Chapter 597. Giant Pokémon

Hoopa wasn’t quite as amazing as Alex had imagined, yet it still proved to be far more impressive than expected. He and the girls had initially thought of Hoopa as some godlike Pokémon that could simply summon anything it wanted with a thought. While that wasn’t far from the truth, there were some prerequisites.

For one, Hoopa needed knowledge of a place before it could create a portal there. It also couldn’t simply take anything it wanted on a whim. The fact that it only needed knowledge of a location without requiring exact spatial coordinates was impressive in itself. It was almost like having a built-in search function that worked anywhere in the multiverse.

The biggest oversight was assuming that Hoopa could summon anything that looked the same. In reality, it couldn’t simply pull metal from underground, meaning it couldn’t summon raw materials whenever they were needed. The gold it had been producing was likely stolen from humans and gathered somewhere. No, to be more accurate, Hoopa had probably found a treasure room and created a portal between it and its current location, allowing it to steal everything inside.

That wouldn’t work for the Pokémetal Alex and the girls wanted. There was no massive pile of it somewhere for Hoopa to access. They actually had to dig it out of the ground.

With that in mind, Alex and Sable took off for Pokopia. They headed into the mountain ranges and searched for Pokémetal, finding plenty of deposits to mine before bringing everything back and handing it over to Rhea for processing.

That being said, Hoopa was still as amazing as expected with only a few extra steps. In addition, as a combatant, it was exceedingly powerful.

Name: Hoopa (Unbound), Champion lvl 90

Type: Psychic Dark

Ability: Magician

Moves:

Novice: Skitter Smack, Thief, Fling, Foul Play, Taunt, Lash Out, Throat Chop, Thunder Punch, Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Brick Break, Drain Punch, Focus Blast, Focus Punch, Sunny Day, Fire Punch, Grass Knot, Energy Ball, Ice Punch, Take Down, Scary Face, Protect, Facade, Swift, Endure, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Tera Blast, Psych Up, Gunk Shot, Psyshock, Reflect, Rest, Calm Mind, Psychic Terrain, Gravity, Future Sight, Expanding Force, Psychic Noise, Rock Tomb, Sandstorm, Rain Dance, Silver Wind, Charge Beam, Shadow Punch, Ominous Wind, Heal Block, Psychic Fangs, Dream Eater

Advanced:

(+50% Damage): Confusion, Psybeam, Dark Pulse, Psychic, Shadow Ball

(Effect Up +1): Destiny Bond, Ally Switch, Trick, Light Screen, Skill Swap, Guard Split, Power Split, Trick Room, Wonder Room, Nasty Plot

Expert:

(+100% Damage): Astonish, Knock Off, Hyperspace Fury, Phantom Force, Zen Headbutt

Description: Hoopa Unbound, the Djinn Pokémon. Its six powerful arms and immense strength allow it to manipulate its golden rings with incredible precision, opening portals that can connect distant locations across the world. In this form, Hoopa’s power over space becomes even greater, allowing it to transport massive objects and unleash devastating attacks through its portals.

Granted, that had nothing to do with its poor move proficiencies and everything to do with its ability to fight with all six arms at once. Even when limited to low-proficiency moves, Hoopa was still a force to be reckoned with. Hyperspace Fury was especially dangerous, as each use was guaranteed to hit, bypassed Protect shields, and struck six times, allowing Hoopa to easily take down any one of Alex’s Champions in a one-on-one fight.

However, that wasn’t how Alex planned to train Hoopa. It would take Hoopa 50 years to reach Master rank in all of its move proficiencies, and it would still need to focus on energy manipulation afterward to reach Master rank. Clearly, that wasn’t the best path forward for the lazy glutton.

Instead, it made more sense for Hoopa to reach Master rank through its familiarity with hyperdimensional energy, or more specifically, by mastering the use of its rings. Alex would therefore give Hoopa as many opportunities to use its powers as possible. Fortunately, that worked out perfectly for his own needs, since he regularly went on dimensional expeditions in search of new resources.

“Rotom, where are we?” Alex asked after traveling through the Prism Tower to another dimension.

“Analysis of the surrounding architecture indicates that we are in the Galar region approximately 3,000 years in the past,” Rotom replied.

