Pillar of Light

Yuga's situation was unique; his body contained a more abundant life energy than the average person, which was why individuals of his lineage tended to live longer than others.

The Frostlass could sense this, so it leaned close to Golduck's ear and whispered. Golduck's gaze on Yuga became increasingly eerie, and its determination grew stronger.

Golduck believed that if it could obtain the special life force hidden within Yuga's body, it wouldn't have to worry about its own physical decay for a long time.

Apart from Yuga, who was this exceptional human, the Elite level Pokémon followed by his side and Cynthia also possessed exceptionally abundant life energy. Obtaining one of them would provide lasting benefits.

With this in mind, Golduck couldn't wait any longer and took action against Yuga and Cynthia. It swung its hands, and two blue streams of water transformed into flying blades aimed at Mega Gengar and Garchomp.

Mega Gengar's existence was exceptionally unique; although it no longer floated in the air like Gengar, its lower body was connected to a mysterious alternate dimension.

Seeing the Water Blades flying towards it, Mega Gengar swiftly retreated into the alternate dimension, easily avoiding Golduck's watery onslaught. At the same time, its shadow stretched rapidly, transforming into a pitch-black phantom and lunging at Golduck.

Garchomp also easily evaded the Water Blades; it was a Pokémon with incredible speed. As the Water Blades approached, it ascended into the sky at lightning speed. Then, with a burst of momentum, it used Dragon Rush, descending from the high altitude and directly colliding with Golduck.

The Frostlass and Gengar were both Ghost-type Pokémon, and it could sense the terrifying power of Gengar's Night Shade move. So, when the dark shadow pounced, it screamed and evaded.

But Golduck wasn't afraid. A purple light flashed on its forehead, and a purple beam shot out, piercing the black shadow. However, the Night Shade didn't dissipate due to Golduck's psychic assault; instead, it continued to struggle and attacked Golduck. Golduck showed a surprised expression, then dodged to the side, avoiding the Night Shade's attack, and only then did the Night Shade disappear.

At this moment, Garchomp's attack also arrived. Golduck used Protect to withstand the blow.

The tremendous impact from Garchomp's Dragon Rush almost shattered the protective barrier that Golduck had formed.

Not far away, the Frostlass was thrown aside by the shockwave created by the battle. It cowered in the darkness, unwilling to join the fight.

While it possessed unique abilities, its combat strength was quite weak. Facing Mega Gengar and Garchomp put immense pressure on it, and it lacked the courage to confront either of them.

However, Golduck didn't rely on the Frostlass's help. It was extremely confident in its own abilities and was unafraid of Garchomp and Mega Gengar. Although the displayed strength of these two Pokémon did surprise it to some extent, it was just that, a surprise.

In the moment when it held the energy shield together, Garchomp raised its claws and used Dragon Claw against the nearby Golduck.

But Golduck's eyes flashed with purple light, causing Garchomp's movements to freeze. Then, Golduck used its powerful psychic abilities to fling Garchomp away.

As Garchomp was thrown aside, Mega Gengar unleashed a massive Shadow Ball, hitting Golduck directly.

Due to being distracted by Garchomp, Golduck couldn't evade in time, emitting a painful cry.

Mega Gengar, while not a Champion level Pokémon, had focused most of its abilities on speed and special attack. Its special attack power was almost on par with a typical newly-minted Champion level Pokémon.

Under the impact of Mega Gengar's attack, Golduck's aura seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon. Its Champion level presence was dwindling rapidly, almost failing to hold on.

Following that, Yuga and Cynthia witnessed Golduck's azure fur visibly turning white at an alarming speed. Its once youthful and vibrant appearance suddenly aged, becoming frail and decrepit. The ruby on its forehead dulled and turned gray.

Seeing this, Yuga and Cynthia were both taken aback. What was happening?

Sensing the changes in its body, Golduck extended its trembling hands, revealing weak and pale claws with nails that seemed ready to fall off at any moment.

What was going on here?

In anger, Golduck glared at the Frostlass, hidden in the corner. It believed that the Frostlass must be hiding something from it; otherwise, why would its life force dissipate in an instant?

The Frostlass, however, was utterly perplexed. It innocently looked at Golduck, shaking its head to indicate that it genuinely knew nothing.

Dismissing its suspicions, Golduck couldn't help but wonder: could it be because of an injury?

As the Snowpeak Mountain's dominant figure, it had been untouched for so many years. It couldn't recall any injuries, at least not since encountering the Frostlass.

In its mind, Golduck silently pondered, perhaps this is the drawback of gaining extended life this way.

However, the truth was different. Golduck's life energy was dissipating so rapidly due to the unique nature of Gengar.

Yuga's Gengar and Mismagius existed within his Shadow Space, constantly influenced by the energy of the Ghost World Origin Stone. They fed on the energy generated by the Ghost World Origin Stone, which made them different from typical Ghost-type Pokémon.

