"Swift?" Saturn scoffed, watching the cascade of golden stars erupt from Eevee's mouth. His lip curled with undisguised contempt.
Swift—a basic Normal-type move with mediocre power, launched by an unevolved Eevee? In Saturn's mind, the outcome was already decided. His Toxicroak's Dark Pulse would shred through those pitiful little stars like tissue paper. There was no contest here.
He was wrong.
The instant the spiraling rings of dark energy collided with the barrage of golden stars, something impossible happened. The Dark Pulse didn't overpower Swift. It didn't even hold. The beam of dark energy shattered on contact—torn apart as if it were made of glass striking steel. The golden stars punched clean through the remnants and continued forward without slowing, slamming into Toxicroak with devastating force.
CRASH!
Toxicroak was hurled backward, its body skidding across the rocky ground in a spray of gravel and dust. The Poison/Fighting-type grunted in agony, forcing itself onto one knee. Its level was high enough to survive the hit—barely—but the damage was severe. Deep bruises already blossomed across its chest where the stars had struck, and one arm hung limp at its side.
Saturn's face drained of color. His mouth opened, but no words came.
That's… that's not possible. An Eevee shouldn't have that kind of power. Not against a Toxicroak at this level. Not with Swift.
But the evidence was sprawled on the ground in front of him, wheezing.
"What are you all standing around for?!" Saturn roared, whipping toward the assembled grunts. His composure cracked wide open. "Attack! All of you—attack together, NOW!"
The Team Galactic grunts jolted into motion. Dozens of voices shouted commands simultaneously, and the swarm of Golbat screeched as they angled their wings, preparing to dive.
Gary watched the chaos with cold, calculating eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched—not quite a smile, but something close.
"Metagross. Magnezone," he called, his voice cutting through the noise with quiet authority. "Gravity."
"META!"
"ZONE!"
Both Steel-types responded instantly. Metagross's eyes blazed with psychic light, and Magnezone's magnets crackled with electromagnetic force. Together, they projected a massive Gravity field outward—an invisible dome of crushing gravitational pressure that expanded across the entire battlefield in the span of a heartbeat.
The effect was instantaneous and devastating.
Every Golbat in the air shrieked in panic as the weight of the world suddenly tripled on their bodies. Wings that had been beating effortlessly moments ago now strained and buckled under the impossible pressure. One by one—then all at once—the entire swarm plummeted from the sky, crashing to the ground in a writhing, screeching heap of tangled wings and thrashing bodies.
"Gol—!"
"BAT!"
"Gol… bat…!"
The cries were pitiful. Dozens of Golbat lay flattened against the rocky earth, unable to lift themselves more than a few centimeters before the Gravity slammed them back down. Their attacks died in their throats. They were, for all practical purposes, removed from the battle entirely.
Even the Lake Trio was affected. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf—floating serenely behind Cyrus moments ago—suddenly lurched downward as the enhanced Gravity seized them. Their altitude dropped sharply, and they struggled visibly, their small bodies trembling with effort. Only by channeling their immense psychic power could they maintain any height at all, and even then, they hovered barely a meter above the ground, far lower than before.
Cyrus's eyes narrowed. The gravitational shift hadn't touched him physically, but the tactical implications were clear—his aerial advantage had just been obliterated.
He made his decision without hesitation.
"Lake Guardians," Cyrus commanded, his voice flat and mechanical as he manipulated the crimson gems embedded in his glove. The red stones pulsed with sinister light. "The enemy is before you. Destroy them."
The three Lake Guardians' red-glazed eyes flared brighter. Moving in eerie synchronization—like marionettes jerked by the same set of strings—Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf drifted forward and positioned themselves in a triangular formation in front of Cyrus, facing Gary's assembled force.
Gary's system data flickered across his vision:
[LV90 Uxie — Legendary-tier]
[LV90 Mesprit — Legendary-tier]
[LV90 Azelf — Legendary-tier]
Level 90. All three of them. True Legendary-tier Pokémon—beings that embodied the fundamental concepts of Knowledge, Emotion, and Willpower themselves. Any one of them could challenge a Champion's ace and hold its ground. Together, their combined power was almost incomprehensible.
But they're being controlled, Gary reminded himself, studying their sluggish, mechanical movements. Charon's devices are suppressing their will. They're operating at a fraction of their true capability—slow to react, unable to think independently or coordinate naturally. That's the only reason I have a chance here.
