After restoring a chunk of Kyurem's life force, Sam withdrew his hand, feeling the drain on his stamina.
Kyurem let out a pathetic whine, looking at him resentfully as if asking, 'Why did you stop?'
"Okay, don't give me that look," Sam said, rolling his eyes.
"I'll help you fix the rest of those scales later when I have time."
Even with Sam's deep reserves of the three Divine Powers, fully healing a near-dead Level 91 Legendary from scratch in one sitting was too exhausting.
"Grrr." Kyurem nodded obediently, suddenly acting very sensible.
"Return."
Sam held out the standard red-and-white Poké Ball and recalled his newest titan.
Weighing the cheap plastic ball in his hand, Sam made a mental note to buy a Luxury Ball when they got back to the city.
If he was going to conquer Legendary Pokémon, he needed to treat them well.
Besides, a 50-meter-tall Ice Dragon shouldn't have to live in a cramped, budget-tier ball.
"You worked hard today, Rayquaza!" Sam yelled, waving up at the sky.
"ROOOAAAR!!!"
Having comprehended the true power of Mega Dragon Ascent, successfully defended its title as the Strongest Dragon, and acquired a brand new Dragon-type underling, Rayquaza was in a fantastic mood.
After dipping its massive head to say goodbye to Sam, the Shiny Legendary of the Sky shot straight up, vanishing back into the ozone layer.
"Sam..." Cynthia stared at the red-and-white ball in his hand, disbelief written all over her face.
"Is Kyurem... is it really under your control?"
The rest of the Elite Four and the Champions mirrored her expression.
They looked completely shell-shocked.
Seeing their wide-eyed stares, Sam smiled.
"Didn't you just watch me catch it?"
He casually clipped the basic Poké Ball to his belt.
"That's Kyurem! The Ice Dragon!" Cynthia exclaimed, throwing her hands up.
"Why are you so calm?!"
She had voiced exactly what everyone else was screaming in their heads.
"Uh..." Sam shrugged indifferently.
"It's just a Kyurem. What's the big deal?"
The entire group was left speechless.
Cynthia swallowed hard, mentally running through Sam's current team.
The Nightmare Legendary Darkrai, the Sea Legendary Lugia, a giant Dragonite, the White Dragon Reshiram, and the Shiny Mega Rayquaza.
Even his starter Pokémon, Lucario, was an absolute monster.
When put into perspective... catching the legendary Ice Dragon really was just another Tuesday for him.
Fine, Cynthia thought, sighing.
'We know you're impossibly strong. As long as you're happy!'
Sam just smiled, knowing exactly what they were thinking.
If he told them he almost didn't catch Kyurem because he thought it was ugly, they would probably pass out.
Sam turned his attention to the elegant white dragon standing guard nearby.
"Reshiram," Sam asked.
"What about Zekrom?"
With the fusion broken, Zekrom, the Dragon of Ideals, was still lying in the crater.
Reshiram's cyan eyes looked at Sam silently.
As the Dragon of Truth, it had fought a bitter, ideological war against Zekrom for thousands of years. But now, after being forcibly fused and torn apart, the ancient antagonism felt hollow.
A balance has been found between Truth and Ideals, Reshiram's telepathic voice echoed in the minds of everyone present.
Extreme ideals and extreme reality are both undesirable. Our war is over.
Reshiram looked toward the pit. Perhaps... the Dragon of Ideals will find a new, worthy follower.
"I see," Sam agreed casually.
Although Reshiram and Zekrom were no longer enemies, Sam had no desire to hoard both of them.
He already had Reshiram, and honestly, Zekrom's bulky, mechanical aesthetic wasn't really his style.
Plus, his team was already stacked; adding Zekrom wouldn't change his combat power significantly.
Hearing Reshiram's words, however, Cynthia's bright eyes suddenly lit up.
"Sam!" Cynthia grabbed his arm excitedly.
"Since Zekrom has no owner right now... I want to catch it!"
Sam raised an eyebrow. The Tao Trio dragons had strict principles.
They only accepted Trainers whose convictions aligned with their concepts. Reshiram required absolute Truth. Zekrom required an unshakable Ideal.
"Come with me!" Cynthia tugged on his sleeve.
"Alright, let's go."
They hopped onto Garchomp's back and flew down into the massive, shattered crater.
At the bottom, the 30-meter-tall Zekrom had just woken up.
The red madness in its eyes had faded, replaced by boundless exhaustion and quiet dignity.
With Sam standing securely by her side, Cynthia felt completely fearless.
She walked right up to the massive black dragon.
She remembered watching Sam at the Dragonspiral Tower.
She had witnessed the exact process of how he earned Reshiram's respect. She knew what she had to do.
Zekrom lowered its massive, turbine-like head, looking at the blonde human approaching it. It waited to hear the depth of her soul.
With her beautiful grey eyes shining with absolute determination, Cynthia pointed boldly at the Legendary Pokémon.
"Zekrom!" Cynthia declared loudly.
"I want to catch you!"
Zekrom rumbled, a deep, inquisitive sound.
'And what is your Ideal, human?'
"My absolute, unshakable Ideal..." Cynthia shouted, her voice echoing off the crater walls.
"...Is to completely defeat Sam!!"
Behind her, Sam froze.
A massive, animated sweatdrop formed on the back of his head. Invisible black lines of speechlessness dragged down his face.
Well, Sam thought dryly, looking at his fiercely competitive fiancée.
That's certainly an ambitious ideal...