The fairy aura around Florges surged wildly, like drifting clouds of ethereal energy swirling around her.
Empowered by the fairy aura, Florges fired a silver beam using the power of the moon toward the Guzzlord, but the two arm-like appendages with mouths that extended from the Guzzlord's abdomen directly bit through her attack.
This Guzzlord could wield those two arms with remarkable agility. Most of Florges's attacks were blocked by them—the biting force of those two mouths was far from ordinary.
Over on the other side, Ninetales had used Sunny Day during its battle with Beedrill, allowing Florges to seize the opportunity and unleash a Solar Beam. A massive pillar of golden light instantly engulfed the Guzzlord.
The pillar of light formed by Solar Beam was too thick; this time, the Guzzlord's two arm-like appendages failed to stop the attack, and its silhouette vanished within the golden light.
Just as Yuga thought this attack had finally worked, the golden light pillar, which had yet to dissipate, suddenly transformed into a golden vortex.
The golden vortex grew smaller and smaller, and the Guzzlord's figure reappeared—it looked almost completely unscathed. The golden pillar of light produced by Solar Beam had actually been absorbed by the giant belly-mouth on its abdomen. That golden vortex just now was the suction force generated as it absorbed the energy.
Seeing Yuga's stunned expression, Giovanni smiled and said, "Shimizu Yuga, you are indeed strong—stronger than I ever imagined. But… you're too young."
After speaking, Giovanni gave another order to the Guzzlord: "Guzzlord, Belch!"
"Burrrrp~"
The Guzzlord let out a deafening burp in response, and a surge of purple energy burst violently from the large mouth on its belly.
Belch is a very special move—as the name suggests, it requires the user to have consumed a berry and be full before it can be used. While its use has limitations, its power is undeniably great.
The Guzzlord clearly hadn't eaten a berry, but it used its unique ability to treat the Solar Beam's energy as a substitute for the berry's energy, achieving the same effect.
Seeing the surging wave of purple energy, Florges swept her arms, and countless vines shot up from the ground, weaving themselves into layered wooden walls in an attempt to block the energy wave.
However, as a Poison-type move, the energy wave formed by Belch carried a strong corrosive effect—the wooden walls in front of it were corroded in the blink of an eye.
Poison restrains Grass. In no time, all the wooden walls were broken and fragmented. Fortunately, the wave had expended part of its power in the process, and its force was no longer as overwhelming as before.
While the wooden walls were holding off the energy wave, Yuga and Florges instinctively dodged to the side. However, the energy wave's speed was beyond their expectations—it reached them before they could escape its range.
At the moment the energy wave surged toward them, Florges used a vine whip to lash around Yuga's waist and flung him far away, getting him out of the energy wave's path. But she herself was hit.
"Florges~!"
"Ah!!"
Yuga and Florges let out screams at the same time—Yuga from the hard landing, and Florges from being struck by a Poison-type move that directly countered her.
As soon as Florges was injured, the grassy terrain beneath her began to channel threads of healing energy into her body. Yuga, ignoring his pain, hurriedly climbed up from the ground and released a burst of healing energy onto Florges.
Florges already had excellent special defense, and with the dual healing from the grassy terrain and Yuga's special ability, her condition stabilized almost immediately.
With Florges at a disadvantage, Yuga couldn't help but turn his head to look at Solgaleo. But Solgaleo still lay prone on the ground, clearly not yet revived—its Revival Herb hadn't fully taken effect.
"Guzzlord, Heavy Slam!"
Since a single hit hadn't taken Florges down, Giovanni decided to press the advantage. Under his command, the Guzzlord turned into a meatball the size of a small mountain and used Heavy Slam to roll toward Florges, causing the ground to tremble wherever it went.
There was no helping it—this Guzzlord was just too heavy.
"Florges~!"
The Guzzlord unleashed its ultimate move, and Florges was left with no choice but to go all out as well. Her entire body radiated dazzling light, and a sapling suddenly burst from the ground beneath her feet. The sapling grew taller and taller, and in the blink of an eye, it had lifted her into the sky.
Before the Guzzlord could charge up to Florges, the little sapling had already grown into a towering giant tree.
Boom!!!
