Xerneas's Geomancy move was indeed powerful, but it required time to prepare. By the time its enhancement was complete, Yveltal had just managed to break free from Florges's green vines.
The moment Yveltal took flight again, Xerneas's Moonblast came crashing toward it.
Boom!!!
Yveltal plummeted once more, and at the same time, Florges acted again. Under her control, countless green vines surged from the ground, ensnaring the freshly fallen Yveltal once again.
"Yveltal~"
Yveltal let out a cry of agony, its eyes turning blood-red, and its aura growing increasingly frenzied. As it thrashed violently, Florges's vines began to snap one by one.
With Yveltal at a disadvantage, the Dark Aura Field generated by its ability began to shrink, while the Fairy Aura Field created by Xerneas started expanding deeper into the Alluance Forest.
As the pink aura spread, the thick black mist that shrouded the forest dissipated like snow under sunlight, revealing the scorched land beneath.
Seeing this, Xerneas leaped forward into the heart of Alluance Forest, and with its movements, the expansion of the Fairy Aura accelerated.
Yuga and Florges immediately followed behind Xerneas.
At this sight, Yveltal finally lost all restraint. A sudden eruption of black hurricanes surged around its body, the cutting winds instantly shredding the vines that had restrained it.
"Yveltal~"
Now free, Yveltal flapped its massive wings, sending the raging dark storm barreling toward Xerneas, Yuga, and Florges.
Xerneas leaped gracefully in front of Yuga and Florges. The magnificent antlers atop its head erupted with dazzling, multicolored radiance, forming a shield that repelled every last trace of the storm.
Yuga quickly commanded, "Florges, use Wish first, then Light of Ruin!"
"Florges~"
Florges responded with determination. First, a beam of white light shot up into the sky. Then, a translucent Eternal Flower suddenly appeared in her hands. The petals of the Eternal Flower rapidly unfurled, while an intense sphere of energy began gathering at its core.
Boom!!!
Florges aimed the Eternal Flower directly at Yveltal. With a thunderous explosion, Light of Ruin was unleashed, striking Yveltal head-on as it clashed with Xerneas.
"Yveltal~"
Yveltal let out a bloodcurdling cry as it plummeted like a broken kite toward the ground.
But Florges did not escape unscathed. Despite its immense power, Light of Ruin came with a severe drawback—half of the damage dealt would recoil back upon the user.
Fortunately, Yuga had Florges use Wish in advance. Before long, a pillar of healing light descended upon her, instantly restoring the damage she had sustained from the backlash.
Xerneas wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. With a mighty push from its hind legs, it lunged forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. Its enormous antlers, glowing with a yellow-green radiance, rammed fiercely into Yveltal's abdomen.
"Yveltal~"
Yveltal let out a miserable cry, its crimson eyes locking onto Xerneas with a fierce glare. Then, without warning, it spread its wings wide and wrapped Xerneas in a close embrace.
Yveltal had seized the opportunity to use its signature move, Oblivion Wing. While dealing damage to Xerneas, it simultaneously recovered part of its own injuries.
Both Legendary Pokémon crashed to the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that obscured their figures.
A piercing screech rang out from within the dust cloud, and Yveltal was the first to emerge. Without any hesitation, it fired a Dark Pulse straight into the swirling dust.
"Florges, Moonblast!"
At Yuga's command, a silver beam of light shot forth just in time to intercept the Dark Pulse midair.
At this moment, Yveltal finally remembered the "insignificant ant"—Yuga. Its crimson gaze locked onto both him and Florges.
Being stared at like that sent shivers down Yuga's spine. He wasn't particularly afraid of battling a Legendary Pokémon, but being targeted by Yveltal was a different story—this could be deadly!
Getting hit by another Legendary Pokémon might hurt, but as long as one was durable enough, they wouldn't necessarily die. However, under Yveltal's unique Aura of Death, no amount of endurance would help—it was simply inevitable.
Yveltal flapped its wings, preparing to lunge at Yuga.
But before it could get close, Xerneas burst out of the dust cloud, unleashing a powerful Moonblast that forced Yveltal back.
The reason Xerneas had taken longer to reappear was that it had once again used Geomancy. Trusting Yuga and Florges to hold off Yveltal, it had taken the time to strengthen itself further.
