"What is... this?"
Hilda stared in shock at the giant black-and-red serpent behind Lysandre.
What kind of creature was this?
She had never seen such a thick aura of hatred, anger, and violence before.
Yes, she had never seen anything like it!
The entire massive space was filled with the wild, violent energy of this black-and-red serpent. It was truly shocking.
"Be careful. This is probably a Legendary Pokémon."
Platinum's face became very serious. This terrifying pressure...
It was definitely a Legendary Pokémon!
A normal Pokémon couldn't have this kind of power. That overwhelming presence was completely different.
But the most important thing was...
"What exactly did you do to this Pokémon?!"
Platinum stared closely at Lysandre, her voice full of accusation.
She didn't know what kind of Pokémon this black-and-red serpent was, but the energy coming off it was completely wrong.
That incredibly strong hatred and anger that made her spine feel cold were not normal at all.
"I see. Are your senses that sharp?"
Under the cover of his red goggles, Platinum and the others couldn't see Lysandre's eyes at all.
"This is Zygarde from the myths and legends. It is the one that monitors order and the ecosystem."
Lysandre spoke calmly. The giant black-and-red serpent stood quietly behind him, with a faint red light flashing on its body.
Zygarde?
Serena bit her lip hard. In the myths and legends of the Kalos region, there were three legendary Pokémon.
Xerneas, the Pokémon of life; Yveltal, the Pokémon of destruction; and the most mysterious one, Zygarde, the one that watches over order.
Serena really did not expect that Team Flare had actually captured Zygarde.
"This world... it must become more beautiful!"
"And Zygarde—I need its power to protect order. That is why we found it."
Lysandre's tone was extremely calm.
"And then you controlled it by force?" Rosa said with total contempt. She didn't even need to think about it; Zygarde's condition was clearly wrong.
Lysandre must have used some dirty method to control Zygarde.
"You talk about these grand ideals, but in the end, you use such low and dirty tricks. You are truly pathetic."
"This is a necessary sacrifice for the arrival of a beautiful world."
Lysandre did not argue back because he knew that what Rosa said was the truth.
But it didn't matter. After he decided to experiment on Zygarde, he was already prepared for this.
No matter how the outside world looked at him, he didn't care anymore.
"Zygarde is not complete yet, but it is enough."
They had only found the core known as Z2. They had not found Z1 yet. But it didn't matter.
Even an incomplete Zygarde was already powerful enough!
Furthermore, Zygarde was only the beginning. Lysandre's real trump card was the Ultimate Weapon. However, it would take time for the Ultimate Weapon to fully start up.
"Go, Zygarde! Let this 'City of Light' be the beginning of the new world!"
The 'City of Light' was what people called Lumiose City.
But to Lysandre, this so-called 'City of Light' was just a collection of filth. The 'purification' would begin from this city.
And Zygarde was the one to sound the opening note for it!
The enraged, black-and-red Zygarde let out a roar of hatred. Its massive body twisted as it charged quickly toward the other side.
BOOM!
The strong walls of the laboratory were instantly smashed to pieces by the enraged Zygarde. Zygarde's body appeared on the streets of Lumiose City, fully exposed under the sunlight.
He actually let Zygarde out???
Seeing this, Platinum and the other three girls were stunned.
Outside, the enraged Zygarde quickly slithered to the center of the city. It raised its head high, and the terrifying red light covering its body exploded.
A low roar echoed through the entire city.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The entire city shook violently, as if an earthquake were happening. Twisted plants, like giant serpents, rose from underground.
They pierced through tall buildings and grew wildly through the city without stopping. In just ten seconds or so, the entire Lumiose City was completely "wiped out" by these serpent-like plants.
Painful cries, screams of panic, and the sound of frantic footsteps filled the air. The citizens who didn't have time to escape were now filled with terror.
"What is that thing?"
Drayton had just finished taking down Aliana. He looked in shock at the giant trunks stretching out from not far away.
They were probably tree trunks, right? They looked like them.
Luckily, he dodged quickly. Otherwise, Drayton didn't know if he could handle being hit by one of those things.
"Drayton, are you okay?"
Kieran ran over quickly.
"I'm fine, but the situation seems wrong," Drayton said, spreading his hands.
"Rosa and the others have already gone inside to catch that Lysandre guy. Next, we just need to deal with the other Team Flare Admins."
"As for these twisted plants, it seems like a Pokémon did this," Lacey said as she ran over.
"As expected of an epic mission. It looks like that Pokémon is the real boss. How exciting~" Drayton said with amazement, looking around at his surroundings.
Giant, twisted plants were everywhere—underground, on tall buildings, and coiled around various places. The entire city had been completely ruined.
