NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1361: The Newly Born Deity
Lately, Yuga had been quite busy treating the Squirtle group, so he had been neglecting the affairs of his shop and the ecological park.
One day, just as Yuga and Joyka stepped out of the infirmary in the gym, they saw Dou Dou rushing toward them in a panic.
"Audino~ Audino~"
Something bad happened! Florges is in trouble!
Yuga's expression changed upon hearing this. "What happened?"
Dou Dou couldn't explain clearly and simply grabbed Yuga's hand, pulling him forward.
Seeing this, Joeyka said, "If something urgent has happened, go ahead. It looks serious."
"Alright, I'll go first. You can head back to the Pokémon Center yourself," Yuga said before hurrying after Audino.
Audino led Yuga all the way into the Haunted Houses Sub-Ecopark. As soon as they entered, Yuga saw a massive green pillar of light shooting into the sky above an old castle within the Sub-Ecopark.
The pillar of light soared into the sky, illuminating almost the entire Haunted Houses Sub-Ecopark.
There seemed to be something terrifying within the pillar, radiating a powerful pressure that made the Ghost-type Pokémon in the Sub-Ecopark tremble in fear.
"What on earth is happening?"
Yuga took large strides toward the castle while questioning Dou Dou.
"Audino~ Audino~"
Dou Dou also didn't know the exact situation. As soon as the incident occurred, it rushed to inform Yuga, so it hadn't had time to investigate. All it knew was that Florges was trapped inside.
The pillar of light was coming from one of the castle's rooms. When Yuga arrived, he discovered that it was the very room where he stored the Stone Flower.
This Stone Flower was something he had retrieved from the tomb of Aegislash's former owner (AZ's younger brother). It contained an unknown energy, and since Yuga didn't understand its function, he had handed it over to the three Malamar for research.
So, had those three Malamar stirred up trouble?
Upon entering the room, Yuga saw Florges suspended within the massive green light pillar, her face twisted in pain, groaning as if she were enduring immense suffering.
The source of the light pillar was the crystal-clear, enormous Stone Flower.
Inside the room, Mewtwo, Rotom-Computer, and two Meowstic were present, while the three Malamar were being pinned down under Mewtwo's foot in a rather sorry state.
However, their faces were filled with excitement as they gazed at the light pillar trapping Florges with anticipation.
So it was indeed the three Malamar causing trouble! Seeing this scene, Yuga immediately understood.
Besides Mewtwo and the others, Yuga also noticed a Floette in the room, looking extremely worried as it circled around anxiously. It repeatedly tried to rush into the light pillar to pull Florges out but was bounced back each time.
In fact, none of the Pokémon present could touch the pillar; Mewtwo and the others had all tried, but they were always repelled upon contact.
Seeing Florges in danger, Yuga didn't have time to think. He strode forward and reached out to grab Florges from within the pillar of light.
Mewtwo and the others were about to stop him, but to their surprise, Yuga wasn't repelled like they were. His hand successfully reached inside and grabbed Florges' arm.
Seemingly sensing Yuga's presence, the pained Florges opened her eyes and looked at him, softly calling out.
"Florges~"
Yuga urgently said, "Florges, hold on! I'll get you out right away!" He gripped her arm tightly and began pulling her out.
However, no matter how hard he tried, Florges remained completely immobile. A faint, illusory, transparent flower flickered on and off around her chest.
Yuga immediately recognized the origin of this transparent flower—it was the incomplete Eternal Flower that he had brought back along with the three Malamar.
Seeing that he couldn't pull Florges out no matter what, Yuga angrily questioned the three Malamar, "What exactly is going on? What did you do?"
It turned out that the three Malamar had never given up on researching the Eternal Flower.
Their journey to becoming researchers began when they found AZ's research notes on creating the Eternal Flower. Thanks to these notes, they were able to create the incomplete Eternal Flower in the first place.
Creating the Eternal Flower had almost become their lifelong research goal.
Initially, their research had reached an impasse—the Eternal Flower was not something easily studied or replicated. But Yuga had given them hope when he brought back the stone flower.
The stone flower was a remnant of the ultimate weapon, and the true Eternal Flower was born from it.
