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[Yu-Gi-Oh!: Undefeated/Ultra-Meta!]

“So that’s how it is—the guardians were empowered by the King through the Plates’ might and pulled through the seams of dreams.”

His hands-on control was formidable indeed—worthy of a King who gathered Arceus’s Plates. In most regions, the Plates are scattered; only in Unova are nearly all of them crammed into the Abyssal Ruins.

“Herah~!”

Heracross scratched its big shiny head. It truly hadn’t expected to get hauled out just to be clobbered.

But since it was the King calling, it had to come. Bottom line: we got buffed, we got sent, we got farmed.

If it had known you were here—the monster you are—it would have begged to be a Cowardly Hercules Beetle today.

Hikaru felt like he ought to say, “How dare you insult Heracross,” but then he remembered the rhinoceros beetle in front of him was Heracross itself, so he held his tongue.

“But haven’t you never left the forest?”

“Herah~!”

Heracross rubbed its proud horn.

Right—it hadn’t left the forest… except when the forest occasionally “called” it to handle affairs.

And this was one of those “errands.”

“So the Sea King can call upon the forest as well—is that thanks to the Plates?”

That made sense. Hikaru thought it through.

Even from Dragonspiral Tower, one could link to the ocean’s Aura; the very existence of Linking already showed that ancient people shaped Unova’s towns into whirl-like rings to harness a vast power—a gathering of people’s dreams and ideals.

By the same logic, the forest’s dreamscape could be summoned by the King.

A King who could make all life coexist in equality, shattering barriers between them—he would not rule only people or Pokémon. Nature itself would also be his subject.

“The King accepts all; all are equal and precious—that’s what the tablets proclaim.”

“Now then—this is the third floor.”

Led by Heracross, the two entered the third tier of the ruins; the other three who’d been beaten had already fled back through the dream seam to “another’s world.”

“The King holds all hopes and bears all ideals.”

“The heart of love, the strength of love.”

“The King can speak with living beings.”

“The King reads the future and shields the masses from the great tsunami.”

“If you would show your understanding of the King—display power akin to the King’s.”

They advanced to the final tablet of the third floor. Here, the prescribed move was Strength.

Caitlin had been silent the whole way, letting Hikaru hold her hand. Her focus drifted, her gaze a little far away—until now. Feeling a shift, her fingertips quivered; with the faintest trace of reluctance, she drew her hand back.

“They’re here.”

Caitlin’s voice was calm.

No doubt: the remaining Plate guardians had arrived.

In principle, all the Plates should have been on the first floor. If Ghetsis hadn’t picked them up, then the Sea King must have hidden them.

[I had intended to test you layer by layer.]

Waves rippled in the void with the Sea King’s Aura. After the last exchange, he’d clearly realized that “splitting the exam” only led to failure.

So he gathered the remaining Plates at once—ready to unleash them on Hikaru and Caitlin in a single strike.

“How many Plates are there, exactly?” Caitlin tilted her head at Hikaru.

Hikaru: “Nineteen in total, but a few aren’t in the Abyssal Ruins. So here there should be… twelve left.”

“I see.” Caitlin’s eyes brightened. “Convenient… two full teams, then.”

As radiance converged, seams of dream split wider and wider. Palm-sized Plates whirled through the air, each summoning a corresponding Pokémon!

“Yo!”

The instant Hikaru saw the “false kings”—or rather, the Guardians of the Lords—gather from the dream seam, his eyes locked on a very “familiar bug”!

From Pinwheel Forest—the shiny Beedrill with Sniper!

So that’s where it came from—the Insect Plate called it!

The shiny Beedrill froze when it spotted Hikaru, and dread surged up within it.

Just my luck. I swore never again—and here we are again!

Worse, the “kinship with Bug” pouring off him was even stronger than before. Beedrill’s will to fight flagged. Hearing the other guardians’ buzzing rally nearby, it actually felt tempted to just toss the Plate over and bolt.

The Sea King sensed Beedrill’s thoughts and fell speechless.

Losing your nerve before the battle—this is a forest guardian?

Beedrill shook its twin stingers.

It’s not that I want to run, but that guy is certified by Pinwheel Forest itself—look, he’s even carrying that wand!

