The battle between Blue and Agatha had begun—this was the clash of the former and current Kanto Elite Four.
But they weren't the only ones.
At the foot of the central volcano on Cerise Island, Reshiram carried Dylan down from the sky.
Dark clouds loomed overhead, electric-blue lightning crackling within. Reshiram stared upward, a glimmer of excitement in its clear dragon eyes.
"Dylan! The black dragon!"
"Yeah… I didn't think it would actually follow Lance."
Dylan's gaze lingered on the stormy clouds crackling with blue electricity. The dragon of ideals—Zekrom. He'd known Zekrom had chosen to follow Lance, but seeing it with his own eyes still felt surreal.
He used to think Reshiram was already strange enough—but Reshiram was the dragon of truth, so its bluntness made a kind of sense.
But Zekrom? That straight-laced-looking dragon really just switched partners like that?
"I always knew that black dragon was a schemer!" Reshiram said confidently, as if it had called this all along.
"Whatever, not our problem. Let's head down."
Dylan rolled his eyes and patted Reshiram's neck, pointing to the volcano's base.
There, a red-haired youth in a black cloak stood, head tilted up toward the sky.
It was Lance.
Reshiram gave a low snort, clearly itching to fight Zekrom—but this wasn't the time. With a growl, it descended.
"Dylan. You've come," Lance said calmly.
"Lance," Dylan replied, dismounting from Reshiram and facing him.
It had been some time since they last met. Lance was still the same—stern features, cold presence, icy demeanor.
But something had changed. He wasn't the same champion who once stood at the peak of Kanto.
His eyes, once cold but clear, were now shadowed with something darker—something unsettling.
"You knew I'd come?" Dylan asked.
"We knew about Bruno. Agatha let him go intentionally," Lance said coolly.
"Congratulations, Dylan, on becoming Kanto Champion."
His eyes rested on Dylan. There was a faint smile at the corners of his lips—barely there, but genuine.
Dylan noticed. Despite everything, Lance still held sincere regard for him.
"I didn't ask for the title," Dylan said quietly. "Lance, please… come back. If you return now, you can still be the Champion of Kanto."
His voice was earnest. But to Lance, the words struck a nerve. His expression twisted slightly.
He took a moment to compose himself. Then his features returned to their calm, frosty stillness.
"Come back? So… you think I'm wrong too?"
Lance looked up at the oppressive, clouded sky.
"Dylan, do you know what I saw the first time I raided a Rocket hideout?"
Dylan fell silent. He could guess what was coming.
"Cold operating tables. Pokémon trapped in cages, trembling like livestock before slaughter. Their fear, their pain—I felt it all."
The darkness in Lance's eyes deepened.
Blessed with the power of Viridian Forest, Lance could feel the emotions of Pokémon as his own.
He could hear them screaming.
"Kanto's Rocket Team has already been disbanded, Lance."
"But the evil hasn't."
Lance's voice turned sharp and icy.
"I cannot tolerate it. Those who harm Pokémon… they deserve hell!"
The icy venom in Lance's words made Dylan sigh. So it was true—he'd fallen deep into extremism.
"You think I'm extreme? Dylan, you and I are the same—but maybe you just can't see it."
Lance's voice was low.
"I've seen too many things. Not just from Rocket. Even regular people—"
"They toss their Pokémon away like garbage for the sake of power."
"For greed, they throw away their conscience and morality to work with scum like Team Rocket."
"Poachers brazenly hunt Pokémon for profit, treating them as nothing more than commodities."
Lance's voice grew colder and colder. He raised his hand and pointed skyward.
"Look, Dylan. This is the sky I see—gray and poisoned."
Dylan looked up. The sky above Cerise Island was black and lightless, casting a pall over everything.
"It's because of people like that that the world has become this way!"
Lance's voice rang with conviction. He didn't believe he was wrong. Everything he'd done, he'd done for the sake of Pokémon—for a better world.
"You're not wrong. But the Pokémon League exists to fight that very evil," Dylan said calmly.
"But the League gives those rats a second chance," Lance spat.
He was thinking of Lt. Surge and Janine—ex-Rocket members whom the League had reinstated.
It was ridiculous to him. They were Rocket filth!
"Evil is evil! After everything they've done, a simple 'I'm sorry, I've changed' makes it all okay?!"
