Legs

(T/N: Last chapter today.)

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Buzz!!!

Almost the moment Reid's voice fell, a heavy buzzing sound resonated through the skies above Lake Valor and its surrounding area.

Black-purple energy continuously flowed from the three Unown, enveloping their entire bodies.

A mysterious yet terrifying aura began to form within.

Azelf, the primary target, naturally sensed the drastic change in the three Unown. Already gravely injured, its body began to tremble uncontrollably under the oppressive aura.

Yet, its hands showed no signs of halting their movement.

The tremors from the ground intensified once more, and the affected area grew larger by the second.

In just a short span, the tremors had spread far beyond where they stood, even reaching the other side of Lake Valor. Waves, growing more and more violent, slammed against the shores.

It was an earthquake that surpassed any ordinary Ground-type move.

Volkner, struggling to keep his balance while crouching on the ground, was utterly baffled.

"What is this thing trying to do?!"

"It wants to blow us all up."

"Huh?"

Reid placed his hand on the grass, feeling the vibrations from below in silence.

In the Pokémon world, many moves have systematic and standardized usage, but they also possess a degree of flexibility and aren't rigid.

For example, the move Double Kick is clearly defined as "using feet to kick," but Giovanni's Nidoking in the Kanto region once used its tail for the second kick, catching opponents off-guard.

Ash's "Counter Shield," developed during his Sinnoh journey, is another example of an unconventional approach to move usage.

The same principle applied here.

Azelf didn't have access to large-scale, powerful Ground-type moves. Under the suppression of the Unown, it couldn't simply use Psychic abilities to shake the earth either.

For such massive area effects and destructive power, there was only one move it could be using for this final attack.

Only one...

Future Sight!

"It's not using Future Sight in the normal way, firing it skyward. Instead, it launched it deep into the ground while being beaten down, probably overlapping multiple Future Sights, and now it's using Psychic power to 'hasten' the process."

This strategy aligned perfectly with Volkner's earlier comments about battle intelligence. However, unfortunately... it had encountered Reid.

Reid stood up slowly, and by this time, the scene in the sky had drastically changed.

Unown B had vanished, replaced by a massive, black-and-red bird exuding a deathly aura.

The Legendary Pokémon from the Kalos region — Yveltal.

Unlike the previous two manifestations, which were more for intimidation, this time, it was for sheer power.

This was to end the fight with overwhelming force!

Without any further words, the newly manifested Yveltal flapped its wings and activated its ability, Dark Aura.

All the light in the sky dimmed, as if the world had plunged from day into night. The howling, chilling wind swept across the battlefield in an eerie wave of destruction.

In the next instant, the massive shadow disappeared.

When they finally managed to track Yveltal's position again, its glowing blue eyes had already descended from the sky, looming over the ground.

Before Azelf could even react, the shadow of death had already engulfed it.

Yveltal's massive wings, like giant hands, moved with a terrifying speed, far faster than its size would suggest, and slammed directly into Azelf's small figure.

Thud!!!

With a dull, heavy crash, Azelf was instantly flung to the ground, embedding itself deep into the earth with no further movement.

"This... can be done?"

Standing beside Reid, Volkner had watched the entire sequence, from the Unown's transformation to their brutal assault, and now found himself at a loss for words.

Each Unown was already incredibly strong on its own, but now they could directly transform into Legendary Pokémon, wielding their immense power.

So, wouldn't future challengers against Reid essentially be facing six Legendary Pokémon head-on?

And this... was just the starting point.

At that moment, Volkner felt that his recently reignited passion as a Trainer had been severely shaken once again.

However, things were far from over.

Though Azelf had been sent plummeting into the earth by Yveltal's devastating strike, the Future Sight it had unleashed earlier — which was now reaching its culmination — hadn't stopped.

On the contrary, after losing Azelf's control, the Future Sight energy became even more erratic and violent, causing the ground to split open with vicious cracks.

"Reid!"

With the ground trembling yet again, Volkner hurriedly called out.

"Don't worry..."

Reid remained calm.

Yveltal, now hovering back in the sky, glanced downward but did not act.

At the same time, Unown D and E, which had yet to manifest, now radiated an entirely different aura.

However, this time, what manifested wasn't a full Pokémon but rather two colossal legs, one on each side, covered in crimson armor plating.

Molten lava dripped from them.

The moment these two legs appeared, a wave of scorching heat rolled over the battlefield, dispelling the deathly chill from Yveltal's Dark Aura.

The kind of intense heat you would only experience under the blistering midday sun spread out across the field.

"Just two legs... and already this massive? And just their appearance causing this level of heat..."

A legendary beast depicted on ancient murals quickly came to Volkner's mind.

"This is... Groudon's legs? The Legendary Pokémon of the Hoenn region and one of the super-ancient Pokémon... Groudon?"

Although it was posed as a question, Volkner was already certain of the answer.

Only such an ancient and powerful Legendary Pokémon could command this kind of presence.

And in that moment, Volkner understood why the earlier Unown had manifested fully, while the later two had only summoned Groudon's legs.

Any more, and the heat would have become unbearable for everyone involved. Even the nearby flora, especially around Lake Valor, would have evaporated in an instant.

Even now, just the appearance of Groudon's legs was more than enough.

The anomaly underground? How could it possibly compete against the creator of the land?

Even if it was just its legs.

Almost as soon as Volkner had this thought, the two colossal legs of Groudon, now fully manifested and tens of meters long, stomped heavily into the ground.

Instantly, a far more violent and primal tremor, far beyond what Future Sight could cause, roared from the ground, crushing everything in its path.

The scorching heat and overwhelming force fused together, and in an instant, they obliterated the underground threat entirely.