Aven's expression turned grave as his psychic power spread outward.
Rumble—!
The next instant, thunder and lightning exploded across the sky.
Immediately afterward, a dragon-like being appeared—its entire body gray-black, giving off the impression of a stone statue carved from solid rock.
At the base of its neck was a black, wall-like bone structure. Its shoulders bore four pitch-black shoulder plates, its legs black knee armor, and it possessed four thick upper limbs. One pair of arms was connected to outward-spreading, fan-shaped wings, while the other pair ended in powerful, muscular claws.
"The Dragon of Ideals, Zekrom!" Aven slowly spoke the name of the presence in the sky.
But this was not the end. In another part of the heavens, flames suddenly surged skyward. From within the burning clouds emerged a white figure—at once resembling a white bird and a colossal dragon.
Its entire body was covered in soft, white, feather-like fur. Long, cloud-like hair extended from its head, its face resembling that of a white wolf. Two metallic rings encircled its neck, and two more wrapped around the base of its tail, the tip of which burned with blazing fire.
"The Dragon of Truth, Reshiram!"
Aven once again spoke the name of this mythical existence, then turned his gaze toward the distant horizon of the sea. If his guess was correct, the next one would surely be—
The Dragon of Nothingness, Kyurem!
"ROOOAAAR—!"
With a deafening roar, the entire sea surface began to freeze instantly.
Within the spreading ice, the final Pokémon appeared—a gray-blue, bipedal creature resembling a ferocious tyrannosaur.
It possessed a unique ice-blue, spiked nose. Each of its arms had two extremely small fingers, connected to a pair of ice-block wings. The wing tips ended in flat, severed edges, each adorned with two ice spikes!
The legendary Three Dragons of Tao had gathered together over this boundless ocean. Aven could clearly sense that all three legendary beings carried the aura of the Demon God.
"ROOOAAAR—!"
The three dragons roared in unison as they looked down at the ship below.
After feeling the terrifying pressure radiating from them, everyone present grew extremely solemn.
In the next moment, the ferocious Kyurem launched the first attack. Endless cold gathered and instantly froze the entire sea, surging toward the ship like a devastating wave of ice!
"It's over…" This thought appeared simultaneously in every crew member's mind.
But just as the blizzard engulfed everything, a spatial rift suddenly opened in front of them. Accompanied by a dragon's cry, Giratina burst forth, ghost energy forming a shield that blocked the overwhelming ice and snow!
At the same time, two more spatial rifts opened in the sky. Dialga and Palkia emerged, charging straight toward Zekrom and Reshiram. The powers of time and space intertwined violently across the heavens.
At this moment, Aven directly summoned the Creation Trio, who confronted the Tao Trio head-on. Six legendary Pokémon clashed fiercely, making it seem as if the sky itself was about to be torn apart!
Witnessing this terrifying battle, the surrounding Trainers finally relaxed slightly. When they looked at Aven, their eyes carried a sense of reassurance—so long as His Majesty Aven was here, there truly was nothing to fear.
They had already recognized the three legendary guardian deities from ancient Sinnoh mythology. Now, Lord Aven had clearly become the king of the Sinnoh Region, capable of commanding even the legendary Creation Trio.
"As expected, since Hoopa Unbound chose to strike proactively, it must have already completed most of the legendary summons," Aven muttered as he watched the battle in the sky, his heart sinking.
This overwhelming power far exceeded his expectations. They hadn't even reached the Kalos Region yet, and most of his trump cards were already nearly exhausted. What awaited him next was completely unknown.
Even so, he had no choice but to continue toward Kalos. If Hoopa Unbound were allowed to set foot on the Sinnoh Region, he would truly have no ability left to resist.
All he could hope for now was that Hoopa Unbound had only managed to summon Kyogre and the Three Dragons of Tao. There was no turning back— even knowing that what lay ahead might be an abyss, he had to step forward regardless.
As long as he could find Hoopa Unbound and seal it once more, everything could still be salvaged. Otherwise, the only outcome would be helplessly waiting for destruction!
Whoosh—!
Leaving the battlefield to the Creation Trio, the ship continued its voyage toward the Kalos Region.
According to Captain Daly's judgment, they were already very close. It would take only three more days to arrive.
The remainder of the journey went much more smoothly. Kyogre and the Tao Trio of did not pursue them, and no new obstacles appeared, allowing them to approach Kalos safely.
"Let's hope everything goes well," the High Priestess said, finally feeling a little more at ease.
She glanced at Aven beside her, only to find that there was not the slightest hint of relaxation on his face, her own expression growing solemn once again.
Soon, the ship docked. Aven led the Trainers as they stepped onto the soil of the Kalos Region for the first time, arriving with the resolve to bring everything to an end.