Rage filled Lance's voice. This was the real reason he had left the League.
Team Rocket? He could accept wiping them out. But the League protecting them? Giving them mercy?
Ludicrous. They should apologize in hell.
"Lance, you're too extreme," Dylan sighed again.
"Killing won't solve anything—it'll only bring more chaos."
"If we remove all the evil, the world will naturally heal," Lance replied coldly, unmoved.
"So there's no persuading you." Dylan shook his head.
"You're going to stop me, then?"
Lance's voice was still calm, but he watched Dylan with razor-sharp eyes.
As he spoke, two figures descended from the clouds—Zekrom and Lugia.
Their presence filled the air with immense pressure. Without a doubt, these were the two Legendary Pokémon now under Lance's control.
So it was Lugia.
Dylan glanced briefly at Zekrom, then focused on the white bird.
Elegant and majestic, Lugia—guardian of the seas—was far more beautiful than its fiery counterpart, Ho-Oh.
"I really didn't want to fight you, Lance. But how about this—we make a bet."
Dylan locked eyes with Lance.
Lance's brow furrowed. A bet?
"You know the League has a new Elite Four now. They're already here, probably fighting Agatha and the others."
"If you don't use Zekrom or Lugia… and they beat you… then you come back to the League. Deal?"
Lance's eyes narrowed, sharp as blades. But Dylan met his gaze without flinching.
One second. Two.
Suddenly, Lance burst into laughter.
"Hahaha…!"
The laughter rang out, loud and unrestrained—then stopped abruptly.
"You really underestimate me, Dylan."
"You think those newbies can beat us?"
Lance's pride was infamous. Even though he wasn't Champion anymore, his arrogance hadn't changed.
If it was Dylan, fine—but the new Elite Four?
A Ground-type Gym Leader named Giovanni, and three barely-grown kids?
Them? Beat him?
Ridiculous.
"They probably won't even get past Agatha and the others," Lance sneered.
"To see me, they'd have to survive them first."
"Maybe so," Dylan said, smiling slightly. "But you know what? Belief and resolve are powerful things."
"They came here bearing the responsibility of the League."
Of course, that was complete nonsense. Dylan just knew Red and the others wouldn't lose.
"Hmph," Lance snorted. "Belief? Resolve?"
He had those too.
"Even without Zekrom and Lugia, my ideals and my Dragon Corps won't lose to some rookies."
"We'll see."
Dylan knew this meant Lance had accepted the bet—and that was to be expected.
Lance's pride wouldn't let him refuse.
"Then wait here, Lance. Let's see if you can withstand this new generation of Kanto's Elite Four."
Mounting Reshiram again, Dylan turned to go.
Lance grinned faintly, his white teeth gleaming ominously.
Elsewhere, Red stood across from a mature woman in a pencil skirt and glasses—former Ice-type Elite Four, Lorelei.
He adjusted the brim of his hat, casting his red eyes into shadow.
"It's you again, boy," Lorelei said coolly. Dewgong and Lapras stood ready at her sides.
She remembered Red—he'd been at the battle in Saffron.
"Chairman Goodshow says you'll be welcomed back if you surrender peacefully," Red said.
"Not interested," she replied bluntly.
Red, as usual, stayed silent.
Fine. He'd just have to defeat her.
At another clearing…
"Something's off about him," Leaf murmured, watching Bruno's dull, glassy eyes. Before him stood Machamp and Hitmonchan.
"He's hypnotized, right? Selene, we—"
"Awesome! Former Elite Bruno dares defy the League? You're toast! I'm taking you down!"
Leaf stared at Selene in disbelief.
What the heck was her train of thought?!
Meanwhile, back at the volcano's base, Lance slowly turned toward the sound of approaching footsteps.
A man in a black suit strolled forward, hands in his pockets.
"Giovanni."
Lance recognized him. Former Viridian Gym Leader, now the head of the Kanto Elite Four.
They hadn't interacted much—Giovanni kept a low profile, focused on his company.
Honestly, if not for his promotion, Lance might not have even remembered him.
He had once held Giovanni's current position—Elite Four Leader and Champion.
"Ah~"
Giovanni stopped a short distance away, smiling at Lance. But that smile… would not go away.
"You…" Lance began to speak.
"Lance!! You naturally evil man!!"
"???"
(Chapter End)