"Is it related to the gems?"
Cyrus had used the Red Chain to control the Lake Trio. The diamond-shaped red gems on their foreheads were the main material used to make the Red Chain. To put it plainly, they contained a fragment of Arceus's power. Gary didn't dare touch them directly, so he decided to have his Pokémon try first.
"Weavile, come here," Gary called.
"Vile?"
Weavile didn't know why Gary was calling it over, but walked across without question.
"Use Metal Claw and try to break the gem on Uxie's forehead," Gary said.
Weavile had no idea Gary was essentially using it as a test subject. Without hesitation, its claws shimmered with steel energy, and it lightly tapped the gem on Uxie's head.
Crack...!
With just a gentle touch, the red gem cracked instantly, then shattered and fell from Uxie's forehead.
"Uxie!"
The moment the gem broke, Uxie woke up and looked around in confusion.
"Uxie, don't be alarmed. I'm not an enemy. I'm here to rescue you," Gary explained quickly.
He felt a flicker of frustration. The gem breaking woke it up straight away, which meant capturing it now was completely out of the question.
Uxie nodded. It looked over at the still unconscious Mesprit and Azelf, raised its small hands, and sent out two gentle waves of golden psychic energy toward the gems on their foreheads.
Click! Click!
Both gems shattered, and Mesprit and Azelf woke up one after another.
Seeing this, Gary accepted that he had no chance of capturing the Lake Trio today and moved on.
"Uxie, Team Galactic's people are still inside the ruins. They have the Red Chain with them. That thing can affect you, so stay outside and wait for now," Gary said.
Even though Cyrus was defeated, the Red Chain was still a serious threat to Legendary Pokémon specifically. It was safer to keep the Lake Trio well away from it.
"Uxie!"
"Mesprit!"
"Azelf!"
All three nodded. Even though this was their first time meeting Gary, he had saved them, so they trusted him naturally.
"Gary!"
"Did Team Galactic come out yet?"
Just as Gary finished speaking, Cynthia stepped out of the transport ship hatch, followed by Ash, Dawn, Brock, Looker, and the Team Rocket trio.
"Not yet," Gary replied. "Are you heading inside, Cynthia?"
"Of course," Cynthia said without hesitation.
"I'm going too," Ash said.
"Pika!"
"Me too!" Dawn added.
"Piplup!"
"Okay. Looker, stay out here and keep watch over Cyrus," Gary said. "The rest of us will go inside."
"No problem," Looker agreed readily.
He had no Pokémon on hand anyway, so his combat power was limited. Watching over the unconscious Cyrus was the most useful thing he could do. After all, this man was the real culprit behind everything.
With that settled, everyone moved toward the ruins entrance.
The interior was pitch black. It was only after stepping onto the ancient staircase that thin lines of glowing light traced along the steps and lit the way. About halfway down, the passage opened up into a wide chamber. A triangular formation was carved into the floor, glowing faintly. Two altars sat within it, and the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb had already been placed on them.
"You—" Saturn spotted Gary and the others and immediately shouted, "What did you do to Lord Cyrus?!"
"What do you think?" Gary replied, holding up the ruined gloves with the shattered gems.
"What?!"
"Lord Cyrus!"
"Damn it, I'll make you pay for this!"
Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter were furious. As the Commanders most devoted to Cyrus, seeing proof that he had been defeated pushed them over the edge.
"Purugly, Shadow Ball!" Mars screamed.
"Skuntank, Flamethrower!" Jupiter ordered.
Both Pokémon still had fight left in them and launched their attacks directly at Gary.
"Dragon Pulse," Gary responded calmly.
"Kame!"
Mega Blastoise stepped forward. Its two arm cannons and the large cannon on its back fired three dragon-shaped waves simultaneously. Two of the waves intercepted the Shadow Ball and Flamethrower, breaking both attacks apart instantly. The third Dragon Pulse continued forward and exploded between Purugly and Skuntank.
Boom!
The shockwave sent both Pokémon flying. They hit the ground hard and didn't get back up.
"What!"
"Purugly!"
Mars and Jupiter stared in disbelief. Their Pokémon hadn't managed to survive even a single move.
"Is that... Blastoise?" Ash had been too focused on what was happening to notice at first, but now he looked at Mega Blastoise properly and realised it looked completely different from anything he'd seen before.
"That is what Blastoise looks like during Mega Evolution," Cynthia said.
"Mega Evolution?!" Ash, Dawn, and Brock all exclaimed at once. It was the first time any of them had heard the term.
Cynthia didn't stop to explain. "Garchomp, destroy those machines. Dragon Claw."
"Chomp!"
Garchomp moved at blinding speed, its claws blazing with draconic energy. In an instant it had destroyed both machines connected to the Red Chain, reducing them to sparking wreckage.
Now all of Team Galactic's Pokémon were defeated. All that remained were Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Charon, and two ordinary grunts.
"Saturn, what do we do?" Mars asked desperately.
Saturn's expression twisted. He looked at Gary, at Cynthia, at the ruined machines and the unconscious Pokémon around him. There was nothing left to work with.
"Surrender," he said finally, his voice tight. "We have no chance of winning."
Mars and Jupiter lowered their heads. Without their Pokémon they had no way to resist.
Team Galactic surrendered. Gary and the others tied everyone up and brought them out of the ruins.
By the time they reached the surface, Officer Jenny and Professor Rowan had already arrived. Jenny's officers took custody of the prisoners immediately, and Team Galactic was loaded into police vehicles.
Gary looked over at Cyrus as he was carried out on a stretcher, still unconscious. He had wanted to see the man's expression when he realised everything had fallen apart. Unfortunately, Cyrus still hadn't woken up, so Gary didn't get that satisfaction.
After the prisoners were taken away, Cynthia turned to the group.
"Thank you, all of you. Thanks to everyone here, Sinnoh was protected today." Her gaze settled on Gary. "Especially you, Gary. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Just cancel my travel restriction order as soon as possible," Gary said.
After the incident with the meteorite in Veilstone City, Gary had been placed under a restriction order that prevented him from leaving Sinnoh for half a year.
"Don't worry, Officer Jenny will handle that straight away," Cynthia said. "And beyond that, the Sinnoh League will be issuing a formal reward to everyone who participated. If there's nothing specific you want, we can provide monetary compensation instead."
"Oh, there's a reward?!"
"Fantastic!"
Ash and Dawn both lit up immediately. They hadn't expected to come out of this with prize money on top of everything else.