"You want to resist me, the one who possesses Rayquaza?"
Hearing Aizen's arrogant and overbearing words, Steven and the others' pupils shrank, and a surge of intense emotion shot straight up from their hearts.
Damn it!!
"Aizen!!"
Wallace gritted his teeth. If he weren't concerned about his own delicate and refined body, he would have seriously wanted to fight Aizen in person right now!
How could someone be this arrogant?!
"Aizen, don't get ahead of yourself. Just because you've captured Rayquaza doesn't mean the world is yours to control!" Cynthia said coldly.
"Do you really think that obtaining Rayquaza makes you invincible?"
Steven stared intently at Aizen. As expected, this man was extremely dangerous!
"Of course not," Aizen replied with a faint smile, his cold gaze landing on 'Dylan.'
"But it seems you all now understand that, aside from this one person, there is an insurmountable gap between us."
"The battle just now was truly spectacular. This is our first time meeting, isn't it, Gym Leader Dylan?"
Aizen's tone remained calm and composed, his voice deep and elegant, yet it no longer carried the gentleness he once had when he wore glasses.
"I thought you had forgotten about me, Mr. Aizen."
'Dylan' raised an eyebrow, perfectly mimicking his expression.
"Of course not. Gym Leader Dylan's strength is truly astonishing. Although I'd love to personally experience it, today doesn't seem to be the right occasion."
Aizen smiled faintly, but a hint of seriousness flickered in his eyes.
Steven, Cynthia, and Wallace all noticed this subtle change. It made sense—Dylan's Kyurem and Terapagos were undeniably powerful.
"Well then, everyone, we shall meet again." Aizen was already preparing to retreat.
"Aizen! Don't think you can just leave!"
Of course, Steven and the others had no intention of letting Aizen escape. From his earlier declaration—"I will stand above the heavens"—it was clear that this guy had immense ambition.
Not to mention, Aizen was already extremely strong. Now that he had captured Rayquaza, if they let him go, he would undoubtedly become a major threat to the Pokémon League in the future!
"Heh~ You won't be able to stop me."
Aizen's lips curled up in a smirk, part mocking, part disdainful.
"Koraidon."
In an instant, Koraidon flew in front of Aizen, spreading its massive wings and flapping them with force.
A violent crimson wind surged outward—it was a Fire-type Heat Wave!
The scorching wind rushed toward them at an alarming speed!
"Heat Wave!"
'Dylan' immediately ordered Reshiram to counter.
Reshiram opened its mouth and unleashed a Heat Wave of its own.
The two raging heat waves collided and exploded violently, sending shockwaves in all directions, forcing everyone to lower their heads.
Damn it!
Wallace, Steven, and Cynthia all felt their hearts tighten.
When Reshiram flapped its wings to clear away the smoke and dust, Aizen and Zinnia were already gone.
Far in the distance, the small black silhouette of Hydreigon was rapidly fading from sight.
"That guy!" Steven frowned deeply.
"We can't catch up. Aizen has captured Rayquaza—without prior preparation, stopping him would be incredibly difficult."
'Dylan' shook his head, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"A trainer this powerful, and yet we've never heard of him before."
'Dylan' was genuinely puzzled.
"According to the intel, he's a trainer from Unova, but we don't know if that's true," Wallace said, his handsome face creased with concern.
The joy they had felt from seeing Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre retreat was now completely gone.
"We need to investigate this immediately. Aizen is extremely dangerous, and now that he has Rayquaza—if he successfully Mega Evolves it…"
"Even for me, defeating him will become incredibly difficult."
'Dylan' spoke solemnly. Everyone had just witnessed the overwhelming power of Mega Rayquaza firsthand, so they all understood the gravity of the situation.
"These are troubling times…"
Steven sighed helplessly.
"And Zinnia actually left with him as well," 'Dylan' added with a light sigh.
Steven was startled. Right—his focus had been entirely on Aizen, and he had completely overlooked Zinnia.
She had left with him too!
Now that the battle between land and sea was over and Rayquaza had been captured by Aizen, Zinnia's alliance with him should have ended.