Now, with a second round of Geomancy complete, Xerneas radiated an even stronger presence. It lifted its head, gazing up at Yveltal in the sky. Despite looking somewhat disheveled from the fight, it remained as elegant as ever.
This time, Yveltal didn't immediately launch another attack. It flapped its wings slowly, staring at Xerneas with blood-red eyes. No one could tell what it was thinking at that moment.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense as the two Legendary Pokémon faced off, their battle momentarily at a standstill. Yuga and Florges remained on high alert, ready to assist Xerneas at any moment.
Finally, Yveltal made its move. It fired a series of Dark Pulses, reigniting the battle.
Xerneas leaped nimbly, dodging each attack with grace. At the same time, it countered by launching Moonblasts. Enhanced by Geomancy, each Moonblast radiated a terrifying surge of energy.
Yveltal seemed to sense the immense power behind these attacks. Realizing that a direct confrontation would be dangerous, it no longer dared to clash head-on. Instead, it continuously retreated, trying to evade Xerneas' relentless assault.
As the battle escalated, Yveltal was gradually forced deeper into the heart of the Allearth Forest. Wherever Xerneas' Fairy Aura spread, the land that Yveltal had previously tainted was restored to its original state.
Yuga once again summoned Absol and, along with Florges, mounted its back, following closely behind Xerneas.
He refrained from recklessly interfering. Xerneas currently had the upper hand, and all he and Florges needed to do was assist at critical moments.
The fierce clash between Yveltal and Xerneas triggered an enormous surge of Dark- and Fairy-type energy. This energy disturbance once again caused an illusionary vision to appear in the heart of the Allearth Forest.
Unlike before, this illusion didn't disappear instantly. Instead, it flickered several times in midair before fading away. If someone had been present to observe it, they might have even seen Pokémon moving within that phantom forest.
As time passed, Yveltal's situation grew increasingly dire. Under Xerneas' relentless assault, it sustained injury after injury.
Meanwhile, whenever Xerneas took damage, Yuga and Florges would take turns healing it.
With this growing disparity in endurance, there was no way Yveltal could be a match for Xerneas.
Though ferocious, Yveltal wasn't entirely devoid of intelligence. The moment it realized it was losing, only one thought remained in its mind.
Escape!
After unleashing a violent storm, Yveltal finally gave up on continuing the fight and turned to fly high into the sky. Seeing this, Yuga, who had long been prepared, hurriedly called out to Florges, "Florges, Light of Ruin!"
"Florges~"
Florges had been waiting for this command. The Eternal Flower in her hands instantly unfurled, and with a thunderous roar, the charged-up beam of energy shot out.
"Yvelta~"
A piercing cry echoed through the air as Yveltal, struck mid-flight, plummeted from the sky.
At that moment, Xerneas broke free from the storm's obstruction, leaping into the air. The Fighting-type move Close Combat burst forth, its front hooves alternating in rapid succession as they stomped down hard on Yveltal's back. Then, the moment Yveltal began to fall, Xerneas followed up with a dazzling Moonblast.
Boom!!!
Yveltal finally crashed to the ground, now in a pitiful state. Its body was covered in wounds, unable to move in the slightest.
From its injuries, black mist continuously seeped out, laced with eerie crimson light, exuding an ominous presence.
At this moment, Yuga and Florges rode on Absol and approached. Seeing Yveltal lying motionless on the ground, they both let out a sigh of relief.
Yveltal had been awakened because of Yuga, but now it was defeated once again without causing any major catastrophe. Finally, he no longer had to bear the guilt of unleashing it.
As Yuga approached, Xerneas' expression softened considerably.
"Human, I thank you for your help this time."
Yuga, feeling a bit embarrassed, replied, "This was my responsibility. If not for me, Yveltal wouldn't have awakened in the first place."
"That's not true." Xerneas shook its head.
It was grateful to Yuga because, if not for his presence, even if Xerneas had managed to defeat and seal Yveltal again, it would have inevitably fallen into deep slumber once more.
Since ancient times, its battle with Yveltal had never ceased. The two were evenly matched. Though Xerneas had always been able to seal Yveltal away, it, too, would inevitably exhaust its power and enter a long sleep.
