Chapter 361: Zekrom (Two-in-One)
At Mayor Momondo’s home, Kalita’s family gathered together. They were discussing the revival of the Land of the Earth.
"Actually, three years ago, Doredo came to me and told me about his idea to revive the Land of the Earth." Momondo said to Kalita’s mother.
"At first, I refused outright—it seemed impossible. But Doredo told me that those who give up before trying will never accomplish anything. Then he left, traveling alone to find the scattered descendants of the People of the Earth around the world."
"After much effort, I found the tribes scattered across the world." Doredo took over the story. "But at first, no one would listen—they told me to leave. But when I returned to the Land of the Earth and declared my determination to revive it, a voice suddenly echoed in my mind: ’Is this your ideal?’"
"A voice in your mind? Telepathy?" Kalita looked at her brother in amazement.
Doredo nodded. "That voice shocked me—it felt like a guiding force. I couldn’t help but look toward the Sword of the Earth Castle. Then the voice spoke again, telling me to give up on this ideal. Unable to resist, I walked toward the castle."
"The castle?" Kalita’s mother looked at her son in surprise.
"Yes, the castle. Momondo was with me—we entered together and went into the castle’s underground cavern." Doredo continued. "The cavern was a labyrinth of thick crystalline veins. We walked for a long time, but at some point, Momondo and I got separated. I found myself on a lower crystalline vein, while his path ended. My path continued, so we split up and I went deeper."
"I later learned that the path was a trial meant for me. But I passed the trial and reached a cavern where I saw a sphere crackling with electricity."
"A sphere crackling with electricity—that would be..." Kalita covered her mouth in surprise.
Doredo nodded. "Yes. It reminded me of the Dragon Stones. I called out to it—was it the one that led me here?"
"Then the stone exploded with blinding electricity. I thought I would die—but instead, the legendary Zekrom appeared before me."
"It told me it had seen my resolve to pursue my ideal and would help me."
Kalita and her mother exchanged glances. Doredo continued: "After that, I brought Zekrom back to the scattered tribes of the People of the Earth around the world and helped them solve many problems."
"In return, they agreed to assist me in reviving the Land of the Earth."
"Zekrom also told me that the People of the Earth once used the Sword of the Earth Castle to control the Dragon Vein’s energy. Now, I only need to pull the Sword of the Earth from the ground—and the Land of the Earth can be revived. And to pull it out, I need Victini..."
Meanwhile, Doredo’s family had no idea that a Gengar was hiding in the shadows, recording everything on a phone.
"So Doredo controls Zekrom." Rio smiled after listening to the livestream. Since Doredo controlled Zekrom, that meant the yet-unawakened legendary in the Sword of the Earth Castle was Reshiram.
"Alright, Gengar, you can come back now." Rio said into the phone.
Before long, Gengar returned to his side.
"Vic~"
Victini also came to Rio.
"It says it wants to sleep with you tonight." Gengar translated.
"Of course, Victini." Rio smiled, patted Victini’s head, and held it close as they drifted off to sleep.
But as he slept, Rio felt himself pulled into a world—a world where only Victini existed. It sat alone atop the Sword of the Earth Castle, watching the seasons change in the surrounding forest. Always alone. Until a white-bearded old man appeared before Victini, apologizing for leaving it alone. Only then did Victini burst into tears.
Rio woke from the dream to find Victini’s tears soaking his clothes. He patted its head gently. Victini opened its eyes, wiped them shyly, then looked around—and suddenly began calling out urgently to Rio.
"Vic~"
"It says to follow it." Gengar, ever on standby, translated.
Rio stood up. "Where to, Victini?"
Victini flew toward a direction. Rio followed on foot and soon reached the town’s eastern edge. In the distance, beyond the mountains, lay a vast ocean. Victini looked at it with longing.
At first, Rio didn’t understand. But a few minutes later, he did. The sun rose over the ocean—brilliant and radiant, slowly climbing above the horizon. The sky was painted in hues of red and gold. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Victini kept calling out, pointing at the rising sun. Seeing this, Rio felt a pang of sadness. He understood—Victini wanted to share the most beautiful thing it had ever seen. But for a thousand years, it could only watch from this single angle. It could never get close.
"Victini, do you want to go to the seaside?" Rio couldn’t help but ask.
Victini looked at him and nodded repeatedly.
"Victini, now that I’m here, I’ll make sure you get to the seaside." Rio said firmly.
"Vic~"
Victini looked surprised.
"It’s asking if you’re lying to it." Gengar translated.
"Trust me. In this world, there’s no one who can stop me from doing what I want—except Arceus." Rio smiled.
At the same time, inside the Sword of the Earth Castle, Kalita’s family was also watching the sunrise. But after a while, Doredo turned and walked to the highest point of the castle—the control platform used by the ancient king a thousand years ago.
There, he released a Sigilyph. He placed his hands on the control platform and declared: "The People of the Earth shall reclaim their bond with the land today!"
He then commanded Sigilyph to use Psychic. Sigilyph lifted four pillars with its psychic power. Then, six pillar projections appeared on Doredo’s control platform—positioned at six points around the town. He lifted them with his hands.
