"We're about to set off."
Receiving a ssage from Sird, Stephen's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, his tone showing no surprise at all.
It was entirely expected that Team Galactic would make their move while the League's attention was focused on Team Plasma.
"Co on, you lazy cat, ti to work."
w, who was lounging on the sofa playing gas, reluctantly put down her controller and floated up to lie on Stephen's head.
In the blink of an eye, the group's figures beca afterimages as they teleported with w to Manalo Stadium, just a few nautical miles from the Aether Artificial Island.
At this mont, Dialga and Palkia—summoned forcibly by little Hoopa last week—were still sleeping here.
As Stephen and the others arrived via w's teleport, two twisted chaotic portals suddenly appeared above the heads of the ti-space duo, forcibly sucking them in.
"Roar!?"
Dialga and Palkia, who never saw eye to eye, now both looked utterly incredulous.
They instinctively wanted to resist, but within a second realized—
This power, much like how Wood Release suppresses tailed beasts, had an innate restraining effect.
No matter how much they struggled, they couldn't resist the pull.
"What is that!?"
Cynthia's beautiful eyes widened in shock.
Stephen explained calmly, "The power of the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb."
With Stephen's reminder, Cynthia suddenly realized, "So Team Galactic stole the relics for this!?"
According to intelligence from the Sinnoh League, Sinnoh's three relics—the Adamant Orb, Lustrous Orb, and the Spear Key—had all been taken by Team Galactic.
These three items are exactly what's needed to forcibly summon the ti-space duo.
Originally, Cyrus wanted to capture Sheena directly. But after the League suffered two setbacks in this regard, they had bodyguards on Sheena at all tis—even when she went to the bathroom, there had to be at least an Elite Four-level guard outside the door.
So, Cyrus had to resort to the old thods from the ani.
"With the Adamant Orb, Lustrous Orb, and the Spear Key, the ti-space duo can be forcibly summoned at Spear Pillar, no matter where they are in the world," Stephen explained to the group.
As he finished, the ti-space duo was completely devoured by the chaotic portals, as if they'd never existed.
"But even if Cyrus summons them, he can't control them, right?" Karen raised another issue.
It's like how little Hoopa's power works: Hoopa can forcibly summon legendary Pokémon but only dares to summon Latias, Latios, or Celebi—those with good tempers who are willing to help. These weaker legends aren't much of a threat, but powerful legends with bad tempers rarely cooperate. Dialga and Palkia fall into that category—unless you have the power to control their minds, like with Evil Hoopa.
"You'll see when we get there," Stephen said, patting the lazy cat on his head and taking Cynthia's right hand. Cynthia, Aster, Karen, and the others linked hands.
Once again, the group vanished.
The world spun wildly. Cynthia, a native of Sinnoh, realized she was now at the summit of Mt. Coronet, at the Spear Pillar ruins—the legendary site where Arceus created Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.
"Is that—!?"
Cynthia's face changed again.
Above the ruins, Dialga and Palkia hung in midair, their faces twisted in agony. It was as if they'd been immobilized by a pressure point. Embedded in their waists were pure red, cross-shaped shackles eerily similar to those of Arceus.
After a brief struggle, the two legendary Pokémon cald down, but their eyes were lifeless—just like soulless puppets.
"Cyrus, what did you do to them!?" Cynthia stepped forward furiously, shouting at Cyrus, who stood below the legendaries with his Team Galactic mbers.
All the Team Galactic mbers, except for Cyrus, turned to stare at Cynthia.
But Cyrus kept his back turned, striking a dramatic pose:
"Now, everything will end, and everything will begin anew. The legendary Pokémon that controls ti, Dialga, and the one that governs space, Palkia, will destroy everything and reshape the world into the ultimate world I desire!"
Cyrus raised his hands high, his voice reaching a fever pitch, "Then, I will beco the god of that world!"
Hearing this over-the-top declaration, Sonia tugged on Stephen's sleeve, whispering, "What's he talking about?"
"Don't try to understand the mind of a lunatic," Stephen replied, half tempted to ask, "Who even gets what you're saying?"
Villains wanting to remake the world because they're dissatisfied with the current one are a di a dozen in Pokémon. Lysandre, Archie, and Maxie—each had their reasons, as ridiculous as they might be. But Cyrus's "the human heart is imperfect, so we must destroy this world and create a perfect new one" was sothing Stephen just couldn't comprehend.