“Want me to clean them all up for you? This many Pokémon—just walking around will burn up our step count,” Caitlin noted.

With so many guardians, it felt like a waste of time. She sent out Gothitelle and Reuniclus.

“Pokémon need battle to recognize one another. If we want the Plates, we beat them—all of them.”

Hikaru produced an ancient bracelet. As the guardians watched in confusion, the runes upon it flared.

And in response, a Master Ball rose into the air.

“Deoxys—use [Dark Void]!”

An ancient treasure gifted by Darkrai, the starborn. Generations ago it could even be Sketched by Smeargle, giving rise to the infamous ‘Dark Void metagame.’

Back then, dog after dog spammed Dark Void. Smeargle’s abuse got the move nerfed so hard that even if it Sketches it now, it can’t use it anymore.

While Sketch is unique, several Pokémon—Deoxys, Gardevoir, Dusknoir, and others—can create miniature singularities.

In theory—if not for game constraints—those Pokémon could indeed learn the wicked move Dark Void.

In the manga special, Deoxys used “Dark Vacuum”… but that move doesn’t exist in-game, does it?

Deoxys in the special boasts many abilities:

Remote teleperception; black holes that warp foes elsewhere; multiple remote-controlled split bodies; triangular barrier constructs for recovery; auroral illusions that confound perceptions of its Forme.

The “split body” concept appears in the movie as well, though the Deoxys beside Hikaru hadn’t yet mastered that rather “unnerving” power.

So then—start by learning black holes.

The Warrior of Light… opened with a pit of darkness!

Several guardians were swallowed by Dark Void on the spot, and the sudden technique shocked the watching King’s soul.

The Warrior of Light using a move so dark!

But the most important question was—

Did your friend really give you that?!

“Bzz-ya!” Beedrill frantically beat its wings, and together with other fliers and the more agile, dodged the spreading void, while many guardians sank instantly—gone in a blink!

Bronzong for Psychic, Braviary for Flying, Cofagrigus for Ghost, Zoroark for Dark—they were all shiny as well.

Then two dragons roared out together!

Joint Finisher — Wide Destruction!

Draconic might erupted, and the vanguard guardians bellowed, pushing back with their own power. Beedrill simply climbed higher, brazenly slacking.

Caitlin snapped her fingers. Gothitelle and Reuniclus joined the fray.

In an instant the field became a psychic warzone. Caitlin casually pinned Bronzong in place, then had her two Psychics finish it.

“Shadow Ball.”

Twin orbs of ghostly gloom—huge—smashed into Bronzong together!

Even with fortress-like defenses, Bronzong shuddered and droned in continuous pain.

The method terrified the Bronzong.

Bonnnng—

Against the false lords’ resistance, the true King naturally stepped onto the field as well.

Aegislash assumed its King’s Shield stance; golden lightning danced as its Sacred Sword swept out, smashing the transformed Zoroark straight to the floor!

It recalled Hikaru’s warning: don’t knock the guardians off the tile. That only wastes steps. Best to finish the fight within a single tablet’s bounds.

Yo! I’ve seen a bunch of Zoroark!

“Urgh—” panted the shiny Zoroark.

It remembered a conversation with a certain “friend” on his journey—about a curious human, one he even mimicked once. Looking closely now—

Isn’t that him right over there?

No wonder the friend called him incredible—he’d come to challenge the Abyssal Ruins… and he looked like a true king bathed in gold!

In all its years, it had never seen such a sight.

They say that long ago, in lands far away, Zoroark looked different—and that those ancient ones once guarded the lake trio…

Seeing Aegislash raise its blade again, Zoroark lifted its hands at once!

I surrender, I surrender!

The Dread Plate is yours!

The Sea King could only fall silent.

These guardians were indeed powerful “false kings,” but false kings sculpted by his and Unova’s power still fell before stronger foes.

And, crucially—the Pokémon he summoned today were not the very comrades from millennia past.

Knock-offs and unworthy descendants. Good enough to crush common intruders, but against masters, they fell short.

“Deoxys—Strength.”

Hikaru had his cosmic partner show its might. Power thundered; waves of force rolled out as the red tablet was shoved aside by brute force.

