NOVPUB
Chapter 1393 - Ruby
Meowth had somehow ended up lost in the Diamond Domain while delivering the message, but Yuga wasn't sure how that had happened. Riding on Absol, he sped forward at full speed. By the time he arrived at the riverside, Sableye had just sent Duksnoir crashing down from the sky, landing right at his feet.
During the time it took Yuga to get there, Duksnoir had been desperately resisting Sableye's relentless attacks. Now, it was covered in wounds, struggling to hold on. If Yuga had arrived even a little later, Sableye might have completely destroyed Dusknoir.
Above them, Dusknoir controlled several Shadow Balls and sent them hurtling down, aiming to deliver the final, fatal blow to Sableye.
A ripple spread across Yuga's Shadow Space, and in an instant, Gengar and Mismagius appeared at his sides. Together with Absol, they launched a coordinated counterattack—Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, and Dark Pulse—all striking at once, intercepting Sableye's attack in midair.
Taking advantage of this moment, Yuga released Florges.
Sableye, seeing Yuga's sudden appearance, hesitated, its eyes flickering with uncertainty.
It didn't care much about Absol, Gengar, or Mismagius, but Florges's presence made it wary. From her, it sensed an aura identical to that of the previous generation's Diancie.
"Dusknoir, go into my Shadow Space and rest. Leave the rest to me," Yuga said, looking down at the heavily injured Pokémon.
"Dusknoir~"
Without hesitation, Dusknoir dove into Yuga's shadow and vanished. With Florges present, it had nothing to worry about.
Sableye, though eager to devour Yuga's Ghost-type Pokémon, wasn't foolish. The moment it sensed the threat from Florges, it immediately turned around to flee.
Gengar and Mismagius noticed this at the same time and instantly used Mean Look together.
The two Pokémon shared an exceptional level of coordination, and when they worked together, their combined power was extraordinary. They might not be able to defeat Sableye in direct combat, but preventing it from escaping was well within their abilities.
Two pairs of pitch-black eyes emerged in the sky and suddenly merged into one massive, majestic pair of dark pupils.
The moment Sableye was caught in the gaze of those black pupils, it was instantly locked in place, unable to escape from the area.
The Ghost-type Pokémon aboard the ghost ship, along with Jessie and James, all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Yuga arrive just in time.
They were safe!
Sableye, realizing it couldn't escape no matter how much it tried, finally sensed that something was wrong. Glancing between Yuga and Florges, it abandoned its attempt to flee.
Since it couldn't run, it would just make them all its food!
Sableye's mind was filled with insatiable greed.
It might be wary of Florges, but that didn't mean it feared her.
Having made up its mind, Sableye took the initiative and launched an attack against Florges.
By now, Florges had fully unleashed her Fairy aura. A radiant pink glow surged across her body, giving her the ethereal presence of a celestial being, elegant and otherworldly.
Seeing this only made Sableye more convinced—she was just like the previous Diancie!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three massive Shadow Balls were controlled by Sableye and fired toward Florges. With a wave of her right hand, the ground split open, and a thick tree root buried underground suddenly sprang forth, sweeping away all the Shadow Balls.
Seizing the opportunity, Sableye launched a Power Gem attack, with a soil-colored beam heading straight for Florges.
However, she was already prepared—a silver pillar of light cascaded down from the silver moon atop her head, not only shattering Sableye's Power Gem but also carrying enough residual force to continue its assault.
Instinctively, Sableye tried to dodge, but at some unknown moment, Gengar and Mismagius had appeared to its left and right, launching Dark Pulse and Mystical Fire toward it.
Sableye dodged left to avoid Gengar's Dark Pulse and then dodged right to evade Mismagius' Mystical Fire, narrowly avoiding Florges's Moonblast in the middle as well.
However, Absol's Stone Edge followed closely behind, concealed by the previous three attacks, and struck Sableye out of the air.
"Sableye~"
Sableye let out a wail of pain.
Seizing the opening, Florges flicked her small hand, conjuring an Eternal Flower.
The flower's petals gently unfurled, revealing its core, as a dense concentration of Fairy-type energy gathered within under the influence of the fairy aura.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, a pink beam of light shot forth from the flower's center, striking Sableye as it fell.
At the moment Sableye was hit by Florges's Light of Ruin, the red gemstone on its chest suddenly emitted a massive, illusory gemstone projection.