Then, after a long passage of time, both of them would be awaken again, fight once more, and fall back into slumber—an endless cycle.
But this time, with Yuga's intervention, Xerneas had defeated Yveltal nearly unscathed. It no longer had to worry about exhausting its strength and falling into slumber.
Moreover, for a long time to come, the Kalos region would not have to worry about Yveltal emerging to wreak havoc again.
"So, what do we do with Yveltal now?" Yuga asked in confusion.
"I will seal it away," Xerneas answered.
Yuga found it odd—why didn't Xerneas just get rid of Yveltal once and for all?
Xerneas seemed to sense Yuga's doubt and took the initiative to explain.
Back in ancient times, when Legendary Pokémon roamed in abundance, it might have been possible to kill a Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon. However, as most Legendary Pokémon had disappeared, the remaining ones each embodied certain fundamental laws of the world.
These laws upheld the balance of the world. Since laws could not be destroyed, Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon could not be easily killed either.
Yveltal represented the rule of death. Its Death Aura not only fueled its destructive nature but also safeguarded its very existence. Because of this, not even Xerneas had the power to kill it.
Hearing this explanation, Yuga no longer mentioned the idea of eliminating Yveltal.
And so, the process of sealing Yveltal began.
Xerneas raised its hoof and stomped heavily on Yveltal's back. With each stomp, large amounts of black mist spewed from Yveltal's wounds, tinged with eerie red light.
This black mist was not mere Dark-type energy but the very essence of Yveltal's being as a Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon.
And the crimson glow flickering within it was the lingering remnant of the Rule of Death.
As more and more of its essence was lost, Yveltal visibly grew weaker.
Watching Xerneas stomp on Yveltal's back again and again without mercy, Yuga thought to himself: Looks like Xerneas holds quite a grudge against Yveltal!
But it made sense. After battling for so long, no matter how gentle Xerneas' nature was, it was impossible for it not to harbor any resentment.
As the black mist thickened, Xerneas' antlers suddenly glowed with pink light. Instantly, the black mist was drawn toward the pink radiance, converging upon it.
This essence contained the power of the death rule. If left to scatter, more places would soon become like the current state of Orroans Forest.
The black mist gathered together, and in the end, it transformed into a black orb, nearly identical to the one that had previously fallen into Absol's possession.
It was precisely because that black orb contained remnants of the death rule that Yveltal was drawn to it, and even the Seed of Unknown had been unable to suppress it completely.
The Seed of Unknown had originally planned to gradually purify the rule of death within the orb and slowly consume its power, but all of that was rendered meaningless when Yveltal awakened.
Seeing that the process was nearly complete, Xerneas finally ceased its torment of Yveltal. At this moment, Yveltal had already transformed into a giant black cocoon and fallen into slumber.
Meanwhile, the black orb floating above Xerneas' antlers had also fully formed. Under Xerneas' purification, all traces of the red glow representing the rule of death were stripped away from the orb and returned to Yveltal's cocoon.
Without the influence of the rule of death, the black orb no longer appeared eerie. Instead, it radiated pure Dark-type energy.
Xerneas casually tossed the purified black orb onto the ground and stomped down on it with force. The orb immediately dissolved back into black mist, dispersing in all directions.
Without the red glow, the black mist no longer seemed ominous. This essence, originally belonging to a Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon, would soon be broken down by nature and transformed into ordinary Dark-type energy.
However, at that very moment, the Absol beneath Yuga suddenly leaped forward. A dark radiance flashed on its forehead, and Yveltal's essence, now freed from the constraints of the rule of death, was instantly drawn toward Absol, flowing into its body.
With the rule of death no longer restricting it, the Seed of Unknown was finally able to act without restraint. Under Absol's control, it absorbed Yveltal's essence without hesitation.
Amazing!
A deep, satisfied groan escaped Absol's throat.
Xerneas, witnessing this scene, was greatly astonished. It hadn't expected this Absol to possess such an ability.
However, Xerneas did not interfere. After all, this essence would have dissipated into nature anyway. Now that Absol had absorbed it, it could be considered a token of gratitude toward that human.
As more of Yveltal's essence was absorbed, Absol's aura grew stronger and stronger. In the blink of an eye, it had already surpassed its previous state—before it had lost the black orb.