But she still chose to follow him. That meant the two of them likely had further plans.
"Steven?"
Wallace and Cynthia came to the same realization and turned to look at Steven.
"I need to return to Rustboro City immediately."
Steven's heart pounded anxiously. Forget Aizen—even Zinnia was a highly skilled Champion-level trainer who had mastered Mega Evolution.
If they targeted his father, they could take him down effortlessly.
"My father is guilty. I will personally see to it that he faces justice under the League's authority. Gym Leader Dylan, if you happen to contact Zinnia, please convey this message."
"My father will atone for his mistakes. But please… spare his life."
Steven hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice to 'Dylan.'
He knew this was disgraceful, but as a son, he couldn't just stand by and watch his father suffer harm.
"I can't reach Zinnia right now either."
'Dylan' shook his head.
Steven looked slightly dejected but still bowed politely to Dylan and Cynthia before hurriedly flying off on Metagross, dialing his father's number as he went.
In truth, he hadn't contacted his father in a long time. Ever since their last "open and honest conversation," Steven had refused to take his calls.
"Sigh… Uncle really messed up this time."
Wallace watched his best friend's departing figure and let out a helpless sigh.
"It was Steven's father who was in the wrong," Cynthia murmured, rubbing her temples wearily. She didn't want to discuss the grudge between Steven's father and Zinnia any further. In her eyes, Joseph Stone had been in the wrong.
More than anything, Cynthia finally felt the exhaustion catch up to her. Today had been overwhelming—even for her, it had been quite the "thrill ride."
Although the outcome wasn't ideal, and the biggest beneficiary of this whole ordeal was an extremely dangerous individual, there was nothing they could do about it now.
"Miss Cynthia, Gym Leader Dylan, you've both worked hard. Let's head back to Sootopolis City."
Wallace, also feeling drained, spoke to the two of them.
The group began their return flight, with 'Dylan' having Reshiram pick up Lillie before they headed for Sootopolis City.
Elsewhere
On a desolate island, Hydreigon landed.
"What are you planning to do next?"
Dylan toyed with Rayquaza's Poké Ball as he looked at Zinnia and asked.
The battle between land and sea had ended, and Rayquaza was now under his command. In the end, Zinnia had gained nothing from all of this.
In fact, now that Rayquaza belonged to him, strictly speaking, the title of "inheritor" should rightfully be his.
"The prophecy of my people is yours to fulfill now, Dylan."
Zinnia remained silent for a moment before lifting her head again with a fearless, carefree smile.
Being rejected by Rayquaza had been a devastating blow to her. For a moment, she had even felt like her entire life had lost its meaning.
"You are the inheritor now, Dylan."
But now that Rayquaza had chosen Dylan, she felt that this was fine. He was strong—strong enough to fulfill the prophecy and handle the impending meteor crisis.
"It's a relief to no longer carry that burden. From now on, I plan to avenge Aster. This is my personal matter."
Zinnia spoke lightly. For so long, she had carried the hopes of the Draconid people, and because of that, she had suppressed her desire for revenge over her sister's death.
But now, she could finally seek retribution.
"Zinnia wouldn't have wanted you to live like this."
Dylan frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, but still chose to say it.
She was an immensely powerful Dragon-type Champion-level trainer, yet in reality, Zinnia was incredibly tragic. The burden of her sister's death and the fate of her people had always weighed heavily on her.
When it came down to it, Zinnia had never truly lived for herself.
"I understand." Zinnia looked up at Dylan and smiled.
"But I can't let it go, Dylan. The image of Aster's death has never left my mind. I need to get justice for her."
"I see."
Dylan remained silent. He wanted to help her move on from her past, but at the same time, he understood her feelings.
"I've already investigated. The 'Rayquaza Capture Plan' from back then—it was the Pokémon Association in Johto that orchestrated it." Dylan said.
"A bunch of corrupt cowards feeding off their titles. I'll go with you."
"Thank you, Dylan."
Zinnia smiled brightly.