"I know the words, but together they make no sense," he thought.
"Anyway, let's just take him down quickly," Stephen said, finding a flat rock to sit on at the ruins, and pulling out his phone to watch the battle over in Unova.
"Looks like Chairman Goodshow is putting everything on this fight," he mused.
"So, Dr. Stephen showed up after all," Cyrus finally turned around at Stephen's words.
"I don't need to beat you. I just need to stall until Dialga and Palkia destroy this world."
Cyrus had noticed that Stephen and Cynthia weren't at the Unova battlefield, so he guessed they'd co for him. But with Dialga and Palkia under his control, he felt confident. After all, his goal wasn't to defeat Stephen—just to hold out until the ti-space duo shattered the fabric of reality.
Cyrus suddenly looked up and yelled, "Palkia, Hydro Pump!"
Above him, the lifeless-eyed Palkia, bound by the red shackles, jerked its neck and unleashed a Hydro Pump at Stephen.
Stephen, still looking down at his phone, didn't even flinch.
At the last second, a dragon hand appeared in front of Stephen, blocking the attack.
"Who's that woman!?" Saturn shouted, seeing Aster shield Stephen.
"Ugh..." Aster gritted her teeth as the powerful Hydro Pump drove her feet deep into the ground.
"Haaaah!"
With a shout, Aster forcibly redirected the attack, sending it whizzing past Stephen's ear and blasting the top off a distant hill.
Aster panted heavily.
All of Team Galactic looked like they'd seen a ghost.
Who was this wild girl with dragon arms and legs? Did she just block Palkia's attack?
"Garchomp! Draco Dive!"
Cynthia followed up, sending out her ace.
Garchomp leaped from its Poké Ball, blue flas of killing intent erupting from its body to beco a roaring azure dragon charging at Cyrus.
Cyrus was surprised—Garchomp's attack was on a whole new level since their last fight at the Sinnoh Ruins. But then again, his own Pokémon weren't the sa either.
"Dialga, Protect!"
A huge, translucent barrier enveloped the entire Spear Pillar ruins. No matter how much Garchomp had improved, it couldn't break through a top-tier legendary's shield move.
"Dragon Pulse!"
A cold glint flashed in Dialga's lifeless eyes as a deep blue spiral wave shot from its throat, chasing after Garchomp just as the rebound from the barrier flung it back.
"Flathrower!"
Surprisingly, Cynthia called for Garchomp—a physical attacker—to use the special move Flathrower. The flas t Dragon Pulse, and for a brief mont, Flathrower spread out, buying just enough ti for Garchomp to land on a broken pillar, crouch like a spring, and leap aside at the last second.
"They really can go toe-to-toe with two top legendaries now—Cynthia and Aster have grown so much," Sonia exclaid, then worried, "But they still can't find a good chance to counterattack. Shouldn't we help, Stephen?"
Despite holding off Dialga and Palkia's attacks, Cynthia and Aster couldn't find an opening.
"Idiot, can't you see Dialga and Palkia's weakness?" Karen shot Sonia a look, eyebrows twitching as she noticed how even Sonia's thick sweater couldn't hide her curves.
"Weakness?"
A question mark popped up over Sonia's head.
Aster darted through the ruins, dodging Palkia's exclusive Dragon- and Water-type moves that kept missing. When she got beneath Palkia, the space god's movents were stiff as it tried to turn.
Aster seized the chance, leaping up and slashing Palkia's chest with a glowing Dragon Claw—leaving four distinct marks.
anwhile, Cynthia—who had been about to ga Evolve her Garchomp with her lipstick Key Stone—stopped, instead ordering Garchomp to dodge Dialga's attack and land a Brick Break on Dialga's left foreleg.
"Dialga and Palkia are moving so sluggishly!"
Sonia and Nessa both noticed the problem.
"That's the Red Chain," Stephen finally looked up. "Team Galactic made it from the DNA of the Lake Guardians. With that, they can control Dialga and Palkia's minds—but it also restricts their movents."
Cyrus's thod was the low-tier version of what happened with evil Hoopa: forcibly summon, then forcibly control. But unlike Hoopa, the Red Chain also severely weakened the legendaries—they could only use about 30% of their true power.
