"GYAAAAAAA—!!!"
Gyarados's massive serpentine body convulsed as three simultaneous bolts of Thunder engulfed it in a cage of searing golden electricity. Lightning arced between its scales, coursed through its muscles, and locked every joint rigid. The Atrocious Pokémon thrashed once—twice—its jaw wrenched open in a silent scream. Then, with a final shudder that rippled down its entire length, Gyarados collapsed. Its colossal body struck the ground with a thunderous impact that sent cracks spiderwebbing through the stone, and it lay still, smoke curling from its charred hide.
Gary allowed himself half a breath of satisfaction.
It didn't last.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Three bolts of warped psychic energy materialized from thin air—ripping downward from the sky like lightning made of liquid gold. Future Sight. The delayed attack the Lake Trio had launched minutes ago had finally arrived, and its targets had been chosen.
"ZONE—!"
The first bolt hammered into Magnezone. The Steel/Electric-type had no time to react—the psychic detonation struck it dead center, and Magnezone's magnets sparked wildly as it was blasted downward, slamming into the earth with a sickening metallic crunch. Its lights flickered once and went dark.
"ARCAAA—!"
The second bolt struck Arcanine. The Legendary Pokémon yelped—a sharp, pained cry that cut through the chaos—as golden psychic energy engulfed its body. Arcanine's legs buckled, and it crashed to the ground, its magnificent mane dimming as consciousness left it.
"CHOMP—!"
The third bolt found Garchomp. Gary's land shark roared in defiance, bracing against the impact—but a Level 90 Legendary Pokémon's Future Sight was not something willpower alone could endure. The psychic force drove Garchomp into the earth, cratering the stone beneath it. Garchomp's golden eyes glazed over, and it went still.
Three Pokémon. Down in an instant.
None of them had been above Elite-tier. Against the full concentrated power of three Level 90 Legendaries, they simply hadn't stood a chance.
The battlefield fell into a momentary, stunned silence.
"Return," Gary said quietly.
His voice betrayed nothing, but his jaw was tight and his hands moved with sharp, controlled precision as he raised three Poké Balls. Red beams of light lanced out and recalled Magnezone, Arcanine, and Garchomp in rapid succession. The balls clicked shut and went still in his grip.
I thought this was a sure win, Gary thought, his mind racing behind a carefully neutral expression. But it's not Cyrus who's the problem—it's the Lake Trio. Even being mind-controlled, even with their reactions dulled and their independence stripped away, they're still Level 90 Legendaries. Their raw power alone is enough to rival any Champion-tier Pokémon on my team. And when all three of them act together…
He'd felt that golden barrier earlier. He'd thrown everything he had at it, and it hadn't even flickered. That wasn't normal defensive power. That was something borrowed from a higher plane entirely—a fragment of Arceus's authority, channeled through the combined resonance of the three Lake Guardians.
Brute force wasn't going to work here. He needed to be smarter.
Across the ruined battlefield, Cyrus regarded the scene with cold satisfaction. The faintest ghost of a smirk touched his bloodless lips—the closest thing to emotion the man seemed capable of.
"You're impressive, Gary. I'll grant you that," Cyrus said, his voice carrying that same flat, affectless quality. "But with your current strength, you are far from being a match for the Lake Guardians. The gap between you and them is the gap between a mortal and a god."
He raised his gloved hand, the crimson control gems pulsing with malevolent light.
"Lake Guardians—ignore the Tyranitar and Darkrai." His eyes flicked toward Gary's two Dark-types with clinical assessment. Even Cyrus understood that Psychic-type attacks were useless against them. "Target the rest. Future Sight—again."
The three Lake Guardians' eyes blazed with renewed crimson intensity. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf raised their small arms, and golden energy shimmered around them as they began charging another round of Future Sight—three more delayed psychic bombs that would materialize without warning and obliterate whatever they struck.
Gary watched the golden light build around the Lake Trio and felt the cold, crystalline clarity of a trainer who'd been pushed into a corner and found, in that corner, the only move that mattered.
I can't outfight the Lake Trio. Not directly. But I don't have to.
Cyrus is the puppeteer. Cut the strings.
And I have exactly the right Pokémon for the job—one who's been in position this entire time.
But first—he needed a distraction. A big one.