The Ghost World Origin Stone, what is it? It's the most precious thing in the Ghost World. And what is the Ghost World? It's the final resting place for all departed souls in this world.

So, the attacks from Gengar and Mismagius carried a unique power, capable of affecting the life force of their targets.

However, this effect wasn't noticeable. Neither Yuga nor Gengar and Mismagius themselves realized it.

For regular Pokémon, the impact on their life force was minimal, and a slight loss of vitality didn't affect them much. Living creatures constantly radiate life energy, and in Yuga's Ecopark, the Ghost Sea, was work based on this principle. But Golduck was different.

The life energy in its body didn't belong to it; it was forcibly shared by the Frostlass. Although it could extend Golduck's lifespan, it couldn't fully integrate with it, which is why Gengar's attack dispersed it.

If Golduck were a Ghost-type Pokémon, that would have been another story. Ghost-type Pokémon naturally and instinctively assimilate and absorb foreign life energy into their bodies, but Golduck wasn't one; it was just a plain Water-type Pokémon.

Wasting so much life energy left Golduck extremely furious, to the point of wanting to tear Mega Gengar into pieces.

Just as it was about to attack Mega Gengar, a sudden change occurred.

The life energy dissipating from Golduck's body didn't disperse into the air naturally. Instead, it slowly gathered together, forming a small patch of green mist that quickly flew towards Yuga.

Yuga and Cynthia watched the mysterious green mist approach, unsure if it posed a threat to their safety. They prepared to dodge it when suddenly, they realized that the target of the green mist wasn't Yuga but the Griseous Orb in his hand.

Whoosh!

The green mist entered the Griseous Orb, disappearing from view.

Before Yuga and Cynthia could react, the Griseous Orb, now infused with the green mist, emitted a dazzling light, followed by a scream from the Frostlass.

The Frostlass's eyes kept flashing with red light, and it emitted wave after wave of green mist, exactly like the one that had entered the Griseous Orb.

This mist gathered more and more, eventually forming a small patch of green cloud.

Since the green mist was formed from the life energy of living beings, it was clear just how much life energy the Frostlass had absorbed over the years and how many innocent Pokémon and humans it had harmed along with Golduck.

"Wuuuuh!!!"

A mournful cry echoed as the Frostlass's body emitted a white light, gradually shrinking in size.

When the white light dissipated, to Yuga and Cynthia's astonishment, the Frostlass had regressed into a Snorunt. And atop the Snorunt's head, there was a Dawn Stone.

Golduck immediately recognized that the Dawn Stone was the "Dawn Stone" it had given to the Frostlass in the past.

But why had the Dawn Stone, which had already been used for evolution by the Frostlass, reappeared? And why did the Frostlass regress into a Snorunt?

The Frostlass had transformed into a Snorunt and was now staring at her short stature in panic.

Meanwhile, the Dawn Stone, accompanied by the green mist, drifted towards Yuga, more precisely, towards the Griseous Orb in Yuga's hand.

To the astonishment of Yuga and Cynthia, the Dawn Stone "buzzed" as it merged with one corner of the Griseous Orb, making the shape of the Griseous Orb slightly more regular.

So, you could say that the stone was actually a part of the Griseous Orb? Both Yuga and Cynthia thought simultaneously.

No wonder the Frostlass was so mysterious and possessed such unique abilities. It had completed its evolution using a fragment of the Griseous Orb's power.

The Griseous Orb belonged to Giratina, who happened to be a Legendary Ghost-type Pokémon. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that the Snorunt could evolve into the Frostlass using the power of the Griseous Orb.

It seemed that when the Snorunt initially evolved, it had mistaken a fragment of the Griseous Orb for an Dawn Stone. Both Yuga and Cynthia realized this.

The stone and the Griseous Orb fit together seamlessly. The moment they formed a unified whole, a dazzling golden pillar of light shot up into the sky, startling Yuga and Cynthia, who stood nearby.

What was happening here? Was something going wrong?!!!

The valley, which was previously unaffected by Golduck's weather-altering ability, had been utterly tranquil, with no wind or snow.

But in the moment when the golden pillar of light shot up into the sky, all that tranquility was shattered. Countless winds and snow rushed into the valley, nearly causing Yuga and Cynthia to stumble and fall.

The Snorunt, now extremely weak due to its regression, was carried away by the winds and vanished into the sky in the blink of an eye.

Joining the influx of wind and snow into the valley was an ice-blue giant bird.

When Yuga and Cynthia managed to reopen their eyes, which had been blinded by the swirling snow, they saw Articuno flapping its wings, its fiery eyes fixed upon them, and its sharp talons beneath its body looking particularly menacing.

Simultaneously, in the Distortion World, Giratina, who had been in slumber, slowly opened its eyes.

It raised its head, gazed at the chaotic void, and spit out a surge of dark energy, opening the exit of the Distortion World. Then, it swiftly entered.