What puzzled Yuga was that, after reading AZ's notes and the three Malamar's experiment records, he didn't find any traces related to the blue crystal.
Yuga took out the blue crystal once again and discovered that it indeed contained powerful energy, although not as potent as the semi-finished Eternal Flower and pseudo-Ultimate Weapon above, it was clearly something extraordinary.
After storing the blue crystal away, Yuga decided it was time to interrogate the three Malamar.
Soon, under the care of Florges, the imprisoned Pokémon began to wake up, their eyes filled with gratitude as they looked at Yuga, Florges, and Gengar.
In this laboratory, they had suffered daily torment at the hands of the Malamar, and today, they were finally rescued. They could hardly believe it was real.
"You should leave this place as soon as possible. The Malamar have been defeated, and you won't have to worry about them bothering you anymore," Yuga told the Pokémon.
Upon hearing Yuga's words, the Pokémon were initially stunned, but then their faces lit up with joy. Were they finally free from the Malamar's control?
Some of the Pokémon even had tears of relief in their eyes.
Seeing the joy on the Pokémon's faces, the two Meowstic couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
While they had also been captured by the Malamar for a long time, they hadn't suffered much because the Malamar needed them.
Apart from not being able to leave the dark building, they hadn't endured as much hardship as these Pokémon.
After shedding tears of sorrow for a while, the Pokémon began to leave the underground laboratory one by one.
Yuga collected the experiment records of the three Malamar and AZ's notes, deciding to interrogate the Malamar later and deal with the laboratory first.
The energy transfer device in the center of the underground laboratory had stopped working due to the lack of energy from the Pokémon. The energy beam above it had disappeared as well.
Returning to the upper laboratory, Yuga noticed that the pulsating energy on the semi-finished Eternal Flower had vanished. The pure white flower now sat quietly on the central device.
At this moment, the Eternal Flower resembled an ordinary flower, devoid of the previously unsettling energy fluctuations.
However, the four conical pillars (the pseudo-Ultimate Weapon) still radiated a blue light, indicating that they had indeed stored a significant amount of energy.
This energy had been filtered through the semi-finished Eternal Flower, making it pure. While it might not possess the world-destroying power the three Malamar had believed in, it was still a force to be reckoned with, especially after decades of accumulation.
After some consideration, Yuga placed the four conical pillars along with the semi-finished Eternal Flower into his system backpack.
Yuga summoned Mismagius and said to it, "Mismagius, take Clemont outside for now. Comfort Bonnie and let her know not to worry, to wait outside peacefully for me."
"Mismagius!" Mismagius nodded and used its psychic powers to guide Clemont out of the laboratory.
Once Mismagius and Clemont had left, Yuga noticed that the two Meowstic were still following him. He asked, "Why aren't you leaving? You're free now, aren't you?"
"Meowstic."
The female Meowstic poked the male Meowstic with her hand, and the male Meowstic awkwardly stepped forward.
"Meowstic, meowstic..."
Can we, um, follow you...
Yuga was surprised by their request. Had his charisma reached such heights already?
After a moment of thought, Yuga nodded and agreed. While he cared about a Pokémon's potential when capturing them, if they were willing to follow him voluntarily, that was a different matter. He couldn't refuse someone's heartfelt wishes.
Although Meowstic was a rare Pokémon, these two had quite ordinary potential and were relatively weak.
According to the Meowstic's explanation, the Malamar had prevented them from improving their strength to prevent them from escaping or causing trouble. As a result, even though they were Yellow potential Pokémon, their levels were only around thirty.
Typically, Pokémon could easily reach level thirty before evolving, especially with diligent training. Even Yellow potential Pokémon would usually reach level thirty within two or three months.
Yellow potential might not be as good as Green, but it still didn't take too long.
Of course, Red and Orange potential Pokémon were a different story, and Yellow potential was generally the minimum requirement that trainers looked for in Pokémon.
Seeing Yuga's agreement, the two Meowstic happily held hands and followed Yuga to where the Malamar were.
When Yuga returned to the previous laboratory, the Malamar were still unconscious, and several Magneton were guarding them.
Approaching the three Malamar, Yuga said to Gengar, "Gengar, use Nightmare."
"Gengar..."
Gengar grinned, clearly pleased with Yuga's command.
It floated lightly above the heads of the three Malamar, and dark energy emanated from its eyes.
The dark energy fell upon the three Malamar, causing their expressions to contort in agony. They even let out terrified screams, involuntarily writhing their massive bodies, trembling, and convulsing.
The more tormented the Malamar appeared, the more Gengar seemed to relish it. It even emitted pleased moans involuntarily.
Under Gengar's Nightmare move, the three Malamar began to have terrible nightmares. In their dreams, countless Pokémon they had persecuted were seeking revenge on them.
Simultaneously with the use of Nightmare, Gengar also employed Dream Eater, deriving utmost satisfaction from this horrifying dream world.
As they heard the twisted, pained screams of the Malamar, several Magneton were so frightened that they fell to the ground with a clatter, becoming a heap of scrap metal.
The two Meowstic clung to Yuga's legs, shivering and closing their eyes in fear, unwilling to look at Gengar and Malamar.
After about ten minutes or so, Yuga said to Gengar, "Alright, stop."
The Nightmare and Dream Eater moves would harm the Malamar, and although Gengar had restrained its power, the Malamar were already injured, and any longer could be fatal.
Gengar, reluctantly ending its enjoyment, ceased the Nightmare and Dream Eater moves and returned to Yuga's side.
"Malamar! Malamar!"
"Malamar! Malamar!"
"Malamar! Malamar!"
As soon as Gengar's nightmare skill stopped, the Malamar, who had been in the throes of terror, stopped their screaming and opened their eyes, their faces still showing signs of fear.
Upon waking, their aura rapidly weakened, leaving them extremely feeble. However, when they saw Yuga and Gengar, they immediately became furious.
But they soon realized that they were suddenly powerless, unable even to stand, let alone attack Yuga and Gengar.
"It seems that the nightmare just now didn't teach you a lesson," Yuga said with a cold sneer.
Hearing Yuga mention the nightmare, the three Malamar's faces turned pale. Nightmares and this human had a connection?
Thinking about their experiences in the dream world, the Malamar were filled with fear, and they wanted to scream. They never wanted to experience that horrifying scene again.