"And you weren't defeated by other guardian deities, but by trainers and by a group of ordinary Pokémon you once regarded as nothing more than ants!"
Hearing Aven's words, the Grand Sorcerers still wore cold smiles, clearly convinced that the Sorcerer Organization could never be defeated. The Demon God was invincible—even guardian deities were no exception!
"You must be very confident in the Demon God Hoopa, right?"
"But have you ever thought about this, ordinary Pokémon, through a trainer's training, can defeat guardian deities. So, what if guardian deities themselves were trained?"
This time, the expressions of the Grand Sorcerers finally changed slightly. They had clearly thought of this possibility—but in the end, they still chose to ignore it.
"We won't give you much time!"
"Time?" Aven narrowed his eyes. "It seems your final operation has already begun."
"Then now, let me see exactly what your Sorcerer Organization is planning to do!"
As his words fell, the Darkrai beside him suddenly began to radiate nightmare power, completely enveloping the Grand Sorcerers before it!
"You—!" The Grand Sorcerers glared furiously, their voices trembling uncontrollably.
They had personally witnessed how the black-robed Grand Sorcerer used Darkrai to interrogate enemies.
Those people's bodies trembled uncontrollably, even losing control of their bowels—the mere memory of those scenes sent chills through their entire bodies.
They had also heard that Darkrai's nightmares were incomparably real, capable of making those trapped within experience sensations as vivid as actually entering hell.
All those terrifying tortures that made people shudder could be perfectly recreated within nightmares—a kind of agony so intense that it made one wish for death itself. They still remembered the chilling tone with which the black-robed Grand Sorcerer had described it.
And now, all of that was about to happen to them.
This would be pain worse than death—at that point, even death itself would become a luxury!
They wanted to resist, to flee, even to simply die and be done with it—but how could mere mortals resist the power of the Nightmare God? The instant they came into contact with the nightmare energy, their eyes grew unfocused and vacant.
Soon, all three Grand Sorcerers fell into a nightmare state. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, no one knowing what horrors they were experiencing within their dreams.
Aven stood quietly to the side, watching. "Darkrai, I'll leave the rest to you. Extract all the memories from their minds—and don't let them die."
"DAAARK… RAI!"
Upon hearing Aven's words, Darkrai let out a low, muffled sound and reached out, grasping the air.
Immediately, the three Grand Sorcerers' bodies floated into midair. They trembled violently, their faces now completely dominated by terror, and a foul stench could faintly be smelled emanating from them.
After handing the Grand Sorcerers over to Darkrai, Aven returned to Fairhaven Town.
Although they had successfully defeated the enemy, the price they had paid was equally immense.
Whether it was the curses and Destiny Bond of the Ghost-type Pokémon, or the use of Explosion by the Rock-type Pokémon, all of it had inflicted irreversible damage on many of the Pokémon.
Fortunately, the healing of the Pokémon Center was now extremely powerful. Lilligant had already led the Bellossom in treating the injured Pokémon.
In comparison, the damage to Fairhaven's buildings was relatively insignificant. As long as the Pokémon construction teams were there, the town could be rebuilt very quickly.
"Aven, thank goodness you returned in time," Mira said as she hurried over. Now that the battle was over, she finally relaxed a little.
But when she thought about Azelf still not being rescued, her expression grew heavy again. Although the Pokémon Domain had won the battle, Aspiration City had suffered a crushing defeat.
"Yes. When I was in Heartglade City, I already sensed something was wrong, so I rushed back immediately but I was still one step too late." Aven clenched his fist.
Although he hadn't been able to contact Wisdomhall City, he knew its situation was likely similar. The Sorcerer Organization's goal had always been the Three Lake Guardians and Heatran.
"Heartglade City was attacked as well?" Mira's expression changed once more. She hadn't expected the enemy to launch simultaneous attacks on three cities.
"Yes. The Three Lake Guardians have probably all fallen into the hands of the sorcerers."
"Then what are they planning to do? Is there some secret hidden within the Three Lake Guardians?"
"I'm not sure either. But my guess is that it's related to the legend of the King of Sinnoh. After all, whoever gains the recognition of the Three Lake Guardians can become the King of Sinnoh."
