The moment Totem Swellow regained consciousness, it spotted its trainer lying in a pool of blood. Its eyes instantly turned red.
In a flash, Swellow's mind was flooded with memories—every moment it had spent alongside its trainer. The guilt and self-blame were overwhelming. Its thoughts focused on one culprit: Giovanni, who was currently commanding Nidoking to assault Shaymin.
Without hesitation, Swellow shot forward like an arrow aimed straight at Giovanni.
Just as it was about to reach him, a gray blur intercepted—striking first with a Shadow Claw and knocking Swellow aside.
The gray Pokémon was none other than Giovanni's Persian. Though it often lounged lazily in his arms, basking in affection, Persian was in fact one of Giovanni's most trusted and powerful Pokémon—his original partner.
It might not match Nidoking in raw strength, but Persian had always remained by Giovanni's side, acting as his personal bodyguard.
After swatting Swellow away, Persian didn't let up. It launched into an intense skirmish with the enraged bird, ensuring it couldn't close in on its trainer.
But Swellow, now in a berserk state driven by fury and grief, was relentless. Persian was clearly outmatched and had to rely on nimble footwork to stay in the fight.
"Nidoqueen, assist Persian!"
Seeing that Persian couldn't hold off Swellow alone, Giovanni sent out another of his aces—Nidoqueen.
Now two-on-one, Swellow was forced into a brutal struggle. Still, driven by the burning need to avenge its trainer, it refused to back down.
Though Rex remained motionless on the ground, Celebi relayed everything it saw through their mental link, keeping him fully aware of the battlefield.
At this point, Rex had concluded: Giovanni likely had no more legendaries to call upon.
"Celebi, now's our chance. Go for Moltres's control collar. I'll have Diancie cover you."
He decided to target Moltres first. Its battle with Diancie was happening off to the side—far from Giovanni's command range. It was the perfect opening for a surprise strike.
"Leave it to me," Celebi replied confidently.
From what it sensed, both Moltres and Diancie were in poor shape. In a two-on-one setup, Celebi wasn't worried.
"Diancie, work with Celebi. It's time to strike back."
Despite being locked in combat, Diancie was still linked to Rex's mind. The command reached her instantly.
Wasting no time, Diancie unleashed her most powerful Diamond Storm, encasing Moltres in layer upon layer of radiant crystals. Each wave of diamond shards was infused with her core energy, ripping through the sacred flames that cloaked Moltres's body.
Moltres instinctively reacted—casting off fiery feathers that ignited violently upon contact. Each explosion vaporized swaths of the diamond barrage. Despite the effort, Moltres could barely keep up.
But Diancie wasn't trying to win. She just needed to distract and contain it.
Then, silently, Celebi emerged beside Moltres—unseen and unfelt. With a flick of its tiny hand, it hurled a compressed orb of green energy directly at the control collar on Moltres's neck.
Moltres sensed the danger, but at point-blank range, it couldn't dodge.
The egg-sized energy sphere struck true. Upon impact, it rapidly expanded, detonating with a blinding surge of power.
Cracks formed across the dark, unnatural collar—proof of just how hard it was to destroy. Even with Celebi's power, it hadn't broken cleanly.
This was Giovanni's confidence. He'd made sure the control collars—Team Rocket's most dangerous tool—were forged from materials nearly impervious to damage. Only a legendary could hope to break one, and even then, barely.
Moltres, though, began to react. Its eyes lost their emptiness. It froze mid-air, ignoring its opponents entirely as its mind stirred.
Sensing the time was now, Celebi slashed with a Psyblade—a glowing, psychic edge.
Crack!
The collar finally gave way, shattering into fragments.
"KREEEEEE!!"
With a mighty cry of rebirth, Moltres roared as its consciousness returned.
Though it had been enslaved, Moltres had remained aware of everything. It just couldn't act—trapped in its own body. Now freed, it shook the sky with a furious scream.
It nodded respectfully to Diancie and Celebi, a gesture of gratitude.
Then it turned to Giovanni, eyes burning with vengeful rage.
"Boss, we've got a problem! Moltres has broken free—we need to get out of here!"
Matori quickly caught on and relayed the bad news.
"Call the crew on the ship. Have them fire the weapons to cover our retreat!"
Giovanni reacted fast. His instincts for survival were sharp—he knew they couldn't win anymore.
"No response! I think something's happened to the crew!"
Matori tried several times, but her face fell with each unanswered call.
"Can you still teleport us, Sabrina?"
Giovanni turned to the exhausted psychic beside him.
"I can."
Despite her battered state, Sabrina gritted her teeth and nodded.
She had stabilized her injuries. Though it would take everything she had, she could still teleport the group back to the aircraft.
(End of Chapter)