"Even in a crisis of this magnitude, there are still people fighting for Galar!
Led by our undefeated Champion Leon, three heroes are standing against the catastrophe that could destroy all of Galar!
Let us cheer for them!"
As reporters, this was the only thing they could do for the three heroes.
And moreover—
Among the three stood Galar's strongest champion: Leon.
With him there, panic couldn't fully take hold.
What they felt instead was overwhelming admiration.
Look—our invincible Champion Leon will once again save Galar from disaster!
However…
The next moment, a beam of crimson light shot from within that grotesque Pokémon.
The dazzling beam tore across the battlefield like a world-ending laser.
The helicopter carrying the press lurched violently as the pilot swerved, barely escaping annihilation.
Where the beam passed, the earth cracked apart.
The mountain in the distance disintegrated into ash.
Only then did the light fade.
Inside the helicopter, everyone swallowed hard.
What terrifying power…!
"That's Eternatus! The legendary Eternatus! Good heavens—who released that thing?!"
Nearly everyone watching the broadcast stopped breathing.
So this is the might of Eternatus…
[Mustard: Rose. Now do you see? This is Eternatus's destructive power. Humans cannot control such a thing. Stop this—while you still can.]
[Cynthia: Such overwhelming destructive force… Even Hoenn's weather trio, famed for their power, may not surpass this! To vaporize a mountain with a single attack… this is beyond the domain of ordinary gods.]
[Steven: Beyond gods? No… Eternatus absolutely has surpassed the typical divine Pokémon. And according to what I know, this isn't even its true form. Ancient accounts describe Eternatus as a hand stretched wide enough to grasp the sky itself.]
[Aaron: You're joking, right? If this isn't its full form, then once it reaches its final state, the entire Galar—no, the entire world—will face unimaginable devastation!]
[Lillie: A-and Ash won't get hurt, right?!]
[Diantha: I want to believe in Ash… but the power Eternatus is showing now isn't something even most champions can handle. Even Champion Leon might only be barely able to stall it.]
[Lillie: D-does that mean he's going to lose?! I don't want Ash to lose!]
[Professor Magnolia: Rose! Look at what you've done! Are you truly willing to risk the entire world?! Galar can fall and still rise again—but if Eternatus runs wild, this becomes a global catastrophe!]
Comment after comment flashed across the screen.
Rose's face paled—Eternatus was far beyond his expectations.
If its power was this overwhelming, then every contingency plan he created was meaningless.
At that moment—
The office doors burst open.
Leon grabbed Rose by the collar, furious.
"Rose! Stop this! Eternatus is beyond your control!"
"Champion Leon! Release President Rose at once!"
Oleana shouted, but Rose held up a hand to silence her.
He pushed Leon's hands away and sat back heavily in his chair.
Loosening his tie, he laughed at himself—bitter and deranged.
"But I can't turn back anymore. Once the plan began… it couldn't be stopped."
He opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of documents.
It was the revival project he spent years preparing.
The experiment phase had already begun.
Countless Wishing Particles had been injected into Eternatus's containment chamber.
Its revival… was already inevitable.
Leon trembled as he read the timeline recorded on the files.
"I had planned to convince you. I thought letting you know early would let you help stabilize the Wishing Particles if Eternatus went out of control.
But I never expected it to be this powerful. Leon… even you might not be able to stop it."
Rose slumped into the chair.
In mere minutes, half his hair had turned white.
A lifetime of effort… all leading to this disastrous outcome.
And worst of all, it might doom Galar.
"No."
Leon slammed the file shut.
"We still have a chance. Did you forget? Ash and Gary are the Sword and Shield heroes. With them, we can stop Eternatus before it's fully revived!"
But could they?
This wasn't five years later. Would the relics even acknowledge them now?
Leon didn't know. Rose didn't know.
But Leon refused to let his mentor fall into darkness like this.
"Ash…"
Rose looked up at the broadcast.
