"Tyranitar—take Raikou."
"Zapdos—handle Suicune."
"Blastoise—you've got Entei."
Gary's commands came rapid-fire, each one delivered with the clinical precision of a battlefield strategist deploying his forces. His three Pokémon moved instantly—no hesitation, no confusion. They'd trained together long enough that a single sentence was all the direction they needed.
The three Legendary Beasts understood the situation with the clarity of cornered predators. This human and his Pokémon stood between them and the Zoroark they'd been hunting. If they wanted to continue the chase, they'd have to go through Gary's team first.
"ENNN—TEI!"
Entei moved first. The Volcano Pokémon opened its massive jaws and launched a blazing sphere of concentrated fire—Sacred Fire, its signature technique. The orb of white-hot flame tore across the pier, trailing smoke and cinders, aimed squarely at Blastoise.
"STOISE!"
Blastoise didn't flinch. Its twin shoulder cannons locked onto the incoming fireball with the trained precision of a Pokémon that had been firing Hydro Pump since before most trainers started their journeys. Two high-pressure jets of water erupted from the cannons, converging into a single devastating torrent.
BOOOOM!!
Fire and water collided mid-air. A massive plume of steam erupted from the point of impact—superheated vapor billowing outward in every direction. But the contest wasn't close. Blastoise's Hydro Pump, backed by nine additional levels and STAB advantage, tore through Entei's Sacred Fire like a firehose punching through a candle flame. The remaining water blast screamed forward.
Entei reacted with the sharp reflexes of a Legendary Pokémon—throwing itself sideways in a desperate dodge. The Hydro Pump grazed its flank, drenching one side of its volcanic mane and leaving a dark, wet streak across its fur. A direct hit would have been devastating.
Close, Gary thought. But Entei's agility is keeping it alive. For now.
Seeing their opening attack fail, the other two Legendary Beasts scattered. Suicune broke left, sprinting toward the residential district with fluid, water-like grace. Raikou bolted right, its thunder-cloud mane crackling as it accelerated along the waterfront with blinding speed. If they couldn't overpower Gary's team head-on, they'd try to outmaneuver them individually—break free, regroup, and resume their pursuit of Zoroark.
Gary's Pokémon gave chase. Zapdos banked hard through the storm clouds and intercepted Suicune before the Aurora Pokémon had made it three blocks—the Legendary Bird's aerial speed was simply uncatchable on open ground. Suicune found itself boxed in between towering buildings on three sides and a furious, lightning-wreathed Zapdos blocking the sky above.
But Raikou was a different story. The Thunder Pokémon was fast—among the fastest land-based Pokémon in the world. Tyranitar, for all its devastating power, was built for durability and raw strength, not speed. It lumbered after Raikou with earth-shaking strides, but the gap was widening with every second. At this rate, Raikou would escape the pier and disappear into Crown City's labyrinthine streets.
Gary had prepared for exactly this scenario.
"Gengar—Mean Look. Lock down both Raikou and Entei."
"GEN—GAR!"
Gengar erupted from Gary's shadow like a dark geyser—the Ghost-type had been hiding there since the beginning, waiting for precisely this moment. Its crimson eyes blazed with power, and two beams of blood-red light lanced outward from its pupils—one striking Raikou mid-sprint, the other hitting Entei as it tried to circle around Blastoise.
Mean Look. The Ghost-type move that prevented any target from fleeing or escaping. An invisible binding settled over both Legendary Beasts, tethering them to the battlefield with an irresistible psychic anchor.
"RAIII—?!" Raikou stumbled as the Mean Look took hold. Its body lurched against the unseen force—legs still pumping, muscles still straining, but unable to gain any further distance. The Thunder Pokémon whipped its head around, searching wildly for the source of the binding—and saw Gengar's wide, manic grin floating in the darkness behind it.
A fourth Pokémon. Hidden in his shadow the entire time.
Entei was equally caught off guard. The Volcano Pokémon snarled in frustration as the Mean Look locked it in place, its escape route sealed.