The appearance of the stone flower brought a ray of hope to the three Malamar's research. Coincidentally, Yuga had already entrusted them with the task of studying it, which allowed them to secretly pursue their own agenda under the guise of official research.
However, activating the stone flower required an enormous amount of energy—otherwise, AZ wouldn't have gone to war in the past for it.
At that moment, the Malamar remembered the gift AZ had given Yuga back then.
Originally, this gift was an energy source that Team Flare had gathered to activate the ultimate weapon, but after their plan was foiled by Yuga, AZ gave it to him instead.
Yuga had stored it in the laboratory of the Haunted House Sub-Ecopark, never expecting the three Malamar to secretly make use of it.
It had to be said that the three Malamar were truly geniuses. The birth of an Eternal Flower Florges was a unique and coincidental event, and the conditions they had now were vastly different from those AZ once had.
Yet, by leveraging the stone flower, the energy source, and the incomplete Eternal Flower, they had actually managed to pull it off.
Their original experimental subject wasn't supposed to be Florges, but rather the Floette in the room that was now anxiously pacing in circles.
Since the Malamar couldn't freely enter and exit the Haunted House Sub-Ecopark, they had tricked the Floette into coming under the pretense of conducting a research experiment, using the Meowstic duo to bring it over.
It just so happened that when the Meowstic went to fetch the Floette, Florges was present as well. Concerned for Floette's safety, she decided to follow along, but unexpectedly got caught up in the experiment without knowing what was happening.
"Stop this experiment immediately! If anything happens to Florges, I won't forgive you!" Yuga shouted at the three Malamar.
The eldest Malamar rasped in response, "It's no use. This experiment can't be stopped once it's started!"
As soon as Malamar finished speaking, a strong wind suddenly swept through the green pillar of light, throwing the entire room into chaos.
Moments later, Yuga and the others saw countless green energy particles being drawn into the room by the pillar of light, merging with it and then flowing into Florges's body.
All these energy particles came from the Life Energy reserves of the Ghost Sea.
Yuga rushed to the window and looked outside. As expected, he saw the green energy particles drifting out from the Ghost Sea and floating toward the room.
With the loss of these life energies, the Ghost Sea gradually lost its vibrant color, fading to a transparent, colorless state at a visibly alarming speed.
As Florges absorbed a massive amount of life energy, the pained expression on her face eased, and her aura began to grow stronger.
At this moment, the Malamar's voice echoed once more.
"The experiment cannot be stopped. Instead of wasting your efforts trying to prevent it, you should help Florges complete her transformation. If she succeeds, not only will she be unharmed, but she will also become as powerful as a deity!!!"
As the three Malamar spoke, their expressions turned fanatical. They knew that once Yuga found out about this, he would not forgive them, but they were still resolute in their actions.
Ever since Mewtwo arrived, they had clearly felt that Yuga was gradually taking away their responsibilities and intending to replace them with Mewtwo.
This act became the catalyst for their decision to initiate this experiment—either success or death!
This was a great experiment aimed at creating a deity. If it succeeded, they would have no regrets even if they perished immediately!
They loved experimenting and research.
Ever since Yuga brought them back, they had buried themselves in their work every day and were quite satisfied with such a life. But rather than having their work slowly taken away by Yuga, they preferred to accomplish something great before that happened.
Yuga shot a fierce glare at the Malamar but found their words somewhat reasonable.
After absorbing a large amount of life force, Florges no longer appeared to be in pain. However, seeing the Ghost Sea's life energy rapidly depleting, Yuga grew increasingly anxious.
It was all Giratina's fault for frequently coming by to take a sip. Otherwise, how could the Ghost Sea have been reduced to such a small amount of life energy?
Florges's pain stemmed from her life level being insufficient to support her transformation into a higher-level existence. She needed life energy to achieve this leap in her life tier.
Suddenly, Yuga seemed to think of something. He took an item out of his system storage space and handed it to Florges.
"Florges, eat this!"
Florges took the item from Yuga's hand and saw that it was none other than the Nine-Leaf Revival Herb that Nidoqueen had previously gifted Yuga.
Initially, Yuga had intended to give this Revival Herb to one of the reserve Pokémon in his team. However, since he couldn't decide who to give it to, he had put it off until now—never expecting it to be used in this situation.