Compared to this almost farcical fight, Stephen was more interested in what was happening in Unova.
...
Unova: Opelucid City Battlefield.
"No one's allowed to interfere! I'll send this guy to jail myself and end all these grudges!"
Lance shouted, pulling a pitch-black Poké Ball from his belt.
"That's a Tera Orb!?"
At Paldea's Naranja Academy, Lillie, Gladion, and many trainers watching TV all cried out in surprise.
Lance's Tera Orb burst with starlight.
He leaped up, slamming it onto his giant Dragonite's back. The monstrous Pokémon beca coated in crystalline armor, with a huge diamond atop its head.
"Normal Tera Type, huh?"
Paldea's Gym Leader and Elite Four Larry narrowed his eyes.
"Extre Speed!"
Dragonite roared and dove at the armored, sinister Pokémon.
All the top trainers watching on TV in Paldea changed their expressions—Normal Tera plus Extre Speed?
That's a deadly combo.
"Outrage!"
Giovanni commanded his armored Dark wtwo to strike back.
Dark energy erupted from wtwo's right arm as it punched, smashing into the much larger Dragonite. The resulting shockwave shredded the earth and grass, and even from afar, people could see wtwo's armor rapidly cracking.
Perched on his bulky Pokémon, Lance sneered, "That armor's just for show. No matter how much it boosts power, it doesn't work against !"
"Impressive, Champion Lance," Wallace comnted. He didn't like Lance's personality, but they still needed him and Leon to win this war.
"No, sothing's wrong," Leon suddenly realized.
Not just Leon—other champions and elite trainers watching noticed: the more the armor cracked, the stronger Dark wtwo's moves beca!
BOOM!
The battlefield shook as Dragonite staggered, nearly falling.
In the two seconds it took to recover, the armor on wtwo had almost completely shattered, leaving only a chest plate. Suddenly, wtwo flashed in front of Dragonite.
"Psychic Break!"
Giovanni commanded again.
Dark wtwo conjured a giant spoon with psychic power and smashed it into Dragonite's face, sending the huge Pokémon crashing down.
As billions watched in disbelief, Giovanni walked out from the smoke, smirking:
"You think that armor was ant to enhance wtwo's power? Ridiculous. It was to restrain his power. By suppressing it and training, he becos far stronger. When the armor is gone, that's when he shows his true strength!"
Leon's brow furrowed with a sense of dread.
But before he could act, Lance shouted, "I said no one is to interfere!"
Leon froze.
Giovanni's grin only grew. He had known Lance would insist on a one-on-one duel—otherwise, why would he co alone, even without many subordinates, to such a dangerous battlefield?
"It's coming..." Blue licked his lips.
"What?" Red asked.
"Just watch. This might be the strongest Pokémon in the world," Blue whispered, taking a deep breath.
Red turned his attention back to the TV.
Lance, having withdrawn his injured Dragonite, raised a hand and shouted, "Co forth—Kyurem!"
With that cry, even through the screen, people across the world could feel that ultimate, destructive power.
In an instant, sumr in Opelucid City—and half of Unova—turned to snowy white.
From the white sky, a silver-white ice dragon descended, landing above Lance.
Those ferocious golden eyes made anyone feel despair at a glance.
Perfect Kyurem.
Or rather... the Original Dragon.
The next mont, silver-white Kyurem and dark-armored wtwo faced off—their colors total opposites.
Kyurem's eyes flickered.
Suddenly, faster than the human eye could follow, a massive ice pillar crashed down in front of Giovanni, trapping Dark wtwo inside.
"What!?"
Ash jumped up from the sofa. Even his older brother was shocked.
When did that happen!?
"Did the cara miss it?" Misty pressed her face to the screen, in disbelief.
Even the champions at the scene—Wallace, Alder, Diantha—were all dumbfounded.
So fast! When did he even attack?
Clap, clap, clap—!
Suddenly, applause rang out.
Everyone turned to see... it was Giovanni clapping.
"Brilliant. As expected of the true Original Dragon in perfect form," Giovanni praised.
"Heh—finally realize you're beat?" Lance sneered.
"Sha you followed an idiot," Giovanni muttered, then, to the world's astonishnt, pressed the Key Stone on his suit's lapel.
"Dark wtwo, GA EVOLVE!"
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