[Lance: Hoopa's team is actually standing its ground against the Unbound Hoopa thanks to Ash's influence. Isn't this getting a bit weird?]
[Wallace: What's weird about it? It makes perfect sense! Who else but Ash has a passive 'Legendary Affinity' buff?]
[Catlin: Lugia is practically an old acquaintance at this point! They met again during the Masters Eight. I wonder if Hoopa can summon other Legendaries with ties to Ash.]
[Alder: Wait a second... the subtitle mentioned a 'War of the Gods'... is it only just beginning?]
[Volkner: What do you mean?]
[Alder: Think about it. Small Hoopa can summon reinforcements, and Unbound Hoopa can summon them too. If they both start bringing in backup... what kind of chaotic scene will that be?]
[Lance: Surely not? Small Hoopa gets help because of his bond with Ash. But Unbound Hoopa? He has no friends and radiates pure evil. Why would any Legendary help him?]
[Lance: If he summons anyone, they'll probably just beat him up themselves! I bet even if there's a clash, it'll be Small Hoopa's team vs. Unbound Hoopa alone. He's strong enough to take on a group.]
[Diantha: Hehe, Lance, there you go again with the predictions.]
[Lance: This time I'm positive! If I'm wrong, I, Lance, will train Ash's Pidgeot to Champion-level within a single year!]
[Red: One year to Champion-level... that's a bit slow, isn't it?]
[Lance: ...](Damn it! Don't kick a man while he's down! Who can compare to a monster like you who became Champion in a year?! You're the literal definition of an anomaly!)
In the Footage—
The battle between the Sea God Lugia and the Djinn Hoopa erupted! Unbound Hoopa struck first, condensing a terrifying black spiral ring in its hand—Dark Pulse!
For a Psychic-type like Lugia, this move was super-effective. In previous rankings, the Unova Dragons and Regigigas failed to dodge Hoopa's skills because they were locked into their own moves.
But Lugia was reactive! It tilted its body mid-air, narrowly avoiding the blast, and countered with a massive pillar of blue water—a high-powered Hydro Pump!
The blast hit Unbound Hoopa dead center, blowing it back dozens of meters across the river, creating a massive tidal wave. Lugia had taken the upper hand in the opening exchange!
"Everyone, run while you can!" Baraz commanded. Ash gave a quick nod of thanks to Lugia and followed the group.
Once they reached a safe distance, Serena held up the shattered Prison Bottle. "What do we do now?"
Baraz looked at the shards with determination. "Our only choice is to remake the bottle ourselves! Dahara Tower still holds the residual power used by my great-grandfather. If we combine that with the natural elements of Water, Fire, and Earth, we can forge a new seal!"
They lacked the original Arceus Plates, but the tower's energy would suffice if channeled through Pokémon of the correct types.
Ash sent out Frogadier (Water), Serena sent out Braixen (Fire), and for the Earth element, Hoopa fished a Hippopotas out of a ring. The elements were assembled!
[Diantha: Wait, Ash's Greninja is still a Frogadier here? A shame. I thought we'd see it shine in this fight.]
[Drasna: A Frogadier cannot participate in a battle of this scale. To be honest, even as a Greninja, it would struggle to leave a scratch on a Primary Legendary.]
[Korrina: But... if it could use the Bond Phenomenon, that miraculous power might allow it to stand against a god for a short time!]
[Diantha: I doubt it, Korrina. You're underestimating Primary Legendaries. When you stand before one, the sheer pressure makes it hard to breathe. Even if Ash's Greninja could match my Mega Gardevoir, it couldn't defeat an entity like this unless its power ascended even further.]
[Cynthia: True. If we're talking about Ash's team's 'Anti-God' combat power... You have to look at Pikachu.]
[Bruno: Tell me about it! That Thunderbolt earlier stunned Unbound Hoopa. Pikachu definitely has a hidden 'Anti-Legendary' damage multiplier. Otherwise, that attack makes no sense!]
