"Everyone, attack!"
Barry and Lucas immediately understood the signal and commanded their Pokémon to launch a coordinated assault on the two deities.
In an instant, a barrage of attacks shot forth simultaneously.
"Dialga, Roar of Time! Palkia, Spacial Rend!"
Having just completed the creation of a new world, Dialga and Palkia were now free to act. Without hesitation, they unleashed their signature moves, effortlessly neutralizing the oncoming attacks. However, the residual energy still surged toward the gathered trainers.
Fortunately, thanks to the intervention of the awakened Lake Guardians, no one was injured.
"Thunder! Dragon Rush!"
"Viree!"
By this point, Paul had finally snapped out of his daze from witnessing the birth of a new world. With a nod, he gave the signal to Electivire and Garchomp.
"Gaaaar!"
Golden lightning crackled through the air as Electivire discharged a massive bolt toward Cyrus. Garchomp followed closely behind, transforming into a ferocious dragon that lunged toward the Team Galactic boss.
No one had expected Paul's first move after regaining his composure to be a direct attack on Cyrus himself.
Even Cyrus—whom at this moment, believed he had full control over everything—was caught off guard. Reacting instinctively, he raised his hand in an attempt to block the Thunder attack.
BOOM!
The moment the lightning made contact with Cyrus, his gloves emitted a mysterious energy, forming a protective barrier that barely held together under the impact.
However, the real danger came next.
Garchomp crashed directly into the barrier shattering it completely, its impact striking the red gemstone embedded in Cyrus' glove.
Under the immense external force, the gemstone exploded, unleashing a terrifying shockwave.
The sheer force blasted Garchomp backward and sent Cyrus flying toward the gateway to the new world.
Perhaps it was pain.
Perhaps it was the sudden loss of his godlike power.
For the first time in a long while, clarity returned to Cyrus' eyes.
Spreading his arms wide, he embraced his self-created world.
BOOM!
BOOM!
With Cyrus' gloves destroyed, the Red Chains disintegrated, and his figure disappeared into the void.
Freed from their bindings, Dialga and Palkia were finally liberated.
The moment they regained their freedom, the two deities enraged by their manipulation, unleashed their full power upon the gateway to the new world, destroying it entirely.
Perhaps the new world still existed.
But the passage to it had been utterly destroyed.
From this moment forward, no being—except Arceus, the one born from chaos—could ever reach that world again.
But it wasn't over yet.
With their rage still boiling over, the two divine dragons turned on each other, fighting like wild beasts.
Their attacks, unrestrained and furious, began to threaten the people who had freed them.
"Uxie!"
"Mesprit!"
"Azelf!"
The Lake Guardians exchanged glances and soared into the air, attempting to use their power to return the enraged gods to their own dimensions.
But then—an unexpected twist has occurred.
"GRAAAAH!"
"ROOOAAAR!"
Both Palkia and Dialga simultaneously turned their wrathful gazes toward the Lake Guardians, launching their devastating signature moves.
The combined Roar of Time and Spacial Rend sent the three small Pokémon flying, before the deities resumed their ferocious battle.
With time and space collapsing around them, the Distortion World began to destabilize.
"ROOOOAAR!"
Suddenly, from within the endless darkness—a ghostly figure emerged.
The ever-meddling Giratina had arrived to break up the fight!
And then... promptly got caught in the crossfire, and beaten mercilessly.
Fortunately, with the Lake Guardians' help, the two enraged gods eventually regained their senses.
Realizing they had been controlled and humiliated, Dialga and Palkia wasted no time.
With a cold snort at each other, they opened dimensional portals and vanished back into their respective realms.
Giratina, seeing that its job was done, let out a long sigh before turning and disappearing into the Distortion World.
In mere moments, the Three Creation Dragons were gone.
And the people left behind at the Spear Pillar were utterly dumbfounded.
"...That's it?"
"I... think so?"
"Seems like it..."
Cynthia, Barry, and Lucas, who had been prepared to fight for their lives, now found themselves staring at an empty battlefield, at a complete loss for words.
"Uxie?" (What now?)
"Mesprit?" (Don't look at me!)
"Azelf!" (I got nothing!)
The battered Lake Guardians exchanged exhausted glances just as confused as the humans.
After a brief telepathic discussion, the three Pokémon turned to Paul and his group, released a surge of energy, and teleported everyone away from the crumbling Spear Pillar.
The next moment, they all found themselves standing safely outside the ruins.
With the arrival of Looker and the local Officer Jenny leading the reinforcements, all remaining Team Galactic members were swiftly arrested.
"On behalf of the Pokémon League, I extend our deepest gratitude to all of you. Without your help, the Sinnoh region—no, the entire world—would have faced an unimaginable crisis."
Officer Jenny bowed respectfully to Paul and his companions.
"Bwahaha! No need to thank us! Fighting evil is just what we do!"
"Yeah! The world is such a beautiful place—I just don't get why anyone would want to destroy it."
Barry and Lucas waved off the gratitude with grins.
Cynthia, watching them, couldn't help but smile slightly as well.
But then—
"Deepest gratitude, huh? So what's the reward?"
A sudden voice cut through the moment.
All eyes turned to see Paul, casually scrolling through his Rotom Phone as if he had just asked the question offhandedly.
"Uh… well… there will definitely be honorary certificates and some prize money."
Officer Jenny hesitated, clearly caught off guard by the blunt request.
"Oh? Prize money?"
At the mention of money, Barry—who had been full of righteous pride moments ago—suddenly perked up.
"How much? A million? A hundred million? Enough to build a Battle Tower?"
"Uh… probably… not that much…"
Officer Jenny suddenly felt embarrassed.
Honor was the main reward. Prize money was usually symbolic at best—if they got 100,000 Pokédollars, they'd be lucky.
"That's it?" Paul put his phone away and gave Officer Jenny an expresionless look.
"Uh… that's the extent of my authority. But if there's anything specific you need, I can make a request…"
"Mega Stones. Gigantamax Bands… That'll do. Thanks."
"Oh! Me too! I want one!" Lucas immediately jumped in.
"Same here!" Barry added, realizing that money wouldn't get him a Battle Tower anytime soon.
Officer Jenny wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead.
Beside her, Cynthia just smiled and said nothing… but she was secretly thinking:
Wait—Gigantamax Bands?
Even I don't have one yet.
...Should I ask for one too?
Yeah. Let's do that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to access advance chapters, please visit: patreon.com / PMadz_23