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Garchomp.

This was the only Pokémon capable of learning Precipice Blades.

Only Garchomp qualified for this legendary move—not even Steelix, despite also being a Ground-type Pokémon.

Originally, Chris had thought that Tyranitar should be able to master it. Although Tyranitar wasn't a Ground-type, it was quite skilled with Ground-type moves and had the raw power to handle such techniques.

"A legendary Pokémon's signature move... the learning requirements are certainly more demanding than I expected," Chris murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully. After considering his options, he decided to have Garchomp attempt to learn this devastating attack.

He needed to test it somewhere safe.

Looking around his current location, Chris found himself in the small villa on Trial Island No. 7, which belonged to Dragon University. The cozy building served as temporary housing for students and researchers working on various projects.

If he tried using Precipice Blades around here, the instructor would probably have his head by nightfall. The technique was far too destructive to test in a residential area, especially during the New Year celebrations when everyone deserved some peace and quiet.

His best option was to find an appropriate dungeon instance in the game system.

There weren't many suitable copies available in the Hoenn Region—most were indoor locations like the Team Magma Base, Team Aqua Base, or the Underground Power Plant. The Underground Power Plant had been permanently shut down after Chris had successfully captured Zeraora during his last visit.

Both the Team Magma and Team Aqua bases were enclosed spaces, which meant Precipice Blades would have no room to demonstrate its full range and devastating power. Besides, Chris had grown tired of those monthly dungeon runs. Just seeing the faces of Maxie and Archie made him feel nauseated at this point.

So that left him with one viable option: the Mt. Chimney dungeon.

Maxie would just have to deal with it.

Chris carefully withdrew Salamence into his PC storage system and replaced it with the newly acquired Lugia. Using the legendary bird as his flying mount, he soared directly toward Lavaridge Town. From there, he took the cable car to reach the summit of Mt. Chimney before entering the dungeon instance, where the general Pokémon strength level was capped below level 40.

A faint sulfur smell permeated the volcanic air, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Chris stood at the entrance to Mt. Chimney's volcanic crater, facing a group of Team Magma grunts who had positioned themselves throughout the area. They were carrying out their usual duties within the volcanic environment, apparently unaware of the impending demonstration of legendary power.

"Garchomp! Time for MEGA Evolution!" Chris called out, throwing a Poké Ball with practiced precision.

"Graaaaah!" Garchomp roared as it materialized, its powerful cry echoing across the rocky terrain.

The MEGA Evolution Stone connected with Chris's Key Stone, and brilliant rainbow light enveloped the Dragon-type Pokémon. Energy coursed through Garchomp's body as its form began to transform.

In the next moment, the even more ferocious Mega Garchomp emerged onto the battlefield. Its enhanced form radiated an overwhelming aura of violence and predatory hunger that seemed to suppress the very atmosphere of Mt. Chimney itself. The Team Magma members who had been preparing to attack suddenly found themselves moving much slower, their confidence shaken. Even the Pokémon they had released appeared hesitant and uncertain.

Was this really an opponent they could reasonably expect to stop?

Chris extended his hand, and the Vermilion Orb slowly materialized from within his heart—a crimson sphere pulsing with ancient power. He tossed it toward Mega Garchomp, and the orb merged seamlessly into the Pokémon's back, disappearing beneath its armored hide.

Chris had conducted extensive testing with these legendary orbs in the past. Whether it was the Vermilion Orb associated with Groudon, the Indigo Orb linked to Kyogre, or the Grass Green Orb connected to Rayquaza, all three could be absorbed by Pokémon regardless of their natural type affinity. Even though this absorption process ignored normal type restrictions—meaning Garchomp could theoretically absorb Kyogre's Indigo Orb or Rayquaza's Grass Green Orb—the enhancement effects would be significantly weaker when the orb didn't match the Pokémon's natural attributes.

Immediately after absorbing the Vermilion Orb, red spherical markings appeared across Mega Garchomp's chest and spread outward like flowing lava, extending to every corner of its body. The markings pulsed with inner fire, transforming the already fearsome Mega Garchomp into something even more terrifying.

Within moments, the enhanced Mega Garchomp had grown slightly larger, its bright red markings now glowing with fiery intensity as if the Pokémon wore a coat made of pure magma. Its two massive scythe-like appendages had transformed into what appeared to be weapons forged from molten rock, radiating heat that distorted the air around them. The barbaric aura emanating from the transformed Pokémon escalated to an entirely new level of intimidation.