Nearby, Rio and Gengar were startled—a pillar not far from them began to shake and rise.
"Vic~" Victini was frightened and hid behind Rio.
"What is this..." Rio looked around—another pillar was rising in another direction.
"Is Doredo making his move now?" Rio narrowed his eyes.
"Vic~" Sensing something wrong, Victini left Rio and flew toward the Sword of the Earth Castle.
Sorry, Victini. If you want to be free from this Sword of the Earth’s束缚, you’ll have to endure some pain. Rio watched Victini fly away, thinking to himself.
Before long, Victini reached the castle. Tricked by Doredo, it was sealed by four stone pillars, moved to the castle’s center, and drained of its power. As its energy was drawn, the entire Sword of the Earth Castle began to glow. The giant sword trembled violently and slowly rose from the ground.
Soon, it was fully lifted. A stream of blue energy flowed from the hole where the sword had been. The energy followed an ancient riverbed, restoring life to the land—dried springs began to flow again.
But then, Victini’s pained cries echoed from the castle.
Hearing that, Rio knew it was time for him to act. He rushed to Kalita and her mother and demanded to know what they were doing—were they trying to kill Victini?
The mother and daughter looked at each other, uncertain. Victini’s cries grew louder.
"Stop Doredo!" Rio urged them, then ran toward the castle’s center.
Doredo blocked him at the entrance. "We’re borrowing Victini’s power right now—stand back!"
"But Victini is suffering! Release it!" Rio frowned.
"No! Victini’s power is essential!" Doredo refused.
Just then, a deafening dragon roar echoed from outside. A massive dragon Pokémon flew in and landed behind Doredo. Its body crackled with electricity—it was Zekrom, one of the Tao Trio.
Zekrom looked down at Rio. Rio met its gaze.
[Pokémon: Zekrom]
[Level: 90 (19881 days until next level)
[Talent: Legendary]
[Friendship: 0]
[Ability 1: Teravolt]
[Gender: —]
[Moves: Dragon Breath (140%), Ancient Power (140%), Thunder Fang (140%), Noble Roar (140%), Slash (140%), Crunch (140%), Zen Headbutt (140%), Dragon Claw (140%), Thunderbolt (140%), Fusion Bolt (140%), Hyper Voice (140%), Thunder (140%), Imprison (140%), Outrage (140%), Bolt Strike (140%), Body Press (140%), Body Slam (140%), Breaking Swipe (140%), Charge Beam (140%), Draco Meteor (140%), Hyper Beam (140%)...]
[Description: A legendary Mythical Pokémon with the power to burn the world to ashes with lightning. It aids those who seek to create an ideal world. Its tail contains a massive generator capable of producing electricity. ]
"Step back, human. Do not interfere with Doredo’s dream—or I will strike you down." Zekrom’s voice echoed in Rio’s mind.
Rio stared at it, eyes narrowing. From his belt, Gengar grew excited: "Quick, Rio! Release me! Call the three Sinnoh idiots—let’s start a gang beating! That dragon’s face is just begging for a beating!"
Rio’s mouth twitched. But he didn’t act—not yet. One Pokémon had yet to appear. He needed this incident to draw it out.
"Come out, Golurk!" Kalita’s mother arrived from behind and decided to help Rio.
"Mom, what are you doing?!" Doredo was shocked.
"Rio is right—you shouldn’t risk Victini’s life for this!" Kalita’s mother said. "Golurk, Mega Punch!"
"Gol~"
Golurk charged at Zekrom—but Zekrom’s Slash sent it flying dozens of meters. Then, Doredo’s Gothitelle restrained Rio and the others.
Just then, a vision appeared in Rio’s mind—sent by the captive Victini. It showed the ancient king telling Victini never to remove the Sword of the Earth, because it would disrupt the Dragon Vein and bring destruction to the world.
When Rio snapped out of the vision, he and Kalita’s mother had been locked in a cell.
"Ladies, Victini showed me that removing the Sword of the Earth will bring disaster." Rio told them.
The mother and daughter were shocked. After thinking it over, Kalita’s mother agreed it was plausible. According to legend, Zekrom had turned to stone during the war—it didn’t know about the Dragon Vein’s collapse. To stop Doredo, they would need to awaken the other dragon: Reshiram.
"Follow me, Rio. Doredo said he found Zekrom deep underground. Reshiram must be there too, waiting to be awakened." Kalita’s mother said.
"Lead the way, ma’am." Rio nodded seriously.
This was what he had been waiting for—having them guide him to Reshiram. Whether Reshiram chose him or not didn’t matter—he just needed it awakened. If it didn’t choose him, he’d release Gengar, summon the Sinnoh Three and Kyogre, and gang up on both Reshiram and Zekrom. If it chose him? Congratulations, Reshiram—you’ve escaped a beating and might even get to join the fight against Zekrom.
The difference was simple: Reshiram had a chance to avoid being beaten. Zekrom? Zekrom was getting beaten for sure.