The scene of Dahara City made everyone's hearts sink with sorrow. However, Dahara Tower still stood tall in the middle of the devastated city, which was already considered a great blessing amid the disaster.
After surviving that terrifying final round of attacks, everyone could only hope that the Prison Bottle had finally been completed. If it were finished, then perhaps this nightmare could finally end.
On Ash's side, Mega Rayquaza, Mega Mewtwo Y, and even the Mega Eon Duo, Latias and Latios, had already landed on the ground.
They had used every ounce of their strength to block that final attack, and now none of them even had the energy left to remain airborne. Even standing seemed difficult.
[Lance: This time… it should finally be over, right?]
Lance spoke hesitantly, clearly uncertain about making such a conclusion after everything that had happened so far.
[Diantha: Hold it! Don't jinx it! Just watch the inventory and talk less, okay?]
[Lance: ...]
Hearing Diantha's warning, Lance wisely decided to keep quiet. At this point, it was safer to wait until everything was completely resolved before saying anything else.
...
In the Footage—
Ash felt as if his entire body had been drained of strength. Sitting weakly on Latios's back, which had landed on the ground, he supported himself with one hand behind him while holding the small Hoopa with the other to prevent himself from falling.
On their side, both Mega Rayquaza and Mega Mewtwo Y had already reverted to their normal forms after exhausting their power. It was obvious that neither of them had any strength left to continue fighting.
But the situation on the other side wasn't much better either. Palkia and the other Legendary Pokémon were basically standing in the water, barely able to move.
In their current condition, flying again was completely impossible, and it would take them some time to gather their strength.
However, the most terrifying thing about Legendary Pokémon wasn't just their overwhelming power. It was their almost limitless stamina.
Even though they looked exhausted now, everyone knew that as long as they rested for a few minutes, they would likely recover enough strength to fight again.
Ash could only pray that the Prison Bottle had already been completed. Because if another attack like the previous one happened, he honestly wasn't sure if they would be able to stop it.
At that moment, an extremely oppressive aura suddenly descended over the battlefield.
Ash instinctively raised his head.
Standing in front of him was Hoopa Unbound, which had appeared silently at some unknown moment.
Among everyone present, it was the only one that could still move.
The Shadow laughed viciously, its giant claws slowly stretching out toward Ash. The malicious intent behind that movement was obvious.
Ash instinctively tightened his arms around the small Hoopa, protecting it in his embrace.
Latias tried to force her body to move in order to block the attack for Ash. However, no matter how she tried to gather the remaining energy in her body, she found that she couldn't move at all.
Her strength had already been completely drained.
"Pika-pi!!"
Ash!!
Mewtwo attempted to mobilize its Psychic power to restrain Hoopa Unbound, but the exhaustion was too severe. Only a few scattered sparks of psychic energy could be gathered.
Even worse, Psychic-type abilities were ineffective against the Dark-type power possessed by the Shadow.
Fortunately, Pikachu stopped acting carefree at the most critical moment.
A brilliant golden light suddenly burst out from Pikachu's body, turning into a powerful bolt of lightning that tore through the air and struck Hoopa Unbound's hand directly.
The sudden attack forced the Shadow to pull its claw back in pain.
However, just as it seemed ready to attack again, its entire body suddenly froze.
It looked as if it had been restrained by some invisible force.
At the same time, the sun slowly began to rise in the distance, casting its light across the battlefield.
A figure slowly walked forward.
It was Baraz, holding the long-awaited Prison Bottle in his hands.
The Prison Bottle had finally been completed.
Baraz immediately opened the bottle, and a powerful suction force burst out from within it.
The Hoopa Unbound standing nearby was instantly pulled toward the bottle, transforming into a pitch-black beam of light before being completely absorbed inside.
Without wasting any time, Baraz immediately sealed the bottle again.
However, the Shadow sealed inside the bottle clearly had no intention of submitting so easily.
Violent purple-black lightning began crackling around the bottle, and the powerful evil energy erupted outward.
Caught off guard by the sudden surge of power, Baraz was blasted backward. The Prison Bottle slipped from his hands and flew through the air.
Seeing this happen, Ash forced his exhausted body to move again.
He gently placed the small Hoopa on the ground before sprinting forward with the last of his strength.
With a desperate leap into the air—
Ash successfully caught the Prison Bottle before it could hit the ground.
However, before anyone could celebrate this success, a terrifying surge of purple-black energy suddenly burst out from the bottle.
It seemed that returning to the bottle had only intensified the Shadow's resentment.
The powerful grudge immediately surged toward Ash, surrounding his entire body.
In the blink of an eye, Ash was completely enveloped in a swirling purple-black aura.
...
[Diantha: Again?! Is this never going to end? Does that thing really want another beating?]
[Professor Kukui: I think… this time it's different.]
[Professor Kukui: Because the person holding the bottle right now isn't Baraz… It's Ash.]
[Cynthia: If it's Ash… then there should be absolutely no problem.]
Ash's pure and unwavering heart was not something that could be easily corrupted.
...
In the Footage—
Even though Ash struggled desperately against the influence of the Shadow, the dark power still managed to partially control his body.
However, when the Shadow attempted to use Ash's body to open the Prison Bottle, it suddenly realized something unexpected.
Although it could influence the boy—
It could not fully control him.
Ash's firm willpower and pure heart were constantly resisting the Shadow's influence.
Because of this resistance, the Shadow couldn't force Ash to open the bottle.
At that moment, the small Hoopa slowly flew closer.
The Shadow manifested an angry expression through Ash's body, roaring in hostility toward the small Hoopa.
But the little Hoopa simply looked at him gently.
"Ash said before that Hoopa and the Shadow can live together peacefully. Because the shadow is also a part of Hoopa."
"Since you are inside Ash right now, you should also understand Ash's thoughts."
"Let Hoopa show you… Hoopa's journey."
As Hoopa spoke, it began transmitting its memories.
Those memories contained peaceful days spent in the village, the warmth of friendship, and the happiness Hoopa had experienced throughout its life.
Within those beautiful memories, the Shadow's resentment slowly began to weaken.
"The Shadow can be happy in the future too."
"So… stop messing around, okay?"
The Shadow did not respond.
However, the chaotic purple-black energy slowly began to disappear from Ash's body.
The dark aura gradually transformed into countless green particles, which scattered into the air before completely disappearing.
Ash slowly opened his eyes again.
The Shadow… had finally vanished.
"I saw it… Hoopa's memories."
"They were really beautiful."
"Hee hee hee~!"
Hoopa covered its mouth and let out its familiar playful laugh.
Everything… seemed to have finally come to an end.
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