Recalling that ancient seal that had imprisoned the Demon God of Calamity for who knows how many years, Gaal already had some ideas swirling in his mind as he began to channel his magic. With a swift motion, he vanished from the open air and reappeared in the room of his Magical Cottage.
He submerged his consciousness into the System Space and first exchanged for seventy blank Magic Crystals with no elemental attribute.
Using Psychic Power, he levitated the pile of Magic Crystals into the air. Then, Gaal began to inscribe Inscription Array patterns into each blank area of the Magic Crystals, linking these independent crystals together.
As the connections multiplied, the seventy blank crystals hovered as a three-dimensional polyhedron before him.
Each Magic Crystal sprouted several strands of Magic Power, interconnecting with the others.
Together they emitted a subtle glow, and from afar, they resembled one enormous prismatic crystal.
Gaal gazed upon the fully interconnected crystals, raised his hand, and pressed it against the formation as he attempted to channel a quantity of Fire Attribute Magic Power sufficient to charge twenty of the crystals.
The gigantic prismatic formation, composed of seventy blank Magic Crystals, began to radiate red light. Thanks to the linkages formed by the inscribed arrays, the infused Magic Power was evenly distributed, making the concept of a stored-power crystal feasible.
Gaal then attempted to cause a magical vibration; as expected, several of the array connections were disrupted, causing some of the disconnected crystals to dim noticeably. Compared to the other crystals emitting a steady glow, these few looked distinctly out of place.
Soon, Gaal repaired the broken links and gathered the affected Magic Crystals, then sank his consciousness back into the System Space.
Because the System had refined them, he now possessed full details of the entire process, and he began to try to decipher that ancient sealing array…
The Next Day
At the Fairy Tail Guild Headquarters, inside the guild hall, several members who hadn't yet gone home sprawled in various positions, asleep throughout the large room.
At the bar, Cana stirred as the sound of the door opening reached her ears. Groggily lifting her head from the bar to greet, she quickly lay back down muttering, "Good morning—"
Gaal then walked over to the bar and sat down, remarking, "How did you end up sleeping here?"
Cana, propping her head on her arm as she lay against the bar, replied drowsily, "If Gildarts were to see this, we'd be in big trouble." She continued, "It's those guys—staying up too late again." She added with a light tone, "But it's all good, I'm having fun."
Seeing her condition, Gaal nodded and said, "Then go ahead and sleep a bit longer." With a slight gesture of his hand, the juices and cups from behind the bar automatically flew over and landed in front of him.
Gaal poured himself a glass of juice and took out a book that recorded the Pokemon summoning techniques, scanning it for any loopholes or areas needing supplement.
He had been deciphering that ancient sealing array late into the night yesterday.
Later in the day, he planned to teach the Pokemon Summoning Technique to the members of the guild so that they would have an additional means of defense, but after that he still had to continue researching the sealing array.
New ideas kept flooding into his mind as he refined the Pokemon Summoning Technique and simultaneously improved his Fusion Magic.
Time passed slowly.
As the sun gradually rose, its rays streamed through the window onto the faces of those in the hall, forcing them to wake from their slumber with frowns.
Gray, clutching a bench, yawned and rubbed his eyes with his left hand, saying, "Where's Laxus...?" With his right hand, he groped around for something round and clumsy, "Ah, Squirtle. Time to wake up," he murmured.
A smile spread across his face as he grabbed Squirtle's shell and hoisted the drowsy creature up. Squirtle rubbed its eyes listlessly and mumbled, "Squirt…" before toppling backward once more.
This time, however, Squirtle was clever enough to curl its entire body into its shell, leaving Gray with no means to rouse it.
Gray pouted and scanned the surroundings. Suddenly, he spotted Gaal at the bar and his face lit up with surprise. "Big Brother Gaal!" he called, leaping up and running over.
Sitting at the bar, Gaal turned his head, lifted his hand, and greeted cheerfully, "Your clothes."
Gray, startled, quickly lowered his head and hurriedly grabbed his own garments to dress.
Gray then sat next to Gaal, chattering on, "I was about to come see you yesterday, but then while sparring with Laxus I completely forgot." He continued, "Big Brother Gaal, you saw it, right? How did I do as a commander?"
Gaal replied with a smile, "Very well. But Squirtle's move isn't exactly what you'd call a water blast, and besides, it's not even spraying water."
Gray scratched his head, "Ah? Isn't it spraying water? Then what is it— a water column?"
Gaal sighed lightly, "Well… Later, I'll teach you a spell and you'll understand. Go ahead and notify the others—anyone who wants to learn the Pokemon summoning spell is welcome to join." Checking the time, Gaal announced, "Let's meet in the guild hall at nine o'clock." Gray's eyes sparkled as he exclaimed, "I'm off to spread the word!" and dashed out immediately.
