Damian felt that he was already showing Cyrus plenty of respect.
Cyrus was only the boss of Team Galactic in Sinnoh. So what kind of opponents had Damian arranged for him?
There was Platinum from Sinnoh, Hilda and Rosa from Unova, along with Kieran and Drayton, one of Blueberry Academy's Elite Four.
That lineup was loaded.
Forget Cyrus. Even N had never been given treatment like this. Cyrus had every reason to feel honored.
There was still honor in losing like this.
But Cyrus clearly did not see it that way.
"Damn it! What is wrong with these people?!"
Cyrus's face had already turned completely dark. He watched Weavile dodge Hydreigon's Dragon Pulse and Incineroar's Fire Blast, only to get hit head-on by Emboar's Fire Punch and go down.
This should not have been happening.
The muscles on Cyrus's face kept twitching. At this point, he could no longer keep his emotions under control.
Being pushed this far by a group of kids who looked only sixteen or seventeen was something Cyrus simply could not accept.
How could he accept this?
But these five were clearly not normal. Their Pokémon were indeed weaker than his, but their battle sense was very strong. At the very least, they were much better than Jupiter and the other commanders.
On top of that, their teamwork was smooth. The longer the battle went on, the worse things became for Cyrus.
By now, he only had an injured Crobat and Honchkrow left.
"Heh. So what if you're the boss of Team Galactic? You're still going to lose to us."
Rosa proudly lifted her chin and let out a small laugh.
Great. They had really worked together to push back Cyrus.
This was the boss of Team Galactic, a Champion-level Trainer.
But when Cyrus heard Rosa declare victory like that, his expression became even darker.
"What are you so proud of?" Cyrus said coldly as he looked at Rosa.
"Huh? You've already lost, and you're still acting tough? You really know how to talk big."
Rosa tapped her lips with one finger and looked at Cyrus in fake surprise.
Her tone said everything. She was mocking him on purpose.
Drayton and the others all had strange looks on their faces, but no one interrupted her.
Even though they had not known each other long, one thing was obvious. Out of the five of them, Rosa had the sharpest tongue.
"I underestimated you. But even if I decide to leave, you still won't be able to stop me."
Cyrus forced his emotions down again. His voice returned to its cold, steady tone.
Yes, he had to admit that he had lost to these kids.
But that did not matter.
He had not failed completely. As long as his goal was still alive, he still had a chance.
"Wait. How are you saying you're running away with that much confidence?"
Rosa looked at Cyrus in fake surprise again.
Cyrus's face darkened even more.
"And are you really planning to leave your own subordinates behind? You're a terrible leader."
"Your head is full of nothing but yourself. You're selfish."
"You're a Champion-level Trainer, but you still got beaten by a few of us, and the average age here is sixteen."
"Think about it. As a Trainer, you're not good enough. As the boss of Team Galactic, you have no sense of responsibility. The moment you start losing, all you think about is running."
"Huh? Now that I think about it, you really are a complete failure."
Rosa tilted her head. Her face looked very cute.
But those words hit hard.
That mouth of hers was brutal.
Platinum, Drayton, and Kieran could not help staring at Rosa in shock.
Wow.
Hilda curled her lips. She was already used to it.
Cyrus's face looked terrible now. His cold eyes were locked on Rosa.
But Rosa did not care at all. She was absurdly thick-skinned.
"Maybe you should just go home and raise pigs. You can't even handle Team Galactic. You..."
"Shut up!" Cyrus finally snapped.
"Why are you yelling so loud?"
Rosa put her hands on her hips and shouted back even louder.
"I'm trying to talk sense into you, and you're shouting at me? Do you even have any manners?"
"You!"
Cyrus clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles almost cracked. Right now, he truly wanted to beat this girl down on the spot.
But reason told him he could not.
If he really got dragged into arguing with her, he would only end up getting caught.
Yes, stay calm. This was just her trick. She wanted to keep pushing him until he made a bad move.
And that was exactly what was happening.
Rosa was doing it on purpose. She was trying to provoke Cyrus.
After all, Cyrus's last two Pokémon were Crobat and Honchkrow.
Both of them could fly. Crobat, especially, was extremely fast. If Cyrus really wanted to run, Rosa and the others did not have many ways to stop him.
But in the end, Rosa's attack with words did not get the result she wanted.
Cyrus's control over his emotions was genuinely strong.
If it had been Ghetsis, he probably would have already twisted his face in rage and charged straight at Rosa.
However...
At that exact moment, the ground behind Cyrus suddenly bulged.
