The sight atop Mt. Coronet had captured the attention of the entire world.
The snow that once blanketed the mountain's summit had completely vanished. In its place, melted snow cascaded down like a flood, rushing down the slopes.
That alone might have startled people—but what came next left them utterly shocked.
"Mt. Coronet… it's cracking!"
Before countless onlookers, a fissure appeared at the mountain's peak. And with each passing second, it grew—wider, deeper.
BOOM!
A thunderous roar echoed as the summit—Sinnoh's highest point—collapsed entirely.
The moment was broadcast across the world via holo-imaging, immersing viewers in the scene as if they were truly there. And along with that immersion came a long-forgotten question rising again in their hearts:
"What on earth is happening atop Mt. Coronet?"
What kind of battle could cause such devastation… enough to shatter the peak of the mountain itself?
Among all who watched, only Cynthia knew the truth—and her heart was heavy with worry.
She wasn't concerned for the safety of the Tech Hunter who had once held her captive.
What she feared… was what would happen if Cyrus won.
If he succeeded, the entire Sinnoh region would be doomed.
So, even if it still felt a bit uncomfortable to admit… Cynthia found herself praying for the Tech Hunter's victory.
At the very least, Team Rocket wouldn't try to destroy the entire world.
Luo Yuan, the man at the center of it all, had no idea Cynthia was praying for him.
He was floating in the air, staring up at the sky now visible through what had once been solid stone overhead.
Rayquaza's last full-power attack had exceeded even his expectations. If not for Deoxys providing backup at the last second, he might not have been able to keep Cyrus from getting flattened.
Maybe I went a little overboard...
If you asked Luo Yuan whether he'd known [Draco Meteor] would damage Mt. Coronet's summit, he'd have said yes.
Given how far things had escalated, there was no realistic way to take down Dialga and Palkia in their state without damaging the terrain.
What he hadn't expected was just how much destruction Rayquaza's [Draco Meteor] would cause.
Then again, in hindsight—it wasn't surprising.
Rayquaza was the apex of Hoenn's legendaries. Even Groudon and Kyogre, who had been suppressed by it, could summon floods and droughts across the region.
For their boss, blowing the top off Mt. Coronet with one Draco Meteor wasn't exactly unbelievable.
Still, power came with consequences.
Luo Yuan looked down at where Dialga and Palkia had been.
The two legendaries, still shackled by the red chains, hadn't been able to dodge like Mewtwo or Deoxys could.
Worse, they had just been locked in heated combat with Mewtwo and Deoxys when the meteors fell—completely unable to defend themselves.
They'd taken the brunt of the attack.
Luo Yuan used psychic energy to sweep away the rising dust—and saw them.
Dialga and Palkia lay buried beneath fallen boulders.
They looked miserable. Their bodies were covered in scorched wounds from the meteor strikes.
Palkia, especially—being Water/Dragon-type—had taken far more damage from the Dragon-type assault than the Steel/Dragon-type Dialga.
Palkia had completely lost the ability to fight.
Dialga, at least, was still barely conscious.
"Can you hear me?" Luo Yuan asked, speaking to it through the Viridian power.
Half-buried in rubble, Dialga slowly raised its head to look at him.
"We meet again, human."
It didn't speak aloud—but through the [Viridian Power], Luo Yuan clearly understood its thoughts.
There was a note of reluctant acceptance in its tone.
And Luo Yuan caught something else, too—recognition.
This wasn't their first meeting.
Months ago, when Luo Yuan had traveled through time with Celebi, he had encountered Dialga within the time-space tunnel.
As the deity of time, Dialga abhorred time travelers—anyone who tampered with the natural flow.
Back then, it had marked Luo Yuan with a trace of its aura, intending to hold him accountable later.
But… Dialga had never imagined this would be the scene of their reunion.
Staring up at Rayquaza, Mewtwo, and Deoxys, feeling the wounds across its own body, Dialga quietly buried its desire to exact justice—for now.
Just as it was about to respond again—
A powerful presence surged from within the rubble.
Luo Yuan's expression sharpened. Beside him, Rayquaza, Mewtwo, and Deoxys all turned vigilant.
Then—
From the collapsed ruins, a black vortex opened.
A leg stepped out—gray-skinned, tipped with golden claws.
Then came the head. Two black wings unfurled.
Six legs followed.
And finally—a shadowy tail.
Giratina had arrived at Spear Pillar.
Its expression was one of sheer fury.
"So it showed up after all."
Luo Yuan wasn't surprised. Spear Pillar sat at the nexus between the real world and the Distortion World. It was the closest point of contact between the two realms.
The damage from this battle would have easily reached the other side.
For a territorial being like Giratina, it was only natural to come investigate after its domain was disturbed.
Put simply—
It was like Giratina had been at home, enjoying a hot pot and singing karaoke—
And someone demolished the house.
If the roles were reversed, Luo Yuan thought, he'd be even angrier.
But as he looked at the fuming Giratina, he sighed and said:
"…If I told you the real culprit was that guy over there, would you believe me?"
He pointed at Cyrus, who stood nearby, still bound by psychic power, his brain clearly not processing any of what was happening.
In a way, Luo Yuan wasn't lying.
Sure, he had been the one to collapse Mt. Coronet.
But the cause of it all—the person who'd started this disaster—was undeniably Cyrus.
Hearing Luo Yuan's words, Giratina glanced at the wounded Dialga and Palkia…
Then at Rayquaza, Mewtwo, and Deoxys…
And finally, it looked at Cyrus, who was floating helplessly under psychic restraint.
Giratina narrowed its eyes.
"You're full of it."