"Psychic Break!!"
"No——————!"
Lance's desperate scream echoed through the sky.
One of his hands clutched tightly onto Lugia's feathers.
The other stretched helplessly upward—like a pitiful soul begging the heavens for salvation—trying to grasp the rising sun slowly emerging in the east.
But miracles would not appear.
Because the creator of miracles now stood as his enemy.
Was this truly the end?
Fifteen years of struggle.
Fifteen years of effort.
Fifteen years of ideals.
Was it all going to vanish in a single moment?
…How incredible.
In just three years, he had grown strong enough to defeat me.
The hand Lance had stretched toward hope slowly fell back.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
Yet within that bitterness was a strange sense of acceptance.
He still remembered their first meeting on Mt. Moon.
Back then, he had saved Logan from Giovanni's hands.
He remembered how Logan had been just a rookie trainer who had only recently left home and begun his journey.
Aside from that maturity beyond his years and his extraordinary diligence—
There had been nothing particularly special about him compared to other trainers.
Yet that very boy had walked step by step along a path filled with hardship.
He had fought countless battles.
After becoming the Champion of Kanto, he had finally defeated even Lance—the commander of the Kanto Elite Four.
Logan had climbed upward upon a road paved with bones.
Crowned king along the way.
Even Lance himself had become nothing more than the most expensive stepping stone beneath that throne.
Once, Lance had hoped Logan's growth would lead them both down the same path.
They were both Dragon Tamers—
Yet why had they ended up burning each other like this?
Did he regret it?
If he had not saved Logan on Mt. Moon back then…
Giovanni, with his cautious nature, would surely have killed him without hesitation.
If Logan had died there—
Perhaps everything would have turned out differently.
Lance searched his heart for the answer.
And finally came to a conclusion—
He had nothing to regret.
He was the Dragon Tamer.
The commander of the Kanto Elite Four.
He was Lance of the Dragon Clan.
How could someone like him regret his own choices?
A brilliant flash erupted like a supernova, completely dispersing the darkness before dawn.
Mewtwo unleashed the Psychic-type Legendary Secret Art.
As the strongest Psychic Pokémon.
Using its own exclusive power.
That psychic force—beyond human comprehension, seemingly capable of destroying the world itself—expanded outward with the central island as its origin.
The remaining seven surrounding islands within a dozen nautical miles were instantly reduced to dust.
The ancient Cerise Archipelago, once used in ancient times to worship the Sea God—
Had completely vanished from the world.
Beneath the supernova-like light—
Lance finally released his grip.
Allowing his body to fall from the thousand-meter sky.
"…I'm sorry, Dragonite…"
"The homeland I once promised you…"
"…can no longer exist…"
With that faint whisper—
Lance's body vanished into the blinding light.
"SKREEEEEE—!!!"
Struck directly by Mewtwo's legendary attack, Lugia released the most agonized cry it had made since the battle began.
Its feathers scattered like fragments of light.
Its painful scream echoed across the heavens.
The eight beams of light binding it finally began to shatter.
Under Lugia's violent struggles—and Mewtwo's overwhelming Psychic Break—the restraints crumbled piece by piece.
The eight pillars of light piercing the sky gradually faded.
The glow surrounding Lugia vanished as well.
At last, its massive and beautiful body was revealed.
Now finally free—
Lugia did not attack.
Instead, the injured legendary bird spread its wings and fled toward the west.
It was intelligent.
Even as a legendary Pokémon, it understood that revenge here was impossible.
If that masked man returned again, its fate might become even worse.
Pokémon had no concept of pride like humans.
Lugia had no dragon's arrogance.
It had no trainer to protect.
It simply remembered everyone present.
Then with a single beat of its wings—
It disappeared into the sky.
Logan made no attempt to stop it.
After Mega Evolution and the use of a legendary secret art, Mewtwo Y still needed rest—even if its condition was better than Garchomp's.
More importantly—
Legendary Pokémon, especially those like Lugia at the very peak of the hierarchy—
Could not be subdued by strength alone.
Even Lance had only attempted to control Lugia using the badges, rather than capture it.
Even if Logan defeated Lugia, it would never truly serve him.
What he needed was an opportunity—
An opportunity for the legendary Pokémon to willingly submit.
At the same time—
On another island near Cerise Island—
Zekrom slowly crawled out from the ruins.
Opening its mouth, it spat out a mouthful of blood.
Even during its ancient battles with Reshiram, Zekrom had never suffered injuries this severe.
Struggling to spread its wings, its crimson eyes seemed to gaze across the ocean.
Toward Logan.
The hero of ideals it had chosen had betrayed it.
Lance had abandoned his ideal.
But here—
Zekrom had witnessed someone else.
A man with an even greater and grander ideal.
Yet that ideal was still not pure enough.
Just a little more was needed.
Zekrom believed that once that ideal became truly pure—
It would encounter the hero destined for it.
Perhaps that hero could even fulfill its ideal and return it to its original form.
Zekrom's tail generator slowly began spinning again.
Like Lugia, it spread its wings and flew westward.
But its direction differed slightly from Lugia's.
Its injuries were severe.
It needed to revert to the form of the Dark Stone to recover.
However, the land of Kanto could not support that transformation.
It needed to return to the civilization it once created—
The land it once ruled.
Only there could it fully recover.
After seeing Lugia and Zekrom both depart, Logan and Green simultaneously pulled out their Pokédexes.
"Silver."
"Lugia has flown west. It is likely returning to the Johto region."
"Track its whereabouts. It is connected to Ho-Oh."
Green spoke quickly.
"Caitlin."
"Zekrom is heading west. It should be returning to the Unova region to recover."
"Ancient texts say it will transform into another form."
"Monitor its movements. And search for the Light Stone."
Logan closed his Pokédex.
Legendary Pokémon were difficult to track primarily because their whereabouts were unknown.
But now Zekrom's path had been exposed.
And he had already alerted Caitlin.
The Dragon of Ideals would no longer escape his grasp.
However—
Logan also understood something.
Compared to Lance's mad yet pure ideal, his own was still lacking.
He needed to strengthen his conviction.
Only when he could pursue that ideal without the slightest hesitation—
Would it be time to travel to Unova, awaken Zekrom again, and become the true Hero of Ideals.
"Huh?"
"Where did big brother go?"
With Lance defeated, everyone finally collapsed onto the ground to rest.
When the blinding light faded, Yellow suddenly noticed Logan had disappeared.
"He probably went after Lance."
Cynthia gently patted Yellow's head.
"When Lance fell, I saw a shadow appear beneath him."
"One of his Pokémon must have saved him."
Cynthia lifted her head and gazed at the rising sun in the east.
Warm sunlight illuminated her delicate, beautiful face.
With a gentle sigh, she whispered—
"…It's finally over."
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