"Get... out of my garden!!!"
Darkrai's furious voice echoed through the sky, and the Dark Pulse in its hands poured out, forcefully forcing Palkia to a halt.
"This Darkrai is very strong."
As the last remaining "Sootopolis Person" in the world, Wallace possessed a natural affinity for "beauty."
He discovered a sense of beauty in "guardianship" from Darkrai; it was precisely because of this desire to protect that it fought without fear of death.
As for Palkia, the beauty of "space" surrounded it, but along with that beauty was a sense of violent ferocity.
Is it being controlled by something?
Wallace smiled inwardly.
"Darkrai, we need to coordinate to completely hold it back."
Wallace shouted loudly toward Darkrai.
Darkrai paid him no mind, and the Dark Pulse in its hands continued to erupt.
"Spacial Rend."
Palkia slashed out toward Darkrai.
Darkrai didn't have time to dodge, and Wallace's eyes sharpened.
"Altaria, Mega Evolution!"
Altaria, enveloped in a mysterious light, arrived in front of Darkrai. As the light dissipated, Altaria's body was completely covered in fluffy feathers.
Mega Altaria was immune to Spacial Rend.
Darkrai emerged from behind Altaria, raising a massive Dark Void in its hands and hurling it toward Palkia.
Spacial Rend sliced through the Dark Void, but in the next second, Palkia was hit by Mega Altaria's Dragon Pulse.
The ferocity in Palkia's eyes grew even more intense as it charged toward Mega Altaria.
Liquidation.
Mega Altaria was hit and sent flying back violently, but Darkrai appeared behind it and caught it.
Palkia let out a roar at Mega Altaria and Darkrai, and a massive surge of water swept toward them once again.
While Wallace and Darkrai were holding back Palkia, Cynthia was commanding Garchomp in a solo confrontation against Dialga.
It was a direct clash between Dragon Pulse and Dragon Pulse.
Garchomp evaded the Dragon Pulse and boldly slammed into Dialga.
The surrounding terrain had already become pitted and scarred.
Cynthia stood on the rooftop, showing no intention of retreating.
"So what if it's the God of Time, Dialga!"
Cynthia's gaze was cold. "Garchomp, Mega Evolution!"
The lipstick in her hand erupted with an intense light, merging with the light emanating from Garchomp.
"Outrage!"
Mega Garchomp charged at Dialga.
"Roar of Time!"
A powerful aura poured out.
Garchomp let out a furious roar and met the Roar of Time head-on, forcefully slashing through and blocking the attack.
A flash of disbelief crossed Dialga's eyes.
But as the God of Time, its strength was ultimately incredibly formidable.
Mega Garchomp was covered in wounds.
Just as Cynthia was preparing her next move, a figure fell violently from the sky.
Cynthia looked over to see Altaria lying in a massive crater, struggling to stand up but unable to do so.
Cynthia looked at Wallace, who shouted to her.
"Garchomp, let's go."
Garchomp nodded, picked up Altaria, and Lucario carried Cynthia as they arrived by Wallace's side.
Wallace sent out Milotic, and its warm healing power nourished Altaria and Garchomp.
Cynthia continued to watch the battle in the sky.
The white and purple beast clashed violently once again with the silver and blue beast.
Darkrai climbed out of the crater, looking up at the sky with cold eyes.
The two giant beasts crashed into the ground together, buildings were crushed, and everything within several kilometers was leveled, leaving only an indelible giant pit.
"Is this really a battle that mortals can participate in?"
Wallace murmured to himself.
Cynthia didn't answer, she just turned to look at the Pokémon Center not far away, where many people had gathered.
Among them, a Lickilicky was directing the work, but most people were staring at the battle between the two giant beasts in the sky with terrified eyes.
Cynthia saw it—the light in their eyes was slowly fading.
Cynthia clenched her fists, her black trench coat swaying violently with the aftershocks of the battle, much like her inner state.
Wallace saw it too.
"We must ensure the safety of the Pokémon Center."
Wallace said.
Cynthia nodded.
"Therefore, today we shall stake our lives as Champions to completely hold them back."
Wallace's voice was firm as he clenched his fist. "Altaria, Mega—"
His shout suddenly lowered as he looked at the white giant bird that had appeared out of nowhere.
The erupting light also dissipated.
"That is—"
Wallace was in disbelief.
"Lucas."
Cynthia clenched her fists, the corners of her mouth curling up.
Lucas, having crossed through the dimensional wall, sat on Lugia's back. He looked at the sky shrouded in black clouds, the churning mist, and the countless intersecting lightning bolts that wove a desperate net.
"This really is... the end of the world..."
Lucas couldn't help but whisper.
Lugia opened its mouth wide, acting with abandon.
"I get the feeling you're very happy, Lugia."
Lucas asked, calming his racing heart.
"Heh heh."
Lugia's voice rang out.
Lucas saw Cynthia and Wallace on the rooftop.