"TAAAAR!"
Tyranitar seized the moment. The Armor Pokémon planted its feet and roared—a deep, primal sound that resonated through the harbor and up into the storm clouds above. Sand Stream activated at full force. Sand poured from Tyranitar's body in thick, choking curtains, spiraling upward into a localized tornado of grit and wind that expanded rapidly to engulf both itself and the trapped Raikou.
Within seconds, a massive Sandstorm vortex had formed—a swirling cage of sand and howling wind, easily thirty meters in diameter. Inside, visibility dropped to zero. The roaring wind made it impossible to hear. The stinging grit disoriented every sense.
Raikou was fast, agile, and powerful—but none of those qualities mattered when you couldn't see, couldn't hear, and couldn't tell which direction was up. Inside Tyranitar's Sandstorm cage, the Thunder Pokémon was blind. And somewhere in that whirling darkness, a Level 71 Tyranitar—perfectly at home in the sand, its Special Defense boosted by the weather, its Rock and Ground moves enhanced by the Premium Smooth Rock—was waiting.
Three battles. Three fronts. All happening simultaneously.
Suicune and Zapdos clashed through the residential quarter of Crown City's harbor district. The Aurora Pokémon fought with desperate elegance—launching Aurora Beam, Hydro Pump, and Extrasensory in rapid succession, trying to create distance, trying to find an angle that Zapdos couldn't cover.
But the sky above Crown City was Zapdos's domain tonight. Kodai's weather manipulation had blanketed the city in heavy storm clouds—thick, moisture-laden thunderheads that turned the entire atmosphere into a conductor. In these conditions, Zapdos's Thunder had 100% accuracy. Every single bolt would find its mark. There was no dodging, no evasion, no luck involved—just raw, guaranteed electrical devastation raining from above.
"ZAAAP—DOOOS!"
Another Thunder crashed down. Suicune threw up Extrasensory as a desperate shield, the psychic barrier absorbing part of the electrical assault—but not enough. The sheer voltage of a Level 73 Legendary Bird's Thunder tore through the weakened shield and hammered into Suicune's body.
"SUIII—!" The Aurora Pokémon cried out, its crystalline body convulsing as electricity coursed through it. Its legs buckled. Its elegant crest flickered and dimmed.
The level gap was simply too large. Suicune was Level 65—a Legendary-tier Pokémon by any standard. But Zapdos was Level 73, with type advantage, weather advantage, and eight levels of raw statistical superiority. It wasn't a battle. It was suppression.
On the pier, Blastoise and Entei fought under Gary's direct command. Gary orchestrated Blastoise's every move—calling out Water Pulse to zone Entei's positioning, Hydro Pump to punish overextension, and shell-armored physical counters to absorb Entei's close-range Sacred Fire. Whether it was a ranged special attack duel or close-quarters combat, Entei was outmatched in every category. Blastoise was nine levels higher, had type advantage, and had a trainer actively commanding it with strategic precision.
Entei was brave. Entei was proud. But bravery and pride didn't close a nine-level gap against a Water-type ace backed by one of the most analytically gifted trainers in the world.
Inside the Sandstorm tornado, thunder crackled and stone crashed—the muffled sounds of Raikou fighting blindly against a Tyranitar that knew every grain of sand in its own storm. Raikou's speed was useless in the blinding vortex. Its Electric-type attacks couldn't damage a Ground-type. And every time it tried to orient itself, a Stone Edge or Rock Slide came screaming out of the sand from an unpredictable angle.
From the treeline at the harbor's edge, Karl and Rowena watched the simultaneous battles unfold with slack-jawed disbelief.
"Who is this kid?!" Karl exclaimed.
"He's fighting all three Legendary Beasts at the same time," Rowena said, her voice barely above a whisper. "And he's winning."
They exchanged a look—then nodded in unison.
