TN: Reminder, Mega Rayquaza – the Father, Rayquaza or Young Rayquaza – Lucas' Pokémon and Black Rayquaza – the shiny one or the uncle.
"Once Lucas breaks through the Champion's limit, he'll truly become the number-one Trainer in the world."
Giovanni spoke in a low voice. Even though he already knew that a realm existed beyond the Champion level, he still had no idea how to break past that boundary himself.
The terrifying power of that ice masked man remained burned into Giovanni's memory.
After all, that was a ruthless man who used ridiculous Pokémon like a Delibird and a Swinub to clash head-on against the Shadow Lugia under Lance's control.
Of course, judging from Lucas's current performance, Giovanni felt that even if Lucas had not yet surpassed the Champion's limit, he would still have an overwhelming chance of defeating that masked monster…
And once Lucas broke through that limit, then in every sense of the word, he would truly become the strongest Trainer alive.
"Mr. Lucas really is terrifying…" Archer said quietly, fully agreeing.
He didn't overthink things as much as Giovanni. As far as Archer was concerned, Lucas was already the world's strongest.
"Hmp~ that old monster. Lucas will surpass him sooner or later."
At the mention of breaking through the Champion's limit, Green naturally thought of Pryce. She pouted and muttered with visible dissatisfaction.
Her feelings toward Pryce were still equal parts fear and irritation.
"Green, you know that masked man?" Giovanni was taken aback when he heard this. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at her with renewed interest.
And the name—Green…
Thinking carefully, wasn't that the same person Lucas, Karen, and the others once requested Team Rocket to help locate?
Giovanni's eyes flickered subtly. He hadn't connected the dots before, but now that the pieces lined up, things suddenly felt intriguing.
"Huh? Uncle, you know that old monster too?"
Green froze for a moment, responding instinctively.
Since when did that shut-in basement hermit Pryce ever go outside?
"We ran into each other once by coincidence. Mind telling me what you know?" Giovanni asked with a polite smile.
"Uhh…"
Green scrunched her face in distress.
The secrets of the Masked Organization obviously couldn't be discussed openly. Even though she didn't have good feelings toward Pryce or Karen, Lucas was still technically a member of the Masked Organization right now.
This made things complicated. She shouldn't have run her mouth…
Green anxiously smacked her own forehead. Fine—she'd just share some harmless details and leave the rest unsaid.
Before she could respond—
"ROOOAAR!!!"
A deafening, violent dragon bellow shook the heavens.
The Mega Rayquaza twisted its long, majestic body through the sky, brilliant white light flaring around it.
Extreme Speed!
Boosted by Extreme Speed, Mega Rayquaza shot toward the young Rayquaza like a green lightning bolt and slammed into it mercilessly.
BOOM!
Rayquaza's expression twisted in pain. Unable to keep its balance, it was knocked straight out of the sky.
Its enormous body crashed downward, smashing into a mountain peak and shattering it into rubble.
A cascade of stones buried it entirely.
Clatter—
The rocks shifted as the young Rayquaza pushed itself upright, raising its upper body weakly as it stared up at the still-hovering Mega Rayquaza.
"Hsss—! That hurts… damn it, Father, you're really going all out!"
Feeling the intense pain radiating through its body, Rayquaza sucked in a cold breath through clenched teeth—everything hurt!
Honestly, ever since it learned Dragon Ascent under Lucas's guidance, it hadn't been physically suppressed by any other legendary again!
Even against that Ice Dragon Kyurem, with Lucas directing from the side, it barely managed to defeat the strongest ice dragon.
But this proved something, no matter how much it trained in Dragon Ascent, without outside assistance and with only half a year of experience, facing its father one-on-one…
It was still just a kid.
Today, the Mega Rayquaza, his father, reminded it once again what "fatherly love as heavy as a mountain" truly meant.
"ROOOARRR!!!"
Mega Rayquaza roared skyward. Its majestic, awe-inspiring form stretched out fully as a dazzling Dragon Meteor rose high into the heavens.
The meteor, swirling with the power of countless stars, reached its peak before exploding outward—countless blazing dragon meteors streaked across the sky.
"This is unnecessary, Father!!!"
Rayquaza's face, already flushed from exertion, nearly turned green from fright.
I'm already beaten to a pulp, and you're using your ultimate move!!?
Except for the two legendary dragon-only moves, Draco Meteor was the strongest special Dragon-type attack. And for Mega Rayquaza, there was no difference between physical or special as both of its offensive stats were a terrifying 180 base power.
It used physical attacks only because Dragon Ascent was its strongest expression of power.
After unleashing Draco Meteor, the Mega Rayquaza's crimson pupils flashed coldly as it locked onto the young Rayquaza below.
Rayquaza's heart tightened. No need to think, its father was about to rush in to ensure Draco Meteor hit properly.
Damn it! I told you I can't tank this! Why is that human not coming yet?!
If he doesn't come now, I'm gonna be beaten until I lose my new coat!
No—at this rate, I'm gonna get beaten to death by my own dad!!
And just then—
A streak of blue light shot toward the Mega Rayquaza at incredible speed.