Wallace looked completely incredulous, while Cynthia—
Lucas and Cynthia's gazes met.
"I'm here."
Lucas said.
Cynthia nodded slightly.
"Lucas, are you ready?"
Lugia's voice rang out.
"What?"
Palkia and Dialga also stopped their fighting, turning to look at the sudden uninvited guest.
"Roar!"
The God of Space let another Pokémon barge in?!
Dialga's words were highly mocking.
"Roar!"
None of your business!
Palkia slammed directly into Dialga.
The two giant beasts crashed together again, and powerful energy poured out in all directions. Everywhere it passed, buildings were completely annihilated.
"Lugia, Dragon Rush!"
As soon as Lucas's voice fell, Lugia spread its wings wide, its entire body covered in powerful dragon energy, and slammed into the trembling Palkia and Dialga.
Lugia flipped its body in the air, and Lucas fell straight off its back.
"Take care, Lucas."
Lugia's voice rang out, and then its body slammed into Palkia and Dialga, sending them both flying.
"Roar!"
Lugia flew in the sky, spreading its wings and letting out a long cry at them.
"Lugia! I can't f*cking fly!"
Lucas flailed his limbs in the air and finally let out a roar.
Lugia stopped its cry and looked back at Lucas, who was shouting for help in the air. "You should have said so earlier."
After saying that, it prepared to fly back to catch Lucas, but as it turned, it was slammed away by Dialga.
Lugia didn't have a good temper to begin with; rather, this Lugia's temper was particularly bad.
The energy fluctuations on its body took the form of a bird and slammed back at Dialga.
The fight between two giant beasts had turned into a melee between three.
"Help!!!!"
Lucas's wailing continued.
"Garchomp!"
"Altaria!"
Just as Garchomp and Altaria took off, they saw Lucas floating up on his own.
Feeling the familiar sensation from his backside, Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Latias."
"Hmph."
Latias's cold snort rang out.
"Lugia is so great, why didn't you let it come catch you? Hmph!"
Lucas broke into a cold sweat.
Oh no, because he had been sitting on Lugia's back the whole way, he had neglected Plane Sister. Now Plane Sister was angry—what should he do?
How could he coax his beloved Plane Sister back?
Lucas was terrified.
"There was a reason for it, Latias. You have to understand, you're still my favorite."
Lucas quickly tried to comfort Latias.
"Hmph!"
Latias wasn't buying Lucas's act.
"How can Lugia compare to our cute Plane Sister? Right, Latias?"
"Its head is only filled with fighting, it's not gentle like our Plane Sister—"
"Lucas!!!"
Lugia's voice rang out in the depths of Lucas's heart.
—It's over.
Lucas felt like his soul had died.
"Then I'll reluctantly forgive you."
Latias's voice rang out.
You've forgiven me, but now Lugia is angry—
Living is so tiring.
The aftershock almost blew Lucas away.
"By the way, Latias, how about we go somewhere safe first?"
Latias nodded and, following Lucas's guidance, flew to the side of Cynthia and Wallace.
Lucas got off Latias's back and looked at Cynthia.
A thousand words finally boiled down to one sentence: "Are you okay?"
Cynthia shook her head. "I'm fine. You came just in time."
Lucas wasn't reassured; he took her hand to check her over, and only after making her spin around a few times did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Lucas, how did you get here?"
Wallace's voice rang out from the side.
Lucas turned to look and found that Wallace was still dressed decently with his long green hair and slender build, though his white cape was nowhere to be found.
"I went back to the Breeding House to ask Lugia for help, and then I made a trip to the three sacred lakes to ask the Lake Trio for help. I asked them to help me find where the dimensional wall was, and then I had Lugia smash through the dimensional wall to barge in."
Lucas briefly explained the situation.
"Lugia, the Lake Trio... as expected of you, Lucas."
Wallace smiled.
"Why would Lugia help you?"
Cynthia's voice rang out.
"Remember what I told you about Moltres and the others?"
Cynthia nodded, and Lucas smiled. "This is the reward."
Cynthia stared into Lucas's dark pupils. "Lucas, do you know what it means to forge a connection with Mythical and Legendary Pokémon?"
Lucas shook his head gently and looked toward Lugia and the others. "I know, but I also know that if Lugia and the others hadn't helped today, I wouldn't have been able to get to your side."
Lucas turned back to look at Cynthia. "If that happened, I would be very sad."
Lucas felt his palm tighten. He looked down and found that Cynthia had her fingers interlaced with his.
"I say, is this really okay?"
Lucas and Cynthia looked at Wallace with confused expressions.
Wallace pointed to the three Legendary Pokémon in the distance.
"It's the end of the world."
Wallace said.
Cynthia quickly let go of his hand. Lucas's face turned red, and then he coughed twice. He looked at Cynthia. "What I told you before about having Ash and the others look for 'oración'—did you have them go?"
Cynthia nodded. "They already started moving just now."
