Thundurus and Tornadus were full of rage, and the surrounding lightning and storms were constantly gathering.
Landorus glanced at Tornadus and Thundurus, thinking to itself, "You two really never learn."
It ignored the not-so-bright Tornadus and Thundurus, looked at Lucas, and signaled for him to state his conditions.
"As expected, you're the most reasonable one."
Watching Landorus step forward yet again, Lucas couldn't help but sigh.
It seemed that in the Pokémon world, whenever three Pokémon appeared together, there were always two that would fight on sight, and one left to mediate.
"If only you could suppress them, that would be great."
Hearing Lucas's snarky comment, Landorus gritted its teeth.
"Didn't I suppress them? Give me a little more time and I definitely could have beaten them down! It's just that you guys arrived early! And you made them go berserk!"
"They might not be very smart, but they're strong! It takes time for me to suppress them!"
Landorus suppressed its frustration and stared straight at Lucas.
On the ground, Iris leaped over to Ash, helped him up, then placed a hand on her forehead and stood on tiptoe to look at Lucas and Latias in the sky.
"Ash, do you know this handsome Trainer?"
Hearing Iris's question, Ash rubbed his nose, which had been scorched black, and chuckled, "Of course! He's Lucas, the owner of a Breeding House. He's a Trainer I admire very much. I'm currently striving to become a Pokémon Master just like him."
Iris searched her memory for the name Lucas, then asked curiously, "Lucas—it seems there isn't any Champion named Lucas."
"Hehe, you wouldn't know this, but he defeated Champion Cynthia while I, Mr. Lance, Mr. Steven, and—who else was it? I forgot—watched!"
Iris's jaw dropped.
Champion Cynthia?!
That was a Trainer she respected deeply. Her Garchomp could be considered the most powerful Dragon-type Pokémon among all the Champions. Even the elders in her hometown, Dragons Valley, couldn't raise such an excellent Garchomp. She hadn't expected it to lose to the man before her.
"Pika Pika."
"Right, Pikachu is correct. He's also Champion Cynthia's husband."
Iris: ?!!
"Pika!"
"It's boyfriend!"
"Oh, aren't boyfriend and husband the same thing?"
Iris ignored the bickering Ash and Pikachu, focusing her attention instead on Lucas and Latias in the sky.
Meanwhile, not far away, a man with green hair wearing a hat stopped what he was doing and looked up at Latias and the man on its back in the sky.
"That is—"
N felt the emotions of the Pokémon surrounding him and fell into silence.
"You three."
Lucas stared at Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus, and said with a smile, "Do me a favor and leave, how about that? Go back to where you belong."
Landorus was about to nod, but Thundurus and Tornadus beside it flatly refused.
Tornadus: "Landorus, you say leave and we leave? Who do you think you are?!"
Thundurus: "Trying to act tough, huh?! Why should I leave?!"
As soon as they finished speaking, they threw their Roaring Thunderstorm and Withered Leaf Storm attacks toward Lucas.
Seeing the massive tornado formed by the convergence of gale, lightning, and ice, Lucas tightened his grip on Latias, urging it to carry him away from the spot.
"They can even do a martial soul fusion skill? Isn't that just cheating?"
Watching the massive tornado that gave off a world-destroying vibe, the corners of Lucas's mouth twitched involuntarily.
The massive tornado grew larger and larger, slowly dragging everything around it into its vortex.
"Everyone, get away from there and come behind me!"
Lucas shouted to them.
"What should we do, Elite Shauntal?"
Lenora stood beside Shauntal, resisting the suction of the strong wind, and asked loudly.
Shauntal very decisively recalled her Pokémon.
"What else can we do? He said so, so we'd better run for it."
After saying that, Shauntal ran toward Lucas, not forgetting to call out to Ash and his friends.
"Ash, run!"
"Roger!"
Ash pulled his hat down, hugged Pikachu, and used Quick Attack.
"Lucas."
Lucas was startled by the voice behind him. He turned around to see Ash with a soot-blackened face.
"You scared me! Where did you go? How did you get so tanned?"