Inside the blue light, Zacian in its Crowned Sword form charged forward, a gigantic azure blade held firmly in its jaws.
Behemoth Blade!
"ROAAAR!!"
Sensing the intruder, Mega Rayquaza shifted its gaze toward Zacian, releasing an earth-shaking roar.
Its red pupils blazed even more fiercely as green energy began gathering around its body.
In seconds, emerald radiance engulfed the Mega Rayquaza entirely. Adjusting its stance, it shot forward like a living spear.
Dragon Ascent!
The gorgeous emerald glow tore through the sky, colliding head-on with the blue light in mid-air!
Behemoth Blade vs. Dragon Ascent!
BOOOOOM!!
A monstrous shockwave exploded outward at the moment of impact, sending powerful ripples across the sky.
Zacian pushed with every ounce of strength it had, but no matter how much power it poured into its strike, the opposing force only grew stronger and stronger!
The pressure mounted relentlessly!
Zacian bit down hard on its blade, unwavering.
A burst of golden power erupted—Behemoth Blade's second damage burst.
But even so… Dragon Ascent's brilliance remained completely unaffected.
"ROAAAAR!!!!"
Mega Rayquaza's savage roar rang out as Dragon Ascent burst through Behemoth Blade and slammed into Zacian's body.
Zacian shot backward like a meteor blazing across the sky.
"???"
Lucas's eyelids twitched violently. This was the first time he had ever seen Zacian, known for its explosive offensive power, go all out and still get blasted away in a frontal clash.
So, when everyone said this Mega Rayquaza was "strong like a damn demon," they really weren't exaggerating.
"Kyurem!"
Strong or not, they still had to fight it. And this was the perfect moment to knock it down—if it teamed up with evil Hoopa, taking them down would become exponentially harder.
"ROAAAAR!!!"
The White Kyurem roared as a dazzling red and blue energy sphere launched toward the Mega Rayquaza, which had just flung Zacian away.
Ice Burn!
Dragon Ascent had just finished throwing Zacian, leaving Mega Rayquaza little time to dodge the follow-up attack.
Lucas's timing was perfect, no matter what Mega Rayquaza did now, it couldn't fully block Kyurem's strongest ice-flame blast.
And indeed, as the Ice Burn streaked toward it, Mega Rayquaza's violent red pupils flickered slightly before it decisively raised its tail.
Breaking Swipe!
Its massive tail swung downward, generating deafening shockwaves as it struck the incoming attack.
BOOM!
Breaking Swipe collided head-on with Ice Burn. A violent rippling wave shook the surroundings.
But a heartbeat later, Ice Burn broke through the defense and slammed into Mega Rayquaza's body.
A sharp, ear-splitting explosion rang out as icy energy engulfed it completely.
"You alright, Zacian?"
Lucas glanced at the Sword King as it flew back. That Dragon Ascent had landed squarely.
Fortunately, as a Steel-type, Zacian resisted Flying-type moves.
"No major injuries. Its power is simply tremendous."
Zacian shook its head. It hurt, yes, but it was still manageable. Even so, it had to admit Mega Rayquaza's power was beyond astonishing.
Back in Unova, when it clashed directly with Black Kyurem, Kyurem's Fusion Bolt only managed to push it back slightly.
But this Mega Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent launched it like a toy…
"With Delta Stream, Mega Rayquaza's Flying weakness disappears, it becomes only 2× weak to Ice instead of 4×. But even then, the damage from Ice Burn…"
Lucas narrowed his eyes, staring at the silhouette within the storm of icy mist.
Because of its ability, the Mega Rayquaza's 4× Ice weakness became only a 2× weakness. So, the damage wasn't as powerful as one might expect.
But it was still super-effective, combined with Kyurem's strongest special attack, the hit should have been solid.
"ROOOOARRR!!!"
A violent, tyrannical roar tore through the mist as a massive green form burst skyward.
The enormous dragon coiled through the air, its cold, dangerous eyes fixed on Kyurem. The oppressive aura thickened the air.
"That stamina of yours is really something."
Lucas took a deep breath. Frost clung clearly to its scales, but its aura remained overwhelmingly fierce.
Clearly, that attack hadn't shaken it mentally at all.
If anything, it had only provoked its ferocity.
"In that case, we'll beat it head-on."
"Kyurem!"
The corners of Lucas's lips rose. He had originally thought that the Ice Burn could slightly weaken the combat ability of Mega Rayquaza.
But it seemed Mega Rayquaza's physique was beyond his expectations.
"ROAAAAR!!"
White Kyurem raised its head and roared as lightning streaked across its body.
Black Kyurem—present!
Against Mega Rayquaza, the close-combat form was obviously the most suitable.
Zacian silently repositioned to the side, its cold eyes locked on the dragon. It was ready to strike again at any moment.
"Blizzard!"
Lucas didn't hesitate to launch the next assault.
Mega Rayquaza was strong, but he had both Black Kyurem and Zacian.
There was nothing to fear.
No way in hell was he going to believe that Mega Rayquaza could take both on at once!
Black Kyurem roared as a terrifying, sky-filling blizzard exploded outward, blanketing the heavens in icy wind and snow.
ROOOOOAR—!!
(End of Chapter)