"Snorrr…"
The confused Snorlax blinked up at Ethan, arms flailing uselessly as the two of them plummeted toward the ground.
It couldn't fly. Neither could Ethan.
"Charizard's still sealed in its ball—damn it!" Ethan's heart raced. At this speed, hitting the earth would shatter bones, maybe worse.
Just as the lake rushed up to meet them, a blur of motion cut across the sky.
Annihilape.
With a roar, the Ghost-fighter caught Ethan under one arm and Snorlax under the other, halting their fall in a shower of dust.
"Well done, Annihilape!" Ethan coughed, clutching his partner's fur. Relief surged through him, fierce and sudden. "Scary most of the time, but always there when it counts."
Annihilape grinned with savage pride as it set the two down gently. For an instant its aura calmed—before its face twisted again in fury.
A shadow fell across them.
Aerodactyl screeched, diving with its skull aglow in steel energy. Iron Head.
"Annihilape!" Ethan shouted.
The Ghost-type planted its feet, fists clenched. Its ability Guts flared, rage amplifying its strength. When Aerodactyl slammed down, Annihilape met it with a crushing uppercut.
The impact cracked the air like a gong. Both Pokémon roared as they recoiled from the force, sent tumbling in opposite directions.
From above, Lance's eyes widened. "Aerodactyl!"
No one could believe it—Annihilape, a Pokémon barely trained, had just staggered a fossil predator. Lance's jaw tightened. "That thing… it's no ordinary evolution."
On the ground, Annihilape steadied itself and raised its fists again, itching for more. Across the field, Aerodactyl staggered upright, shaking its skull to clear the ringing.
But Lance was already moving. "Dragonite—Hyper Beam!"
The Dragon Master's ace descended, maw blazing with destructive light.
Ethan's heart lurched. He had no choice. He released Charizard again—but when the dragon appeared, the fire in its wings had dimmed.
Its body had reverted. The glow of Mega Evolution was gone.
"Damn…" Ethan cursed under his breath. Of course. Recall breaks the bond. And with the energy drained, Charizard can't Mega Evolve again so soon.
Dragonite's beam charged brighter.
Snorlax, still groggy, pushed itself upright. With a solemn look Ethan had never seen before, it raised one stubby finger.
"Snorrr… lax!"
"Metronome… again?" Ethan whispered. His chest tightened. No way… can it really hit another miracle twice?
Snorlax's gaze met his, steady and defiant, as if saying: Trust me. Don't be afraid. I'm here.
Ethan swallowed hard, then roared, "Charizard—block it! Stall for Snorlax!"
Charizard spread its wings, unleashing flames with everything it had. But the fire broke like waves against Dragonite's Hyper Beam. The impact hurled Charizard to the ground, carving a crater in the shore.
"Very good," Lance declared, cloak snapping in the wind. "Without Charizard, the rest are lambs to the slaughter."
He didn't see it at first.
The sky dimmed. Shadows rippled as if the sun itself had recoiled.
Snorlax floated upward, body glowing with an eerie aura. A sphere of emerald light swelled from its chest, brighter and brighter, until the very air hummed with tension.
Lance's eyes widened, his voice sharp. "Dragonite—stop it now!"
But Dragonite, still recovering from its Hyper Beam, couldn't muster another blast in time.
Snorlax's chest pulsed, and with a cry that shook the heavens, it unleashed a colossal beam.
At first it shot harmlessly overhead. Lance almost exhaled in relief. It missed—
Then the light bent.
In an instant, the beam carved a jagged Z across the sky, each slash detonating in world-shaking explosions. At its heart stood Lance and Dragonite.
"No…!" Lance's pupils shrank to pinpricks as the storm engulfed him.
The shockwaves shook Mahogany Town itself. Windows shattered, trees toppled, and the Lake of Rage roiled like a cauldron.
Ethan shielded his eyes, teeth gritted against the force. "That move… it's Zygarde's! The Core Enforcer of the Order Pokémon…"
When the brilliance faded, Snorlax drifted gently back to earth. Its body swayed once, then collapsed into the dirt with a contented sigh, fast asleep.
Ethan dropped to his knees beside it, pressing an energy cube to its lips. "Good job, buddy. Rest. You've earned it."
The little giant snored happily, crumbs clinging to its face.
Ethan chuckled softly, then lifted his gaze to the sky.
A shadow plummeted.
Dragonite.
It slammed into the earth with a deafening crash, raising a plume of dust. When it cleared, the mighty dragon lay sprawled, unmoving.
Ethan's smile faded into something more cautious. "If Dragonite's down… then where's Lance?"
His eyes scanned the smoke-filled horizon, wary. For all of Snorlax's miracle, he knew one thing with certainty.
Lance wasn't finished.