Looking at that incoming Delibird, Lance felt his worldview shatter—completely and utterly shattered.
Before the Saffron City incident, Lance had always believed his Dragon Army was unmatched under the heavens.
He had decided long ago—he would wipe out Team Rocket!
Born in Viridian Forest, a man naturally blessed by its energies, Lance was inherently close to nature and Pokémon. He possessed a natural healing gift—nature's chosen.
And Lance had always embraced that as his mission. He loved both nature and Pokémon, and he had always hoped the world could become a better place.
But the world was never clean. Where there is light, there is shadow. After becoming Champion of Kanto, Lance saw this even more clearly.
Especially when it came to Team Rocket. He had once infiltrated one of their bases and saw an Eevee, barely clinging to life from cruel gene experiments—and even a Rattata with three heads.
Lance burned that entire base to the ground.
That day, he understood—evil cannot be saved.
But to destroy evil, power was essential. Lance firmly believed that no evil could escape before his dragons.
He had always thought his strength had already reached the peak of Champion level. Even against Legendary Pokémon, his Dragon Army would not flinch.
After all, he'd been at Champion level for so many years. No matter how much he trained, he couldn't break through. The only option was to raise new dragons to expand his strength.
Lance had once believed that the Champion tier was the final limit for trainers.
But was that really enough?
He used to think so. Even Team Rocket's boss didn't seem beyond his reach.
But during the Saffron City incident, Lance realized one thing.
The Champion level was certainly powerful—but still not enough. Why couldn't he take down Team Rocket's boss that day? Because the man had Mewtwo.
And that blue-haired man? He'd rampaged freely with a Mega Rayquaza and Shiny Mewtwo Y!
So Lance made up his mind. He, too, would have a Legendary Pokémon. Thus, he obtained the Dragon of Ideals, Zekrom, from N.
Zekrom was immensely powerful. Lance was fully aware that even his ace Dragonite or Giant Dragonite wouldn't be able to win in a one-on-one against it.
But now?
"This is impossible!!"
Lance's cold, proud expression twisted slightly as he stared at the seemingly ordinary Delibird.
How could this be? A Pokémon known only for delivering mail and newspapers… was suppressing Zekrom?!
Why were Delibirds used as mail carriers in the first place? Because they were weak—no trainer would ever consider raising one as their ace.
And yet, just now, this Delibird's Blizzard had forcefully suppressed Zekrom's Thunder.
"Zekrom, Fusion Bolt!"
Lance's expression twitched uncontrollably, eyes burning with disbelief… and wild excitement.
He couldn't believe it. But if it was real? What did that mean?
Zekrom's tail turbine flared with lightning as blue electrical energy surged around it in a circular field, launching it toward the Delibird.
Fusion Bolt!
Delibird opened its beak and fired a freezing light—an icy wall took shape in midair.
An ice wall, to stop Zekrom's charge? Ridiculous.
Lance stared intently. Normally, he'd scoff—but now he hesitated. What if?
Boom!
Zekrom's Fusion Bolt crashed into the ice wall. Lightning surged wildly, slamming over and over again into the frosted barrier.
But the shocking thing?
That clear, glistening ice wall… held firm. It completely blocked Zekrom's Fusion Bolt.
"Heh… hehehe…"
Seeing this, Lance didn't show disappointment. On the contrary, he grinned—and his laughter grew louder.
"HAHAHAHAHA—!"
His blood-red hair whipped wildly in the wind. Lance's ecstatic, unrestrained laughter echoed far into the distance.
Now he was sure—the Champion level wasn't the limit!
Even at peak Champion level, a Delibird shouldn't be able to block Zekrom's Fusion Bolt so effortlessly.
There was only one explanation: this was the ace Pokémon of a trainer above the Champion level!
"Boss is here."
Karen let out a relieved breath. Without a doubt, this Delibird had to belong to the boss.
As expected… the boss was terrifying.
Karen clicked her tongue, staring at the Delibird—it had blocked Zekrom's full-force charge like it was nothing.
But with the boss here, she could finally retreat safely. Though before that…
A cold glint flashed in her eyes. She turned her head—and as expected, Carr, that sly little rat, had already slipped away.
That bastard! Next time she saw him, she'd make sure to finish him off!