In the Footage—
Ash stayed behind to lure Unbound Hoopa away while the others went to the tower. "If the Shadow wants anything, it's the small Hoopa. I'll buy you time!"
As they were about to split, a golden ring appeared. The red-eyed Unbound Hoopa poked its head through—a truly ghoulish sight. Serena ducked behind Ash, clutching his clothes.
"Don't worry, he can't get through yet!" Ash held a small Hoopa with one arm and looked to the sky. "LUGIA!!!!"
"SKREEE!!"
Lugia roared in response, its body suddenly cloaked in deep blue flames—Sky Attack! Without needing to charge, Lugia slammed into the protruding head of Unbound Hoopa with the force of a falling star, sending the giant tumbling back.
"Thanks, Lugia!" Ash yelled as the rest of the group vanished into a ring toward Dahara Tower. Serena looked back one last time. "Ash... please stay safe!"
"Don't worry! I'm Ash from Pallet Town! The man who will be a Pokémon Master! I'm not going down here!" Ash declared his goal to the world once more.
Now, it was just Ash, Pikachu, and Hoopa. Ash looked at the small imp. "Both you and the Shadow are 'Hoopa,' right? Why can't you just get along? Why must one of you disappear?"
Hoopa tilted its head. "Get along?"
"Yeah! If you do, you can take back your power and live in harmony!"
Hoopa thought for a moment. It sounded nice, but the Shadow was currently trying to erase him. Peace would have to wait until the Shadow was back in a bottle. "If I get my power back, I'll use a ring to make Ash-kan's wish come true!"
Ash laughed. "You can't 'summon' being a Pokémon Master. It's a title you earn through hard work and the recognition of people and Pokémon!"
Suddenly, a massive claw lunged from a portal! Ash tucked Hoopa under his arm and performed a perfect combat roll, narrowly avoiding the strike. Unbound Hoopa then summoned six rings, surrounding Ash in a 360-degree circle.
Fists began erupting from the portals like a rapid-fire barrage. Ash's crisis-sensing was dialed to the max! His body moved with preternatural grace, ducking, weaving, and twisting through the storm of punches. Even as the speed increased, the giant couldn't land a single hit.
[Bruno: Holy—! What a move!]
[Bea: Is this the pinnacle of martial arts—Ultra Instinct?!]
[Marshal: You mean the state where the body reacts subconsciously without needing the brain to process thoughts? Separation of consciousness and instinct?]
[Cynthia: ...What are you talking about? It's clearly Ash's Aura power reacting to danger and guiding his movements. Why are you making it sound so complicated?]
In the Footage—
Just as the Shadow launched a five-fist simultaneous strike, leaving no room to dodge, a white blur swooped down. Ash grabbed onto Lugia's leg and was whisked away from the crossfire!
"Lugia! You're a lifesaver!"
Lugia turned to let out a triumphant roar, but before it could finish, a concentrated beam of dark energy struck it from behind! Dark Pulse hit Lugia's weak point, causing it to lose balance and crash.
Ash performed a controlled tumble to land safely while Pikachu stuck the landing with a flip. Lugia, now furious, cloaked itself in blue light again and charged. Unbound Hoopa was knocked back, but it recovered quickly.
Lugia prepared to fire a finishing Hydro Pump, but a golden ring appeared directly in its flight path. At high speed, Lugia couldn't brake. It soared straight into the ring... and found itself instantly transported back to the middle of the ocean.
Lugia turned to fly back, but the portal had already snapped shut. 'Ash... be safe!' Lugia's telepathic message echoed as it vanished from the scene.
Small Hoopa's greatest defender was gone.
[Lance: DAMN IT! That's so cheap! If you can't beat Lugia, you just mail him back home?!]
[Will: Lugia was still dominating, though! It was handling a super-effective matchup like a boss. That's our Johto Sea God for you!]
[Catlin: This is strange. Earlier in the ranking, Hoopa fought three Legendaries at once. Is Lugia really stronger than the Unova Dragons and Regigigas combined?]
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