In Unova, across the sea, Champion Alder was watching.
And when he saw that shape on the screen, he jumped to his feet.
"Kyurem…!"
The mythical Dragon-Ice Pokémon. The husk of truth and ideals.
Alder's mouth went dry.
Countless had searched for it. Most never returned. Those who did were broken, half-frozen, defeated.
But there it stood.
Obeying a human.
And not just any human.
"Naoki…" Alder whispered. "How did you do it?"
Back in the stadium, the audience roared in disbelief.
"Is that Kyurem?!"
"It froze the whole arena just by standing there!"
"How does Naoki have that?!"
Commentator Christopher could barely speak. "This is... this is beyond anything we've seen! Naoki has brought out Kyurem, the dragon of Unova legends! Cresselia might not survive this encounter!"
Across the field, Tobias was frozen. His expression had darkened, his knuckles white as he clutched Cresselia's Poké Ball.
Was Naoki… the one chosen by the Legendaries?
The whistle blew.
The fourth round had begun.
Tobias clenched his jaw.
"Cresselia, Shadow Clone!"
Cresselia's wings glowed as crescent-shaped light pulsed outward. Her form split and multiplied, two, then four, then dozens of mirrored figures surrounded Kyurem, floating in flawless synchrony.
"Now, Moonblast!"
A sea of glowing orbs formed overhead.
From each clone, a brilliant pink sphere gathered and launched. Dozens of Moonblasts converged on Kyurem like a celestial bombardment.
But Kyurem didn't move.
It raised its head, inhaling slowly. Frost hissed from its mouth.
Then...exhale.
A massive wall of ice erupted from beneath its feet, surrounding it in towering glacial spires.
BOOOOM!
The battlefield exploded with force as the Moonblasts struck.
Ice cracked. Light flared. A snowstorm burst outward, swallowing everything in sight.
Cresselia flew wide, trying to reposition.
But Kyurem's silhouette still stood within the ruins of the ice wall, completely unmoved.
From inside the storm, a deep growl rumbled.
"Blizzard," Naoki commanded, voice cold and certain.
Kyurem lowered its head.
At first, it was quiet.
A whisper of wind. A chill against the skin.
Then the wind howled.
Kyurem roared as a raging Blizzard erupted from its core. Ice shards flew in every direction. The air was filled with biting snow. The temperature dropped so sharply the steel supports of the stadium groaned.
Cresselia's clones were ripped apart, one by one, dissolved in the onslaught of frost.
Cresselia's body, battered and barely floating, was now fully exposed, both to Kyurem and to Naoki.
After weathering the storm of Blizzard, Cresselia's form shimmered weakly. Her once-graceful wings now dragged with fatigue, and her radiant glow had dulled. One more hit, and she would fall.
Tobias frowned as he scanned her trembling silhouette.
"Cresselia, use Shadow Clone and then recover with Moonlight!" he ordered sharply.
With visible effort, Cresselia split into several illusionary copies once again. Above the field, a faint silver glow emerged as moonlight streamed down. The healing rays bathed the real Cresselia, closing some of her wounds and restoring a fragment of her strength.
But Naoki had already made his decision.
His eyes locked onto the shimmering clones with cold finality.
"Let's finish this," he said softly. "Kyurem. Use Glaciate."
Kyurem's mouth parted, and an arctic howl exploded from its body.
In a flash, the arena was consumed by white.
Snow. Ice. Wind.
The air pressure collapsed. The audience couldn't see anything on the field. The camera feeds blurred into static and mist. Every inch of the battlefield was lost in a storm of freezing chaos.
"Cresselia!" Tobias shouted, his voice strained with panic.
There was no response.
No cry.
No glow.
Only the thunderous swirl of ice devouring everything in its path.
The commentator's voice rang out, filled with awe. "This is it! This isn't a tactical exchange anymore, this is sheer, brutal dominance! This is the power of legendary Pokémon, where one strike determines fate!"
The audience held its breath.
No one moved.
Eyes fixated on the mist-drenched battlefield, straining to see through the frost.