The rise opened. With a light hook of her finger, Caitlin gathered all the Pokémon and drifted them into the fourth floor.

At the same time, with a seemingly idle glance, she swept in the Plates that lay scattered around, drawing them all together.

She brought the still-resisting Cofagrigus and Braviary along, too—but hearing the Sea King’s crown’s command, they immediately lowered their stances.

No point continuing—the group had entered the fourth floor!

There were no winding mazes here—only a vast chamber. At its center stood an altar, ringed by red tablets.

Upon the altar rested a crown, radiating a turbulent pulse that sent ripples through the very air.

Caitlin’s eyes brightened. She lifted her gaze to the altar ahead. Her voice carried the ease of dust settling—and a quick, bright thrill:

“This is the final floor. Once we take that ancient crown, this investigation is complete. And the final inscription—what does it say?”

“The final portion,” Hikaru translated from the tablets. “Here, we praise the great King… the name is indecipherable, but it should be Harmonia.”

“The King—who did he attack alone?”

“Who was it that instantly became the King’s companion?”

“Whom did the King call… living beings?”

“The King is our hope and future.”

In the games, these glyphs never yield a full answer, but we can infer part of it.

Likely the King Harmonia, the giant king, the original dragon, perhaps even notes of Reshiram and Zekrom—one unknown sign resembles the split of the twin Dragon Stones.

“Mmm. The reading is—still a touch hazy,” Caitlin murmured, fingertip gliding neatly across the characters in her notes.

Despite that faint complaint at her lips, a ripple of wonder spread quietly in her eyes.

It was pure, childlike eagerness—the curiosity and yearning of stepping into an unknown domain for the first time. A feeling common to all.

“Ojō-sama is happy, isn’t she?”

Hikaru could feel Caitlin’s mood—an unhidden, crystalline joy.

Caitlin’s gaze swept the chamber, as if replaying what had just happened.

Her mouth curved—reserved, yet unable to hide delight. “We did come across some… reasonably interesting guardians, but…”

She paused, then sighed softly—apparently unsatisfied.

She turned, letting a wisp of gold hair slide across her fair cheek, lifting her chin with a delicate arc.

A small pride budded like the first blossom—sprightly, her voice warm with relief and contentment:

“Rejoice~” Her lilt rose at the end, a playful, confident hum.

“After all, with me by your side, I saved you countless headaches, didn’t I?”

Then she faltered, eyes flicking aside. “You did well, too. That ‘quiet of the heart’… I liked it.”

“That power… was very effective. I won’t forget it.”

“Of course, Ojō-sama’s strength left me in awe. Your power is astonishing.”

Caitlin’s might had rendered even the Sea King speechless—and Hikaru as well.

Hikaru nodded, sincere admiration threaded through his voice. “Without you, it wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”

“As for my little ‘serenity,’ I’m glad it helped—especially when you needed it. If I can shoulder even a little for you, I’m happy.”

“To do anything for you—that’s my honor.”

Caitlin listened in silence.

As Hikaru spoke his praise without reserve, the corners of her lips unknowingly lifted in a small, genuine smile.

Anyone is pleased by heartfelt praise—more so when it comes from someone who matters. That feeling cannot be hidden.

If Iris or Cynthia said such things, I would be happy, too.

“Ahem.” She cleared her throat ever so lightly, steadying the ripple in her heart.

When she looked up again, the composed, elegant smile had mostly returned—only now, her eyes seemed softer… and brighter.

The ancient crown’s pulses sharpened.

The crown spoke—with a voice of the heart.

[Only the qualified may claim the crown and wear it. That said—this crown is long decayed.]

[This is where the first King sleeps… the burial of one of the twin heroes. The beginning of Unova’s founding. A place where the multitudes shed their barriers.]

[Since you have come bearing the spirit power of the ancient city, you must be prepared.]

[The Plates’ guardians cannot stop you… This power is precisely what makes one a King.]

[Then—challenge. If you triumph, take the Ancient Crown—and receive the Abyssal Ruins’ special boon.]

[From the King’s Heart, choose what you need—and take it.]

(End of Chapter)

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