The next day, Axel finally got to relax completely.
When he had nothing else to do, he would just watch the Twin Dragons of Time and Space getting beaten up, checking to see if any new word tags dropped.
Otherwise, he'd lie on the rocking chair with Cynthia, scrolling through the Alliance's internal software to see if anyone had reported news about the Ghost Dragon.
According to James and Jessie's hints, Giratina was currently carrying out some sort of scheme and could appear at any moment.
"Come on, Gardevoir, you can do it!", Cynthia clapped seriously, cheering for Gardevoir, who was pummeling Dialga.
After obtaining the Fairy Slate, Gardevoir had completely made up for her biggest weakness.
Not only was her combat power now formidable, but she was also no longer afraid of other gods' divine powers.
At this point, she stood on the exact same starting line as the other deities.
If she transformed into her Fairy Queen form, she might even stand higher than the rest.
Even though her level was slightly lower than Dialga's, she could still crush him with her powerful base stats and word tags.
Hearing Cynthia cheer her on, Gardevoir smiled sweetly, and her movements became even more fierce.
Dialga: "..."
'Come on, sis, I'm already this miserable, could you not cheer anymore?'
'It was one thing when you were the one beating me up before, but now your man and your girlfriend have joined in with a "we'll avenge you!" attitude?'
'Damn it, I only made you suffer once, okay?'
Dialga let out a long sigh, wanting nothing more than to close his eyes and play dead.
Over the course of last night, Dialga felt like it was the first time in his life he had ever been this speechless.
The tag-team beatdown from Rayquaza, Mewtwo, and Gardevoir gave him the distinct impression, that he was some little toy car for kids, while those three were the giant wheels of a hundred-ton truck.
He really couldn't take it anymore.
Since his birth, when had Dialga ever suffered such a brutal beating?
"ROAR!"
Dialga let out a thunderous roar, then decisively knelt down on the ground and bellowed fiercely,
["I yield, alright?"]
Axel: "???"
'Wait, are all gods these days this shameless?'
He glanced at the panel, no word tags had dropped yet. He was just about to think of a way to mentally manipulate (PUA) Dialga into holding out for a few more days.
Suddenly, he heard light footsteps. Crasher appeared at the courtyard gate, curiously staring at Dialga.
"This is?"
"ROAR!"
When Dialga saw a stranger arrive, he froze for a split second, then instantly changed his kneeling pose into a slide tackle.
Furious energy gathered at his claws, and without hesitation, he slammed down toward the Glastrier beneath Gardevoir.
Axel and Cynthia both burst out laughing, "It's fine, that's just Dialga's battle tactic."
Crasher blinked, "But I just saw him kneel... Was I seeing things?"
"Yeah, you were seeing things," Axel said cheerfully, "How could a god like Dialga ever surrender so easily?"
"If you ask me, he could probably hold out for a few years before he'd ever admit defeat."
"Right, Dialga?"
Dialga looked at Axel with tears of gratitude, nodding frantically.
'Good man, brother, once everyone leaves, I'll kneel to you again!'
Off to the side, Palkia was stunned.
'After all these years... what kind of dragon have I even been fighting against?'
'This guy seriously has no shame!'
After resolving the issue of Dialga's lack of backbone, Axel was in an excellent mood and welcomed Crasher into the living room.
"Gym Leader Crasher, what brings you here this time? Is it that we can finally depart for the Great Wetlands?"
Crasher nodded. Last night, he had already gotten in touch with the person in charge of the Great Wetlands.
"The head of the Great Wetlands has contacted the Garchomp tribe living there."
"After learning that you're Cynthia's friend, the Garchomp Chief said he'll summon back all the Gibles, Gabites, and Garchomps from outside. We can head there tomorrow."
"Thanks!", Axel said in surprise.
He had thought they'd just be using Berlitz's family connections, like when he chose his Dragonair, picking one from a limited group of Gibles.
He hadn't expected that Cynthia's Garchomp had so much prestige that its tribe's leader would recall every member for them.
Then again, it made sense. Cynthia's Garchomp was the undisputed strongest in the world, it was like having the world's top talent from your own hometown.
With that kind of connection, it would've been stranger if they didn't show respect.
'Hmm... if only Cynthia could come along too, that would be perfect.'
Noticing Axel's gaze, Cynthia instantly understood his meaning and nodded softly.
"Let's go together. It's been a long time since I've brought Garchomp home to visit."
———
The next morning, Axel woke up early and left behind four Pokémon, Ho-Oh, Eternatus, Mewtwo, and Rayquaza.
He also prepared plenty of food for them, then rode on Gyarados toward Wetland City.
On the way, Cynthia looked at Axel curiously.
"Why did you leave so much food behind? Aren't we coming right back after the selection?"
"Of course not," Axel shook his head.
Dialga had already chickened out once yesterday. Axel was afraid he wouldn't last much longer before surrendering again, so he planned not to return to Cynthia's house for a few days.
That way, Mewtwo and Rayquaza could keep watch, and while farming word tags, Ho-Oh and Eternatus could also get some experience.
He'd finally caught two proud and unruly divine beasts, there was no way he wouldn't squeeze them dry.
Hearing this explanation, Cynthia couldn't help but smile and gave him a thumbs-up.
"As expected of you..."
"Get ready, we've arrived at the Great Wetlands!"
Following Cynthia's pointing finger, Axel looked ahead and saw a magnificent structure appear before them.
Unlike the Blueberry Academy's ecological dome, this one wasn't enclosed, it maintained a more natural, open design.
The massive gate, ten meters tall, connected to huge surrounding walls. The entire enclosed area was nearly as large as Wetland City itself.
Inside the Great Wetlands, lakes, mountains, grasslands, and forests were all seamlessly interwoven.
At the gate stood a man in a suit with a buzz cut.
As Gyarados landed, Cynthia pointed to him and said, "That's Mr. Brown, the breeder of the Great Wetlands."
Because Cynthia was accompanying Axel, Crasher hadn't come along.
After all, in all of Sinnoh, no, in the whole world, no one understood the Garchomp tribe better than Cynthia.
"Champion Cynthia, hello! And greetings to the hero who saved Sinnoh!"
Brown had already received word from Crasher that Cynthia would be visiting, and had been waiting at the gate since early morning.
When he saw the two dismount from Gyarados, he immediately came forward with a grin.
"Hahaha, what a perfect couple, truly worthy of our Champion Cynthia."
"Yesterday, I read in the papers that her boyfriend descended from the heavens and saved Alamos Town. I was wondering what kind of man could possibly match our Champion Cynthia."
"Now that I see you, I'm completely convinced!"
Running a place like the Great Wetlands and even convincing the Garchomp tribe to settle here, clearly, Brown wasn't the type of breeder who just stayed in his lab all day.
With one short line, he managed to flatter both Cynthia and Axel perfectly.
"It's only what we should do. Thank you for waiting for us, Mr. Brown," Axel smiled, shaking his hand.
"Not at all, not at all!", Brown's grin was full of enthusiasm.
"To stand here and personally greet the hero who saved Sinnoh, that's an opportunity few people ever get!"
After that, Brown didn't bother with more small talk.
He clearly knew exactly what Cynthia and Axel were here for, the greetings had been done, and dragging it on would only make things awkward.
So he got straight to the point.
"The Garchomp Chief is already waiting for the two of you inside the Great Wetlands. Shall we head in now?"
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.