Upon hearing the voice, Dialga's aura became increasingly dangerous.
"Truly senseless... Your reliance is nothing more than the dragon by your side, isn't it? In that case, let me see the strength you're so confident in,"
Dialga's draconic eyes turned completely cold, and the overwhelming pressure around it grew heavier. At this moment, its mood was exceptionally displeased.
To think someone would provoke the dignity of the Time Dragon again and again… Did they really think it was made of clay? Bastard!
Lucas raised an eyebrow, but did not refuse. "Then I'll be counting on your guidance."
His eyes glinted subtly—there was indeed a need to test Dialga's strength. And, by displaying his own power before Dialga, he would also be paving the way for smoother communication moving forward.
After all, beings like Dialga—lofty and godlike legendaries—were difficult to gain approval from unless one had undergone some kind of extraordinary trial.
"Eternatus! Prepare for battle!"
With that thought, without another moment of hesitation, Lucas flipped his hand and threw the Heavy Ball high into the air.
A flash of white light followed, and a low, guttural dragon's roar resounded across the sky.
The skeletal dragon body bathed in an ominous red glow stood suspended mid-air. Its sinister, twisted form made even Cynthia and the others change expression.
An unrestrained and overwhelming dragon aura surged outward—
Legendary!
Almost instinctively, the moment they felt that terrifying dragon pressure, a single word emerged in everyone's mind.
The previously sunny and cloudless sky was now overshadowed as Eternatus appeared, casting a massive shadow over them all.
That faint, ominous red light seeping from its chest and abdomen made Eternatus appear even more evil and menacing.
"This Team Rocket member… actually captured such a powerful Legendary?!"
Sheena's delicate face was full of disbelief and confusion.
Even though the matter concerning the fake Jewel of Life had turned out to be a misunderstanding, there was no denying that Lucas had not left a particularly good impression on her.
Not to mention, he was a member of the evil organization—Team Rocket!
And now, this man had brought out a Legendary Pokémon whose aura was by no means weaker than Dialga's!
Why was this happening? How could someone like him gain the loyalty of a Legendary Pokémon?
"He really is… a mysterious man."
Caitlin's beautiful eyes shimmered with curiosity as she gazed at the colossal Eternatus floating in the sky.
Though he was part of Team Rocket, she had to admit—this man possessed strength that matched his arrogance and pride.
"A Legendary…" Cynthia's brows knitted slightly as she looked at the two opposing Legendary Pokémon in the sky.
There was someone in Team Rocket who could command such a powerful Legendary? That was definitely not good news.
"Use your energy sparingly. This opponent is no pushover," Marnie said, pressing her hand against her forehead in exasperation as she reminded Lucas.
Sure enough, when they were at the Galar airport, Lucas had told her, "We might go through a lot of exciting adventures."
That hadn't just been polite conversation…
It had only been two or three days since they'd set foot in the Sinnoh region, and not only had they nearly clashed with Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, but now they were about to fight Dialga, one of Sinnoh's time-space deities…
At this point, "exciting" no longer cut it.
But no matter what, she had already made up her mind to follow this man, and there was no turning back.
"I know. Don't worry—Eternatus has more than enough energy to last for quite a while."
Lucas grinned at her.
The energy dens in the Crown Tundra had already been almost entirely absorbed by Eternatus. With that much energy, it would be able to maintain its vitality for a long time.
"A creature from outer space, is it?"
Dialga's draconic eyes narrowed slightly. After carefully observing Eternatus, it reached that conclusion.
The grin on Lucas's lips grew more wicked. He then shouted to Eternatus, "Although you've been in this world for over twenty thousand years, you still don't have the aura of a native Legendary. Eternatus, give our Time Dragon a little greeting."
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Roooar~!"
Eternatus's low dragon cry shook the heavens as a deep cyan light gathered in its mouth and was launched toward Dialga.
Dragon Pulse!
Dialga's typing was Dragon and Steel—purely in terms of type advantage, Eternatus was undoubtedly at a disadvantage… After all, Steel types are immune to Poison-type attacks. That meant Eternatus's Poison-type attribute was basically useless in this fight.
Yes—yet another day in the life of the humble Poison-Dragon… always at a disadvantage.
But did it matter? Not at all! We humble Poison-Dragons are used to it by now!
"ROAARR!"
Dialga roared in response, launching a Dragon Pulse of its own.
The two waves of dragon energy collided violently in midair. For a brief moment, they held each other in place before detonating in a powerful explosion. The shockwaves and howling wind rippled outward.
"Eternatus has the edge in special attack."
The white cloak around Lucas fluttered in the wind. His eyes narrowed slightly—his insight was extremely sharp.
He could tell that, in that Dragon Pulse clash just now, Eternatus had slightly overpowered Dialga.
Apparently sensing this as well, Dialga let out a roar. Its glowing, bluish body streaked toward Eternatus like a comet.
"Dragon Tail!"
Lucas issued a decisive command via their psychic link.
Eternatus arched its massive frame high into the sky, its long dragon tail glowing cyan as it swept through the air, howling toward Dialga.
Dragon Tail was extremely fast!
Though Eternatus was enormous and naturally less agile than some of the more nimble Legendaries, that didn't mean its attacks were slow.
Dialga's eyes gleamed with a mysterious light—and in the next instant, Eternatus's Dragon Tail slowed down in a bizarre, almost unnatural way.
Yes—without warning, it just slowed down!
A look of surprise flashed in Eternatus's white-speckled dragon eyes. It could clearly feel that its attack speed hadn't changed—
But from its own field of vision, the distance its tail was sweeping slowed drastically.
