Chapter 238: Eternatus vs. Mega Rayquaza

The next second...

The sky suddenly went dark.

Diancie jerked her head up.

An enormous shadow emerged from deep within the clouds, so vast that it nearly filled half the sky.

Eternatus.

Its body resembled an impossibly elongated dragon, its dark-purple skeletal frame gleaming ominously beneath the sunlight.

Asher stood atop Eternatus’s head.

His purple robe snapped violently in the wind, both hands tucked casually into his pockets.

He looked down at Rayquaza and Diancie below, his expression so calm that it was almost as though he were watching a performance that had nothing to do with him.

"To be honest."

His voice wasn’t loud, but across the silent battlefield, every word came through with perfect clarity.

"I originally thought I wouldn’t need to step in personally."

Even with Rayquaza beside her, Diancie could feel her hands trembling uncontrollably.

The pressure Asher gave off was simply too overwhelming.

It even surpassed Rayquaza’s.

Something deeper.

Something completely unfathomable.

Diancie’s voice trembled with fear.

But for the sake of her people, she couldn’t retreat.

"Rayquaza—we’re going in!"

Rayquaza unleashed Dragon Ascent once again, transforming into a golden meteor as it charged straight toward Eternatus.

Eternatus neither dodged nor retreated.

Countless dark-purple beams erupted simultaneously from the gaps in its skeletal frame, pouring toward Rayquaza from every direction.

Rayquaza twisted and rolled continuously through the air to evade them.

But there were simply too many.

Several beams grazed its tail and the edges of its fins, sending fragments of green scales scattering through the sky.

"Diancie."

Standing atop Eternatus, Asher’s voice carried across the entire battlefield.

"You’re interesting."

"But this battle never had any suspense to begin with."

Eternatus’s energy core lit up once again—

This time even more brilliantly than before.

"So..."

Asher’s tone remained calm.

"If you don’t have another trump card, this ends here."

[VIP Chat Group]

[Misty]: Why does hubby still look so handsome even when he’s playing the villain in the video...

[Daisy]: Misty, control yourself. There are minors in the VIP seats.

[Elesa]: Oh, who cares about that! Hubby looks amazing! I’m cheering for hubby!! (≧?≦)ゞ

[Cynthia]: ...Hubby really does look handsome. (serious)

[Diantha]: Haha, Cynthia, did you just blush again?

[Cynthia]: Hmph. Are you saying you didn’t?

[Diantha]: ...

[Skyla]: Oho! Is this the first time Master has lost to Miss Cynthia in a conversation? Recording this for history!

[Diantha]: Skyla!

[Iris]: Um, could someone tell me what Pokémon Asher summoned? I’ve never seen anything like it before.

[Professor Magnolia]: Twenty thousand years ago, a meteorite from outer space crashed deep beneath the Galar region. The Legendary Pokémon Eternatus was born from within that meteorite. It does not originally belong to this land, but is an energy-based life-form from space.

[Sonia]: The Dynamax Bands we created and the Dynamax systems used in stadiums fundamentally operate by drawing upon the Galar Particles slowly leaking from Eternatus beneath the ground. Without Eternatus, the Dynamax phenomenon wouldn’t exist in Galar at all.

[Raihan]: I seriously wasn’t expecting this... Parallel-world Asher didn’t just find Eternatus—he actually caught it?! And now he’s specifically using it to film Elaria’s movie?!

[Steven]: Brother Asher really does keep his cards close to his chest! If he can even catch Eternatus, is there anything in this world he can’t do?!

The movie continued playing.

Mega Rayquaza didn’t retreat.

Emerald flames of energy erupted around its body.

Its entire form transformed into a golden meteor as it charged directly toward Eternatus.

The vertical pupil within Eternatus’s core suddenly contracted.

A massive dark-purple beam erupted from it.

Eternabeam.

Eternatus’s full-power attack.

The dark-purple energy beam was dozens of meters wide.

Wherever it passed, the air itself was ionized, while the residual energy sweeping across the ocean evaporated huge stretches of seawater into white mist.

Mega Rayquaza was struck head-on.

The emerald flames around its body struggled violently against the dark-purple beam—

But ultimately, they were swallowed whole.

Rayquaza crashed onto the beach by the sea.

The light of Mega Evolution faded from its body as well.

Eternatus remained silently suspended in the sky, awaiting Asher’s next command.

Diancie slid down from Rayquaza’s head.

She looked up at Eternatus, whose enormous body seemed to blot out the heavens.

A crushing sense of helplessness filled her heart.

But for the sake of her people—

She absolutely could not give up.

"I haven’t lost yet."

Diancie clenched her fists and closed her eyes.

The Heart Diamond.

She had created it with her own hands.

If it could hear her...

Deep within the palace—

The Heart Diamond sealed beneath the dark-purple energy barrier suddenly trembled.

Light erupted from within the barrier.

The mass of dark-gray mist over Elaria’s chest rapidly dissipated.

Color returned to her pale cheeks at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the exact same moment—

Diancie’s body was enveloped in the light of the Heart Diamond.

Her skirt lengthened.

Countless tiny diamond fragments drifted from her body.

Mega Diancie.

She raised her head, her red eyes staring directly at Asher atop Eternatus.

"I will fight for my people."

But upon seeing this—

An unusual smile appeared at the corner of Asher’s mouth.

He jumped directly down from Eternatus’s head.

Then he walked straight toward Diancie.

Diancie was just about to prepare for battle when Asher casually waved a hand.

"All right, all right. No need to fight anymore."

Diancie froze.

"...Huh?"

"If I didn’t push you to your absolute limit, the Heart Diamond’s power wouldn’t fully awaken."

Asher lowered his hand.

"And Elaria needed that power."

"Y-You weren’t actually planning to destroy the Hoenn region and use that to lure out even more Legendary Pokémon?"

"I’m not so desperate that I’d need to go that far."

Asher shrugged.

"If I genuinely wanted to destroy Hoenn, one blast from Eternatus could flatten this place."

"Would I really need to wait around for you to show up?"

"But... If awakening the Heart Diamond had failed, then for Elaria’s sake..."

"I might actually have done it."

Just then—

A series of light footsteps came from behind Asher.

"Daddy!"

Elaria came running toward him.

The sickly pallor had completely disappeared from her face, replaced by a healthy rosy glow.

She threw herself straight into Asher’s arms, burying her face against his chest and rubbing against him affectionately.

Asher bent down and ruffled her hair.

"You just recovered and you’re already running that fast. Aren’t you afraid you’ll fall?"

"Because Elaria knows Daddy will always catch me."

Elaria raised her head.

Her golden eyes sparkled brightly.

"Daddy is the gentlest person in the whole world."

"No matter what happens, Elaria will always believe in you."

Asher’s hand paused.

Then he pulled her a little tighter into his arms.

The screen faded to black.

[END OF FILM]

...

TL: Our poor worm got no-diffed. Don’t worry, wormy — you’ll always be top [redacted] in my heart.