Cana, now also waking in a daze, piped up, "What do you mean by Pokemon Summoning Technique? Are we talking about summoning Squirtle?"
Gaal nodded and explained, "Yes. Pidgey, Squirtle, Electrike, Ralts, and Gengar—they are all Pokemon. As long as a Pokemon accepts you and both parties sign a contract, you can summon that Pokemon for battle at any time."
Cana, looking somewhat astonished, said, "Eh! That sounds quite similar to Fairy Magic, though the keys for Fairy Magic are very rare. By the way… are there really Pokemon like Ralts? That Pokemon is so cute."
Gaal reassured her, "There are. In time, I will summon them all." Within the guild, only Makarov knew that Gaal was not from this world.
As for Gaal's Pokemon, everyone else assumed they came from realms like the Underworld or the Sprite World—other worlds entirely—with the only difference being that only Gaal could summon them.
After all, before the first Mage of Fairy Magic appeared, people hadn't even known what sprites were or what the Sprite World entailed.
Cana nodded, her curiosity piqued. "So what is the world where Pokemon live like? Are they in a world like the Sprite World, up in the sky?"
Gaal shook his head and answered, "Not up in the sky. It's similar to our world, but their regions are divided in many ways, unlike here where we have just the four continents representing north, south, east, and west. There are thousands of different species of Pokemon, by rough count. You'll have a chance to see them someday."
Cana, still half understanding, murmured, "Oh—sounds pretty wonderful. But what about the Pokemon Summoning Technique? I want to see it!"
Gaal then pushed the book recording the arrray pattern of the Pokemon Summoning Technique forward. "Here, take a look."
Cana leaned in curiously, studying the array and her fingers mimicking the gestures in the pattern across the table.
After about half an hour, more and more members gathered in the guild hall, all waiting curiously.
Gaal moved to the front of the hall and set up a board displaying the Pokemon Summoning Technique array and instructions on how to operate it. Just then, Makarov pushed open the guild door and walked in.
Seeing the gathered crowd, he remarked with mild surprise, "I was wondering why it was so quiet today. So everyone's here."
Gaal looked at Makarov and smiled, "Guild Master, did you come to learn as well?"
Makarov shook his head, saying, "At my age, what is there to learn? Besides, my magic serves me just fine. It's better that these youngsters learn instead."
Within the guild, the younger members had all gathered—Laxus, Erza, Mirajane and her siblings, Gray and his fellow Mage, Levy, Evergreen, Millianna, Bickslow, Sho, Simon, and even Ultear.
There were also many older Mages in the guild who were interested in learning a bit, such as Macao. With so many people present, Makarov decided to sit back and let the commotion pass—after all, a quiet day was a blessing.
Once everyone was gathered—a few dozen of them—the stage was set.
Gaal began his explanation from the beginning, detailing the structure of the array and how to cast it. The technique wasn't too difficult, and soon one by one the members managed to perform it, though what to do next remained uncertain.
Noting that everyone had managed to cast the spell, Gaal continued, "The next step is to find a Pokemon whose heart resonates with yours. Place your hands on the array, and it will automatically connect the two of you. As long as your hearts are in sync, the contract is considered successful. Each Pokemon can only form a contract with one person to avoid conflicts during summoning, though a person may contract with multiple Pokemon for battle. Now, those of you with Pokemon, give it a try."
All eyes shifted toward Laxus, Gray, and Evergreen.
Without hesitation, Laxus activated the array. Electrike floated over and pressed its small paw against the array.
A burst of light flared on Laxus, and a subtle feeling of connection blossomed in his heart. A pleased smile spread across his face as various moves of Electrike began to fill his mind.
"This is…"
Then Gaal interjected warmly, "After signing the contract, the moves currently mastered by the Pokemon, as well as moves yet to be learned and training methods, will be transferred into your mind. Depending on the moves, you can freely mix and match them to command in battle."
Gaal then turned his attention to Gray, his eyes twinkling as he addressed him, "I'm talking to you, Gray. That move Squirtle used isn't called Water Spray."
Gray chuckled and immediately signed a contract with Squirtle; his eyes widening in surprise as he exclaimed, "It's called Water Gun! Hey, isn't Hydro Pump supposed to be more powerful than Water Gun? And… Ice Beam!"
Gray's enthusiastic outburst about different moves had his fellow learners itching with excitement, as they longed to rush to the lake and form a contract with their very own Squirtle.
Evergreen beamed as she turned to Gaal and said, "Mr. Gaal, I've succeeded too!" Gaal smiled encouragingly, "That's great—now nurture your Pokemon well. Exchange techniques with your fellow partners. Ralts is fond of children with a positive spirit, and its final evolution, Gardevoir, is an exceptionally fine Pokemon indeed."