A first-css Legendary indeed possessed the power to destroy a nation, but suations were ne tries like Drakoria or Celestria. Instead, they were smaller or mid-sized tries.

  Smaller tries, in particur, are vulnerable. Their quality of Trainers is subpar, and their advanced onry is even worse. It wouldn't take a first-css Legendary to obliterate them; just a few wild Champion-level Pokémon would suffice to wreak havoc.

  Fe tries like Drakoria, fag a first-css Legendary would undoubtedly be a massive headache. However, if Drakoria was willing to pay a signifit price, they could still at least repel Kyogre.

  But that price would be steep. Once doheir old rival, Celestria, would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to exploit the situation.

  And in the current precarious sario, Celestria was already making its move. While Kyogre was causing chaos in Drakoria, spies from Celestria had begun infiltrating Drakoria's secret facilities uhe cover of the turmoil.

  Yet these efforts were destio fail. Drakoria had long anticipated such moves and had set up aework to capture these intruders.

  But it wasn't just spies. Celestria, along with its two allies—Babath and the Wyvernia—had already dispatched their Champions to Drakoria's borders.

  In respohree of Drakoria's four remaining Champions had beeo front them, while the st stayed in the capital to es security.

  This left only one Champion, Duke, to defend Haitian City during this critical crisis.

  Fortunately, at the st moment, John Walker made his debut as a neion. His Mega Metagross arrived just in time to block the massive tidal wave from surging into the city ter, saving the lives of millions.

  ---

  Ihe Miller family manor, the mysterious figure watched as the massive wave, which had beeo e millions, was suddenly halted by John's Metagross.

  His expression darkened immediately.

  "John… John! It's you again! And now you've bee a Champion!"

  The figure's voice became hysterical, and the nearby delure, his panion, recoiled slightly from the oppressive aura he exuded.

  "Hmph! Do you think this is over?"

  delure had been on the verge of advang to Champion level itself, and the quickest way to do so would have been to devour the souls of millions of people. John's intervention had thwarted that pn.

  But could he stop it a sed time?

  The mysterious figure walked toward the isotion box, where Manaphy was gring at him. However, as the figure approached, the anger ohical Pokémon's face gradually turned into fear.

  Manaphy: 'I'm newly hatched… it's normal to feel a little scared, right?'

  The figure picked up the isotion box and pressed a button on its surface.

  Immediately, the box began releasing surges of electricity. The currents sparked with golden light, and Manaphy let out a heart-wreng cry of pain.

  "Yes, scream louder! The louder you scream, the more seriously Kyogre will take this."

  Dissatisfied with the iy of Manaphy's cries, the figure increased the voltage. The golderic currents grew even fiercer.

  "Mana!!!~"

  Manaphy's cry was filled with endless pain, its expression twisted in agony.

  The mysterious man's lips curled into a satisfied smirk. He reached out to slightly open the isotion box before quickly snapping it shut again.

  The moment the box ened was fleeting, yet the anguished sound it released echoed far and wide, heard by tless Water-type Pokémon.

  Pain, despair, misery, rage—

  Every Water-type Pokémhe voice's torment and uood that its owner was in grave danger.

  Including Kyogre.

  "ROAR!!!"

  "Humans, you are all dead!"

  Kyogre's fury erupted, instantly dispelling the paralysis that had gripped its massive form. A surge of terrifying energy rolled off it in waves, shaking the very o.

  As its anger grew, dark storm clouds began to gather in the sky, thiing ominously. The torrential rain poured harder, dreng everythih.

  "ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!"

  Around Kyogre, the awakee and pseudo-Champion Pokémon also howled furiously, their eyes glowing a blood-red fury.

  Duke frowned as he observed the se. He had a sinking suspi that this surge e had something to do with Manaphy.

  Could it be that something terrible had happeo it?

  Just then, more missiles desded from the skies. This time, there were even more than before, filling the entire sky.

  Kyogre's eyes gleamed coldly, its jaws opening wide to release an Ice Beam. The frosty ray swept across the sky, freezing every missile in its path.

  With a series of heavy spshes, the ice-bound missiles plummeted into the o.

  Having already suffered from one earlier barrage, Kyogre was not about to make the mistake of shattering the missiles again.

  "This city no longer o exist."

  Kyogre's pectoral fins fred as it began to rise into the air.

  Duke's expression shifted drastically upon hearing those words.

  Endless blue and white energy began gathering around Kyogre's jaws, lighting up the night sky with a dazzling radiance.

  The blue and white energy gradually densed into a spherical orb, the power emitted by the orb caused the seawater beh Kyogre to sink, exposing the seabed uhe immense gravitational pull of the attack.

  This was Kyogre's signature move—in Pulse—in the making.

  "We 't stop this"

  John said as he approached Duke, watg this se gravely.

  A full-powered attack from a first-css Legendary, that too its signature move, not even a peak Champion level Pokémon could stop it.

  Only a first-css Legendary bloother.

  With the gradual formation of the in Pulse, apanied by fshes of lightning and the relentless downpour, caused the Pokémon near Kyogre to retreat to a safe distance.

  "We have no choice but to stop it, Mega Akazam, use Light S!"

  Duke gritted his teeth. The lives of millions weren't something he could simply give up on.

  "Kyogre!!!"

  Duke gred hatefully at Kyogre h mid-air, an overwhelming sense of helplessness washing over him.

  Even as Drakoria's stro Champion, fag a first-css Legendary like Kyogre made his strength feel like a joke.

  "Mega Metagross, use Light S as well!"

  Two champion-tier Pokémon worked furiously, strug yers of Light Ss to shield against the ining in Pulse.

  Kyogre, however, merely cast a disdainful g their efforts.

  "BOOM!!!"

  The instant, the blue-and-white energy beam in Pulse bsted forward. The o behind Kyogre recoiled, f a massive tidal wave as the attack surged ahead.

  The tless Light Ss erected by the two Champion-level Pokémon crumbled like fragile paper uhe devastating power of the attack.

  They watched as the Light Ss failed to slow the attack even for a moment and the in Pulse rag toward Haitian City, its destructive power exceeding that of a nuclear explosion by several magnitudes.

  It wasn't just Haitian City that was at risk—its neighb cities would also be caught iermath.

  A wave of despair washed over Duke as he ched his fists and closed his eyes.

  But John's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something.

  'Damn it! My grandson—isn't he still in Haitian City?!'

  In Haitian City Sky, Julian looked at the red dot that suddenly appeared on the Dowsing Mae. The red dot took up nearly a third of the entire Dowsing Mae.

  'It has to be Manaphy! That red dot must be Manaphy!'

  But just as quickly as the dot had appeared, it vanished.

  If Julian hadn't been absolutely certain he'd seen it, he might have thought his desperation to find Manaphy had caused him to halluate.

  Although the red dot was gone, but he remembered the dire of it.