Deep within the valley—
A towering stone pillar stood.
Nearly a hundred meters tall.
Ancient.
Weathered.
Covered in moss.
At its peak—
Sat a massive stone sphere.
A Poké Ball shape.
But gigantic.
Four to five meters wide.
A relic of unknown origin.
A lone Passimian looked up at it.
Curious.
It tried to climb.
Slipped.
Tried again.
Slipped again.
After several failed attempts—
It scratched its head.
Then—
Had an idea.
It picked up a stone.
Bang!
Direct hit.
But the stone sphere didn't budge.
So it threw again.
And again.
Ten times.
Twenty times.
Still nothing.
Eventually—
It left.
Not long after—
A whole troop of Passimian gathered.
They tried climbing.
Failed.
Then—
The leader raised a fruit and shouted.
"Ho! Ho!"
The others responded.
And switched tactics.
Throwing hard fruits instead.
Again.
And again.
Days passed.
Slowly—
The massive stone Poké Ball began to move.
Closer…
To the edge.
Elsewhere—
Ethan and Aurore stood in the rebuilt incubation cave.
Magma still flowed at the center.
Around it—
Dozens of small pits had been carefully carved.
Each one—
Holding a Cyndaquil egg.
Ethan nodded in satisfaction.
"That should do it."
Aurore smiled.
"With time, everything will recover."
After returning from the Shenying Alliance—
Ethan had handed Owen over.
And Xiao Huo…
Handled him.
Completely.
Now—
The focus was rebuilding.
But with that done—
"It's time to move on," Ethan said.
They waved goodbye.
And resumed their journey.
Back in the valley—
The largest Passimian lifted a massive rock.
"HO!!!"
It hurled it.
DUANG—
A deep metallic echo rang through the valley.
The stone Poké Ball shifted again.
Just slightly.
But—
That was enough.
A crack formed—
At the pillar's edge.
Then—
Spread.
Fast.
The massive weight—
Could no longer be supported.
CRACK—
The pillar gave way.
The giant stone Poké Ball—
Fell.
The Passimian scattered instantly.
BOOOOM!!!
The impact shook the valley.
Dust filled the air.
When it cleared—
The sphere was embedded deep in the ground.
The troop approached cautiously.
Walked around it.
Looked.
Poked.
Nothing interesting.
One by one—
They lost interest.
And left.
But beneath the surface—
Cracks.
Spreading.
Expanding.
Silently.
One Passimian climbed on top.
Smashed a fruit against it.
The shell cracked.
Others followed.
Smash.
Smash.
Smash.
Until—
The structure could no longer hold.
CRRRRACK—
The entire sphere fractured.
And then—
A beam of light—
Shot into the sky.
The light column pierced the heavens.
Blinding.
Overwhelming.
Then—
It faded.
And something—
Enormous—
Stood there.
A Pokémon the size of a building.
The Passimian fled immediately.
Instinct.
Fear.
They knew—
This was not something to stay near.
Far away—
Ethan stopped mid-step.
"That light…"
His eyes narrowed.
Aurore frowned.
"…It looks like a Pokémon being released from a Poké Ball."
Ethan's expression changed.
"…Yeah."
"But way too big."
"Let's go."
They moved instantly.
But—
Before they could get close—
Something happened.
Both Metagross and Typhlosion burst out.
Shields deployed.
Instantly.
Next second—
A brown-red energy wave—
Shot toward them.
From impossibly far away.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion shook the air.
Even through the barrier—
The impact roared in their ears.
Aurore staggered slightly.
Ethan's eyes sharpened.
"…We were targeted."
He looked ahead.
No visible enemy.
No aura.
Nothing.
"…I didn't even sense it."
Silence.
Then—
A realization.
"…This isn't normal."
Ethan's voice dropped.
"…That thing…"
"Can attack from extreme range."
And it already knew—
They were coming.
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