Tower shuddered faintly, and the crystal petals began to slowly move, like a flower blooming.

Jessie, James, and Meowth exchanged looks and, for once, didn’t cause trouble. Instead, they sighed together in unison. “So heartwarming…”

At that very instant, something went terribly wrong.

Sharp crystal spires suddenly jutted out from the ground, and the crystallization phenomenon began to spread like a rampage.

Crystal spikes rose on either side of the Team Rocket trio, making them feel like they were a hair’s breadth from death. They let out screams of terror.

Delia hurriedly pulled Molly into her arms. Ash and his now-rested Charizard stood alert, watching their surroundings.

“What’s happening!?”

Misty shouted, on the verge of breaking down.

Entei seemed to sense something. It cast a glance toward the void and said firmly, “It seems to have something to do with the Unown!”

At the same time, Professor Oak’s voice came from the communicator Ash was carrying.

“They’ve been pouring out energy at full power for too long. The Unown can’t control their strength anymore—even they themselves can’t stop it now!”

Then the distorted voice of Professor Hale’s assistant sounded.

“The crystallization phenomenon that had been stabilizing is now rapidly spreading outward. If this keeps up, even this Pokémon Center will be affected soon!”

“What!?”

Hearing the transmission, Ash and the others were shocked.

“Rooaar!”

Entei breathed flames from its mouth, shattering clusters of crystal to keep them from threatening Molly’s safety.

Recalling Raging Bolt—whose large size and limited agility made it easy to be injured by dense attacks—Lucas mounted Arcanine again and shouted, pointing toward the passage he’d used to enter the Crystal Tower, “There’s an exit over here!”

As he spoke, Arcanine, boosted by Victini, let loose a terrifying pillar of fire that burned away a huge swath of crystal blocking the path.

That was one of the changes Lucas had made.

Unlike in the movie, where they could only go through the inner corridors of the crystallized Hale Mansion and exit through the front door—only to be blocked by the Unown crowding there—

Arcanine’s Overheat had created a new escape route, one that should allow Ash and the others to get out.

Under Lucas’s direction, everyone sprinted toward the exit. Whenever crystal structures appeared to block the way, they didn’t even need Charizard or Entei—an emerald-lit blur flashed past, shattering the obstacles and keeping the path open at all times.

Carrying Molly on its back, Charizard cast a deep look at that nearly invisible, lightning-fast figure and renewed its resolve to dominate the Charizard Valley, advance together with Ash, and become the world’s number-one Charizard!

With Victini’s blessings, Arcanine rampaged like a dump truck from hell that crushed everything in its path, constantly dashing about with Extreme Speed and never worrying about the severe stamina drain the move should have caused.

Delibird continuously used Blizzard to freeze the surrounding area, slowing the frequency at which crystals emerged.

After nearly five minutes of running, Ash and the others finally saw the huge opening Lucas and Arcanine had blasted out.

Just as Lucas had expected, there were no Unown guarding the gap.

Team Rocket, true masters of running away, were the first ones to bolt through the opening.

Seeing those three guinea pigs get out safely with no Unown stopping them, and under Lucas’s urging, Ash, Brock, Misty, and Pikachu all left one after another. Next came Charizard carrying Molly, and Delia.

Seeing Entei still standing where it was, unmoving, Molly suddenly realized something. She stretched out her hand and cried, “Papa… don’t go!”

Entei looked at Molly, whom Delia had just lifted down from Charizard’s back, its face full of complex emotions. Even if it wanted to comfort her with some sort of promise, the words stuck in its throat. It just couldn’t say them.

Unlike earlier, when it could leave the Crystal Tower with the Unown’s power to kidnap Delia, now the Unown’s power was in a berserk state, and it could feel its own source of energy gradually fading.

If it left the Crystal Tower’s range, it would disappear completely.

As a father, it didn’t want to lie to Molly or make promises it wasn’t sure it could keep.

At this moment, Lucas—who had no intention of leaving—patted Entei’s broad back, casually fluffing its thick fur, then walked over to Molly, who was struggling in Delia’s arms. He crouched down, his face gentle.

“Can you trust me? I’ll bring your dad back to your side in one piece.”

“For now, go with Aunty Delia. As long as you’re somewhere safe, your dad can use his power without any worries.”

Molly stared blankly into Lucas’s eyes for a moment, then turned to Entei. With large eyes misted with tears, she asked, “Really?”

Entei was silent for a second, then gave a small nod.

