A terrifying battle

"It worked."

"You'll be switching to a job like Ranger soon, won't you?"

"That might be possible if I stopped working as an Assistant and Personal Trainer."

"Then don't do that."

"Ha."

"???"

Dawn tilted her head, unable to make much sense of their exchange, but Kaim merely shrugged.

"Let's go. Giratina will get impatient."

"Yes."

"You need go no farther."

The sudden voice made everyone turn around.

Cyrus stood there, as though blocking the path ahead.

"You got here first, didn't you?"

"I came here after that shadow swallowed me."

"Right. So? Are you going to stop us here?"

"That's right. If the world continues to distort, this world will collapse, and a new world will be born. That is why I cannot let you go anywhere else."

"Why do you want to destroy the world? If you hate it, can't you go somewhere without people?"

"Why should I live as though I were fleeing this world?"

Cynthia and Cyrus clashed.

Yet neither could sway the other. There were things neither of them could ever give up.

"I will erase imperfect, ill-defined things like the spirit and create a perfect world. That is my justice! I will let no one interfere!"

"You certainly have a strong will. Dawn, I'll hold Cyrus here. Go to Giratina."

"Yes!"

"Hm? Facing that Pokémon is pointless. You cannot communicate with it. At the very least, it is not a being you can communicate with through something as vague as your heart."

"That isn't for you to decide."

"What?"

"Dawn, I believe in you."

"Yes!"

As soon as Dawn answered Cynthia, she broke into a run and raced past Cyrus.

"You aren't going to stop her?"

No matter how talented a Trainer Dawn was, she was still a child. Her strength could never match that of an adult like Cyrus. If he wanted to, he could pin her down right then.

"Suppressing her by force is hardly my style. Besides, if I tried, the man beside you would surely restrain me."

"Even in a battle, do you think you have a chance?"

"I think it's possible. It depends on what you do. There is no reason the weak cannot defeat the strong. It is like science: you cannot know without trying."

"Yes, that's true."

Cynthia threw the Poké Ball hanging at her waist and sent out Lucario.

"There are things neither of us can give up. Then we have no choice but to fight."

"I will not lose! Not even to that shadow Pokémon! Not even to this foolish world!"

Cyrus sent out Houndoom.

As a Dark- and Fire-type Pokémon, Houndoom had a strong advantage against the Steel-type Lucario. However, its Dark typing also made it vulnerable to Lucario's Fighting type.

"Kai Mu, don't interfere. This is my battle."

"...Yeah."

"Houndoom! Flamethrower!"

"Aura Sphere."

Houndoom's flames collided with Lucario's aura and exploded.

"Swords Dance."

Before the smoke cleared, Lucario used Swords Dance to sharpen its focus and raise its attack.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Three steps left, then punch immediately."

After narrowly dodging the dark wave, Lucario swiftly closed the distance and drove a Meteor Mash into Houndoom's body.

But Houndoom leaped backward, reducing the force of the blow, and immediately retaliated with Flamethrower.

Lucario read the attack and immediately moved away.

"Good luck."

It moved so quickly that it seemed to vanish from Houndoom's sight the instant it landed.

The essence of Extreme Speed lay not only in the tremendous agility needed to reach top speed from a standstill, but also in moving faster than the eye could follow to slip into the enemy's perceptual blind spot. Cynthia's Lucario had mastered this to the utmost, to the point that almost no one could react to its speed.

Lucario struck Houndoom with Extreme Speed and caught it from behind.

"Close Combat."

Lucario's fists slammed into Houndoom's body again and again.

The Dark-type Houndoom could not withstand the powerful Fighting-type blows.

"You're certainly no ordinary opponent."

"If you intend to destroy this world, I will protect it."

To protect the world, Cynthia chose to fight with everything she had.

The figure standing before them, seen from behind, was the very embodiment of a Champion.

"As expected of the Champion. You're quite skilled."

Cyrus had only Weavile left. Weavile, too, was panting, its stamina reduced by half.

Meanwhile, aside from Lucario and Togekiss, Cynthia's Pokémon remained in perfect condition. No matter how one looked at it, Cynthia's victory was beyond doubt.

"Will you surrender?"

"Don't joke."

"I see. Then there's no other choice."

With that, Cynthia brought out her ultimate ace, Garchomp.

"Garchomp, Dragon Claw."

"Weavile! Ice Beam!"

Garchomp shattered the incoming Ice Beam with Dragon Claw. However, Ice-type moves were highly effective against the Dragon-type Garchomp. Garchomp took heavy damage, but did not stop.

Garchomp's powerful claws slashed through Weavile. With the difference in their levels as well, Weavile was already pushed to the brink of death.

