The jagged black fissure tore wider, bleeding ink-black darkness into the clear blue sky. It blotted out the sun, casting the entire Williams estate in a cold, unnatural twilight.
From the void, shadows began to pour out.
A bunch of trainers clad in archaic, uniform armor emerged from the spatial tear, riding atop heavily scarred flying-type Pokémon. Skarmory, Aerodactyl, Crobat, and Braviary circled the sky, their sheer numbers blocking out the light.
At the vanguard of this invading armada was a massive Corviknight. It was at least twice the size of a normal one, its steel feathers glinting with an ominous, blood-red tint.
Riding the metal bird was a figure clad entirely in heavy, crimson-plated armor, his face obscured by a menacing, horned helm.
The Red Knight.
Up on the balcony, Blaire's bubblegum popped, but she didn't blow another. She slowly lowered her dark sunglasses, her eyes wide as she stared at the armada filling the sky above their home.
"Are these the guys you told me about, old man?" Blaire asked, her voice losing its usual playful edge. "Why are they here?"
Seth watched the sky, his hands still resting lightly on the marble railing. The terrifying, bottomless malice in his eyes was perfectly masked by a calm, almost serene expression.
"Yes," Seth replied softly. "They are."
---
To understand the terror currently gripping the older, experienced trainers on the island, one had to look back into the bloody, hidden history of the Pokémon world.
250 years ago, there was no Pokémon League. The regions were united under the iron-fisted rule of a single, absolute monarchy: The Ancient Kingdom.
Through a grueling, continent-spanning war, the early founders of the League overthrew the Kingdom, establishing the modern system of Gyms, Elites, and Champions.
But the Ancient Kingdom was never truly destroyed. They had retreated into a separate, fractured spatial dimension, a realm only they possessed the keys to enter and exit.
For two and a half centuries, they had been locked in a constant, shadow war with the League, trying to reclaim the world they believed was rightfully theirs.
To the general public, and even to intermediate and advanced-level trainers like Eric, the Ancient Kingdom was a myth, an old fairy tale used to scare children. Only those who reached the Pseudo-Elite level and proved their absolute loyalty to the League were briefed on the truth. It was an open secret among the true powerhouses of the world.
The League was overall stronger, but with managing the vast territories of seven regions, combating deeply entrenched criminal syndicates like Team Rocket, and constantly dealing with their own internal political strife, their forces were stretched incredibly thin.
And the absolute spearheads of the Ancient Kingdom's military might were their envoys. The Knights of Order.
---
Down in the courtyard, the atmosphere had devolved into pure, unadulterated panic.
The elegant facade of the high-society gathering shattered instantly. The veteran chaperones, elite bodyguards, and Quasi-Elite trainers employed by the aristocratic families broke into frantic motion, summoning their strongest Pokémon to form a defensive perimeter around the young prodigies.
"Form up! Protect the heirs!" a veteran bodyguard roared, his Blastoise raising its cannons.
"How are they even here without the League knowing?!" another chaperone shouted, his voice cracking with panic as he looked at the sky. "I thought the Central League was keeping track of their dimensional movements!"
Eric stood rooted to his spot, his mind racing at a million miles an hour.
He immediately recalled Haunter into his shadow. His eyes darted around the courtyard, mapping out the exits, calculating the exact distance to the tree line. The sheer pressure radiating from the sky was suffocating. Whatever these people were, the fact that the veteran bodyguards were shaking in fear told Eric everything he needed to know.
He glanced at the other prodigies.
Red had pulled his cap low over his eyes. Espeon stood by his feet, her psychic energy flaring brightly as Red unclasped Charizard's Poké Ball again, his posture tense but completely fearless.
Blue had summoned his Blastoise, his fists clenched tight. The annoyance on his face had been replaced by a sharp, calculating glare as he evaluated the sheer number of enemies above them.
Green was already gone. The moment the spatial crack had appeared, she had quietly melted into the chaotic crowd, her hands resting on her Poké Balls, entirely focused on survival.
Iris had stepped closer to her Pokémon, her blue eyes locked onto the sky, her elegant posture stiff with tension.
Kai stood near the edge of the fountain, his polite smile completely erased. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he quickly assessed the variables. For a hidden member of Team Rocket, the sudden appearance of a massive, unknown army threw a massive wrench into his own survival plans.
And then there was Belle.
"Woah!" Belle gasped, pointing her half-eaten ice cream cone at the Red Knight. "Look, Vice Captain Sparkles! Are they the final bosses for the Great Belle Pirates?"
"Pika!" Pikachu sparked her cheeks, equally oblivious to the lethal danger hanging over them.
High above, the Red Knight looked down at the sprawling estate, his gaze sweeping over the terrified adults and the tense prodigies.
"A gathering of the League's future foundation," the Red Knight's voice echoed, magically amplified to reach every corner of the island. It was cold, metallic, and devoid of any human empathy. "How convenient."
He raised a gauntleted hand, pointing down at the courtyard.
"Kill them all," he commanded. "Leave none alive. Except my two generals, the rest of you, attack."
The sky erupted.
Hundreds of heavily armored trainers drew their weapons and urged their flying Pokémon into a lethal dive. While there were several Pseudo-Elite trainers among the bodyguards on the ground, the sheer numerical advantage of the Ancient Kingdom's forces was overwhelming.
Despair flashed in the eyes of the defenders. It was an absolute slaughter waiting to happen.
But before the first enemy could even breach the courtyard's airspace, a deafening, earth-shattering roar ripped through the sky.
ROOOOOOOAR!
The sheer force of the draconian roar created a physical shockwave that blew back the descending vanguard. The clouds above parted violently.
A lone Salamence shot up from the grand balcony of the manor, its massive, blood-red wings leaving a trail of intense, terrifying dragon-type energy in its wake. It hovered directly between the descending army and the courtyard below, entirely blocking their path.
The pressure radiating from this single Pokémon eclipsed the entire invading force combined.
And standing calmly on the back of the draconic beast, his white suit fluttering in the violent winds, was Seth Williams.
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