"Speaking of which, why does it feel like all these powerful Legendary Pokémon can 'transform'?"
Wallace couldn't help but complain.
He suddenly realized it really was the case.
Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, and now Kyurem in front of them—every one of them had the ability to "transform."
On the other hand, those that couldn't transform, like Zekrom, were much weaker than the ones that could.
"Is now really the time to discuss that?" Steven's mouth twitched. He felt Wallace's thoughts were far too spontaneous.
"Sigh..."
Alder could only sigh. He felt completely drained.
They had come looking for Kyurem to ask for help, but now they were actually fighting it.
Although they had prepared for the possibility of conflict when they arrived, this was undoubtedly the worst possible outcome.
Most importantly, without Kyurem's help, how were they supposed to deal with Team Rocket next?
Alder hesitated. From the start, he had never intended to destroy Team Rocket. He knew very well he didn't have that kind of power. He couldn't do it.
However, the ideal outcome would be to force Team Rocket out of the Unova region.
Damian possessed Primal Kyogre, which meant he had the option of "mutual destruction." So unless they were absolutely certain, defeating Damian was almost impossible.
But using force to drive the Team Rocket led by Damian out of Unova wasn't impossible. Damian only wanted to move into Unova to expand Team Rocket.
He couldn't just let Primal Kyogre recklessly activate the Primordial Sea. That would not only completely ruin his reputation, it would also bring him no benefit.
Damian was not a fool. So after thinking it through, Alder believed that searching for Kyurem was a valid plan.
But now, Kyurem was clearly unwilling to help them.
If that was the case...
Alder thought that if there truly was no other way, and it ended up like the situation in Hoenn, then they would simply have to accept Team Rocket.
Otherwise, what choice did he have? The biggest problem was that they couldn't win. He also didn't want a dark organization settling in his region. After all, nobody knew what Team Rocket might do in the future.
But not being able to win was the most serious issue.
"Kyurem, we do not want to have a conflict with you. Can't we just negotiate?" Giovanni said in a heavy voice to Black Kyurem.
He felt Black Kyurem was far too aggressive. It was completely unreasonable.
"Roar—!"
However, Black Kyurem didn't respond. Instead, it roared again. The turbine on its tail began to spin as blue and white energy rapidly gathered.
The energy formed a spherical mass. It grew larger and larger until it covered Black Kyurem. Electricity crackled and flashed without stopping. It looked almost dreamy.
The Ice-type move, Freeze Shock! It was Black Kyurem's signature technique!
"Groudon, Precipice Blades!"
Giovanni immediately gave the order to Primal Groudon.
Primal Groudon let out a low roar. Intense red light covered its body as it raised its right claw and slammed it down hard.
Boom!
The ground shook violently. Massive blades of lava, surging with molten magma, burst from the earth and swept toward Black Kyurem.
The Ground-type move, Precipice Blades! It was Groudon's signature technique!
Black Kyurem dove down at high speed, colliding head-on with the incoming Precipice Blades.
Boom!
Freeze Shock and Precipice Blades crashed together. Blue-white and deep red energies slammed into each other as powerful shockwaves tore outward.
Waves of force and wind surged through the canyon. Giovanni and the others immediately released their main Pokémon to block the front and use Protect.
Otherwise, even being hit by the shockwave would have been dangerous.
But as Black Kyurem roared, Freeze Shock continued pushing forward. It crushed one lava blade after another until it finally reached Primal Groudon.
"High Horsepower!" Giovanni said in a heavy voice.
Primal Groudon held its claws out in front as earthy yellow energy lit up.
It blocked Freeze Shock with sheer physical strength. Under Black Kyurem's terrifying impact, Primal Groudon was forced backward again and again, its feet carving two deep trenches into the ground.
At the same time, the freezing energy of Freeze Shock kept gnawing at Primal Groudon's arms where they met.
Bang!
Freeze Shock finally ran out of power. Black Kyurem used the recoil to pull back, then floated up again.
"Hiss!"
Seeing Primal Groudon clearly, Wallace sucked in a cold breath.
A thin layer of ice crystals had formed across Primal Groudon's arms, left behind by Freeze Shock.
Primal Groudon is Ground and Fire type. Even though Ground is weak to Ice, Fire resists Ice. So Ice isn't super-effective against Primal Groudon.
But the key point was this: as a Fire-type Legendary Pokémon, Primal Groudon's body temperature was extremely high.
The lava-like energy in the cracks of its armor made that obvious. Its temperature had to be terrifying.
Yet even so, ice crystals still managed to freeze onto it. That alone showed how frightening Black Kyurem's Ice-type attacks were.
"So strong!" Steven frowned deeply.
After just one exchange, he could already see Kyurem's strength. Even Primal Groudon was at a disadvantage.
Red light flared from Primal Groudon once more. Under the influence of Desolate Land, the ice crystals on its arms quickly melted.
"Roar—"
Black Kyurem raised its head and roared again. A burst of fierce fire ignited along the turbine on its tail.
The flames swept across Black Kyurem's body. In the blink of an eye, Kyurem changed forms again.
Its main colors shifted to gray and white. Long white feathers appeared on its head. Its left front limb became a white, winged paw. Even the turbine on its tail turned white.
White Kyurem!
"The form changed again!" Wallace's eyes widened in shock.
"This looks similar to Reshiram. It can actually change into two forms."
Cynthia frowned. Being able to shift into two forms was simply too much.
