Chapter 0717: Natsume’s First Z-Move(Two-in-One)

Kalos Region, Geosenge Town.

Geosenge Town was renowned for its jagged boulders, a stone forest encircling ancient ruins, which drew many tourists to visit.

A blue-haired man in a tailored suit stood amidst the stone pillars, his eyes focused as he examined the wind-carved marks upon the rocks, like a connoisseur appraising a collection of fine art.

A flash of memory passed through Steven’s deep cerulean eyes.

“Did the King of Kalos really build the ultimate weapon using these stones, together with the strength of Yveltal and Xerneas...?”

That was a legendary story known to every household in the Kalos Region.

A thousand years ago, the king of Kalos, grieving for his beloved Floette, constructed the ultimate weapon—a machine that embodied both life and death.

By condemning countless Pokémon of Kalos to perish, he brought back the undying, eternal flower—his Floette.

But Floette could not forgive the king’s actions and chose to leave.

Torn apart by grief, yet rendered immortal by the weapon, the king wandered for nearly a thousand years to atone for his sins.

In the romantic Kalos Region, even little girls knew this fairy tale—

Perhaps, that tall vagabond, rummaging through a dumpster in the town’s street, truly was a king from ages past.

The bleak wind swept through the stone forest.

Raising his head to the empty, open-air center of the ruins, encircled by monoliths, Steven almost saw the ultimate weapon, towering high into the clouds.

For a fleeting moment, Steven found he could empathize with the king of Kalos. Life and destruction, after all, was an unsolvable dilemma.

Beep beep beep.

A call flickered on his Pokémon Navigator.

Steven collected himself and answered with a slight smile, “What can I do for you, Natsume-sensei?”

On the screen appeared a handsome black-haired young man, with a mischievous Gengar sticking out its tongue and making faces behind him, trying to amuse Steven.

“Steven.”

Natsume grinned, “Are you free next week? Let’s go mining!”

A flash of surprise clipped through Steven’s gaze. “Have you discovered a new Mega Stone at the ruins?”

“No, it’s related to the Ores Kingdom.” Natsume explained, “The Carbink are migrating en masse right now. If we set out for the land of ores, we might discover something new.”

It was said the diamonds made by Carbink were time-limited, dispersing once their energy was spent.

Natsume’s mind wandered with possibilities.

Still, if he could obtain a diamond crafted by Diancie—a diamond that would never fade—and use it for a Moe-Moe! marriage proposal…

“Kalos Region... the legendary Ores Kingdom, is it?”

Steven’s eyes flickered, and he agreed briskly, “Understood. Next week I’ll come by your café so we can discuss concrete plans beforehand!”

Natsume paused.

Why did Steven suddenly sound fired up?

If the chairman of Kaiba Corp is obsessed with white dragons, then Steven must be all about Ores...

Casting a glance at the iconic stone forest behind the blue-haired man, Natsume asked casually:

“Are you in Geosenge Town?”

Geosenge Town—the site of the ultimate weapon’s debut in the Pokémon XY game; Lysandre’s secret base in the anime was also located here.

Lysandre, a descendant of the king’s brother, attempted to activate the weapon, and in both the game and special editions, even locked his ancestor away.

But the lion-headed villain was now behind bars, with no chance of trouble anymore.

“Yes.” Steven nodded lightly. “Natsume-sensei, do you know the legend of the king?”

“Hmm… Cynthia has many stories about him in her mythology collection.” Natsume answered.

“To be honest… it was only after hearing about the king and the ultimate weapon that I decided to visit Geosenge Town’s stone ruins myself.”

Steven frowned, “He was the culprit behind a great calamity, yet in Kalos he seems almost beloved…”

“That’s because, in ancient times, he led Kalos to victory in a war against Galar.”

A flash of dazzling gold appeared on the video call.

Cynthia stepped into view, raised a finger, and smiled, “That’s why the people of Kalos also call him a wise king.”

“But,” Cynthia continued, “the king’s Floette was lost in that battle… which is what led to the later events with the ultimate weapon.”

Galar versus Kalos—that must be a counterpart to England and France’s Hundred Years’ War, right?

Not that it mattered. Natsume turned his head to look at Cynthia.

“Aren’t you supposed to be playing video games with Togepi?”

“I just went to the fridge for some ice cream—would you like some?”

“No, thanks… don’t catch a cold.”

“Ahem!” Steven coughed, clenching his fist, to remind them he was still present.

“Enough, you two~” Cynthia twirled her finger, sounding like she’d dropped by just to check on things, her tone lazy. “If it’s Steven, then there’s no problem—you gentlemen carry on.”

Watching the slender silhouette of Moe-Moe! with her flowing golden hair,

Natsume fell quiet.

