The Battle Of The Legendary Pokémon

Under the influence of Will-O-Wisp, the three Accelgor gradually began to lose against Gengar and Mismagius. Noticing this, the Shadow Triad each released a Bisharp.

In contrast to the swift and agile Accelgor, the Steel-type Bisharp moved slower due to their weight, but they possessed high attack, defense, and resistance. When Gengar and Mismagius launched Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball toward the Bisharp, they quickly swung their steel claws, using the Fury Cutter move to shatter all the attacks. Even the scattered energy that landed on them was of no concern.

One Bisharp covered the Accelgor, and before they knew it, it had sneaked up near Abby and her Delcatty. Fortunately, Delcatty was alert, using Blizzard just in time to drive them back.

Seeing that only Delcatty was by her side, Abby felt a bit vulnerable, so she quickly took out Poké Balls and released a Torkoal and a Tropius.

These two Pokémon were about as strong as Delcatty, and the three of them together protected Abby. With Yuga nearby as well, she remained safe.

Although the Shadow Triad's main attention was on Yuga, they hadn't forgotten that their primary target this time was Abby. They attempted to capture her several times but were stopped by Yuga each time.

Due to the burn status, the three Accelgor soon went down, even with the protection of the Bisharp.

Then, Mismagius, assisted by Gengar, used Mystical Fire to take down the three Bisharp one by one.

The Shadow Triad exchanged glances, their brows tightly furrowed—this mission was turning out to be a tough one! However, they didn't intend to retreat, as Ghetsis's orders were absolute to them.

After recalling the defeated Accelgor and Bisharp, the Shadow Triad gritted their teeth and each took out two Poké Balls, releasing a total of six Forretress.

"Forretress, Explosion!"

The phrase "hurting the enemy by a thousand and oneself by eight hundred" applies perfectly to moves like Self-Destruct and Explosion, which spare neither friend nor foe and aim for mutual destruction.

Furthermore, after using Explosion or Self-Destruct, the user falls into a near-death state. Without timely treatment, they would truly die—not just lose the ability to fight.

Hearing the Shadow Triad's command, Yuga and Abby's expressions changed, especially Abby's, who had never experienced something like this before—someone was actually willing to use Explosion!

The six Forretress spun rapidly in the air, on the verge of exploding at any moment. Even two explosions would be too much for them to handle, let alone all six at once.

In this critical moment, Gengar and Mismagius floated above the Forretress, holding hands as they unfolded a special space that enveloped all the Forretress.

"Gengar! Mismagius!" Yuga shouted.

To create this spatial field, Gengar and Mismagius had to remain within it. Although their actions ensured Yuga and Abby's safety, they couldn't guarantee their own.

A rumbling explosion sounded shortly after, and the space in the sky trembled, cracks appearing the next second before it shattered into fragments and vanished.

Six charred Forretress fell from the sky, creating craters in the ground where they landed, each one in a near-death state.

Yuga didn't have time to worry about someone else's Forretress. He quickly looked up at Gengar and Mismagius, finding that although they were injured, they were mostly unharmed, still capable of fighting, and not in a near-death state themselves.

Phew… Yuga let out a long sigh of relief.

It turned out that once Gengar and Mismagius entered the space, they immediately used Skill Swap to exchange their abilities, gaining Forretress's ability, Sturdy.

Pokémon with the Sturdy ability can't be taken down in one hit.

Although Sturdy doesn't protect the user when using Explosion, it does protect them when enduring it.

Still, Gengar and Mismagius were injured, so Yuga recalled them to his Shadow Space and then sent out Absol and Vivillon.

Seeing that the Explosion from the Forretress hadn't worked, the Shadow Triad tried to resist further, but their three Liepard that they released were quickly taken down by Absol and Vivillon. In the end, Absol even knocked each of them out with a single hit.

With Absol's strength, a hit like that was sure to leave internal injuries, but Yuga didn't stop it—they had maliciously tried to harm others with Explosion, after all!

