On the island stood a temple, a place that connected the real world and the other dimension. Within the temple, Azelf could freely wield its power without restraint.
"Rhyperior, open the crate."
Mira had long been curious about the crate. When she saw the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer inside, she froze.
She had once summoned Azelf to fight Darkrai under the black-robed sorcerer's command. If Aven hadn't arrived in time back then, Azelf would have been in grave danger. Naturally, she was very familiar with this sorcerer.
Now, seeing him at last, Mira slowly clenched her fists. This sorcerer, who had long coveted Aspiration City, repeatedly caused trouble, and nearly destroyed the city, had finally been captured!
"Aven, thank you for capturing this sorcerer for Aspiration City," Mira said after taking a deep breath.
"The Sorcerer Organization is the enemy of the entire Sinnoh Region. I merely did what I should," Aven replied, waving it off.
He then turned to Azelf and continued, "Azelf, this is the golden ring carried by the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer. If my guess is correct, it belongs to the Djinn Pokémon, Hoopa who they worship as a Demon God."
"HEEEAT!"
Upon hearing Aven's words, Heatran nodded.
It then opened its mouth and spat out a golden ring, flinging it viciously onto the ground.
That very ring had nearly controlled it back then. Fortunately, Aven had saved it. Even now, thinking back on it still filled Heatran with lingering fear.
Heatran then turned its gaze toward the black-robed sorcerer. Following Aven here was partly because it wanted to know exactly who had been plotting against it.
Heatran had always repaid grudges in full. Since these sorcerers had tried to control it, they would have to face its vengeance!
"Djinn Pokémon?""Demon God Hoopa?" Azelf and Mira exchanged glances.
This was a name they had never heard before. But judging from the name alone, and from the power of a ring capable of controlling guardian deities, Hoopa's strength was obvious.
"This is an extremely powerful guardian deity. As for how powerful it truly is, we may soon find out," Aven said solemnly. "Azelf, I'll have to trouble you to suppress the Golden Capture Ring next."
Azelf patted its chest confidently, signaling that it was no problem. This was its domain—its own dimension—where it possessed absolute power. It was confident it could easily suppress the ring.
After making the arrangements, Aven nodded to Froslass, signaling her to release the ice block infused with ghost- and ice-type energy, freeing the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer from within.
Crack, crack, crack—
With the sound of shattering ice, the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer opened his eyes.
He suddenly sat upright, his gaze sharp as he scanned his surroundings, memories gradually resurfacing in his mind.
Finally, his eyes locked onto Aven, and a deep, guttural roar escaped his throat.
"Aven, you meddlesome bastard!"
Immediately afterward, black mist surged from his body, causing the Capture Ring—currently wrapped in Azelf's psychic power—to vibrate violently.
But facing Azelf's strength, the ring was unable to break free, and the sorcerer's expression changed drastically.
All of his power came from the Golden Capture Ring. Now that it was suppressed, he could no longer use any power at all!
"We meet again, Grand Sorcerer," Aven said calmly.
This was the third time he had faced this Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer. The first two times, the sorcerer had escaped. This time, he had finally fallen into Aven's hands.
"I never imagined I'd end up in your grasp," the sorcerer said bitterly.
"If I had known this would happen, I should have had Darkrai kill you at all costs back then!"
His voice was filled with unwillingness. The first time he had heard Aven's name was during the first Abyssal Beast Tide.
Then came the attack on Aspiration City from Marina City, which had failed in a small place called Orangefruit Village. He hadn't cared much about it and had even successfully seized Seaside City by exploiting the defeat of its knight order.
But no matter what, he could never have imagined that the insignificant ant in his eyes back then would grow so fast—reaching the point where he could defeat him in just two short years!
"Unfortunately, there are no 'ifs,'" Aven said indifferently, shaking his head. "Now that you're in my hands, you have two choices: cooperate and tell me everything you know, or I'll find a way to make you talk."
"Hmph, so what if you know all this?"
"The power of us sorcerers are far beyond what you can imagine."
"The more you learn, the deeper your fear will become—and in the end, you will inevitably face the revenge of the Sorcerer Organization!"
The Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer looked at the people before him with undisguised contempt, his gaze finally settling on Azelf. This was the target their organization had long sought to capture!
The Sorcerer Organization would inevitably launch another assault on Aspiration City, and when that time came, Azelf would ultimately fall into their hands!
"Hmm? Your confidence comes from the Kalos Region and Hoopa, doesn't it?" Aven suddenly spoke at that moment.
Upon hearing the words "Kalos Region" and "Hoopa," the smile on the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer's face slowly faded. A trace of confusion appeared in his eyes—clearly, he hadn't expected Aven to know about these things.
"Hmph. The Demon God Hoopa is nothing more than a guardian deity sealed within the Kalos Region."
"No matter how powerful it is, it remains bound by its seal. And the Sinnoh Region is far more complicated than you think."
"The existence of the Creator God Arceus and the Creation Trio is no less formidable than Hoopa. No matter how strong Hoopa may be, it is impossible for it to set foot on the Sinnoh Region."
Aven continued speaking calmly, and his words caused the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer to freeze in place. He could clearly sense that Aven possessed an equally deep understanding of guardian deities.
"Very well. What exactly do you want to know?" After a long silence, the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer finally spoke.
His gaze swept across Azelf, Froslass, and Gardevoir. As someone well-versed in Ghost-type Pokémon, he naturally understood that Aven had many ways to extract his memories.
Especially the method of obtaining information through dreams—this was something he himself had often used. He had once ordered Darkrai to invade the dreams of countless beings to seize the information he desired.
"It seems you've thought it through. But even if you didn't give in, you know I still have ways to make you reveal everything, don't you?" Aven shook his head lightly.
At that moment, Froslass beside him suddenly floated toward the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer. As waves of energy surged around her, her gaze locked firmly onto him.
Then, amid the drastic change in the Grand Sorcerer's expression, a black crystal suddenly emerged from within his body. Dark mist continuously poured out from it, releasing an overwhelmingly dense and ominous energy.
This was precisely the black crystal that controlled Darkrai. At the same time, it was very likely the legendary "Shadow Crystal and the Source of Darkness" mentioned in the tales of the King of Almia and the Three Princes!
"Lass~"
As soon as the black crystal appeared, Froslass snatched it away and delivered it directly into Aven's hands.
"That's mine!" the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer snarled darkly.
Yet he dared not move an inch. Froslass, Lilligant, Gardevoir, Heatran, and Azelf were all watching him closely. Any slightest movement on his part would invite a frenzied assault from these Pokémon.
Only then did he realize that it was absolutely impossible to reclaim the black crystal by relying on his own strength.
"The black crystal… and then this."
Aven's gaze flickered as he looked at the black crystal in his hand. Immediately afterward, he retrieved another crystal from his back—a red crystal.
The moment the red crystal appeared, it emitted a faint red glow. As it drew closer to the black crystal, that glow steadily intensified.
Finally, under everyone's astonished gazes, a beam of red light surged out from the red crystal and fused directly into the black crystal!
After the red light merged into it, everyone could clearly feel that the dark aura emanating from the black crystal had weakened significantly, as if it had been partially purified.
Of course, the power of the red crystal was clearly limited. It could only weaken the black crystal's power—it was unable to completely purify or eliminate the dark energy contained within it.
"The black crystal's power really has weakened!" Even so, delight appeared in Aven's eyes. At this moment, his conjecture had been proven correct.
(End of Chapter)