The Guzzlord crashed headlong into the trunk of the massive tree. A cracking sound echoed out as a fracture appeared along the trunk. However, with the rapid surge of Grass-type energy, the crack was healed in the blink of an eye—after all, the giant tree was not a real plant but a manifestation of Grass-type energy.
"Florges~"
Florges sat firmly atop the tree's crown. With a wave of her arm, countless giant branches frantically grew, transforming into sharp swords that stabbed fiercely down at the Guzzlord below.
"Roar~"
Though the Guzzlord had thick skin and tough flesh, it couldn't withstand the simultaneous onslaught of so many branches. As the branches pierced into its body, Florges used Giga Drain, channeling energy through the branches and draining it directly from the Guzzlord into herself.
Her injuries recovered even faster with the influx of energy from the Guzzlord. Combined with the earlier healing from Yuga and the Grassy Terrain, she was soon fully restored.
"Roar~ Roar~ Roar~"
Florges's Giga Drain didn't last very long. The Guzzlord, now utterly enraged, unleashed a Normal-type ultimate move: Thrash. Its two arm-like limbs with mouths bit furiously at the branches embedded in its body, chewing through them in no time.
Once freed from the branches, it began ramming the tree trunk with Thrash, causing the massive tree to sway violently from side to side.
Suddenly, a silver moon appeared behind Florges. Holy moonlight poured down and, under her control, formed a silver beam of light that slammed hard into the Guzzlord.
"Roar~"
The Guzzlord, too focused on attacking the tree and dazed by the side effects of Thrash, was finally struck by Moonblast. It was sent flying backward, rolling several times on the ground before finally coming to a stop.
But Florges wasn't done yet. She cast Magical Leaf. The tree crown gently swayed, and countless green leaves detached and flew into the air, transforming into a storm of razor-sharp blades.
Yet Yuga had still underestimated Giovanni and the Guzzlord.
"Guzzlord, Gyro Ball!" Giovanni's voice rang out.
The Guzzlord's massive body began spinning rapidly, and the intense centrifugal force kicked up a billowing cloud of sand.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~
The blade-like leaves rained down like a violent storm, crashing into the Guzzlord and engulfing it. However, none of the blades could pierce its body—the whirlwind generated by its rapid spinning deflected them all.
Once all the Magical Leaves were scattered, the Guzzlord didn't stop. While still spinning, it bounced upward and crashed fiercely into the crown of the tree where Florges was seated.
"Florges~"
Startled by the Guzzlord's sudden move, Florges hastily conjured a defense. Clusters of green leaves merged together to form a massive cloud, which floated protectively in front of her.
The leafy cloud was soft and elastic. When the Guzzlord slammed into it, most of the impact was absorbed, and it rebounded away.
Boom~
The Guzzlord's round body crashed into the ground, creating a massive crater on impact.
"Guzzlord, charge up!"
Giovanni's voice echoed out once again, but just as his words fell, a sudden change occurred—the giant egg imprisoning Necrozma exploded, and Necrozma broke free.
"Roar~"
Necrozma, having regained its freedom, became abnormally furious. Perhaps the memory of its days of imprisonment came rushing back to it, driving it into a frenzy—whatever little rationality it had left was now completely gone.
Giovanni was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He had never expected Necrozma to break through the seal of the Giant Egg. After all, Carol's inventions had always been incredibly reliable.
In truth, Giovanni didn't know that the Giant Egg was just a replica created by Carol. Carol never truly mastered the complete manufacturing technology of the original Giant Egg. A fake is still a fake—its functions simply couldn't compare to the original. And so, it failed spectacularly.
"Roar~"
The enraged Necrozma unleashed its signature move, Prismatic Laser. Countless purple energy beams exploded from its body like fireworks, launching an indiscriminate attack on everyone and every Pokémon nearby.
Zing~
One beam struck Florges' giant tree. The tree instantly collapsed, dissolving into sparkling Grass-type energy particles that vanished into the air. Florges had no choice but to plummet from the tree.
Zing~
Another beam shot between the battling Ninetales and Beedrill, frightening them into quickly dodging apart.
Zing zing zing~
Necrozma's Prismatic Laser continued to erupt. Yuga and Giovanni had no choice but to halt their battle and flee for their lives. A single misstep could mean being hit by a beam—and that was no joke.