Hearing Lucas, Ash touched his face, looked at his soot-covered palm, and grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "It's nothing, I just got struck by Thundurus."
Lucas: ...
There it is, the Super Pallet Towner!
"Although I don't know why you're here, just hide behind me for now. We'll deal with the rest after we resolve this."
"Okay. Gengar, do you have any snacks? Share some with me and Pikachu. We were just about to have lunch when Tornadus and the others blew it away. We're so hungry—"
"Pika—chu—"
Watching Ash and Pikachu take the snacks from Gengar and start eating heartily, Lucas didn't know whether to praise them for being laid-back or for being heartless.
With such a massive tornado right in front of you, you can still eat so happily.
Seeing that Shauntal and the others had all run over, Lucas asked Shauntal, "What should we do now?"
Shauntal: "You're asking me? Didn't you tell us to come over?"
It seemed Shauntal was no help.
Lucas looked at Landorus. "Can your Sandsear Storm cover them?"
Landorus looked at Lucas, its voice echoing in his mind.
"My Sandsear Storm would only be absorbed by them to strengthen themselves."
"Then how did they create this thing? How do you usually beat them?"
"How would I know? Can't you see they're just as confused as we are?"
Lucas looked at Tornadus and Thundurus and found them looking completely bewildered.
To put it simply:
Tornadus: "What is this thing?"
Thundurus: "I don't know—but it looks pretty powerful."
"Gengar, what do you think if we throw this into the Distortion World?"
Gengar: !!!
Genius!
"Gengar!"
"I think it's worth a try!"
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, he felt the connection to the Distortion World being closed.
"So stingy! You don't even want to help us when we encounter a little trouble, even though you eat so much of our food usually!"
"Gengar!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
After the Distortion Channel was closed by Giratina, Lucas watched the massive tornado, which was crazily consuming everything around it, covered in lightning and ice, looking incredibly terrifying.
"It must have been formed by the surrounding water vapor and wind, purely by coincidence," Landorus's voice rang out.
"This area is prone to tornadoes during this season anyway."
"Is that so—then let's try shattering it."
A flash of red light, and Lilligant made a magnificent entrance.
"Lilligant, let's go!"
Lucas twisted the Z-Ring on his wrist, then performed a graceful dance with Lilligant.
"Um—Ash, why is he dancing?"
Iris asked in a low voice beside Ash.
"That's a Z-Move, a very powerful move."
"Is that so?"
Iris seemed to understand. Axew, hiding in her hair, poked its head out and pointed somewhere.
"Axew—"
Iris looked over and saw a freshly bloomed flower.
"A flower?"
Iris was confused as to why flowers would suddenly bloom here. Then, she watched as many blades of grass began to grow around the flower, followed by more flowers blooming, the area expanding rapidly.
Until she realized they were right in the center of a floral carpet.
"Lilligant, no need to hold back, full power!"
"Bloom Doom!"
The purest grass-type energy within Lilligant's body began to converge on the incredibly vibrant flower above its head. The grass-type energy, blessed by Pokémon like Celebi and Shaymin, accompanied by extremely powerful life force, transformed into the purest beam of life energy in the world and was fired, growing larger and larger as it traveled.
The terrifying beam shot straight toward the tornado. Wherever the beam passed, flowers bloomed.
The beam slammed into the surface of the tornado, piercing directly through the lightning and ice on the surface, heading straight for the center.
In everyone's eyes, the interior of the tornado, originally covered in lightning and ice, began to refract dazzling light—one beam, two beams, three beams—until it covered the entire tornado.
Accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, the terrifying tornado dissipated.
Countless petals drifted down from the sky, landing on the ground that had become uneven and riddled with gullies due to the tornado, quickly causing flowers to bloom.
The sky began to clear.
N stood in the middle of the flowers, watching the petals falling from the sky, and couldn't help but reach out to catch one.
This is—the power of gratitude?
The feelings of Pokémon toward Trainers—the feelings of Trainers toward Pokémon—
Gratitude—
How is that possible—
N suddenly fell into confusion.
Gothitelle lowered the psychic barrier protecting everyone and nodded at Lilligant.