To keep things simple, Yuga had Vivillon put them to sleep with a dose of Sleep Powder, and soon the three of them were out cold, sleeping like logs.

Yuga had to admit, he'd caught some big fish this time!

After the incident in Petalburg Woods, Yuga specifically looked into the history of the Shadow Triad. These three people were once internationally famous bounty hunters. After running into trouble, they were saved by Ghetsis and subsequently joined Team Plasma, becoming some of his most loyal lieutenants.

After dealing with the Shadow Triad, Yuga turned around to Abby and asked, "Ms. Abby, do you know them? It seems their target this time was you."

Abby replied, still shaken, "I don't know them at all. I've never even seen them before." She was equally confused—she had only come to pay respects to her deceased Pokémon. How did things end up like this?

Yuga thought for a moment and said, "These three are members of Team Plasma, a notorious organization in Unova. Since they've targeted you, it likely means you possess something they want. I suggest you apply to the League for personal protection."

"Can I really apply for that?" Abby asked excitedly, "How do I apply?" She was very worried for her safety; if these people came after her again, what would she do? Yuga couldn't protect her forever.

Yuga replied, "I'll help you with the application process, but you'll need to cooperate with the League in investigating a few things."

Yuga felt it necessary to uncover why Team Plasma was targeting Abby.

"That would be a huge help! I'll definitely cooperate fully with the investigation," Abby said gratefully.

With that, Yuga took Abby and the unconscious Shadow Triad members out of White Cloud Town and personally escorted Abby back to her home in Foothill Town, which was conveniently along his route back to Verdanturf Town.

After dropping Abby off, Yuga immediately contacted Steven. He stayed in Foothill Town until Steven arrived with a team to take over custody of the Shadow Triad before departing.

Steven personally handled Abby's case, and he soon discovered why Team Plasma was targeting her.

Upon examining Abby's family genealogy, Steven found some clues that led him to suspect that Abby's family might be the descendants of the Sky People.

The Sky People are one of the most severely diminished ancient tribes. From what Steven knew, the Sky People had long vanished from history, and Abby herself had never even heard of them.

Steven's knowledge of the Sky People came from their shared reverence, along with the Dragonid People, for the Dragon God and Sky God—Rayquaza. For more information, Steven had consulted the Dragon Tamer Lance.

In Abby's family records, there was an old account: long, long ago, a massive meteor fell from the sky, carrying mysterious powers. Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon all fought over it, but Rayquaza ultimately prevailed and disappeared with the meteor.

It was clear that Team Plasma was searching for this legend.

In addition, the family records included information about the location of Sky Pillar.

The meteor, Yuga knew, was once stored by Rayquaza at the Sky Pillar. Back then, Team Plasma might have been able to locate it. But now, Rayquaza had already taken the meteor away.

This meant that even if they did capture Abby, it would be useless.

However, an unexpected event occurred.

A few days later, unknown assailants attacked Abby's grandparents' home, abducting her grandparents.

Although Abby now lived with her parents in Foothill Town, her family's ancestral home was in a distant city. Her grandparents still lived there.

Steven and the others never expected that while they were protecting Abby, they had overlooked her grandparents.

Fortunately, her grandparents were soon returned home unharmed, but not before they had revealed everything they knew about the family records to their captors.

Although the records were kept by Abby's parents, her grandparents were well-versed in some of the family's lore, particularly the legend of the meteor.

The intruders threatened Abby's grandparents, warning that if they didn't speak the truth, their son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter would be harmed. Being ordinary people, the elderly couple couldn't withstand such intimidation and, in their fear, confessed everything.

Since Team Plasma was not a native force, they feared the Hoenn League's relentless pursuit. After obtaining the information they wanted, they not only refrained from harming the grandparents but even returned them safely.

But the matter was far from over.

One day, Yuga was inspecting the conditions of the Pokémon in the Ecopark when, to his surprise, Giratina showed up again, bringing Jellicent for a visit.

Yuga left them alone, leaving Cosmoem in the Ecopark and heading out.

