To be honest, Aiden had actually prepared quite a few backup plans in Opelucid City.
For instance, he had notified the Rainbow Corporation in advance and had directly dispatched the Team Rocket trio that Giovanni had assigned to him, tasking them with protecting the DNA Splicers.
The Meowth trio from this time period had only known each other for a short while and hadn't yet assimilated into comic relief characters, making them very reliable members within the Rainbow Corporation.
As long as it didn't involve "Pikachu-god," Aiden was confident they would perform excellently.
However—
He had completely failed to account for N, the impulsive kid, delivering himself right to them.
The final boss was nearly about to upgrade from a regular Kyurem to Black Kyurem!
Thankfully, he had still made it in time.
Looking at the stunned N before him, who seemed utterly shocked by his appearance, Aiden couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Young people are just too impulsive. Didn't Zekrom try to stop you?
Oh, wait—
Perhaps it was precisely because N's ideals had finally blossomed that he had moved Zekrom to fight alongside him?
Aiden glanced at the Dark Stone, held in the arms of Marshadow at the bow of the ship. He gave a big thumbs-up, then turned to look at Colress behind him, whose expression was complicated.
"I heard you were looking for me?"
"Well, now I'm here."
"The 'Hero of Truth' chosen by the white dragon Reshiram—that would be me!"
Hearing this, Colress couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Damn that Ghetsis. How could his intelligence be so flawed!
Wasn't it said that the Hero of Truth had not yet appeared, and that they only needed to focus on N this time?
Although he hadn't completely trusted the trash of Team Plasma and had been slightly on guard against the possible appearance of the white dragon, but—
What did he mean by the Hero of Truth being that Aiden?
As a researcher who studied Legendary Pokémon and hoped to use technology to surpass the power limits of Pokémon and humans, he did indeed walk in the gray area on the border of the law, but that didn't mean he would oppose the League.
Even if Team Plasma's mission ultimately failed, he could use the excuse of being unaware to shirk the majority of the responsibility and leave safely with his recorded data.
But the moment Aiden appeared, Colress knew—
The nature of the situation had changed.
If it were only the Unova League, which was mostly at a standstill, they wouldn't be too hard on him. He could easily escape and continue his research work in another region.
This time, however, it might be difficult for him to get away unscathed.
Given Aiden's track record of single-handedly storming into the conflict of the three dragons in Sinnoh and ultimately quelling the rage of the Temporal and Spatial Dragons, Kyurem alone would likely be no match for him.
Kyurem had just awakened. Without having absorbed the black and white dragons to reach its peak form, its power would probably be no match for that Giratina—
If he could have laughed and reconciled with Aiden at this moment, Colress would have sold out Ghetsis and the rest of Team Plasma without a second thought.
But obviously, Aiden was already prepared for a fight.
Because he had already taken out the Light Stone and tossed it gently forward.
"It's up to you, Reshiram!"
"Let's let you Unova folks handle your own affairs first. I'll step in if you really can't manage."
From the other's tone, Colress could clearly hear a hint of disdain.
Did Aiden consider a battle between Legendary Pokémon to be such a trivial matter?
Colress sighed, then looked at Kyurem, which was glaring at Aiden and N.
It had come to this—
Before being captured, he might as well try to collect more data.
Otherwise, there might be no chance after he was locked up.
"Kyurem, show them your full power!"
"Use Glaciate!"
Colress hesitated no longer and immediately pressed the button in his hand, adjusting the device on Kyurem's back to maximum power.
In addition to its "fusion" function, the DNA Splicers could also temporarily grant Kyurem mobility by supplementing its energy.
Although he couldn't perfectly replicate this, however—
The power it had just absorbed from Zekrom should be enough for it to use one of its signature moves.
The terrifying power, said in legends to be able to freeze the entire Unova region and return the world to an ice age, was the best interpretation of "power"!
"ROAR—!"
Kyurem opened its massive jaws. After fully absorbing the energy being transmitted at full power from its back, it rapidly condensed it into a sphere of frosty energy.
"Reshiram, use Fusion Flare!"
Aiden immediately followed up, attempting to use Reshiram's turbine flames to counteract its energy.
However—Reshiram looked troubled and remained in place.
