"Did it get corrupted again?"
"Doesn't seem like it. Dylan doesn't look like he's planning to help at all."
"Hmm... could it be... because she's holding a grudge?"
Watching Black Rayquaza aggressively chasing down Little Rayquaza in the sky, Lillie, Ilene, and Leaf all had the same awkward expression.
After all, Dylan—riding on Reshiram—was just cheerfully watching the scene unfold without the slightest intent to intervene.
Which could only mean he had his reasons.
Of course, Black Rayquaza was only giving her child a bit of a beating—not enough to really hurt it. After all, it was her kid; she wasn't going to kill it.
Besides the paint job issue, Black Rayquaza was genuinely pleased with her child's progress.
After thousands of years of failing to learn Dragon Ascent, her kid had finally mastered it in under a year. And its strength had grown significantly.
Black Rayquaza was satisfied.
Meanwhile, Confined Hoopa had completely absorbed the darkness of Unbound Hoopa. The swirling black energy returned fully into its body.
Confined Hoopa was overjoyed. Its full power was finally restored!
"Looks like everything's wrapped up."
Soon, Black Rayquaza and the other legendaries, now recovered, rose into the air once more. Their eyes all turned toward Dylan and Confined Hoopa.
"Thanks for everything, everyone."
Dylan gently patted Confined Hoopa's head, signaling it to say something.
"Sorry for all the trouble!" Hoopa rubbed its head sheepishly, grinning apologetically.
Even if it was Unbound Hoopa's doing... that was still technically it.
"..."
Primal Kyogre and the others didn't look too pleased.
This had been a disaster they didn't sign up for. One minute they were minding their business, and the next—bam—they were warped into battle by some space rings, brainwashed, and thrown into a free-for-all.
Worst part? They lost.
Still, they knew it wasn't really Confined Hoopa's fault. Truth be told, one specific someone was the real wild card.
Dialga, with glowing dragon eyes, stared at Dylan. This wasn't its first time meeting him, but once again... this human was just too out there.
"No harm done. A bit of exercise once in a while is good," said Black Rayquaza, gently flicking her tail. Her psychic voice was smooth and mature.
Little Rayquaza, who had taken a serious beating earlier, shivered slightly at the memory.
"If there's a chance, let's spar again sometime, Heir. Just have Little Green call for me."
Clearly, Black Rayquaza had a strong love for battle. She turned to Dylan with a nod.
Her strength was so high that few could be her match—even among legendaries. Most of the time, she just wandered in the ozone layer or out in space, endlessly repeating her solitary days.
She couldn't even remember how many years it had been.
"Sure," Dylan's eyes sparkled. This was exactly the kind of thing he liked.
Next time she came down for a rematch, he could totally leverage it for a few favors too.
"Then it's settled. I'll be off now."
Black Rayquaza was ready to go. Her injuries were still there—best to heal up first.
At the same time, Giratina and the others also began preparing to leave.
But then—the space around them suddenly began to darken.
"Hm?" Dylan arched an eyebrow.
"Eh? The space… it's getting twisted," Confined Hoopa blinked, floating up to observe the eerie distortion.
"Too many legendaries fighting at once… is that what did it?" Dylan wasn't too surprised.
This had happened in the movie too. According to Baraz, the distortion came from Hoopa summoning too many powerful legendaries at once.
"Yeah… this is bad," Confined Hoopa frowned, turning toward Palkia.
The twisted space was contracting rapidly. If this kept up, everyone would get caught in it.
The other legendaries all turned to Palkia too. Who else could they count on?
After all, Palkia was the Dragon of Space—one of the Origin Trio who created the universe. Space was literally its domain.
Even Dialga and Giratina, who didn't particularly like Palkia, had to admit that it was the expert when it came to space.
"Palkia!!"
Feeling all the eyes on it, Palkia was instantly struck with an overwhelming sense of duty.
Time for me to shine!
Palkia twisted midair. Pink energy gathered around its shoulders and claws.
Spacial Rend!
Break, damn you!
It slashed forward, unleashing a massive crescent-shaped space tear directly at the collapsing space.
And then...
Spacial Rend struck the twisted wall of space. The distortion trembled slightly, like ripples on water hit by a pebble.
Then it just... went back to normal. Kept on collapsing.
Silence.
The entire battlefield went still.
Every legendary stared at the still-collapsing void, then slowly turned their gaze back toward Palkia.
...Seriously?
Palkia: (—)
Confined Hoopa: The space god? Really?
Dialga: Heh...
Giratina: Useless.
Black Rayquaza: Emmm…
Primal Kyogre: (what a weakling.jpg)
Zygarde Complete Forme: Truly pathetic…
Giratina and Dialga both quietly stepped farther away from Palkia.
"Your reputation's in shambles," Dylan nearly burst out laughing.
In the Hoopa movie, everyone remembered Primal Groudon couldn't fly... but forgot the space dragon also had its fair share of shame.
