The Flame Knight recovered from his shock and gave a contemptuous snort.
"Cheap tricks."
His expression twisted into a sneer.
"I don't care who you are. You're dying here."
He thrust one hand toward the figures above him.
"Chandelure, Shadow Ball! Kill that old man!"
"Chande...!"
The two Chandelure answered with eerie, glasslike cries.
Dark energy surged around their bodies, filling the starry space with an oppressive chill. In moments, an enormous Shadow Ball formed before each of them, both nearly two meters across.
"Chande!"
The twin spheres shot upward, tearing through the air toward the Protector.
The old man did not move.
He merely watched them approach, his expression perfectly calm.
Cresselia's violet eyes narrowed.
"When did foreign Champion-level Trainers become arrogant enough to behave like this in Hualis?"
Her clear, ethereal voice carried across the entire dimension.
A crescent-shaped wave of moonlight swept out before her.
The two Shadow Balls split apart the instant it touched them, their dark energy dissolving harmlessly into the surrounding light.
The crescent continued forward without slowing.
Neither Chandelure had time to react.
The wave passed through them, and their bodies shattered into countless motes of light before vanishing completely.
Both Champion-level Pokémon had been erased by a single casual attack.
Cresselia barely spared them another glance.
...
Silence descended over the strange space.
Aaron stared at her, his eyes burning with awe.
So this is the power of a Legendary Pokémon...
Two Champion-level Pokémon had been nothing to her.
They might as well have been insects.
A powerful ambition rose within him.
One day, I'm going to be that strong too.
Then I can finally spend my life relaxing without anyone bothering me.
And if someone still tries... I'll crush them.
Had the Protector heard Aaron's thoughts, he might have reconsidered the entire succession plan.
The old man was trying to prepare him to become the next Protector of Hualis, and Aaron's grand ambition was to become powerful enough to slack off forever.
That alone might have been enough to finish him.
...
"No..."
The Flame Knight stared at the empty space where his Pokémon had been.
"That's impossible!"
His face contorted in disbelief.
"You destroyed two Champion-level Pokémon with one attack?"
He shook his head violently.
"This isn't real. It has to be an illusion!"
Cresselia looked down at him with open contempt.
"A Champion-level trainer, yet this arrogant."
She turned slightly toward the elderly man.
"It seems some foreign organizations have stopped taking the Protector of Hualis seriously."
The old man's gaze hardened.
"A foreign Champion-level trainer entered the country and reached Crown City without being stopped."
His voice turned cold.
"I would very much like to know how."
A darker possibility clearly occurred to him.
"Unless someone at the border helped him."
The Flame Knight glared upward.
"Who the hell are you?"
The Protector regarded him calmly.
"My identity is irrelevant."
"What matters is who sent you, how you crossed our border, and who gave you access to Crown City."
A sharp light appeared in his cloudy eyes.
"You will answer all three questions."
The Flame Knight's face twisted with rage.
"You senile old bastard. What makes you think I owe you anything?"
He reached for the remaining Poké Balls at his belt.
"You killed two of my Pokémon. I'll bury every last one of you!"
He hurled all four Poké Balls at once.
"Come out!"
Four bursts of red light illuminated the void.
Two Houndoom appeared first, black-furred and skeletal, their curved horns gleaming beneath the rainbow light.
Beside them emerged two Pyroar, their blazing manes flickering like living fire.
All four radiated the unmistakable pressure of Champion-level Pokémon.
Their combined presence made the entire dimension feel heavier.
Aaron's expression tightened.
They sent someone with six Champion-level Pokémon just to capture me?
That's giving me way too much credit.
What made the situation even more ridiculous was that the Flame Knight had come after a transformation Aaron's Infernape could not even perform.
Primal Reversion belonged to Groudon and Kyogre.
Did this guy even understand Pokémon?
Then the Flame Knight raised one hand.
"Houndoom. Pyroar."
The four Pokémon lowered their bodies, awaiting his command.
"Primal Reversion!"
Aaron stared at him.
"What?"
He looked between the four Pokémon and the Flame Knight.
"Houndoom and Pyroar can undergo Primal Reversion?"
Even Cresselia's attention shifted toward them.
The Houndoom released deep, savage growls, while the Pyroar answered with thunderous roars.
Black crystals hanging from their necks suddenly began to glow.
HUM—
The entire dimension trembled.
Four pillars of blinding light erupted around the Pokémon.
Inside them, the silhouettes of the Houndoom and Pyroar began to expand, their bodies rapidly growing larger and more bestial.
Four pairs of crimson eyes ignited within the light.
The Houndoom threw back their heads and unleashed chilling howls.
The Pyroar roared in answer, their voices shaking the star-filled void.
An ancient, savage pressure burst outward from all four Pokémon, whipping the surrounding light into a violent storm.
...