"Ice Shard!"

"Dragon Pulse."

The moves collided.

Weavile sprang from the smoke and attacked Garchomp.

"Flail!"

For a moment, it seemed Weavile's claws would cut into Garchomp, but Garchomp's keen eyes tracked the movement. It caught Weavile's arm with its claws, stopping the blow just before it landed.

"No!"

"That was a good surprise attack."

"Urgh, then Ice Beam at point-blank range!"

"Too late. Dragon Rush."

Still holding Weavile, Garchomp slammed it into the ground with Dragon Rush.

Already on the brink of death, Weavile had exhausted its strength.

"It's over."

"You can't fight anymore. Stop."

"I am a new world, a new galaxy."

"I don't know why you reject your own heart. But I want to live in this world. So give up your ambition."

"That is merely what suits you! As long as fragile, contradictory, vague, incomplete things like the heart exist, this world will never be perfect! What inconvenience would erasing them cause? I will not lose. I will not lose. I will create the world I desire!"

At Cyrus's shout, Weavile rose from the ground and fired an Ice Shard at Garchomp. Whether it was the strength it had kept in reserve or the reckless power of desperation, the attack was far stronger and sharper than before.

Believing Weavile could no longer stand, Garchomp reacted slowly, but still avoided a direct hit. In its hasty dodge, however, it forgot that Shirona stood in the Ice Shard's line of fire.

Caught off guard, Shirona could not react in time either. She braced herself for the coming impact and pain, preparing to take the hit.

But the pain never came. When Cynthia opened her eyes, Kaim stood in front of her, shielding her from the shards of ice.

"That was close."

"K-Kaim! You protected me..."

"It would be a problem if you got hurt before the League."

Kaim spoke in his usual tone as he brushed the ice off his clothes. But his body was covered in scrapes and bruises, and sharp blades of ice had even left puncture wounds.

"That really hurt."

"What are you doing?!"

"I thought I told you it would be a problem if you got hurt before the League."

"But this..."

"Idiot, take a step back."

Kaim grabbed Weavile's claws and stopped them. The sharp claws sliced into his hand, drawing blood.

Surprised that its claws had been stopped bare-handed, Weavile froze for a moment. Garchomp seized the opportunity to attack from behind, but Weavile immediately leaped back and landed beside Cyrus.

Judging by its injuries, Weavile was already close to death. Perhaps it could still move so vigorously because it wanted to fulfill Cyrus's wish.

"Stop."

"Weavile, that's enough."

Cyrus returned Weavile to its ball, then turned toward Cynthia and the others.

"I believe that shadow Pokémon is this world itself. If you provoke its anger, this world will distort, and that distortion will spread to the real world. That little girl cannot handle it alone."

"Do you really think so?"

"What?"

"Haven't you noticed? The distorted black clouds filling this world have stopped appearing."

Cyrus looked around. Before the battle began, poisonous black clouds had been spewing from everywhere. Now, however, none were emerging. The clouds themselves remained, but no new ones were being added.

"Impossible! Has she already calmed that Pokémon down?!"

"That child is that capable. You underestimated her."

"Once that Pokémon is subdued and we leave this world behind, couldn't I create a new world by making another Red Chain?"

Even if Cyrus repeated the same act and incurred Giratina's wrath, his goal would remain out of reach if Dawn could calm Giratina down. He might have a chance if he could do something about Dawn, but with Cynthia there, that was unlikely to happen.

"Give up. Your ambition ends here."

"Why?! Why won't you abandon this world? Is something as imperfect and vague as the heart really so important?!"

Cynthia took Kaim's bleeding hand.

"The places we were born, the time we've spent since birth, the languages we speak-everyone is different. But beside me are Pokémon and someone precious to me. I'm happy to have someone important to me, someone I can battle with and share with."

"Shut up!!!"

Cyrus flew into a rage.

Of all the versions of Cyrus Kaim had seen so far, this one showed his emotions most openly. The first emotion Cyrus, who shunned emotion, displayed was anger.

"Enough! Is that why you say the heart matters?! Those are the ravings of people who think they've lived happy lives until now! All the hatred and resentment I feel now are in my heart. I find it nothing but imperfect! Are you barring the world I desire merely for your own convenience?!"

There was no telling what had happened in Cyrus's past to make him reject his own heart so vehemently. But to him, the heart was something that should not exist. He was trapped in that fixed belief.

"Cyrus."

Kaim, who had remained silent, stepped forward. The bleeding had nearly stopped, but the wound on his hand still hurt.

"You're a scientist too, aren't you?"

"What of it?"

"I see. So what you want is a perfect world without hearts."