But when your luck is bad, even drinking cold water gets something stuck in your teeth. While fleeing, Ninetales was unfortunately struck by a beam, instantly losing the ability to battle. Quick on the uptake, Yuga immediately recalled it into its Poké Ball.
Gradually, the beams from Necrozma's outburst became denser and harder to dodge.
Faced with this situation, Yuga was in a real headache. With Ninetales down and Solgaleo not yet recovered, once Necrozma's outburst ended, he'd be left at Giovanni's mercy.
No way. This can't go on!
After thinking for a long time, Yuga gritted his teeth and took out the cylinder. He decided to go all in and stir the pot even further.
Since Necrozma wanted the cylinder so badly, then let it have it!
No matter how powerful Necrozma was right now, this level of outburst couldn't last forever. Once it ended and with Ninetales incapacitated, it was questionable whether he'd be able to hold off Giovanni.
Giovanni's target was Necrozma, so the stronger Necrozma got, the harder it would be for Giovanni to succeed.
There was no doubt that the cylinder was beneficial to Necrozma—otherwise, it wouldn't be so desperate for it.
With that in mind, Yuga opened the box and hurled the cylinder directly at Necrozma.
The moment the cylinder appeared, Necrozma's rampage abruptly ceased as it quickly caught the cylinder.
Seeing this, a very bad feeling suddenly rose in Giovanni's heart.
The instant Necrozma touched the cylinder, the item that even Yuga couldn't destroy shattered on its own. A star-like purple light shot out from within, zipped into Necrozma's forehead, and then Necrozma's entire body began to radiate vast golden light.
As the golden brilliance faded slightly, an entirely new Pokémon appeared before Yuga and Giovanni. It radiated an aura of nobility and compassion. Circles of glowing rings around it made it look utterly divine.
Only upon seeing this Pokémon did Yuga and Giovanni finally understand why legends referred to Necrozma as the Radiant One.
In fact, what was inside the cylinder was Necrozma's core. The reason Necrozma had transformed from the Radiant One into what it was now was because its core had been taken by the people of Ultra Megalopolis long ago.
When Necrozma destroyed Ultra Megalopolis, its leaders realized something was wrong and planned to escape with its core. However, they didn't expect Necrozma to simply wipe out all humans in the city, and so they perished along with everyone else.
The core, sealed in a specially made box, was right nearby the whole time, but Necrozma never found it—until it was accidentally discovered years later by a Chimecho.
The Radiant One, or Ultra Necrozma as it is known in the Ultra Space, held a status equivalent to Arceus in the Pokémon world. Its core was like Arceus' plates. Without the core, it lost the ability to illuminate the Ultra Space.
Buzz~
Ultra Necrozma suddenly ascended high into the sky, hanging there like a sun suspended above the heavens. Immediately, Yuga felt a warm radiance shine down on him. Even his two special abilities—the blessing of Celebi and the King of Ghost—were enhanced.
Giovanni felt the same. In fact, Giovanni was also a holder of special powers. He possessed the power of Viridian, which in essence shared the same origin as Yuga's Celebi blessing—though few people knew this secret.
Bathed in the radiance, the Ultra Space devastated by Necrozma began to spring back to life. Vast fields of plants began to grow again, and the soil turned fertile. In the blink of an eye, this previously barren space became a vibrant paradise.
While Yuga was still shocked by Ultra Necrozma's miraculous powers and strength, Giovanni had already regained his composure. Looking at the Radiant One, now several times stronger than before, he decisively recalled Beedrill and Guzzlord, then used his communicator to issue orders to Marori, Carol, and the others.
"Retreat!"
Giovanni was a very decisive person. He understood just how powerful a being like the Radiant One was. Once he realized the plan had failed, he chose to retreat immediately to minimize losses.
By the time Yuga noticed Giovanni's actions, Giovanni had already vanished—Yuga didn't even get the chance to stop him.
In fact, even if he had the chance, Yuga wouldn't have tried to stop him. Just like Giovanni couldn't do anything to Yuga, Yuga couldn't do anything to Giovanni either.
Since he couldn't keep the man here, why waste the effort?