"Damian !" Ghetsis erupts in fury.
Seeing the three Genesect he just controlled suddenly point their cannons at him, Ghetsis can't keep his temper in check any longer.
"Damian !!!!"
Ghetsis belts out a furious roar, and his mindset completely collapses.
Damian! It's all because of Damian!
If it weren't for Team Rocket, how could he have fallen to this point? Everything was fine before!
Hearing Ghetsis's roar, Steven and the others all wear uneasy expressions; for a moment they don't know what to say.
"Oh?"
Damian narrows his eyes slightly, his smile growing gentler.
Shadow Mewtwo's purple flame glints in its eyes; the Ghetsis under its psychic control suddenly finds it hard to breathe, his face turning red and speechless.
As Shadow Mewtwo's arm sweeps downward, Ghetsis plunges downward at high speed, the sudden shift terrifying him.
"N! Help me!"
"Father!"
N's expression changes; he orders Zoroark to rush over.
At the last moment, Zoroark catches Ghetsis; otherwise, falling from that height and speed would have left him dead or crippled.
Even so, Ghetsis breathes hard, coughing, visibly rattled.
"So you really do respect him, don't you, N."
Damian studies N with keen interest.
"Damian, what were you planning just now?"
N rushes to Ghetsis's side to support him, speaking gravely to Damian.
"Just giving our dear Ghetsis a little lesson. " Damian's casual attitude says it all, then he traps a smile as he looks at N.
"Even if I really wanted to kill him, what would you do, N?"
"I won't let you do it!"
N's voice is firm; for him, Ghetsis who raised him, even without blood, is family.
"Oh?"
Damian smirks at N.
"What do we do next?"
Alder looks at the suddenly chatty pair from two Evil Organizations and lowers his voice to Steven and the others.
"Don't rush it; let's see first, okay?"
Giovanni cuts in, coming up behind.
"Yeah, looks like they're not going to settle this today." Steven agrees; it wouldn't be appropriate to intervene between two Evil Teams at this moment.
"N, you know what? You've got it rough."
Damian doesn't pay attention to the League's whispers; he glances at Zekrom too.
Zekrom bears light wounds from the earlier duel with Leon.
It's clear the battle was intense, and Zekrom didn't beat Leon's Mega Charizard X and Dragapult.
"If you want to humiliate me, there's no need for that."
N clearly misreads Damian's meaning, thinking Damian is mocking his lineage and situation.
"You still don't understand, your dear Ghetsis has never treated you as a son; he's used you as a tool and a monster he despises."
Damian bluntly states Ghetsis's attitude toward N.
N frowns; Ghetsis's expression darkens as he looks at Damian.
"Need to sow discord now? Damian, you're shameless."
"Oh? Create a ruckus or not, you know yourself best."
Damian eyes N with half amusement, half mockery.
"I told you before, N, your Ideals are guided by others; they can't succeed, you know why?"
Damian steps closer to N.
"Because Ghetsis adopted you from a young age, teaching you to sense Pokémon emotions, bringing you up with humans' hurt and abandonment—he engineered your environment to shape you."
N's pupils dilate slightly; Alder and the others are surprised as well.
"This is…"
"That's so cheap, to manufacture a child's upbringing like that and warp their heart."
Even Steven and Cynthia feel a chill at the thought.
A person's values take time to form, and upbringing is crucial; especially for someone as special as N—someone born able to sense Pokémon emotions and communicate with them—who's always been surrounded by hurt, abandonment, and anger from humans.
What could he feel?
Only Pokémon's sadness, anger, despair, and resentment toward humans.
"Such a despicable man." Caitlin can't help but sneer at the Lord Sages.
"Father..."
N looks hesitant, glancing toward his respected adopted father.
"Don't trust his lies! N, would you rather trust an enemy than doubt me? You carry my surname; I raised you!"
Ghetsis's anger explodes, but fear gnaws at him too.
For now he must rely on N.
"Those Pokémon were abandoned and harmed by humans, that's why I adopted them to protect them; you should understand that."
