"Photon Geyser!"
Following Ultra Necrozma's devastating fourfold Photon Geyser barrage, both Primal Kyogre and Ice Rider Calyrex were struck down once again, slammed mercilessly into the ground.
Primal Kyogre's primal form had already been beaten out of it, and Calyrex's white steed had even loosened its grasp on the Reins of Unity… too strong—far too overwhelmingly strong.
For the two of them alone, Ultra Necrozma's power was simply beyond what they could withstand.
With just the two of them, they had absolutely no way to oppose Ultra Necrozma.
"In that case…"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lucas's lips as he turned his gaze toward the other battlefields.
Eternatus and Giratina were still playing hide-and-seek—one chasing, one fleeing, one stopping, one charging—a ridiculous game of tag between two eldritch titans.
Meanwhile, the Sword Hero Zacian was biting down on the rusted sword, "chasing" after Mega Mewtwo Y and hacking at it relentlessly…
After watching for a moment, Lucas decisively looked away. Let them keep playing on their own.
"I am the guardian of order! I am the strongest lord of the earth!"
Zygarde's awe-inspiring telepathic voice boomed across the heavens. When Lucas glanced over—
A blinding green beam erupted from the massive opening on Zygarde Complete's chest, shooting out like lightning and carving across Primal Groudon's body.
The brilliant burn mark formed the shape of a stylized "Z," etched perfectly before exploding violently.
Core Enforcer!
Floating above the detonating energy, Zygarde hovered in the air, its ribbon-like wings drifting gracefully as it calmly looked down from above.
It looked incredibly cool.
"Using a Dragon-type signature move, yet calling yourself the lord of the earth, huh?"
Lucas gave the posturing Zygarde a strange look. Core Enforcer was, after all, a Dragon-type ultimate move… With the attack dissipating, Primal Groudon finally collapsed to the ground, unable to continue.
Zygarde in its full-power state was naturally stronger, and Primal Groudon had already expended much of its stamina earlier.
There was no way it could win.
"Hmph!"
Having defeated Primal Groudon, Zygarde let out a prideful snort. Dare to bully our cores? This is the consequence!
"In that case, only three enemies remain."
Seeing this, Lucas cast his gaze toward Evil Hoopa.
Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, Mega Rayquaza, and Calyrex had all fallen.
Only three legendary Pokémon were still resisting.
If Evil Hoopa hadn't swapped out the exhausted Zamazenta for Mega Mewtwo Y earlier, their advantage would've been even greater.
But it didn't matter anymore—hardly a difference at this point.
And now, with Evil Hoopa Unbound being entangled by Black Rayquaza and Black Kyurem, it no longer had the chance to perform another legendary swap.
"Human, what now?"
After taking down Primal Groudon, Zygarde floated beside Lucas. Even in its complete form, its telepathic voice was still oddly goofy…
"We've stalled long enough. Just take down Evil Hoopa's directly," Lucas said.
"Indeed."
Zygarde turned its gaze toward Hoopa Unbound. Its entire body burst into dazzling green light as it shot forward at extreme speed.
"Disappear! Disappear!!"
Evil Hoopa unleashed a dark pulse to force back Black Kyurem's lunging Dragon Claw, its face twisted in fury as its enraged roar thundered across the sky.
It could already feel it, Primal Kyogre and the others had been defeated!
Why?! Why was it like this? It had borne all the suffering—was it wrong for it to try and reclaim what originally belonged to it?
"ROAAAAAR!"
Black Rayquaza darted behind Hoopa, its powerful tail whipping forward with crushing force—
Breaking Swipe!
It didn't care what Hoopa was thinking. All it knew was that this thing was too dangerous and absolutely could not be allowed to remain!
But as if eyes had grown on its back, a spatial golden ring suddenly expanded behind Hoopa, and a massive fist shot outward—
Hyperspace Fury!
BOOM!
The Breaking Swipe and Hyperspace Fury collided, shockwaves blasting Black Rayquaza backward.
"This guy… does it really not get tired?"
Black Rayquaza steadied itself quickly, its dragon eyes locked on Evil Hoopa's violent aura.
It had been fighting this thing for a long time already, now with Black Kyurem assisting as well.
Yet Hoopa's emotions and mental state were still at maximum, as if utterly tireless. What kind of deep, terrifying resentment was powering it?
"According to Lucas, this thing is resentment born from Hoopa's sealed power, its shadow and its evil," Black Kyurem said calmly, though its telepathic tone carried a hint of disbelief.
Honestly, a hundred years was nothing to them.
At least, that was how Black Kyurem saw it. Back in Giant Cave, it often slept through century-long naps just because it enjoyed the cold. Wake up, sleep again, wake up—the next thing it knew, a hundred years had passed… Such was the simple life of a shut-in dragon.
So, to Black Kyurem, a mere hundred years birthing such deep hatred? Completely incomprehensible.
Well… perhaps that was what made Dark-types so troublesome. As a pure Dragon-type, Kyurem really didn't get it.
"Regardless of the reason, this thing must be eliminated. It's far too dangerous," Black Rayquaza growled coldly. Evil Hoopa's malice was simply too potent—it didn't want to be summoned someday and lose control.
Even its older brother had been affected—and not just once, but along with several other legends at once. Black Rayquaza doubted it could resist that kind of resentment.
It refused to become someone's unconscious puppet.
"Disappear!"
Hoopa Unbound spread its six severed arms wide, its berserk roar echoing. Four giant rings expanded outward.
