The Great Ball fell to the ground with a crisp clatter.
Dande, Rose, and Oleana all focused sharply because of that sound.
According to their expectations, the Great Ball should have shaken three times before finally flashing three yellow stars—the signal of a successful capture—with a cheerful chime.
Yet after landing, the Great Ball seemed to freeze completely.
Just as their heartbeats accelerated, the Galar particles gathered around the tower roof seemed to go berserk, wildly pouring into the Great Ball as spiderweb-like cracks spread across its surface.
A sinister dark-red glow shone blindingly through the cracks.
Boom!
The next instant, a terrifying shockwave spread outward from the Great Ball.
Fragments from the shattered Great Ball were mixed into the shockwave. If Charizard had not shielded him, Dande would likely have suffered serious injuries.
Even so, after taking that powerful impact, Charizard and Dande—whose bodies had already grown exhausted from their fierce battle against Nihilego—temporarily lost the ability to move, like the final straw that broke the camel's back.
"Damn it..."
Dande slumped against the wall in a sorry state, desperately trying to force his body to move so he could recall Charizard and make one final stand with Special Gigantamax.
But Nihilego, having broken free of its seal once again, would not give him another chance.
Its strength had now barely recovered to the Class One Legendary level. It was incomparably enraged at Dande, a human who, like Rose, wanted to imprison it inside a sphere.
A dazzling, brilliant dark-red light gathered within its core once more.
The Dynamax Cannon... was coming!
Meanwhile, because they were farther away and had Copperajah to cushion the blow, Rose and Oleana still retained the ability to move.
But as they watched that terrifying figure circling in the air and radiating overwhelming pressure,