"???"
Yveltal's eyes were full of question marks.
What was Hoopa trying to pull?
"Look at you—turning into an egg and sleeping all day. How's that any fun? Wouldn't it be way better to follow Dylan and enjoy the good life?"
Unbound Hoopa grinned, trying to give a warm smile, but with its terrifying, savage face, the expression looked nothing short of terrifying from every angle.
Not that it cared. It just wanted to give Yveltal the heads-up.
"Yveltal!!"
Yveltal seemed to get the message this time. Its low-pitched cry carried a wave of surging fury.
This thing wanted it to follow a human?
No way! Absolutely not!
It was Yveltal—the Destruction Pokémon, an embodiment of death! How could it lower itself to follow a human?
Did it not have any pride?
"Hm? Seems like you're not too happy, little Yveltal."
Unbound Hoopa's grin widened, but its tone turned vaguely menacing.
"Better think this through carefully."
"Yveltal!!"
But Yveltal couldn't stand these veiled threats. It already had a terrible temper.
Even if Arceus itself came today—it wouldn't make a difference!
A faint, dangerous red glow radiated from Yveltal's body, its cold, oppressive gaze locked on Hoopa.
"Hehe~ looking for a fight? Perfect! You brought this on yourself!"
Unbound Hoopa's six magic arms flew out. It cracked its neck and smiled eagerly, ready for a brawl.
"You little troublemaker…"
Dylan couldn't help but laugh. No wonder Hoopa was so insistent—it just wanted an excuse to brawl with Yveltal.
It clearly knew Yveltal's fiery personality. With that pushy, arrogant approach, no way was Yveltal going to play nice.
Still, Dylan didn't stop it. In the end, it only benefited him. And Hoopa had gone without its full power for so long.
Might as well let it blow off some steam.
Dylan recalled his other Pokémon and flew down on Reshiram toward Lillie and the others.
"Everything's handled now."
As Reshiram landed, Dylan hopped down and gave a relaxed smile to Meray and Baraz.
"Thank you, Dylan."
Baraz and Meray had witnessed everything.
They knew exactly how much effort it had taken. Without Dylan, who could've taken on Unbound Hoopa and the other six legendary Pokémon?
"Xerneas? What brings you here?"
Dylan's gaze shifted to the elegant deer standing quietly behind the group.
"Oh, I came because Yveltal awakened."
But Dylan quickly understood. Of course—life and death, just like Groudon and Kyogre, were a natural pair.
When one awakened, the other would soon follow.
"You're a fascinating human," Xerneas said gently through telepathy, its voice as kind as an old sage.
It watched Dylan curiously. There was something about him—an aura that made Xerneas feel at ease.
But that alone didn't explain how he'd managed to capture so many powerful legendaries.
"Overpraised," Dylan replied with a light laugh.
"Big brother, why are Hoopa and Yveltal fighting again?" Lillie asked in confusion.
High in the sky, Unbound Hoopa and Yveltal were already locked in battle. Hoopa was laughing gleefully, clearly enjoying this long-overdue showdown.
"Hoopa's just itchy for a fight," Dylan shrugged.
"Is Hoopa even a match for Yveltal? That thing's scary…" Meray said, sounding worried.
But no one responded. When she turned, she saw everyone—even Baraz—giving her odd looks.
Even Xerneas's gaze was strange now.
"Miss Meray," Dylan chuckled, "if anything, it's Yveltal you should be worried about. Hoopa's much stronger."
Yveltal might have a fearsome reputation, but when it came to actual battle, it wasn't on Hoopa's level.
Even though Hoopa's psychic typing didn't work well against Yveltal's Dark type, and Dark moves were resisted too, it didn't matter.
Yveltal's signature Oblivion Wing was energy-based—and that sort of attack did little to nothing against Hoopa. If anything, it might even help it.
"Won't take long."
And sure enough, before long, Yveltal was struck by Thunderbolt, and then relentlessly chased down, falling into a one-sided beatdown.
Until finally...
Thud!
Yveltal crashed to the ground like a downed jet, slamming into the earth with a heavy thump.
"So satisfying!"
