"Awooo!"
Rayquaza let out a powerful Dragon Cry, its energy spilling out without restraint.
A faint green glow rippled slowly across its body.
Reshiram and Zekrom stayed on full alert, knowing they could not afford to be careless.
"Awooo!" Reshiram called out, trying to reason with Rayquaza.
But the only answer was another roar from Rayquaza, followed by...
A massive blue-and-purple dragon charging straight toward it!
This was not Dragon Rush.
It was Outrage!
Rayquaza's eyes were bloodshot, fixed only on the intruders who had dared to enter its territory.
It's over.
That was the only thought left in Steven's mind.
Even before Mega Evolving, Rayquaza alone could fight off two opponents at once.
Now, after Mega Evolution, there was no contest at all.
Steven turned to look at Victini resting beside him. The small Pokémon kept adjusting the air around them, working hard to keep Steven from freezing.
Honedge, Sandslash, and Diancie could no longer bear the harsh conditions either.
They lay collapsed on the ground, too weak to move.
With great effort, Steven raised a Poké Ball and recalled Honedge and Sandslash inside it.
Then he took out another, empty Poké Ball.
His hand trembling, he pressed it gently against Diancie's small head.
A red light wrapped around her, drawing her inside.
The ball wobbled once, then went still with a soft click.
Steven had never caught Diancie before. She was simply a friend who liked to play with him, and she had never once asked to become his Pokémon.
But now, he had no other choice.
He looked toward Victini, his vision already starting to blur and double.
"Victini..."
"Go help them..."
Steven managed to force the words out.
Reshiram and Zekrom did not seem able to match this Mega Rayquaza.
It wasn't that the Black and White Dragons lacked strength.
It was simply that Rayquaza's power, in this form, was overwhelming.
If they hoped to stand a chance, they needed Victini's help.
"Tini!"
Victini's eyes lit up, and it nodded firmly.
Flames burst around its small body as it shot into the sky.
The moment Victini left his side, the bitter cold returned to wrap around Steven once more.
Especially around his empty left arm.
He could no longer even feel pain there.
Only a faint, numbing tingle remained.
Boom!
Rayquaza's tail lashed out, striking both Reshiram and Zekrom and sending them flying.
The hit also ended Rayquaza's confusion from Outrage, leaving it hovering still in the air for a moment.
That brief pause was all Victini needed to share its power.
By now, Reshiram's once-pristine white body looked ragged and worn.
All trace of its usual elegance was gone.
"Tini!"
Victini reached out and gently touched Reshiram's wing.
Reshiram froze for a second — then a brilliant red light flared up around its body!
Its strength surged beyond anything it had felt before!
Next came Zekrom.
Soon, both dragons crackled with terrifying flame and lightning.
But Steven knew the power Victini gave them would not last long.
"Awooo!"
Reshiram and Zekrom gathered every bit of strength they had and unleashed their strongest attacks together.
Seeing this, Rayquaza opened its jaws and fired a blue-purple wave of energy back at them!
The two forces collided head-on!
Rayquaza's Dragon Pulse shattered apart from the impact!
Like fireworks bursting in the night sky, the fragments scattered in every direction.
A portion of that blue-purple energy came falling straight toward Steven.
Unfortunately, Steven could not move even an inch.
He felt death drawing near, yet there was nothing he could do about it.
His eyelids grew heavy, slowly closing on their own.
Steven made peace with the thought of dying.
His only regret was for his Pokémon.
He would never again be able to send them out and fight beside them.
"Tini!"
Startled, Victini dove down at once!
The V-shaped marks on its head blazed with red light, and fierce flames wrapped around its tiny form.
Like a blazing comet, it shot toward the Sword of the Vale.
But it would not reach him in time.
Bang!
Steven's body was thrown across the ground, tumbling over broken fragments of stone.
Had the attack missed?
No.
Someone had pushed him out of the way.
Steven struggled to open his eyes just a crack, using the last of his strength.
Through blurred vision, he saw Damon — his black-and-white hair matted with blood — lying nearby in a spreading pool of red.
At the very last second, Damon had thrown himself at Steven, shoving him clear of the blast.
But in doing so, much of his own body had taken the force of that scattered Dragon Pulse.
Blood poured steadily from his mouth.
Reshiram and Zekrom's combined attack finally struck true, freezing Rayquaza in place for a moment.
Taking the chance, the Black and White Dragons swept downward and pushed the Sword of the Vale back toward the Pokémon world.
Mega Rayquaza shook its head, watching the two dragons retreat as the Sword slowly sank from view.
Its gaze lingered for a moment on the silver-blue haired young man lying on the ground below.
Then it lifted its head and let out a thunderous, triumphant Dragon Cry.
There was no question who had won.
Slowly, Steven began to recover.
Between the help of Viridian Power and the energy Victini had passed to him earlier, his strength returned little by little.
He pushed himself up and staggered toward Damon, who lay in his own blood.
A strong gust of wind might have knocked him right back down.
Steven sank down beside Damon and asked, his voice uncertain:
"Why did you save me?"
"It's... because of my mistakes that all this happened... I wanted to make up for it... however I could..."
Damon's words came out slurred, blood spilling from his lips as he spoke.
He had no control over the bleeding anymore.
His life was already slipping away.
Steven passed a small portion of Viridian Power into him.
It made no difference at all.
"I hope... my death can earn your forgiveness," Damon whispered.
"Why would you think this makes up for anything?" Steven asked calmly, looking at Damon's blood-streaked face.
"I'm grateful you saved my life."
"But aside from that, this doesn't fix anything else."
"If anything, it's a release for you. I don't think your story should end like this."
"Your body should be burned, and your soul should be laid to rest in the ocean."
For the harm Damon had caused, Steven could not forgive him on behalf of everyone who had suffered for it.
"How frightening... cough, cough!"
Damon smiled, almost relieved, before a violent coughing fit overtook him, blood spilling from his mouth and from the wounds across his body.
He had already lost too much blood. There was no saving him now.
"I know I can't make up for any of it..."
"So I'll let you decide what happens to me..."
Steven looked at Damon, who seemed to have accepted everything at last, and spoke firmly:
"Whatever was between us is settled now. But because of what you've done, my Pokémon, Victini, and nature itself have all suffered. For that, you still owe a price."
"I will have Reshiram burn your body and have your ashes scattered into the sea."
It was the closest thing to an apology Steven could offer.
Damon heard this and gave a faint, weary smile.
"That's fine."
As a descendant of the Land of the People, perhaps the ocean was always meant to be his final resting place.
Maybe it was for the best. The ideals he had carried since childhood had been wrong from the very start.
It made him wonder if his very birth had been a mistake.