"Alder, you lost this wager. According to our covenant, I shall harvest your soul."
"The unified strength of the Tao Trio was far too cataclysmic. It inflicted severe structural damage upon my vessel, completely vaporizing my accumulated reserves once more. The hour of my true unsealing has been pushed back yet again."
"I have no choice but to devour your spirit to replenish my divine parameters."
"Alder, your single remaining purpose now is to serve as my nourishment."
The Sky Fiend charged aggressively out from Alder's shadow as a massive flood of cyan soul energy erupted from the Champion's body. The stolen life essence was aggressively scorched and consumed by the black hellfire. Under the relentless burning of the dark flames, Alder's physical vessel began to warp and fade.
"Save me... Someone save me!" Alder thrashed frantically for a final few seconds, before the hellfire reduced him to a mere wisp of blue smoke that vanished into the air.
"Feng Che, the exact millisecond I break free from my seal, you shall be the first individual I hunt down. Mark my words!" the Sky Fiend spat venomously, before its spectral form dissolved completely into nothingness.
"We won! We actually won!"
The gathered members of the Dragon Clan erupted into ecstatic cheers. The battlefield they had just witnessed felt like a literal depiction of the end of the world. The Sky Fiend had been entirely intent on wiping the Dragon Clan off the map.
"This is a historic triumph for our Dragon Clan. To think even the reigning Champion of Unova, Alder, would fall in this sector."
Despite the massive scale of Alder's hostile intervention, Feng Che had successfully managed to keep civilian and clan casualties to an absolute minimum. The vast majority of the minor injuries sustained by the clan members were merely due to accidental shrapnel and fall debris.
"Superb work, Feng Che. Following this cataclysmic display of strength, every single lineage within the clan has completely accepted your authority as our clan leader," Vio declared excitedly.
"However, with Alder having perished on our territory, delivering a clean administrative explanation to the Global Pokémon League headquarters will be an exceptional challenge. He was, after all, the reigning Champion of a sovereign region. Even if Alder was guilty of treason, he should have been formally handed over to the League supreme court for judgment. His unexpected death here leaves us in a rather passive position."
Vio's brow furrowed with sudden anxiety. Given his public history as a former high-ranking member of Team Plasma, Alder meeting his end within their borders made it exceptionally easy for outside factions to spin a dangerous narrative against them.
"Do not trouble yourself regarding Alder's treason, grandfather. I have already meticulously recorded every shred of his corrupt activities and his collusion with the ancient fiends. I will personally forward the files to the League directors," Feng Che replied with absolute calm.
"Alder chose his own destruction the exact second he shook hands with those dark entities. His end has absolutely nothing to do with our clan's conduct. Given my current combat parameters and public achievements, the Global League headquarters will most likely directly appoint me to inherit the empty throne as the next Unova region Champion."
"Drayden, brief me on the current status of our core military assets. We must seize this window of opportunity to cleanly subdue Team Plasma." Feng Che turned his gaze toward the veteran.
Even though Feng Che commanded an immense arsenal of high-level partners, he remained highly conservative and cautious, knowing he lacked the absolute assurance required to face a Master Class figure like Giovanni head-on.
"The vast majority of our clan's core combat units have maintained full operational capacity," Drayden replied, running the numbers mentally. "Excluding the garrison required to anchor the city defense perimeter, we can easily mobilize a deployment force of roughly a thousand elite Trainers."
"Superb. But for this specific operation, we shall restrict our deployment force to a mere hundred elite units. We cannot afford to trigger their early warning systems and spook the target," Feng Che directed.
"Grandfather, outline the precise geographical coordinates, structural layouts, and defensive matrices of Team Plasma's primary stronghold. We need to construct a clean tactical roadmap to guide our strike."
"Understood," Vio nodded, his expression turning grave. "Follow me to the war room immediately. Let the remaining units handle the environmental cleanup of the arena."
Vio led the core leadership directly into the grand briefing chamber. Once the security doors sealed and the elders took their respective seats, he tapped the master console to activate the main tactical display.
"Team Plasma's overall military parameters are exceptionally formidable, historically commanding a baseline strength of one Champion-rank Trainer and seven Elite Four-level Trainers. While that was the data they projected on the public surface, the reality is far more dangerous. Excluding N and myself, Ghetsis has successfully forced his primary partners into the Champion rank as well."
"The remaining five Sages all possess parameters anchoring the absolute peak of the Elite Four tier. Therefore, our deployment must prioritize elite surgical precision rather than raw numbers."
