Chapter 9: Bill's Laboratory, A Shocking Battle! (5k)

Looking at Bill before her, Cynthia suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

As expected, most of these researchers had somewhat abnormal thought processes.

She had heard that back in the day, Professor Oak was supposedly just like this when he was young, though rumor had it that his symptoms were relatively mild.

Even so, it was said that Professor Oak had still done plenty of foolish things in his youth.

For instance, trying to use his Charizard's tail for a barbecue, which accidentally ended up setting the entire house on fire.

However, now was not the time to be dwelling on such things; the absolute priority at the moment was resurrecting the fossil!

Cynthia's gaze sharpened as she used the interactive prompt to retrieve that specific fossil directly from her backpack, placing it right in front of Bill.

"Is this the active fossil you were talking about?"

At those words, the moment Bill's eyes landed on the fossil in Cynthia's hands, he froze completely in place. The next instant, he tossed the machine he was holding off to the side and lunged straight toward the fossil!

"This is it! This is exactly what I've been looking for!! Ah哈哈哈!!!"

He sprawled flat on the ground, hugging the fossil tightly. Overcome by an extreme level of excitement, he burst into a somewhat eerie, manic laughter, looking completely different from how he had just appeared.

After several dozen seconds, Bill suddenly seemed to realize something. He looked up at Cynthia, his face flushed red as he scrambled up from the floor and gave a light cough.

"My dear... young lady, you've really done me a massive favor. I've been searching for this thing for nearly ten years with nothing to show for it! Where on earth did you find this gadget?"

"No, none of that is really important anymore. This fossil... can you sell it to me? Or I can help you resurrect it! Please!"

He pressed his palms together in supplication and bowed deeply to Cynthia.

Without a doubt, Bill's request happened to play right into Cynthia's wishes.

She nodded.

"Please help me resurrect it. I'd also like to see what this ancient Pokémon looks like."

Bill's entire face turned red all over again—the red of pure excitement.

Who knew where he suddenly found the strength, but he actually picked up the half-meter-tall fossil with his bare hands and bolted toward the direction of the town.

"Please follow me!"

And just like that, Cynthia followed Bill all the way back to the front of that dilapidated little cottage.

"This is my research institute... even though it looks pretty ordinary... uh, but the equipment inside is actually quite complete."

Bill set the fossil down on the ground and pulled out a key to unlock the door. The sight that greeted Cynthia inside the house immediately caught her somewhat by surprise—

Although the wooden cabin was not large, the interior was kept impeccably neat and orderly. Seven or eight pieces of equipment stood neatly arranged in the room, while stack upon stack of reference materials and various classical tomes were tidily organized on a bookshelf off to the side.

It seemed this Bill genuinely possessed a certain level of genuine scientific research capability.

While Cynthia was pondering this, Bill carried the fossil straight over to a massive ring-shaped machine and placed the fossil right inside it.

The machine instantly erupted with a roaring mechanical whir, and streams of data began rapidly materializing on the screen beside it.

"This is the fossil resurrection machine I developed. By extracting the genes and residual living matter from within the active fossil, it can restore this ancient Pokémon to its original appearance and create and cultivate a brand-new body for it."

"You might feel that rather than resurrecting these fossil Pokémon, this is more like creating entirely new life... but that's only because your fossil was already 'alive' to begin with; I'm merely using this method to awaken it."

As Bill spoke, hundreds of lines of data finished loading on the screen, and a holographic projection suddenly appeared.

An excited expression bloomed across Bill's face as well.

"It's coming!"

The next moment, the holographic projection began to gradually solidify.

The outline of a Pokémon distinctly emerged before Cynthia's eyes.

—This fellow possessed a massive build; its huge, fish-like head featured a terrifyingly cavernous maw, while its lower body looked somewhat like that of a bipedal Dragon-type Pokémon.

If this was truly what that fossil Pokémon looked like, then its design was certainly rather extraordinary...

The stream viewers watching this Pokémon's appearance also began discussing it eagerly.