[My apologies. My power has no effect on Kyurem. That's why Zekrom just now—]
"..."
Aiden understood in an instant.
So you two are basically just Kyurem's portable chargers, huh? No wonder you're constantly searching the Unova region for a human who can become a hero.
Otherwise, once Kyurem awakens, you'll be captured and forced to fuse, is that it!
Return, you useless thing!
Aiden didn't say it aloud, but the meaning in his eyes was enough to make Reshiram break into a sweat.
If it could, it would have loved to fight alongside the "Hero of Truth." It's just that they and Kyurem share the same origin, so it truly wasn't capable—
Reshiram had a strong feeling that after today, it would truly become a "useless thing" in Aiden's eyes. What should it do?
Reshiram quickly reverted to the Light Stone and returned to Aiden's hand. Aiden, after pondering for a moment, took out a Poké Ball.
"Sylveon, it seems when we're in a losing situation, we can only rely on ourselves!"
"Vee?"
After a flash of red light, Sylveon nimbly landed, letting out a confused cry.
Before it was a terrifying giant dragon, many times larger than itself, that exuded a chilling aura just by standing there.
A massive amount of Ice-type energy was gathering in its mouth, ready to erupt at any moment and engulf everyone on the massive airship.
"Vee..."
Sylveon sighed. The long-unheard roar of its Emperor Engine suddenly sounded.
Although it was happy that its trainer trusted it so much, however—
Was this kind of monster-like opponent really something it could handle?
How scary! Just the ice shards it was breathing out had lowered the temperature so much!
Even having experienced a battle against deities, Sylveon still felt incredibly tense.
"Don't be afraid. Let's use that move!"
Aiden's voice came from behind, slightly reassuring Sylveon.
At the same time, it immediately understood his intention.
So that's it. He was going to use a Z-Move to temporarily control Kyurem?
Sylveon immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it didn't have to face that big guy head-on, it was fine!
"Vee!"
Sylveon struck a pose, waiting for Aiden's next move.
Aiden also quickly spread his legs into a horse stance and brandished the Full-Burst Z-Ring on his wrist.
"This is—a Z-Move?"
Colress was stunned for a moment before quickly realizing what was happening.
He had a little understanding of this mysterious technique from Alola.
But wasn't it said that Z-Moves could only be used in Alola, and that it was impossible to gather the power without the Ultra Aura?
But since Aiden could use a Z-Move, he must be well aware of this fact.
Did he have some special way to store energy?
Sure enough, as Aiden began to move his hands, the Z-Ring on his wrist started to shine, its light seemingly expanding outwards.
"Kyurem, increase power output!"
Colress's heart tightened as he urged again.
What was that terrifying energy? Why had an Ultra Aura, dense enough for a Z-Move to be executed smoothly, suddenly appeared out of thin air?
This wasn't scientific!
If Aiden knew what he was thinking, he would have surely said with a smile—
"Alpaca Tech, truly awe-inspiring!"
"Vee!"
The energy transformed into light, passing through the Sylvium Z and causing Sylveon to shine as well.
The golden light illuminated the airship. Even the Unova citizens and Rainbow Corporation members on the ground below noticed this immense power.
"Here it comes!"
With Aiden's shout, the Ultimate Aura, gathered to its limit, was ready and erupted in a single instant!
"Sylvium Z—"
Aiden pointed to the sky and roared.
"Moonlit Mirage of No Return!"
"VEE!"
A simple Z-Move might not be enough to give a Pokémon the power to contend with a legend.
However, the power they had obtained wasn't just the Ultimate Aura.
The power of the Eeveelutions also rushed in from all over the world as Sylveon began to shine, elevating the Z-Move's power to another level.
In this moment, with its aura soaring, Sylveon now possessed power no less than Kyurem's!
"SYLVEE—!"
With another roar, the Z-Move was unleashed.
No warning, no fancy special effects.
Only a sphere of pink energy, containing Fairy-type power, slowly flew into the sky and gradually condensed into a full moon.
Then, with a "BANG—," Colress was the first to collapse, completely losing consciousness.
He was followed by the other Team Plasma members.
In the end, besides Aiden, only N could maintain a hazy consciousness. He squinted, struggling to look at Sylveon, who was releasing its power with all its might.
