"Eh? Why are Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre attacking Rayquaza?"
Lillie was utterly shocked. Wasn't Rayquaza supposed to stop Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre just by appearing?
"..."
Why are you asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? It's not like I'm the real Dylan.
'Dylan' silently complained in her heart. She also found it strange—why wasn't this Rayquaza able to pacify Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre directly?
Besides, Leaf felt that this Rayquaza's presence wasn't as terrifying as expected.
"This Rayquaza… it doesn't seem as strong as I imagined."
Cynthia frowned slightly as she gazed at the Rayquaza in the sky. Its aura was indeed powerful, but it wasn't as overwhelming as she had anticipated.
To be honest, Cynthia even suspected that this Rayquaza might not be stronger than Primal Groudon or Primal Kyogre.
"Wait, Reshiram should know."
'Dylan' suddenly had an idea and threw out Reshiram's Poké Ball.
Once again, Reshiram appeared behind them. Its pure blue eyes gazed at 'Dylan' with a deep, knowing look. What surprised Cynthia was that Reshiram's feathers had returned to their pristine, smooth state.
Wait, what? Weren't you just looking half-dead and all wet a moment ago?
"White Dragon, do you know why Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre are attacking Rayquaza?"
Lillie curiously asked Reshiram.
"Why shouldn't Groudon and Kyogre attack Rayquaza?"
Reshiram responded confidently, its neutral and clear telepathic voice echoing in the trio's minds.
Cynthia's beautiful eyes shimmered. So this is the legendary telepathy…
"You seem to have misunderstood something. Groudon and Kyogre were never subordinate to Rayquaza. The reason why Rayquaza was able to stop their ancient battle was because it defeated them."
Reshiram looked up at the Rayquaza in the sky, its pure blue dragon eyes flickering with a strange light.
"This Rayquaza is only average in strength, and it hasn't even fully unlocked its potential. There's no way it can stand against Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon."
Reshiram spoke nonchalantly. To be honest, it had always thought that the Rayquaza species was utterly absurd.
A thousand years ago, it had encountered a truly special Rayquaza.
Rayquaza was already one of the most gifted legendary Pokémon in the world, and what made it even more ridiculous was that it wasn't a solitary species—it had a clan.
Compared to other legendary Pokémon that formed groups, like the Lugia species, Rayquaza was on another level entirely.
Even though they were undoubtedly rare, having multiple Rayquaza was game-changing. Because once Rayquaza Mega Evolved, its power would skyrocket instantly.
And yet, a thousand years ago, Reshiram had seen something even more insane—a black Rayquaza flying across the sky.
A shiny alternate-colored Rayquaza—can you believe that?!
"Huh?" Lillie was stunned.
"So, Reshiram, you—"
"My injuries aren't fully healed yet. I'm going back to rest."
Before anyone could continue, Reshiram cut them off, turned into a flash of white light, and retreated back into its Luxury Ball, refusing to come out.
It considered itself a peace-loving dragon of truth. Fighting? That wasn't its job.
At home, it was either a decoration piece or a glorified mount—nothing more.
High-stakes battles like this were always the responsibility of its big brothers. Even Koraidon, Miraidon, Lunala, or that little turtle would be better suited for this than it was.
'Dylan': "..."
Lillie: (⊙▽⊙)
Cynthia: (confused.jpg)
Meanwhile, on the battlefield—
"Wuuuuu~!"
Rain poured relentlessly as Primal Kyogre opened its massive mouth, unleashing a fierce blizzard.
A powerful Ice-type Blizzard!
The raging snowstorm surged forward, freezing raindrops mid-air with a sharp 'crack' sound, turning them into hailstones that plummeted down.
Rayquaza's dragon-like eyes narrowed. With a swift flick of its long body, a burst of white light erupted from it—Extreme Speed!
With Extreme Speed, Rayquaza dodged Primal Kyogre's Blizzard at high velocity. It then dived straight down, slamming hard onto Primal Groudon's back.
BAM!
Primal Groudon roared in anger. With a powerful swipe of its massive claws, it lunged at Rayquaza.
But Rayquaza was quick. It struck and immediately retreated, evading the claw attack.
Primal Groudon let out a low growl, and massive boulders materialized in the air, crashing down towards Rayquaza one by one—Rock Slide!
Rayquaza maneuvered through the oncoming rocks like a swimming dragon, skillfully avoiding each one.
But in the next instant, the fierce Blizzard struck again—Primal Kyogre had launched another attack.
Rayquaza quickly soared higher, barely dodging the howling snowstorm.