This projection absorbed the majority of the Light of Ruin's attack; otherwise, Sableye would have likely been obliterated on the spot.
A sharp cry rang out as a crimson gemstone dropped to the ground—Sableye's figure had completely vanished.
The gemstone trembled twice, and a spectral image of Sableye floated out, now faint and insubstantial, as if even a gentle breeze could scatter it.
Seeing Sableye in this state, Yuga furrowed his brows—this Sableye had no physical body!
Despite lacking a body, it was still this powerful, proving that this Sableye's origins were anything but ordinary!
Meanwhile, Sableye, realizing that the physical form it had painstakingly materialized had been shattered, was filled with rage. Its gaze toward Yuga and Florges burned with hatred, as if it wished to tear them both apart, body and soul.
"Sableye~"
With a sharp shriek, Sableye began rapidly fusing the Diancie essence it had previously consumed, fully converting the Fairy- and Rock-type essence into pure Ghost-type essence.
At the same time, the red gemstone on its chest grew increasingly radiant, occasionally flashing with an eerie, bewitching glow.
Such a hasty fusion of Diancie's essence was far from beneficial for Sableye—it was merely using its gemstone as a makeshift vessel. But at this point, it no longer had any choice.
Once Diancie's essence was fully transformed, Sableye's body solidified once more, making it nearly indistinguishable from an ordinary Sableye.
Fortunately, this Sableye was at level 100; otherwise, its fate would likely have been the same as that of the one that had consumed the Sacred Diamond before.
Now able to move freely again, Sableye suddenly disappeared. At the same time, a dark shadow appeared behind Yuga.
The shadow stretched and morphed into a claw, reaching for Yuga's head.
This was Sableye's Shadow Sneak.
Unable to overpower Florges, it had naturally shifted its target to Yuga.
Florges suffered recoil damage from using Light of Ruin, and Yuga was currently treating her, paying no attention to what was happening behind him.
Fortunately, Absol had remained on high alert. Just as a dark shadow lunged at Yuga, Absol suddenly raised its tail and clashed with the shadow using Iron Tail.
However, the gap in strength between Absol and Sableye was too vast. After a brief struggle, Absol was sent flying, taking Yuga with it. Yuga tumbled to the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt.
"Ptooey! Ptooey!"
Spitting out the grass and dirt, Yuga felt extremely frustrated—he hadn't been this embarrassed in a long time!
From above, Gengar and Mismagius launched Dark Pulse and Mystical Fire at the shadow, but the figure swiftly moved away and reformed into Sableye.
Seeing their attacks miss, Gengar and Mismagius descended from the sky, positioning themselves on either side of Yuga to prevent another sneak attack.
Absol, recovering from its fall, leaped forward and lunged at Sableye with Shadow Claw. But Sableye, small and agile, easily dodged the attack.
Florges stomped her tiny foot on the ground, causing the earth to ripple as countless vine-like wooden serpents burst forth, twisting and coiling toward Sableye.
There were too many wooden serpents for Sableye to handle at once. Some managed to seize its limbs, restraining it. However, the shadows beneath Sableye writhed and transformed into sharp claws, easily shredding the wooden serpents.
Realizing that staying on the ground gave Florges's Grass-type moves too much of an advantage, Sableye attempted to take to the air.
But at that moment, a large tree had already sprouted behind Florges, its lush green leaves standing on end like blades. In the next instant, they shot toward Sableye like a storm of knives.
The barrage of Leaf Blades engulfed Sableye completely.
When the attack subsided, the ground was riddled with craters, and Sableye's form had grown even fainter.
"Sableye~ Sableye~"
Sableye let out frenzied shrieks as it scrambled upright, hurling Shadow Balls one after another, only for them to be intercepted by the wooden serpents under Florges's control.
The wooden serpents writhed and lunged at Sableye again.
To Yuga, Sableye's desperate attacks seemed like the flailing of a powerless, enraged creature.
And indeed, that was exactly the case. Sableye felt utterly helpless—unable to win in battle, unable to flee. The frustration was unbearable!
Now, it finally understood how Dusknoir had felt when it toyed with it before.
Regret. Overwhelming regret.
If only it hadn't consumed the previous Diancie's body, growing overconfident and thinking itself invincible. If only it hadn't sought amusement by tormenting Dusknoir. Then it wouldn't have ended up in this hopeless situation.
