Thus began the divine firestorm at sea.
Ho-Oh's blinding white flames scorched across the ocean in relentless pursuit, an inferno so powerful it nearly consumed the human-settled islands in its path. And yet, somehow, the virus still escaped.
What followed defied all logic. The virus began to evolve at an accelerated rate, infecting even the legendary Pokémon once thought untouchable.
Even Ho-Oh, proud as it was, could no longer deny the truth: the fall of Primal Kyogre sent a wave of dread through the heart of the skies.
That creature had been born alongside Ho-Oh at the dawn of creation. And now it had fallen, infected, controlled.
Ho-Oh wasn't alone in its unease. The other Mythical Pokémon felt it too.
Because if even Primal Kyogre, one of the mightiest beings to ever reclaim Nature Energy, could be infected, then none of them were safe.
For the first time since the world's beginning, the Mythical Pokémon felt a tangible, existential threat.
In the past, no matter the calamity, be it mass extinction or world war, these beings never faced true death. Even when grievously wounded, they could simply retreat into slumber and recover over centuries.
But now? Infection meant something worse. It meant the loss of free will.
And with Kyogre under the virus's control, killing the virus by conventional means was no longer viable.
Because to do so, they'd have to destroy the Ocean Emperor first.
Stalemated, the gods turned to an unthinkable option: they agreed to support Giratina's plan to devour Arceus.
The Renegade Dragon, bitter from being ambushed by the virus in the Reverse World, had argued this was the only way. If it and the other two deity twins of time and space could devour Arceus, their combined power would skyrocket. With that amplified strength, they could manipulate the rules of existence to cast both the virus and every infected being into another world, one far removed from their own.
Conveniently, Dialga had already discovered such a place: a world utterly ravaged by another kind of virus. A perfect prison.
All infected could be exiled there and left to rot. This world would be wiped clean and born anew.
After the purge, the trio, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, would unmake most of the lifeforms and revert them to primal energy. That energy, in turn, would be offered to Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and the other cooperating Mythical Pokémon to absorb and strengthen themselves further.
Since the total energy of this universe was conserved, any gain in divine power would come at the cost of fewer new lifeforms. But that didn't matter.
Compared to the promise of increased might, the extinction of a few species was a minor price to pay.
But then, the plan veered wildly off course.
Arceus awoke far earlier than expected, halting the plot in its tracks. Meanwhile, the virus grew exponentially stronger in a matter of days, far beyond what anyone had anticipated. Even Rayquaza and Regigigas succumbed, one after another.
Originally, the Mythicals had planned to strike down the so-called "New Empire," provoke retaliation, and lure the infected toward Unova. Once they arrived, the newly awakened Arceus would cleanse them.
They were certain Arceus could not be infected. But battling so many infected Mythicals would still leave the Original One critically weakened.
And when Arceus and the virus were both left battered and drained, the three dragons of time, space, and antimatter would strike, devouring the Creator and usurping Its power.
That was the plan, at least.
They even followed the human called Goodshow's blueprint, targeting key cities to trigger the chain of events.
But the virus proved stronger than imagined. The cities fell before the infected even reached Unova, and several Mythical Pokémon were infected during the assaults themselves.
While Dialga and Palkia did succeed in drawing the virus to Unova, Arceus responded in a way they hadn't foreseen.
It struck first.
Instead of attacking the virus, Arceus absorbed both Dialga and Palkia, reclaiming Its divine authority, and collapsing the entire plan in an instant.
Two of the Dark Triad were consumed. The third hid in terror.
And yet… despite everything, Ho-Oh found itself strangely… pleased.
Because the virus, once a harbinger of doom, had evolved again.
And this time, it brought strength.
With the emergence of the Old One Virus, Ho-Oh and the other infected Mythicals discovered a terrifying truth: the virus didn't just corrupt. It enhanced.
Their earlier cooperation with Giratina had been based on one promise: world cleansing in exchange for power.
Now, they were gaining that power anyway.
The goal had already been achieved.
As Ho-Oh neared its target, its deep crimson eyes locked onto two figures ahead.
One was draconic in shape, bearing ghostly striped wings, it was Giratina, ruler of the Reverse World.
The other shone with golden light, a luminous cross-shaped ring around Its waist: Arceus, the Original One, the Creator of Giratina itself.
Chains of radiant gold had sprung from Arceus's wheel, binding Giratina tight.
So that's why Giratina had stopped moving, Arceus had intercepted it.
Ho-Oh dove first. With a flap of its wings, it unleashed a storm of ashen-gray flames, cascading down like a meteor shower upon the two deities.
Arceus responded instantly. Its body shimmered with blue light, and from the air itself, a towering tidal wave, nearly a thousand meters high, surged forth. It doused the oncoming flames and crashed back toward Ho-Oh.
Ho-Oh's body flared with dark-golden energy, and its already unmatched speed accelerated further. In a single burst, it pierced through the wall of water and shot straight toward Arceus.
But then, light burst from Arceus's wheel.
Space twisted. The path ahead warped. Ho-Oh, flying in a straight line, suddenly veered upward against its will, looping into the sky, tracing circles in the air.
Its velocity bent into a great dark-gold ring in the clouds.
This was a simultaneous manipulation of space and time.
Space distorted its trajectory. Time looped it in a repeating orbit, trapping Ho-Oh mid-charge.
And in that single clash between Ho-Oh and Arceus, the rest of the Mythical Pokémon surged forward.
In an instant, attacks rained down from every direction—Moonblast, Dragon Pulse, Petrifying Gaze, Air Burst, Draco Meteor—a maelstrom of divine power converged on Arceus and Giratina.
The resulting energy storm swallowed thousands of kilometers in every direction. Every rock, grain of soil, droplet of water, and even spatial bubble within its reach was instantly annihilated, reduced to raw, elemental energy.
So many spatial bubbles collapsed that entire swaths of the real world suffered catastrophic explosions in response.
Countless humans and Pokémon died that day. Forests and cities vanished—entire regions wiped clean from existence.
It was far beyond anything even dozens of Champion-level Pokémon could achieve. Not even Arceus could withstand the onslaught.
The golden chains snapped.
Ho-Oh broke free from its temporal trap.
Released from the divine tether, Giratina immediately threw up Light Screen and slipped into its Ghost Form, evading the energy storm before it could shred it to pieces.
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