Inside the Tidecrest Arena—
This sudden upheaval triggered the entire examination zone's warning system, and a deafening alarm blared across the sky.
"Beep—beep—beep—"
"Beep—beep—beep—"
"Beep—beep—beep—"
Blinding red warning lights flashed across the sky.
All the examinees in the testing area were stunned, completely confused about what had just happened.
Meanwhile, in the monitoring conference room, Xander's pupils suddenly shrank.
He immediately stood up and barked orders.
"Activate Maximum Alert!!"
"Notify the Four Defense Corps—prepare for battle immediately!!"
"Order all examinees to retreat to the safe zone at once!"
"And… just in case, request reinforcements from Regional League Defense!"
...
Xander issued commands one after another at lightning speed, his expression grave.
He knew—the thing he had feared most had finally happened.
"All personnel, with me!"
His face dark, he shouted to the room before striding out of the conference hall.
The other officers quickly followed him outside.
The battle had begun.
...
High above the examination grounds—
Inside the enormous spatial portal, figures began pouring out one after another.
Within moments, the sky was filled with countless silhouettes floating in midair.
They were members of the Symbiosis Society.
Then a powerful aura surged from the portal.
A massive black bird engulfed in raging flames burst out from within.
It was the Legendary Pokémon—
Galarian Moltres.
"SCREEEEEE—!!"
A deafening cry tore through the sky.
The overwhelming pressure instantly blanketed the entire Tidecrest examination zone below.
Some examinees and their Pokémon immediately turned pale, foam forming at their mouths as they collapsed unconscious on the spot.
The moment Moltres appeared, the temperature of the entire sky soared.
The air itself seemed to vaporize, turning into drifting mist.
Officers riding Flying Pokémon in the air stared at the scene in horror.
Their mounts trembled violently before losing control and falling from the sky.
On the ground, countless examinees stared at the enormous fiery bird above them and the dense army of grotesque Pokémon Hybrids.
They lay on the ground trembling uncontrollably, their faces filled with terror.
They wanted to scream.
They wanted to run.
But they couldn't.
The suffocating pressure made it nearly impossible to breathe.
"SCREE… SCREE…"
"Still hiding, you old fossil?"
"Then I'll start tearing this place apart!!"
Moltres spoke coldly toward a certain point in the empty sky.
As its words fell, space rippled.
A wave of spatial energy spread through the void.
Then a beautiful Pokémon bathed in soft moonlight appeared.
If Aaron were here, he would immediately recognize it.
It was the Pokémon known as the bringer of pleasant dreams—
Cresselia.
The Legendary Pokémon of this world appeared far larger than in the games. This Cresselia stood nearly three meters tall.
Its aura was no weaker than Moltres.
Standing quietly upon its back was a white-haired elder.
His white robes fluttered in the wind.
At that moment, Xander arrived with the regional forces.
The Four Defense Corps—a total of forty thousand personnel—had fully assembled.
Xander looked up at Moltres and the Symbiosis Society forces hovering in the sky, his expression grim.
The aura radiating from Moltres felt like a bottomless abyss.
As a mere Gym Leader, he likely wouldn't survive even a single attack.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Symbiosis Society also radiated overwhelming auras.
At the very least, they had reached Champion-Class.
Some might even possess power approaching that level.
Xander felt his heart sink.
He already sensed that this battle might end in disaster.
But when he saw Cresselia and the man appear, deep respect flashed through his eyes.
Some color returned to his face.
This man was the Protector of Hualis.
No one knew his name.
They only knew that he had silently protected this region for decades.
He was the only Master-level Trainer in Hualis—and a Legendary Pokémon Trainer.
His strength was unfathomable.
With him here, Hualis would never fall.
Battle spirit reignited in Xander's eyes.
"I hope reinforcements arrive soon…"
"Otherwise, Tidecrest will truly be in danger."
...
The elder's deep gaze swept across the figures gathered in the sky.
Finally, his eyes settled on Moltres.
Then he spoke.
His voice was calm, ancient, and distant.
"It seems you still haven't learned your lesson."
"Within Hualis… Legendary Pokémon are forbidden."
"You have already violated this pact twice, Moltres."
His eyes suddenly flared with chilling killing intent as he looked at the fiery bird.
"SKREEE—SKREEE—SKREEE—!"
Moltres burst into wild laughter.
Its blood-red eyes locked onto the elder.
"That pact was made a hundred years ago!"
"The one who made it is long gone. And you're still talking about that damn agreement?"
"How ridiculous…"
Its voice dripped with arrogance and disdain, as if nothing in the world could oppose it.
"You're just a Pokémon who's only just stepped into the Legendary level."
"And you think that gives you the right to do whatever you want?"
The elder looked at Moltres calmly and spoke again.
"Hahahaha—!"
"So what if I've just entered the level?"
"No one in Hualis can stop me!"
"If that person were still here, I wouldn't dare show up."
"But unfortunately…"
"He's gone!"
"Did you really think you could keep that from me?"
"Today…"
"Today… you're going to pay for what you did to me back then."
When Moltres mentioned that person, a faint trace of fear flickered in its eyes.
But it quickly turned into burning hatred.
The fiery bird glared at the elder, its eyes blazing with fury.
The elder said nothing more.
He simply replied calmly.
"If that is the case…"
"Then let us fight."
A brilliant seven-colored radiance burst forth from the elder and Cresselia.
A vast wave of energy instantly engulfed Moltres.