It was less a cave and more a hollow carved into the mountainside.
The ground was covered with scattered rubble, jagged stones piled in chaotic heaps.
Within the shadows between those rocks, Logan spotted Lance, leaning weakly against the mountain wall.
The only proof that he was still alive was the faint rise and fall of his breathing.
"Cough… cough…"
"Cough… cough…"
"Aerodactyl… you don't need to stay alert anymore…"
"…Anyone who could find this place… isn't someone you can resist."
Lance barely lifted his trembling hand and pressed it gently against the Aerodactyl lying beside him.
The prehistoric Pokémon had bared its teeth the moment it sensed Logan's presence.
Aerodactyl's body, once as sturdy as solid stone, was now battered and torn.
Even its wings looked like shredded cloth.
Those were the wounds inflicted earlier when Logan and Giovanni had attacked together.
In Lance's current condition, he could no longer use the Viridian Power to heal it.
All of his Pokémon were already on the brink of death.
Right now, it wouldn't even take Logan.
Any trainer with even a little strength could easily finish Lance off.
"What a stubborn Pokémon."
Logan spoke calmly as he looked at the barely moving Aerodactyl.
"To open its Poké Ball on its own and carry you here in this condition… that's impressive."
Back on Mt. Moon, this very Aerodactyl had fired a Hyper Beam powerful enough to nearly destroy an entire mountain.
That had been the first time Logan had witnessed the power possessed by a truly top-tier trainer.
And yet now—
The same Aerodactyl he once had no chance of resisting meant almost nothing to him.
"At that moment… I had already prepared myself to die."
Lance gently stroked Aerodactyl's head as he spoke.
"…but it still saved me."
His voice was unexpectedly gentle.
The blood on his face had already dried.
One of his eyes was swollen shut.
With great effort, he raised his head, using his remaining eye to focus on Logan's figure.
"Did you come here… to see how miserable I look after my defeat?"
"If that's the case… you've already seen it."
"If you want to kill me… do it now."
"I've lost everything."
"I have nothing left."
Lance laughed bitterly at himself.
Yet even in such a miserable state—
Even with wounds this severe—
He still tried to straighten his posture.
Still tried to raise his head proudly.
Still wanted to face death with the arrogance that belonged to him.
Logan shook his head.
"You're not someone who has nothing left."
"You still have them."
He pointed toward Aerodactyl lying on the ground.
Then toward the Poké Balls hanging at Lance's waist.
"You're right…"
"I still have them."
"I still have their companionship."
Lance smiled faintly.
Looking at Logan, he spoke in a hoarse voice.
"…I no longer have the strength to resist."
"Do whatever you want."
"I only ask one thing."
"After killing me… don't harm my Pokémon."
"Pokémon without their trainer pose no threat to you."
"Even if they belong to Lance…"
"Even if they belong to the Commander of the Kanto Elite Four."
Pokémon trained by skilled trainers were incredibly powerful.
But without their trainer's commands, they could barely use even half their strength.
Logan fell silent for a moment.
Then he spoke slowly.
"…Do you really distrust the bond between you and them that much?"
"With the bond you share…"
"If you die…"
"These Pokémon wouldn't choose to live either."
After hearing those words, Aerodactyl struggled to move its head and gently nudged Lance.
As if telling him its answer.
Lance fell silent.
He had already accepted death.
But at this moment—
He no longer wanted to die.
Not because he feared death.
But because he feared that once he died, the Pokémon who had accompanied him for so many years would follow him into destruction.
Logan slowly walked up to Lance and looked down at him.
"…Lance."
"You lost."
"Yeah… I lost."
"You defeated the Dragon Tamer."
"You defeated the Commander of the Kanto Elite Four."
"You can announce that to the entire world."
"That will be your glory."
"Your ideal defeated my ideal."
"That's the ending."
Lance forced a smile.
Finally—
He admitted his defeat.
"Why did you stop me?"
"Your friends… they're all qualified trainers, aren't they?"