"The power of time!"
Lucas's eyes sparkled. This was Dialga's control over the power of time!
In the movies, Dialga's time manipulation abilities were extremely impressive—it could construct time prisons to trap opponents.
In Giratina and the Sky Warrior, when Dialga came to the real world to rest and drink water, it was dragged into the Reverse World by Giratina seeking revenge.
Before escaping, Dialga even set a time trap at the portal of the Reverse World—if Giratina touched it, time near the portal would rewind by a few seconds, briefly trapping Giratina and preventing it from leaving.
It could even perform multiple short-range time warps in succession to teleport life forms.
Dialga's mastery of time was indeed profound—unlike a certain space dragon that shall remain unnamed...
By slowing down time in the area of Dragon Tail, Dialga approached Eternatus directly and fired a concentrated beam of dragon energy from its mouth—
Dragon Pulse!
At such close range, the Dragon Pulse struck Eternatus squarely in the chest and exploded.
At the same time, both of Dialga's front claws glowed with cyan energy and slashed viciously toward Eternatus.
Dragon Claw!
Dragon Claw landed again, and Eternatus roared in pain. Two super-effective hits in a row—definitely painful!
"Don't let it get away—Dragon Claw!"
Lucas's gaze remained calm. A Dragon Pulse and a Dragon Claw—nothing they couldn't handle.
We Poison-Dragons are resilient!
A savage gleam flashed in Eternatus's speckled eyes. Energy surged on its sharp, bony claws as it tore through the air toward Dialga.
Boom!
Under its terrifying power, Dialga was forced backward several meters.
That's the advantage of being big and heavy—your base strength is just better!
"Dynamax Cannon!"
Eternatus lifted its head high, the red glow from its chest and abdomen burning brightly, painting half the sky in a menacing crimson.
"ROAARR!"
Dialga's dragon eyes narrowed as it gathered a massive amount of energy in its mouth. Under the terrifying energy fluctuations, even the surrounding time seemed distorted.
Roar of Time!
The heavy pressure blanketed the entire sky. Energy particles condensed with terrifying density. Even the ripples of energy made Sheena and the others atop Mount Michina feel like they couldn't breathe.
"This…!"
Even the wind seemed to freeze in place. Kevin stared in awe at the two colossal beings above, as if they had existed since time immemorial.
Even before the attacks had landed, anyone could feel how devastating they would be.
"Full Power Eternatus!"
The energy reached its peak, and Lucas's lips curled into a wicked grin. He shouted at Eternatus.
"ROOOAAAR!"
The deep dragon cry echoed through everyone's ears. A stunning crimson beam shot forth from Eternatus's chest and abdomen.
A massive red energy blast surged toward Dialga with terrifying force—
Dynamax Cannon!
Dialga roared defiantly, releasing a dreamlike blue-violet beam from its mouth.
Even time itself seemed to twist in its wake—
Roar of Time!
Crimson and blue-violet auras collided violently in the air.
Dynamax Cannon vs. Roar of Time!
BOOM!
The sound was deafening, like it would burst eardrums. The blinding light hurt everyone's eyes—it was impossible to look directly at it.
For a few seconds, the two attacks held each other in a deadly stalemate—then the balance collapsed, and the explosion that followed was earth-shattering.
A hurricane-like shockwave swept outward, crashing through the surroundings. Both Eternatus and Dialga were blasted back by the force.
"Ugh…"
Even on the ground, Sheena and the others had to shield their heads tightly. The violent gusts of wind nearly blew them away.
"What the hell is this?!"
Sheena was nearly in tears, clutching a nearby statue tightly. Was this what they meant by 'when gods fight, mortals suffer'?
"Garchomp!"
Just then, a calm voice rang out. The next moment, Sheena felt the wind ease.
Looking up, she saw the broad back of Garchomp.
"Phew… Thank you, Champion Cynthia." Sheena exhaled deeply and expressed her gratitude.
"No need to thank me, but… that was truly terrifying," Cynthia replied with a slight smile, shaking her head.
She glanced around—her usually calm and composed eyes were now filled with genuine alarm.
The aftermath of the clash between Dynamax Cannon and Roar of Time was simply too overwhelming. The entire front area of the ancient temple had been affected.
Lucas and Caitlin had their Pokémon shield them for protection.
But the Team Galactic members? Some were clinging to the ground, others to pillars—the scene was absolute chaos.
And this—was just the aftermath of two Legendary moves colliding!
"Legendary…" Cynthia pressed her lips together as she looked toward Lucas.
Such terrifying power… was being wielded by a TeamRocket member?!
A heavy weight settled on Cynthia's heart. This was too dangerous. Even if Team Rocket's territory was in Kanto, weren't all regions interconnected?
And now, up in the sky—
"ROOOAR!"
The energy waves from the explosion continued to surge wildly. Dialga steadied itself, roaring loudly. At the same time, its eyes glowed with an intense, mysterious light.
Power of Time!
With time manipulation, the energy tides in the air were suddenly slowed, creating an opportunity for Dialga to fly across the unstable zone.
Then, from its mouth, it launched a pure beam of draconic energy—
Dragon Pulse!
"…How cunning."
Seeing this, Lucas raised an eyebrow. Originally, neither Dialga nor Eternatus could cross the energy tides created by the explosion.
But Dialga had actually used the Power of Time to pause the energy zone's flow, allowing itself to break through and launch an attack on Eternatus.
(End of Chapter)