Was Moe-Moe! on guard against Joy or Jenny sneaking into the house…?

Natsume exchanged another glance with Steven on screen.

“This always happens when I call Ruby too,” Steven remarked.

Natsume gave a slight cough and returned to the topic. “Why did you suddenly bring up the king of Kalos?”

“I wanted your thoughts—about him, and the ultimate weapon.” Steven’s gaze flickered.

Natsume was silent for a long time before replying:

“I believe... he was never intended to wield the power of life and death. But he did atone for it, wandering in repentance for a thousand years.”

“When the king is finally released from his past,” Natsume added, “he and Floette will surely be reunited.”

“The king, wandering a thousand years, reunited at last with the eternal flower...”

Steven appeared lost in thought. “By the way, Natsume-sensei, I found two Z-Crystals at the local market here in Geosenge Town. They might come in handy for your trip.”

The life-and-death energies around Geosenge Town were especially strong, so traveling vendors from Alola had brought Fairium Z and Darkinium Z hoping to find wealthy buyers.

Steven had already heard back in Hoenn that Natsume-sensei collected Z-Crystals, so he kept a lookout.

After hearing the story, Natsume was torn—curious and just a little tempted: “Which two Z-Crystals?”

Honestly, what Natsume-sensei wanted most right now was Psychium Z, to enhance Gengar’s Hypnosis.

After all, the Pixie Plate quest was sure to be perilous.

Forget worrying about embarrassing dances—it was all about improving the odds of survival!

“One is Darkinium Z, the other is Fairium Z,” Steven said.

Natsume’s eyebrow arched.

Darkinium Z’s move is “Black Hole Eclipse,” and Fairium Z’s move is “Twinkle Tackle.”

From the names alone, you could tell: one embodied destruction, the other cuteness.

Darkinium Z’s move wasn’t awkward at all; you just had to raise your arms, both Gladion and James had used it.

Besides, it even worked if combined with Gengar’s somewhat illegal version of Dark Void—

Darkinium Z might just become his first ever Z-Move!

As for Fairium Z, it could be given to Sylveon, its Fairy Pulse would be a big boost for Sylveon’s training.

Natsume: “If possible, sell me those two Z-Crystals, Steven.”

As a board member of the Pokémon Company, Natsume had long since gone from rags to riches. Those days of owing Moe-Moe! millions were never coming back.

Then again, Cynthia hadn’t been champion all these years for nothing either.

If the company ever went bankrupt, he’d just have to go back to mooching off his wealthy patron…

“Of course that’s no problem.” Steven smiled, “I’ll keep an eye out for other Z-Crystals for you, Natsume-sensei.”

“The real prize is Psychium Z!” Natsume reminded.

“You want to power up Gengar’s Psychic?”

“No… I want to boost Gengar’s Hypnosis Z.”

Steven’s favorite move is Steel Wing; Natsume’s is Hypnosis.

Gengar hypnotizes, Darkrai brings nightmares, Meloetta sings to deepen the dream.

This… is Natsume-sensei’s Infinite Tsukuyomi! (just kidding)

……

The next day, Steven had the brilliantly gleaming Darkinium Z and Fairium Z delivered to the house.

The delivery guy was a familiar face—Delibird.

With a look of utmost seriousness, Delibird pulled the package out of its bag, dusted it off, and presented it to Natsume with both wings.

“Delibird!”

“Thank you so much.” Natsume smiled.

“Delibird~” Delibird scratched its head shyly.

“I’ll share some cake made by Alcremie with you—Indeedee, Meowstic, you two come have a seat as well!”

Afternoon tea was spent quietly, surrounded by Pokémon, immersed in warmth and comfort.

The date for setting out to the Ores Kingdom had been chosen: three days later.

Before that, Natsume planned to find a secluded place and practice the Darkinium Z routine until it felt natural.

Darkinium Z’s move was “Black Hole Eclipse,” allowing Gengar to empower his damaging and somewhat illicit “Dark Void.”

Moreover, according to the anime rule set, a Z-Crystal is worn by the Trainer and doesn’t take up an Item slot.

A Mega Stone, on the other hand, is held by the Pokémon.

This also meant… outside official tournaments, both Mega Evolution and a Z-Move could be triggered simultaneously!

Of course, that was assuming Victini provided enough energy so the Trainer didn’t drop on the spot.

“Mega Gengar’s Dark Void can crush Arceus’s avatar.”

Natsume gazed up at the sky. “So, if I use the enhanced version of Dark Void on the newly revived Yveltal, that’s totally justified, right?”

From the shadows, Darkrai, half-choked on a Pokéblock, felt its eyelid start twitching rapidly.

Uh-oh—this trip was shaping up to be seriously bad news!