"I won't let you down."
N slightly furrowed his brows. The vaguely superior attitude Lucas gave off made him a little uncomfortable. The battle hadn't even started yet, and this guy was already acting like he'd won? Was this some kind of provocation?
"Zekrom, Dragon Claw!"
N calmed his thoughts and gave the order to Zekrom. He didn't care for pointless taunts—he preferred proving things through action! Defeat Reshiram, and that would be enough!
"ROOAAAR!"
Zekrom let out a thunderous roar, its sharp claws glowing with greenish energy as it shot toward Reshiram at high speed.
"Dragon Pulse."
Lucas's lips curled into a faint smile. Such a direct and unreserved attack—who did N think he was going to hit?
Reshiram flapped its wings and pulled back to keep its distance from Zekrom, a bluish energy charging in its mouth before it shot a Dragon Pulse toward the incoming attacker.
"Zekrom, dodge it!"
Zekrom dashed to the side at high speed, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the Dragon Pulse.
"Thunderbolt!"
In an instant, Zekrom's body crackled with dazzling electric light. Under the gloomy sky, it looked like a colossal living battery.
Boom!
A blinding bolt of lightning shot from Zekrom straight into the clouds. Thunder rumbled as streaks of electricity flashed more frequently across the sky. Then, a sudden thunderstrike crashed down—right toward Reshiram.
"Blue Flare."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. That Thunderbolt was clearly a distraction. But still, it was fast—Reshiram had to respond.
Reshiram let out a mighty cry, spitting a blazing "大" shaped pillar of fire upward to clash against the falling thunderbolt.
Fire and lightning collided violently.
"Dragon Claw!"
Zekrom took the opportunity to close in. With a flash, its claws tore through the air and struck Reshiram's shoulder directly!
Seeing this, N's eyes lit up. As expected, his Zekrom wouldn't lose to Reshiram! But in the very next moment…
"Blue Flare!"
Reshiram gritted its teeth through the pain in its shoulder. The turbine at the end of its tail suddenly blazed to life, the heat intensifying rapidly!
Even Zekrom, so close, could feel the scorching heat!
"Zekrom!"
N's expression tensed instantly—this wasn't something to take lightly! But they were too close. Dodging was no longer an option. Clearly, Lucas had prepared this move in advance.
"Fusion Bolt!"
Zekrom understood too. Instead of waiting to be hit, it surged with blue electricity again, but—it was already too late!
With a resounding cry, Reshiram unleashed a brilliant pillar of blue fire that crashed straight into Zekrom.
Zekrom's expression twisted in pain. Even with its resistance to Fire-type moves, Blue Flare was just too strong!
The massive black dragon was blasted downward, crashing to the ground with a heavy boom as waves of blue fire burst skyward. The intense heat swept through the area.
"Zekrom!"
N cried out, a worried look in his eyes. He kept calling out to Zekrom in his heart. He had been too careless. Even though the trap had been obvious, he'd still let Zekrom get baited in.
Although Reshiram had taken a hit from Dragon Claw, the damage from Blue Flare was clearly far worse for Zekrom!
"Looks like your so-called ideals amount to this much. Already down after just one round?" Lucas clicked his tongue. Still a bit too green, this N. Falling behind this fast?
"Zekrom won't fall that easily. My ideals won't collapse so simply either," N replied firmly.
Though he was at a disadvantage now, just one Blue Flare wasn't enough to defeat Zekrom! They could still fight!
"People who just talk tough usually don't end up well. Ideals aren't something you just speak into existence. If that's the extent of your strength, maybe you should go train for a few more years," Lucas said mockingly, curious to see how long N could hold out.
"Zekrom!"
N clenched his jaw tightly, anger bubbling up like never before. He didn't care how others insulted him—but he couldn't allow his ideals to be mocked!
"ROOAAAR!"
In response to his cry, a deep dragon roar rang out. Zekrom burst from the dust and flames, rising high to face Reshiram once more.
"Got mad, huh? What a pity. Your fate was sealed from the start," Lucas said, eyeing Zekrom. Its once sleek, black body was now marred with burn marks—Blue Flare had clearly done a number on it.
"I will win this battle!" N shouted. No matter how Lucas taunted him, he wouldn't fire back. But one thing he couldn't accept—losing to this guy.
Ideals would not be defeated by truth!