With its superior Extreme Speed move, Rayquaza was barely holding its own against the relentless assault from Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon.
But any observer could tell—this situation wouldn't last long.
One wrong move, and Rayquaza would be completely overwhelmed.
Beep—Beep—
A sudden ringing broke the tension. Cynthia answered the call—it was Wallace.
"Miss Cynthia, what's the situation? Rayquaza has arrived, so have Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre retreated?"
Wallace asked anxiously.
"..."
Cynthia's stunning face remained calm, but her gaze was locked on the battlefield—where Rayquaza had just failed to break free from a pincer attack.
Primal Groudon had caught Rayquaza's tail!
BAM! BAM! BAM BAM BAM!
Primal Groudon swung Rayquaza wildly, smashing it against the ground left and right—over and over again, in a disturbingly rhythmic fashion.
This feels amazing!! So satisfying!!
Primal Groudon roared in excitement—beating up Rayquaza felt too good!
Cynthia, Lillie, and 'Dylan' were all dumbfounded.
Rayquaza screeched in pain, but Primal Groudon's sheer strength was overwhelming. With its tail firmly in Primal Groudon's grasp, it had no way to escape.
The repeated slams were causing immense damage, and Rayquaza's struggles were weakening with each hit.
"Hello? Miss Cynthia? Say something—are you still there? Is the signal bad?"
Wallace's voice sounded confused and uneasy after the long silence.
"I'm here, Mr. Wallace. I just… don't know how to describe it. You'll see when you get here."
Cynthia replied heavily. What was she supposed to say? That Rayquaza did show up, but was currently getting brutally beaten?
On the other end of the call, Wallace and Steven were both stunned.
What did that mean? Cynthia's tone suggested that something was very wrong.
But that shouldn't be possible—Rayquaza was already there, wasn't it?
"Metagross, speed up!"
Steven urged his Metagross to accelerate, a heavy feeling settling in his chest. Clearly, the situation wasn't improving.
Elsewhere on the battlefield—
"As expected, this Rayquaza is no match for Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre."
From atop his Hydreigon, Dylan clicked his tongue as he watched Rayquaza being violently slammed around.
"It's my fault… If I could just make Rayquaza Mega Evolve…"
Zinnia bit her lip, feeling immense guilt and sorrow at the sight of her revered Dragon God being humiliated like this.
No. I can't just stand by and watch!
Determined, Zinnia gritted her teeth and pulled out Salamence's Poké Ball.
"You don't have the strength to face Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. Leave this to me."
Dylan stopped her and took out a Luxury Ball.
"Koraidon, use Collision Course!"
With a ferocious roar, Koraidon emerged, rapidly spinning into a blazing wheel as it charged straight at Primal Groudon!
This guy!!
"Aizen..." Cynthia furrowed her brows.
Did something unexpected happen to the plan? The summoned Rayquaza wasn't a match for Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre—this must have caught Aizen off guard as well, right?
So now he's trying to salvage the situation?
But Cynthia hadn't expected Aizen to have such a powerful Pokémon in reserve. It seemed that back on the island, during their battle with him and Steven, Aizen had still been holding back.
What a terrifying man. This guy came from Unova—why wasn't he the Unova Champion?
Cynthia decided that once this was all over, she would have a good chat with Alder. They had a decent relationship and had spoken before.
"Indeed, not as strong as Primal Groudon."
Dylan narrowed his eyes slightly at the scene before him. Miraidon's Full Power Crash hadn't been able to overpower Primal Groudon's Hammer Arm—that already said a lot.
After undergoing Primal Reversion, both Groudon and Kyogre were stronger than regular Legendary Pokémon.
Rayquaza, having finally "escaped with its life" from Primal Groudon's claws, immediately backed away, putting distance between itself and both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre. It quickly flew to the front of Dylan and Zinnia, panting weakly.
Rayquaza glanced at Miraidon. This overwhelming presence was unexpected—Rayquaza had never heard of such a legendary dragon existing in the world.
"Rayquaza, can you really not Mega Evolve? Or could you call upon your kin?"
Dylan still held onto a sliver of hope. If this battle could be resolved more easily, that would be ideal.
"My bond with this inheritor is not suitable. She has already tried—you were there, human." Rayquaza's deep, telepathic voice echoed.
"As for the situation here, I have already notified my parents, but it will take time for them to arrive."
Rayquaza felt rather helpless. It really didn't want to ask its elders for help. There were only three Rayquaza in existence, including itself, and dealing with its parents was an immense source of pressure.
