Chapter 364: Kyurem (Two-in-One)
Virizion’s head glowed as it formed a Sacred Sword. When the energy ball came at it, it simply flicked its head, slicing the ball in half with its horn. Then Keldeo and Virizion clashed—horn against sword.
Not far away, two more Pokémon emerged from behind a rock. One was sheep-like, with sea-blue feathers and yellow, lightning-shaped horns. The other was bull-like, with a full forehead adorned with two brown, forward-curving horns.
"Cobalion and Terrakion?" Rio recognized them from atop Charizard. These were the other two members of the Swords of Justice. They noticed him as well.
"Human, leave—you might get hurt." Cobalion’s voice echoed in Rio’s mind, like that of an elder.
Rio smiled and didn’t respond. He now understood the scene unfolding before him—the three Swordsmen were training Keldeo, the future Swordsman.
As he suspected, after another ten minutes of fighting, Virizion acknowledged Keldeo’s progress and told it to face the next opponent. Virizion then turned and left. The bull-like Terrakion leaped into the arena and fired a Hyper Beam, forcing Keldeo to dodge frantically. But Keldeo’s mouth was just as quick:
"Keld~" — Easy, easy! Terrakion, did you skip breakfast?
"Terra~" — Don’t get too cocky!
Terrakion ended its Hyper Beam and chased after the dodging Keldeo, summoning sharp stones that shot at Keldeo like bullets. Keldeo used Double Team—splitting into four, then eight copies. The Stone Edge may or may not have hit the real Keldeo, but it did knock down surrounding stone pillars, sending dust everywhere and obscuring Terrakion’s view.
From the dust, Keldeo charged and landed a Double Kick on Terrakion, sending it crashing into a thick pillar and burying it.
"Keld~" — I win, Terrakion!
Keldeo thought it had won. But the next moment, the pillar was lifted—and a glowing Sacred Sword emerged from beneath it. Terrakion casually swung its head, cleaving the heavy pillar in two.
"Terra~" — You celebrated too soon, Keldeo.
Terrakion charged at Keldeo, and the two engaged in a sword duel that lasted half an hour. Eventually, Terrakion acknowledged Keldeo’s skill, allowing it to challenge the final member—and leader—of the Swords of Justice: Cobalion.
By then, the weather had turned harsh—a storm was approaching.
"Roooar~" Charizard looked back at Rio.
"It’s fine. If it rains, I’ll have Mewtwo shield us with Psychic." Rio patted Charizard’s head, understanding its concern.
"Kid, you sure know how to order your Pokémon around." Mewtwo’s voice echoed in his mind.
Rio grinned. "I’m just maximizing your abilities."
"Since you put it that way, I want to be in on the Kyurem beatdown." Mewtwo said.
"Deal." Rio smiled, patting Victini. He had been planning to include Mewtwo in the Kyurem fight anyway.
He turned back to the battle—Keldeo was clashing with Cobalion amid the rising winds. It was an even exchange, but Rio could tell Cobalion was holding back, just like the other two. Its face showed no tension—only calm. Keldeo, however, grew more excited, believing it stood on equal footing with the three Swordsmen.
"Keld~" — When will you let me fight Kyurem?!
"Keld~" — I want to become a Swordsman—let me fight Kyurem!
"Keld~" — I already have the strength to challenge and defeat it!
Rio nearly laughed at that. Keldeo was strong, but not strong enough to challenge Kyurem, let alone defeat it. Even all three Swordsmen together would be outmatched by Kyurem.
"Alright, let’s go." Rio patted Charizard’s shoulder, signaling it to continue toward the Giant Chasm. He wasn’t planning to capture Keldeo or the other Swordsmen just yet—it wasn’t the right time. Besides, they’d meet again soon.
He remembered what happened next: Keldeo, believing it was ready, would go challenge Kyurem without permission. It would get beaten, and the other Swordsmen would come to rescue it—only to be frozen solid by Kyurem’s signature move, Glaciate.
So Rio wasn’t in a rush to capture them. He’d head to the Giant Chasm and wait.
After another three hours of flight, Rio arrived at Lacunosa Town, near the Giant Chasm, just as the sun was setting. The town was unlike others—it was surrounded by a tall wall, as if sealed off from the outside world.
