The Poison Sanctuary had lost its luster. The toxic fluids it had accumulated for over a decade were completely drained, and the violet-red crystals encrusting the cavern walls had vanished. Every drop of that concentrated energy had been devoured by the Naganadel.
It was only then that Hanzo Shura realized the Eternatus Scale was gone.
"Impossible! This can't be! The Dragon Scale has disappeared! Did you take it?!"
Hanzo's cold composure shattered instantly. He let out a piercing shriek like a frantic hen, his heart aching with a visceral, raw pain. He never imagined that his most prized treasure would simply vanish. In the spot where the scale once rested, only a hollowed-out metal frame remained.
"Hand over the scale, and I might leave your corpse intact," Hanzo hissed. "Otherwise, I'll throw you into the toxic pits and watch as the acid dissolves you molecule by molecule."
His eyes turned a bloodshot crimson; at this moment, he looked less like a man and more like a vengeful wraith clawing its way out of hell.
"I don't know anything about a 'Dragon Scale.' And in this place, thick with lethal miasma..." Feng Che's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Do you really think I have the means to pull off a vanishing act right under your nose?"
In reality, Feng Che knew exactly where it was. His Ditto was currently flattened against the Naganadel's back, camouflaged as a piece of evolving skin, silently siphoning power from the legendary artifact it had swallowed.
Hanzo Shura's expression shifted between doubt and fury, his eyes darting frantically. Could it be? If Feng Che had touched the scale, he would have been infected by that terrible toxin instantly. Did the scale simply exhaust its energy and dissolve into the lake?
The thought of the scale being spent was painful, but to Hanzo, it was a far more comforting thought than it being stolen. His heart ached slightly less.
"Fine. Naganadel, let me see your true power. Use Dragon Pulse!"
Hanzo pointed toward Feng Che. He was determined to kill the boy here, then find a remote island to rebuild his empire. He had no intention of sinking with the Poacher ship.
The Naganadel acted like a noble Sovereign of Poison. It spread its massive wings, which seemed to blot out the ceiling of the cavern, and let out a bone-shaking dragon's roar. As it took to the air, dreamlike purple mists swirled around its body. Every Poison-type Pokémon in the tunnels below pressed their faces to the ground, bowing in reverence to the arrival of their King.
"Incineroar, let's show them what you've got!"
Feng Che snapped his fingers, recalling his Ninetales. Incineroar, still in its gargantuan Magma Giant form, continued to terraform the cavern floor into flowing lava. Molten rock poured into the Poison Sanctuary's lake, sending up plumes of superheated steam. The temperature in the cave spiked.
With the Omega Rune glowing on its chest, Incineroar opened its mouth and fired a volley of Magma Bombs. These projectiles, encrusted with dark volcanic rock, exploded near Naganadel, raining liquid fire upon the dragon.
Naganadel's needle-like tail suddenly sprayed a stream of viscous violet fluid. Upon contact with the air, the fluid expanded into a shimmering purple membrane. When the lava hit this shield, it instantly solidified into harmless black obsidian.
"What move is that? It can freeze flowing magma instantly?!" Feng Che was genuinely surprised.
"Naganadel, use Dragon Pulse again!"
This time, the move was on an entirely different level than the Poipoles' efforts. The massive draconic energy coalesced into a snarling, spectral poison dragon. Incineroar slammed its foot down, raising three successive walls of reinforced volcanic rock.
CRASH!
The walls were torn through like wet paper. The Dragon Pulse impacted the ground, erupting in a blinding flash of white light. The resulting shockwave tore through the cavern, destroying everything in its path. Magma was sent flying like rain, sending Hanzo's Scolipede and Drapion scurrying for cover.
Feng Che closed his eyes against the glare as Mewtwo's psychic barrier hummed under the pressure.
The Collapse
Above ground, the earth beneath the Fortress of Venom groaned and buckled. Every Bug Pokémon on the island fled in terror as the ground rose up in a massive bulge before the entire fortress collapsed into the earth with a deafening explosion.
Purple toxic gas spewed into the sky as the terrain caved in. Norman, seeing the disaster from the woods, snapped his psychic spoon and teleported to safety atop his Swellow, watching the destruction from the clouds.
"What happened? Did Feng Che trigger an endgame?" Norman watched as the ground where the fortress once stood was replaced by a massive sinkhole.
Suddenly, Naganadel burst through the cloud of toxic smoke, Hanzo Shura standing triumphantly upon its head.
The Central Citadel
Word of the disaster reached General King Kai in his command center.
"Dammit! I knew Hanzo was hiding something!" Kai's head throbbed with anger. "A Peak Elite-level Naganadel... he planned to hide that from me forever."
"What about the other Generals?" Kai turned to his subordinate, Walker.
"General Nien has the League trapped in the Flame Valley with his Pyroar. General Zorn has Bruno caught in the Rose Array. And General Greya is currently locked in a psychic stalemate with Sabrina and Caitlin," Walker reported. "Should we send reinforcements?"
"No," Kai sneered. "They all have their hidden trump cards. Look at Hanzo. We wait until they are desperate; then, they will beg for my help. Until then, accelerate the awakening of Zekrom. I want the dragon awake before the League reaches these gates."