"Following my formal defection from their ranks, Team Plasma's commanding Seven Sages council has been reduced to six core figures: Ghetsis, Giallo, Rood, Bronius, Ryoku, and Zinzolin." Vio paused briefly, gathering his thoughts before diving into the structural parameters of the target.
"Team Plasma's central stronghold is situated deep within a colossal, uncharted ancient ruin. Because the sector remains entirely isolated from the outside world, global reconnaissance syndicates have failed to map out their primary base of operations."
"The interior is rigged with an immense network of high-lethal traps, which were originally under my administrative oversight. However, now that I have broken ties with them, Ghetsis will undeniably have rearranged the defensive matrices. The ruins house three primary defensive thresholds."
"The first security threshold leverages the unique temporal anomalies woven into the ruins' architecture. Stepping blindly into these localized space-time rifts will forcefully accelerate or violently reverse a target's chronological parameters. To safely bypass this temporal trap, one must carry a trace element of a Legendary deity—specifically, a Dialga Dragon Scale. I happen to have seven pieces of Dialga scales secured in my treasury."
"The second defensive threshold consists of the native wild guardians anchoring the ruins, all of which possess high-level Elite Four parameters. However, what Team Plasma remains entirely oblivious to is that these guardians harbor a profound genetic aversion to the chemical aroma of the rare Cryo-Berry. The moment they catch the scent, the wild clusters will systematically retreat without engaging."
"The third and most complex threshold is the spatial layout of the ruins themselves. The interior corridors are dynamically shifting every hour, meaning the physical coordinates of Team Plasma's inner sanctum are in a constant state of flux. Furthermore, the base is heavily garrisoned by the specialized cybernetic Pokémon Colress has been engineering in his labs—creatures whose raw combat parameters are exceptionally terrifying."
Vio concluded his technical briefing, looking toward the young clan leader.
"In that case, we shall execute a precise Decapitation Strike," Feng Che announced decisively.
"Our primary objective will be to directly infiltrate the core and subdue the six Sages alongside the King of Team Plasma, N. The hundred elite Trainers we bring from the Dragon Clan will establish a airtight containment perimeter around the external ruins, serving as a lockdown unit to block any escape vectors."
"Our clan will field seven high-level Trainers possessing parameters at or above the Elite Four rank to independently match and neutralize the six Sages. As for N, I shall handle him personally."
"Going by my records of our current roster, Drayden, grandfather, Victor, Feng Lu, and Iris all command verified Elite Four-level training parameters. Drayden, who else within our ranks can fill the remaining slots?" Feng Che inquired, needing to map out the tactical pairings cleanly.
"My younger brother, Jax, is also a highly accomplished Elite Four-level Trainer," Drayden answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Perfect. We shall dedicate the next twelve hours to full logistical preparation and resource management. Ensure your primary partners receive maximum medical attention to restore their parameters to absolute peak efficiency. In exactly twelve hours, we march on Team Plasma," Feng Che commanded in an unyielding register.
"Understood. We follow the Clan Leader's directive," Vio led the confirmation, the surrounding elders bowing their heads in unison.
Having endured multiple high-intensity battles back-to-back, Feng Che was beginning to feel the weight of physical fatigue. For this impending expedition into the temporal ruins, he resolved to carry both Zekrom and Kyurem on his person. Retracting to the private quarters the clan had meticulously prepared for his stay, he collapsed onto the soft bed and immediately plunged into a deep, restorative sleep.
Meanwhile, at Team Plasma's hidden stronghold.
Having sustained catastrophic structural trauma from White Kyurem's absolute-zero backlash, Ghetsis was currently confined inside an advanced medical rejuvenation capsule, his vitals slowly stabilizing under the automated treatment.
The daily administration of Team Plasma had been temporarily assumed by N. The remaining five Sages along with Chief Scientist Colress sat in a strict hierarchical order flanking N's central seat.
"We must aggressively overhaul our defensive networks and prepare for an imminent, full-scale assault from the Dragon Clan," N declared calmly, his sharp eyes sweeping across the council.
"Vio has completely severed his ties with our organization, and his deep familiarity with our stronghold's structural parameters is an absolute security risk. We must formulate an airtight counter-strategy immediately, to ensure Team Plasma isn't systematically dismantled within our own walls."
Even though N harbored a profound distaste for his adoptive father's ruthless philosophies, he had zero intention of allowing the massive empire he had spent blood and sweat cultivating to be handed over to an outside faction.