An Excadrill burst out and went straight for his back.
That was Hilda's Excadrill.
Rosa had been drawing Cyrus's attention, while Hilda quietly had Excadrill dig underground and go straight for him.
Ever since what happened at the Team Galactic building in Eterna City, Rosa and the others had learned something.
There was no point trying to play fair with people from Team Galactic.
If the other side wanted to fight fair, then fine.
If the other side did not, then there was no need to be polite.
As long as they could take Cyrus down, that was enough.
But Honchkrow rushed over at high speed. Night Slash struck Excadrill hard and knocked it back.
"He was on guard," Hilda said with a frown.
"Heh. I knew it."
Cyrus let out a cold sneer. These kids, especially the girl with the hair buns, were clearly full of tricks.
Even though Cyrus had always thought Pokémon League trainers were a little naive, he still knew he had to stay careful.
He had to stay on guard, especially in a situation like this.
"Let's end this here for today. Once I create the new world, all of you will regret what you did today."
Cyrus's cold eyes landed on Rosa.
He focused on her in particular.
His new world had no place for people like her.
Crobat flew down. Cyrus grabbed onto its legs, and Crobat started carrying him into the air.
"Don't even think about running!"
Of course, Rosa and the others did not want to let Cyrus escape.
This was their first time teaming up to fight a boss.
If they let the boss get away, that would be humiliating.
"Drayton, Kieran! Have your Dragonite use Extreme Speed to catch him!"
"Don't worry, he's not getting away!"
"My Togekiss can use Extreme Speed too!"
Platinum, Drayton, and Kieran all threw their Poké Balls.
He wanted to run?
That was not happening.
Crobat was very fast, but it was not impossible for Togekiss and Dragonite to catch it with Extreme Speed.
Or, if they were a little harsher, they could hit Cyrus directly with Extreme Speed. Cyrus definitely would not be able to take that and stay in the air.
However...
As Crobat flew upward, it suddenly felt a crushing pressure fall on it.
It could not resist at all.
Its body dropped uncontrollably and slammed straight into the ground.
It was Gravity, a Psychic-type move.
Cyrus also crashed down. He grabbed his scraped knee, and pain twisted his face.
"Eh?" Rosa and the others were stunned.
"What just happened?"
Cyrus endured the pain and looked at Crobat. He saw that Crobat's body was pinned firmly to the ground and could not move.
What was this?
"It's Gravity. Shadow Mewtwo used it."
Damian slowly walked over, and his smiling voice reached Cyrus's ears.
Shadow Mewtwo followed behind Damian. A faint purple flame flickered in its eyes.
"How could Gravity only affect Crobat?" Cyrus said in a low voice.
"There's nothing impossible about it. Your knowledge is too limited. Mewtwo's control over psychic power is far beyond what you can imagine."
Damian added that in a mocking tone.
Gravity was a Psychic-type move that increased the force pressing down on the field.
It made moves like Bounce and Fly unusable.
In simple terms, it forced Pokémon back to the ground.
Normally, it affected everything in the area, and controlling it precisely was very difficult. But Shadow Mewtwo's control over psychic power was excellent, so for it, that was not a problem.
"You've already lost, Cyrus," Damian said lightly.
"Impossible!"
Cyrus's expression changed the moment he heard that. He could not accept it.
His dream had not been fulfilled yet.
He was supposed to erase this world and create a perfect one without hearts, then become the god of that world.
"I haven't lost yet! My new world will still appear!"
That was right. He had already captured the Lake Guardians. As long as the Red Chain, created from their power, was completed, he could still win.
He could go to Spear Pillar on Mt. Coronet to summon Dialga and Palkia. Then he could use the Red Chain to control them.
With the power of time and space, he could create a new world.
Everything was supposed to be perfect.
So why had it turned out like this?
"Tsk. Are you still dreaming? You really are pathetic, Cyrus." Damian scoffed.
"It's all your fault!" Cyrus finally lost control.
If Damian and Sird had not done this, how could he have been lured to Mt. Michina?
"Damian! Sird! I'll kill both of you!"
"You idiot. You're just too stupid."
Damian let out a cold laugh.
In the end, this was still because Cyrus was arrogant and full of himself.
He believed Sird would never betray him, and he could not resist the temptation of the Jewel of Life.
"And in the end, you couldn't even beat newcomers like Rosa."
Damian looked at Cyrus with pity.
"You really aren't fit to lead Team Galactic. Just be a good boy and spend the rest of your life behind bars. That suits you a lot better."