"Give me a few hours," John said suddenly, backing away from Scarlett. "I’ll be right back!"
Before she could respond, he signaled Gardevoir. "Teleport us out of here."
They materialized at the edge of the abandoned town, where John quickly found a suitable wall. A few precise strikes opened up a hidden alcove, his makeshift base of operations.
John settled into the small space, pulled a cold drink from his pack, and retrieved his most important piece of equipment.
The device flickered to life, displaying his character’s current location in the Hoenn Region. Perfect timing, if he’d been in any other region, it would have taken half a day just to fly back to Hoenn. He’d transferred his character here just days ago specifically to tackle the monthly dungeon run.
A quick Fly to Mauville City, then Surf to the underground power station.
[Yes/No to enter the special dungeon "Underground Power Station"]
[Dungeon suggested entry level: ?]
[Current storage progress: 100%]
John’s pulse quickened. He’d been carefully maintaining that 100% storage progress for weeks, waiting for the right moment to challenge whatever legendary Pokemon appeared at full power.
"Time to see if I’m ready for the real thing," he muttered, diving into the dungeon.
The familiar basement office materialized around him, but something was different. The lights blazed with unprecedented intensity, casting everything in harsh relief.
John had learned from previous runs that the lighting color indicated which legendary Pokemon awaited him. Red meant Zapdos, gold signaled Raikou, light blue indicated Thundurus, and extra-bright white...
"Regieleki," John breathed. The most challenging electric legendary in the rotation.
He released his core team: Gardevoir, Garchomp, Aggron, and Blaziken.
The clearing strategy was mechanical by now. Gardevoir’s Confusion mapped the entire facility in seconds, then used Teleport to position Garchomp and Aggron at optimal points for devastating Earthquakes. The ground-shaking attacks eliminated non-flying Pokemon instantly, while Rock Slides handled aerial threats. Blaziken mopped up any stragglers with precision strikes.
From entry to final chamber, one minute elapsed.
"I used to spend hours clearing this place," John mused, amazed at his own progress. "Definitely the right call to wait until I was stronger."
The lightning chamber opened before him.
The space was vast and electrifying, literally. Solid steel floors stretched toward a central platform where crackling energy had taken physical form. Six blue rings contained the writhing mass of pure electricity, with seven pink dots serving as sensory organs. The moment John entered, those dots flared to life like awakening eyes.
The nameplate materialized overhead: [Regieleki LV85]
"Level 85..." John’s jaw tightened. This wasn’t going to be easy.
But he’d come too far to back down now.
Six Pokeballs launched simultaneously. Gardevoir, Greninja, Blaziken, Tyranitar, Garchomp, and Gengar materialized in perfect formation.
Every Pokemon except Gengar underwent Mega Evolution in a cascade of brilliant light. John himself became wreathed in swirling winds as the Jade Orb’s flying-type energy enhanced his mobility to match his team’s superhuman speed.
Regieleki’s electrical form began fluctuating wildly, energy building to critical levels. In a flash that seemed like teleportation, it repositioned itself against the ceiling, chest sparks intensifying ominously.
It was making the first move.
"Ultimate Water Shuriken!" "Psychic!" "Rock Slide!" "Earth Power!" "Shadow Ball!" "Blaze Kick!"
Six commands fired in rapid succession, but Regieleki was faster. The legendary’s chest erupted in blinding light as an electrical net descended from above, covering the entire chamber floor.
Not Electro Web, this was Regieleki’s signature move, Thunder Cage!
Greninja’s Ultimate Water Shuriken detonated against the electrical barrier, the explosion revealing the Aura Sphere core as it punched through the smoke, only to be caught like a soccer ball in an impenetrable net.
Mega Gardevoir abandoned its planned Teleport, instead activating Future Sight while preparing to evacuate the team at a moment’s notice.
Mega Tyranitar ignored the descending cage entirely, roaring as it summoned a Rock Slide bombardment from above.
Mega Garchomp, blessed with ground-type immunity to electric attacks, charged directly through the Thunder Cage, its massive scythe-arms wreathed in earthen energy as Earth Power built to critical mass.
Gengar surrounded itself with concealing mist, then used Phantom Force to phase out of reality entirely, the only reliable way to avoid area-of-effect attacks.
The pincer attack was perfectly coordinated: Mega Garchomp rushing from the front, Gengar materializing behind, while rock projectiles rained from above.
Then Regieleki simply... vanished.
Both close-range attacks struck empty air.
"Garde!" Mega Gardevoir’s warning came too late.
John’s head snapped around to see Regieleki materialize directly in front of Greninja, arms spread wide in a deadly embrace.
Brilliant electrical discharge engulfed the ninja Pokemon. When the light faded, Greninja collapsed, its body smoking like charcoal.
"Damn it!" John snarled through gritted teeth.
Battle Bond meant he shared Greninja’s pain, every nerve in his body screamed with phantom electrical burns. It felt like a thousand fire ants crawling under his skin, each bite delivering fresh agony.
But the pain also brought clarity. Regieleki was faster than anything he’d ever faced, but it had revealed a pattern. Time to adapt.