The eyes that had dimmed with despair lit up again.
Maybe—maybe the light would tell him the answer.
The scene—
Eternatus's sudden attack had forced Ash's group to crash-land on Hammerlocke Stadium.
"That thing is way too full of itself! It's completely ignoring us!"
Gary fumed.
"Ash, Gary—listen!"
Leon's voice was grave.
"Eternatus is absorbing Wishing Particles. If it gathers enough, it will awaken into its true ultimate form—Eternamax.
We must stop it!"
But then—
A spotlight abruptly illuminated the stadium rooftop.
Two figures stepped into the light:
Rose and Oleana.
Leon leapt off Charizard, fury boiling in his chest.
"President Rose! Why?! Why would you do this?!"
Rose repeated his reasons.
Galar's future. Galar's prosperity. Galar's suffering.
All of it.
But Leon only burned hotter.
"This?! This devastated wasteland—is this the 'prosperous Galar' you envisioned?!"
Yet Rose's expression twisted with frustration.
To him, Leon was the one failing to understand.
Leon delivered one last warning:
"We still have time. Before Eternatus fully awakens, I will defeat it and seal it away.
But stop your madness now—Galar cannot endure this any longer!"
Rose snapped.
"Leon, when did you become so timid?! Eternatus is just a Pokémon! A tool!
All we need to do is capture it and use it for Galar's prosperity!
You're too conservative!"
"Rose! You're the one who's reckless!"
"I am Galar's Chairman! I take responsibility for Galar's future!"
"You'll regret this!"
With a furious sweep of his hand, Rose summoned his old partners—Copperajah and Ferrothorn.
He intended to fight.
The audience was stunned silent.
Rose… actually thinks he can stop three champions?
Leon prepared for battle—but before he could act…
Two beams of light shot out from Ash's belt.
Riolu and Raboot landed in front of them.
Vacuum Wave and Ember clashed with Copperajah's and Ferrothorn's strikes head-on.
They actually held the attack!
"Rio!" Leave this to us!
"Roo!" I'll protect the little junior!
Ash nodded solemnly.
He handed Riolu a wave-amplifying glove—keeping the Keystone glove for himself.
Then he, Gary, and Leon rushed upward toward Eternatus.
Behind them, Rose's enraged shouts faded into the distance.
[Mustard: Do you see now, Rose? Even five years later, your plan still fails. Stop this now—before you end up in prison again.]
[Raihan: Stop, Rose. Everywhere outside is Eternatus!]
[Professor Magnolia: Look at the devastated land around you.
This prosperity was forged through decades of work—
will you really let it all burn?]
Galar's people pleaded.
Rose had once contributed greatly to Galar's rise—
no one wanted to see him fall completely.
The rooftop arena—
Three flying Pokémon descended.
Eternatus hovered above, absorbing torrents of Wishing Particles.
Its body grew sharper, its aura more oppressive.
"This is bad… we have to stop it now."
Leon clenched his fist and activated his Dynamax Band.
But—
The Poké Ball failed to expand.
The Wishing Particles were sucked upward—directly into Eternatus.
Leon froze.
He had never—never—failed to Dynamax before.
It was absurd. Impossible.
"Champion Leon? What happened?"
Ash asked with concern.
Leon forced a smile and shook his head.
Above them, Eternatus turned—
finally taking interest in the three humans below.
The particles from their Dynamax Bands…
far richer than anything in the air.
It wanted them.
It needed them.
"Everyone—come out!"
"Ash! Gary! Let's give it everything!"
Poké Balls burst open.
"Evolve, Blastoise—Mega Evolve!"
Blastoise transformed into Mega Blastoise.
Ash raised his Keystone glove.
"Take flight—Mega Charizard X!"
The two Kanto starters glared at Eternatus, awaiting the command to strike.
Leon silently watched.
…Have I relied too much on Dynamax?
After this…
he would definitely acquire a Keystone and Z-Crystal.
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