Alex looked out over the medieval European-style town in front of him and couldn’t help but agree. It had the feel of a quiet countryside settlement, built beside a river that wound through the surrounding forest. To the east, the town opened into broad plains, while the forest stretched westward. More open plains extended to the north, while mountain ranges rose in the south.

The architecture was familiar enough to him, with rows of simple stone and timber houses lining narrow, muddy streets. Most of the people moving through the town appeared to be peasants, dressed in rough wool and linen as they went about their daily work. There were no paved roads, modern buildings, or signs of advanced technology anywhere in sight.

Guards stood at various points around the town, watching the streets with spears in hand. They wore simple leather armor, looking every bit like the guards of a medieval European settlement.

It was a surprisingly familiar sight, just with Pokémon mixed into the setting. Domesticated Pokémon moved freely alongside the people, with Wooloo grazing near the homes and being led through the streets, while Mudbray hauled carts and Chewtle provided drinking water. Other Pokémon helped with farm work, carried loads, or simply went about their daily lives alongside the people.

“Looks like another peaceful Pokémon world,” Alex said, shaking his head.

He had been hoping for a world with advanced technology or unique materials like Pokémetal, but dimensional expeditions were random. That was unfortunate for his current needs, but it was also necessary if he wanted to expand Hoopa’s usefulness. Even now, Hoopa was likely watching through the ring Alex wore as a necklace, allowing it to memorize the places he visited and giving them a way to communicate whenever necessary.

Suddenly, Alex felt a subtle vibration beneath his feet. It was faint at first, but it steadily grew stronger. Something was approaching, and whatever it was, it seemed incredibly heavy, with the earth trembling more violently with every approaching step.

“Rotom, check that out for me,” Alex said, taking out his phone.

A dozen quadcopters flew from his backpack and headed left toward the forest, where the vibrations were coming from. Meanwhile, his phone projected a holographic display showing multiple feeds from the drones.

They didn’t have to travel far. Once they gained enough altitude, the drones captured an astonishing sight. A 40-meter-tall Greedent was lumbering toward the medieval town, its head poking above the forest canopy. Every step sent its massive body crashing through the trees, felling them in its wake.

“Dynamax Pokémon?” Alex muttered, but something was strange.

It didn’t radiate the unstable red energy of a Dynamaxed Pokémon affected by Eternatus’s energy. This Greedent was just... massive. It was simply that large in its normal and perfectly stable form.

“Interesting,” Alex said with an intrigued smile. “Judging by its energy signature, it appears to be Expert ranked, but it’s obviously much more powerful than that. Probably Elite, if all it needs to do to destroy a building is bump into it.”

Pokémon ranks were determined more by the quality of their energy than the actual power or destructive effects they could produce, but this massive Pokémon seemed to contradict that understanding. It was just a really big Expert ranked Greedent.

“I wonder if it shrinks when it dies like a Dynamaxed Pokémon. If not...”

If not, that was a whole lot of Pokemon meat.

Alex quickly summoned Raticate’s attack team. He doubted the Greedent was a peaceful Pokemon, judging by the panic spreading through the village. This was clearly some kind of attack, which meant no one held responsibility for the damage. As a result, it was free game to hunt.

“Take it down fast,” Alex instructed.

Raticate and Arcanine immediately took off at Master ranked speed, while Ceruledge melded into their shadows. They were now Alex’s top hunting team, with Grim’s team, which had held first place for a while, relegated to second. After all, Grim’s team only had one Master ranked Pokémon.

Alex followed after them at Champion ranked speed, listening to the thunderous sounds of battle as he approached. By the time he arrived, however, the fight was already over. Greedent lay dead, a massive, fatal wound marking its forehead. It seemed Arcanine had finished it off with a devastating Close Combat.

“It’s not shrinking,” Alex noted, a widening smile spreading across his face. “With this, we won’t have to worry about feeding our Pokémon anymore. We’ll just need to hunt a few Master ranked Pokémon here every year, and we can supply everyone. Although, given how weak this Pokémon was, finding and hunting them might be difficult. Looks like I’ll need some help with scouting.”

It would have been easier if Rotom had access to satellites, but given the primitive state of technology in this world, that wasn’t happening.

“Hoopa, take me home,” Alex called out. “It’s time to recruit some scouts.”