Rrrrrumble—!

Spring Tempest barreled into the heavens, and the combined Tempest Fusion unleashed by the Three Cloud Gods was even more fearsome.

A Withered-Leaf Storm. A Thunderclap Storm. A Searing-Sand Storm!

The four raging tempests collided and tore at one another, and the monstrous gale they whipped up swept across the entire sea of Undella Bay in an instant.

Fortunately, because Team Plasma had been stationed and investigating on the nearby islands, the number of swimmers here had dropped greatly. So even with this vast heaven-and-earth upheaval, it didn’t affect too many “visitors.”

Meanwhile, the Abyssal Ruins burst up from beneath the waves. Though it didn’t rise fully, that sky-piercing pillar of light could still be seen.

Crowds gathered along the shore of Undella Town, staring in shock at the violent weather churning over the sea.

At first the pillar of light was still visible, but as gales, downpours, and even sandstorms rolled in, black clouds boiled across the sky, rain fell in sheets, the sea raged, and most lines of sight were swallowed.

Using the Reveal Glass to command the Four Gods and thereby marshal unending celestial tempests—turning the seasons themselves—one could even accomplish something on the level of Kyurem’s “Freeze Unova.” That is the true power of the gods upon the clouds.

Split apart, they might not be that overwhelming—merely brutal local tyrants among Legendary Pokémon, scarcely “terrifying.”

But once the Four are turned into their Therian Formes, abandoning their Incarnate shapes and acting under the Ruins’ control, their true might is unsealed.

“This is the level of power that actually makes me want to fight.”

The young lady’s eyes blinked; joy and excitement were already blooming there.

The fake kings weren’t weak—only weak before her. They came in numbers, yet still weren’t worth a glance.

So, time to face stronger foes!

“The real show’s about to start. Four versus three.”

Caitlin flipped open a third Poké Ball—and to everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t a Psychic-type.

It was Sableye.

“Hehe… this little one’s tactics fit this situation perfectly.”

“Shopkeep, use that again.”

Caitlin—Ojō-sama—winked; a curious light danced in those blue eyes. She raised her hand lightly.

“Gravity.”

Upon entering a Gravity field, all Pokémon have their Flying and telekinetic levitation canceled!

Flying-type, Levitate-ability, Magnet Rise, and Balloon-carrying Pokémon become affected by Ground-type moves, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Sticky Web, and Arena Trap.

All Pokémon are dragged down to the ground!

[Tornadus, Tailwind! Thundurus, Taunt!]

The Ancient Crown reflexively tried to lock out status moves—but Caitlin only chuckled softly.

As expected—

Thundurus’s Taunt failed.

“Guu!”

In dragon-like Therian Forme, Thundurus bulged its eyes and swung its head toward the Ancient Crown.

It didn’t know why Taunt had just fizzled, but obviously—this was your fault, commander!

The Ancient Crown fell speechless.

Shifting blame, is it.

…And somehow it really did feel like its fault?

[Taunt failed… why?]

Caitlin snapped her fingers. “Mental Herb.”

When the holder is unable to act freely, it cures that restriction once—simple as that.

“You’ve got more to worry about than Gravity.”

“Sableye, Hypnosis.”

Gravity + Hypnosis—a tactical combo Caitlin had once picked up from Hikaru.

Once it lands, the target basically sleeps to defeat. The Ancient Crown hastily ordered the Three Cloud Gods to scatter—but the Warrior of Light blazing with radiance was never going to let them slip away that easily!

Deoxys called out to Landorus.

We were comrades last time we met. This time, we’re on opposing sides!

Thanks for teaching me Meteor Beam, so—

Hikaru and Deoxys’s voices rang together in Landorus’s mind.

“Landorus—sleep for a bit!”

“Dark Void!”

Deoxys pressed both hands down into the void—formless black vacuums chained out and bloomed right before the trio’s eyes!

Under Gravity’s suppression, the Cloud trio’s altitude kept getting forced lower!

And with Gravity active, even Psychics can’t rely on telekinesis to fly. Also, except for one-hit KO moves, every move’s accuracy skyrockets!

Landorus jolted.

What move is that—wait, it looks familiar!

Isn’t that Darkrai’s signature?!

Because the Cloud trio regularly crosses the ocean to Sinnoh’s lands—and Darkrai resides on an island near Canalave City—they sometimes brush past it over the waters.

There does seem to be a Darkrai in Unova too, but Landorus had never seen it—only felt a bit of nightmare-like turbulence near the Abundant Shrine. Nothing serious.

So it never went looking.

And besides—going to pick a fight with Darkrai for no reason? That’d be dumb.

“Ra-dong?!”

Is that Dark Void even legal?!

Ohhh, so space aliens get to do whatever they want, huh!

Deoxys’s answer was blunt:

Don’t ask a Warrior of Light such a dark question!

[Don’t panic!]

The Ancient Crown’s pulse washed over the field, and with Gravity backing them up, Hypnosis + Dark Void barely missed at all—the volleys struck the three cloud gods cleanly!