"Blastoise," Gary said, and his voice shifted. Harder now. Sharper. The voice of someone done holding back. He reached into his collar and pulled out a pendant—a Key Stone, set in a silver casing, that immediately began to glow with prismatic light. "Mega Evolve."
"STOISE!"
Blastoise roared as the connection ignited. Streams of iridescent energy erupted from both the Key Stone and the Mega Stone embedded in Blastoise's shell, arcing through the air and intertwining in a helix of brilliant light. Blastoise's body was consumed by the radiance—and when it shattered outward like breaking glass, what stood in its place was something far more formidable.
Mega Blastoise. Its shell had transformed—the twin shoulder cannons replaced by a single massive cannon mounted on its back, flanked by two smaller arm-mounted guns. Its body was bulkier, heavier, more heavily armored. Power radiated from it in waves that distorted the air.
"All Pokémon—full offense! Everything you have! NOW!" Gary roared.
The response was instantaneous. Every remaining Pokémon on Gary's side unleashed their most devastating attacks simultaneously. Hydro Cannon from Mega Blastoise's back-mounted cannon. Stone Edge from Tyranitar and Rhyperior. Hyper Beam from Eevee. Thunder from Zapdos and Electivire. Fire Blast from Heatran. Ice Beam from Glaceon. Dark Pulse from Darkrai. Flash Cannon from Metagross. Shadow Ball from Togekiss. Hidden Power from Scizor. Ice Shard from Weavile.
A wall of elemental devastation—fire, water, lightning, ice, steel, darkness, stone, and raw destructive energy—screamed across the clearing toward Cyrus and the Lake Trio.
"Defend," Cyrus commanded, unperturbed.
The Lake Trio moved in perfect, mechanical synchronization. The three Legendaries formed their triangular formation, and the jewels on their foreheads blazed with that same golden, otherworldly radiance. The barrier materialized—a shimmering dome of aureate light that hummed with power that transcended normal Pokémon energy.
Every single attack struck the barrier.
The mountain shook. The air shrieked. A shockwave of displaced force blasted outward in every direction, sending loose stones tumbling down the cliffsides and kicking up a hurricane of dust.
When the chaos subsided, the golden barrier remained. Immaculate. Absolute.
Any substance that touches that shield is simply… unmade, Gary observed, watching the last traces of his attacks dissolve into motes of starlight upon contact with the barrier's surface. That's not Protect. That's not Light Screen. That's power borrowed from Arceus itself—the authority of creation, turned into a wall. No amount of raw firepower can break through it.
Cyrus actually allowed himself a thin, cold smile. "You see? The Lake Guardians' combined power is beyond anything you—"
"Gengar," Gary said. His voice was quiet. Almost gentle. "Shadow Ball. Hit Cyrus."
"GEN-GAR!"
The shadow at Cyrus's feet moved.
A dark, grinning face erupted from the ground directly beneath the Team Galactic leader—Gengar, who had been hiding in Cyrus's own shadow since the beginning of the battle, waiting with predatory patience for exactly this moment. The Ghost-type materialized in a burst of violet energy, its manic grin splitting its face from ear to ear.
A Shadow Ball was already formed between its hands.
Cyrus's eyes went wide. For the first time—the very first time—genuine shock broke through his mask of emotionless control. "What—! Impos—"
BOOOOM!!
The Shadow Ball detonated point-blank. The explosion of ghostly energy hurled Cyrus off his feet like a ragdoll, sending him tumbling across the rocky ground in a graceless, uncontrolled sprawl. His gloved hand—the one with the control gems—jerked away from his body as he flew.
Gary was already issuing the follow-up.
"Scizor—Bullet Punch! Target his hands! Destroy the control device!"
"SCIII—ZOR!"
Scizor vanished. One moment it was standing among Gary's formation; the next, it was a crimson blur—a streak of red metallic light crossing the distance to Cyrus in less than a heartbeat. Bullet Punch. A priority move executed with Steel-type precision and devastating force.
Scizor's massive pincer struck Cyrus's outstretched hands with surgical accuracy. The metallic claw sheared through the control gloves, crushed the crimson gems embedded within, and—with considerably more force than strictly necessary—shattered the bones beneath.
"AAAARGH—!!"