So—
This is the meaning of "Truth"?
To possess such immense power, surely any ideal could be turned into reality—
With that thought, N's will could no longer hold on, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.
In fact, it wasn't just the people on the airship. The entire city of Opelucid on the ground fell into a deathly silence.
After all, this was a truly nuclear-bomb-level finishing move. Under normal circumstances, Aiden really wouldn't dare to use it recklessly.
However—the situation was urgent!
And even with Sylveon's Z-Move, it seemed it couldn't make Kyurem lose its ability to fight immediately.
"ROAR—!"
Although the sound it roared was devoid of aura, it still stubbornly held its ground, not collapsing like the other humans.
Instead, its gaze became even more resolute. It looked at the Dark Stone in the sleeping Marshadow's arms, then suddenly spat out the icy power it had been gathering for so long!
"Marshadow, sink into the shadows and dodge!"
"Marsha!"
Marshadow reacted instantly, vanishing without a trace.
It had succeeded in retrieving the Dark Stone. Its mission was complete!
It had been very useful in this battle too!
However, although it had dodged, the energy beam Kyurem spat out did not disappear immediately. Instead, it shot straight into the sky.
The power of Glaciate wasn't just in that terrifying single beam of energy.
More importantly—
Under the influence of Kyurem's energy, the sky instantly became overcast with dark clouds. Soon, large hailstones began to rain down, and the chill they carried made Aiden shiver unconsciously.
"Tsk, to be this persistent—"
Aiden couldn't help but click his tongue.
He didn't know if it was because a Legendary Pokémon's constitution was different, or if Kyurem's will was simply too strong.
Even Tapu Koko, who could create an Electric Terrain, had fallen asleep instantly after being hit by this move. Truly worthy of being the shell of the Original Dragon.
So, in the end, did he still have to use the "physical lullaby method"?
After taking out another Poké Ball, Aiden pressed the trigger.
"Miraidon, use Draco Meteor!"
He'd find a way to make Kyurem behave first. As for the weather, he'd let Landorus handle that—
His own specialty wasn't quite right for this.
"ROOAR!"
After regaining its resolve, Miraidon was very reliable at critical moments.
As it appeared, it rapidly gathered its power, aiming directly at Kyurem, which still clung to a sliver of obsession.
Whoosh!
A sudden screech came from the sky, followed by two giant meteors falling from the heavens, crashing directly towards Kyurem as it gathered power for a second breath.
Wait—
Why were there two meteors?
Aiden suddenly realized and looked up at the sky.
However, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and he could see nothing.
Only the two Draco Meteors, piercing through the clouds and bringing terrifying pressure, were speeding towards the airship.
The small, seemingly faster Draco Meteor should be Miraidon's doing.
As for the larger one—
Aiden felt it was somewhat familiar.
It seemed a long time ago, when he was just a rookie trainer, the same thing had happened in Littleroot Town.
A meteor would randomly appear in the direction he pointed, instantly putting a Pokémon to sleep.
So, the answer was already obvious.
Black Rayquaza!
The two Draco Meteors crashed down. The irresistible Dragon-type energy smashed directly onto Kyurem's head, completely erasing its final sliver of will.
The residual Dragon-type energy transformed into a sharp, draconic roar that instantly echoed throughout Opelucid City.
"RROOAR?!"
Miraidon blinked, looking utterly bewildered.
Could it be—was it really that powerful?
No, it still had enough self-awareness to know better.
So it also looked in the direction Aiden was staring at, raising its head in confusion.
Was there another expert up there?
"ROAR—!"
Another resounding dragon roar came from the sky, which was covered by hail and dark clouds.
The first ray of light appeared in the sky, which had been darkened by Kyurem's power. Soon, more and more gaps emerged from the clouds.
The hail quickly stopped, and the previously dense dark clouds rapidly dissipated. A black shadow appeared beneath the sun in Aiden's eyes.
Its body was slender, and the dark gold patterns coiled around its jet-black frame shone with a sacred luster in the sunlight.
It was none other than the Mega-Evolved Black Rayquaza.
With its appearance, the Delta Stream Ability quietly triggered, and the world, which was about to be frozen, returned to tranquility.
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