"We need to tell him the truth," Karl said. "The Legendary Beasts are attacking Zoroark based on a misunderstanding. If he knows—"
"Let's go."
The two journalists emerged from the trees and approached the battlefield. Gengar spotted them immediately.
"Gen-gar," the Ghost-type murmured, its crimson eyes swiveling toward the approaching figures.
"It's fine," Gary said without looking. "Let them through."
Karl stepped forward, his expression urgent. "Young man—we're residents of Crown City. The Legendary Beasts have been misled. Zoroark wasn't acting willingly—it was forced by Grings Kodai to use its Illusion Ability to impersonate the Legendary Beasts. If you could explain the situation to them, they'd understand—"
Gary raised a hand, cutting him off. He pointed at Entei.
"Do you think that looks like it's in a mood to listen?"
Karl and Rowena followed his gesture. Entei was currently condensing a massive fireball in its jaws, its eyes blazing with fury, every muscle in its body coiled for another assault on Blastoise. The Volcano Pokémon's expression communicated exactly one thing: absolute, uncompromising rage.
BOOM!!
Entei unleashed the fireball. Blastoise took the hit squarely on its shell—steam erupted, but the damage was negligible. Blastoise immediately countered with Water Pulse. Entei dodged the first sphere with a nimble sidestep—but the second one, curved by Blastoise's precision aim, caught it flush in the ribs.
"ENNN—!" Entei staggered, soaked, its mane sputtering.
Karl and Rowena fell silent. The Legendary Beasts clearly weren't in any condition to engage in diplomatic conversation.
"These three aren't like the original Legendary Beasts guarded by Ho-Oh in Johto," Gary said, his tone matter-of-fact. "The Johto Beasts have centuries of experience and wisdom. These shiny variants are younger—more instinctive, less rational. When they're this angry, words won't reach them. They need to be calmed down the hard way first."
Neither journalist could argue with that logic.
"Blastoise—enough stalling. Quick battle. Mega Evolve!"
Gary raised his Key Stone. Prismatic light erupted from both stones—connecting Trainer and Pokémon in a helix of iridescent energy.
"STOISE!"
Blastoise's body was consumed by transformative radiance. When the light shattered, Mega Blastoise stood on the pier—the twin shoulder cannons replaced by a single, enormous back-mounted cannon, its armor reinforced, its presence overwhelming.
"ENNN—TEI!!" Entei roared defiantly and launched Fire Blast—the kanji-shaped inferno screaming across the pier with everything the Volcano Pokémon had left.
"Hydro Cannon," Gary said.
Mega Blastoise braced. All three cannon barrels aligned—the two arm-mounted guns and the massive back cannon—and fired simultaneously. Three streams of ultra-compressed water merged into a single, devastating torrent: Hydro Cannon, the most powerful Water-type attack in existence.
The wall of water met Fire Blast and erased it. The flames didn't diminish gradually—they simply ceased to exist, vaporized by the overwhelming force of the water blast. Hydro Cannon continued unchecked, slamming into Entei with the force of a tidal wave compressed into a single point.
CRAAAASH!!
Entei was hurled backward—ragdolled through the air like a toy, its massive body crashing into the stone wall of a harbor warehouse with enough force to crater the masonry. Chunks of brick and mortar rained down around it. The Volcano Pokémon slumped to the ground, steam rising from its drenched body, its eyes rolling closed.
Unconscious.
"Go—Heal Ball."
Gary drew a pink Poké Ball from his belt and threw it with practiced precision. The Heal Ball struck the unconscious Entei, enveloped it in soft red light, and drew it inside. The ball fell to the wet ground, wobbled once, twice, three times—
Click.
[Ding! Entei successfully captured. Rewards deposited into system storage.]
Gary picked up the Heal Ball but deliberately did not activate the healing function. The Heal Ball's design included an upgraded feature: the trainer could now choose when to trigger the healing mechanism, with a one-hour window after capture. If Gary healed Entei now, the Legendary Pokémon would regain consciousness and immediately attempt to break free from the ball. Better to wait until Suicune was also secured.