"They would've been allowed to live in the country I wanted to create."
"So why did you stop me?"
"Don't tell me it was justice."
At last—
Lance asked the question he had been holding inside all along.
"Don't make me sound that noble, Lance."
Logan replied calmly.
"My sword of justice only exists for myself."
"And for the people I care about."
"As for everyone else?"
"What does their life or death have to do with me?"
"Then why?"
"Because if you wiped out all humans, this world would become incredibly boring."
"It's precisely because ordinary people exist that the world becomes interesting."
"It's because they exist that trainers like us stand out."
"If you had planned to randomly eliminate half of humanity…"
"I might've supported you."
"Because even half the population would still be enough to keep the world running."
Logan's words were cold.
Perhaps he could become the savior.
But a savior's first responsibility was not to save others—
It was to save himself.
If someone couldn't even fulfill their own desires…
Why would anyone believe in them?
"Eliminating half the population…"
"That has no meaning for the world I wanted to create."
Lance shook his head.
Now he finally understood.
Their ideologies had completely diverged.
"Of course, none of that is the main reason."
Logan snorted softly.
"The main reason is that you stole my Dragon of Ideals."
"So I had no choice but to destroy your ideal and take it back."
"…Huh?"
Lance froze.
Then he lowered his head and laughed bitterly.
"…Seems I was too greedy."
He had spent years searching the Unova region to find Zekrom.
Yet Logan casually declared that dragon belonged to him.
Sometimes—
This guy really was ridiculously arrogant.
But the victor became king.
The defeated had no right to argue.
Silence filled the air.
Suddenly—
Logan raised his fist and punched Lance directly in the face.
"Ugh—!"
Lance's already broken body collapsed onto the ground.
Clutching his swollen cheek, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"That punch was for Erika."
Logan said coldly.
"I originally planned to hit you a few more times."
"But with your current condition, another punch would probably kill you."
"Fortunately, she survived."
"Otherwise…"
"I might've ground both you and your Pokémon into dust."
Logan lowered his hand.
Behind him, Latias quickly pulled a clean handkerchief from her waist and carefully wiped the blood from his knuckles.
Logan suddenly realized something.
This dragon was ridiculously well-behaved.
He tossed a Poké Ball onto the ground.
From it appeared his Dragonair.
"This Dragonair…"
"You gave it to me."
Lance lay on the ground, breathing heavily.
"…Yeah."
"You raised it well."
Logan turned around and flicked his champion's cloak.
"Since you allowed us to meet…"
"I'll spare your life this time."
As he walked toward the cave entrance, his final words reached Lance.
"…Someone as arrogant as you probably never carries healing medicine."
"These will treat you and your Pokémon."
"They won't fully heal you."
"But they'll keep you alive long enough for your Pokémon to carry you to a hospital."
Dragonair extended its slender body.
Several medical injection kits fell from its mouth.
These were standard supplies for trainers.
But Lance had never carried them.
His confidence had always made him believe he would never need them.
"…Thank you."
Lance whispered weakly.
But he wasn't sure whether Logan heard him.
Logan walked out of the shallow cave.
Ahead of him was a lonely cliffside island.
He stood at the edge of the cliff, waves crashing violently below.
One by one—
He removed the eight badges from the collar of his Champion's cloak.
After staring at them for a final moment—
He released them.
The badges fell from the hundred-meter cliff and disappeared into the raging sea.
"Meow~"
A familiar voice sounded beside him.
A swirl of pink mist appeared.
Mew emerged.
It flew around Logan twice, giggling happily.
Then it placed something into Logan's outstretched palm.
They looked identical to the badges he had just thrown away.
But these eight new badges contained something entirely different.
Inside them lay the final legacy of a lost civilization.
The greatest power that civilization had ever created.
"No one would ever guess…"
Logan chuckled softly.
"…that these eight original badges would end up in my hands."
One by one—
He pinned the ancient Kanto badges back onto the collar of his cloak.
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