[Ah, what a complete letdown. It ends up looking like this, huh...]

[I know I shouldn't say this, but it really is super ugly.]

[Show some respect. Based on my experience, the uglier a Pokémon is, the stronger its power!]

[Does that mean Jynx is super strong too?]

[......]

Everyone's focus remained fixed on the appearance of the fossil Pokémon, whereas Cynthia was currently contemplating an entirely different matter.

—Whether it was Archen or Cradily previously, both possessed their own specialized abilities and traits, so what about the situation of this fossil Pokémon?

Judging from its exterior, perhaps its defensive capabilities were outstanding?

After all, this physique looked quite bulky and didn't seem like something capable of moving with high speed.

And that mouth certainly didn't look like it belonged to a vegetarian.

Then there was another possibility: could this fellow be just like Archen, boasting formidable physical attack power?

While Cynthia was lost in thought, Bill hurried over.

"Even though this is the first time I'm using this machine, I have absolute confidence and certainty that I can successfully help you resurrect this fossil Pokémon!"

"However, the resurrection process takes a very long time—at least two days... After all, cultivating genetic cells into an entirely brand-new body is no small feat, so you'll probably need to wait patiently."

Hearing this, Cynthia paused to think.

Two days in-game roughly corresponded to a few hours in the real world.

That meant she should probably be able to view all the information on this fossil Pokémon by tonight.

The answers to all her questions would finally be revealed at that moment.

"By the way, where did you find this fossil?"

Bill operated the machine for a moment, pressed a red button, and spoke up.

Cynthia then recounted to Bill the whole story of how she had discovered this fossil inside Granite Cave.

Upon hearing this, the latter stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"Petalburg's... cave, you say?"

"Given the geological environment of that place, it is indeed possible for active fossils to be produced, but the probability is truly minuscule... You're exceptionally lucky!"

At that point, he gave a light cough and his face turned red again.

"Uh... um, what you saw just now, could you please not mention it to anyone else."

"Rest assured, I'll keep my mouth shut about the fossil resurrection technology."

Cynthia replied immediately.

She understood that leaking technology of this caliber casually could very well attract the covetous eyes of people with malicious intentions.

Yet Bill hurriedly waved his hands.

"No, that's not what I meant. It's about what I looked like when I first saw the fossil."

"Trust me, I was just way too excited back then. I'm not like that normally! I'm very gentle and quiet!"

Gentle and quiet?

—Cynthia couldn't help recalling the description of Bill given by that child outside the Ash House earlier...

[That big brother is so terrifying; from time to time he just starts laughing maniacally all by himself, like he's lost his mind. Big sister, you must be careful if you meet him...]

Yet looking at Bill's utterly earnest expression, she could only say with a somewhat helpless sigh:

"Alright, I believe you."

Still, speaking of which...

Since the fossil had already been placed inside the resurrection machine, Cynthia suddenly recalled the other reason she had come to find Bill in the first place.

"I heard people say that you're knowledgeable about ancient artifacts?"

She pressed the interaction prompt and asked Bill.

A red exclamation mark instantly popped up above Bill's head.

"You even know about that? Indeed, that's true. Before I began researching fossils, my hobby was collecting all sorts of ancient objects and studying the history behind them."

"Could it be you have some kind of treasure on you?"

Cynthia didn't hesitate, taking the "Rusted Sword" directly out of her backpack and placing it before Bill.

"I got this from someone else. Could you help me take a look at it?"

Bill glanced at the battered, tattered sword, but instead of showing the contemptuous expression others might have, he instead looked instantly intrigued. He picked up the sword, examined it closely from every angle, and a light of excitement directly ignited in his eyes:

"If I'm not mistaken, this sword shouldn't melt no matter how you burn it, right?"

Hearing this, Cynthia was stunned for a moment.

—How did he know?

Just as astonishment flared in her heart, she heard Bill push up the glasses on his bridge and continue speaking.