In Incarnate Forme, the trio fell asleep. With their power they’d wake relatively quickly, but even the slightest gap would expose them to irreparable damage.

However, the Ancient Crown was not unprepared.

It began to shine, the Reveal Glass gleaming with it—and Hikaru felt the Ancient Bracelet light up as well.

“Don’t tell me—that’s learning moves on the fly?!”

He’d done that himself. It wasn’t strange that the Ancient Crown could wield a similar force.

And with that royal surge, the Cloud trio suddenly roared:

[Snore… and Sleep Talk!]

Moves usable only while asleep. Snore blasts a cacophonous shockwave; 30% chance to flinch!

Sleep Talk randomly calls one of the user’s known moves!

Landorus used Snore—the savage bellow stunned the field. Deoxys’s body stiffened; its will snagged by a special flinch. Sableye, though, was unfazed… but the timid imp did see two massive energies coalescing overhead!

Tornadus’s Sleep Talk → Hurricane!

Thundurus’s Sleep Talk → Thunder!

Their STAB signatures—now supercharged by the berserk weather maelstrom—swelled to absurd force. Lightning and storm hammered the Ruins and the surrounding sea, shaking everything.

They might not fly under Gravity—but it didn’t stop them from controlling the weather!

In fact, Thunder and Hurricane, usually shaky and needing Rain to land, now hit perfectly under Sleep Talk + Gravity!

Caitlin: “Gothitelle, Dream Eater.”

Devour the dreams of a sleeping foe to attack, then heal for half the damage dealt.

Gothitelle’s palms pressed into the air—and she struck the sleeping Landorus first. At base 100 power, in an Elite Four Pokémon’s hands, it was devastating!

Landorus howled in pain—and jolted awake!

“Enamorus—Weather Ball!”

The pink, turtle-ish Enamorus puffed three gas bubbles from the top of her head. With the storming rain boosting it, Weather Ball became Water-type, and the shot hammered Landorus in the instant it woke!

Wooo—!

At that moment, Deoxys shifted Forme—dropping from Normal to Attack.

Landorus’s eyes hardened.

Going all out, huh?

Power gathered in its four claws; resolution gleamed there.

Sorry, friend—this bout is mine! No matter what move you use… it won’t matter!

[Landorus used Fissure!]

Using Fissure inside its own Ruins?

Hikaru could only admire the Ancient Crown’s audacity—didn’t the king’s soul object to that?!

Still, the Ruins’ stone steles were absurdly sturdy. Even Landorus’s Fissure couldn’t truly crack them; instead a tearing Ground-force ripped the sea apart and lunged straight at Deoxys!

If it connects, it’s an instant KO!

Tornadus and Thundurus, still asleep, rolled their Sleep Talk again—

Thundurus’s Charge Beam!

Tornadus’s Air Cutter!

A three-way convergence streaked for Deoxys.

“Sableye—Ally Switch.”

Caitlin’s calm voice made it sound preordained. In a flicker of psychic light, Sableye and Deoxys swapped spots!

At once, a pressurized aura gathered around Sableye! Timid little Sableye grabbed its head and squatted—eating all three shots at once!

But an odd ripple shielded it!

“Gothitelle—Heal Pulse.”

Heal Pulse restores half the target’s HP. You can choose any ally on the field other than yourself.

[…A tidy combo! Covering each other’s blind spots, huh!]

The Ancient Crown realized danger the instant Ally Switch flashed—and sure enough, Deoxys popped into Sableye’s original square. But the Warrior of Light was blisteringly fast, so in that single heartbeat—

Hikaru gave the command:

Now! Warrior of Light—use the power you got from the Dragon!

A freezing beam lanced from the tip of Attack-Forme Deoxys’s tendrils—precise and point-blank!

Ice Beam!

Intimidate had lowered its Attack—but for a dual-bladed fighter who can swap Formes freely, that was no problem! The icy secret taught personally by the legendary dragon Kyurem smashed into Landorus!

Quad-weak to Ice, Landorus froze into a chunk on the spot—frozen and knocked to a sliver!

Ding-dong, ding-dong…

After unleashing that huge beam, the blue core in Deoxys’s chest started blinking—energy running low. But Professor Yew had stocked Deoxys with plenty of energy capsules!

With a capsule popped, the chest crystal glowed bright again.

“Ojō-sama—thanks for that.”

Hikaru flashed Caitlin a thumbs-up.

They’d already aligned through a mind-link before that swap, and Caitlin’s Future Sight had cleanly read the Ancient Crown’s plan.

“Hmph.” A ghost of a smile curved Caitlin’s lips. “Focus—we’re still in battle.”

Landorus’s fall snapped Tornadus and Thundurus awake. The two brothers blinked at the ice statue—then immediately smirked.

So the jerk who beats us daily finally got what’s coming!

That said—without Landorus, their weather control just tanked…

[Uproar!]

The Ancient Crown decreed: no more sleep moves in this arena. Therian Thundurus reared and bellowed Uproar—a 90-power sound move that ignores Substitute.

It targets at random, locks the user into three turns of raging—and prevents all Pokémon from falling asleep during that time. No other moves, no items, no switching, no running!

