Snow fell heavily upon Lacunosa Town, flakes drifting endlessly from the sky. Though it was clearly the season of autumn, this place had been engulfed by a blizzard, wrapped in a shroud of icy white.
The townspeople of Lacunosa were panic-stricken. They bolted their doors and windows tight, trembling as ancient legends, long passed down through generations, resurfaced in their minds like ominous whispers.
But for most, fear outweighed curiosity. Families hastily packed up their belongings and fled the town, heading toward Opelucid City—the nearest safe haven.
From afar, faint yet thunderous roars echoed across the mountains, their trembling sound waves shaking hearts to the core.
And high above the towering peaks of the Giant Chasm range—
"Dragon Claw!"
Perched atop Reshiram's back, Lucas's sharp eyes locked onto the two battling dragons in the sky. His voice was firm and commanding as he issued an order directly into Mega Rayquaza's mind.
The blazing White Kyurem, infused with Reshiram's fiery essence raised its twin claws, blocking the incoming Draco Meteor unleashed by Rayquaza. Then, its maw burst open, firing a brilliant Dragon Pulse straight toward its emerald-scaled foe.
Mega Rayquaza's claws glimmered with fierce azure light. Without hesitation, it slashed forward—its claws cleaving through the energy wave as though it were paper.
"ROOAAAR!"
Seeing its attack effortlessly shattered, White Kyurem roared in fury, its bellow rippling through the sky as shockwaves of sound distorted the air itself. From its body surged an overwhelming frost, an icy breath that distorted space with its intensity.
A crimson glow flared from the turbines on its back, alternating with flashes of an unstable deep blue energy pulsing violently.
Then, before the onlookers' eyes, a vast, purple-red sphere of energy began to take form before Kyurem's maw—its signature move of its White Kyurem Form, born from the fusion of ice and flame.
Ice Burn!
"Rayquaza—Dragon Ascent!"
Lucas's gaze sharpened as he gave his next command.
Mega Rayquaza let out a piercing roar. Its serpentine body twisted elegantly through the skies, countless emerald motes of light dancing across its scales.
As the light reached its zenith, Rayquaza's majestic dragon eyes locked onto its target—then, in a blur of green light, it dove straight toward White Kyurem!
Dragon Ascent!
"ROOOAR!!"
White Kyurem roared in response. The Ice Burn it had gathered erupted forward, colliding head-on with Rayquaza's charge.
That attack, born from the union of fire and ice was unique among all Ice-type moves, being the only one capable of inflicting a burn.
It was the pinnacle of White Kyurem's raw power—an attack both cruelly beautiful and devastatingly potent.
Lucas's eyes followed the trajectory closely. The two forces drew nearer, seconds from collision.
"Climb! Now!"
Suddenly, Lucas gave a sharp command.
"ROOOAR!"
Rayquaza abruptly shot upward, green light streaking across the sky as it evaded the blast by mere meters!
White Kyurem's eyes widened in disbelief—it actually dodged it?!
"Hit it! Now!"
A smirk tugged at Lucas's lips. He had no intention of letting Rayquaza meet that terrifying beam head-on. Ice Burn, while incredibly powerful, was also predictable and Rayquaza's mastery of flight was second to none.
Rayquaza's entire form twisted in midair. The energy around its body condensed until the green glow became blinding. Then—
A streak of emerald light tore through the air!
BOOM!
Caught off guard, White Kyurem was slammed squarely in the chest by Rayquaza's full-force charge. The sheer impact sent shockwaves rippling through the sky.
"ROOAAAR!!"
White Kyurem howled in agony as Rayquaza's momentum carried it down. The two crashed into a mountainside with a cataclysmic roar—
BOOM!!!
The earth itself trembled. The mountain split apart, boulders collapsing in avalanches of dust and snow, shaking the horizon.
From a distance, Green and Marnie stared wide-eyed, barely able to comprehend what they were seeing.
Amidst the falling debris, Rayquaza rose from the crater, its body still glowing faintly green. Beneath it lay the shattered remains of boulders—White Kyurem buried beneath the rubble.
"Earthquake!"
Reshiram descended slightly, and Lucas issued his next order without hesitation.
Dragon Ascent was powerful, but not enough to finish a creature like Kyurem. They had to press the advantage!
Rayquaza raised its massive tail high yet before it could strike, a chilling aura seeped from beneath the rubble.
Thick, tangible frost began to rise between the cracks of the broken stone.
"Earthquake! Now!"
Lucas barked sharply.
Rayquaza's dragon eyes flared. It swung its tail downward—
BOOM!
The ground convulsed violently. A massive shockwave rippled outward from Rayquaza's position, shattering the surrounding terrain.
Rocks exploded apart under the pressure, reduced to powder by the force of the quake.
But from beneath came a guttural roar—
"ROAAAAAR!!"
The furious cry of White Kyurem echoed through the chasm as an icy tempest erupted outward, its frozen aura expanding in all directions.
Glaciate!
A wave of frost burst forth, freezing everything it touched.
In mere seconds, the entire landscape of mountains, rivers, and air was locked in solid ice, transformed into a glacial wasteland.
"Rayquaza!"
Lucas's eyes narrowed. Rayquaza had been too close!
The moment the frost exploded outward, Rayquaza had already taken flight, barely escaping. Even so, half of its tail was encased in thick, unyielding ice.