Revival Herbs can instantly restore a Pokémon's injuries due to their rich life energy content, and the Nine-Leaf Revival Herb, being the highest-grade variety, was even more potent.
Without hesitation, Florges quickly stuffed the Nine-Leaf Revival Herb into her mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it down.
As the herb went down, Florges's body underwent a qualitative transformation. The faint Legendary Aura she had previously possessed rapidly grew stronger under the stimulation of the green pillar of light and then suddenly erupted.
A powerful aura swept through the entire Haunted Houses Sub-Ecopark. Apart from Mewtwo, all the Pokémon present were knocked to the ground by the overwhelming pressure—including Yuga himself.
The crystal-clear Stone Flower radiated brilliant light, and within it, a strange radiance faintly flowed, pouring into Florges's body.
Florges's growing Legendary Aura was inseparably connected to the special energy contained within the Stone Flower.
When Florges's Legendary Aura reached its peak, the faint, transparent flower on her chest suddenly burst apart, transforming into a beam of light that merged directly into her chest.
At this moment, Florges suddenly became different. Her demeanor grew even more majestic, enveloped in a powerful divine presence that was not in the least inferior to the other legendary Pokémon Yuga had encountered.
At this moment, Florges had officially ascended from an ordinary Pokémon to an existence as powerful as a Legendary Pokémon!
As Yuga continued to watch Florges closely, he suddenly realized that a mysterious energy had surged within his body. It rapidly fused with the energy of Celebi's blessing that was originally within him.
Meanwhile, in Mewtwo and the others' eyes, Yuga's appearance was undergoing an incredible transformation.
Yuga was already approaching twenty-six years old. Although Celebi's blessing had slowed his aging process, his appearance had still matured over time.
After spending more than two years in Arus Kingdom, enduring hardships and constant travel, Yuga's appearance had always been rugged—his face resolute and well-defined.
But now, his slightly tanned skin gradually turned fairer, his rough skin texture became increasingly delicate, with barely any visible pores, and his entire face suddenly appeared incomparably youthful, as if he had returned to the time when he first arrived in this world at the age of sixteen.
No, he looked even younger than when he was sixteen.
When Yuga first arrived here, the original owner of his body was a recluse who rarely exercised, leading to a poor physical condition. But now, Yuga's complexion was rosy, exuding health and vitality.
Yuga couldn't see the changes in his own face; his attention was entirely focused on the sudden enhancement of his special abilities. With the increasing strength of these abilities, he felt an almost limitless energy coursing through his body.
At this moment, Yuga was still unaware that his life force had undergone an inexplicable transformation due to Florges. Though it was not at the level of AZ, who achieved eternal life, it was no less than that of Master level Trainer.
If it weren't for his previous encounter in the Guli Mountains, this transformation in Yuga would never have occurred.
AZ was able to achieve immortality alongside the Eternal Flower Floette because of Floette's mutated symbiotic trait.
Similarly, Yuga's transformation was closely related to Florges's Flower Veil Ability.
The energy within Yuga's body and Florges originated from the same source, both belonging to the Grass-type's primal force. A mysterious, indescribable connection existed between them, allowing the Flower Veil ability to link them together.
Not only did Yuga experience changes, but the entire Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark underwent a dramatic transformation. Countless flower buds bloomed almost simultaneously, as if celebrating their master.
Within the sea of flowers, it seemed as if whispers could be heard—flowers sharing their joy with each other.
In addition, the Pokémon in Yuga's second team—such as Bellossom, Roserade, and Venusaur—who were training in the Flower Sea Sub-Ecopark, also experienced incredible changes.
They had been nurtured by Florges all along and, influenced by her species' innate talent, were akin to her vassals. Although their situation differed from Yuga's, they too benefited from Florges's advancement.
Crack... crack... crack...
Before Yuga could fully grasp the changes within himself, a sudden cracking sound emanated from the giant stone flower beneath Florges's feet. The once crystal-clear and beautiful petals were now gradually losing their luster.
With the cracking sound, the green pillar of light that had soared into the sky vanished abruptly, and Florges was finally free.
As Florges stepped down from the stone flower, it completely crumbled into dull gray stones, shattering into countless fragments that scattered across the ground. It seemed impossible to piece them back together.