“As long as it’s what you wish for, Molly—no matter what stands in my way, I will overcome all hardships and return to your side.”

Molly was a very good child. Since Entei said so, she would believe him and wait with hope in her heart.

“I’ll be waiting for you outside, Papa… And big brother, I believe in you too.”

Molly stopped struggling and let Delia carry her out of the Crystal Tower’s range.

Before leaving, Delia shot Lucas a worried glance. “You two, please don’t push yourselves too hard.”

Watching Delia and Molly’s figures recede into the distance, escorted by Ash and his friends, along with Delibird and Arcanine that Lucas had specially sent to protect them, Entei withdrew its gaze and turned to Lucas, who was leisurely feeding Victini to restore its strength, waiting patiently for him to speak.

It wanted to know what method this mysterious, powerful man—who had appeared out of nowhere—had to make everything he spoke of come true.

“Vii~”

Once Victini finished eating and had mostly restored the energy it had expended—

Lucas told it to rest for the moment on his head, then turned to the quietly waiting Entei with a hint of apology. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I don’t mind.”

Entei shook its head, gathered flames in its mouth, and blasted apart the crystals rushing toward it and Lucas, continuing to defy common sense as it spoke human language.

“I want to leave this place and live with Molly forever.”

“I know.” Lucas nodded. “That wish is something I drew out of you. So, I’ll be responsible for solving your problem.”

“Let’s go find the Unown. They’re the source of your existence. If we want you to remain for a long time, they’re indispensable.”

“Still, this place was ultimately created by the Unown to help Molly forget the pain of her parents’ disappearance. Now that she’s leaving, their irregularities may worsen. To prevent unforeseen incidents, we’d better hurry.”

With no one else around, Lucas couldn’t be bothered to keep up an act. He just laid it out, making it obvious he even knew how Entei had come into being.

Entei looked at Lucas deeply, but in the end said nothing. It simply crouched down, indicating that Lucas should climb on.

It knew where the Unown were.

After Lucas settled on its back and Entei reminded him softly to hold on tight, it darted forward with remarkable agility, charging into the depths of the Crystal Tower.

Entei brought Lucas to the origin of everything—the place where the Crystal Tower incident had first begun.

The central hall of Hale Mansion.

This was the source of the crystallization phenomenon, and so the degree of crystallization here was the greatest. Everything had turned into crystal structures of various shapes, making one feel as if they’d stepped into another world altogether.

A vast number of Unown were circling in the air at the center of the hall. An invisible force field shrouded them, and mysterious energy flowed among them. No one knew exactly what kind of power that energy contained.

Looking at these Unown, Entei’s expression was very complicated.

Lucas slid off Entei’s broad back to stand on the crystal floor and called softly, “Mimikyu.”

Under Entei’s stunned gaze, two ominous shadowy claws stretched out of Lucas’s shadow. Then Mimikyu crawled out from the darkness at his feet.

He didn’t have Victini power-up Mimikyu right away. As if wanting to test something, Lucas pointed at the area where the Unown were clustered and ordered, “Aim for the center. Shadow Claw!”

The moment Lucas finished speaking, Mimikyu shot up like an arrow loosed from a bow. Those shadowy claws that made Entei’s eyelids twitch slammed down hard against the barrier that had automatically formed as the Unown sensed danger.

The next instant—

BOOM——!

Amid a violent explosion, Mimikyu broke through the smoke and returned to Lucas’s side, but its “head” was now tilted awkwardly to the right—its Disguise had clearly been broken.

The Unown hadn’t gotten off easy either.

Though their force field was being repaired at a speed visible to the naked eye, Mimikyu had indeed ripped a huge hole in it with a single Shadow Claw.

“Good work, Mimikyu.”

Now having a better grasp of the situation, Lucas patted Mimikyu’s head. Only after it slipped back into his shadow did he turn to look at Entei.

At that moment, Entei was still in shock at Mimikyu’s overwhelming strength.

Even if it burned every last bit of energy within its current body, Entei estimated it could only just barely smash through this Unown-made force field—

And the price would be its own erasure.

Mimikyu had clearly been holding back, and that Pokémon that only strengthened others—Victini—hadn’t even moved.

Entei felt that if Lucas truly wanted to, he could forcibly shatter the Unown’s barrier and flip the table, ending everything on his own.

“Ahem.”

Lucas coughed lightly, pulling Entei’s attention back. Looking at the Unown, whose faces were contorted in pain as their power spiraled out of control, Lucas asked once more:

“You’re sure you want to stay by Molly’s side, right?”