Lucas bent down and gently picked up the exhausted Lilligant, cradling it in his arms just as he used to when it was little.
"You've worked hard, Lilligant," Lucas said softly.
Lilligant gave a sweet smile.
"Lilli~"
Cheren, standing beside Shauntal, gulped.
This is just too strong—
Iris stared at Lucas's back with shining eyes, shaking Ash's arm repeatedly.
"Ash, Ash! Why didn't you tell me you had such a powerful teacher? Wouldn't you improve much faster if he taught you?"
"Aiya, that's not it! I want to travel, meet more Pokémon, and improve together with them," Ash said, scratching his head.
Iris had never understood Ash's train of thought. Although she didn't get it, she respected it.
"Alright then."
Holding Lilligant in his arms, Lucas gently sniffed the scent of the flower on its head, then looked toward the distant Tornadus and Thundurus with a faint smile.
"I've changed my mind," Lucas said, enunciating every word, "I've decided to give you a good beating."
Lucas pointed a finger, "Gothitelle, make them get down here."
Gothitelle floated into the air, its powerful psychic power sweeping through the space. Tornadus and Thundurus were crushed by a terrifying gravitational force and fell to the ground.
"Ninetales, Flare Blitz! Gengar, Dark Void! Machamp, Dynamic Punch! Latias, Draco Meteor!"
Tornadus and Thundurus, having been attacked by Machamp, Ninetales, and Gengar, had just stood up when they were struck by the meteors falling from the sky, crashing back into the crater.
Watching the overwhelming battle, everyone present couldn't help but gasp.
"So—so brutal—" Iris said involuntarily.
Landorus floated in the air, wanting to say something but hesitating.
"Do you want to try it too?"
Lucas looked at Landorus. Landorus saw the smile on Lucas's face, thought for a moment, crossed its arms over its chest, and continued watching Tornadus and Thundurus get beaten up.
Forget it, not worth messing with.
Tornadus and Thundurus wailed incessantly. Every time they tried to resist, they were smacked back into the crater by Gothitelle.
Recalling Lilligant into its Poké Ball, Lucas mounted Latias and flew above Tornadus and Thundurus, staring down at the two Pokémon with icy eyes.
"Weren't you quite arrogant?"
Looking at the battered Tornadus and Thundurus, Lucas signaled for Gengar and the others to stop. Seeing this, Landorus flew over, helped Tornadus and Thundurus up, and floated back into the air.
Lucas stared at them and said calmly, "Now, get back to your island."
The sharpness in the eyes of Tornadus and Thundurus was gone.
"I will take them back once they recover a bit," Landorus said helplessly.
Shauntal and the others below breathed a sigh of relief, but then Lucas's voice rang out from the sky again.
"This is not a negotiation."
Landorus's pupils constricted. Lucas enunciated every word, his voice cold, "I said, get back, now!"
Seeing the coldness in Lucas's eyes, Landorus didn't hesitate for a second and turned to leave with Tornadus and Thundurus.
"Tell them that next time, if they still want to fight, they better be prepared for the consequences."
Lucas's voice came from behind. Hearing this, Landorus sighed helplessly.
A terrifying human—it's been thousands of years and nothing has changed.
No, there is a change; his strength has grown a lot.
Thinking of this, it looked at Tornadus and Thundurus beside it and let go.
Tornadus and Thundurus fell straight from the high altitude and crashed onto the ground.
The two of them looked at Landorus angrily, but Landorus just hovered in the air, arms crossed, looking at them coldly.
"If you don't want to keep getting beaten up, then hurry up and leave."
Having said that, Landorus flew away first.
Tornadus and Thundurus looked back in Lucas's direction, and seeing that he was watching them, they hurriedly flew into the air and left.
"How unlucky, running into such a thing!" Tornadus muttered curses as it left.
Seeing them leave, Lucas looked at Gengar and the others and gave a thumbs up.
Well done!
Gengar and the others grinned; it had been a long time since they had ganged up on someone.
Especially since they were ganging up on the legendary Forces of Nature.
