Seeing Axel's careless, joking attitude, Cyrus lost his patience.
He felt that he had to make Axel understand how serious this situation was.
"Axel, these Jennies are acting strange. If we delay any longer, our plan to capture the Lake Trio will completely fail!"
"It'll fail either way," Axel shrugged, looking helpless.
"Didn't you just say yourself that without Team Galactic's core members helping us, we couldn't possibly defeat the Lake Trio?"
"If you ask me, we might as well just turn around and leave. At least that way we won't spook them the next time we come."
Cyrus's temple twitched violently. Staring at Axel's smiling face, he ground his molars so hard they squeaked.
'When I lied to you, you believed me, but now that I'm telling the truth, you start doubting me?'
'Who the hell taught you how to be a man, Masked Man?'
But thinking about what he'd just said, Cyrus could only sigh in frustration.
He couldn't exactly tell Axel, "Oh, by the way, I was lying to you just now," could he?
He barely had any Pokémon left. He'd end up like Saturn, pinned to the ground and stomped by a Glastrier.
After some thought, Cyrus patted Axel on the shoulder, trying to sell him a dream.
"Brother, our chances are really running out."
"This time, I need you to put in a bit more effort. I'll team up with Saturn to help you capture the Lake Trio."
"That way, when you go back, not only will you have Dialga, but also three other legendary Pokémon."
"By then, maybe your godfather will be so happy he'll even give you Ho-Oh!"
Cyrus's tone was filled with sincerity, and even his address changed, from "Axel" to "brother."
Axel blinked and quickly caught the key point in Cyrus's words.
'So this guy is planning to let me capture the Lake Trio?'
To completely resolve Sinnoh's crisis, the Red Chain was absolutely essential.
And that chain, could only be forged by Cyrus.
Under those circumstances, the Jennies obviously wouldn't interfere.
Axel had just been struggling to figure out how to capture the Lake Trio naturally, without offending Cyrus.
He hadn't expected the man to offer it up himself.
'Is this guy actually a spy planted by the League?'
Axel put down his half-eaten skewer and decisively pressed the detonator in his hand.
"I think Brother Cyrus's right, this is the best chance we've got!"
A sharp alarm blared from the ship, and the sizzling of burning fuses echoed beneath the hull.
Seeing how fast Axel's expression had flipped, Cyrus clicked his tongue hard.
'A second ago, this guy was all calm and casual, now that he heard there was a reward, he is all over it!'
'How could anyone be this shameless?'
He declared right then and there, Masked Man was officially the disgrace of all villains.
No dreams, no morals, nothing.
Once he gained control of Dialga and Palkia, the very first thing he'd do when rebuilding the new world would be to wipe out that whole Masked Man group.
As the Galactic Bomb hit the water, Cyrus lightly nudged Saturn's arm.
"The Lake Trio might not be quite as strong as I said, but they're not easy opponents either."
"In a bit, Axel definitely won't be able to handle all three. That's when we step in and each capture one."
A flash of fanatic excitement crossed Saturn's eyes. He nodded eagerly.
Of course, Lord Cyrus still trusted him the most.
If that was the case, then even if it cost him his life, he'd help Lord Cyrus capture one of the Lake Trio.
———
BOOM!
A deep explosion thundered from the depths of the lake, the surface twisting into a massive whirlpool.
A second later, a towering column of water, wrapped in dazzling blue light, shot skyward.
The shockwave spread outward in all directions, and within a kilometer radius, the lake water instantly vaporized.
At the center of the blast, the water receded for a moment, revealing the muddy lakebed.
Cracks split open in the rock below, glowing red from within, like even the earth itself had been wounded by the blast.
Luckily, Mesprit had already evacuated all the Pokémon from the area, so only the water went flying, no casualties occurred.
But Team Galactic wasn't so lucky.
Inside the roaring explosion, Cyrus's airship shook violently in the shockwave.
Both he and Saturn clung to the railing, their knuckles white.
Weaker members were thrown overboard instantly, splashing into the lake like dumplings, swallowed by the waves within seconds.
Grinning, Axel stared at the three distorted shadows slowly emerging through the swirling foam below.
He rose from the deck, remembering the first time he'd seen Drayden's majestic demeanor back when he faced Raihan.
"Hahahaha! I'm going to get the Lake Trio!"
"With your power, I'll become the ruler of the world!"
Cyrus: "..."
It was hard to imagine that even in a scene straight out of the apocalypse, he could still be speechless.
'Could Axel be any more of a cartoon villain?'
If Cyrus weren't already planning to destroy the world and rebuild it himself, he'd have punched Axel right there.
"Saturn."
"What is it, my lord?"
"When Axel starts fighting the Lake Trio, hold back for a bit. Let him get beaten first, I can't stand that smug face of his."
Saturn nodded seriously, "I can't stand him either!"
At the same time, the little tree pendant around Axel's neck began to glow faintly.
Inside it, Xerneas's consciousness frowned deeply, glaring at Axel in disgust.
To think it had been captured by two villains in a row, and both of them wielded such strong power that even it couldn't resist.
And this Axel was even worse, he'd actually detonated a bomb in a lake that powerful! How many Pokémon would die from that?
With no other choice, Xerneas sent out its psychic thoughts, trying to save as many lives as it could.
But after scanning the lake… it froze.
'Wait, there isn't a single Pokémon here?'
'Then what the hell is this guy bombing for?'
'Got nothing better to do? Just doing it so you can get blasted by three furious gods for fun?'
While both Xerneas and Cyrus waited eagerly for Axel to embarrass himself, three faint, glowing figures slowly appeared above the lake's center island.
Each of their gazes carried a different emotion, rage, killing intent, and… barely suppressed laughter.
Seeing Uxie, the symbol of wisdom, nearly break into a grin, Axel twitched his mouth.
'Hey, weren't you supposed to be the embodiment of intelligence?'
'Come on, man, you've lived in Lake Acuity this long, but that doesn't mean you are the lake of wisdom.'
Axel coughed lightly and pulled out three Poké Balls.
"Brother Cyrus, these three look scared stiff. Watch me catch them all!"
Cyrus: "???"
'Wait, opening with a Poké Ball throw at three legendaries?'
'You've got to be kidding me, you're the real idiot here!'
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