[The balance of battle has already started tipping toward Grey. That young man called N still isn't quite there yet when it comes to command ability. Even with Zekrom helping him, his battle instincts are still too inexperienced.]
[Exactly. Compared to him, Gym Leader Grey's command style is far more ruthless, and he loves catching people off guard.]
Steven and Cynthia posted their opinions in the livestream chat, prompting plenty of viewers to agree.
[You two big shots, if Grey fought you with Reshiram, what do you think your win rate would be?]
[...]
[...]
[Where's that ellipsis translator named Blue? We need an ellipsis translated over here!]
[Uh... they're not Red, so I have no idea what they mean either.]
The livestream was noisy as ever, and Grey's battle was still going on.
Zekrom was wrapped in Blue Flare. Even though its Dragon typing let it resist Fire-type damage, it still did not feel good.
If this had happened earlier, it could have used Thunder to blast itself a path through the flames. But after using Draco Meteor, its Special Attack had dropped sharply, and the power of Thunder was now not even as high as its own Thunder Fang.
"Zekrom, Bolt Strike!"
N chose to meet force with force.
"Good!"
Zekrom let out a furious roar as black lightning wrapped around its body like a suit of armor, then it slashed both arms heavily forward!
Blue Flare was forcibly split in two, leaving a vacuum path in the middle. Zekrom immediately dove through it, its lightning solidifying again as it charged straight at Reshiram!
"Reshiram, block it!"
This was exactly what Grey had been waiting for.
Reshiram crossed its wings in front of its chest. Zekrom's claw smashed into the white feathers, and the black lightning instantly blasted some of them into charred black ash.
"Now, Will-O-Wisp!"
At the exact moment Grey gave the command, Reshiram had already acted in sync with him and unleashed Will-O-Wisp.
Several clusters of blue ghostly fire shot out and exploded against Zekrom, turning its pitch-black hide red-hot.
Burn!
Zekrom was burned! Its physical Attack had been cut in half!
[Hah! Zekrom is really done for now! Burn, of all things!]
[Zekrom is a physical attacker. It already lowered its Special Attack by using Draco Meteor, and now it's been burned too. This is looking really bad.]
[I genuinely can't think of any way for Zekrom to win now. This battle should be over soon.]
[It's already over!]
On the field, N's breathing started growing heavier too.
The current situation was extremely unfavorable for him. Zekrom had been burned by Will-O-Wisp, and its Special Attack had already fallen a lot because of Draco Meteor.
Meanwhile, Reshiram had only really taken one full-powered Bolt Strike, and everything else was negligible.
"Zekrom, can you still fight?"
"I can. My power's only been reduced, that's all. Don't forget who I am now. I can take on three Kyurem!"
Zekrom's power kept rising because of N's ideal. It only found the situation troublesome, nothing more. Even with burn, it still felt like it was one and a half Kyurem strong!
"That's the spirit, Zekrom! Use Bolt Strike again!"
Zekrom did not have many strong options left. Aside from Fusion Bolt, Bolt Strike was the only move with truly impressive power.
"Zekroooom!"
Terrifying black lightning wrapped around both of Zekrom's arms. Endless thunder burst wildly from its body. Even though burn had reduced its physical Attack, its raw power still far surpassed that of ordinary Pokémon!
"Grey, even though its power has been reduced, it's still incredibly strong... We have to be careful."
The speed of Reshiram's wingbeats unconsciously increased. Zekrom was starting to feel more and more troublesome.
They came from the same source. Their strength had never really been that different.
And yet, even while burned, it could still pressure Reshiram like this...
Could it be...?
At that thought, both Grey and Reshiram turned their eyes toward N at the same time.
Only then did they realize that at some point, green light had already spread all over N's body, with countless threads extending outward and attaching themselves tightly to Zekrom.
The red glow on Zekrom's body vanished instantly.
N had directly healed Zekrom's burn!
"Zekrom, strongest possible Bolt Strike!"
N practically roared the order out. In response, Zekrom erupted with the most violent electrical storm it had produced yet.
Its claws wrapped in black lightning as thick as tree trunks, and it unleashed seven heavy punches in rapid succession, moving so fast the eye could barely follow!
Boom, boom, boom!!!
Each punch came with thunder that sounded like the sky itself was collapsing, and the wild electric power slammed into Reshiram again and again!
The snow-white feathers of Reshiram darkened under the barrage of lightning, and even the turbine at the end of its tail trembled, flickering more urgently than before.
"That actually hurts... Zekrom, you really did find yourself a pretty good hero!"
Reshiram was knocked back several meters. It took a few heavy breaths, then spewed out an even fiercer torrent of blue fire than before!
Blue Flare raged forward, and at such close range, Zekrom took a brutal hit.
"Reshiram, the shady hero you found isn't bad either! With the power of his truth boosting you, you can actually injure me!"
Zekrom slashed with one claw, dispersing the blue flames in an instant.
Its wings spread, thunder flowing across its body.
A trace of disdain flashed in its crimson eyes.
To Zekrom, so-called truth was nothing more than the blundering stubbornness of those shackled by what stood in front of them.