That was N's last stand. If even ideals lost, what was he?
"There's still plenty of time. Go ahead and put on your show—I'll be watching," Lucas shrugged, not in any hurry.
----------------------------------------------
"Damn it! What the hell is N doing?"
Elsewhere, Ghetsis's face was dark with rage as he fought against Colress. The image of Zekrom being knocked down by Reshiram was fresh in his mind.
That momentary distraction cost him—Colress pressed his advantage even harder.
"Turns out this monster can't be relied on. Do I really have to use Genesect?"
Ghetsis looked at N with increasing anger. He had raised him since childhood, and now the brat couldn't even take down Reshiram?
What was the point of raising him then?
He began to consider deploying Genesect, but hesitated. He glanced at Colress, unsure if the scientist had secretly tampered with it or left behind some kind of failsafe.
If he deployed Genesect only to have it turned against him… that would be a total disaster.
-------------------------------
"Nidoqueen, Hammer Arm!"
"Salamence, Dragon Rush!"
Green directed Nidoqueen and Salamence. As for Wartortle… well, it had already been knocked out by a flurry of ranged attacks.
The good news was, it had just evolved into Blastoise before going down.
Nidoqueen snarled and slammed a Liepard into the ground with brutal force.
"Raaaagh!"
Meanwhile, Salamence soared into the air, then spun around mid-flight. Dark energy in the shape of a fierce dragon swirled around it. It smashed through multiple opposing moves—Dark Pulse, Air Slash, and more—like they were nothing.
"What a beast!" Green's eyes sparkled. No matter how she looked at it, Salamence was just too cool!
Too bad it wasn't hers.
She pouted slightly. Who wouldn't want a strong, majestic Dragon-type like this?
Though they had just cleared a few enemies, more Plasma Grunts were already releasing fresh Pokémon.
Even though Salamence and Nidoqueen were strong, they were getting overwhelmed. Soon, Nidoqueen was brought down by sheer numbers.
Salamence, too, was panting from exhaustion, having drawn most of the enemy's attention.
"This won't do. Guess I have to use it."
Green looked ahead at the dozens of Pokémon still approaching and felt a wave of despair. Hadn't they been fighting for ages? Why weren't there fewer enemies?
Then again, who didn't carry four or five Pokémon these days?
Every time they knocked one out, another took its place.
"Moltres, let's go!"
Gritting her teeth, she stole a glance at Marnie's side, where Tyranitar was on a rampage. Compared to her, Green had held out longer thanks to her higher strength level.
But honestly, things weren't looking great for her.
Marnie, face blank, was just quietly watching Tyranitar crush everything.
Cough… Her own Pokémon had gone down in a few minutes.
Then she released Tyranitar. Arbok was battling somewhere else.
But really, she didn't need to command Tyranitar at all.
The enemy's attacks couldn't even scratch its armor…
Yeah, Tyranitar was just standing there tanking everything and wiping them out with Hyper Beam. Like a literal war god.
"SCREEE!"
A sharp, high-pitched screech rang out as the dark red bird of legend soared through the sky.
The Galarian Moltres swooped down and tilted its head, staring at the enemy's Pokémon.
"Moltres, Dark Pulse!"
Seeing the opposing Pokémon prepare to attack, Green quickly gave the order. She'd even forgotten her bird phobia for the moment.
After all, she'd seen too many legendary Pokémon lately—especially that terrifying Ice Dragon in Giant Chasm.
Compared to that, her childhood trauma seemed trivial.
Also, after spending time with Lucas, she had some understanding of this strange Moltres.
Namely: it was nothing like the one she thought she knew.
Dark Pulse?
Moltres glanced at her—and Green froze.
Was it her imagination, or did it just look at her with… disdain?
Disdain?
A bird? Looking down on her?
"SCREEE!"
Before she could react, Moltres spread its wings and cried out. Black-and-red energy like fire erupted around it.
Dark runes expanded beneath the enemy's feet.
Fiery Wrath!
In the next moment, like a volcanic eruption, a massive surge of black-red energy exploded upward.
The wave engulfed all the enemy Pokémon in front of Green.
The overwhelming visual impact of that energy flood lit up her face with its eerie glow.
Moments later, the energy faded—and every single Pokémon in its path was down.
Green: "…"
She suddenly understood why that bird had looked down on her.
With opponents like these? Please.
(End of Chapter)