Chapter 66: The Champions Assemble! (I CAN’T STOP X2)
Within the video, the Iron-Masked Marauder spread his arms as the Dark Stone devices surrounding the whirlpool lit up simultaneously. Purple-black light spread across the surface of the sea, connecting them all.
The red glow in the eyes of the three Legendary birds intensified. Moltres’s wings unleashed waves of scorching heat, Zapdos’s feathers erupted with golden electricity, and Articuno’s blizzard froze vast sections of the ocean’s surface.
"Do you see this?"
The Iron-Masked Marauder’s voice thundered from the loudspeakers.
"I accomplished what Giovanni could not! These Legendary Pokémon are all my pawns now!"
Raina stood on Lapras’s back, with Milotic and Vaporeon guarding her from either side.
Gyarados blocked Moltres’s Flamethrower at the front, Dragonite battled Zapdos in the air, and Blastoise continuously held back the swarms of Pokémon charging toward them.
"Lady Raina!"
The Iron-Masked Marauder’s voice rose above the roar of the battlefield.
"Hand Lugia over, and I may consider sparing your life. It would be such a shame for a ten-year-old Elite Four member to die at sea."
Raina turned toward the center of the whirlpool.
The chains around Lugia tightened once more, forcibly pressing its silver-white wings against its body.
Lugia’s eyes were half-closed, and a barely audible cry escaped from deep within its throat.
"Lugia..."
Raina clenched her fists.
"Even if I told you that the only way to stop this formation is to destroy the Dark Stones in every direction, you no longer have any chance of succeeding!"
The Iron-Masked Marauder spread his arms and laughed.
"Lugia is about to fall into my hands!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
At that moment, an orange figure tore through the clouds on the horizon.
It moved as swiftly as a meteor, leaving a long trail through the air behind it.
By the time everyone recognized what it was, a Dragonite was already hovering directly above one of the Dark Stones.
It smashed the device to pieces with a single punch.
The camera shifted toward Dragonite’s back.
Lance stood there wearing his signature cape, his arms folded as he stared down at the Iron-Masked Marauder.
"Lance."
The Iron-Masked Marauder adjusted his glasses.
"I recall that the League leadership keeps you under rather close supervision. Aren’t you afraid of being held accountable for deploying without authorization?"
"The League’s affairs are none of your concern."
Lance’s voice remained calm.
"Iron-Masked Marauder, your scheme ends here."
The Iron-Masked Marauder’s face twitched before his condescending smile returned.
"So what if you’re here? Can you deal with all three Legendary birds and my army of Pokémon by yourself?"
He sneered.
"Ridiculous. You’ve merely come here to die."
"Who said he came alone?"
A silver-gray figure descended from the clouds.
Metagross.
Its four limbs held it steadily in midair, its metallic body gleaming coldly beneath the moonlight.
Steven stood atop Metagross’s head, his suit jacket snapping violently in the ocean wind.
He glanced down at the battlefield before turning toward Raina.
"Sorry I’m late, my dear niece. We encountered several controlled Sharpedo along the way, so we were delayed slightly."
Raina’s eyes lit up.
"Uncle Steven!"
"Mm."
Steven and Metagross destroyed another Dark Stone before he turned toward Lance.
"Hoenn Champion Steven Stone, here to assist the Kanto League in resolving an abnormal maritime incident. All formal procedures were completed before my departure. I’ll send you the League registration number later."
The Iron-Masked Marauder’s smile completely froze.
"Th-the Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone?!"
"Three controlled Legendary Pokémon and a swarm of wild Pokémon driven by drugs."
Cynthia’s voice came from the opposite direction.
"Ten years ago, such a force might have posed a genuine threat."
Garchomp dived from the night sky, its fins tearing through the air with a piercing sonic boom.
It charged toward another Dark Stone and shattered it with a single Dragon Claw.
Cynthia stood on Garchomp’s back, still holding a half-eaten ice cream cone.
"But now..."
She placed the last bite of ice cream into her mouth.
"I would classify it as medium difficult at best."
"Miss Cynthia!"
Raina’s eyes widened.
Cynthia nodded toward her.
"Lance already explained the situation in the group. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted. Leave this side to me."
The Iron-Masked Marauder’s expression began to twist.
"Sorry! We’re late!"
A Hydreigon burst through the clouds overhead.
All three of its heads simultaneously fired Dragon Pulse, blasting away the swarm of Sharpedo closing in around them.
Iris waved enthusiastically toward Raina.
"Raina! We’re here to help you!"
"Aunt Iris!"
Raina’s eyes brightened again.
Upon seeing this, the Iron-Masked Marauder immediately forgot about Lugia and turned to order his subordinates to retreat.
However, when he looked back, he discovered that all of his men had somehow already collapsed.
A Gardevoir landed gracefully on the metal platform.
Diantha stepped out from behind it, surveyed the surrounding battlefield, and released a quiet sigh.
"Such beautiful moonlight should have been enjoyed while watching a play at the theater."
She shook her head.
"Instead, I was called in to work overtime."
Gardevoir turned toward the Iron-Masked Marauder, blue light glowing in its eyes.
"A-another one?!"
He abruptly turned toward one of the remaining Dark Stone devices.
"Even then—"
An orange beam descended from the sky and destroyed yet another Dark Stone.
Leon rode through the clouds on Charizard’s back, his cape snapping behind him.
"Galar Champion Leon, responding to the official—uh..."
Leon scratched his head.
"Actually, no one officially invited me. Ash told me there was going to be a fight, so I came."
"G-Galar Champion Leon?!"
The Iron-Masked Marauder’s face had turned completely white.
"You... How could all of you possibly arrive at the same—"
"How could something like this happen without us?"
Ash flew out of the clouds aboard Charizard and headed straight toward the final Dark Stone.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu leaped from Ash’s shoulder, electricity crackling violently from the sacs on its cheeks.
"Pika... CHUUUU!"
The powerful bolt of electricity instantly destroyed the final Dark Stone.
Once it was done, Ash waved toward Raina.
"Raina! Your dad asked me to come help you!"
Pikachu also waved its paw.
"Pika, pika!"
Raina happily waved back.
"Uncle Ash! Pikachu!"
The Iron-Masked Marauder looked around him.
Lance, Steven, Cynthia, Iris, Diantha, Leon, and Ash.
Being surrounded by so many Champions simultaneously, he had, in a certain sense, truly accomplished something Giovanni never had.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! So many Champions! Am I dreaming?!"
"Wasn’t the Iron-Masked Marauder acting incredibly arrogant just now? Why isn’t he smiling anymore?"
"Iron-Masked Marauder: My brain has stopped working."
"Even Giovanni would resign overnight after seeing this lineup."
"Giovanni: Thank goodness it wasn’t me."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Barry]: So many Champions assembling in one place! This scene alone made everything worthwhile!
[Raihan]: Leon’s entrance on Charizard was pretty impressive. Judging by his behavior, though, his parallel-world counterpart is still exactly the same.
[Wallace]: So many Champions mobilized just to deal with one remnant of Team Rocket? Without context, I would have assumed Kyogre and Groudon had gone out of control again.
[Steven]: It can’t be helped. Brother Asher simply has that much influence~
[Brock]: Why isn’t Asher denying it this time?
[Asher]: I’ve grown accustomed to it...