Entei nodded seriously. “I’m sure.”

Lucas nodded slightly, then smiled and addressed the smartphone he’d slipped into his pocket at some unknown point—and which he’d apparently already called from.

“That’s the situation. This father really wants to stay by his daughter’s side. Are you willing to help him?”

The other end was silent for a breath. Then a voice filled with mild amusement sounded:

“Neigh~.”

The next moment—

Riding a jet-black horse, a former king with majesty etched into his expression crossed space itself and appeared beside Lucas.

Calyrex, at your service!

Since he’d decided to help Entei, Lucas had already thought ahead on his way here.

Judging by how strong the Unown’s barrier had been in the movie, and given his own strength, Lucas was ten-tenths confident he could break through it without forcing Entei to sacrifice itself.

But the moment the Unown dispersed, Entei—like a castle in the air without its supports—would crumble in an instant.

Sheer power alone could never achieve a perfect ending. So, on the way here, Lucas had reached out by message to Calyrex—who couldn’t use telepathy at this time—and asked if there was any way to let Entei remain.

Calyrex had said there was a way.

Perhaps because of Calyrex’s appearance, the Unown—feeling tremendous pressure—began to lose control even further. With a buzzing sound, it was as if space itself cracked, and a pitch-black vortex began to expand.

Calyrex narrowed his eyes, seeing through the nature of that thing.

“Spatial Collapse.”

As the black vortex continued to grow, Calyrex atop Spectrier didn’t retreat in the slightest. Instead, he glanced at Lucas and Entei and said in a low voice:

“In an era long past, before I ruled Galar, I once encountered a strange group of people.”

“They had a deep connection with these Pokémon called ‘Unown.’ Through communication with them, I came to understand some of the Unown’s traits.”

“Setting aside the innumerable Unown said to dwell within rifts in time and space, the Unown that exist in this world always use some object inscribed with ancient script as their vessel.”

“My friend, I believe you understand what I want to say, don’t you?”

Lucas’s gaze wandered around the crystallized hall and quickly locked onto one crystal.

Sealed within that crystal were about twenty-six carved wooden tiles.

Lucas said firmly, “So we need those wooden tiles. They’re the key to letting Entei remain.”

“Correct.” Calyrex gave Lucas an approving look, then added, “I’ve already probed its essence with my psychic power. According to my expectations, if three conditions are met, he can stay.”

Entei’s heart clenched. It hadn’t even noticed Calyrex probing it with psychic power…

Tightening his grip on Spectrier’s reins, Calyrex gave the final answer.

“First condition: his own intense desire to remain. Unown are influenced by powerful emotions.”

“Second condition: we must stop the Unown’s rampage. Their runaway power must be calmed.”

“Third condition: using the wooden tiles as a foundation, we must return the Unown that originally resided in them, and send all the others that were summoned back to the realm they belong to.”

Lucas was a little surprised. According to Calyrex’s explanation, solving this incident perfectly would indeed require multiple conditions and a combination of the right time, place, and people.

Taking a deep breath, he patted Victini on the head and said softly, “I’m counting on you.”

“Vii-nii~”

Victini flew over to Calyrex’s side and pressed its tiny hand to him, infusing him with its all-purpose infinite energy.

Calyrex nodded lightly to it. “I shall end this quickly.”

As soon as he spoke, Calyrex’s gaze changed.

Amid Spectrier’s resounding neigh, Calyrex was wrapped in a whirlpool of formidable psychic energy. Aiming straight at the hundreds of Unown, he clenched his right hand and said coldly:

“Seal.”

In an instant, psychic power surged forth under Calyrex’s control, violently shattering the Unown’s protective force field. Like a massive sphere of psychic energy, it enveloped them, cleanly severing the connections of power between each Unown.

Next, Calyrex blasted a deliberately weakened Astral Barrage-like strike into the void, shattering the already-thinned boundary of time and space that had grown fragile due to the Unown’s existence.

“Release.”

Following their aura, Calyrex tossed the Unown that belonged to the time-space rift back through.

Now only twenty-six Unown remained, their burdens drastically lightened, each single eye filled with joy and gratitude.

Smiling, Calyrex released the psychic sphere and spoke once more:

“Return.”

Sensing the barrier release, the twenty-six Unown happily flew into the wooden tiles that Calyrex had levitated with his psychic power.

Containment complete!