"It's happening!"
Butler's eyes lit up instantly.
Tabitha and Brodie also put away their casual expressions and stared intently at the surroundings.
Very soon, strange phenomena began occurring one after another.
The dense forest and lush vegetation around them seemed to have all their vitality forcibly drained away by some invisible force.
Leaves visibly yellowed and withered at a speed the naked eye could perceive. The grass rapidly lost moisture, turning dry, brittle, and lifeless.
In only a few minutes, the entire area transformed into a desolate wasteland swept clean by autumn winds.
The moment he witnessed this scene, an excited glow erupted from Butler's eyes. He quickly strode to the other side of the metal platform and pressed a concealed switch.
Part of the platform slowly rose upward, revealing a dark crimson stone roughly the size of a human head. A faint "Ω" symbol shimmered across its surface while scorching heat radiated from within.
The moment Brodie saw the stone, his eyes widened immediately. He could not help muttering to himself:
"What a waste… I was only one step too late back then, otherwise this thing would've belonged to me."
He stared greedily at the massive crimson stone.
"A piece this big… if my Camerupt absorbed it, its strength would definitely skyrocket. If my contribution points hadn't been lacking back then, how could you have gotten your hands on it first, Butler?"
Tabitha quickly lowered his voice and tried to calm him down.
"Alright, alright, Brodie. Your Camerupt has already absorbed fragments before, hasn't it? What difference does the size make?"
"Besides, the boss distributes some fragment stones shed during Groudon's dormant growth period every year. There's no need to keep holding a grudge against Butler over this."
Brodie curled his lips and said nothing more, though his gaze remained firmly locked onto the dark crimson stone.
During the short exchange between the two, Butler had already activated another switch on the metal platform.
The massive crimson stone slowly descended and accurately dropped into the center of the red energy pillar below.
BOOM!
The red beam instantly surged violently in intensity, crashing against the crimson stone and gradually forcing it deeper underground.
As the stone sank lower and lower, the trembling of the earth became increasingly violent.
In the next instant, the entire land began shaking intensely.
The area of withering forest rapidly expanded outward. Hundreds of miles of mountain woodland seemed to have their life force completely drained in a single moment, turning into a dead and silent land.
At the location where the crimson stone had sunk, the ground itself actually began melting.
Scorching magma burst from the cracks in the earth, flames soaring into the sky and dyeing the night a terrifying red.
The fire and magma flowed across the ground like living veins, quickly outlining an enormous, incomprehensible, mysterious pattern over the earth itself, radiating a heart trembling aura.
Countless wild Pokémon were thoroughly alarmed by the ominous energy surging beneath the ground and began fleeing in panic.
Flygon shot into the sky with frantic wingbeats. Swablu scattered in confusion. Nuzleaf leapt desperately through the forest. Electrike barked anxiously as they ran wildly about. Tropius stirred violent currents with its huge wings as it escaped into the air. Linoone sprinted frantically across the ground…
The once peaceful jungle instantly descended into total chaos, filled with endless cries of terror and panic.
"It succeeded… the energy guidance succeeded!"
Butler stared at the scene before him, trembling with excitement. He spread both arms wide as though embracing this immense power itself.
"Jirachi… the power of the Millennium Comet… will soon belong to me!"
Tabitha and Brodie stood at the edge of the platform, blankly staring at the nearly apocalyptic landscape before them. They exchanged glances, unable to conceal the shock on their faces.
Meanwhile, deep within the sinkhole canyon below, Absol, imprisoned inside the cage, had already sensed the disturbance deep beneath the earth with its keen instincts.
It let out increasingly sharp and miserable roars, slamming its body against the sturdy steel bars again and again. Its scythe shaped horn scraped against the cage, sending brilliant sparks flying.
Within those sharp eyes surged profound pain and despair.
It could clearly feel it.
The life of Forina was being violently drained away.
...
At the same time, back at the campsite near the amusement park, the tents remained quiet in the middle of the night.
Theo was holding the sleeping Jirachi in his arms when the little Pokémon suddenly began trembling violently.
Soft light continuously spilled from its body, rapidly illuminating the once dim tent with a radiant glow.
Tiny, painful sobs quietly escaped from Jirachi's mouth.
"Wuu… wuu… Forina is crying… home… home… my home…"
The commotion quickly woke everyone.
Ash, Brock, May, and Max all awakened one after another and hurried over to Jirachi's side, their faces filled with worry.
Theo's heart tightened instantly.
He immediately stood up and carefully hugged Jirachi tighter in his arms, gently wiping away the tears continuously sliding from the corners of its eyes as he softly comforted it.
"What's wrong, Jirachi? Don't cry. Tell me slowly. What happened?"
While speaking gently, he carefully stroked its back, trying to calm it down.
But Jirachi only trembled harder and harder.
Its tiny body curled into a ball as it mumbled indistinctly.
"Danger… home… I want to go home…"
Theo's heart sank straight to the bottom.
Even though Jirachi had never been captured by Butler, such an abnormal situation had still appeared. In Jirachi's current condition, something major had undoubtedly happened in Forina.
Without hesitation, Theo rushed out of the tent while holding Jirachi tightly and looked toward the direction of the deep mountains.
The night sky there was far darker than elsewhere, and faint flashes of eerie crimson light flickered in the distance, resonating with Jirachi's anxiety.
Suddenly, as though drawn by some mysterious force, Jirachi's tiny body slowly began floating toward the direction of the Forina mountains.
"Jirachi!"
Theo hurriedly grabbed and held it tightly.
"I'll go with you. We'll go check it out right now, okay? Don't cry anymore. I'm here."
Hearing Theo's words, Jirachi's trembling eased slightly, though it still whimpered softly while tightly clutching the front of his clothes with its tiny hands.
Theo no longer hesitated.
He quickly recalled Ice Vulpix, Fire Vulpix, and Larvitar into their Poké Balls before releasing Volcarona.
Volcarona spread its wings, the flame patterns across its three pairs of wings glowing in the darkness and radiating a warm, reliable aura.
"Ash, Brock, May, Max."
Theo turned around, his expression serious as he looked at them.
"The situation may be dangerous. Jirachi sensed something happened to its home. I have to accompany it there and see what's going on. You all stay here. Once I resolve everything, I'll bring Jirachi back to see you."
"No way!"
Ash immediately rejected the idea without the slightest hesitation as he released Charizard.
Charizard let out a loud dragonlike roar, spreading its massive wings before patting its own chest confidently with a claw, as though saying, "I can help too."
"How can we let you go alone? Jirachi is our friend too!"
"When a friend is in danger, how could we possibly stand by and do nothing?"
"At a time like this, there's no way I'd abandon my friends!"
(End of Chapter)