True ideals were the vision to tear open the present and see farther ahead.
Those who followed truth stopped at what they could see now, while those who followed ideals had already grasped what could happen a thousand years later.
Just like the lightning splitting the sky now, it was not meant only to illuminate the battlefield, but to tear apart the gloom of an entire age!
People everywhere thought ideals were just fantasies, but they had no idea that true ideals were far more farsighted than ordinary people could imagine.
They were not something a narrow-sighted hero of truth could ever compare to.
The liberation of Unova was inevitable!
"Hmph. What a slick-tongued fool."
Reshiram's white wings beat lightly through the drifting smoke. True fire flowed around its body, every flame reflecting the solid ground beneath its feet.
The light in its turbine tail turned blue, as if mocking Zekrom's naivety.
So-called ideals were nothing more than wishful thinking floating in the clouds.
Ideals without a foundation would burst like bubbles in the end. Only by planting each step firmly in truth could one forge the power to truly change the world.
Zekrom's lightning might be dazzling, but it would vanish into empty air eventually. Reshiram's blue fire, on the other hand, would always stay rooted in this earth!
"Reshiram! My ideal is what's right!"
Zekrom churned through the sky, every bolt of lightning around it declaring its ideal.
"Zekrom! My truth is the only correct answer!"
Reshiram stood firm upon the earth, its blue flames surging into the heavens, every spark defining truth.
"If the roads we chose are completely opposed, then let us prove whose truth is right here on this battlefield with power!"
The instant those words fell, Zekrom's black dragon body erupted with endless lightning, every scale turning into a living arc of thunder.
It suddenly folded its wings and merged completely into the storm, transforming into a giant blade of lightning that split heaven and earth as it came crashing down!
At the same time, Reshiram spread its pure white wings to their fullest extent, and the blue fire around it exploded outward.
Its tail turbine unleashed blue flames, turning its whole body into a flaming arrow that shot straight toward the sky.
Boom!!!
The black and white dragon silhouettes collided in the air a hundred meters above the battlefield!
The storm of fire and lightning exploded instantly, the blinding light turning the entire arena bright as day!
The shockwave spread outward in a ring, blowing apart every cloud within a thousand meters!
At the center of the explosion, the two dragons remained locked in stalemate, fire and lightning devouring each other as they reenacted a clash of destiny that had gone unresolved for a thousand years!
"Zekrom, hold on!"
N gritted his teeth as his special power burst forth completely, pouring into Zekrom and providing it with a steady stream of energy.
The damage Zekrom had taken earlier while fighting Reshiram began to heal before everyone's eyes.
And just like that, the two dragons' stamina returned to the same level!
"Grey, we're back at the starting line! Let me see whether your Reshiram can really defeat Zekrom!"
N's face had visibly gone pale. Restoring Zekrom's stamina had drained too much of his own strength.
But it was worth it.
If he could defeat Grey, then that would prove his ideals were not just empty fantasy.
Everything he had done was for the liberation of Unova!
"N, you don't actually think you're the only one with a special power, do you? Or did you forget that I'm the Aura hero?"
Grey raised his arm. Compared to restoring stamina, he preferred pouring his own energy directly into his Pokémon's moves.
In other words, he would raise the power of their attacks!
"Reshiram, the next move decides everything!"
Grey spread both arms, Aura pouring from his palms and merging perfectly with Reshiram's blue fire.
The pure blue flames instantly swelled several times over, becoming a raging sea of fire that wrapped itself around the black lightning layer after layer.
"Blue Flare, Overheat!"
At Grey's shout, the power of Blue Flare rose dramatically!
Zekrom's lightning began collapsing under the fire infused with Aura, until it was completely burned away like morning dew under the sun.
Then Zekrom fell from the sky and slammed to the ground, driving its claws deep into the earth just to stay kneeling.
Everyone could see it clearly, the scales on Zekrom's chest were burned black and cracked open, and the engine in its tail let out a strained roar of overburdened electricity...
"I... lost..."
The red light in Zekrom's eyes flickered weakly, like a candle about to go out.
Its breathing had become uneven and broken. Its body trembled slightly, and even the thunder engine in its tail had been reduced to a few fading sparks.
The Dragon of Ideals that claimed it could take on three Kyurem was now at the very end of its strength.
"Zekrom, come back."
N did have a Poké Ball for Zekrom, a pitch-black Ball he had gotten from Landorus.
Its design looked completely different from the modern mass-produced Poké Balls.
It was larger, darker, and heavier.
Grey raised a brow when he recognized it as a Heavy Ball from Hisui.
The Hisui region, in other words, ancient Sinnoh.
That era was far removed from modern times, but Poké Balls did exist back then.
Still, there were not many Trainers in that age, and even if people used Poké Balls, they had to make them by hand.
If Grey remembered right, people from that era seemed to call Pokémon monsters.
He did not remember it perfectly, just vaguely.
"Grey, I lost this battle. If there's anything you want me to do, I'll do it."
N no longer talked about liberating Unova.
He had lost this battle. A loser did not get to make conditions.