"Drayton! I think that's a very bad thing to say!" Lacey's small face was very serious.
"This is not the time to make those kinds of jokes. This city is innocent. Anyway, let's capture all the Team Flare people first."
Lacey looked at the ruined city scene and felt a weight in her heart. This is what a villain team is like!
They truly deserve to die!
"Don't worry, don't worry, I understand. Hmm?"
Drayton nodded, but then he looked toward the other side.
A woman wearing red sunglasses was walking toward them.
"You are... Elite Four member Malva?" Lacey recognized the woman.
"Ah~ that's right. But it seems I'm a bit late. You've already dealt with these Team Flare members."
Malva adjusted her sunglasses and glanced around, her eyebrows twitching.
Are these people so useless? She had received the League's order for backup and had specifically traveled slowly so that Officer Jenny and the others wouldn't get help.
But she didn't expect Team Rocket to actually step in.
Most importantly, Malva looked at Drayton and the others. These boys and girls were so young.
Are Aliana and the others really that useless?
No, it was more like these Team Rocket kids were too strong.
"The young people nowadays are really amazing," Malva said with a grin.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"By the way, how is it going inside the laboratory?" Malva looked toward Lysandre Labs.
The enraged Zygarde had already been released. She didn't know if Lysandre was still here or if he had already gone to Geosenge Town.
"Our companions are inside dealing with Lysandre. You can rest easy."
"Oh? Is the extremely wicked Lysandre still here? Then I'll go help, too."
Malva's face became serious.
"Huh?" Lacey was stunned.
"Right now, the entire Lumiose City is in chaos. Capturing Lysandre as soon as possible will end this disaster sooner."
As she spoke, Malva walked quickly toward the inside of Lysandre Labs. But she seemed to remember something, stopped for a moment, and spoke to Drayton and the others.
"By the way, you should go help in other areas as soon as possible."
"What a strange person." Drayton watched Malva's back. He felt something was off, but he couldn't say exactly what it was.
She said she was backup, but she only appeared after they finished the fight. And she seemed to care a lot about Lysandre.
While it made sense to care about Lysandre since he was the criminal behind this event, Drayton still felt it was weird.
...
"Champion Diantha! It's bad! A giant Pokémon has appeared in the city center! Those plants seem to be its power!"
In the eastern part of the city, Diantha was watching the Officer Jennys lead the citizens out of the city. An urgent voice came through her communicator.
"I understand. I will go handle it myself." Diantha immediately understood.
She had her Gardevoir use psychic powers to lift her up. The two of them flew quickly toward the Prism Tower in the city center.
Sure enough, Diantha soon saw the enraged Zygarde standing in the central area.
Diantha's heart sank. This Pokémon... looked very wrong!
"Champion Diantha!"
Diantha and Gardevoir landed and happened to meet a team of police officers.
"Champion Diantha, according to our observations, these destructive plants in the city were caused by this Pokémon."
"And it can continue to make those plants go even more out of control. Look, it's gathering power right now!"
The leading Officer Jenny was extremely serious and heavy-hearted. Right now, the red light on Zygarde's body was getting stronger and stronger.
"We tried to stop it, but our Pokémon's attacks didn't have much effect on it." Officer Jenny felt very ashamed.
"I understand! I will stop it!"
Diantha's face was serious as she looked at that giant, terrifying Zygarde.
I wonder if I can do it?
Diantha decided to give it her all. She was, after all, the Champion of the Kalos region!
...
Inside Lysandre Labs.
"What have you done?" Serena felt the violent shaking and her heart sink.
"Zygarde will burn everything in this city to ashes!"
Lysandre spoke calmly, as if he were just talking about what to eat for dinner.
"No matter how much you struggle, it is meaningless. Lumiose City is just a starting point. Next will be the entire Kalos region."
"Ha? You sure talk big." Rosa's eyes were incredibly sharp now.
"But without Zygarde, how are you going to fight us? In the end, you are the one controlling Zygarde. If we just take you down, Zygarde will stop, right?"
"You actually let Zygarde out. You are just asking for it."
Rosa thought Lysandre's move was very stupid. Without Zygarde, how could Lysandre resist the four of them?
"Lysandre, your ambition will definitely not succeed!"
Serena's face had also completely darkened now.
"Little girl, do you think I wouldn't have considered that?"
Lysandre's tone was still calm. He did not care about these four girls at all.
He, Lysandre, was a Champion-level trainer who had mastered Mega Evolution!
"If you think the four of you can defeat me, you are being ridiculous."
"Let me show you... what true power looks like!"
Lysandre was very confident in himself.
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