The scream that tore from Cyrus's throat was raw and primal—completely at odds with the man's carefully cultivated persona of cold detachment. The intense, blinding pain overwhelmed everything else, and Cyrus's body went limp as consciousness abandoned him. He crumpled to the ground, his ruined hands twisted at unnatural angles, the shattered remnants of the control gems scattering across the stone like crimson glass.
The effect on the Lake Trio was immediate.
The crimson glow in Uxie's, Mesprit's, and Azelf's eyes flickered—stuttered—and then extinguished entirely, like candle flames snuffed by a sudden wind. The golden barrier dissolved into nothingness. The oppressive, otherworldly pressure that had permeated the battlefield vanished.
And then, without the psychic energy sustaining their levitation, and with Metagross and Magnezone's Gravity field still in effect, all three Lake Guardians dropped from the air. They fell like stones, hitting the ground with soft, muted thuds—unconscious, their small bodies going still.
It was over.
Or almost over.
"Everyone—stay alert!" Gary called sharply, his gaze sweeping across his remaining Pokémon. "The Lake Trio's Future Sight hasn't landed yet. The moment you sense an incoming attack, use Protect immediately. Don't take chances."
His Pokémon tensed, acknowledging the warning. Gary had Eevee stay close to him as well—Future Sight could theoretically target a trainer, not just their Pokémon, and he had no intention of being caught off-guard at the finish line.
Gary began walking briskly toward Cyrus's fallen form. He was halfway there when—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three pillars of golden psychic energy ripped downward from the sky without warning, slamming into the battlefield with explosive force.
"STOISE!"
"ELEC—TIVIRE!"
"HEATRAAAAN!"
Mega Blastoise, Electivire, and Heatran—this round's targets. But Gary's warning had saved them. All three had been primed and ready. The instant they felt the telltale distortion in the air above them, they reacted.
Three barriers of green-white energy snapped into existence simultaneously—Protect. The golden Future Sight detonations crashed against the protective shields with enough force to crack the earth around them, but the barriers held firm. When the psychic energy dissipated, all three Pokémon stood unharmed, their Protect shields flickering away.
Gary exhaled. That's all of them. Both rounds of Future Sight—accounted for.
He quickened his pace and reached Cyrus in seconds. The Team Galactic leader lay face-down on the rocky ground, completely unconscious, his shattered hands splayed at his sides. Gary knelt and carefully peeled the remains of the control gloves from Cyrus's fingers, pulling the destroyed devices free. As he did, he noticed the extent of the damage—both of Cyrus's hands were clearly broken in multiple places. The bones had been pulverized.
Gary glanced over his shoulder at Scizor and sighed. "You overdid it."
"Sci…zor?" Scizor tilted its head, its crimson pincers clicking in confusion. Its expression—insofar as an armored insectoid Pokémon could have one—clearly communicated: You told me to target his hands with Bullet Punch. I targeted his hands with Bullet Punch. How is this my fault?
Gary shook his head and pocketed the destroyed control gems. Fair point.
A sharp cry from above snapped his attention skyward.
"CHOMP!"
A Garchomp was descending rapidly from the clouds—but it wasn't Gary's Garchomp. This one was larger, sleeker, and moved with a fluidity that spoke of years of battle experience at the absolute highest level. Gary's system data flickered:
[LV76 Garchomp — Pseudo-Legendary-tier]
Gary's eyes widened, and he immediately scanned the mountainside below. There—coming up the winding path from the lower elevations—was a black mountain off-road vehicle, bouncing over the rough terrain at reckless speed. The driver was a woman with long blonde hair streaming behind her, her black coat flapping in the wind.
Cynthia.
Of all the timing…
Gary's stomach sank. He'd been planning to attempt capturing the Lake Trio while they were unconscious and defenseless. With Cynthia arriving—the Sinnoh League Champion herself—that option evaporated instantly. He couldn't exactly throw Poké Balls at three Legendary Pokémon right in front of the region's Champion without raising some very uncomfortable questions.
Cynthia's Garchomp landed first, its powerful legs absorbing the impact with predatory grace. Moments later, the off-road vehicle skidded to a halt near the ruins' entrance, and Cynthia leaped out, her gray eyes sweeping the devastated battlefield with sharp, assessing intensity.