Rio didn’t understand until he found a shopkeeper closing up for the night. The wall had been built because of the nearby Giant Chasm. According to legend, a meteorite had fallen there in ancient times, bringing a terrifying monster. Every night, the monster would sneak into town with freezing winds, preying on people and Pokémon. That’s why the townsfolk built the wall and enforced a curfew—no one was allowed out at night.
Rio nodded along, bought some food, and then, to the townsfolk’s horror, released Charizard and flew off into the night.
"You can’t save someone who’s determined to die," the townsfolk muttered.
Minutes later, Rio arrived at the Giant Chasm. It was pitch black—Charizard’s tail flame only illuminated a three-meter radius.
"Rio! Release Old Ghost! I want to beat up Kyurem!" Gengar shouted excitedly from its ball, desperate to join the fight against the leader of the Tao Trio.
"Not yet. Let Kyurem train Keldeo first." Rio refused. His plan was to let Kyurem unlock Keldeo’s signature move—Secret Sword—before swooping in with his legendaries to beat it down. Beating Kyurem now wouldn’t maximize his gains. If he was going to capture, he wanted to capture all the Swordsmen too.
So Rio, carrying Victini and riding Charizard, continued toward the Giant Chasm while snacking on the food he’d bought. After about half an hour, he reached the entrance. But he didn’t enter—he was drawn to a stone tablet with ancient text. Naturally, it was beyond his knowledge, so he took a photo and sent it to Fuji back in Kanto.
Fuji replied about five or six hours later.
"Where are you, kid?" Fuji asked before translating.
"I’m at the Champion’s estate." Rio lied without hesitation.
"Impossible. This tablet records a Unovan legend—you wouldn’t have this photo unless you were in Unova." Fuji was unconvinced.
"Fuji, is it possible one of my subordinates sent it to me? I am the Champion—it’s not hard for them to send me a picture like this." Rio kept spinning the story.
There was a long pause on the other end. "I almost forgot you’re a Champion now. Getting such photos isn’t hard for you. Fine—here’s what it says."
"The text tells of an ancient dragon in Unova, the Original Dragon, which possessed devastating power. It descended from the sky with a meteorite and landed at this very location. After living here for a time, due to the differing ideals of the twin heroes, it split into Zekrom—the Ideal Dragon—and Reshiram—the Truth Dragon. The remaining body became Kyurem, the Void Dragon. Zekrom and Reshiram left this place, while Kyurem chose to slumber here."
Rio thanked Fuji and hung up. "The Void Dragon..." he murmured.
Just then, Mewtwo’s voice echoed in his mind: "A Pokémon is approaching."
Rio quickly hid. Soon, he heard hoofbeats—Keldeo had arrived to challenge Kyurem. The footsteps grew distant as Keldeo entered the cave. Rio waited—he knew three more were coming.
As expected, a roar echoed from the mist—Terrakion, calling for Keldeo to come out. Before the translation finished, a wave of freezing cold swept from the cavern—Kyurem had awakened. Keldeo was in for a beating.
Rio released Gengar. "Old Ghost—time for your livestream duty." He handed over the camera. Gengar rolled its eyes but complied.
Through the livestream, Rio watched Kyurem emerge from the depths. With a single step, it formed an icy arena, surrounded by floating Bronzor like spectators. Keldeo attacked first with Water Gun, but Kyurem casually blocked it with Ice Beam. Keldeo followed with Hydro Pump—Kyurem countered with Dragon Breath, filling the arena with smoke. Then Kyurem appeared before Keldeo in an instant, sending it flying with Dragon Claw.
What followed was a one-sided beating. No matter what Keldeo did, Kyurem countered and injured it. When Keldeo tried to close the distance, Kyurem simply kicked it away.
Rio summed it up in one phrase: "Father beating son." There was no sign Keldeo could win—and Kyurem wasn’t even using half its power. But Keldeo was stubborn, insisting it would win, that it was a Swordsman, that it wouldn’t lose—right up until Kyurem’s Dragon Claw shattered the horn on its head. Keldeo panicked, frozen in fear.
Then Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion charged in to save Keldeo—only to be frozen solid by Kyurem’s signature move, Glaciate.
Keldeo completely lost its nerve—and ran.