High in the sky, Rayquaza suddenly twisted its long body.
It dodged six energy beams that had been flying straight at it.
Boom!
An explosion flashed behind Rayquaza, lighting up the sky.
The glow lit up Steven's face. He smiled slightly, and strangely, Rayquaza wore the same expression. Both the man and the Dragon had the same look of disdain in their eyes.
Steven no longer cared that his strength was running low. He only wanted to enjoy this moment with Rayquaza — the moment of standing up to Legendary Pokémon!
Latias and Latios could only look at each other. Neither of them could think of anything useful to do. If they flew in to attack, their strength was nothing compared to the monsters before them. If they tried to use Slack Off, that didn't feel right either. It was as if they had come through the ring only to watch the show.
Latias looked troubled as she watched Steven standing calmly on Rayquaza's head. Something about him felt different now — not like the Steven she knew before.
"I'm going," Latias said, gritting her teeth.
Latios glanced at her sideways, confused.
"If I don't help, Hoopa will probably send me back," Latias said. Then she suddenly sped up and flew straight toward the battling Legendary Pokémon. She knew that if she didn't prove useful, the Steven fighting right now would send her home without hesitation — and there was someone here she still wanted to see. She couldn't leave yet.
Latios watched his sister charge forward with such determination that he had no choice but to follow.
Boom—
Firelight lit up Desert City in the darkness of night, though at this rate, Desert City might soon become an actual desert.
A shadow of green light shot into the sky, surrounded by bursts of colorful energy.
"Not bad," Rayquaza said, pausing in midair to look down at the seven Legendary Pokémon below. "An ordinary person would have died a long time ago."
It could feel a small but steady stream of power flowing into its body, and that warmth filled it with excitement for the fight.
"Enough talking!" Steven called out. He knew his strength should have run out long ago, yet the thrill running through his body wouldn't let him stop. Or maybe he simply didn't want to.
"Roar!" Rayquaza cried and dove downward!
Below, the Legendary Pokémon launched their attacks one after another:
Hoopa Unbound fired Dark Pulse. Dialga unleashed Roar of Time. Palkia tore space with Spacial Rend. Giratina struck with Shadow Sneak. Kyurem, having changed into its Black form, fired Freeze Shock. Kyogre summoned Origin Pulse. Groudon blasted a Hyper Beam.
(Don't ask why Groudon didn't use its signature move, Precipice Blades. Do you think it didn't want to?)
Rayquaza's eyes turned sharp, and it let out a roar as green light surrounded its body.
Dragon Ascent!
Rayquaza chose to fly straight through the incoming attacks instead of dodging. Normally, Steven wouldn't pick such a reckless way to fight — with Rayquaza's speed, it could easily dodge every attack using Extreme Speed. But to bring out power greater than even Rayquaza's peak strength, Steven had to fully merge his will with the Dragon's.
Crazy? That was exactly how he liked it.
Latias and Latios kept circling around the Legendary Pokémon, firing Dragon Pulse again and again to chip away at their health. Latias watched Rayquaza and Steven drop from the sky, flying straight into attacks from gods, and couldn't help muttering to herself:
"Lunatics! Both of them!"
Still, their own attacks barely mattered to these Legendary Pokémon. Right now, the seven of them only cared about pinning the massive black Dragon in the sky down to the ground. Even if they were only illusions, shadows, or being controlled by something else, they still had their pride. How could they simply ignore such mockery and disdain from Rayquaza?
Boom!
Brilliant flashes lit up the sky like fireworks. The force of the shockwaves stirred up towering waves along the coast of Desert City. The ground itself seemed to tremble.
Ash and the others inside Desert Tower could feel it too. Earlier attacks had only shaken the tower like a minor earthquake, but now, Balza and Merry both had the same thought:
Desert Tower might collapse from the shockwaves of this battle!
Ash looked through the shattered window at the top of Desert Tower, watching the fierce battle raging in the distance.
"We need to make a new Prison Bottle, fast!"
"Understood!" Balza replied, pouring all his strength into the effort alongside Merry.
From the thick black smoke, Steven and Rayquaza came falling out together, trailing wisps of smoke behind them as they dropped toward the ground.
"Steven! Wake up!" Little Hoopa, covered in dust, shook Steven's shoulder desperately.
"Roar!" The Legendary Pokémon below cheered, as if they had just solved some great mystery together. But their joy blinded them to the truth — Rayquaza's Mega Evolution hadn't worn off. Though covered in wounds, it was far from defeated.
As Steven fell, he reached out and grabbed hold of one of Rayquaza's horns. Rayquaza's eyes snapped open. It tilted its head back and caught him steadily, then soared back into the sky.
Dragon Dance!
"Roar!" Rayquaza's cry reached the ears of every Legendary Pokémon below. Even Groudon and Kyogre's glowing red eyes flickered, just slightly. A rare look of fear — one seldom seen in Pokémon of their power — appeared in their eyes.
"Hoopa, call Lugia here," Steven said, standing up on Rayquaza's head.
"I don't need backup," Rayquaza said coldly.
"I know," Steven grinned. "But too many pests buzzing around can get annoying. Let's clear a few of them out first — the rest will be easier to handle."
Rayquaza stayed silent for a moment, then let out a proud laugh.
"Fine, but let it be known — they can only hold the others back. All of them are still mine to defeat."
"Hoopa!"
"Okay!" Little Hoopa nodded.
At first, it had planned to summon Latias and Latios to carry Steven, since they were fast and small enough to move quickly. But Steven had ended up standing on Rayquaza's head instead. So Little Hoopa threw its rings down toward Latios and Latias.
"Don't even think about it!" Hoopa Unbound shouted, spotting the rings falling from the sky. Its six arms shot out, trying to grab both rings before Little Hoopa could use them.
"Rayquaza!" Steven called out. He had already expected this — Hyperspace Fury, Hoopa Unbound's signature move! It wasn't just trying to stop Little Hoopa; it wanted to destroy the rings entirely.
Rayquaza flashed forward. After using Dragon Dance, its speed and power had grown far greater.
Bang!
Using Extreme Speed, Rayquaza caught up to the falling rings in an instant, spinning its whole body around and swinging its tail to knock away every one of Hoopa Unbound's heavy punches.
Latios saw the rings falling and sped up, ready to charge forward. Then he realized fighting wouldn't help — better to be smart about it. He dove straight into one of the rings as it grew larger. In his place, a great white bird wrapped in rings of water appeared.
Lugia had returned to the battlefield!
Latias looked at the other falling ring and chose to dodge it instead of diving in like her brother had.
"Steven…" she murmured.
"Don't worry about her," Steven said with a small laugh. "This is enough."
Rayquaza flew beside Lugia, and together they faced the seven Legendary Pokémon.
"I already said it — they're all mine!"
"Please, Lugia," Little Hoopa said, glancing at Steven. It knew by now that Steven had lost all sense of manners in this state, so only Little Hoopa could speak politely on his behalf.
"Roar!" Lugia answered warmly, not bothered at all by Rayquaza's words. Instead, it chose to help Little Hoopa with everything it had — its gentle nature was rare, even among Legendary Pokémon.
Steven's gaze swept across the Legendary Pokémon one by one, finally settling on Hoopa Unbound.
"Round one is over. Round two begins!"
One against seven had ended. Now it was two against seven.