"Do you have the courage to face it?"
Confronted with Lucas's question, Hoopa's small face revealed a look of deep conflict as it stared at the Evil Hoopa glaring fiercely at it. It wasn't afraid of Evil Hoopa, but when Evil Hoopa looked like this, could it really communicate with it?
"Hoopa… can Hoopa do it?"
Even after a long time, Hoopa still couldn't be sure, replying in a soft, hesitant voice. No matter what, the resentment and hatred dwelling inside Evil Hoopa were simply far too deep. Back in the desert, when it had regained its power, that boundless darkness and endless malice within consciousness had nearly suffocated it.
"Hoopa is the best, isn't it?" Lucas smiled gently at Hoopa, his warm magnetic voice sounding soothing in its ears.
"Its hatred comes from you, Hoopa. Show it everything within you. The two of you are one—there has never been any true separation. Use your true heart to melt the hatred inside it. I believe you can definitely do it. As long as you are willing to face it, Hoopa, you will absolutely be able to succeed."
Lucas gently pinched Hoopa's small cheek, speaking earnestly. The trust in his tone was so real, so sincere.
"Mm…"
Hearing this, Hoopa's eyes shimmered with watery light, and it nodded heavily at Lucas. Yes—Evil Hoopa was originally part of itself. Why should it doubt itself?
Hoopa could feel its own heart. It longed for beauty and it was happy. And it wanted to share that happiness and beauty with Evil Hoopa, because from beginning to end, they were one and the same!
Hoopa's eyes grew firm as it turned toward Evil Hoopa. Its small body floated forward, drifting toward the menacing figure.
"You've completely fooled Hoopa," Black Rayquaza tilted its head, glancing at Lucas with a smile as it saw Hoopa fly straight toward Evil Hoopa without any defenses.
Clearly, Hoopa had been thoroughly convinced, almost muddled, by Lucas's words.
"I wouldn't dare agree with you on that, Black Rayquaza." Lucas's lips held the same warm smile. "Evil Hoopa's resentment comes from a century of being sealed—its loneliness, its hatred. Outsiders like us cannot help it. Only Hoopa itself, the one involved, can purify that hatred."
"But do you really think Hoopa can do that?" Black Rayquaza did not give an opinion.
Of course it understood this. The problem was that Evil Hoopa's resentment was too deep. Combined with the fact that Hoopa Unbound was a top-tier Dark-type legendary, the hatred had merged with its power into something terrifying. The power and resentment of Unbound Hoopa were practically fused into one. Hoopa was currently far too small and weak—could it really withstand that overwhelming malice?
"Of course. Rayquaza, you know, so-called 'strength' is not merely the strength of power in a physical sense." Lucas smiled lightly, his gaze fixed on Hoopa's small figure, glowing with belief.
"The strength of the heart, that unyielding will, is in some ways far more remarkable and magnificent than invincible physical might. A tenacious will allows many beings to accomplish feats that are theoretically impossible, leaving people astonished. You can call it a miracle. But I believe it is the inevitability born from chance."
Black Rayquaza's dragon eyes stilled for a moment. After a brief silence, it snorted. "Humans always have plenty to say."
It turned its head away, still doubtful that the weak Hoopa could succeed, but it did not refute Lucas's words. The Sword Hero Zacian's eyes flickered slightly as if contemplating something.
Lucas chuckled softly and didn't argue—because he was simply stating a fact. Legendary Pokémon possessed intelligence no less than humans, but wisdom required experience. Truths and principles were understood through countless events. Legendaries, isolated from the world, naturally didn't have such conditions.
And Hoopa had already arrived before Evil Hoopa.
Seeing that Hoopa dared approach it, the red glow in Evil Hoopa's eyes flared violently—hideous, terrifying. Hoopa pressed its lips together, took a deep breath, and its eyes became completely resolute.
"I know… I know these hundred years were probably terrible for Angry Hoopa. I'm sorry… I wasn't with you during that time." Hoopa's childish voice was slow and clear as it raised its little arms.
