After clashing hard with Complete Zygarde, Black Kyurem was knocked back.
"Zedou!!"
Zygarde's furious roar echoed as a blinding green light began to gather in the maw at its chest. Then—it opened wide.
Zygarde's signature move—Core Punisher!
Black Kyurem, having seen this before, didn't hesitate. A burst of flame engulfed its body as it shifted into its White Kyurem form.
Its turbine whirred to life, coiling with serpents of frosty flame—beautiful, ethereal, and deadly.
Glaciate Blaze!
Zygarde shrieked again. The green beam tore through the air like lightning, zigzagging in a glowing "Z" toward White Kyurem.
White Kyurem responded in kind with its icy fireball.
BOOM!
The two powerful moves collided midair, sending out shockwaves like hurricanes.
But soon, Glaciate Blaze surged forward, swelling with force. The green "Z" of Core Punisher cracked and detonated in a brilliant explosion that lit up the gloomy rain-soaked sky.
The icy fireball, though slowed, still broke through and slammed into Zygarde.
With a howl of pain, Zygarde was blasted back—the icy flames tearing through its immense body.
It was a direct hit. Ice vs. Ground/Dragon—brutally effective.
"Roar!"
White Kyurem wouldn't let up. With lightning arcing across its frame, it shifted back into Black Kyurem. Pale purple electricity wrapped around it like a barrier as it charged again.
Freeze Shock!
"Zedou!"
Zygarde quickly steadied itself. Green light radiated from its body as hundreds of miniature energy arrows shot out like a downpour.
Thousand Arrows!
But Black Kyurem didn't even try to dodge.
The arrows rained down, crashing into the frozen barrier around Kyurem—blasts rang out in rapid fire. But none stopped its advance.
Kyurem barreled straight through, slamming into Zygarde with all its might.
A thunderous impact.
Both titans plummeted.
BOOM!!
The desert floor erupted. Sand was hurled high into the air—then froze instantly under Kyurem's chilling aura.
Rain turned to ice. Ground turned to glacier.
An entire ice field had formed beneath them.
"Kyurem!!"
"That was amazing, Kyurem!! How are you this cool?!"
"So strong!!"
The three girls watching—Lillie, Leaf, and Ilene—were all screaming with excitement.
Even Barza and Meari stared wide-eyed.
That was Complete Zygarde—the legendary protector of Kalos's balance.
And it just got slammed into the ground by Kyurem.
Black Kyurem pinned Zygarde down, icy light glowing in its maw again.
"Zedou!!"
Zygarde roared in rage. The ground below lit up with brilliant green.
Boom!!
A towering green energy pillar erupted from beneath it.
Zygarde's Ground-type signature—Land's Wrath!
Kyurem leapt back just in time. The pillar surged skyward where it had been.
Zygarde had retaliated almost instantly.
"Tch—what a tank."
Black Kyurem grinned.
Even after taking Glaciate Blaze and Freeze Shock to the face, Zygarde still had the power to fight back.
"That's fine. I'll wear you down, snake."
It jeered, and Zygarde howled, whether in pain or rage, who could say?
"The noble Ice Dragon civil war is so satisfying to watch~"
Leaf grinned, watching Kyurem clash again with Zygarde. She wasn't worried anymore.
"Zygarde's mad."
"Well, no kidding. It's been mind-controlled and pummeled all day—wait, who said that?"
Leaf blinked.
That wasn't any of her friends' voices. It was calm, mature, and incredibly gentle.
She turned—her eyes went wide.
Standing before them was a tall, slender deer-like Pokémon with a black and blue body, crowned with eight majestic antler-branches.
When did it get here?! No one noticed it arrive!
Leaf was stunned. So were the others. Even Lillie instinctively took a cautious step back.
"Don't worry. I won't harm you. I came for him... though I didn't expect to find this."
The voice was gentle, wise, and resonated with kindness. It was impossible to feel threatened by it.
Leaf slowly followed its gaze—and saw that it was looking toward…
Yveltal.
"You're Xerneas?" Leaf guessed, blinking.
"The Pokémon of Life?"
"Yes," the deer nodded. "Though it seems this time, he hasn't done any harm."
Her tone was weary, almost nostalgic.
As Yveltal's eternal opposite, Xerneas had always been the one to "clean up his mess."
Every time Yveltal awakened, it brought destruction—at minimum, draining life from forests.
And every time, Xerneas would awaken in response—to drive Yveltal off and restore what had been lost.
Because Xerneas was mercy incarnate.She could not bear to watch life vanish from the world.
She would give her own to restore it.
Thankfully, she could recover through sleep.
"But I suppose it makes sense," she murmured, watching the aerial battles.
With so many terrifying legends fighting in the sky—even Yveltal had decided to sit this one out.
Complete Zygarde too?
That hadn't happened in centuries.
And Zygarde was losing.
No wonder Yveltal wasn't picking a fight today.
"So you came for him, huh," Leaf muttered.
'Beep~ Xerneas, Fairy-type, the Life Pokémon.Ability: Fairy AuraMoves: Geomancy, Giga Impact, Outrage, Close Combat, Megahorn, Moonblast…Entry: Said to share eternal life. Awakens from a thousand-year sleep in the form of a tree.'
That's amazing~! Lillie's eyes sparkled.
Not because of its power—but because of its lore.
To share eternal life? It reminded her of Ho-Oh.
Ho-Oh brought eternal happiness to those who saw it. Xerneas shared eternal life.
Was it really true?
Meanwhile, on Dylan's side—
"Dylan, we can't win!!"
Rayquaza's whiny voice rang in his mind. Dylan looked over to see it getting launched again by its mom's Dragon Ascent.
The poor guy couldn't even open his eyes.
Black Shiny Rayquaza was hitting hard.
Mega Mewtwo Y had taken the chance to attack with Psystrike, but Rayquaza's mother twisted her serpentine body midair and evaded effortlessly.
Mewtwo didn't give up. It raised its hand and began firing Psystrikes one after another.
But Black Rayquaza didn't panic. She weaved between them, graceful and smooth, closing in all the while.
Her movements defied logic.
Unreal dodging.
Mewtwo's eyes flared blue, constantly recalculating—but it couldn't hit her.
"Roar!"
Green light surged again—Dragon Ascent!
A second later, she shot forward like a bladed arrow.
Mewtwo flared its barrier—Protect!
BOOM!Dragon Ascent smashed into it. The barrier trembled violently.
"Necrozma!" Dylan shouted to his Dusk Mane form, who had just brought Palkia to its knees.
Hoopa, still lingering at a distance, hadn't acted directly—but those portals were always ready to assist.
Eternatus struggled against Hoopa's portal interference. Necrozma would have to deal with him.
If Necrozma kept Hoopa busy, Eternatus could help finish Rayquaza's mom.
Dylan then glanced at the battered crimson Rayquaza.
That poor dragon had been tossed around the sky all match. Mewtwo handled the ranged attacks, while it soaked up the melee hits.
It wasn't even red anymore—patches of green scales were showing through.
Yep. It was getting beat so bad, its paint was peeling off.