At the same time, golden rings appeared behind and in front of both Black Rayquaza and Black Kyurem.
A terrifying surge of psychic power erupted from Evil Hoopa's body—
Psychic!
The controlling psychic force enveloped the two dragons instantly in a faint blue aura.
"Troublesome."
Black Rayquaza struggled fiercely to break free from Evil Hoopa's grip. Evil Hoopa's psychic power was monstrous, escaping it instantly was nearly impossible.
And Black Rayquaza knew Hoopa wasn't finished yet.
Of course not.
Giant fists materialized inside all the surrounding golden rings—
Hyperspace Fury!
Both dragons strained harder, fully believing they could dodge before impact.
And just then, a green streak shot toward them.
"You again!? Damn nuisance!"
Evil Hoopa roared in rage. Again, it was the same annoying attacker targeting it!
Zygarde Complete Forme.
Forced to split its attention, Evil Hoopa sent two of its remaining arms wreathed in dark energy to intercept the incoming Zygarde.
BOOM!
Hyperspace Fury vs. Land's Wrath!
The collision sent shockwaves throughout the battlefield. Hoopa gritted its teeth, pouring more power into its strikes—but no matter how it strengthened them, Land's Wrath continued pushing through.
Because most of its focus was already chained to restraining the two dragons.
Then—
Evil Hoopa suddenly let out a muffled groan as the momentum of its Hyperspace Fury faltered.
Black Kyurem and Black Rayquaza had struck its other four arms, sending waves of pain crashing through its body!
Bang!
Zygarde in its complete form broke through Evil Hoopa's weakened defense and crashed into its body.
Pain—unbearable pain!
Evil Hoopa Unbound screamed as it was flung backward by the overwhelming force. It barely managed to steady itself before swinging its arms to retaliate—
"ROAAAR—!"
A majestic dragon roar shook the skies, Black Kyurem unleashing a storm of blizzards.
Evil Hoopa instinctively deployed four golden rings, intercepting the blizzard completely.
"Thousand Arrows!"
Zygarde's body radiated intense green light, forming a glowing aura. Countless green arrows rained toward Hoopa.
"Damn it!"
Hoopa finally understood their plan—use wide-area attacks to pin its golden rings in place.
As long as the AOE attacks continued, Hoopa couldn't retract its rings—it had to keep them positioned to absorb the incoming waves.
"ROOAAAR!"
Another deafening roar as Black Rayquaza surged forward, its entire body blazing with concentrated green light. At that terrifying speed, it became a streak of black ripping through the air—
Dragon Ascent!
Hoopa snarled, its six arms bursting forth—
Hyperspace Fury!
BOOM!
Dragon Ascent and Hyperspace Fury collided, producing a blast so powerful that even the clouds overhead were blown apart.
Then—
Whoosh—!
A streak of radiant gold flashed to Evil Hoopa's side. Under that warm, sacred light, Evil Hoopa's twisted, monstrous expression was illuminated clearly.
But the light might have been warm—the attacker was not.
BOOM!
With a blinding flare of its wings, two massive golden beams shot forward—
Photon Geyser!
Evil Hoopa's six rings were all occupied, its arms locked in struggle against Black Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent—there was no way to defend.
It could only watch as Photon Geyser struck it directly.
It hurts! It hurts so much!
Unimaginable agony flooded its body as Evil Hoopa was blasted away again, unable to control itself at all. That attack had been far too heavy.
Black Kyurem ignited flames along its body, shifting into its White Kyurem form. Turbines roared as cold-red and warm-blue energy gathered before it, forming into—
Ice Burn!
Zygarde's chest opened again, its giant mouth constructing another sphere of green energy—
Core Enforcer!
"Prismatic Laser!"
Ultra Necrozma folded its wings slightly, charging a storm of multicolored energy.
Black Rayquaza: "…"
It glanced left and right. Great. All of them were firing massive ranged nukes. And what was it supposed to do?
Dragon Ascent again?
Don't joke. If it flew in now and couldn't get out in time, it'd get vaporized together with Hoopa…
Maybe… maybe it should at least release a Draco Meteor as fireworks to show it was contributing?
Black Rayquaza grew deeply conflicted. Just floating there without attacking felt awkward…
But while it was deliberating whether to fire off fireworks—
The three monsters unleashed their attacks!
The orb of Ice Burn, the green beam of Core Enforcer, and the condensed Prismatic Laser—
All three tore through the air at terrifying speed, striking the immobilized Evil Hoopa.
BOOOOOOM—!!
The world lost its color instantly.
A deafening explosion roared through the land, its blinding light impossible to look at. Hurricanes screamed outward; waves of energy annihilated everything in their path—earth, mountains, trees—reduced to dust.
"Holy—Mew!"
Green stared in shock at the explosion—then her face drained of color. A physical blastwave was rushing straight toward them.
What the hell?! They were standing so far away and still getting caught in the aftermath?!
Panicking, Green fumbled through Marnie's backpack and grabbed the dozing little blue turtle—then hurled it straight at the oncoming shockwave.
Nothing to fear—they had a living safety talisman!
The tiny blue turtle spun helplessly through the air, slowly blinking awake. It felt dizzy—like it had been on a roller coaster.
Then it fully opened its eyes—only to see the colossal shockwave barreling straight toward it.
It stared blankly, stunned.
What… what in the world is going on here?
(End of Chapter)