Celebi possesses the ability to jump through time and space, an ability that is simply too overwhelming for humans and other Pokémon.
In his youth, Pryce's mistake had caused his beloved pair of Lapras to die on an icy field.
His current main Lapras was the child they left behind.
His greatest sin.
He blamed himself entirely.
He had forced a newborn Lapras to grow up without its parents.
From that day on, Pryce swore he would change the past—
He would let that little Lapras see its parents again.
The gentle, kind Pryce from long ago disappeared.
Even his old friends, Oak, Agatha, and the others had written the "Boy and his Lapras" in hopes of bringing the old Pryce back.
But he remained unmoved.
His heart was completely consumed by the idea of reversing time.
But how?
Aside from the Temporal Pokémon Dialga, only Celebi possessed the power of time.
But reality… simply would not allow it.
Many years ago, Pryce found Celebi. Yet despite Celebi having the power to leap through time itself, Pryce could not capture it—not even when he pushed his body to the brink, covered in wounds from head to toe.
That was why Pryce began chasing the idea of the GS Ball.
Using Ho-Oh's Rainbow Feather and Lugia's Silver Feather as materials, the GS Ball could capture beings who possessed powers of space and time like Celebi.
For this plan, Pryce went so far as to capture Ho-Oh and Lugia themselves, and even kidnapped gifted children from across Indigo to prepare for his second attempt at capturing Celebi.
Just to see those two Lapras again—the two he had lost, the two tied to his one and only precious memory, Pryce had sacrificed everything. The prime years of his life had been consumed by obsession and tragedy.
Because of this, he had grown old and withered, still living alone.
Once, he had been a man of extraordinary talent, with a future that should have been dazzling beyond measure. A potential champion? No—Pryce was a once-in-history Master-level Trainer.
Across the entire world, across all of history, he alone had ever reached such a realm.
But for the sake of that nearly delusional ideal, that impossible desire, he spent day after day sitting in the frozen, lifeless Mahogany Gym, accompanied only by his cold, silent ice sculptures.
Was it worth it?
Perhaps only he knew the answer.
"SCREEEE!!!"
A sharp, piercing cry split through the sky.
Shadow Lugia descended, its feathers radiating an eerie, faint black glow. The massive spread of its ink-black wings blotted out the sky. Its scarlet eyes shone with an unsettling, almost malicious light—an endless tide of hostility that spilled forth without restraint.
"Lugia…"
Pryce stared at the darkened Lugia. Behind the chilling mask carved like an ice sculpture, his expression remained indifferent and unreadable.
Whether the feathers of this corrupted Lugia could be used to forge another GS Ball or not… it made no difference.
If he had to choose between missing the opportunity or killing the wrong target, he would rather kill the wrong one.
He was old. He had waited too long. Time was running out. Whether his actions were right or wrong—he no longer cared.
He would seize what must be seized.
"Hand over Lugia."
His voice, low and hoarse, echoed from behind the ice-mask. Filtered through the frozen sculpture, the sound had changed—distorted into something almost otherworldly.
Lance blinked, stunned for a moment. Then his lips curled into a twisted grin.
Giovanni's eyes flickered, briefly glancing at the masked man. He didn't know who this person was, but the man clearly wasn't weak.
A moment ago, the Shadow Lugia's attack appeared to have been blocked—by an Ice-type Pokémon belonging to this masked stranger?
"Interesting… a wretched little rat who doesn't even dare show his real face, yet he dares to covet my Lugia?"
Lance's blood-red hair whipped in the wind as his cold eyes locked onto the black-robed Pryce. His mocking laughter cut sharply through the air.
To Lance, anyone who didn't even dare show their face, someone skulking around like this—was just another filthy rat crawling in the shadows like Giovanni.
He didn't know who the masked man was. He didn't know if he was Giovanni's backup.
It didn't matter.
Someone like that could only be one thing: a parasite crawling in a gutter, blinded by greed.
"Fine," Lance said coldly. "I'll 'give' it to you—"
"But first…"
"You'll have to prove you can survive it!"
Lance's grin twisted into something ferocious.
People who allowed their own desires to swallow them whole… were always this foolish.
"Shadow Lugia, Shadow Storm!"
"SCREEEEE!"
The Shadow Lugia's entire body erupted into a surge of black energy. With a heavy flap of its immense wings, an overwhelming black hurricane rolled outward, swallowing the sky.
"Blizzard."
Pryce lifted his head slightly. This attack was indeed stronger than the Lugia he once caught—but to defeat him, it still wasn't enough.
From beneath the folds of his black robe, a small Swinub stepped forward. A raging blizzard burst out of its tiny body.
Though the Pokémon itself was diminutive, the blizzard it unleashed…
…was terrifying beyond belief.
In an instant, the air turned icy. Snow fell from the heavens. The storm warped the clouds and shifted the very weather.
The black hurricane and the ice-blue blizzard collided head-on in the sky—
A violent explosion of wind surged outward.
Shadow Storm and Blizzard clashed fiercely, but neither could overcome the other.
And wasn't that ridiculous?
"This is impossible!"
Lance, shielded protectively by Dragonite, spat every word through clenched teeth.
The blizzard had completely resisted Shadow Lugia's attack.
Impossible. Completely impossible.