Thundurus’s thunderous roar shook the field while Tornadus took on the striker’s role!

In Therian Forme like a giant roc, Tornadus first set a Double Team to avoid a repeat. Countless clones tiled the sky above the Ruins. Gravity’s grip began to weaken, meaning they’d soon return to high air!

However—Prankster + Dark-type immunity makes you shrug off things like Taunt, so even if Gravity dropped, it would just be flipped back on. The Ancient Crown had foreseen that too!

[Nasty Plot!]

Scheming wickedly—the user’s Sp. Atk rose sharply!

Tornadus’s Sp. Atk spiked!

“They’re planning to sweep us away with Hurricane. Saw it coming already!”

Ice-blue light flashed in Caitlin’s eyes. “Sucker Punch!”

Acts first—fails if the target doesn’t attack this turn!

Sableye swung an invisible backhand, smacking the real body behind all those afterimages right across the beak!

In that single daze of an opening, Deoxys had already blitzed in!

A savage cold surged from its chest—ignoring Thundurus’s Uproar as it jammed a point-blank Ice Beam into Tornadus!

[Future Sight, is it… but unfortunately, the Heart of the King also reads the future.]

[Your Ice Beam… I’ve seen it!]

Seeing Caitlin fire off Future Sight, the Ancient Crown didn’t dare get cocky. The Sea King also had the power to read the future. It differed a bit from Future Sight, but the end result was similar.

So—Tornadus’s body vanished; a perfectly hidden Substitute.

The gale exploded anyway. Tornadus whipped back with Foul Play!

Dark energy rode the storm and swallowed the Warrior of Light whole—Foul Play a.k.a. “use the foe’s power against them!”

It calculates damage using the target’s Attack. The higher your foe’s Attack, the harder it hits!

[It’s over! Psychic is weak to Dark—you’ll be beaten by your own power…]

The Ancient Crown’s triumphant cry cut off as Deoxys appeared—again.

“From start to finish I’ve only used a single Pokémon. Ojō-sama has two.”

“Did you forget about Enamorus?”

Hikaru looked at the figure riding the gale from within the storm. The Foul Play stung, but given the type matchups, it barely hurt at all!

Tornadus paled.

He’d struck Enamorus, not Deoxys! And Flying + Dark have only normal/poor effect on her!

Enamorus let loose a lilting cry—

A bewitching song—an angelic voice. Any Pokémon with boosted stats this turn falls into confusion!

Tornadus had just used Nasty Plot; at that instant he heard the languid strains and immediately confused himself!

In that same heartbeat, Deoxys flipped to Defense Forme—and rather than tanking, it used—

“Teleport!”

It had watched a Kadabra use that in Celestic—Deoxys memorized it. Hikaru could feel, though, that Deoxys’s Teleport could only blink short distances during combat—and, crucially, must obey the Swap Rule.

It needs a benched Pokémon to exchange with, or else the user doesn’t know where it’ll end up. And the range is small, too.

But in battle, that’s plenty.

As Deoxys’s command over Teleport grows, it’ll be able to hop to distant reaches, even develop the special-episode “Mind-Trace” to find people. Still—across anime, games, and manga alike—it’s clear:

Deoxys aren’t exactly masters of Teleport. They can learn it—but making it sublime is hard.

Which fits the Ultraman vibe.

Teleport guzzles energy; a single hop can throw you into the red light.

Case in point—the just-refilled capsule was nearly drained already. The blue indicator chimed again—but Hikaru also hurled a second capsule!

Not a normal one—Triple-Accel Energy!

Usable at any point mid-fight. When the foe launches an attack, it floods the user with power—tripling any one stat in an instant!

And Accel Energy triggers faster than the opponent’s move!

Even with a glimpse of the future, the Ancient Crown had no time to counter. In that instant, Deoxys became light.

Cosmic power overflowed from the Warrior of Light!

Gathering brilliance, storing force—then unleashing it in a single breath!

Meteor Beam!

The rock-hewn beam of starlight tore the gale apart and slammed full-force into Tornadus. The green raptor thrashed, the Rock-type torrent boring through it!

Thundurus’s Uproar halted; on the Ancient Crown’s order, it tried to save its brother—but a crushing psychic will locked it in place.

“This is as far as you go.”

Caitlin snapped her fingers with quiet grace.

Gothitelle smiled strangely—blinding white fell from the sky, a bolt like judgment itself knocked the thunder-god from the clouds.

Psych Up + Future Sight!

Thundurus crashed to earth. But Caitlin’s brow creased; she glanced at the fallen trio and spoke to Hikaru:

“Something’s off.”

“We’ve beaten the trio—but Danger Sense is ringing.”

The Ancient Crown’s voice sighed through:

[Magnificent. In theory, you’ve already won.]

[But… the heirs who claim the Sea King’s orthodoxy—their unworthy descendants—have arrived.]

“So it’s you, O great forebear… are you the one calling to us?”

A magnetic, velvety, and yet thoroughly insincere voice drifted from the entrance to the fourth floor.

(End of Chapter)

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