"That's as far as we go, Dylan. Come visit Hoenn again sometime."
At the edge of Rota, Steven smiled as he waved goodbye. It was time—they were heading home.
After all, this trip to Kanto had been about wiping out Team Rocket. Now that Kanto's Team Rocket had been dismantled, there was no reason to stay.
Not to mention, Steven, Geeta, and Cynthia were all reigning Champions of their regions—and Geeta was also a League Chairperson. They couldn't remain away for long.
"Alright. I'll definitely visit again," Dylan said with a smile.
"Oh, right—Cynthia, there's a place in Sinnoh called Michina, right?" Dylan suddenly remembered something and turned to Cynthia.
"Yes, I've been there." Cynthia nodded after a moment's thought. She was passionate about mythology and history and often explored ruins linked to Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon.
The ruins at Michina were one such place. She'd been there herself.
"And the current guardian of the Michina ruins is Lady Sheena, isn't it?"
"Correct." Cynthia nodded again.
"I see." Dylan looked thoughtful. Sheena, as depicted in the movie, was Michina's present-day guardian and a descendant of Damos. She possessed the Power of Understanding, allowing her to communicate with the deities of time and space.
After seeing the others off, Dylan returned to the Rota Gym. A trip to Sinnoh was definitely in order. He needed to confirm whether Michina's history mirrored the movie's—whether Arceus had been betrayed by Damos and now harbored hatred for humans.
If that were true, he had to be ready.
Right now, though, he was pretty curious how things were going with Lance.
Unova Region.
The ruins of the old Unova League HQ were now a smoldering wasteland. When Alder arrived on-site, the devastation left him stunned.
The towering Plasma Castle had been reduced to rubble, nearly unrecognizable. All around were the wounded—Ghetsis included. But of N, there was no sign.
And Lance?
Alder frowned. The intel he'd received said Lance had found Team Plasma's hideout and engaged in battle with N.
But judging by the scene before him—he'd arrived too late.
And…
Alder's gaze fell on Ghetsis, who sat mumbling incoherently, looking completely unhinged. What happened to him? Did he lose his mind?
"Arrest them all," Alder ordered.
The Officer Jenny squad swept in and apprehended the surviving Plasma members. Alder stepped over the battlefield, even seeing a few gravely injured grunts.
It was brutal…
Alder's face tightened. Yes, Team Plasma was a criminal group—but Lance hadn't held back at all. His attacks clearly hadn't considered the lives of those involved.
He'd heard of Lance's hatred for evil organizations—but now, he truly understood the depth of it.
Bzzz bzzz.
His phone rang.
The call led Alder to Dragonspiral Tower in northern Icirrus City.
At the riverbank near the tower, he found a familiar green-haired youth in white—N.
"Alder."
"N."
N turned to face him as he approached.
"Where's Lance? I went to Victory Road—it was in ruins."
"He and I fought," N said, a mix of sorrow and calm in his voice.
"And the result?"
"I'm no match for him. Lance is incredibly powerful." N shook his head, hiding nothing.
Even with Zekrom, he couldn't match Lance. As a top-tier Champion, Lance's full team was on a different level.
Especially now that he had a Giant Dragonite on top of his core team of Dragonites and Dragonairs. Zekrom was strong, but against such relentless assaults, N and Zekrom had no choice but to retreat.
Team Plasma, meanwhile, had suffered heavy losses. Lance's attacks were indiscriminate—pure shock-and-awe devastation.
That was why N had taken Zekrom and led Lance away—to spare the others.
"He's that strong?" Alder was shocked.
That was Zekrom, a Legendary Pokémon.
He was suddenly very glad he hadn't tried to stop Lance like those council members suggested. If he'd tried to stand in Lance's way… he'd have been crushed.
"I brought him here, and we had another conversation."
N looked up at the ancient tower—the same place he'd once awakened Zekrom.
"My ideals… were false. I'm sure of it now."
A bitter smile touched his lips. What a joke, right? Everything he'd built his life around turned out to be based on a lie.
That was the hardest truth to swallow.
"But your heart was always true, N. What you saw wasn't false—it was just incomplete." Alder's voice was firm.
"Ghetsis twisted the truth to guide you toward an extreme version of your ideals—but your original wish was noble."
"To make Pokémon happy—that's never a bad thing. You just need a better way to pursue it. And we can work on that together."
"I'll keep trying," N said, pressing his lips together. But now his eyes no longer held that dim, defeated light—only clarity and resolve.
A faint smile graced his face.
"Alder… can I join you?"
"You want to join the Unova League?" Alder's eyes lit up.
"Yes. I want to make the world a better place. I want Pokémon to be truly happy. And I know now I can't do that alone."
"That's wonderful, N! The League welcomes you!"
"But what about Lance?"