"That's because the material used to forge this sword... is an ore called 'Worry Seed' [Note: keeping literal translation contextually appropriate to the raw '契石' / Oath Stone / Keystones / Spiritomb vessel stone terminology, translated as Spirit Stone or Binding Stone]—ah, let's use the correct term: a Spirit Stone, rather than iron."

"This kind of stone is produced in the snowy mountain ranges of the Galar region... the quantities are extremely scarce and quite rare."

The Galar region?

Cynthia caught this unfamiliar regional name and froze for a second.

Before she even had a chance to press him for details, Bill's explanatory voice followed right after:

"Its first characteristic is that it is incomparably sturdy, making it extremely difficult to destroy through external force, while also possessing an exceptionally high melting point. Special methods are required to liquefy it in order to forge objects."

"As for the second characteristic—"

Bill suddenly picked up the Rusted Sword and gave it two fierce swings.

The battered, ruined blade actually did not shed any fragments from the violent motion; instead, it burst forth with a strange, resonant hum.

Though not overly loud, it could still be clearly captured within the quiet room.

Bill continued in a ringing voice:

"Objects forged from Spirit Stones can serve as a conduit, forming a space within themselves to seal Pokémon inside!"

"The sound you heard just now came from the seal upon this sword!"

"It's truly hard to believe... I had only ever seen stones like this in that book of creation tomes, to think I'd actually get to witness an item forged from it nowadays..."

The amount of information packed within Bill's statements was quite substantial, and it took Cynthia a good while to sort it all out.

"So, you're saying... there's a Pokémon sealed inside this sword??"

Bill nodded, snapping several photos of the sword before handing it back to Cynthia with a measure of lingering reluctance.

"Generally speaking, that's the case, though we can't completely rule out other possibilities—for instance, that what's sealed inside is some dangerous item, or something else entirely."

"If you want to break the seal, you'd need to repair this sword first, and then undo the ancient seal placed upon it."

"However, sealing technology like this was lost long ago... Coupled with the fact that this sword has already aged and rotted due to the passage of time, whatever is sealed inside could well be a dangerous Pokémon and not necessarily anything good, so you might as well just treat it as a collectible."

"Even though this sword looks battered like a piece of scrap iron and doesn't have much collectible value either..."

However, the moment Bill finished speaking... something occurred that Cynthia never could have anticipated!

That very piece of "scrap iron" suddenly flew right out of her hand and struck Bill firmly on the head with its hilt!

"Ouch!!"

Bill yelped in pain, whipping his head around. Locking eyes with the sword hovering mid-air in front of him, he first went blank for a second, then his eyes widened in absolute terror.

"Holy—holy crap, this thing is alive!!"

"There's a ghost!!"

Yet just as he readied himself to turn and bolt, the sword flipped vertically and gave his backside a sharp, heavy smack with the flat of the blade...

Stumbling from the blow and losing his footing, Bill tumbled onto his seat on the floor, while the sword performed a graceful loop in mid-air, looking remarkably pleased with itself.

Immediately afterward, it dropped back down into Cynthia's hand and gave a slight, subtle shiver.

The next instant, a dazzling blue radiance suddenly burst forth on the screen!

The screen went dark. Seeing this familiar scenario, both Cynthia and the viewers in her livestream audience realized one thing.

—The CG was back!

Sure enough, the next moment, the visuals appeared.

Yet what none of them expected was that this time, the CG opened with a scene resembling the end of the world itself!

—The deep crimson firmament was torn apart by an ominous purple radiance, twisted and shattered!

The camera panned downward.

A colossal, skeletal dragon-like Pokémon coiled over the ruins of a city, towering hundreds of meters high!!

Upon its deep purple and red-streaked body, black energy surged as if it could swallow all light. Two twisted giant claws in front of its chest clawed incessantly at the void, and beneath its overwhelming pressure, the surrounding space let out a painful groan...

With every breath exhaled by this silhouette, purple mists carrying an eerie glow poured endlessly from its body, steadily corroding the deep purple earth.

