"Blue!"
A green hound-like creature stood in the distance, staring blankly at the severely weakened Zygarde as it let out a heart-piercing roar.
It was the other Zygarde. The red core…
Its timing was rather unfortunate. It arrived just in time to witness the moment Zygarde was stabbed into the sky by Precipice Blades, only to crash hard into the ground afterward…
This Red Core felt its entire "being" crumble!
The first thing it saw upon arriving was its own counterpart getting brutally beaten! And now it lay there half-dead, barely clinging to life.
"Damn it! Groudon!!"
The hound-shaped Core gritted its teeth as it glared at Primal Groudon. It knew something must have gone wrong with its other core—after all, that fifty-percent form didn't even look right anymore.
But even so, there was absolutely no reason for Primal Groudon to beat its other core into a pulp!
Even if its other core had suffered some mental breakdown, that was something only it, a fellow Zygarde, was allowed to deal with, not this big brute!
Meanwhile, our adorable, grounded friend who "couldn't fly" was showing an expression best described as a "purely innocent yet horrifyingly vicious" smile as it looked at the weakened Zygarde.
Even though its mind was fogged due to lingering resentment affecting its emotions, for some reason after mercilessly hammering this black-and-red serpent earlier, something inside it felt immensely satisfied. Yes… unbelievably satisfied~
"Lord Lysandre… Zygarde's out of control…"
Xerosic looked despairingly at the unresponsive remote control in his hand, turning with tearful eyes toward Lysandre.
Just moments ago, when Zygarde was brutally injured by Primal Groudon, Xerosic attempted to command it to retreat—but Zygarde did not react in the slightest.
It was clear now: he had completely lost control of Zygarde.
Lysandre: "…"
Lysandre's expression darkened. Everything that happened today had shattered his understanding of the world.
He never imagined things would spiral this far. That Hoopa had this kind of beyond terrifying power.
"Retreat!"
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and Lysandre clenched his jaw. At this point, all he could do was withdraw—what else could he possibly do?
They had already lost their trump card. Zygarde was gone. Look at the battlefield—throwing another Zygarde in here probably wouldn't even make a splash.
Lysandre was beginning to doubt his ideals. Was his dream even correct? Could the Ultimate Weapon truly bring about his vision of the future?
After all, its destructive power relied on Yveltal's energy. But then… Lysandre glanced toward that figure riding atop the White Dragon—Lucas Blackthorn. That man…
Hearing Lysandre's order, Malva, Xerosic, and the others didn't object. Their plan was a total failure, they even lost Zygarde—what were they supposed to do besides flee?
Except…
"What do you people think you're doing?"
Lysandre's eyes grew grim as he looked at Giovanni and the others blocking their path.
They were leaving already—yet these people still wanted to cause trouble?
"You tried to take us hostage earlier, didn't you? And now you expect to walk away so easily?" Archer scoffed coldly. He was not some benevolent saint.
If someone dared mess with them, they'd better be ready to pay the price!
"Then let's see what you're capable of."
Lysandre's expression chilled even further. His mood had already sunk to its worst, and now these "jumping clowns" thought they could hunt him?
Primal Groudon, meanwhile, looked down at the weakened Zygarde, clearly having no intention of letting it go.
It slowly raised one massive foot, preparing to stomp down with a devastating Earthquake and finish off Zygarde completely!
"Reshiram, Dragon Pulse—"
Lucas hesitated for a moment. He intended to have Reshiram help Zygarde. After all, he still had interest in this creature.
"SCREEEECH!!"
A sharp, sinister cry pierced the air. A crimson beam of tremendous power streaked down from above, hurtling toward Primal Groudon.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
Primal Groudon sensed the sneak attack behind it, abandoning the Earthquake as it turned with a furious roar, energy rapidly gathering in its maw.
Solar Beam!
BOOM!
Solar Beam collided with the incoming attack, exploding violently.
"Yveltal."
Lucas's eyes widened in surprise. The attacker was none other than Yveltal.
The legendary bringer of destruction now glared coldly at Primal Groudon. From the oppressive aura around it, its mood was clearly terrible.
But Primal Groudon didn't care in the slightest. If someone attacked it, they were an enemy—simple as that!
With another enraged roar, under the harsh sunlight of Desolate Land, the air grew oppressively hot, further boosting its fire-type attacks.
A torrent of scorching fireballs rained toward Yveltal.
This was Flamethrower!
Among ordinary fire-type moves, it was among the most powerful.
Yveltal didn't hesitate. With a single powerful beat of its wings, it weaved through the barrage of fireballs with speed, blue avian energy swirling around its form—
Oblivion Wing's charge form—no, this was Sky Attack!
Yveltal, cloaked in the aura of Sky Attack, displayed its superior aerial talent. Its body twisted midair, accelerating rapidly before diving straight toward Primal Groudon.
Primal Groudon's arms glowed white. With a savage expression, it swung its massive arms down without fear—
Hammer Arm!
Hammer Arm and Sky Attack collided head-on!
But very quickly, Primal Groudon's overwhelming strength erupted, sending Yveltal hurtling backward.