Still, even diminished, the Lake Trio was not something to take lightly.
All three Legendary Pokémon raised their arms in unison. Golden psychic energy blazed to life around their bodies, coalescing into three identical spheres of brilliant, shimmering power—Extrasensory, the signature Psychic-type attack of the Lake Guardians. The triple beams of golden energy lanced forward, screaming toward Gary's Pokémon.
"Tyranitar—intercept!" Gary shouted.
"RAAAAAAGH!"
Tyranitar surged forward with thundering strides, its massive armored body slamming into position directly in the path of all three attacks. The golden beams struck its chest dead center—and dispersed harmlessly against its dark hide like water splashing against stone.
Zero damage. Not a scratch.
"What?!" Cyrus's mask of calm cracked for the first time. His eyes widened. "It blocked the Lake Guardians' attack completely?!"
Gary allowed himself a thin smile. Cyrus might have been an expert on ancient artifacts and interdimensional theory, but his knowledge of competitive Pokémon battling clearly had gaps.
Extrasensory is a Psychic-type move, Gary thought with grim satisfaction. And Tyranitar is a Dark-type. Dark-types are completely immune to Psychic-type attacks. It doesn't matter if the user is Level 90 or Level 900—zero times anything is still zero.
Tyranitar turned its head slightly and let out a low, rumbling growl of contempt. The sand whipping around its body intensified, and its eyes gleamed with predatory hunger.
"Everyone," Gary called out, his voice rising to a commanding shout. "Hit them with everything you've got! Full power—all at once!"
The response was immediate. Sixteen voices—roars, cries, shrieks, and battle calls—erupted across the mountainside in a thunderous chorus.
"STOISE!"
Blastoise planted its feet and aimed both shoulder cannons forward. Twin columns of pressurized water blasted outward—Hydro Pump, devastating and precise.
"TAAAAR!"
Tyranitar slammed both fists into the ground, and jagged pillars of razor-sharp stone erupted from the earth in a lethal cascade—Stone Edge, tearing across the battlefield.
"GAAAARCHOMP!"
Garchomp roared and swept one clawed arm forward. More stone spires burst upward, joining Tyranitar's assault in a devastating cross-pattern of rock.
"RHYYY!"
Rhyperior stamped the ground with earth-shaking force, launching its own volley of Stone Edge—three massive pillars that ripped through the terrain like surfacing leviathans.
"GLAAACE!"
Glaceon opened its mouth and released a searing beam of crystalline blue energy—Ice Beam, freezing the air in its wake.
"WEAAA!"
Weavile was already moving, darting forward with blinding speed, hurling shards of razor-sharp ice—Ice Shard, the priority move that struck before opponents could react.
"VUI—EEEE!"
Eevee braced all four paws against the ground, its small body trembling with concentration. Its mouth opened wide, and a massive beam of blinding white-gold energy erupted outward—Hyper Beam. The ground beneath Eevee cracked from the sheer recoil.
"META… GROSS!"
Metagross's four legs glowed silver-white, and a concentrated beam of metallic energy lanced forward—Flash Cannon, cutting through the air with surgical precision.
"ZAAAP! ZAPDOOOS!"
Zapdos spread its wings to their full span, electricity arcing wildly between every feather. A colossal bolt of Thunder descended from a sky that had been clear moments ago, splitting the air with a deafening crack.
"ELEC—TIVIRE!"
Electivire roared and thrust both fists skyward, its cable-like tails whipping. A second bolt of Thunder tore downward, joining Zapdos's strike.
"ZONE!"
Magnezone's magnets aligned and locked. A sphere of compressed electrical energy formed between them—Zap Cannon, the devastating guaranteed-paralysis attack. It fired with a deep, resonant hum that vibrated through the bones.
"ARCAAA!"
Arcanine threw its head back and unleashed a massive, star-shaped blast of fire—Fire Blast. The kanji-shaped inferno roared across the clearing, superheating the air.
"HEATRAAAAN!"
Heatran answered with its own Fire Blast—a molten eruption that trailed liquid magma in its wake, the heat so intense that the stone beneath it began to glow cherry-red.
"SCIII-ZOR!"