Wherever the encroaching mist passed, even the surrounding architecture instantly dissolved into dust!

Amidst the flames, the ruins, and the lethal poisonous fog...

The weeping and screaming of countless people rang out within the darkness, only to be swallowed up and extinguished by the giant dragon's piercing roar!

Beneath the crimson canopy of heaven, the entire world seemed to be marching toward its ultimate destruction!

A dense sense of despair instantly welled up in the heart of everyone watching the video; their bodies grew rigid, unable to breathe...

Even Cynthia's eyes widened as she stood frozen in place.

—What on earth... is this thing?!

At that moment, merely looking at the silhouette of that eerie Pokémon, she, a Champion, found herself unable to even command her own body to move...

And one had to remember—even that legendary Pokémon from before, Regirock, hadn't brought her this kind of feeling!

Just as shock rippled through Cynthia's heart, a sudden change occurred!

At the epicentre of this destruction, a pinpoint of azure radiance—like a star piercing the dark night—suddenly ignited!

That was a Pokémon clad in ancient battle armor resembling a majestic lion; clenched tightly in its jaws was a golden giant sword!

Facing the colossal calamity that blotted out the sky, those deep black eyes of its held not a shred of fear, only burning fighting spirit!

This brilliant radiance shining amidst the darkness naturally drew the attention of that entity in the distance.

"ROAR!!!!!!"

Accompanied by a heaven-shaking roar, from deep within the skeletal dragon's crimson core, a thick beam of light capable of piercing mountain ranges—wrapped in destructive energy like a breached purple torrent—poured down toward the tiny blue silhouette on the ground below!

Yet the split second before the destructive torrent could swallow everything—

That blue Pokémon moved!

Its figure transformed into a streak of blue lightning that tore through the purple fog, moving at a speed that transcended the limits of visual perception!

Such speed wasn't meant for dodging; rather, it was a head-on charge directly against that destructive beam of light!

The golden giant sword in its jaws hummed, erupting with a dazzling golden sword-light that eclipsed the sky!

BOOM!!!!!

A clash of metal echoing with a sound that seemed capable of cleaving spacetime resounded across the heavens and earth!

That pillar of destruction was actually cut clean in half by that golden sword-light!!

Simultaneously, the blue silhouette rode the sword-light upstream, leaping high into the air!

An azure brilliance that spanned the heavens and split light from darkness—bearing the sovereign majesty to purify all things... slashed downward with full force!!

In that instant, the intertwined light of gold and pale blue ignited the entire darkened world.

The imagery of this CG ultimately froze at this very climax.

The radiance slowly faded and gradually dissipated, returning to the game interface.

Silence reigned supreme inside the livestream room; the chat feed was completely blank.

Unlike the previous occasion in Granite Cave, this time, even long after the CG had concluded, not a single person posted a message.

After sitting stiffly for a long while, Cynthia's hurried gasps finally dragged her consciousness back to reality, and she realized with a start that those were actually the sounds of her own breathing!

Not only that, cold sweat had somehow soaked completely through her back...

At this moment, she finally pulled herself together.

So, what she had just witnessed... were two legendary Pokémon fighting each other??

Moreover, those were definitely not ordinary legendary Pokémon; that kind of power, that kind of overwhelming presence...

What on earth was that?

Cynthia couldn't help asking herself the question once more in her heart.

Everyone remained immersed in a profound sense of shock, unable to extricate themselves.

At that moment, a few viewers in the livestream finally began to recover their senses.

Yet the messages they typed out in the chat were completely unanimous:

[?]

[???]

A sea of question marks fluttered wildly across the livestream room, filling the entire screen from top to bottom...

Meanwhile, using the thinking capacity she had barely managed to recover, Cynthia suddenly realized the most crucial question of all—

Why did the golden giant sword held in the jaws of that blue Pokémon from just now...

Look identical in shape to the sword she was currently holding in her own hands in the game?!

(Next chapter is being typed out right now!)