However, just as he exited the Ecopark, he received a shocking piece of news: over the distant seas near Fallarbor Town, a giant meteor had appeared in the sky, and Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon had all gathered there.

The culprit behind this series of events was a black Lugia, and the meteor had arrived during a battle between the black Lugia and two Rayquaza over the sea.

The appearance of the black Lugia indicated that Team Rocket was involved.

Previously, Giovanni had sent Ariana on a mission to the Kalos region, specifically targeting Lysandre.

Using her exceptional disguise skills, Ariana had easily infiltrated the prison where Lysandre was held. She had intended to rescue him and recruit him into Team Rocket, but Lysandre refused.

Lysandre was a proud man, fully aware that he was still alive due to AZ's influence. If he escaped, it would undoubtedly implicate AZ, something he was unwilling to see happen.

However, he handed over Team Flare's hidden research data to Ariana. Team Flare's greatest expertise lay in mega evolution, including their knowledge of the meteor.

With the information provided by Team Flare and after extensive investigation, Team Rocket finally located Rayquaza and the meteor with the help of Dark Lugia.

But relying solely on Dark Lugia to seize the meteor from two Rayquaza would be naive. So, following leads left by Archie, they also tracked down Kyogre and Groudon. (In the anime, both Kyogre and Groudon were located by Archie.)

Without the Indigo Orb or Crimson Orb, Team Rocket couldn't control Groudon and Kyogre. Instead, they proposed a collaboration, promising to share the meteor if they managed to capture it.

Groudon and Kyogre agreed.

By the time Yuga received the news, the battle had already begun. Dark Lugia, Groudon, and Kyogre were teaming up against the two Rayquaza, which were struggling, especially since one of the Rayquaza was only a clone, weaker than a true legendary Pokémon.

For now, the Rayquaza were being forced back, and it seemed only a matter of time before the meteor was seized.

When Steven called Yuga, he was in a rush, urging Yuga to get to the scene immediately.

As soon as Yuga hung up and preparing to go to the site, Spoink suddenly appeared by his side, floating up to whisper something in his ear, causing Yuga's eyes to light up.

He hurried into the Ecopark, finding Giratina in the Haunted House sub-Ecopark playing with Jellicent.

"Giratina, can I ask you for a favor?" Yuga called out to it.

Giratina paused, looking at Yuga, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Yuga quickly explained what was happening outside.

Giratina thought for a moment before agreeing. After all, it had absorbed a substantial amount of life energy while staying with Yuga, so helping wasn't unreasonable. Additionally, as both it and Rayquaza belonged to the forces of order, aiding an ally was acceptable.

Giratina nudged Jellicent off its back, motioning for Yuga to get on. Then, it dove into the Reverse Mirror and disappeared.

Passing through the Reverse Mirror, Yuga and Giratina entered the Distortion World. Although this was Yuga's first time here, he had no time to admire the landscape.

Upon entering, Giratina's form shifted as it quickly glided through the air, searching for the area in the Distortion World that corresponded to the battlefield in reality.

Before long, Yuga spotted a patch of blue light suspended in the air, where Kyogre unleashed Origin Pulse at Rayquaza, knocking it down from the sky.

The already ice-bound sea surface fractured upon impact, seawater surging from the cracks and submerging Rayquaza in an instant.

Kyogre was about to attack again when Steven and his Metagross appeared in the light screen, intercepting an Ice Beam directed at Rayquaza.

"There it is!" Yuga alerted Giratina.

Without a word, Giratina dove straight into the light screen. Suddenly, a massive whirlpool formed on the sea's surface in the real world, and Giratina emerged from the vortex, carrying Yuga into the sky.

Dark Lugia was about to strike the clone Rayquaza with Dragon Rush when Giratina suddenly appeared, releasing a Dragon Pulse that caught Dark Lugia off guard, sending it flying instantly.

This scene caused the other three legendary Pokémon, along with Steven, to simultaneously turn their attention to Giratina and Yuga.