"Tornadus—"
"The Shenying Alliance looks a little too warm."
"Cool them down."
Ethan didn't bother wasting words.
For people like this—
Talking was meaningless.
Only action mattered.
Tornadus shot into the sky.
In an instant—
The winds howled.
A massive tornado began to form.
At first—
Small.
Then—
It devoured everything around it.
Debris.
Steel.
Fragments.
Growing.
Expanding.
If left unchecked—
It could swallow the entire Shenying Alliance.
"WAIT!"
The man delivering the prisoners panicked.
"What else do you want?!"
"We brought the people!"
"We brought the eggs!"
"What more do you need?!"
Ethan looked at him like he was an idiot.
"You think I'm joking?"
"You really believe these nobodies—"
"Had the guts to sneak into Donghuang and drug Pokémon?"
Silence.
The man froze.
Of course he understood.
This wasn't enough.
Ethan wanted—
The real culprit.
"Give me thirty minutes!" the man blurted.
"No—twenty!"
Ethan nodded calmly.
"You can have time."
"But if you bring me more scapegoats—"
"I'll let the storm finish what it started."
The tornado above continued growing.
This time—
They were fast.
In less than twenty minutes—
Someone new was brought in.
Ethan glanced over—
Then smiled.
"Well, well."
"A familiar face."
Standing there—
Was Owen.
"Who the hell is your 'familiar'?" Owen sneered.
"You just got lucky."
"If things had gone right—"
"You'd already be dead."
Ethan chuckled.
"My luck has always been good."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"You planned it well."
"Two powerful Pokémon."
"One at Totem Peak."
"One even stronger—probably divine-level."
"Drug them both."
"Let them go berserk."
"And then…"
"Let me walk right into it."
"Die trying to stop them."
Owen's pupils shrank.
He hadn't said anything.
But Ethan—
Had reconstructed everything.
"Too bad," Ethan continued calmly.
"The stronger one?"
"It was already with me."
"How exactly did you plan to force-feed it the serum?"
Owen's expression twisted.
Everything had been perfect.
Until—
One variable changed.
Ethan waved his hand.
"Take him."
The journey back began.
Along the way—
Owen cursed nonstop.
Endlessly.
Relentlessly.
Finally—
Ethan sighed.
"You've been talking this whole time."
"You're not tired?"
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"By the way…"
"Your alliance is huge."
"Don't you have a single trainer with a divine-level Pokémon?"
Owen snorted.
"You think I'd tell you anything?"
Ethan burst out laughing.
"Tell me?"
"You?"
"You've already been thrown out as a scapegoat."
"And you're still acting proud?"
That hit hard.
Owen's face darkened.
Ethan continued casually.
"At this rate…"
"If your alliance doesn't produce a real powerhouse soon—"
"All your 'little brother' alliances…"
"Are going to switch sides."
"To Donghuang."
Owen froze.
He hadn't even considered that.
But now—
It made perfect sense.
Twice.
Ethan had crushed them.
Publicly.
Effortlessly.
And they—
Couldn't do anything.
If this continued—
Their global influence would collapse.
"You…" Owen gritted his teeth.
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Don't worry."
"I'll visit often."
"If you can't behave—"
"I'll help you."
"Until you learn."
Meanwhile – Donghuang Alliance
Aurore and Victor had already arrived with Xiao Huo.
The researcher—
Was ready.
Having worked with the serum before—
He knew the formula by heart.
And in Donghuang—
Resources were abundant.
The antidote was completed quickly.
Xiao Huo swallowed it.
Moments later—
Its eyes cleared.
Sanity returned.
"…Where am I?"
Then—
It learned everything.
The destruction.
The chaos.
The damage it caused.
Silence.
Then—
Deep regret.
"…I destroyed… my home…"
Aurore stepped forward gently.
"It's not your fault."
"Blame the ones who did this to you."
The Typhlosion lowered its head.
The Hala Volcano region—
Was heavily damaged.
But not beyond saving.
With time—
It could recover.
Meanwhile – Great Ridge Mountains
The aftermath spread.
A chain reaction.
Pokémon fled.
Habitats collapsed.
Entire groups migrated.
Among them—
A troop of Passimian.
They traveled far—
Until they reached a quiet valley.
Untouched.
Safe.
The group dispersed—
Searching for new territory.
One Passimian wandered further—
Deeper.
Into the valley.
Until—
It stopped.
In front of a stone pillar.
It looked up.
And froze.
At the top—
Was something strange.
A stone.
Shaped like—
A Poké Ball.
But not quite.
Silent.
Ancient.
Waiting.
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