"ROOOAAR!!"
With Yveltal repelled, flames gathered in Primal Groudon's maw once more, forming a massive burning "大" character—
Fire Blast!
Yveltal hastily released a burst of black energy to counter it, but its Dark Pulse lasted only an instant before being crushed by Fire Blast.
The flames slammed into Yveltal, contorting its face in pain—
BOOM!
Fire Blast exploded as Yveltal crashed heavily into the ground.
Not able to fly legendary had defeated yet another legendary!
A double kill!
"Looks like the injuries still affected it…"
Lucas raised a brow. Even at full strength, Yveltal was no match for Primal Groudon.
And earlier, Yveltal had already been brutally beaten by Rage-Driven Zygarde. Though it had rested and recovered somewhat…
Its condition was still far from ideal.
Fighting Primal Groudon head-on like this was simply too much. Moreover—
Yveltal had actually been the one to initiate close-combat! It truly had a violent temperament…
And Non-Flying benefited—after all, it had now defeated both Zygarde and Yveltal back-to-back. Even if both victories were "opportunistic"…
"ROOOAR!!"
Having downed Yveltal, Primal Groudon roared triumphantly, as if shouting, "WHO'S NEXT?!"
"We need to wake Xerneas somehow, otherwise Groudon will have free reign to attack from afar."
Seeing Primal Groudon's arrogance, Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly.
Though it couldn't fly, its offensive power was still terrifying. Letting it rampage freely would only create trouble for Necrozma and the others still fighting.
Lucas turned his gaze toward the quiet tree at the village entrance—the tree that was Xerneas. This legendary Pokémon was still unbelievably silent.
Even now, there were no signs of awakening. It was sleeping way too deeply.
Just then—
"Zzzzyyy~"
A strange cry echoed in Lucas's ears.
He froze, turning toward the source.
A green hound-shaped creature was lifting its head, producing that eerie sound continually.
A ripple of green light spread outward.
"So, it came too." Lucas looked at the Zygarde in slight surprise.
This was clearly the Red Core he encountered earlier.
As the Red Core called out, streaks of green light shot across the sky from every direction, merging into its body.
Its energy surged, its body expanding and transforming within the green radiance.
Moments later, the light dissipated, revealing a massive serpent-shaped Pokémon—
Zygarde. Fifty-percent Serpent Form!
However, unlike the berserk Zygarde from before, this one had the normal black-and-green coloration.
"How dare you treat my other core this way!"
The Red-Core Zygarde glared murderously at Primal Groudon—it was truly enraged.
"ROAAAR!!"
Sensing the hostility, Primal Groudon roared, unleashing a massive beam of fire energy—
Solar Beam!
Red-Core Zygarde twisted its serpentine body aside, narrowly avoiding the attack. Its entire body lit with a vivid green glow.
The earth began to tremble violently. The ground already shattered from battle, rippled like liquid with green energy.
The waves of green surged toward Primal Groudon!
Where the pulse struck, the ground collapsed beneath Primal Groudon, burying half its body in a swamp-like pit of green earth.
"Thousand Waves… as expected, the four signature moves, each Core inherits two of them?"
Lucas's eyes flickered. This was indeed Thousand Waves, one of Zygarde's four signature moves.
Harnessing the power of the earth to restrain and damage the opponent.
"And next…"
Red-Core Zygarde gathered brilliant emerald energy in its maw. Its huge body rose into the air as a radiant green beam erupted forth—
In a flash, the beam slashed downward, carving a dazzling green 'Z' across the ground!
Core Enforcer, its Dragon-type signature move!
BOOM!!
A tremendous explosion swept through the battlefield as Core Enforcer detonated, completely engulfing the immobilized Primal Groudon.
"Doesn't matter how you look at it, Core Enforcer is just too damn cool."
Lucas clicked his tongue in admiration as the emerald "fireworks" expanded below.
Among all physical moves, his favorite was Mega Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent.
Among special moves, his favorites were Eternatus's Eternabeam, and Zygarde's Core Enforcer.
That Z-shaped beam, no matter how many times he saw it, was simply too cool.
It was a shame this was only the serpent fifty-percent form…
If the full one-hundred-percent "Gundam Form" used it, it would undoubtedly be even more spectacular.
Red-Core Zygarde landed, its compound eyes fixed ahead. Even though Core Enforcer had hit perfectly, it had no certainty about Primal Groudon's condition.
And then—
The ground ruptured violently. Rivers of molten red magma surged upward, bubbling and snarling.
"ROOOAR!!"
A monstrous roar tore through the sky. With a deafening quake, enormous blades of magma erupted from the earth, shooting toward Zygarde—
Precipice Blades!
Red-Core Zygarde immediately retreated, slamming its thick tail heavily into the ground—
Earthquake!
The land trembled fiercely, shockwaves blasting outward and halting the magma blades for a brief moment.
But a heartbeat later, new magma blades rose again.
A red glow formed beneath Zygarde. Its compound eyes narrowed as its body tensed—
Then it leapt skyward with explosive force.
(End of Chapter)