Having taken down Yveltal, Hoopa let out a blissful sigh and reverted back to its adorable confined form.
"Hoopa, you hit it too hard."
Dylan and the others walked over, only to find that Yveltal had already lost consciousness, unable to battle. Dylan looked a little exasperated.
"Huh? No way. That bird's just squishy."
Hoopa huffed stubbornly. No way it was going to admit it got carried away.
"Actually, it's better this way. Dylan, you should just catch it now!" it said, egging him on.
"Regular Poké Balls can't hold something like Yveltal," Dylan said with a raised brow. "Trying to force it now would be pointless."
"But Yveltal is proud. If you get it into a ball, you can slowly break it in."
A gentle telepathic voice chimed in—Xerneas.
"You support this, Xerneas?" Dylan asked, surprised.
"Mhm. I think it would be a good thing."
Xerneas nodded, stepping softly toward Yveltal. Standing beside its "rival," it let out a quiet sigh.
"Whether it's me or it... we've both been around for far too long. It's a little sad, really."
"All it knows is destruction—but am I any different?"
There was a hollowness in Xerneas's voice. It represented life; Yveltal, death. They were opposites, destined to clash.
But it had been so long... so long, it could no longer remember the beginning.
When had they been born? When had they become enemies?
Yveltal destroyed life; Xerneas preserved it. It had spent eons saving those Yveltal killed.
Xerneas was kind—but even kindness gets tired.
If Yveltal could stop destroying... wouldn't that be a good thing?
"Alright."
Dylan understood what Xerneas meant. He pulled out an Ultra Ball and tossed it toward Yveltal.
No way he was wasting a Beast Ball. Those were rarer than Master Balls, and he'd already burned one on Regirock.
Best to catch Yveltal first—he could always transfer it into a Beast Ball later.
The Ultra Ball arced beautifully through the air, striking Yveltal and absorbing its massive body in a flash of red light.
The ball landed and began to shake.
Lillie, Leaf, and the others tensed up. Would it work?
Shake...
Not even once. The ball popped open instantly.
Yveltal, unconscious or not, had fierce instincts—it rejected the capture immediately.
"Yveltal…"
And maybe because of that failed catch, Yveltal slowly began to stir. It opened its eyes weakly, growling in pain.
But before it could fully awaken—
WHAM!
A black-and-gold hoof suddenly filled its vision.
Yveltal was knocked out cold again.
"Go ahead, human. It won't be waking up again anytime soon. We have plenty of time."
Xerneas calmly pulled back its hoof. Its voice was still as warm and gentle as ever.
Hisss~!!
But everyone watching felt a chill. Leaf, Lillie, and the others stared wide-eyed at the serene, glowing deer.
This soft, mystical Pokémon had just stomped Yveltal in the face without the slightest hesitation.
So fast. So clean. So brutal.
Even Hoopa was stunned.
Was it possible... Xerneas planned to do that all along?
"No problem."
Dylan blinked and threw another Ultra Ball.
Again, it absorbed Yveltal and began to shake.
Once, twice...
This time it lasted two shakes before popping open.
A good sign?
Not really—on the third attempt, the ball shook once and popped open again.
Then came the fourth, fifth, sixth...
An hour passed.
"Is catching a legendary always this hard?" Meray asked, yawning from a rock she'd sat down on.
She was impressed—truly impressed.
"Yeah, legendary Pokémon are tough to catch," Lillie nodded, recalling Regirock. Dylan had thrown dozens of balls back then too.
But clearly, Yveltal was even harder. Dylan had already gone through more than a hundred Ultra Balls.
And Yveltal had woken up four times—but each time, Xerneas stomped it back to sleep without missing a beat.
Was this payback?
Lillie blinked at the gentle-looking deer beside Yveltal. Couldn't be, right? Xerneas was so kind...
Attempt #144.
Dylan tossed another Ultra Ball, silently keeping count.
Yveltal truly had stamina—but no worries. Dylan had hundreds more in his bag.
Go ahead, resist. Let's see how long you last.
Shake… shake… shake…
Click!
The Ultra Ball froze.
Dylan walked over, picked it up—and smiled.
Yveltal, caught.
(End of Chapter)