"Hiding like a coward—what kind of strength is that? You dare interfere with me, but not show yourself in person?"
Lance's voice was fervent and eerily cold as he stared in the direction the Delibird had come from.
He had no time to deal with Karen right now. His full attention was on this absurdly powerful Delibird—or rather, its trainer.
A trainer beyond Champion level? A Grandmaster? An Elite among Elites?
But even after waiting, no response came. Only silence.
Lance let out a cold laugh.
"Then I'll just beat this Delibird first."
He stared at it. Based on their brief exchange, it was clearly strong. But he was Lance, Dragon Master of Kanto!
And now he had Zekrom. Would he really lose to a mere Delibird?
He would win!
…
Alola Region.
With everything handled, Dylan decided it was time to return to Kanto.
Gladion had already been found and brought back to Aether Paradise. After leaving, he had been training alone to grow stronger—even joining Team Skull to hone himself.
When he heard Lusamine had "recovered," Gladion didn't believe it at first. But with Lillie's reassurance, he came home.
Professor Kukui had also called—President Charles of the Kanto League had officially approved the founding of the Alola League.
This was an enormous boost for the Alola Region.
But it had nothing to do with Dylan anymore. He, Leaf, and Lillie had already booked their tickets back.
Originally, Dylan had hoped Lillie would stay in Alola a little longer. After all, it was a rare chance to reunite with family.
But Lillie felt that the past few days had been enough. Lusamine was about to dive into League matters and wouldn't have time to spend with her. Gladion, too, was heading out to train again.
By comparison, she just wanted to stay by her brother's side. After all, the Rota Gym was her home too.
Their plane landed in Viridian City. From there, the trio flew back to Rota Street on Reshiram's back.
"Big bro Gym Leader, you're back!"
As soon as they entered the Rota Gym, they saw Asha lying on a lounge chair scrolling through her phone. No sign of Silver or Yellow—probably out back.
She lit up when she saw them.
"Didn't go shopping with Yellow and the others?" Dylan asked with a chuckle.
"I did! Yellow and I went to Viridian Forest. Oh, and some people came looking for you yesterday," she added, blinking.
"Did they leave a name?"
"They said they're from Unova. The boy's name was Hugh."
"Hugh, huh?" Dylan raised an eyebrow. It had been a while since their promise.
Looks like that kid had finally fulfilled his end. Not bad.
"So Gym Leader bro does know him. Since you weren't around, I told them to come back in a few days."
"Got it." Dylan nodded and headed toward the backyard.
"The Indigo Conference starts in half a month. Dylan, should we go check it out?" Leaf asked, bouncing with interest.
The Indigo Conference was Kanto's biggest regional tournament, where Trainers who'd earned eight badges competed for victory.
"Not much to see in the early rounds. Let's wait for the finals," Dylan said after a pause.
In the anime, the Indigo Conference had been like a beginner's cup. Nothing much to watch. Or… maybe not?
He thought again. After all, his Rota Gym had done a lot this year to support up-and-coming Kanto Trainers.
Maybe the competitors this year would be different.
"True. But I'm guessing the finals will be Red versus Blue," Leaf mused.
"Yeah, probably." Dylan shrugged—there weren't many other likely outcomes.
In the backyard, Dylan released all his Pokémon to relax and play.
He lay back on a picnic mat, using a pillow behind his head, gazing at the blue sky.
"A Psychic-type team build, huh…" Dylan thought aloud, starting to plan out a Psychic team.
"Indeedee is a must. A female one's better for Gym battles."
Because Indeedee had the Hidden Ability Psychic Surge, which automatically set Psychic Terrain upon entry.
Though it was more suited for doubles, for a Psychic team, it was indispensable.
"A female Gardevoir's also essential. If I can get a Shiny one, even better."
Psychic and Fairy types? Gardevoir was the obvious choice.
Beautiful and strong. Perfect.
"Also Hatterene could work. And Metagross as a physical attacker—makes a solid addition."
Dylan reviewed the Psychic-types he owned. None were exactly simple.
Metagross, Scream Tail, Farigiraf, and Iron Leaves—the Future Form of Virizion from the Swords of Justice line.
But those… weren't suitable for average challengers.
(End of Chapter)