A gentle, serene light shone of Hoopa's psychic power—as it transmitted its memories and emotions to Evil Hoopa. "But it's really enough now… I also want Hoopa to experience many wonderful things together with Angry Hoopa."
Sincere. Honest. Heartfelt.
Hoopa remembered Lucas's words and poured everything of itself into Evil Hoopa, holding nothing back.
Yet things were not so simple. Evil Hoopa's vast resentment surged, battering Hoopa's spirit. That deep darkness was enough to suffocate. Hoopa didn't give up. It squeezed its eyes shut and continued transmitting its most beautiful memories—its happiness, its warmth.
Time passed, second by second.
Seeing the two Hoopas frozen in stillness, Lucas remained calm.
"Is it really okay? It's been so long. Hoopa won't have any problems, right?" Complete Forme Zygarde finally couldn't hold back and spoke.
Although Lucas's reasoning made sense, the gap between Hoopa and Evil Hoopa was simply far too great. Miracles weren't something that happened easily.
But at that moment—gentle, radiant light illuminated the sky.
"It's over." Lucas smiled even more softly.
Within that warm glow, the terrifying red in Evil Hoopa's eyes slowly faded. Its enormous black demon-god body turned into pure black energy. A massive surge of darkness soared into the air, forming a black vortex before pouring downward, flooding into Hoopa's body and engulfing it completely.
"HOOPA~!" A deep, heavy roar echoed from within the dark energy.
Six gigantic severed demon arms burst outward. A colossal Pokémon descended like a towering giant.
"So strong!"
The Legendary Demon Djinn Pokémon—Hoopa Unbound!
The powerful Hoopa Unbound floated upward, surrounded by faint purple-black divine radiance. Its clear eyes showed how different it was from the former Evil Hoopa.
Success!
"It really succeeded!"
Anyone could feel the difference. Evil Hoopa had been a true god of destruction, full of suffocating darkness and hatred. But the Hoopa Unbound before them—though identical in appearance—had none of that terrifying aura.
A proper demon god.
And precisely because of this, Zygarde was shocked. Even Black Rayquaza stared in disbelief. This was simply unreasonable—too absurd!
Even if Evil Hoopa had been severely weakened, how could a tiny, weakling Hoopa possibly purify that endless hatred?!
"Hehehe~ scared you, huh?" Feeling their shock, Hoopa Unbound retracted its six arms and floated over smugly.
"Yes, you scared us…" Lucas chuckled. Honestly, Hoopa's innocent personality seemed unchanged even in its Unbound form. Combined with its frightening body, the contrast was… bizarre.
But suddenly—Hoopa Unbound's right eye flashed scarlet.
"Shut up, idiot. You're embarrassing me."
The same voice, but now hoarse, cold, dripping with contempt.
"???"
Everyone immediately tensed. Even Lucas stared in shock. Was that Evil Hoopa? But that shouldn't be possible—Evil Hoopa should've been purified. In the movie, this never happened.
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
"Don't talk anymore, you're scaring everyone."
"You're the embarrassing one."
"Hoopa is NOT embarrassing! You're the one who shouldn't come out again!"
"Heh~ idiot."
Watching Hoopa suddenly switch between furious and gloomy, acting like a split personality, Lucas blinked.
Black energy enveloped Hoopa Unbound, and its body shrank rapidly. In a blink, the energy dispersed and Hoopa reappeared.
Although it had regained all its power, it could still freely assume its Confined form. Unlike other legends, this form wasn't for battle—it was simply convenient for daily life.
"Hoopa, Evil Hoopa didn't disappear?" Lucas asked at once.
"Nope! But don't worry~ Angry Hoopa won't do anything bad anymore. We made peace!" Hoopa replied crisply.
"I see… that's actually a perfect ending."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. As expected. Evil Hoopa was practically Hoopa's second personality anyway.