He didn't know the exact full extent of Shadow Lugia's strength—but during the battle earlier, Shadow Lugia had utterly dominated Mewtwo.
Shadow Lugia was without question a top-tier legendary.
And yet what was he seeing now?
Shadow Lugia's signature STAB move… could not overpower the Blizzard of a Swinub?
Was he hallucinating!?
"H-how…"
Giovanni, who had just been preparing to order Mewtwo to retreat, froze in shock.
Even Mewtwo's eyes went wide, stunned into silence as it watched the tiny Swinub.
Even I can't beat that Shadow Lugia…
Against Shadow Lugia, Mewtwo stood no chance—no matter how it tried to approach the battle.
But a tiny, unevolved Swinub…
…could match it?
"Blizzard."
Pryce, completely ignoring the shock on the faces of two of the world's strongest men, spoke again. His voice, low and emotionless, echoed from behind the ice mask.
Shadow Lugia was indeed powerful.
But his own main force was no weaker.
Behind Pryce, Delibird rose into the air—then unleashed another horrifically powerful blizzard.
"Shadow Lugia!"
Lance, suppressing his growing unease, called out sharply.
He could no longer afford to underestimate this masked man.
To the world, Delibird was a joke, a weak delivery Pokémon.
And Swinub? No one would even use it to deliver newspapers.
Yet their power just now had been beyond astonishing—utterly unreasonable.
Even Delibird's blizzard was monstrously strong. Not on Swinub's level, but undeniably terrifying.
"SCREEEEE!"
Shadow Lugia shrieked, gathering power as the Shadow Storm intensified.
BOOM!
The two blizzards and the storm collided once more, generating a massive wave of energy across the sky. The blast forced Shadow Lugia backward.
And the explosion also stopped Delibird's blizzard.
Wind howled. Lance's blood-red hair whipped violently in the frigid air, cooling his emotions slightly.
"Who exactly are you?"
Lance's eyes narrowed sharply. The man was completely concealed in black, face hidden behind a grim, icy mask.
Someone who should not exist.
Someone whose Ice-type mastery surpassed even Lorelei by an unimaginable margin.
Giovanni and Mewtwo also retreated to the edge of the battlefield. Giovanni did not flee—curiosity rooted him in place.
"This is irrelevant. I have no intention of being your enemy. I want only Lugia."
Pryce's voice was cold, emotionless.
"Ridiculous. Shadow Lugia is my Pokémon."
Lance snorted. As if he would hand over his Pokémon.
But for once, he did not fly into rage. Instead, he stared intensely at Pryce.
"…You've surpassed Champion level?"
The words hung in the air.
Giovanni's eyes narrowed, focused. That explanation… made the most sense.
Otherwise, how could a Swinub and a Delibird battle against a top-tier legendary?
Top-tier Champions could barely challenge high-tier legendaries with full teams. It was the absolute limit—Lance himself had once beaten N's Zekrom only by overwhelming it with his entire dragon legion.
That was already pushing the limit of possibility.
Lance had long reached the apex of the Champion level. He had reached the top—yet saw no road beyond it. He believed there was no higher realm.
Giovanni and Leon felt the same.
But now… a new path appeared before them.
A Trainer who used ordinary Pokémon to clash with a top-tier legendary.
"Yes."
Pryce paused for a moment, then answered calmly.
He understood why Lance needed to ask. For someone pursuing the pinnacle, the existence of a realm beyond Champions was irresistible.
"I knew it…"
Lance's eyes suddenly blazed, trembling with excitement he couldn't contain.
So, Champion level… truly wasn't the end!
Joy. Thrill. Obsession.
He felt all of them at once.
"Hahaha! Then let me see—whether a Trainer who surpasses Champions can defeat a top-tier legendary!"
His laughter rang wild through the air, then abruptly stopped. His eyes burned with fervor as he stared at Pryce.
He needed to test it for himself.
"Lugia will be mine. I will not leave without it."
Behind the mask, Pryce's expression remained steady. Unmoved.
A top-tier legendary was fearsome, yes.
But a single Shadow Lugia was not his match.
When he had captured Lugia and Ho-Oh in the past, it had barely taken any effort. His strength had long surpassed the level of top-tier legendaries.
"If you think you can take it, then come try!"
Lance grinned savagely. In that moment, his entire focus locked on Pryce.
Putting Giovanni aside for now.
…
Elsewhere, two ordinary Lugia soared high through the air.
"Hold on, Lugia, are you sure this is the right direction?"
Lucas sat atop one of the Lugia, staring ahead with a strange expression.
"I'm certain. The clan leader's aura is there."
The calm, deep voice sounded in Lucas's mind—the voice of the male Lugia, mate of Mother Lugia and father of the young Lugia.
"When we reach the outskirts of the town, you two go into my Poké Ball first. Use your senses to guide me."
Lucas frowned thoughtfully. That location…
…was Mahogany Town.
Pryce was inside Mahogany Town.
The last thing he wanted was for a Lugia to appear and draw Pryce out.
No—Pryce might already be outside.
From a distance, Lucas saw ice and snow erupting into the sky—clear signs of battle.
It was almost certainly Pryce.
"What a troublesome situation…"
Lugia also noticed the scene ahead. Old memories flickered in its eyes, complex and heavy.
It remembered this place well.
Yes—painfully well.
(End of Chapter)