In the secluded valley, the battle reached a fever pitch. The shifting sands created by Garchomp and Flygon swirled like an ocean of grit, swallowing Flint's Pokémon within a desert grave. Bertha, perched atop her Rhyperior, barely managed to avoid being pulled into the quicksand.
Brandon was in dire straits. Two of his Three Titans had already been incapacitated, leaving only Registeel to hold the line against Feng Che's relentless assault. The scales of victory were tipping decisively in Feng Che's favor. Bertha's Hippowdon lay defeated, its body riddled with spectral arrows—the work of Decidueye striking from the shadows of the valley walls.
"Who is this man? How can someone from the Garden family be this powerful?" Bertha hissed, her brow furrowed in disbelief. "Our Pokémon are being dismantled one by one. Where did they hide a trainer of this caliber?"
Beep... beep... beep!
Suddenly, Bertha's communicator blared. The panicked voice of Chairman Boldo erupted from the speaker.
"Bertha! Flint! You have to get back here immediately! Cynthia has already crushed four of Lucian's Pokémon!" Boldo's voice was borderline hysterical. "If you don't return to the stadium now, I won't be able to stop her from taking the Championship. The situation is spiraling out of control!"
Boldo had never imagined Cynthia would be this dominant. She had swept through Aaron with terrifying ease and was now systematically dismantling Lucian. He had no choice but to recall his primary enforcers.
"Dammit! My strongest Pokémon are already injured," Bertha cursed under her breath. "This just hands the title to Cynthia on a silver platter."
Seeing that the three of them combined were still being suppressed by the masked youth, Bertha's will to fight evaporated. "Flint, we're leaving!"
At her signal, she and Flint leaped onto Flint's Charizard and soared out of the valley, abandoning the battlefield. With the Elite Four gone, Registeel finally buckled under a devastating Flare Blitz from Incineroar. The Steel Titan collapsed, leaving Brandon alone.
Surprisingly, a strange smirk touched Brandon's lips. He recalled his Titans as a Banette emerged from his shadow, cackling maliciously. In its spectral hands, it clutched two prizes: the Green Earth Orb and a specialized Poké Ball.
"Haha! I've been waiting for that exact moment," Brandon laughed. "Thank you for the 'gifts,' Master of the Garden House. While you were distracted by the Elites, I had my Banette lurking in a sub-dimension. It snatched the Orb and Jirachi's ball right from under your nose while you were posturing."
"I appreciate your 'generosity.' We shall not meet again."
Brandon snapped his fingers, and a Bronzong appeared behind him. Using pre-recorded spatial coordinates, it triggered a Teleport, vanishing with Brandon and the stolen treasures.
Feng Che stood in the middle of the decimated valley, a cold, knowing smile beneath his mask. "Haha... go ahead, take them. I've been waiting for this show to start."
He had known about the Banette the entire time. In fact, he had purposefully left the Orb and Jirachi's ball in an "unprotected" pocket specifically to be stolen. Had he not psychically restrained Decidueye and Gengar, the Banette would have been turned into a pincushion before it even reached for the prizes.
With the bait taken, Feng Che recalled his Pokémon and vanished in a burst of psychic energy.
The Arrival of the "Gifts"
In the skies above Celestic Town, the war raged on.
"Regigigas! Use Hyper Beam repeatedly!" the Pope commanded.
The King of Giants spread its fingers, firing pillars of golden destruction from the gaps in its stone hands. Regidrago countered with a thunderous roar, unleashing its Dragon Energy. The two attacks collided in mid-air, creating a series of massive explosions that sent Temple riders falling from the sky like broken toys.
Inside the flagship, the Pope was monitoring the carnage when a swirl of blue light manifested beside him. Brandon appeared, looking disheveled but triumphant.
"Brandon! You've been gone for hours! Where were you?" the Pope barked, his milky eyes flashing with irritation.
"Lord Pope, I encountered the mastermind behind the Garden family. We battled for quite some time... and I managed to reclaim the Green Earth Orb."
Brandon presented the shimmering emerald gem. The Pope's breath hitched. As his gnarled fingers touched the Orb, a wave of pure vitality washed over him. He felt the aching in his joints fade; his withered muscles seemed to tighten with renewed strength. He stood up straight, walking across the deck with a vigor he hadn't possessed in decades.
"The power of a mere fragment of the Jewel is this potent..." the Pope whispered greedily. "Imagine the godhood I will achieve once the full Jewel is mine!"
"There is more, my Lord," Brandon said, presenting the Poké Ball. He released the occupant, and Jirachi emerged, floating curiously in the bridge of the warship.
"Ji... Jirachi!" The Pope's voice trembled. He circled the Wishing Star, his eyes wide with fanatical devotion. "How did you manage this, Brandon?"
"I fought their leader," Brandon explained smoothly, knowing the Pope's suspicious nature. "He was arrogant. I used Thief while he was focused on the battle. He never even realized they were gone until I vanished."
The Pope clutched the Poké Ball, a dark, twisted joy filling his heart. He didn't know that the Jirachi before him was the Reverse Wishing variant, nor did he realize that the Green Earth Orb was a modified version designed to act as a beacon.
"Everything is in place," the Pope cackled. "The Garden family has provided the rope for their own hanging!"