Elite Four—Volkner!

"Little A, long time no see~"

Cynthia withdrew her hand, looking at the black letter quietly standing in her palm. Smiling gently, she asked, "Is there something important he needs?"

Not only had Unown came, but it had also taken on the form of Yveltal to come faster, which clearly meant something was going on.

The Unown slightly nodded its body.

"Chiing Chiing!"

Then, a wave of psychic energy traveled through the point of contact between Cynthia and the Unown, transmitting into her mind.

Images began to flash before her eyes.

Moments later, now aware of what had happened, Cynthia's expression changed from one of ease to seriousness as she asked, "So, he wants me to go to Lake Valor?"

"Chiing!"

"Right, he went to Lake Verity, Mr. Brandon is at Lake Acuity, so Lake Valor is the only one left unattended. Besides, Professor Rowan's lab is nearby..."

Murmuring to herself, Cynthia set the fossil she had just finished cleaning aside and took off her research coat, revealing the black trench coat underneath.

Seeing this, Professor Carolina raised an eyebrow in confusion. Especially when her granddaughter looked like she was about to leave, she quickly asked, "Are you going somewhere?"

"Grandma, didn't you say I've been home too long? I'm heading out for a bit."

"Heading out?"

Professor Carolina frowned slightly. "I've mentioned it a few times before, but you didn't react at all. Why are you so compliant this time..."

Muttering to herself, her eyes shifted to the Unown, who had arrived with a grand display, yet seemed very familiar with Cynthia. She fell deep in thought.

Then, a realization dawned on her. She hadn't forgotten that the boy who defeated her granddaughter and became the current Sinnoh Champion had several Unown.

Could this one be his?

Which means this "heading out" is actually...?

Before she could voice her doubts, Cynthia, now riding her Garchomp with the Unown, shot into the sky amidst a flash of red light, flying swiftly toward the horizon.

"Sigh..."

Professor Carolina watched the figure disappear into the distance and finally let out a helpless sigh.

"Girls really are impossible to keep around when they have grown up..."

With that, she quietly gathered up Cynthia's discarded lab coat and returned to the history research lab.

---

Meanwhile, in southeastern Sinnoh.

Unlike Lake Acuity and Lake Verity, which were close to towns or cities, Lake Valor was situated in a more remote and open location.

Because of this, there had been no casualties in the current incident.

The only trainer who had noticed something amiss had merely been affected by a distant energy wave and was not injured.

Even so, the surrounding cities had implemented emergency measures. Officer Jenny had sealed off the nearby area, warning trainers in the vicinity to stay away from Lake Valor and leave the area as soon as possible.

The reason? A Pokémon had gone berserk near Lake Valor.

And not just any Pokémon... a legendary one!

At this very moment, high above Lake Valor, a small, floating Pokémon, resembling Mesprit and Uxie, hovered in the air. But unlike the red and yellow hues of the others, this one was blue and gray.

Its once yellow eyes had turned completely blood-red, and the red gem on its leaf-shaped tail was glowing with an eerie light.

As the Pokémon's body and gaze moved, the round, oval red gem embedded in its forehead flashed with ominous energy.

Suddenly, a terrifying beam of psychic energy shot toward where its gaze had fallen.

BOOM!!!

A deafening explosion erupted.

The ground was instantly blasted into a large crater, and several towering trees nearby were snapped in half by the powerful shockwave, crashing to the ground.

Dust and rubble flew everywhere, but the small figure continued moving forward.

Within just a few breaths, yet another explosion sounded.

Nearby Pokémon, hearing the horrifying noise and sensing the indiscriminate attacks from the sky, fled in panic, running as fast as they could from the area.

For a few kilometers in every direction, the scene was one of mass exodus.

Except for one figure, moving steadily against the flow.

"As expected, it's the legendary Lake Pokémon, Azelf."

The young man, with his blue jacket and blonde hair falling in two natural strands, resembling Minato Namikaze from Naruto, gazed ahead with a solemn expression.

"Raichu!"

The Raichu on his shoulder nodded in agreement.

"It's strange... Azelf, a legendary Pokémon, going berserk like this. Could it be due to a psychic power surge?"

The young man, known as Volkner, the Electric-type Gym Leader, didn't dwell on the question for too long.

No matter the reason, his main task, given to him by the Sinnoh League, was to stop and subdue Azelf.

And this was also his first major assignment since becoming Sinnoh's Electric-type Elite Four member.

From the start, he planned to give it his all.

He had to accomplish this mission as fast as possible.

Now that he was close enough, Volkner pulled out two Pokéballs from his pocket and tossed them into the air.

With a flash of red light, a large, gorilla-like Pokémon and another Pokémon that resembled a sentient electric fan appeared before him.

Electivire, an Electric-type Pokémon.

Rotom, an Electric/Flying-type Pokémon in its Fan form.

"Raichu, I'm counting on you too."

Raichu nodded, and with a light hop from Volkner's shoulder, it landed in front of Electivire and Rotom, its eyes sharpening with focus.

In the next instant, Volkner's commands rang out.

"Raichu, Electric Terrain.

"Electivire, Quick Attack.

"Rotom, use Thunderbolt!"

Zzzzz!!!

With a low growl, thick golden bolts of electricity surged from the electric sacs on Raichu's cheeks, spreading rapidly in all directions, transforming the area between them and Azelf into a sea of lightning.

Electivire, its feet crackling with the electric current from the terrain, dashed forward, leaving a trail of white light behind it.

Even faster than Electivire was Rotom's attack.

Having absorbed the dense electricity from the terrain, the power and speed of Rotom's Thunderbolt visibly increased, rapidly flashing and leaping through the air toward Azelf.

However, despite the ferocious onslaught, Azelf barely reacted, simply raising an arm.

An incredibly dense psychic energy coalesced into a solid form, creating a thick barrier in front of it.

In the next second, the attack struck, and an intense explosion erupted.