The legends remained silent. Black Rayquaza felt something was off, but since Hoopa said it was fine, it kept quiet.
"Well, that wraps things up. Today was really interesting," Lucas stretched lazily. So comfortable—battles of this scale between legends probably wouldn't happen again…
"It wasn't bad. Been a long time since I stretched my bones," Black Rayquaza agreed immediately. It was naturally battle-loving, but usually it spent its time guarding the planet from outer threats—rarely meeting anything fun to fight.
"Speaking of which…" Lucas glanced into the distance. Giratina and Eternatus had stopped fighting but were… uh, staring each other down?
"Hm? Awakening?"
A sudden rainbow glow drew Lucas's attention—the tree Xerneas had transformed into was beginning to shine. Xerneas was waking up.
Great—during all the fighting, it slept. Now that everything was over, now it wakes…
"Xerneas is always like that. It dislikes fighting," Zygarde said calmly. Though powerful, Xerneas rarely battled. Unless under special circumstances, it preferred to stay asleep.
And "special circumstances" usually meant cleaning up after Yveltal…
Yes—Xerneas basically served as Yveltal's dedicated cleanup crew.
Whenever Yveltal blasted things indiscriminately with Oblivion Wing out of its bad temper, Xerneas would revive whatever was destroyed. And Xerneas almost never fought Yveltal. It merely released some of its aura to signal it was awake.
Even if they met, Xerneas simply watched Yveltal silently from afar until Yveltal got uncomfortable enough to leave.
Ah yes… a beautifully mysterious relationship.
In the distance, the tree dissolved under rainbow light, revealing Xerneas's elegant, long-bodied form with its radiant multicolored antlers.
Xerneas looked around at the destroyed landscape. With a tap of its hoof, green light representing life radiated outward. The shattered ground bloomed with vitality. Flowers sprouted. Grass thrived. A scene of peace and beauty—as though nothing had happened.
This was Xerneas's power of life.
"How astonishingly gentle and benevolent, Xerneas~" Lucas couldn't help but marvel at the restoration. Just a sweep of its light, and dead land turned vibrant again.
Not only that—the heavily injured legendaries began recovering rapidly under Xerneas's healing energy. Wounds healed, exhaustion faded, and those unable to move slowly rose into the air. Everything became beautiful again—
But…
"Father! You finally woke up!"
Young Rayquaza stared joyfully at Rayquaza. Its father was finally okay!
But upon hearing the words of Young Rayquaza, Rayquaza froze in confusion. "And… you are?"
Rayquaza gazed doubtfully at the unfamiliar figure before him, clearly of the same species yet appearing so strange.
The reason was that Young Rayquaza was currently in its Mega Evolution form, and moreover… cough, cough… the change in coloration was simply far too drastic. At first glance, Rayquaza truly did not recognize him.
Yet blood ties cannot be denied. After carefully observing for a moment, Rayquaza quickly realized that this was indeed his own child.
Rayquaza was utterly shocked!
He stared in disbelief at this "red-colored" Rayquaza. Red?
His sharp eyes scanned from head to tail, and soon they fixed upon one particular spot on Young Rayquaza's body. A small patch of green, standing out in stark contrast against the surrounding red, was so unique and unmistakable… Ah yes, this was the mark left when Young Rayquaza had previously been struck and discolored by Mega Rayquaza.
In that instant, Rayquaza understood exactly why his child's body had turned this crimson shade. His eye twitched uncontrollably, and the aura surrounding his entire body slowly grew more and more dangerous.
This unfilial child!
Young Rayquaza's body stiffened, keenly sensing the sudden change in his father's aura, as well as the razor-sharp, perilous gaze now fixed upon him. Without showing any outward panic, Young Rayquaza subtly tried to keep some distance between himself and Rayquaza…
"Um… Father, I think I can explain this… Wait! Father! Why are you going into Mega Evolution?!"
"You ungrateful child! Don't you dare run!"
(End of Chapter)
TN: Lmao