Scizor's pincers glowed with an ethereal multicolored light—Hidden Power. The orbs of energy launched forward in rapid succession, each one finding its target with uncanny accuracy.
"KISS!"
Togekiss spread its wings and conjured a roiling sphere of ghostly purple-black energy between them—Shadow Ball. It released the attack with a graceful sweep, the dark orb hurtling forward with deceptive speed.
"Krai…"
And then there was Darkrai. The Pitch-Black Pokémon barely moved. Its single blue eye pulsed once, and a wave of concentrated dark energy exploded outward from its body—Dark Pulse. The air itself seemed to recoil from the attack, shadows stretching and warping in its wake.
More than a dozen attacks—fired simultaneously from sixteen Pokémon ranging from Champion-tier to Legendary-tier—converged on the Team Galactic position in a cataclysmic wall of elemental fury.
The Golbat swarm, still pinned to the ground by Gravity, never stood a chance. The attacks swept over them like a tidal wave crashing over pebbles. Dozens of Golbat were knocked unconscious instantly—blown backward, frozen, scorched, and shattered by the overwhelming barrage. In seconds, the entire grunt force was neutralized.
"Protect Lord Cyrus!" Saturn screamed.
Mars and Jupiter threw themselves into action, commanding their remaining Pokémon to form a defensive line around their leader. But it was futile—their Pokémon were outclassed by orders of magnitude.
Cyrus, however, remained utterly calm.
His gloved fingers twisted the crimson control gems. The red stones blazed with fierce light, and the three Lake Guardians reacted as one. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf surged forward, their bodies wreathed in golden radiance. They formed a tight triangular formation in front of Cyrus and the three Commanders, and the jewels on their foreheads erupted with blinding, aureate light.
A barrier materialized—not a Protect, not a Light Screen, but something far beyond either. A golden dome of pure, shimmering energy expanded outward from the Lake Trio's formation, encompassing Cyrus and his Commanders completely. The barrier thrummed with a resonance that felt ancient—older than the ruins themselves, older than the mountain.
Every single one of Gary's attacks struck the barrier simultaneously.
The mountain shook. The air screamed. Fire, water, lightning, ice, stone, steel, shadow, and darkness—all of it crashed against the golden dome in a detonation that would have leveled a city block.
When the smoke cleared and the tremors subsided, the barrier still stood. Unmarked. Uncracked. Not so much as a flicker of instability.
"…What?" Gary breathed.
He stared at the golden dome, his mind racing. Sixteen Pokémon. Full-power attacks. Some of them from Legendary-tier Pokémon. And the barrier hadn't even wavered.
That's not possible with normal psychic energy. Even at Level 90, the Lake Trio shouldn't be able to tank that kind of concentrated firepower without flinching. Unless…
His eyes widened fractionally.
That barrier isn't the Lake Trio's own power. It's channeled from something else—something far greater. When Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf act in concert, they can tap into a fragment of Arceus's power. The original creator's authority. That's why the shield is absolute—it's drawing from the same force that shaped the universe itself.
The realization was sobering. He couldn't brute-force his way through that defense. Not with his current team. Perhaps not with any team.
After the barrier held, the Lake Trio ascended slightly—still hampered by the Gravity field, but managing to rise a few meters—and unleashed Future Sight. Three pulses of psychic energy shimmered and vanished into the fabric of spacetime, set to strike at an unpredictable moment in the near future. The targets were unknown. When those attacks materialized, anything they hit would suffer catastrophic damage—potentially a one-hit knockout, even against Gary's strongest Pokémon.
The three Commanders, who moments ago had been bracing for the worst, straightened up with renewed arrogance.
"What did I tell you, boy?" Jupiter called out, tossing her violet hair. "Team Galactic isn't something a child can handle. Care to try again?"
Gary didn't respond. His eyes were locked on Cyrus—not on the Lake Trio, not on the barrier, but on the man himself. On the crimson gems glowing in his glove.
I don't need to beat the Lake Trio, he thought, his strategy crystallizing with razor clarity. They're puppets. Cut the strings, and they're free. The target was always Cyrus.
"Saturn," Cyrus spoke, his voice carrying the same dead calm as always. "Take the others and proceed into the ruins. Begin all preparations. I will handle this boy personally."
Saturn hesitated. "Lord Cyrus, are you certain—"
"Go. Now." There was no room for argument in Cyrus's tone. "The Pokémon League's forces will arrive eventually. We cannot afford delays."
