A blue draconic glow streaked through the sky, rapidly closing in. Eternatus, who had only just stabilized itself, had no time to counterattack.
Boom!
Dragon Pulse exploded directly against Eternatus's head.
Eternatus let out a pained groan, its massive body knocked back uncontrollably—this hit was not light.
"Raaaargh!"
Dialga pressed the advantage mercilessly. Its entire body flared with a bright white glow as it accelerated and rammed its entire bulk into Eternatus's chest—
Body Slam!
Under the force of that overwhelming collision, Eternatus's gigantic frame was pushed downward and fell like a meteor.
Boom!
A towering mountain peak was instantly shattered into rubble upon impact, sending up thick smoke and dust that surged into the sky.
"Hiss~"
Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, Sheena, Kevin, and the others still couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath when they saw this.
"Bind it! Dragon Pulse!"
Lucas gave his command to Eternatus without hesitation.
Pinned under Dialga's limbs with its chest suppressed to the ground, Eternatus's white-spotted body flared with a vicious gleam. A long, shadowy form lashed out like lightning—
Eternatus's tail!
"ROAR!"
Dialga roared in fury, struggling violently. Without proper arms, it found it incredibly difficult to escape from the chain-like skeletal tail that now coiled tightly around its neck.
Seizing the moment, Eternatus charged energy in its maw once again, firing another Dragon Pulse directly into Dialga's chest.
"Graaah!"
Dialga cried out in pain—this Dragon Pulse hurt!
In the next instant, Eternatus surged to its feet, hurling the bound Dialga with incredible force. The mighty temporal dragon slammed into a nearby hill with devastating power.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The small mountain shattered under the heavy impact, sending rocks flying and burying Dialga beneath an avalanche of stone.
"Dialga!"
Sheena called out anxiously, eyes locked on the mound of rubble. Dialga was her companion, after all—naturally, she sided with it.
"It's no good. Even Dialga isn't a match for Eternatus."
Seeing that Eternatus had taken the upper hand, Marnie—usually calm and reserved—couldn't help but smile slightly.
Logically speaking, Eternatus was a legendary Pokémon of Galar. Emotionally, it was Lucas's partner.
Eternatus was suppressing Dialga.
Of course, Marnie would be happy.
Besides, that's Dialga we're talking about—the legendary Pokémon said to control Time in the myths of Sinnoh!
Even if Eternatus wasn't her Pokémon, the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming!
"!!!"
Hearing her, Sheena glared at Marnie with indignation. What do you mean Dialga isn't a match for Eternatus?!
"What's with that look? Facts speak louder than feelings. Your beloved Dialga is clearly on the losing end, isn't it?"
"We're all adults here, not little kids. Or can't you accept the truth?"
Noticing Sheena's stare, Marnie's delicate face remained impassive. Her tone was calm and matter-of-fact.
She wasn't about to back down—not one bit.
After all, she was Marnie—the girl who came from Spikemuth!
"Dialga will never lose!"
Sheena's breath quickened as she clenched her teeth and spat out the words one by one.
What kind of person is this?!
So what if they had the advantage for a moment?
No wonder she could partner up with that Team Rocket guy—turns out this girl is just as annoying with her words!
Hmp. Birds of same feather…
Refusing to waste another second on Marnie, Sheena turned her hopeful gaze back to the rubble.
Please, Dialga… don't lose!
Cynthia and Caitlin stood silently, staring at the stone-covered Dialga. No matter what, Dialga was still the pride of the Sinnoh region.
Emotionally, they really didn't want to see Dialga defeated by Eternatus.
It was a deep sense of regional belonging—psychological, yet powerful.
"Hmph! The god of time will never be beaten by some unknown, mysterious skeleton. Impossible!"
In the shadows, Cyrus glared darkly at Marnie before coldly snorting to himself.
Dialga was the foundation of his ideals. How could it possibly lose?
How dare it lose?
If Dialga couldn't defeat even this strange skeletal being, then what would that make his ideals? A joke?
If even a random legendary Pokémon could overpower it, what chance did he have of destroying the world?
So...
Dialga! Get up and fight! Destroy this freakish skeleton!
"Dynamax Cannon!"
Lucas, oblivious to everyone else's inner turmoil, issued another command to Eternatus.
Strike while it's down—don't give it a chance to recover!
Eternatus raised its body slightly, the ominous red light within its chest and abdomen shining with terrifying brilliance as its energy continued to build.
In the blink of an eye, a massive crimson beam shot out at high speed toward the rubble.
But just then—
A dazzling blue-purple beam of energy erupted from within the broken stones, blasting upward with even greater speed—passing right by the Dynamax Cannon!
Roar of Time!
Boom!
BOOM!
Two massive explosions sounded almost simultaneously. Both attacks had hit their targets dead on!
Eternatus let out a pained roar. A Dragon-type move like Roar of Time dealt immense damage.
"So it was waiting for Eternatus to attack first… not bad at all, Time Dragon."
Lucas raised an eyebrow at the sight—clearly, Dialga had been preparing for this moment.
As the shockwaves settled, Dialga soared into the air to face Eternatus head-on. Its once-elegant and noble body now bore scattered wounds.
Its majestic dragon eyes locked tightly onto Eternatus—this opponent was proving more troublesome than expected.
"In that case, let's end it with a single blow."
Lucas's lips curled into a slight grin. The time to finish this battle had come.