Many of the Team Magma members present, along with their Pokémon partners, collapsed under the overwhelming pressure of Mega Garchomp's unintentionally released aura. They lost consciousness on the spot, unable to withstand the legendary energy now coursing through the transformed Dragon-type.

Observing Mega Garchomp's current appearance, Chris was reminded of the legendary Primal Reversion forms of both Groudon and Kyogre. The transformation seemed remarkably similar to those ancient processes.

From this point forward, Chris decided he would refer to the process of integrating legendary orbs into Pokémon as "Primal Return"—a fitting name for such a dramatic enhancement.

"Garchomp, use Precipice Blades!" Chris commanded, raising his hand in a decisive gesture.

"Graaaaaaaahhh!" Mega Garchomp let out a thunderous roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the mountain.

The transformed Pokémon raised both of its massive scythe-like appendages high above its head, and immediately sparks began flying through the air around them. The weapons glowed white-hot as they absorbed energy from the surrounding volcanic environment.

Power was gathering at an alarming rate.

The ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently, and thick volcanic smoke started rising from Mt. Chimney's depths. It felt as though something massive and ancient deep underground was being awakened and pulled toward the surface, ready to erupt with devastating force at any moment.

Then Garchomp brought both scythes down with tremendous force.

The impact created a tremendous "BOOM" that split into two distinct explosive sounds.

The first explosion came from the scythes striking the rocky ground with incredible force. The second was the sound of Mt. Chimney itself beginning to erupt in response to the legendary attack.

In an instant, magma erupted from multiple points and scattered chaotically through the air. Following the direction of Mega Garchomp's devastating slash, countless rock spikes—each more than ten meters tall and wrapped in flowing red magma—burst from the ground with thunderous rumbling sounds. The attack spread outward at incredible speed, creating what appeared to be a "Red Land of Devastation" stretching toward the horizon.

[Defeated Mightyena LV32 - Garchomp gained 1086 experience points]

[Defeated Numel LV35 - Mega Garchomp gained 1286 experience points]

With a single devastating attack, every Team Magma member and their Pokémon partners standing before Chris and Mega Garchomp were eliminated instantly.

Each massive rock spike seemed to possess its own targeting system, striking every opponent with pinpoint accuracy. Even Flying-type Pokémon like Zubat and Golbat, which should have been immune to Ground-type moves under normal circumstances, found no escape from this legendary assault. While they might have avoided the direct Ground-type effects, the magma-infused power coating each Precipice Blade was very real. The terrifying heat radiating from the attack was more than sufficient to incinerate them instantly.

"BOOM!" An exceptionally loud explosion echoed from approximately one thousand meters away.

Chris quickly turned to look in that direction and saw a massive rock spike wreathed in flowing magma pierce the ground at that distant location. The spike rose so high it seemed as though it might punch a hole straight through the sky itself.

Before Chris could fully process what he was witnessing, everything around him began to blur and fade. In a moment of disorientation, he found himself back in his villa room.

The quest... was it already over?

But there should still have been a boss battle remaining, shouldn't there?

Chris quickly grabbed his handheld device to check the system notifications, his eyes widening as he read the messages displayed on the screen.

[Defeated Team Magma Leader "Maxie"]

[Dungeon "Volcanic Project" (Completed) - Rewards distributed:]

[1. Random Advanced Pokémon Item (Sun Stone)]

[2. Rare Skill CD (Flamethrower TM)]

"Maxie has been defeated already?" Chris asked in shock, staring at the notification in disbelief.

It appeared that the Precipice Blades attack executed by Mega Garchomp had cut a devastating path directly from the dungeon entrance all the way to the final boss area at the very end of the instance. The legendary move had been so overwhelmingly powerful that it traversed the entire dungeon map in a single strike.

Not only had every Team Magma grunt been eliminated in one devastating blow, but even their leader Maxie had been unable to escape the attack's incredible range. Chris checked his battle records carefully and found no mention of defeating any of Maxie's Pokémon individually.

Thinking about it logically, Maxie probably hadn't even had the opportunity to release his Pokémon team before the Precipice Blades attack reached his location. The legendary move had simply been too fast and too comprehensive in its destruction.

The total clearance time for the entire dungeon instance had been less than thirty seconds.

The sheer destructive potential was terrifying to contemplate.

"As expected from a legendary Pokémon's signature move," Chris said quietly, his voice filled with genuine awe and respect. "Even when used by Garchomp instead of its original wielder, the power is absolutely terrifying."