Saturn clenched his jaw but nodded sharply. "Understood. Charon, we're moving."
Saturn, Charon—the hunched, gray-haired scientist who had remained eerily silent throughout the battle—and a handful of remaining Team Galactic members gathered their equipment. Two grunts pushed a motorized transport cart loaded with machinery toward the ruins' entrance. Within moments, they disappeared into the ancient stone corridor, swallowed by the darkness within.
Gary let them go.
Without the Lake Trio's combined power channeled through the Spear Key, they can't summon Dialga and Palkia. The ritual is meaningless without all the pieces in place. Let them set up—it won't matter if I take Cyrus down here.
The moment Saturn and the others were out of sight, Gary struck.
"Rhyperior! Garchomp! Dig—target Cyrus directly!" Gary barked.
"RHYYY!"
"GAAAARCHOMP!"
Both Pokémon plunged into the earth simultaneously, their massive bodies drilling through solid rock with terrifying speed. The plan was elegant in its simplicity—the Lake Trio was occupied defending against Gary's remaining fourteen Pokémon. They couldn't simultaneously shield Cyrus from an underground assault without leaving themselves open. And Cyrus himself, as a human, couldn't dodge an attack erupting from beneath his feet.
The ground trembled as the two powerhouses bored through the earth, converging on Cyrus's position from different angles.
The Lake Trio shifted nervously, their red-glazed eyes tracking the movements of Gary's remaining Pokémon. They couldn't sense the underground approach—Charon's control devices dulled their perception, robbing them of the keen awareness they would normally possess. They were too focused on the visible threats to notice the invisible ones.
Almost there—
"Gyarados," Cyrus said. "Earthquake."
He threw a Poké Ball with practiced ease—a motion so casual it was almost dismissive.
The ball burst open, and an enormous Gyarados materialized with a thunderous roar. The Atrocious Pokémon towered above the battlefield, its serpentine body coiling and uncoiling with barely contained fury. Its scales gleamed dark blue, and its eyes burned with savage aggression.
[LV60 Gyarados — Elite-tier]
Before Gary could react, Gyarados reared back and slammed its massive tail into the ground with earth-shattering force.
BOOOOM!!
The Earthquake ripped through the terrain in every direction. The ground buckled, split, and erupted in a shockwave of seismic devastation. Fissures spiderwebbed outward from the point of impact, and the entire mountainside seemed to shudder.
Underground, Rhyperior and Garchomp caught the full force of the attack. The tunnels they'd dug collapsed around them as the Earthquake's shockwaves tore through the earth. Both Pokémon were blasted upward, erupting from the ground in twin geysers of shattered stone and debris.
"RHHHY—!"
"CHOMP—!"
They landed hard, skidding across the rocky surface. Neither was critically injured—both were powerful enough to endure an Earthquake from a Level 60 Gyarados—but the element of surprise was gone. The underground strategy had been countered completely.
Gary's eyes locked onto the Gyarados with sharp reassessment. Cyrus has a trained Pokémon this strong? In the anime, he barely used Pokémon at all. But this world isn't the anime—the man who built a criminal empire from scratch, who captured three Legendary Pokémon, who outmaneuvered the entire Pokémon League for years… of course he's a capable trainer.
He'd underestimated Cyrus. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
"All Electric-types—focus fire on Gyarados!" Gary commanded, his voice sharp as a blade. "Thunder—now!"
"ZAAAAAAP!"
Zapdos shrieked, its wings blazing with electrical fury. A titanic bolt of lightning split the sky and hammered down onto Gyarados.
"ELEC—TIVIIIRE!"
Electivire thrust its fists skyward, cable-tails whipping, and called down a second Thunder—a jagged column of white-hot electricity that crashed into Gyarados from a different angle.
"ZOOONE!"
Magnezone's magnets locked into alignment and discharged a third blast—not Thunder this time, but Zap Cannon, a sphere of compressed electromagnetic devastation that slammed into Gyarados's midsection with pinpoint accuracy.
Three Electric-type attacks—one from a Legendary Zapdos—struck the Water/Flying-type Gyarados simultaneously. The type disadvantage was catastrophic. Gyarados was four-times weak to Electric, and the combined voltage was astronomical.