Encountering a Level 100 Pokémon was rare enough—but running into an existence like Florges, who was on par with a Legendary Pokémon? Sableye had never imagined that the moment it broke free, it would face such an overwhelming opponent.
It kept swinging its Shadow Claws, slashing apart wooden serpents one after another, but they just kept coming—an endless wave of them. The ceaseless entanglement was driving Sableye into a frenzy.
Florges watched its struggle with cold indifference.
Then, deciding that enough time had passed, she raised both hands.
Immediately, towering trees sprouted around Sableye, completely encircling it.
The wooden serpents hadn't just been binding Sableye—they had also been planting seeds near it all along.
Realizing it was trapped, Sableye panicked and tried to break free, but no matter where it attacked, the trees responded by swinging their heavy branches, brutally swatting it back into the enclosure.
Florges was far from forgiving. Seeing Yuga take a fall because of Sableye had irritated her greatly!
As Sableye's strength waned, every tree surrounding it bloomed with pristine, white Eternal Flowers.
Though each individual Eternal Flower was smaller than the one Florges usually summoned, their sheer number made up for it.
Wouldn't it be too easy to let Sableye off with just this? Florges mused to herself.
Under her command, the tree crowns began to emit a soft pink glow—the radiance of pure Fairy-type energy.
It was thanks to her mastery of the Fairy Aura that she could now seamlessly blend Fairy-type and Grass-type energies in this way.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Beams of Light of Ruin blasted toward Sableye. At first, Sableye could still withstand a few, but as time passed, it gradually became overwhelmed and was soon engulfed in the raging tide of energy.
Although Florges had dispersed the power of the Light of Ruin, the backlash damage it caused still placed a significant burden on her. So, while she controlled the ability, Yuga continuously used his healing ability to treat her injuries.
No one knew how much time had passed before the bombardment of Light of Ruin against Sableye finally ceased. The towering trees surrounding Sableye, having exhausted their energy, withered into decayed branches and leaves that fell to the ground.
And where Sableye had once been, only a single ruby remained.
Seeing that Sableye had been vanquished, the Ghost-type Pokémon aboard the ghost ship erupted into cheers. Jessie and James were so excited that they hugged each other tightly.
Only the heavens knew how terrified they had been when they first learned that Sableye had intended to devour them!
With the battle over, Yuga led Florges, Absol, Gengar, and Mismagius to the ruby. Just as he was about to reach out and take it, Florges stopped him.
Sableye was cunning and deceitful—who knew if it had left behind some trick? It had previously resided within a gemstone, so there was no guarantee it wouldn't try the same trick again.
Florges, Absol, Gengar, and Mismagius exchanged glances, as if silently reaching an agreement.
The next moment, Yuga watched as Florges blasted an Energy Ball at the ruby, followed by Absol's Dark Pulse, Gengar's Shadow Ball, and Mismagius' Mystical Fire. Round after round of bombardment left Yuga utterly dumbfounded.
Was... was this really necessary?
It was fortunate that Sableye had fed on various gems and minerals, making the ruby it left behind incredibly sturdy. If it had been any other material, it would have been reduced to dust under their relentless assault.
How tragic.
No one knew how much time passed before the bombardment finally ceased. Expressionless, Yuga asked, "Is it over?"
The four Pokémon nodded in unison.
Only then did Yuga bend down and pick up the ruby. Despite enduring such a prolonged barrage, it still shimmered brightly, its crystal-clear appearance exuding immense beauty and considerable value.
At that moment, the heavily wounded Dusknoir floated out from the shadowy space and asked Yuga if it could have the ruby.
Thanks to Sableye's transformation, Diancie's original Fairy-type and Rock-type essence had been completely converted into a Ghost-type essence—something that Dusknoir had long yearned for.
Had it not been for Sableye's mad rampage, this ruby would have been of no use to Dusknoir. After all, it did not possess Sableye's unique ability to digest gemstones.
It was precisely because it sensed the energy within that Dusknoir had asked Yuga for it.
Of course, Dusknoir was unaware that Sableye had devoured Diancie's body. It was simply drawn to the newly-formed Ghost-type essence.
In the end, all of Sableye's efforts had only benefited others.
"I don't mind giving it to you," Yuga said, eyeing the now-calm river with curiosity. "But how exactly did you all come across this Sableye?"