He glanced toward the Sandstorm tornado. Inside, intermittent flashes of lightning and the thunderous crack of rock impacts told the story—Raikou was still fighting, but it was fighting blind against a perfectly adapted predator. Tyranitar's desert cage was an advanced application of Sandstorm: a concentrated, self-sustaining vortex of sand that functioned as both a prison and a hunting ground. Inside, Tyranitar could sense every movement through the vibrations in the sand. Outside observers could hear nothing but howling wind and the occasional muffled crash.
"ZAAAP!"
A triumphant screech from above. Gary looked up.
Zapdos descended through the storm clouds, its golden wings spread wide, its talons gripping something large and limp. Suicune—unconscious, its crystalline body scorched with electrical burns, its elegant crest cracked—dangled from Zapdos's feet like a prize delivered by the world's most terrifying raptor.
The Legendary Bird landed in front of Gary and unceremoniously deposited the defeated Aurora Pokémon on the pier. Its golden eyes gleamed with fierce pride.
Karl and Rowena stared. Their mouths moved but no words came out. Two Legendary Pokémon—beings that were supposed to be nearly invincible forces of nature—had been defeated and delivered like parcels in the span of minutes.
Gary drew a second Heal Ball and tapped it against Suicune's motionless form. Red light. Absorption. Three wobbles.
Click.
[Ding! Suicune successfully captured. Rewards deposited into system storage.]
[Ding! Legendary Beast Trio mission complete. Full set bonus deposited into system storage.]
A mission that had been active for nearly two years—first triggered when Gary had captured a Raikou during his journey through the Johto Region—was finally complete.
Gary allowed himself a moment. Just a single, quiet breath of deep satisfaction. Two years of waiting. Two years of knowing that Entei and Suicune were out there somewhere, needed to complete the set. And now, on a darkened pier in an evacuated city, surrounded by the aftermath of a three-front battle against Legendary Pokémon—the mission was done.
As for Raikou—Gary had no intention of capturing this one. He already had a Raikou from Johto. Capturing a second would yield no system rewards, and holding two of the same Legendary species served no strategic purpose.
"Tyranitar—release the Sandstorm," Gary ordered.
"TAAAAR."
Tyranitar obeyed. The raging Sandstorm tornado lost its force—the wind dying, the sand settling, the vortex collapsing inward and dispersing into nothing. The air cleared, and two figures were revealed standing in the center of the devastation.
Tyranitar stood with its arms crossed, barely winded. Its dark green armor was unmarked. Sand trickled from the crevices in its hide like a warrior shedding the dust of an easy sparring session.
Opposite it, Raikou stood on trembling legs. The Thunder Pokémon was battered—its golden-brown fur matted with sand, its mane disheveled and flattened, cuts and bruises marking its flanks where Stone Edge had found its mark inside the blinding storm. It was still conscious, still standing—but only barely. Another few minutes inside that vortex, and the outcome would have been decided.
"RAIII…" Raikou growled—low, exhausted, still defiant. Its eyes swept the harbor, searching desperately for its companions.
Entei was gone. Suicune was gone. The pier was empty except for Gary, his Pokémon, and two bewildered human onlookers.
"Raikou," Gary said, stepping forward. His voice was calm—not threatening, not condescending, just steady. He held up two Heal Balls—one in each hand—and activated the healing function on both simultaneously.
The pink Poké Balls glowed with a soft, warm light as the integrated healing mechanism engaged, restoring the Pokémon inside to full health. The glow pulsed gently—rhythmic and soothing, like a heartbeat.
"Your companions are inside these Heal Balls," Gary said. "They're not hurt. They're being healed right now—full recovery, no injuries. They're safe."
"RAIII…?"
Raikou stared at the glowing balls, confusion replacing aggression on its battered face. It didn't fully understand what it was seeing—two small pink spheres shouldn't have been able to contain beings as powerful as Entei and Suicune.