And then, finally, it began to clear.
The swirling mist pulled back like a curtain.
Kyurem stood in the center, its body untouched, still as a statue. Frost curled from its claws. Its eyes burned with an indifferent, unrelenting chill.
Then came the silence.
Across the battlefield, Cresselia floated no longer.
She was frozen midair, encased in solid crystal-clear ice.
Her body had been captured mid-flight, wings arched, her eyes closed in exhaustion, now sculpted into a flawless monument of defeat.
"Cresselia is unable to battle," Duncan finally declared, voice hushed by reverence. "Naoki wins the fourth round."
The arena didn't roar.
It fell silent.
The crowd, once wild with disbelief, had gone numb. Four Pokémon. Four legendaries. Four decisive defeats.
This was Naoki, Paldea's hidden boss.
And he was unstoppable.
Somewhere in the audience, a child whispered, "He's... not even trying hard, is he?"
No one answered.
Tobias slowly returned Cresselia to her Poké Ball, his expression unreadable. His fingers trembled slightly.
Naoki, on the other hand, was composed as always.
"Kyurem, return," he said gently.
A red beam of light drew Kyurem back into the Poké Ball.
"Thank you," he whispered. "Rest well."
Then, wordlessly, he pulled another Poké Ball from his belt.
He looked down at this ordinary Poké Ball, and his face was a little absent-minded.
The one inside would blow the lid off everything. His quiet life. His anonymity. His peaceful ranch in Paldea.
Once this Pokémon appeared, his secret would be exposed to the entire world.
Naoki hesitated for just a moment.
"Giratina. Maybe we should sit this one out."
But the next second, Giratina's irritable voice rang out from his heart.
"Absolutely not!" Giratina snapped. "You think I'm afraid of attention? If anyone dares show up and harass you, or Elara, or anyone else on the ranch, I'll be the first to drag them into the Distortion World and beat them into orbit!"
Naoki: "…"
That wasn't exactly what he meant.
It wasn't fear.
Even before anyone knew his full identity, trainers often showed up at his ranch, looking to battle. Challenge. Prove themselves.
And yet... everything had always been okay.
He exhaled.
What was he worried about?
In the anime, Ash had saved the world several times over. Stopped legends, ended wars, defeated gods… and still got to live his life, travel freely, and enjoy time with his friends.
This world had a way of making room for heroes without suffocating them.
Everyone lived their lives the way they wanted.
So why not him?
Why keep hiding?
Why suppress the wild dreams that once filled his childhood, the fantasies of crossing this world, taming Legendary Pokémon, standing on the grandest stage, and turning heads in every arena?
He was finally here.
And if he didn't live it out loud now…
When would he?
A spark ignited in his eyes.
Enough holding back.
No more half-measures.
No more pretending.
He was going to show his hand.
Across the battlefield, Tobias had already drawn his next Poké Ball. Their eyes met.
No words needed.
The next round had begun.
"In that case…" Naoki murmured, his voice quiet but rising with passion.
Then, louder, youthful, clear, and electric with energy:"Giratina, go!"
He flung the Poké Ball high into the air.
It cracked open with a thunderous snap, and a pillar of white light erupted from the sky like a storm breaking reality.
From within the light, a shape twisted into being, a body massive and draconic, with six legs planted firmly like anchors in another dimension.
Black, tattered wings unfurled like shadowed smoke, flickering between planes of existence.
Its body gleamed with polished gray steel, lined with crimson and gold. Around its neck coiled a golden collar, as if attempting to contain the untamed force it radiated.
And its eyes, those burning red eyes, glared around the stadium, full of wrath and majesty.
Giratina.
The Renegade Pokémon.
A hush fell over the entire world.
Spectators all across the globe stood from their seats.
No one could believe what they were seeing.
"That's… that's Giratina…" someone whispered.
"How can that be?"
"Isn't Giratina the partner of… the masked trainer?"
The realization began to ripple like a wave of thunder through the crowd.
Wait.
If Giratina was here, then that person must be...!