Want to read ahead. You know where
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Sam exhaled slowly, his hand pressed against Dragonite's warm scales.
The battle had ended, but his partner's breathing was still heavy.
Closing his eyes, Sam let his Veridian force flow, helping Dragonite recover its drained stamina.
Lucario, Darkrai, and even Silver, his team had power to spare when it came to offense.
But when it came to taking hits, Dragonite was the tank.
If Genesect's strike had landed, even Dragonite might have been in danger.
Sam would have been fine, but it would've been… humiliating.
Dragonite tilted its head, letting out a goofy,
"Aww!" before scratching at its horns, acting as though it hadn't just risked itself seconds ago.
Sam chuckled and tapped its Poké Ball.
"Alright, Draco. Take a rest."
Dragonite's body dissolved into red light, safely returning inside.
Reshiram, however, lingered.
The majestic white dragon's crimson eyes never left Sam.
It is still remembered.
Without Sam's support during that fight, it wouldn't have stood a chance against Zekrom, the enemy it had been fated to clash with since time immemorial.
Sam had shared his strength with it, and that had been enough to tip the scales.
But Reshiram also carried guilt.
It had fought too recklessly, too fiercely.
In the chaos, Sam himself had nearly been struck down.
He smiled faintly.
Through this battle, Reshiram had been convinced.
Pokémon didn't just choose Trainers for nothing; they chose the ones who could push them further, who could help them become stronger.
Even Reshiram, a Pokémon of legends, wasn't above that truth.
"Come back and rest," Sam said softly.
Reshiram's response was a long, melodic roar that carried pride, relief, and trust.
White light engulfed its body until, with a shimmer, it reverted into the Light Stone, landing gently in Sam's hand.
Before Sam could tuck it away, Cynthia stepped closer, her golden hair brushing lightly against her shoulder.
"Sam… what do we do now?"
Her voice was steady, but her brows were furrowed in concern.
"What else?" Sam said with a grin, tucking the stone away.
"Eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves. We've come all the way to Unova, after all. Might as well have some fun."
"And Team Plasma?" she pressed, still uneasy.
"Don't worry about them," Sam replied.
His voice was calm, almost dismissive.
"Zekrom's badly injured. It won't be recovering anytime soon, especially after sleeping for so long in the first place. Plasma knows that. They'll be licking their wounds, not hunting us down."
Cynthia hesitated, then slowly nodded.
His words made sense.
Her grip on his arm tightened as the tension finally left her shoulders.
"Alright then… let's go."
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Far away, in Team Plasma's hidden headquarters, the mood was nothing like the lightness between Sam and Cynthia.
N staggered inside, supported by the Dark Triad.
His face was pale.
Behind him, Zekrom limped, its once awe-inspiring form weakened and battered.
The sight alone was enough to throw the entire base into chaos.
A legend returning in such a pitiful state? Whispers spread like wildfire through Plasma's ranks.
Soon, the highest council gathered.
Ghetsis sat at the head, his one eye flashing with fury.
Beside him were Colress, his face unreadable as ever, and the cold, calculating Sird.
The Dark Triad gave their report.
The room fell silent as the words "Reshiram" and "defeat" echoed in the chamber.
Ghetsis' expression twisted.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the head of his staff.
"Useless!" he snarled, his voice a whip of venom.
"What a waste!"
He shot to his feet, the veins in his neck standing out as he shouted.
"Zekrom and Reshiram are equals, legends born to balance each other! And yet, in the hands of that man, Reshiram crushed Zekrom like it was nothing. Pathetic!"
His anger boiled over.
He snatched a stack of documents off the table and hurled them into the corner, scattering papers across the floor.
From the couch, Sird shifted slightly, her tone sharp but calm.
"You're forgetting something, Ghetsis. It wasn't just Reshiram. That man, Samuel, is no ordinary Trainer. He's different. That's why he could beat N, and why even Zekrom fell."
Her words hung in the air, heavy with a truth no one wanted to admit.
"He hasn't even shown his full strength yet," Sird said softly, her eyes half-lidded with amusement.
"If he were to call forth Rayquaza, a Pokémon far stronger than any legendries of Unova, what then? What chance would you have?"
The words struck like daggers.
Ghetsis' face darkened further, the fury in his chest threatening to spill over.
Reshiram in Sam's hands was already a nightmare.
But Rayquaza? That was a force no one in Unova could resist.
He had built Team Plasma with years of careful plotting, weaving influence into the very roots of the region.
His goal had always been the same: to dominate Unova.
But now Sam stood before him like a mountain, immovable and impossible to climb.
Sird watched him quietly, reading his thoughts as though they were laid bare across his face. A thin smile curled her lips.
"So, Mr. Ghetsis… perhaps you should start considering cooperation with us."
The room grew tense. Ghetsis forced himself to breathe, smothering his rage.
His single eye shifted to her, sharp and cold.
"I've heard whispers," he said flatly.
"You made a move recently, flexing your muscles… only to be stopped by him as well."
He leaned forward, voice low and venomous.
"Don't think I know why you're here. If you want to unify the Kanto region, Samuel is your obstacle, too. You can't move forward without removing him from the board."
Sird didn't flinch. In fact, she laughed softly, a sound that carried both charm and danger.
"Exactly. Our goals are aligned. Either we obtain a power greater than Samuel's… or we kill him. Only then will the path to unification be clear."
Her words silenced the room. The truth was plain, heavy, and undeniable.
For a long moment, Ghetsis said nothing. His staff tapped against the floor as his mind raced.
Finally, he muttered, "And how, exactly, do you propose we obtain such power, Miss Sird?"
Her smile widened. She spoke each word slowly, letting them linger in the air like poison.
"Dark Kyurem."
The name alone seemed to chill the chamber.
Colress, who had been absorbed in his documents until then, suddenly snapped his head up. His eyes gleamed, wild and feverish.
"Kyurem… fused with Zekrom or Reshiram… Dark Kyurem!"
His voice was filled with manic excitement.
"The potential! The sheer power! If we could harness it"
"Silence."
Ghetsis' voice cracked like a whip.
But even he couldn't entirely suppress the flicker of interest in his own gaze.
"That technological strength of yours," he said carefully, turning his eye back to Sird.
"You claim you can control Kyurem?"
Sird's smile turned razor-sharp.
"Using Pokémon as tools has always been our specialty. And tools… can always be controlled. As for Kyurem, we know the key to mastering it, the DNA Splicers. By fusing Kyurem with its other halves, its true power can be drawn out. Dark Kyurem is not just a possibility; it is inevitable. But only if Team Plasma works with us."
Colress leaned forward, his hands trembling with excitement.
"Yes! With science and proper control methods, Kyurem can become unstoppable. A god among Pokémon!"
Ghetsis fell silent again, his thoughts hidden behind his cold, unreadable mask.
The ambition burned inside him, tempered only by caution. Finally, he gave the faintest of nods.
"Very well. Rocket… how do you intend to cooperate?"
Sird's lips curled into a smile that promised both alliance and betrayal.
Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, yet filled with power.
"That, Mr. Ghetsis… is only the beginning."