"Lilli!"
Lilligant stayed close at Aven's side.
Yet the moment it stepped onto the continent, Lilligant suddenly seemed to sense something and turned to look deep into the land.
Vaguely, it could feel that something was changing across the Kalos Region —an unsettling sensation that made it deeply uncomfortable.
It was like the silence of winter, when all things wither away. The entire continent felt as though it were shrouded in an inescapable shadow, devoid of any vitality.
"Lass—!"
Froslass also sensed something was wrong.
As the ruler of gray mist, it found the sensation eerily familiar, as though the entire region were being eroded by gray fog.
"What on earth happened to the Kalos region …?" Aven murmured, sensing that all of this was undoubtedly connected to the Demon God Hoopa.
After silently gazing toward the far end of the land, he hesitated briefly, then ordered the Trainers to set up camp here. He himself, together with his Pokémon, quickly headed deeper inland to investigate first.
Leaving the coastline behind, they pressed onward, riding on Naganadel and flying straight across the land.
Before long, they reached a mountain range in the heart of the region—but the sight before them made both Aven and his Pokémon's pupils contract sharply.
The forest that should have been lush and thriving was now entirely enveloped in gray. Everything had been petrified, all life completely extinguished!
"What happened here…?"
"Could Yveltal have awakened once again in the Kalos region?"
Frowning deeply, the scene before him stirred a sense of grim familiarity.
Back in the Forest of Heartglade, when Yveltal had appeared, it had similarly petrified the surrounding forest.
If he hadn't defeated Yveltal in time back then, all of Sinnoh might truly have been turned into a petrified land of death.
But Yveltal had already been sealed—it couldn't possibly awaken again so soon.
Could Hoopa Unbound have summoned and revived Yveltal, or was there another Yveltal in this world?
Shaking his head, Aven dismissed the thought. Of course, it was also possible that some other power existed—death and decay were not exclusive to Yveltal alone.
"Let's continue deeper and take a look."
Nodding to the Pokémon beside him, they pressed further inland.
After passing through the forest, they reached a vast plain. Yet just like the forest, this land was also steeped in deathly silence.
Entering nearby cities along the way, he saw that everything, humans and Pokémon alike—had been petrified. It was as if the entire region were on the verge of being completely turned to stone.
"If we don't stop Hoopa, all of Sinnoh could really be completely destroyed…" He took a deep breath and quickened his pace.
According to the knowledge recorded in the Creation Temple, the Hoopa Unbound possessed the greatest evil in this world and could plunge all land into darkness.
The first-generation High Priest of the Creation Temple had sacrificed their own life through countless battles to successfully seal Hoopa Unbound and save the world.
Now that Hoopa Unbound had broken free, it was clearly resuming its campaign of destruction—just like what was happening to the Kalos region now. Eventually, this disaster would inevitably spread to the other continents!
"Nagaa!"
Naganadel nodded and beat its wings, accelerating further.
Meanwhile, Lilligant and the other Pokémon carefully sensed their surroundings, searching for any trace of Hoopa's location.
But just as they reached the heart of Kalos, the ground suddenly began to tremble violently. Distant mountains blurred with afterimages before their eyes.
"Lilli!"
Lilligant froze and immediately looked toward the distant sky.
A second sun had appeared overhead, scorching the earth with terrifying heat, waves of searing air rolling across the land.
Although Lilligant was extremely proficient with Sunny Day, it was utterly impossible for it to cause such a phenomenon—let alone turn the distant land into something resembling a desert!
"Something's coming!"
Suddenly, Aven opened his eyes and looked toward the horizon.
As his words fell, a massive red creature appeared in the distance—its body encased in heavy armor, resembling a colossal dinosaur.
"The legendary ancient Pokémon, Groudon!"
Aven exhaled deeply. One created the land, the other the sea, seems both Groudon and Kyogre had been summoned by Demond God Hoopa.
With Groudon appearing here now, it was undoubtedly coming straight for him!
"Lilligant!"
Lilligant's expression instantly tightened.
The other Pokémon showed the same reaction, their eyes locked onto the approaching Groudon as energy began to surge from their bodies.
"This time… we can only rely on ourselves."
Aven took a deep breath. All of his trump cards had already been used—this Groudon could only be confronted with their own strength!
Rumble—!
As Groudon advanced, the ground shook violently.
Cracks spread across the vast land, magma erupting from within, making it look like a demon of the earth itself.
Facing the approaching behemoth, Lilligant and Aven exchanged a glance. Energy surged through them as they began to enter a state of natural reversion.
This was destined to be an extremely difficult battle.
(End of Chapter)