"Come out—Charizard! Sceptile! Snorlax! Gengar! Pidgeot! Tyranitar!"
Ash released nearly all of his Pokémon above level 60.
Seven legendary Pokémon? So what?
"Ash!"
Diantha had arrived.
"Ash, do you have confidence?"
Her expression was grave.
Just moments ago, the Kalos League had cracked the enemy's sabotage that had cut power across the entire region. With electricity restored, communication devices came back online, and evacuation progress skyrocketed.
Diantha brought with her the four Kalos Elite Four members.
"This is my fault… If not for me also being deceived by Lysandre…"
Malva, the Fire-type Elite Four, clenched her fists in guilt.
Ash shook his head. "Later, you all focus on suppressing the collateral damage from their attacks. My Gengar, Snorlax, Tyranitar, and others have already broken through to Level 80 and reached Tier-3 Legendary strength. They'll help you wipe out the rest of Rainbow Rocket.
As for those seven ancient legends…"
He looked directly ahead.
"They're mine."
Ash and Pikachu exchanged a firm look.
"Pika!!"
This wasn't a matter of selfishness.
Nor of martyrdom.
It was simple truth: If the nest is overturned, not one egg remains intact.
Even he hadn't expected Giovanni to ally with Shadow Hoopa.
If Giovanni and Shadow Hoopa toppled the world, Ash himself would be destroyed right alongside it.
"And we'll fight too!"
A sudden roar split the skies.
Lugia descended, carrying a man, a woman, and… Hoopa.
The real Hoopa—the small one without its sealed power.
"Only Lugia?"
Ash blinked. His interference had clearly triggered butterfly effects.
He nodded. Yes—this was the new reality.
"Shadow… is Hoopa's own power twisted. Hoopa, you must fight the Shadow and return it to normal!"
The small Hoopa looked at Ash, while its two guardians, Meray and Baraz, also turned their eyes toward him.
[Meray and Baraz, descendant of the Arche Valley people, tasked with guarding Hoopa's power. Ghris is their great-grandfather, the one who originally sealed Hoopa's dark Unbound power into the Prison Bottle 100 years ago.]
"Hoopa, think carefully about the true meaning of Retribution. Only when you understand that truth will you be able to defeat the Shadow."
Ash's words were cut short as Giovanni and Shadow Hoopa noticed them.
Giovanni's gaze burned toward Mewtwo—intense, fervent.
"Ash! Mewtwo! Because of you, I had to keep Team Rocket in the shadows for even longer. But today—finally—we settle this!"
[Author's note: For story purposes, Giovanni has not forgotten Mewtwo, nor had his memory erased. Otherwise, there'd be no conflict.]
"The true body… I will annihilate you!"
Shadow Hoopa's crimson eyes locked onto the smaller Hoopa.
Six arms swept forward—
Seven ancient legendaries surged toward Ash and the others like a tidal wave!
Meray and Baraz, the siblings guarding Hoopa, hurriedly explained: the Prison Bottle that sealed Hoopa's power had been destroyed by Shadow Hoopa. Now, they needed to create a new one in Dahara City.
They possessed a power inherited from their great-grandfather that allowed them to forge another Prison Bottle—but it required three elemental forces: water, earth, and fire.
Ash immediately dispatched his Infernape, Greninja, and Garchomp to aid them.
Then his eyes hardened as he turned to his legendary allies.
"Latias! Mewtwo! Kyurem! Mega Evolve!"
"And Victini—you little guy. I thought I wouldn't need you, but now it's your turn. Lend everyone your power—make us stronger!"
Ash's eyes glowed with determination.
"Victini!!"
The little Pokémon nodded firmly, releasing a wave of radiant energy.
In an instant, Ash's entire team surged in strength.
"GROOOAARRRR!!!"
"GROOOOHHHH!!"
Groudon and Kyogre struck first.
"Yveltal! Hold them off! Delay them!"
"KYAAAARRRGHH!"
Yveltal's wings whipped violently, gathering a purple-black sphere of power in its beak.
Oblivion Wing! — its signature move!
Groudon and Kyogre, both at Level 116, roared like natural disasters incarnate.
Groudon's colossal frame oozed molten magma, erupting flames like volcanic geysers wherever it stepped. The earth withered under its passage.
Kyogre raised its fins—summoning tsunamis vast enough to drown mountains, even swallowing Groudon itself in the surge!
Without hesitation, Yveltal dove into battle against the two titans.
"ROOOAARRR!!"
"ROOOAARRR!!"
Reshiram and Zekrom, the twin Unovan dragons, surged forward next.
Ash commanded Regigigas to intercept.
Though its level was lower—106 against their 109—it stood undaunted.
Forged from eternal glacial stone, its body was an indestructible juggernaut. Known as the "Unyielding Titan," it could even brawl with Groudon without faltering.
That was why Ash chose it to lead the charge, with Mega Charizard X and Mega Sceptile flanking to assist, pinning down the two dragons.
The remaining trio—Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina—loomed like an unholy trinity.
Ash sent Darkrai, Latias, Moltres, Zapdos, Pikachu, and even the Lugia summoned by little Hoopa to engage them.
But even with all this—still not enough.
"Hoopa, come with me. Shadow Hoopa's true target is you. We have to leave. The fight against Shadow Hoopa cannot happen here!"
Ash made his decision in a heartbeat. Even with Mewtwo and Kyurem added to his forces, they were still outmatched.
He needed one more ultra-powerful Pokémon.
But for some reason, little Hoopa could only summon a single Lugia.
In the original flow of fate, it had also summoned Rayquaza, Latias, and Latios!
"Meray, Baraz—use Hoopa's portals to head to Dahara City at once! My Pokémon will protect you. Forge the Prison Bottle anew. Hoopa, you come with me. I'll meet you there as soon as I can!"
The Prison Bottle—something not even Ash's System could purchase.
It was the one true artifact capable of sealing the wrathful Super Djinn.
"Shadow! If you want to destroy Hoopa's true body—then follow me!"
Ash grabbed Hoopa. Mewtwo Mega Evolved into its Y form, and in a flash of psychic brilliance—
They teleported!
Their destination: Unova— Eindoak Town.
High above the Dragon Vein's source… coiled a Shiny Rayquaza!
Ash had no choice.
He had to capture this Black Rayquaza at all costs—then return, to quell the rampaging seven legendaries.
And at the same time—
to lure Shadow Hoopa away!