As a cosmic deity of space, Palkia had tried to fix the spatial distortion in the movie with Spacial Rend... and it had no effect.
What else could he say? Water dragon, too much water.
"Palkia couldn't handle it, Dylan—what now?"
"If we can't stop it, then we'll just blow it up." Dylan shrugged, unfazed.
It was just a warped space zone. If it couldn't be stabilized, then smash it apart.
"...Huh?"
"Watch me."
Reshiram flew upward, Dylan raising his voice.
"Hoopa, go Unbound."
"Got it~ Hoopa~!"
Confined Hoopa spun skyward, black energy pouring from its body as it transformed.
"So strong!!"
A deep, gravelly voice echoed from the dark mist. The towering figure of Unbound Hoopa roared skyward.
Now that it had its power back, Hoopa could freely switch forms.
At Dylan's command, Unbound Hoopa summoned six golden rings—three in front of the legends, three facing the twisted space.
"Everyone—fire together!"
Dylan raised his arm. All the legendaries began preparing attacks in pairs.
Unbound Hoopa gathered a massive Shadow Ball, Dialga built up Roar of Time, Zygarde's chest-mouth glowed green for Core Punisher.
A total of twelve legendaries, six groups of two, all charged their strongest moves.
Three, two, one!
Twelve attacks launched at once, fired into the front rings, then through the corresponding rear rings, smashing directly into the twisted space.
BOOM!!
Roar of Time, Moongeist Beam, Core Punisher, Spacial Rend, Origin Pulse, Max Wyrmblast...
All twelve exploded together.
The shockwave was like the end of the world—blinding, deafening, overwhelming.
Light bloomed like a glorious firework. For a moment, everything stood still.
And then...
All was silent.
What remained ahead was a deep, bottomless black.
"Did we just… break space?"
Lillie and the others stood outside the blast zone, dumbfounded at the sight.
It looked like a wall with a huge hole smashed through it.
Storms swirled inside the rift—but that was it.
Moments later, the black void patched itself up. The distorted space returned to normal.
"See? No big deal." Dylan smiled at the now-stable skies.
Twisted space? Just break it. Easy fix.
Sure, destroying space might sound insane—but hey, when you've got this many cannons, why not?
And with Palkia on the team, even if it couldn't stop the collapse, it still helped blow things up.
"You're amazing, Dylan~!" Unbound Hoopa beamed with admiration.
"Tch~ this was fun. Heir, Little Green—I'm off."
Now that things were calm again, Black Rayquaza flicked her tail and flew off into the sky with a roar.
Palkia and Giratina glanced at Dylan, then disappeared into the distance. Dialga nodded politely before following.
Primal Kyogre shot one last glance at Little Rayquaza, flapped its fins, and left.
Zygarde Complete Forme, though, didn't go right away. It stared intently in one direction.
Dylan followed its gaze—to where Lysandre and the others were.
Now that the resentment from Unbound Hoopa had faded, Zygarde had fully regained its senses.
Originally, Z2 had gone berserk under torment. Then Hoopa had summoned Z1 and they fused.
Now both minds were clear.
If Zygarde suddenly launched Core Punisher at Lysandre's group, Dylan wouldn't even be surprised.
After all, Z2 had been heavily experimented on and tormented by them.
Right now, Zygarde was probably deciding whether to cleanse these "parasites."
Or maybe... whether humanity was worth keeping around at all.
Because Zygarde existed to protect balance and order in nature. That was its duty.
"There are indeed many humans who act out of malice. But please believe me, Zygarde—many more love this world with all their hearts."
Dylan spoke sincerely.
"Humans… are untrustworthy."
Zygarde turned to him. Its voice was low, almost comical, but now deadly serious.
"Some are," Dylan said, not defending Lysandre. "But many—most—care deeply about nature, about Pokémon. You can destroy them if you must. But know that there are others who fight to protect."
He didn't excuse Lysandre. Whatever reasons he had, he had tortured Z2.
If Zygarde wanted revenge, Dylan wouldn't stop it.
"..."
Zygarde's eyes flickered—perhaps Z1 and Z2 were debating internally.
Moments later, green light burst from its body.
Dozens of glowing particles scattered like shooting stars, flying in every direction.
Then—two cores, one red and one blue, landed on the ground.
The blue one looked very grumpy.
"Yveltal~!"
Seeing the show was over, Yveltal stretched its wings and soared off, not even glancing at Xerneas.
"…Huh? That was Yveltal."
Dylan looked up at the cry, catching only a black-and-red speck in the distance.
"Interested in Yveltal, Dylan?"
"Yeah. Kind of am."
"Hehe~ leave it to me!"
Unbound Hoopa grinned darkly, spinning one of its giant arms. A golden ring opened wide in the sky.
And then—
"?"
Yveltal blinked, staring at Unbound Hoopa who'd just popped up right in front of it.
What the heck?
"Yveltal~ Dylan's got his eye on you~!"
"???"
(End of Chapter)