Moreover, the two forms were unmistakable—they carried many traits of Zekrom and Reshiram.
"Roar—!"
The turbine on White Kyurem's tail glowed red. Blue-purple energy built up continuously, forming a massive sphere.
The Ice-type move, Ice Burn! It was White Kyurem's signature technique!
"Kyurem, if you are unhappy with what I said earlier about Zekrom and Reshiram, I can apologize," Giovanni narrowed his eyes as he spoke to White Kyurem.
"But what is the point of venting your violence and anger on us? If you are unhappy that the fame of Reshiram and Zekrom is greater than yours, you should go find them. You should prove your own strength, right?"
Giovanni had clearly noticed that Kyurem attacked the first time he mentioned Zekrom and Reshiram.
Perhaps Kyurem—formed from the shell left behind when the Original Dragon split—had no goodwill toward Reshiram and Zekrom.
"Ridiculous. What use is that kind of fame? Besides, those useless things like the Black Dragon and White Dragon... what right do they have to be compared with me?"
White Kyurem's telepathic voice carried a cold, mocking sneer.
In its eyes, both the Black Dragon and the White Dragon were laughable.
Even though they were its "kin," they went off chasing worthless things like "Truth" and "Ideals." They were nothing but useless.
White Kyurem had always looked down on them.
"Yes, that is indeed true. But besides you, who else knows?" Giovanni said.
From White Kyurem's tone, Giovanni could clearly feel its hostility toward the Black and White Dragons.
"No one knows you, Kyurem. No one knows that your power is far greater than Zekrom and Reshiram. They only know the Black and White Dragons that the Original Dragon split into back then."
Giovanni continued.
White Kyurem didn't respond. Its golden eyes only flashed with cold light.
However, the massive Ice Burn sphere in front of it slowly faded away.
"You need to go out into the world. Let history remember this glory. Zekrom and Reshiram are far inferior to you, Kyurem, right?"
"Heh... human. The target you want me to help deal with is the hero chosen by Zekrom and Reshiram, isn't it?"
White Kyurem looked down at Giovanni, its eyes cold and proud.
Giovanni had been deliberately trying to provoke it. How could it not sense that?
It simply didn't like leaving its lair. That didn't mean it was stupid.
"That is correct," Giovanni didn't deny it.
"We have a common enemy, Kyurem."
"Do not misunderstand. I am not doing this to help you."
White Kyurem rose higher and looked into the distance. It could sense the auras of Zekrom and Reshiram.
As parts of the Original Dragon, they were the closest "kin." As long as they weren't too far apart—and didn't conceal their auras—they could sense one another.
White Kyurem slowly grinned. Its fierce face alone was enough to make anyone's heart seize.
"But what you said makes some sense. Zekrom and Reshiram... I have let them 'play' outside for too long. They should come back into my body now."
White Kyurem shot into the sky and vanished into the clouds.
Its body had been empty for too long. It needed "Truth" and "Ideals" to fill it again.
Besides, the true successor of the Original Dragon... should be Kyurem!
Primal Groudon looked up at the direction White Kyurem had disappeared. It couldn't help but fall into thought, a faint sadness rising in its chest.
Why were others both strong and able to fly? It really wanted to experience flying...
Forget it. It was the mighty ruler of the land. Standing on the ground was the right way! Flying? Only a fool would bother with that!
"Whew—"
As White Kyurem left, Wallace finally let out a sigh of relief.
White Kyurem's pressure had been overwhelming—its strength, its temperament, and everything about it.
"It looks like it went to find Reshiram and Zekrom."
Leon looked thoughtful, then turned to Giovanni.
"Gym Leader Giovanni, that was some good provoking!" Leon couldn't help but admire him.
If Giovanni hadn't used words to provoke Kyurem, today probably wouldn't have ended well. At best, Primal Groudon would have had to take them away to escape.
After all, from that brief clash, Kyurem's strength was greater than Primal Groudon's.
"It was just a last resort," Giovanni shook his head. He truly worked hard for the League.
He really had given his all.
"But I'm still concerned about the last thing Kyurem said. What did 'They should come back into my body' mean?" Cynthia asked, confused.
"I don't know. Could it be that Kyurem can eat Zekrom and Reshiram?" Wallace said, half joking.
After all, according to Unova's legends, Kyurem, Zekrom, and Reshiram were all split from the Original Dragon back then.
So as the strongest of the three, could Kyurem absorb Zekrom and Reshiram and become whole again?
"Who knows. Let's head out first."
Giovanni recalled Groudon. Kyurem had already left, so there was no point staying here.
The group left the glacial canyon and returned to the area outside the Giant Chasm.
But the moment they stepped out and saw the dead grass and trees, Steven and the others had mixed expressions.
"It's a good thing Gym Leader Giovanni had Groudon control the range. This ability is truly terrifying."
Leon couldn't help but sigh. These dried-up trees and grass had all been killed by the extreme sunlight caused by Desolate Land.
It could only be said that Primal Groudon now listened to Giovanni. Otherwise, if Desolate Land were activated without limit, the drought from that fierce sunlight would be no less catastrophic than the Primordial Sea.
"You are right," Cynthia and the others agreed.
Giovanni wore a faint, restrained smile. As expected of his Groudon—he was very satisfied with Desolate Land's destructive power.
"Let's go back first. I just don't know if Kyurem will go look for Zekrom or Reshiram first."
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