"Eternatus! Use Eternabeam!"
Eternabeam—Eternatus's signature move, and its most powerful Dragon-type technique!
"ROOOAAAR!"
Eternatus let out a thunderous roar. Its deep, resonating dragon cry echoed across the heavens, as its entire body lit up with an eerie and ominous crimson glow.
As the roar continued to reverberate, Eternatus's massive twenty-meter-long body began to rise, swaying as it soared high into the sky.
Dialga's dragon eyes narrowed cautiously, keeping a close watch—but it had no idea what Eternatus was planning.
And then—
As Eternatus disappeared into the clouds above, an incredible scene unfolded.
The clear skies above began to darken rapidly, swirling into dense black clouds visible to the naked eye. The clouds twisted and spun, transforming into a massive black vortex that engulfed the entire sky!
The Darkest Day Phenomenon!
This was the very disaster that nearly destroyed the entire Galar region three thousand years ago!
Terror. Despair. Darkness.
"H-Hey, isn't this... a little too much?"
Kevin's eyes trembled as he stared at the ever-twisting black vortex above. The scene was terrifying, and the entire world had dimmed beneath the ominous skies.
Kevin swallowed hard, his voice trembling.
It felt as if the world itself was ending—his limbs turned cold as an overwhelming chill swept up from his feet to his whole body.
This... this is just a friendly match, right?
Isn't this a bit excessive?!
"Feel honored. You are about to witness the true form of the Galar region's most powerful and most malevolent legend!"
Lucas grinned widely, his white teeth gleaming against the dark backdrop—a sight that made hearts shudder.
Yes—Eternabeam!
Eternabeam was Eternatus's strongest move, and one of the most powerful Dragon-type attacks in existence!
Ordinary-type moves were capped at a maximum power level of 150—
Moves like Hyper Beam or Giga Impact reached that limit.
But Eternabeam?
It broke through that ceiling!
In the game, Eternabeam's base power was 160.
Yes—excluding Z-moves, only two moves had ever broken that limit:
Eternabeam, and Necrozma's Prismatic Laser, a powerful Psychic-type exclusive move.
And when using Eternabeam, Eternatus would temporarily return to its original form—Eternamax Eternatus!
"Eternatus's true form..."
Hearing this, Cynthia and the others froze in place.
At that moment, another anomaly appeared within the vortex-covered sky.
Two unnatural lights—demonic purple and ominous red—pierced through the heavens, growing brighter and stretching to the very edges of their vision.
A pitch-black sky, twisted beams of energy…
The entire world was engulfed in a suffocating, terrifying atmosphere.
"That… what is that?!"
Marnie's eyes went wide as she stared at the black vortex. Through the swirling shadows, she could vaguely make out a massive silhouette.
Enormous. Indescribable.
Swaying slowly within the black vortex—mysterious and haunting.
"ROAAAR!"
Dialga looked up toward the gray skies, its dragon eyes filled with unprecedented gravity. It let out a fierce roar as bluish-purple energy began gathering in its mouth again.
Then, from within the vortex—
A massive clawed appendage extended outward, followed by a body so huge it nearly blotted out the sky.
A colossal form, over one hundred meters tall!
Eternamax Eternatus!
Its brand-new, enormous appearance stunned everyone present. No one could believe it—yet none could deny what they saw.
"That... that's Eternatus?"
Marnie's eyes were filled with shock and awe as she stared at the monstrous, unfamiliar being in the sky.
She had traveled with Lucas long enough to become quite familiar with Eternatus. Yet this newly revealed poison dragon still managed to shake her to the core.
It was simply too big.
Even in its normal form, Eternatus was already over twenty meters tall—huge even among Pokémon.
But this...?
What filled her vision now was a part Eternatus's body.
The sheer pressure and weight it exuded—it wasn't something the normal form could compare to.
This was the disaster that nearly annihilated Galar three thousand years ago.
"Lucas… Eternatus can do this too?"
Marnie finally came to her senses and turned to Lucas, her voice filled with shock.
If Eternatus had such hidden power, why was Lucas ever worried about being pursued by the Sword Hero, Zacian?
She hadn't seen it directly, but just the pressure from Eternamax Eternatus was enough to convince her—
Its strength definitely surpassed Zacian's!
"It's no use. Eternatus doesn't have enough energy to maintain Eternamax. It can only temporarily return to this form under special conditions."
Understanding what Marnie was thinking, Lucas shook his head, not hiding anything.
Eternatus required an astronomical amount of energy to enter this form. At present, the only time it could briefly return to it was during Eternabeam.
But one day—
When he had enough power, Lucas would lead Eternatus back to Galar and reclaim what was rightfully its own!
In the sky, the massive claw opened wide. Its five vertical talons glowed red at the tips, with the center part colored white and covered in five deep purple growths.
Above the claw was the rest of Eternatus's twisted, spiral-shaped body.
"Eternabeam!"
The five claws and central core lit up with an intense, dark red glow, energy building rapidly.
"ROAAAAR!"
Sensing the danger, Dialga let out a thunderous roar. A glowing Roar of Time blasted from its mouth, aimed directly at Eternatus's claw.
The dreamlike bluish-purple beam flew toward its target at high speed—
But the red glow on Eternatus's claws had already reached its peak.
Boom!
BOOM!
Six dark crimson beams fired simultaneously—
The entire sky was engulfed in an ominous red!
(End of Chapter)