The scene that greeted her was one of utter destruction. Dozens of unconscious Golbat lay scattered across the rocky ground. Team Galactic grunts were slumped against boulders, defeated and bound. Cyrus himself lay crumpled and unconscious, his hands visibly mangled. And three Legendary Pokémon—Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf—lay motionless on the earth, the crimson gems on their foreheads dark and inert.
Standing in the middle of it all, surrounded by his army of battle-ready Pokémon, was a teenager.
"Gary…?" Cynthia blinked. Her composed expression cracked with genuine bewilderment. "What on earth happened here?"
"Cyrus is the true leader of Team Galactic," Gary said, keeping his voice level and businesslike. "I intercepted them here. He had the Lake Trio under his control using devices created by their scientist, Charon. I took him down and freed the Lake Guardians."
Cynthia absorbed this in a single breath, her sharp mind already assembling the pieces. But concern immediately overtook analysis. "What about the others? Saturn and the remaining Team Galactic members?"
"They went into the ruins," Gary said, jerking his thumb toward the ancient stone entrance. "But without the Lake Trio's power, they can't accomplish anything in there. The Spear Key needs the Lake Guardians to function. They're stuck."
"What about Ash?" Cynthia pressed, her brow furrowing. "Ash and his friends were captured by Team Galactic during the operation at the lakes. Do you know where they are?"
Gary's mind clicked. Ash is on the transport ship. That's convenient. He pointed toward the black aircraft still parked near the ruins' entrance. "They should be held in the transport ship. Cynthia, you should go rescue them—I'll keep watch out here and make sure nothing changes."
What he didn't say was: Please leave quickly so I can deal with the Lake Trio before they wake up.
Cynthia nodded without hesitation. "Alright. Be careful."
She recalled her Garchomp—there wasn't room inside the aircraft for a Pokémon that large—and sprinted toward the transport ship's open hatch, disappearing into its interior within seconds.
The moment Cynthia was out of sight, Gary moved.
He strode toward the three fallen Lake Guardians, his footsteps quickening with urgency. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf lay in a loose cluster on the rocky ground, their small bodies completely still. Their eyes were closed, their breathing shallow—deeply unconscious from the combined strain of Charon's control devices, the battle, and the sudden severance of the manipulation link.
"Strange," Gary murmured, kneeling beside them. "Cyrus is unconscious. The control gems are destroyed. They should have woken up by now…"
He studied them for a moment longer, but urgency won over caution. Questions later. Opportunity now.
"Don't overthink it," he muttered to himself. "Capture first."
He pulled three Ultra Balls from his bag—premium-grade, high-capture-rate spheres designed for powerful Pokémon. He took careful aim and threw all three simultaneously, each one arcing toward a different Lake Guardian with practiced precision.
The Ultra Balls struck true. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf were each engulfed in red light, their forms converting to energy and being drawn into the capsules. The three Ultra Balls snapped shut and fell to the ground.
They wobbled once.
Then a pulse of iridescent, rainbow-colored light erupted from all three balls simultaneously. The light was blinding—not the normal red flash of a failed capture, but something deeper, more fundamental. The Ultra Balls didn't just fail to contain them. They were rejected—pushed away by an invisible force that sent the capsules tumbling across the stone, empty and spent.
Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf rematerialized on the ground, still unconscious, still motionless—but definitively uncaptured.
"What…?" Gary stared, genuinely taken aback.
That wasn't a normal capture failure. The Lake Trio resisted the Ultra Balls even while unconscious. That kind of rejection only happens if… if they already have an existing bond. A Poké Ball registration. But Cyrus didn't capture them—he controlled them with external devices, not Poké Balls.
Unless…
Gary leaned closer, studying the three Legendary Pokémon more carefully. His eyes moved to the jewels on their foreheads—the crystalline gems that served as focal points for their psychic power.
And then he saw it.
Embedded over each jewel, flush against the surface like a parasite bonded to its host, was a diamond-shaped crimson gemstone. Not the control gems from Cyrus's gloves—those had been destroyed. These were different. Smaller, more deeply integrated, almost organic in the way they fused with the Legendary Pokémon's own crystal structures.
Gary's blood went cold.
"The Red Chain," he whispered.