Sootopolis City
"Yes, it's been taken care of, Chairman. That's right, in the end, Rayquaza was captured by someone named Aizen."
In Wallace's home, Dylan sat in the living room, having a video call with Chairman Goodshow.
"Aizen, huh? Understood. I'll notify the other regional Leagues."
On the screen, Goodshow furrowed his graying brows. The legendary ancient Pokémon, the Sky Dragon itself, had fallen into the hands of a dangerous individual.
That was definitely not good news.
"That Aizen—he's very strong, isn't he?" Goodshow pondered for a moment.
"Extremely strong, Chairman. Even when Steven and I teamed up, we could only barely suppress him—and that wasn't even him going all out."
A melodic yet serious voice answered. Cynthia, holding a cup of tea, spoke calmly.
"This voice? Oh~ It's Cynthia." Goodshow was briefly surprised before recognition dawned.
Since he often visited different regions, he was quite familiar with the Champions and higher-ups of various Pokémon Leagues.
"Chairman Goodshow, it's been a while." Cynthia gave a graceful smile and nodded in greeting.
"Indeed, it has been some time. But... is Aizen really that strong? Even with you and Steven together, you could only barely suppress him?"
Goodshow's frown deepened.
"We were only holding back an Aizen who wasn't even fighting at full strength. If he truly unleashed his full power, I'm afraid even Steven and I wouldn't stand a chance."
Thinking back to that monstrous Koraidon, Cynthia corrected Goodshow with a serious tone.
"This is troubling. A trainer this powerful, yet involved with criminal organizations…" Goodshow sighed, rubbing his temples.
The Rocket Team situation had already exhausted him, and now another dangerous figure had appeared.
"But thankfully, we have the undefeated Dylan! Even Aizen can be challenged!"
However, the moment he saw Dylan's figure on the screen, Goodshow immediately felt reassured.
That's right—Dylan of Kanto was undefeated!!
'Name: Aizen
Gender: Male
Description: Brown-haired, around 20 years old, often wears a white coat, approximately 186 cm in height
Main Pokémon: Rayquaza, Koraidon, Hydreigon, Zoroark, Annihilape, Grimmsnarl, Kingambit…
Strength: Champion-level. Appears refined and gentlemanly, but is actually cold, ruthless, and extremely dangerous.'
As Dylan skimmed through the wanted notice Goodshow had sent over, he read it with amusement. At the top was a strikingly handsome photo of Aizen—probably secretly taken by Wallace or someone else.
Interesting.
That final scene had actually been a spur-of-the-moment idea.
The truth was, this "Aizen" persona had proven to be incredibly convenient.
Dylan had always enjoyed excitement, but given his current status, there were many things he couldn't openly do.
That was why the identity of "Aizen" was so necessary. To solidify Aizen's reputation, Dylan had intentionally captured Rayquaza under that name.
Of course, this meant that as Dylan, he couldn't publicly use Rayquaza anymore. But that wasn't a big deal.
After all, both identities were him. Who cared which one was using it? Besides, there were still two other Rayquaza out there—he could just capture those too.
There were so many things he could accomplish under the identity of Aizen.
"This wanted notice needs to be distributed across all regions!"
Wallace spoke with absolute seriousness. He firmly believed that Aizen was too chaotic and dangerous—something he had learned firsthand.
"I'll have the Sinnoh League issue a warrant once I return. However, I just checked with Champion Alder—he said he's never heard of a powerful trainer named Aizen from Unova."
Cynthia said thoughtfully, though she seemed a little disappointed.
"That's not surprising. Even if they were in the same region, someone like Aizen—if he wanted to stay hidden, no one would find him."
Wallace reasoned.
Over the past few days, his worldview had completely shifted.
There were people like Dylan and Aizen out there? That was utterly absurd.
"Speaking of… Rayquaza?"
Dylan sipped his tea, that same irresistible thought surfacing in his mind again.
Reaching out through telepathic communication, he connected with Rayquaza.
"What is it?" Rayquaza asked, puzzled.
"You… want to change skins?"
(End of Chapter)