"Now, the stage belongs to me! Ampharos, Flash Cannon!"
Thick golden arcs of electricity erupted from Ampharos's fleece. The levitating sand, now completely magnetized, aligned like iron filings and launched toward Flygon like a volley of high-velocity railgun slugs.
"Flygon, weave through it with Dragon Rush!"
Flygon tucked its wings, enveloping itself in a fierce, draconic aura, and dove sharply, narrowly evading the magnetized shards that whistled past its scales.
"It looks like I'll have to show you my true pedigree," Jecksee sneered, reaching into his collar. He pulled out a heavy golden chain bearing a Key Stone that shimmered with a brilliant, seven-colored radiance. "Ampharos, respond to my ideals and unleash your sovereign form upon this world! Mega Evolve!"
A multi-colored cocoon of pure energy enveloped Ampharos. When the radiant light shattered, the Pokémon emerged with an elongated, elegant form, its head and tail adorned with a flowing, woolly mane of pure white hair.
"Ampharos, Thunderbolt!"
The red spheres on Mega Ampharos's head and tail flared with a blinding, incandescent intensity. A pillar of white lightning shot straight into the upper atmosphere, instantly churning the storm clouds into a violent tempest.
Cascades of jagged lightning rained down across the valley. Several wild Flying-type Pokémon patrolling the higher altitudes couldn't react in time; the bolts struck them squarely, vaporizing their silhouettes into thin wisps of blue smoke.
"Haha! This is the ultimate power! Flying-types are fundamentally pathetic," Jecksee scoffed, his golden eyes reflecting the flashing white currents. "I've never understood why my brother is so obsessed with birds. Look at this—true beauty is found in the storm!"
Seeing a massive sector of the sky cleared of sentries in a single strike, Jecksee felt an immense wave of satisfaction.
This guy is exactly like a Pyromaniac—he just wants to watch everything burn, Feng Che thought dryly.
"Now, let the storm serve as the final resting place for your dragon," Jecksee declared. "Mega Ampharos, Thunder!"
Mega Ampharos began drawing massive quantities of electrical current directly from the wind turbines. The grid groaned under the strain.
The Flickering Citadel
Inside the Aerial Fortress, General Jecal watched the lights on his tactical console flicker and dim as the voltage plummeted across the sector.
"Dammit! Jecksee did it again," Jecal cursed, pacing furiously. "I warned him not to touch the core reserves of the turbine array. That power is directly tied to King Kai's primary endgame."
Jecal looked out the window toward the central mountain peak. "I just hope King Kai doesn't execute him on the spot for this."
Meanwhile, inside the Central Citadel, King Kai stared at his dimming screens, his face twisting with rage.
"How many times did I tell that idiot Jecksee not to lose his head?!" Kai roared into his comms, but his successive calls were repeatedly declined by the Thunder Commander. "The citadel's grid must remain optimal! Any fluctuations will destabilize the extraction sequence for the Dark Stone!"
Faced with automated rejections, Kai slammed his fist onto the console. "Activate the auxiliary reserves! Ensure the power input to Zekrom remains constant at all costs!"
The citadel's backup cells were limited; they wouldn't last long under this type of drain. "Jecksee, if your arrogance costs me Zekrom's awakening, I will flay you alive," Kai hissed.
The Tide Turns
Back in the valley, the massive turbines were spinning far beyond their safety thresholds to satisfy Mega Ampharos's thirst. Black smoke began to leak from the generator housings as the internal wiring began to melt under the load.
"Crap... I went a bit too far," Jecksee muttered, noticing the damage. "If King Kai sees the grid collapsing, he'll have my head. Wait... did I miss his priority emergency calls?"
Realizing the severity of his blunder, Jecksee panicked. "Fine! I'll just finish you off in five seconds, reset the breakers, and pray Kai accepts the victory as an apology! Mega Ampharos, Thunder Punch!"
Ampharos slammed its paws together, channeling a blinding corona of electricity into its fists. It leaped forward, throwing a massive, golden fist-carving of energy straight at Flygon.
"Flygon, Earth Power!"
Flygon slammed its claws into the turbine platform, opening its maw to unleash a surging beam of rich, clay-yellow tectonic energy. The earthen pillar completely swallowed the golden lightning punch, slamming directly into Mega Ampharos's chest with staggering kinetic force.
The impact was so severe that it forcibly broke Ampharos's genetic compression, reverting it to its standard form as it crashed into the catwalk, unconscious.
"Worthless creature!" Jecksee spat, gritting his teeth.
Before he could pull his next ball, a massive shadow plummeted from the sky, crashing onto the platform right beside him with a deafening thud. The concussive wind pressure knocked Jecksee off his feet, forcing him to crawl back to avoid falling off the edge.
When the smoke cleared, he saw his elite Electivire lying in a smoking crater, completely defeated. Zeraora stood over it, its fur crackling with residual static as it locked its gaze onto the commander.
"Damn it... my finest piece..."
As Feng Che stepped forward to apply his psychic restraints, two tactical tracking missiles suddenly whistled through the gorge, locking onto his position. Feng Che's eyes flashed a deep violet-red; the telekinetic pulse seized the missiles mid-air, violently twisting their trajectories and slamming them into a nearby turbine tower. The structure snapped in half, bursting into a massive cloud of fire and debris.
Taking advantage of the blinding smoke, a small stealth fighter swooped down from the clouds. A mechanical claw extended from the underbelly, snagging Jecksee by his harness and pulling him into the cockpit before speeding away.
The Deserters
Inside the cockpit of the stealth craft, Jecal leveled the ship as Jecksee unbuckled himself, his face red with humiliation.
"Dammit, Jecal! I had him right where I wanted him!" Jecksee yelled, completely ungrateful. "Wait... why are we heading away from the valley? This vector leads straight toward the outer perimeter of the island! Are you planning to turn tail and run?!"
"Jecksee, open your eyes! The island is finished," Jecal said coldly, his hands steady on the flight controls. "King Kai is the only one left standing in his tower."
"Ghost General Longchuan was dismantled by Steven Stone. Grass General Zorn and Poison General Hanzo Shura were captured by Feng Che. Psychic General Greya was broken by Sabrina and Caitlin. If we don't clear this airspace in the next three minutes, we're spending the rest of our lives in a World League maximum-security block. Is that what you want?"
"This is treason, Jecal! I am no coward!" Jecksee reached for his belt, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Turn this ship around, or I will take the stick myself!"
Before his fingers could unclip a Poké Ball, Jecksee found himself completely paralyzed, locked into his seat by an invisible weight.
"Jecksee, you are my brother, which is why I've never shown you the true extent of my strength," Jecal sighed, never looking back. "I reached the peak of the Elite rank a year ago. My ace is a Decidueye, and right now, its Spirit Shackle is anchored firmly into your shadow. Sit down and be quiet."
But before Jecal could finish his sentence, his own hands froze on the controls. The flight instruments began to flicker with pink psychic energy.
"My, my... what a touching display of brotherly love," a calm voice echoed inside the locked cockpit.
Feng Che materialized in the observer's seat behind them, wrapped in a shimmering violet aura alongside Mewtwo. "But you two are far too valuable to my scoreboard to let you slip past the border."
Mewtwo's eyes flashed, and a crushing wave of telekinetic pressure clamped down on both commanders, freezing their nervous systems instantly. Jecksee's vision began to dim into a forced sleep, his final sight being Feng Che's pleasant, smiling face.