"Exactly."

"You want perfection, don't you?"

"What are you getting at?!"

"If you want perfection-absolute perfection-then you're no scientist."

Cyrus's eyes widened at Kaim's words.

"What did you say?"

"I'm not a scientist. I'm only an archaeologist, and a fledgling at that. But I know an excellent scientist who might be dying. He said, 'For a scientist, perfection is the same as despair.' Why do you think that is?"

"That scientist is simply mad. Scientists are perfectionists."

"No. He said scientists are people who seek progress."

"How does that contradict achieving perfection?"

"Perfection means there's nothing left. In other words, 'There can be no further progress.'"

"!"

"If there can be no further progress, scientists lose their reason to exist. In other words, that's despair. If you want perfection, you're no scientist."

"Shut up! What do you know?!"

"Cyrus, do you truly think you should lose your heart?"

"Yes! The world is ugly and imperfect because things like hearts exist!"

Hearing those words, Shirona lowered her eyes sadly.

"Can you say the same thing to your Pokémon, who care about you?"

Cynthia had noticed.

Cyrus denied having a heart, but he was by no means a bad trainer. Through our battle, I had discovered that Cyrus's Pokémon trusted him. And they, too, wanted to fulfill his wish.

Cyrus had a Crobat with him. Without the utmost trust in its trainer, a Crobat could not evolve. In other words, Crobat trusted Cyrus from the bottom of its heart. That trust existed because it had a heart; without one, trust could never arise. And Weavile had even forced its dying body to attack Shirona, all for Cyrus's sake.

Cynthia asked Cyrus whether he was denying the trust and affection his Pokémon felt for him.

"Cyrus, as you said, the heart is imperfect and ill-defined. But if you erase it, humans and Pokémon will lose their 'potential.' I can strive toward that potential. Even if it isn't perfect, I'll work to make it better. Is that so wrong? Are you saying all those accumulated efforts have no value? You're a scientist."

"Enough. Shut up."

Cyrus walked past the two of them.

"I'm tired of adjusting things for your convenience. I believe in my own justice. The world must be perfect."

"Nothing in this world has to be any particular way. Our perspectives simply change the value we place on it. Whether I protect this world or you try to destroy it, we're both just doing what suits our hearts. Do you understand?"

"In the end, I cannot understand you. I will not lose. Someday, I will unravel this world's secrets and bring about the perfect world I seek. That is my justice."

With that, Cyrus walked off somewhere.

Physical time did not flow in this torn world. Thus, unless someone else interfered, a person's body would undergo no changes here. While in this world, you would not age, nor would you need food or any other activity necessary to sustain life. No matter how much time passed, he would not die.

Perhaps this was the world Cyrus had sought.

"Because you can feel anger and sadness, you can feel even more joy and delight."

"People's minds can easily change for better or worse. Cyrus couldn't tolerate a mind like that."

"That's right."

"I don't feel sorry for him. He has his own reasons for what he considers just. I've chosen to stand by mine."

"I know. By the way, Kaim, is your injury all right?"

"Ah."

When I opened my right hand, my palm was covered in blood. The wound was deeper than I had imagined. Although the bleeding had stopped, the pain had not eased.

"It's worse than I thought."

"You grabbed a Pokémon's claws with your bare hand. I can only give you first aid. Come here."

Cynthia began treating Kaim's hand with her medical supplies. Of course, there was only so much she could do with the supplies on hand, so this was an emergency measure to keep it from getting worse.

"The League is coming up."

"...Thank you. I appreciate it."

Cynthia said that as she held Kaim's bandaged hand.

Honestly, I'm glad he protected me, and I'm grateful I managed to avoid getting injured before the League began. But even so, I don't want to see someone important to me get hurt.

"Let's do our best."

"Even if you say that, I trust you'll do it anyway."

"If it's something unreasonable but manageable."

"Right. Then I'll try not to make you do anything unreasonable, either."

"That's not something someone who regularly goes off the rails should be saying."

Kaim stood up with a wry smile.

"Let's go. Giratina's anger has subsided, so the world should be all right now."

"Yes. Dawn did well."

"I have a lot of faith in you."

"Do you? But yes. Maybe you're right."

"Any particular reason?"

"I'm a girl, but I'm sure the world has been waiting for her all along. The world has been waiting for her to be born. That's the feeling I get."

"Yes, perhaps it has."

In the distance, they could see Hikari waving her hand.

The two of them began walking toward her.

"Miss Cynthia! Miss Haimu!"

"Hikari, are you all right?"

"Yes! As long as you keep trying your hardest, Giratina will understand!"

"Yes, I'm glad. Thank you."