Especially since its parents were extremely strict. The fact that it still hadn't mastered the art of Dragon Ascent had already led to endless lectures from them, especially after what happened a few years ago.
And now, it was even asking them for help because it couldn't defeat Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre...
Oh heavens! Rayquaza could already imagine what would happen to it afterward. But compared to getting scolded, resolving this battle between land and sea was the more urgent matter.
Zinnia lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected.
"I see." Dylan's eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered which of his strongest Pokémon to use against Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre.
"In that case, I'll just do it myself. By the way, Rayquaza—Zinnia isn't compatible with you, but how about giving me a try?"
Zinnia was stunned for a moment, but after thinking about it, it wasn't a bad idea. If Dylan could gain Rayquaza's recognition, that would be for the best.
"You..."
Rayquaza hesitated. It could sense that Dylan's heart was not entirely transparent—this human had many thoughts in his mind, which Rayquaza didn't particularly like.
There was no need to even try; without true mutual recognition, Rayquaza was certain that even if this human used a large number of Key Stones, he would still fail to make it Mega Evolve.
The only reason Zinnia had succeeded back then was that Rayquaza had acknowledged her as its inheritor from the start.
"Human, you are already quite strong," Rayquaza said, glancing at Miraidon.
"But I really like you, Rayquaza," Dylan grinned. "How about this—if I can suppress Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre before your elders arrive, you let me become your inheritor. How about it?"
"This... fine."
Rayquaza's dragon eyes widened in surprise as it gazed at Dylan. Where did this guy get his confidence from? Rayquaza carefully tried to sense Dylan's presence.
There was indeed something subtly strange about this human's aura. (Necrozma and the others had completely suppressed their presence.)
But suppressing Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre—how could that be easy? This was no joke.
If Dylan could actually do it, then such a powerful human becoming its inheritor wouldn't be an issue for Rayquaza.
"Ah~ now that's more like it."
Dylan grinned. Now it was time to make his move.
On the Island
Steven and Wallace had already arrived. After learning the full situation, the two fell into silence.
"So what do we do now?" Wallace was stunned. He never expected Rayquaza to actually lose against Groudon and Kyogre.
"It's simple."
Suddenly, a clear and confident male voice rang out.
Wallace, Steven, and Cynthia all turned in surprise toward the source—Dylan.
"I'll step in, of course."
Dylan looked up and smiled at the three of them.
Lillie's eyes lit up. It was her brother! But where was Leaf?
She glanced around but didn't see any sign of her.
"Gym Leader Dylan? But even Reshiram isn't a match for Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre," Wallace said, puzzled.
"No, I don't need Reshiram as my main force. Ideally, Rayquaza would have handled this, but it seems like that particular Rayquaza isn't up to the task."
Dylan sighed softly and opened a Luxury Ball. Reshiram appeared in front of him, its majestic presence exuding a noble, sacred aura.
Cynthia was momentarily stunned. She felt like Reshiram's presence had changed somehow. Wait—hadn't Dylan just said that it was too injured to leave its Poké Ball?
Dylan then took a small turtle-like Pokémon from Lillie's bag, mounted Reshiram, and soared into the sky, gazing at Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre in the distance.
"Kyurem!"
"Terapagos!"
A thunderous roar echoed as Kyurem rose into the sky, its massive, intimidating form staring down the two ancient titans.
Beside Kyurem, Terapagos shone with a dazzling, crystalline radiance—it had transformed into its Terastal form!
"Huh?"
Wallace was completely dumbfounded as he looked at Kyurem and Terapagos before Reshiram. Wait—was Dylan really this powerful?
"Looks like Dylan was holding back from the start."
Steven let out a wry smile. He had a feeling this was because of Zinnia. She needed Rayquaza. But now that her summoned Rayquaza couldn't hold the situation together, Dylan had finally decided to step in.
Elsewhere
Leaf—now disguised as "Dylan"—was deep in conversation with a now-reinvigorated Zinnia.
Rayquaza glanced at the melodious-voiced "Dylan," then at the real Dylan, who was riding atop Reshiram, and then at Kyurem and Terapagos.
Both of those Pokémon were incredibly strong!
And if Rayquaza's senses weren't wrong, the man riding the white dragon was the same one who had just spoken to it. There was no mistaking it.
But how was he changing back and forth like this?
Three question marks seemed to pop up over Rayquaza's head. Were humans always this crafty these days?
So... which identity was it supposed to acknowledge as its inheritor?
(End of Chapter)