As Aven and Mira discussed the situation, Aven continued, "Darkrai is currently extracting the Grand Sorcerers' memories. We should have answers soon."
"For now, the most important thing is to protect Heatran. It must also be part of the Sorcerer Organization's plan. Otherwise, at this stage, they would have continued carrying out their objectives instead of trying to capture Heatran."
While talking, they arrived at the Pokémon Center. The area around it had already been cleared out to accommodate injured Pokémon, and the entire plaza was now filled with trainers and Pokémon.
"Your Highness!"
"Prince Aven! Prince Aven!"
Seeing Aven approach, the trainers saluted him one after another, their eyes filled with respect.
After this battle against the guardian deities, these trainers had clearly grown tremendously, their resolve to become true trainers now firmly set.
Passing through the plaza, they entered the Pokémon Center. Inside the inpatient ward, the most severely injured Pokémon, such as Rhyperior and Heatran—had been placed here.
"Rhy! Rhy! Rhy!"
Seeing Aven arrive, Rhyperior struggled to get up.
"Rhyperior, lie down properly," Aven said sternly, then smiled. "You did very well in this battle against a guardian deity!"
Earlier, he had already heard about Rhyperior's performance from the trainers. Learning that it had managed to seriously injure Landorus with its own strength filled him with genuine joy.
Once upon a time, this had merely been a Rhyhorn pulling carts—and now it had grown to the point where it could stand toe-to-toe with a guardian deity. Its growth speed was astonishing, in no way inferior to the others.
This time, Lilligant's ability to defeat Landorus so decisively also owed much to Rhyperior. Together with countless Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, it had dealt Landorus a devastating blow!
"Heat… Ran…"
On another bed, Heatran lay wrapped in bandages.
In this battle, Heatran had been the absolute main force, fighting until the very last moment against the enemy's assault.
When Aven left, it had promised Aven to protect the Pokémon Domain—and in this battle, it had fulfilled that promise through its actions.
Of course, the desperate protection offered by so many Pokémon had deeply moved Heatran. Only now did it truly feel that it had become part of the Pokémon Domain—one of them.
"Don't worry. We will always protect you."
"You are part of the Pokémon Domain. I will not allow anything to harm my people!"
Aven stepped beside Heatran, gently comforting the guardian god. Now that he had repelled the enemy, he would continue to drive back every foe that dared approach.
"Heat! Ran!"
Heatran nodded happily.
Then, suddenly, it opened its mouth and spat out a Poké Ball from who-knows-where, which fell into Aven's hand.
"A Poké Ball?"
"Heatran… do you want me to capture you?"
A smile appeared on Aven's face, as memories surfaced of the time on the ship when Heatran had desperately resisted entering a Poké Ball.
And now, it was voluntarily offering itself. After everything that had happened, their bond had clearly deepened.
"Heat! Ran!"
Heatran nodded vigorously, then turned its face aside as if saying, Stop wasting words—catch me quickly before I change my mind.
"All right," Aven said with a laugh.
He tapped the Poké Ball lightly against Heatran's forehead, drawing it inside.
Then he released Heatran again, carefully placed the Poké Ball into his backpack, and instructed Heatran to rest and recover properly—because another hard battle might still lie ahead.
After inspecting the Pokémon Center, Aven and Mira headed to City Hall. By now, all officials within the territory had gathered there.
In addition, officials from Aspiration City had also assembled, along with lords and officials from other territories who were making their way over.
Some of them still wore expressions of lingering shock—the recent battle between guardian deities had truly terrified them, and the defeat of three guardian deities had left them utterly stunned.
"Prince Aven, Princess Mira!"
As the two entered, all the lords and officials knelt on one knee in salute.
"Everyone, rise," Aven said with a nod, calmly taking the seat at the head of the conference room. His gaze fell upon the stack of documents that had already piled up.
Next came the reconstruction of the territory, comforting the families of fallen trainers and Pokémon, treating the wounded, and formulating strategies to deal with future enemies—there was an overwhelming amount of work waiting for him.
Fortunately, the Pokémon Domain was no longer what it once was. Thanks to the reforms of the Pokémon League system, everything now operated in an orderly manner, allowing it to endure up to this point.
(End of Chapter)