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Now our task is easy. With the help of Lugia and Darkrai, we'll hold back Palkia and Dialga as much as possible."
"Fighting side-by-side with Lucas? I'm looking forward to it."
Wallace smiled.
Lucas shook his head.
"No, it's you and Cynthia."
Lucas said.
Wallace: ∑(°\△°)
"I'm going over there."
Lucas pointed toward the Pokémon Center.
"I had the Breeding House prepare a lot of herbal medicine in advance. I need to go soothe their emotions and treat the injured."
Lucas looked at Cynthia and Wallace. "So, I'll leave the job of stopping them to you. I'm counting on you."
"Okay."
Cynthia gave a bright smile.
"Don't let them lose hope."
Lucas said something extremely chuunibyou: "Now that I'm here, their light has arrived."
Lucas went to mount Latias.
He found himself mounting thin air.
Cynthia: ——
Wallace: ——
Lucas: □
Is Latias not here?
"Hey!"
Lucas felt something lift him up and realized Latias had revealed her form.
Latias carried Lucas and flew toward the Pokémon Center.
"Hey, Latias, why did you just run off to the other side? You made me lose face big time!"
"It was clearly you who remembered the direction wrong!"
Wallace watched Lucas's departing back and looked at Cynthia. "Lucas is a very reliable person."
Cynthia looked at her right hand and smiled.
"Now, let's stop them!"
Cynthia whipped her trench coat, smeared lipstick on her lips, and shouted, "Garchomp, Mega Evolution!"
Garchomp downed the herbal medicine Gengar handed over in one gulp, and then it emitted a brilliant light.
"Gen gengar—(*∀°)つ"
Altaria looked at the herbal medicine Gengar was holding.
"gengar—"
The medicine cures all, want a bowl?
Altaria glanced at Garchomp and then lowered its head to drink it all.
Soon, it felt a powerful life force flowing through its body.
Altaria let out a long cry.
"Thanks, Gengar."
Wallace took out his key stone. "Altaria, Mega Evolution!"
Seeing this, Gengar looked at Wallace and Cynthia.
"Gen gengar."
Go for it!
Then it floated after Lucas toward the Pokémon Center.
Baron Lickitung—Baron Alberto—hadn't reacted yet.
Had that Pokémon that just dropped from the sky simply joined the battlefield like that?
"What... what's the situation?"
Baron Alberto asked.
"Jessie, did you see that?"
The James trio huddled together and whispered.
"That looks like the Manager."
Jessie whispered.
"It seems so, meow."
"He's here, it's the Manager."
Jessie stood up and shouted excitedly.
Lucas arrived in the crowd and got off Latias's back.
"Jessie?"
Hearing Jessie's voice, Lucas looked over and found the trio hiding in a corner.
The trio ran over. "It's us."
Seeing his legs being tightly hugged by them, Lucas's face was full of black lines.
With you guys here, it means things are even more stable.
"Who are you?"
Lucas followed the voice and found a Lickilicky speaking.
"Baron Lickitung?"
Lucas blurted out.
Lickilicky puffed out its chest. "That's right, it's me—no, I'm Baron Alberto. You still haven't told me who you are. Is that white giant bird your Pokémon?"
"Lucas?"
Just as Lucas was about to speak, he was interrupted by a voice from beside him.
Lucas looked and found it was Nurse Joy.
Great, the Nurse Joy of Poplar Town knows me; this makes things easier.
"It's me, Nurse Joy."
Hearing Lucas's answer, Nurse Joy breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great."
Lucas signaled to the floating Gengar to take the Team Rockets trio to a corner.
Gengar nodded.
"Gen gengar."
Follow me.
"It says to follow it, meow."
Meowth said quietly.
Jessie and the other two then slipped away under everyone's watchful eyes without drawing any attention.
Lucas: ——
Impressive.
"Are you the Lucas that Champion Cynthia and the others mentioned? The one who said Darkrai is good?"
Baron Lickitung—no, Baron Alberto—kept questioning him.
"Could I answer your questions later? Right now we need to organize the crowd to evacuate to a safe place."
Lucas said.
Baron Lickitung nodded. "Okay."
"Nurse Joy, I'll have to trouble you, Gothitelle, and Lilligant to distribute the herbal medicine. It can soothe the nerves and treat injuries."
Lilligant and the others all jumped out of their Poké Balls, and Gengar took out all the herbal medicine from its four-dimensional space.
Nurse Joy and the others began to arrange the work.
Lucas looked at the group of people and suddenly said loudly: "Everyone, don't be afraid! Right now, our great Champion Cynthia and Champion Wallace are joining forces to stop Palkia and Dialga. Moreover, the legendary Sea God Lugia has also come to help us. We must believe in the strength of the two Champions. We will drive them out of Poplar Town!"
After comforting the crowd at the Pokémon Center, Lucas handed the remaining command work to Baron Lickitung and went to the trio's side.
"Jessie, James, Meowth, I have a very important matter to entrust to you now."