Chapter 4: The Ripple of Origin

“Awoo!”
One of the large wolfdogs surrounding Ralts suddenly lifted its head and sniffed the air, its fierce gaze instantly locking onto the direction of the thicket.
Another wolfdog reacted even more dramatically—it opened its mouth wide and fired a Shadow Ball straight at the bushes.
The dark purple energy orb struck with such speed that Hu Yang didn’t even have time to react; he only felt a heavy blow to his chest.
Damn it! He had only come to ask for directions, did they really have to be so vicious?
The sudden commotion caught the attention of the two men, who quickly shifted their gaze to Hu Yang, now sprawled on the ground after being hit.
A low growl rumbled from the wolfdog’s throat as it pressed its powerful forepaw against Hu Yang’s chest, glaring at him with hostility.
“Caw!”
Upon seeing Hu Yang attacked, the ancient moonbird’s expression finally changed. A white light shone in its eyes, and in the next second, blue rings appeared out of thin air around its body.
The air grew restless, and an indescribable sense of pressure filled the world.
“What is that?!” The man behind the wolfdog was truly shocked by the scene unfolding before him.
That creature—its oppressive move… he had never seen anything like it!
No one answered, because in the next instant, countless dazzling cyan-white beams shot out from the blue rings around the ancient moonbird, raining down precise, indiscriminate strikes upon both wolfdogs.
Hu Yang was stunned.
Wasn’t that Kyogre’s Origin Pulse?!
The scene reflected in Ralts’ eyes—it looked at Hu Yang, and Hu Yang looked at the ancient moonbird.
One second, two seconds, three.
The wide area before them visibly changed under the beams.
Trees and grass—plants in the region decomposed, destroyed, and obliterated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Both wolfdogs were left in a near-death state.
Once calm returned, Hu Yang couldn’t help but swallow hard.
The power of Origin Pulse was simply outrageous!
He rose and looked at the ancient moonbird.
After using the move, the ancient moonbird returned to its dazed, silly demeanor, standing once again on his shoulder.
The two men snapped out of their shock, their faces full of terror as they looked at the ancient moonbird.
That attack, which covered such a wide area, had missed them by the width of a palm.
Seeing the wolfdogs instantly taken down, they dared not imagine what would happen to a human hit by that move!

At that thought, the two men exchanged glances and turned to flee.
But at that moment, a figure with an aura of cold, proud elegance appeared out of thin air, blocking their escape.
It was Gardevoir!
A blue light shone in Gardevoir’s eyes, and, furious, it used its psychic powers to lift both men from the ground and hurl them hard against a thick tree trunk.
Two muffled groans sounded, and they instantly fell unconscious.
So fast…
Hu Yang hadn’t even reacted yet when a flash of white light appeared above him—Gardevoir had teleported directly overhead.
Psychic energy condensed rapidly into a tangible blade of light, poised to strike. Suddenly, a small figure stepped between Gardevoir and Hu Yang.
Hu Yang quickly put distance between himself and the dangerous Gardevoir.
Ralts, anxious, said something to Gardevoir.
After a moment, the psychic blade before Gardevoir vanished, and she abandoned her attack, instead looking sternly at Ralts, like a mother scolding her daughter.
Ralts let out a soft cry, glanced back at Hu Yang, then teleported away with her mother.
“Phew…”
Seeing this, Hu Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
Clearly, Gardevoir had just mistaken him for being in league with those two men.
The world of Pokémon was far too dangerous; he had only wanted to ask for directions!
Hu Yang turned to the ancient moonbird.
So, was his being attacked what triggered the ancient moonbird’s automatic protection mechanism?
“Can you use Origin Pulse again?” Hu Yang tried.
“Caw?” The ancient moonbird held its head with its wings, staring at him blankly.
Hu Yang: “…”
He gave up on communication and went to check on the two wolfdogs.
[Species: Wolfdog ♂]
Type: Dark
Ability: Overconfidence
Base stats: 420 (HP: 70, Attack: 90, Defense: 70, Special Attack: 60, Special Defense: 60, Speed: 70)
Known moves: Crunch, Thief, Sand Attack, Roar, Shadow Ball
Current status: Unconscious, unable to perceive

Physical condition: Seriously injured (unable to battle, cannot recover automatically)
Near death (will die without treatment)
Friendliness: -50 (Warning! It sees you as an enemy and may attack at any time)
One hit KO and such overwhelming destructive power…
Even Hu Yang was shocked by the performance of this magical Pokémon he had personally modified.
All six base stats maxed out, even higher than Eternatus, the Pokémon with the highest base stats.
Such an absurd creation, only possible in the game, made him, as its creator, feel the need to apologize to Game Freak!
If only the ancient moonbird could communicate with him—Hu Yang thought with some regret.
Deeply aware of the moonbird’s destructive capability, Hu Yang stood and walked over to the two humans knocked out by Gardevoir.
He checked their breathing to confirm they were alive, then stripped off their shirts, twisted them into ropes, and tied them to two trees.
He then searched their bodies, laying out the items he found from largest to smallest on the ground.
Two empty standard Poké Balls, a black communication device resembling a walkie-talkie, several bottles of spray-type healing medicine, a wallet containing Alliance coins, and a ticket for a ship to Slateport City.
“Slateport City… so this is the Hoenn region?” Hu Yang mused as he looked at the ticket.
Then these two—are they members of Team Magma or Team Aqua?
Doesn’t seem like it—Hu Yang recalled their uniforms were different.
At that moment, the walkie-talkie-like device suddenly emitted static, followed by a woman’s voice: “Takehara, have you succeeded? The auction is ready; all we need now is your Ralts!”
Hu Yang did not reply.
The voice sensed something was wrong: “Takehara?”
“He’s asleep,” Hu Yang said in a low voice. “If you have something to say, say it to me.”
“???” The voice grew wary, and after realizing something was wrong, quickly hung up.
Just then, one of the men’s eyelids twitched.
Hu Yang set down the device and warned, “Keep pretending, and I won’t mind shoving this dead fish up your backside.”
Devil!
The man’s eyes snapped open. Seeing the fish with upturned eyes, he felt a chill below, glanced warily at the ancient moonbird on Hu Yang’s shoulder, and asked, “What do you want?”
“Simple. Answer my questions.”