Machamp and Ninetales were the happiest. They were the ones who had hit the hardest.
Lucas brought them back to Shauntal and dismounted from Latias.
"It's settled. I've handled the situation at Striaton Academy as well."
Lucas glanced into the crowd at N, who was now beside Ash, and said with a smile, "Actually, it was just an accident caused by a certain hero. I've already discussed it with it, and the same situation won't happen at the academy again."
Hearing Lucas's words, N's pupils constricted.
He knows my identity—who exactly is he—
Taking advantage of the gap while Lucas was chatting with Shauntal, he looked up and observed Lucas and the Pokémon around him. Through their bodies, he intuitively glimpsed their hearts.
Gengar, who regarded Lucas as the best family; Lilligant, who cared deeply for Lucas and wanted to repay him; Machamp, who would shatter all obstacles for Lucas; Gothitelle, who evolved solely to repay Lucas's kindness and protect him; Ninetales, who wanted to stay with Lucas forever; and Latias, who was unwilling to be separated from Lucas—
No—there was also the doted-upon Mime Jr.; Vespiquen, who was willing to brew the world's most mysterious sweet honey for Lucas; Staraptor, who protected everyone; and the righteous Luxray—so many Pokémon—so many emotions—all of these emotions were directed at Lucas.
N's eyes were filled with incomprehension.
"Can he—help me?" N said softly.
"What did you say? What's wrong, N?" Ash looked at N beside him with a worried expression.
N shook his head. "I'm fine."
After hearing N's answer, Ash didn't think much of it. He broke the sausage in his hand into two halves and handed one to N, "Try this. Let me tell you, the snacks Lucas makes are delicious. Eating them will make you feel happy."
N hesitated for a moment, took the sausage, and took a bite.
This wasn't a sausage made by Lucas; it was made by Pokémon.
N felt the purest love for food from Mime Jr. within the sausage, as well as the Trainer's love and full support for it.
N shed tears involuntarily, and he quickly lowered his head.
"What's wrong?" Seeing that N's mood wasn't right, Ash asked.
N wiped away his tears without leaving a trace, looked up, and smiled. "It's nothing, the sausage was just too delicious."
Hearing this, Ash grinned. "Right? Then I'll give you this half too."
"Then what will you eat?"
"It's fine, Pikachu and I have enough with one."
Pikachu: "Pika?" (°∀°) Are you trying to steal mine?
Lucas looked at the Gym Leaders beside Shauntal. First was Lenora, the Gym Leader of Nacrene City, a black-skinned woman with a blue afro.
Then there was Cheren, the Gym Leader of Aspertia City.
Next was the beautiful, long-legged Elesa, riding on the back of a Zebstrika, the Gym Leader of Nimbasa City.
"This is Elesa, the Gym Leader of Nimbasa City," Shauntal introduced to Lucas.
"I know, the beautiful long-legged lady," Lucas blurted out, speaking his mind.
Gengar: !!!
Machamp: !!!
Gothitelle: !!!
Latias: "Oho, you're done for."
Lucas: ————
Smack! Lucas gasped. Ninetales stared at Lucas with icy eyes.
Meanwhile, Shauntal looked at Lucas with a smile and said, "I will tell Cynthia exactly what you said."
Lucas: ———— It's over————
Elesa, sitting elegantly on her Zebstrika, covered her mouth and laughed at the sight.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Lucas changed the subject, checked everyone's condition, and then came to N's side. "Hello."
N looked up at the man who was a bit taller than himself.
"Hello, Lucas."
"Are you hurt?" Lucas asked. N shook his head.
"No, thanks to you and Gengar and the others arriving in time."
"Oh, Lucas, let me introduce you. This is N. We met him on our journey, and he's traveling with us for now. He's been taking great care of us along the way." After Ash finished, he introduced Lucas to N.
"This is Lucas, and he is also a Trainer I respect very much."
"Call me teacher." Lucas gave Ash a flick on the forehead, then casually grabbed Pikachu and hugged it in his arms. He looked at N and said with a smile, "I know him."
N's pupils constricted involuntarily.
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Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