"Is this all the strength you have left?!"
Lorelei's hair was disheveled, her once-elegant appearance reduced to ruin. Her clothes had been torn into ragged strips. Dust and sweat streaked across her face as though she had rolled through the dirt. One hand clutched her bleeding shoulder, her expression twisted with fury.
Not far away, Bruno was also gasping heavily. His muscular frame was covered in crisscrossing wounds, dried blood clinging to the corner of his mouth.
Agatha's condition was better than theirs—but only slightly. Even her gray-white hair hung in wild tangles like weeds.
And yet—
Compared to the three Elite Four members—
Red and Blue were in far worse shape.
Both were already weakened, having only just recovered from being frozen before being thrown into this brutal, high-intensity battle. Now they could barely lean against the rocky wall for support. Their minds drifted in and out of hallucination. Their faces were pale and gaunt. If not for the faint rise and fall of their chests, one might have believed them already dead.
Their dry lips moved slightly—
But neither had the strength to answer Lorelei's provocation.
Not far from them, Green leaned against the wall as well, breathing heavily. Her eyes were unfocused—her stamina clearly exhausted. The crimson spreading across her abdomen told the story of how grievously she had been injured.
At the beginning, their united effort had actually overwhelmed the Elite Four.
But once Agatha stopped holding back—
Once she truly went all out—
Red and Blue, already drained, could only struggle not to become dead weight.
Green, facing three Elite Four at once, was pushed beyond her limits. She had never specialized in frontal combat—she excelled in one-on-one trickery and deception. On a battlefield that demanded direct confrontation, she had given everything she had.
When Agatha finally unleashed her full strength—
Only Sabrina and Cynthia could hold the frontline.
And even they were barely standing.
Sabrina's left arm hung unnaturally, the joint visibly twisted from a heavy blow. Frost clung to her wrist—evidence of a sneak attack from Lorelei.
Even pale and drenched in cold sweat, she stood upright, jaw clenched stubbornly against the pain.
But Cynthia—
Cynthia was the most battered of them all.
As the strongest present, she had borne the brunt of the assault.
She knelt on the frozen ground. The leg beneath her could no longer move. Her once-tailored trousers had been shredded, revealing a porcelain-white calf like carved jade. One shoe had been torn away entirely, leaving her bare foot pressed against the icy earth.
Her ankle bore the same grotesque frostbite as Sabrina's.
Her injured leg refused to respond.
Her Champion's coat was long gone.
She clutched her abdomen, hunched like a shrimp, occasionally gagging as the metallic taste of blood rose in her throat.
Several ribs were likely broken.
Staying conscious was already her limit.
What an unprecedented battle.
Cynthia reflected bitterly.
In Sinnoh—
She had never faced such despair.
Such desperation.
Such blazing passion.
Pushing beyond every limit.
Merging her spirit completely with her Pokémon.
Searching together for victory.
Garchomp had finally mastered Draco Meteor in this battle—
The ultimate Dragon-type move.
She could finally tell her grandmother she had truly grown up.
If she survived—
This experience would make her far stronger.
But that was only an "if."
She had lost.
Completely.
Helplessly.
She had never fought Lance directly.
But she knew—
Agatha was no weaker than him.
And when the old woman unleashed her full power—
Cynthia had witnessed what it meant to stand at the summit of the world.
Lorelei and Bruno were finished.
But Agatha still had usable Pokémon.
She could continue.
Cynthia looked around.
Her Pokémon—
Her allies' Pokémon—
All lay scattered, exhausted.
They had reached their limits.
But against overwhelming strength—
There were no miracles.
What awaited the defeated?
Probably death.
She regretted something.
She should have attempted Mega Evolution from the start.
Perhaps that gamble could have changed everything.
Instead, she waited until Garchomp was nearly spent—
And failed.
At the core—
She had doubted the theory of Mega Evolution.
Without proof—
She had not dared to bet everything.
But—
If it were Logan…
He would have gambled.
He would have believed in himself.
Believed in Garchomp.
That was the kind of person he was.
Confident enough to make others believe too.
She regretted something else.
There were words she should have spoken before the battle.
Now—
There might never be a chance.
"Agatha!"
Lorelei looked toward her.
Everyone did.
Only Agatha still possessed usable Pokémon.
All their fates rested in her hands.
Agatha ignored Lorelei.
Her gaze fixed on the rock wall—
As if seeing through it to another battlefield entirely.
Then she spoke.
"…Lance is going to lose."
"What?!"
Lorelei's voice cracked.
Lance—lose?
The invincible man?
Meanwhile—
Cynthia, Sabrina, Red, Blue—
All smiled faintly.
The best news they had heard all day.
"Even if Lance loses, it doesn't matter!" Lorelei snapped stubbornly.
"That boy won't be unscathed! We finish these reinforcements, rest, then move in! We can still correct this!"
Her logic was sound.
Terrifyingly sound.
But Agatha did not respond.
She simply leaned on her cane, motioned to Arbok—still able to move—and walked toward a tunnel exit.
"Agatha! Where are you going?!"
"I'm too old for this nonsense," she replied without turning.
"If you want to deal with these kids, do it yourself."
"If you want to intercept the Champion, do it yourself."
"Stop relying on this old woman."
"I'm tired."
And she left.
Lorelei sat frozen.
How had it ended like this?
She turned to Bruno—
The strange symbols that had once bound him were gone.
Agatha had fully released him.
He smiled.
But not in agreement.
Alone against the Kanto Champion?
Impossible.
As long as he had even one Pokémon standing—
Lorelei knew she would lose.
Repeated defeats had left scars on her confidence.
She laughed bitterly.
"I imagined many endings…"
"Victory."
"Death."
"But not this."
"Agatha… she played us all."
Coughing, she returned her exhausted Pokémon.
And staggered away.
"We're done."
"The Kanto Elite Four is disbanded."
Meanwhile—
Outside.
The final judgment approached.
"Don't hold back, Mewtwo."
"Let's give everything."
"If Garchomp and I share an unbreakable bond—"
"Then you and I…"
"…are no different."
"We don't need a Mega Stone."
Logan raised his right hand.
The ring on his finger gleamed.
Mewtwo smiled.
And gripped his hand tightly.
Inside the cave—
The Elite Four crumble.
Outside—
The final battle begins.
And this time—
There will be no restraint.
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