"Let me think... Alright, how about this, come to Kanto sometime when you're free. The Indigo Plateau Conference should be starting soon, and I'm curious whether you can collect eight Badges within a month."
Grey took out a golden Badge and tossed it from a distance into N's hands.
N looked at it and asked, "What is this?"
"This? It's the Badge from the Fighting Dojo. In other words, one of the things you need to take part in a League tournament. You need to collect a total of eight League-recognized Badges before you can enter a League competition."
Grey explained it briefly.
"A League competition..."
N murmured those words to himself.
[??? Wait, what? Why are you inviting him to Kanto?]
[Gym Leader Grey, this is straight-up revenge! What did Kanto ever do to you?]
[Guys, I'm a participant in this year's Indigo Plateau Conference. Our local Gym Leader is inviting a monster Trainer like that over here. This guy's got a first-tier Legendary too. Should I just surrender now?]
The Kanto viewers had been joking around up until now, feeling pretty happy that Unova's Legendary Pokémon were basically ending up in the hands of a Gym Leader from Kanto.
And then Grey went and invited N to participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was the difficulty not high enough already?
The Trainers of Kanto immediately broke into wails, especially those preparing for this year's Indigo Plateau Conference. More than a few were already cursing Grey's ancestors in their heads.
[I'm from Unova, and I support N going to Kanto to train! Better yet, he should tour every region and then come back to become our League Champion.]
[Exactly, exactly. He should really take a lap around the outside world.]
The Unova viewers were delighted.
As long as N was not staying around to beat them up, they were happy.
"Gym Leader Grey, thank you for the offer, but I think I should stay in Unova and keep training here for this next month."
N felt that he still was not good enough. Grey had said before that his strength would not even rank near the top in Kanto, and that Trainers stronger than him were everywhere there.
So N was afraid that if he went, he would just get beaten up.
[Hahaha, yes! Exactly! Locals should train locally. Come over after I finish this year's tournament. We'll wave banners and welcome you then.]
After all the back and forth, N finally decided to remain in Unova and keep training there.
"Alright. Then I'll wait for you in Kanto."
Grey recalled Reshiram, brushed the dust from his clothes, and smiled across at N.
"Vini." (Yes! We're the champions!)
Victini clung to Grey's head and cheered excitedly.
As expected, any Trainer it recognized would keep on winning forever!
"Hey, hey, you've got one thing wrong."
Grey plucked Victini off his head and pinched one of its ears.
"Even before I met you, I'd never lost a single battle."
"Vini." (I don't care, I don't care. We only won today because I was here. You're buying me a huge meal later!)
Victini waved its little hands in protest. Its Ability was Victory Star, and it had indeed helped the team a little just now by boosting Reshiram's accuracy.
"Oh, fine, fine. Once we're back in Kanto, I'll take you out for all-you-can-eat barbecue."
Grey laughed. He had already promised Little Riolu that he would treat it to something good later, so adding Victini to the meal did not make much difference.
Outside the field, Caitlin's eyes had never once left Grey.
"Grey won... He's amazing..."
Her gaze shone with pure admiration.
Now those old men in the family would not be able to say anything anymore.
"Melo." (That's right, that's right, Grey is amazing! That was Zekrom, and it still wasn't a match for him.)
As one of Unova's Mythical Pokémon, Meloetta knew the history between Zekrom and Reshiram.
Under normal circumstances, the two dragons were evenly matched.
In other words, the heroes they recognized should have been evenly matched too.
Whenever heroes of different eras clashed, the result was usually either mutual destruction or eventual reconciliation.
But a one-sided beating like this?
That was something Meloetta had never seen before.
Without even realizing it, Meloetta started clapping and cheering for Grey.
"This really is the era of the young now. Old men like us should just quietly step behind the curtain."
Alder spoke with a trace of loneliness in his eyes.
Having witnessed a battle that was almost apocalyptic with his own eyes, he understood now just how wide the gap between himself and them really was.
The power of legends was not something ordinary Trainers could match, much less surpass.
Probably only freakishly talented Trainers from Kanto and Galar would have any chance of defeating a first-tier Legendary like that.
"That's right. This belongs to the younger generation now. Old folks like us should just stay out of the spotlight and retire already."
Mustard stroked his beard and took the matter very calmly.
Their era had already passed. Old men like them had their time in the sun. What came next belonged to the young.
"So, old man, how about we go grab a drink tonight?"
Mustard had not had a beer in a very long time, and now the mood had suddenly struck him. Since Alder was here too, the two of them going out for a drink could count as celebrating retirement.
"Sounds good. The tension I've been holding onto is finally gone. Let's drink tonight, and we won't stop until we're drunk."
Alder slung an arm over Mustard's shoulders, and the two left together.
...
...
Far to the north of Liberty Garden, above a city that looked half like towering modern skyscrapers and half like ancient architecture, an unwelcome guest arrived.
An airship hovered above the clouds.
"N, since you refuse to listen to me, your father, then I'll have to take matters into my own hands!"
Inside the airship, Ghetsis's eyes flashed with madness.
Behind him, Colress held a hand to his forehead, already prepared to transfer the data.
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