"..."
N is silent, thinking perhaps what Damian said is true.
"This world isn't perfect, but the things you saw as a child aren't everything, N. What Ghetsis presents to you is a partial truth."
Damian calmly watches Ghetsis's hysterical performance, speaking at a slow, measured pace.
"Yet his Goals are achieved by using this partial truth to guide your unwavering Ideals; he can't do what he wants, but you can."
"Ghetsis—arrogant yet vulnerable, conceited, and stupid—these truths, didn't your two sisters sense them, or did they overhear what he's thinking?"
Damian teases, ebbing laughter into his tone; Ghetsis's eyes grow darker.
Hearing that, N suddenly feels all strength drain from him, his body staggering almost to the ground.
N's eyes go hollow again; his mind is sharp, he isn't stupid, just…
If what Damian says is all true, then all his past actions become what?
"nonsense !! Damian , you think you can drive a wedge between us with this nasty plot?"
Ghetsis snaps, his temper already unhinged.
Of course he wouldn't admit it in this moment.
"You don't need to shout so loud to get the truth out of you. It's simple—let Mewtwo use a Hypnosis on you and you'll spill what's in your heart."
Damian raises a brow, speaking lightly.
Ghetsis's face goes pale.
"And you can rest assured, as a Psychic‑type Legendary Pokémon, Mewtwo's hypnosis is superb and will not harm your brain."
"What kind of joke is that!"
Ghetsis would never agree; Hypnosis could easily damage human brain, something even a child knows.
Damian says it's risk-free? He believes it?
"N, we should pull back, this guy is too dangerous."
Ghetsis lowers his voice to N; he doesn't want to stay here a second longer; whether Unova League or Damian, both are dangerous to him.
Everyone wants to get him, Ghetsis is ready to blow a fuse.
Alder's gang go all out to beat themselves up, while Team Rocket's Damian has stood there for a long time.
Alder and co. have remained still, showing no sign of laying a hand on Damian.
Damn! How can they treat him so differently?!
"I understand."
N bites his lip, replying softly.
His mind is a mess right now; he doesn't know if Damian's words are true, doesn't know if Ghetsis really intended to guide him.
He also doesn't know whether his Ideals are right.
But that isn't the time to think about it; for now, Ghetsis is the one who raised him, so pull back first.
"Zekrom."
N calls to Zekrom.
Zekrom's draconic bellow roars, ready to pull back N and Ghetsis.
But at that moment, blue lights flare around Ghetsis again; his body floats out of control.
Ghetsis's face changes; he calls out to N for help.
"N! Save me!"
"Damian!"
N's gaze swivels toward Damian—sure enough, it's the Pokémon behind Damian that did it again.
"You want to go? I won't stop you. But Ghetsis can't go."
Damian's smile is sly; he's still waiting to enjoy the show, as long as Ghetsis remains in the Unova League's hands.
"..."
N's brows knit tightly.
Under Shadow Mewtwo's control, Ghetsis drifts toward Alder and the others.
"???"
Alder freezes; he's enjoying the show too much.
"Zekrom!"
N can't bear to watch his adoptive father be captured.
Zekrom soars up, charging at Ghetsis.
"Uuu~!"
Then a lilting draconic bellow echoes.
A beautiful long‑haired Reshiram unfurls its wings, firing a pure Dragon Pulse toward Zekrom.
Zekrom's eyes narrow; it retreated, eyes fixed on the opposing Reshiram.
"Reshiram!!"
N's expression changes; Reshiram appears in the sky.
"So you awakened Reshiram, by you."
N looks at Damian—surprised? Not really; with Damian's credentials, awakening the Truth Dragon isn't surprising.
"Damian actually got Reshiram."
On the League side, Wallace gawks at the gorgeous Reshiram.
Why did Damian get another legendary?
"He's gotten stronger again," Leon mutters, rubbing his temple; Damian with Reshiram certainly makes him stronger.
"Uuu~!"
Reshiram, looking at the Zekrom opposite it, seems thrilled.
~~~
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