"Zekrom, have you made a decision?"
A little while earlier, within the dual dragons' space, Zekrom's body began to move.
Everything in the outside world appeared incredibly slow to them, Golden Lion's attacks looked like slow-motion in their eyes, and they even had time for some idle chatter. However, from their actions, it seemed Reshiram had no intention of moving.
Yamato wouldn't die at this level, and it was far from reality, so he had no reason to intervene.
Idealism and reality aren't absolute contradictions; although Reshiram and Zekrom have major ideological differences, they were once a single entity and could understand what the other sought.
If this was Zekrom's final choice, Reshiram would be disappointed instead.
"To pursue the ideal is an awakening, not retreating in the face of a powerful adversary is a good start. If you can take this step, then lending her your power is no problem.
Besides, you sensed her desire to protect Pokemon, didn't you?"
Zekrom's figure gradually vanished from this space, and Reshiram lost interest in the outside world as well; Zekrom's power was sufficient under these circumstances.
Outside, Yamato still couldn't figure out what was happening. Watching the disappearing Water Lion, her movements were slightly stiff.
"Am I already this strong?"
The surrounding air became very dry, as if the water had vanished into thin air, only the strangely expressioned Golden Lion affirmed that it was indeed real.
"Don't just stand there dumbfounded, the enemy is still in front of you. Let him know the power brought by ideals!"
A voice both unfamiliar and familiar appeared in Yamato's heart; ever since Arceus's transformation was completed, she had not received any feedback for years.
"Zekrom!?"
"It's me. We have always been here. Now show that you have not let me down."
A black phantom flashed behind Yamato, its overall form composed of black and gray, a giant black dragon standing on two legs.
On its head was a gray horn shaped like lightning. Behind it spread a pair of fan-shaped wings, below were mighty arm claws, the sharp three-fingered claws hidden inside.
Behind it stretched a giant conical tail with spikes, through which a powerful thunder coursed. The shadow vanished in an instant, then merged into Yamato's body, integrating with her transformed physique.
The pure white fur gradually became covered by black scale armor, and her head was encased in a dragon-shaped helmet. The additional dragon wings on her back filled the gap in her flying abilities.
Zekrom's power permeated every cell, ultimately giving rise to the current Dark Okuchi no Makami.
As a placeholder for Kyurem, the difference between Okuchi no Makami and Kyurem was merely in name and appearance. In terms of ability, they were much alike, even more versatile, and as the body among the Tao Trio of dragons, the fused abilities were but the tip of the iceberg back then.
Violent lightning surged around, the power full in Yamato's body.
Within Kyurem lay a power stronger than Zekrom and Reshiram, but such power was too great. Using it recklessly would only lead to the body's collapse, so Kyurem sealed its own energy with its icy aura.
The power of the Divine Beast requires a matching will; for example, someone whose mind is full of thoughts of flying and the sea could not gain Groudon's approval.
Kyurem wasn't directly formed for this reason. Even as a mere body, Kyurem had its own fiery will, which led to the creation of the modified version, Okuchi no Makami.
Now, with the Power of the Black Dragon fused, Okuchi no Makami finally revealed its true strength.
...
"Shiki! The second round starts now!"
Boom!
With Yamato's voice, two bolts of lightning descended from the clouds, aimed directly at the Golden Lion.
"Lion's Might·Earth Scroll!"
Seeing the thunder descending from the sky, the earth beneath Golden Lion's feet rolled upwards towards the thunder in the sky.
Thick earth and stone blocked the bolt strike, but they bore no burnt marks, instead flashing with electric frost, as Yamato's lightning displayed an entirely different stance compared to natural lightning.
It was her unique Extreme Cold Thunder.
"Zoan brat... so many tricks... but I am... Golden Lion!"
Throughout Golden Lion's life, he had encountered all kinds of ability users, but it was the first time he had witnessed a mythical beast type switching attributes midway. Even with Awakening, he had never seen such drastic changes, but no matter what happened, it did not cause his actions to hesitate.
Having pulled out the ship's rudder, he had regained the thing he lost.
"Lion·Thousand-Cut!"
"Fusion Bolt!"
The lightning brewing in the clouds was absorbed by the dragon wings behind Yamato, compressed, and reorganized through the tail, transforming into two thundering barriers dispersing Golden Lion's slash. Simultaneously, a strange blue light began to flicker on her body.
The color of the electrical current gradually turned towards a bluish-white, and the power engine behind her entered a high-speed spinning state.
This was the power Zekrom brought her, Overclocking Drive mode, under which she would unleash her strongest combat strength.
In the thunder's roar, Yamato appeared once more before Golden Lion. The armor covering her made it difficult for him to see her expression, but he could see a trace of determination in her eyes.
Frost began to spread from Yamato's hands, gradually enveloping the entire Wolf Fang Club, and the violent Volt current entwined on it, sculpting the spike in the shape of a dragon claw along with the ice crystals.
"Ice Thunder Hakken!"
What was entwined around the Wolf Fang Club was none other than Freeze Shock, a mighty move born only after Zekrom and Kyurem's powers fused. At this moment, the power of Freeze Shock had merged into her Thundering Hakken, its power far surpassing any previous battle.
New currents constantly emitted from the electric engine behind her, transferred through her body into her arms.
"Here it comes, now that's more like it! Only then do you qualify for naivety!"
Seeing the immensely powerful club, Golden Lion instead showed a pleased smile. He despised naive fools, but when such a person had the capital to be naive, it was different.
"Lion's Might·Final Slash!"
The twin swords crossed like a lion's fangs and met Yamato's swinging Wolf Fang Club head-on, the surrounding floating islands beginning to shake massively, gradually falling towards the sea because Golden Lion was finally taking his opponent seriously.
Focusing his energy, he abandoned maintaining his power over the surrounding islands, pouring all his effort into the battle before him.
Sword Qi danced, lightning shot, much of the island's environment was ice-sealed, and the wounds on both sides' bodies continued to increase...