"He's gone." N shook his head. "But I think… Lance himself is the dangerous one."
"What do you mean?"
"I gave Zekrom to him."
"…What?!"
"He told me his ideals. I didn't reject them. So I returned Zekrom to its dormant stone form—and let him awaken it anew."
N calmly explained. He couldn't defeat Lance, but during their encounter, they'd had a genuine conversation.
And for the first time, N truly understood Lance's goal.
His own ideals had been misguided. But Lance's?
They were real. Harsh. But possible. N wanted to see if Lance could pull it off—if Zekrom could help him destroy evil.
"You just… handed Zekrom over?" Alder was stunned.
"That's a Legendary, N!"
"If he fails to realize his ideals, Zekrom will return to me. That's what we agreed upon after communing with Zekrom," N said gently.
"Lance is cold, even cruel—but I felt his heart was in the right place. Still… his thinking is too extreme."
"I agree." Alder nodded.
What had happened at Victory Road had made that painfully clear.
"I hope I'm wrong," N sighed. "But I don't think Lance will succeed."
He reminded N of his past self—trapped in extremes. No, Lance might've sunk even deeper.
Lance's hatred of evil was… obsessive. But strangely enough, he was still logical in his own way.
N couldn't bring himself to condemn him.
Who could say hating evil was wrong?
Especially when N knew—many still saw him as a villain.
…
Days passed. Lance returned to Kanto a few days ago but said nothing about what happened in Unova.
Soon after reporting in at Indigo Plateau, he vanished again—no one knew where he'd gone.
Back in Rota.
"Geeta moves fast," Dylan murmured, holding two Poké Balls.
Though, Cynthia was just as quick.
"Come on out."
He tossed three Poké Balls, summoning three Pokémon.
On the left was a snowy-white larval creature, insect-like with big black eyes and a body covered in ice crystals.
A Bug/Ice-type—Snom.
Beep~ Snom. Type: Ice/Bug. Category: Worm Pokémon.
Ability: Ice Scales
Moves: Struggle Bug, Powder Snow
Entry: It can spit out chilly silk and hang from tree branches while pretending to be an icicle as it sleeps.
"Nice."
Dylan nodded. Its evolution, Frosmoth, had impressive Special Attack—perfect for his Ice team.
Its dual typing did leave it with two 4x weaknesses, which was annoying—but still, worth training.
Besides, Frosmoth was gorgeous. Dylan liked that—it fit his aesthetic.
Next to it was a grayish little creature resembling a mini dinosaur. It had a big nose and a dorsal fin.
Beep~ Frigibax. Type: Dragon/Ice. Category: Ice Fin Pokémon.
Ability: Thermal Exchange
Moves: Dragon Breath, Icy Wind, Dragon Tail, Outrage (inherited)
Entry: Lives in rocky or forested areas. It uses its back fin to chill its nest like a freezer.
This was the first stage of Paldea's pseudo-legendary, Baxcalibur.
Geeta had sent over both the Frigibax and the Snom—clearly knowing Dylan would be building an Ice-type team.
The third Pokémon was a shark-like creature with a wide mouth, a giant dorsal fin, and two protrusions on its head.
Beep~ Gible. Type: Dragon/Ground. Category: Land Shark Pokémon.
Ability: Rough Skin
Moves: Bulldoze, Dragon Breath, Sand Attack, Sand Tomb, Iron Head (inherited)
Entry: Hides in underground burrows. When prey or enemies pass by, it pounces—sometimes too hard and breaks its own teeth.
A Gible! The baby form of Garchomp, sent by Cynthia—she claimed it was one of her ace's offspring.
Now that was a gift.
Both Champions clearly knew how to return a favor.
"With this, I've nearly collected all the pseudo-legendaries," Dylan chuckled.
"Just missing Kommo-o… and Hisuian Goodra."
He crouched down, smiling as he petted the three little ones, bonding with them.
His collection was nearly complete.
"As for the Ice-types… not that many good ones left."
He frowned, glancing between Snom and Frigibax.
He already had five Alolan Ninetales. And Ice-types, while potent offensively, had terrible defensive matchups.
Even Steel—which was the most defensively solid type—couldn't save Ice.
Steel/Ice? That meant 4x weakness to Fire and Fighting.
Ice resisted only itself. That was… rough.
"Aurorus… hmm, forget it. I already have too many weather setters with the Ninetales."
He considered his Ice team composition. Frosmoth for Special Attack, Baxcalibur for Physical. Ninetales for weather. Plus Iron Bundle and Articuno.
"Weavile's worth training. Glaceon's cute too."
He grinned. In the end, he'd just go with the ones he liked best.
He already had the strong ones—might as well go with style.
Now if only he could track down Chien-Pao's sealed shrine…