Green gasped aloud. "It—it's still fighting back even after all that?! It doesn't even feel pain, does it?!"
The battlefield had become an arctic abyss, a scene reminiscent of Galar's Crown Tundra. Everything around them had been consumed by frost.
"How is this possible…" Green whispered in disbelief. "It took a full Dragon Ascent, then an Earthquake right after—and it still had the strength to freeze the whole world!"
"Human… this one will not go down easily."
Rayquaza's telepathic voice rumbled within Lucas's mind as it blasted a jet of flame from its mouth, melting the ice from its tail. Its gaze hardened as it stared down at the glacier below.
"This dragon," it murmured, "is the most formidable opponent I've ever faced…"
Stronger even than Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Dialga, Palkia, or even Ultra Necrozma in its weakened Dawn-Wings form.
Those beings had once tested Rayquaza, but none had ever pushed it to such extremes.
Now, Kyurem fully awakened and in its prime radiated a threat beyond anything it had ever known.
"Stay sharp," Lucas said grimly. "Its counterattack is coming."
A sudden, thunderous roar split the air. The glacier exploded outward as Kyurem burst free—its eyes blazing with unrestrained fury.
In an instant, its body was enveloped in electric light. Red energy turned deep blue, and its form shifted—
Black Kyurem!
Electric arcs crackled across its body, the turbines on its tail roaring to life as blinding lightning wrapped around its massive frame.
Fusion Bolt!
With a roar, Black Kyurem surged forward like a living thunderstorm.
"Twister!"
Lucas gave the next command.
Rayquaza's serpentine body twisted, spinning at incredible speed. A colossal vortex materialized, drawing in clouds, snow, and debris—empowered by the Delta Stream swirling around it.
Black Kyurem charged straight into the storm. The two forces collided—
BOOM!!!
Lightning crackled violently through the tornado, followed by an ear-splitting detonation as the twister shattered apart.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Rayquaza's mouth flared, releasing a blazing blue beam of energy.
Black Kyurem countered instantly with an Ice Beam, the two attacks colliding midair and bursting apart in a shower of frost and dragonfire.
The black dragon didn't stop. It lunged forward, claws aglow with blue light—
Dragon Claw!
"Breaking Swipe!"
Rayquaza swung its tail, a blinding arc of light meeting Kyurem's claws midair.
The collision sent shockwaves through the sky. Neither side yielded.
Then, in a brutal motion, Black Kyurem twisted its claws, gripping Rayquaza's tail tightly.
Rayquaza's eyes widened. This feeling—it remembered it well.
Groudon's Earth Slam!
And just like that, memory became reality.
Kyurem heaved, spinning and smashing Rayquaza into the frozen earth below.
The green dragon fired a desperate Dragon Pulse, but Kyurem ignored the blow entirely, lightning gathering once again across its body.
Fusion Bolt!
Blue lightning engulfed the black dragon as it charged straight into Rayquaza—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The two dragons collided with a thunderous crash, lightning surging through Rayquaza's entire form.
"Damn it—it hurts, human!!" Rayquaza roared telepathically, writhing in pain as the lightning tore through its body. Even with its natural resistance to Electric-type attacks, the force of Kyurem's tackle—combined with the momentum of its fall was unbearable.
Lucas clenched his teeth. The mighty dragon had been completely overpowered in that exchange.
"Breaking Swipe!"
No hesitation.
Despite the agony coursing through it, Rayquaza's tail ignited once more, glowing brightly before slamming hard into Kyurem's side—
Smack!
The blow sent Kyurem staggering back, interrupting the icy breath forming in its throat.
"Bulldoze!"
Rayquaza shot into the sky, then dove downward, its tail now radiating with earthy brown light.
Kyurem bellowed, unleashing a Blizzard to intercept.
BOOM!!!
The two forces collided violently as Rayquaza's Bulldoze smashing down on Kyurem's head, even as the blizzard engulfed its lower body.
Both were injured, neither willing to yield.
Lucas sighed softly. "What a troublesome opponent…"
This ice dragon's fighting style was pure savagery—reckless and unrelenting, a creature that would gladly trade pain for pain.
"But my flying caterpillar isn't any weaker in endurance."
He glanced upward, smiling faintly as Rayquaza rose once more into the air.
Its stamina and defense had always been exceptional, even before it followed him.
At that moment, the whir of rotor blades echoed in the distance.
A helicopter descended on the outskirts of Lacunosa Town, landing on a nearby hill.
Alder, Iris, Steven, and the others stepped out into the freezing wind.
"What the—what happened here?!"
Iris gasped, hugging her arms tightly as she looked out at the frozen wasteland stretching before them. The air was frigid enough to bite through her clothes.
Alder's brows furrowed. "No doubt about it. This is Kyurem's doing."
Only a creature of that caliber could alter the weather to such an extreme degree.
"Look! Over there!" Cynthia suddenly pointed skyward.
"Kyurem… and—"
Steven narrowed his eyes. Two figures clashed high above, their forms wreathed in fire, lightning, and ice.
"That's… Mega Rayquaza!"
The champions exchanged knowing glances.
There was no mistaking it—those colors, that majestic glow—it was Rayquaza, and not just any Rayquaza, but Lucas's.
Which meant only one thing—
The man himself was here, facing Kyurem head-on.
"I knew it," Iris muttered. "I was wondering why he disappeared so suddenly… turns out he went looking for Kyurem himself."
(End of Chapter)