Currently, aside from all known Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon, and certain special Psychic-types, Zoroark is the only Pokémon adept at creating illusions.
And illusion is the signature ability of the Zoroark species.
Sato's own Zoroark was especially talented in this area and had always been his trump card, one he never revealed unless in absolute crisis.
But perhaps it had been too long since he'd faced such a crisis… hidden for so long, it had simply been forgotten.
Which… was pretty awkward.
After hearing Sato's explanation, Lance nearly rolled his eyes to the heavens. But he quickly turned to report it to the higher-ups.
---◓---
In the President's office, the internal phone rang. Goodshow casually picked it up and heard Lance's voice on the line.
Just a few seconds later, President Goodshow suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"Lance, let Sato take the call."
[You're on speaker, President,] Lance's voice came through the receiver.
"Hmm… Sato, your Zoroark's illusion skills aren't too shabby, right?" Goodshow's tone turned a bit more serious.
[…Yeah, it's alright,] Sato replied modestly.
"Fufu… That's good enough!" Goodshow waved his hand energetically, clearly full of confidence in Sato.
He continued, "Rumors never stop. But you can smash them with an even bigger one! …Sato, let everyone in the region watch a movie!"
[…A movie?]
"Yes. One packed with special effects."
On the other end of the call, Sato got it.
---◓---
Online uproar hadn't died down. Accusations were still flooding in, with mud being flung constantly at both Sato and Lance.
Sato was relatively unaffected. He had built everything from the ground up, and his stronghold, Shadownight City, was managed like an iron fortress. Rumors rarely gained traction there.
In Shadownight City, Sato was practically a religion.
But Lance wasn't so lucky. The massive Dragon Tamer Clan largely followed his lead.
As the face of the current generation of the Dragon Tamer clan, Lance's words and actions often represented the entire clan.
And what large clans had the most of… were elders with nothing but seniority, clinging to their status, obsessed with pulling rank.
Watching Lance force a smile while giving a curt, "I get it. I'm handling it," over the phone -his voice full of barely restrained annoyance- Sato almost felt a bit relieved.
"Perfect… Time to purge another batch of those arrogant old relics." Hanging up, Lance smirked, planning to use the situation to clean house.
Sato blinked but didn't comment. That was clan business, and none of his concern.
Still, it seemed no "family" was free from internal rot.
Right now, the priority was to grab Zoroark… and start filming!
In an open field, Zoroark stood calmly in the center, waiting for Sato's instructions.
"First do this, then that, and after that… this again. …Got it?"
Holding what looked like a script, Sato carefully explained the entire plan to Zoroark.
"Zoro… Zoro?"
"Haah…! No other choice. I didn't want you to become famous this way either.
But we've been out of the spotlight for so long, people are starting to forget us. And now someone dares to frame us using illusion…? ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Sato declared righteously, as if he'd forgotten who was the one that neglected illusion in the first place…
"There must be another Zoroark on the other side. Even if we can't fight them in person, a long-range illusion showdown… WE WON'T LOSE!"
"ZORO! ZOROARK!"
Zoroark was fired up. Even though something felt off about Sato's words, if it was a battle, there was no way it would back down!
"…You remembered all that just now, right?"
"Zo!" Zoroark nodded seriously.
Time to get to work.
"Alright, wait for my cue... ACTION!"
With Sato's command, Zoroark vanished from its original spot.
At the same time, the ground beneath the open field began to shake violently. A massive figure burst forth amid magma and searing heat.
The scorching temperature distorted and melted the air itself. And in the center of it all stood a red-backed, gray-bellied super-ancient Pokémon: Groudon!
"GRRRRRROOU~DOOOOOOON"
Groudon let out a sky-shaking roar. Ground-type energy surged wildly beneath its feet, and in an instant, a massive ochre-colored greatsword took shape.
With a mighty swing of its arm, Groudon hurled the earth-colored blade straight toward a distant cliff.
The greatsword dispersed with no visible effect.
But the next moment, the entire upper half of the cliff tilted and slid away, leaving behind a smooth surface as flat as a mirror!
Groudon's exclusive ultimate move… Precipice Blades!
But there was no time to react!
A haunting, whale-like cry echoed through the air.
A blue figure appeared suddenly in the sky, approaching at a pace that was both fast and slow.
Super-ancient Pokémon: Kyogre!
With a sudden flap of its fin-like "arms", Kyogre soared through the air without even touching water.
Mysterious patterns on its body flashed continuously, and in front of it, a bright blue sphere containing terrifying power began to form.
KYOOOOOO!!!
Origin Pulse exploded forth as a beam of energy, blasting directly at the already-damaged cliff.
The cliff was obliterated. Reduced to a shimmering pool of water!
And it wasn't over yet…
Suddenly, three blinding streaks tore across the land and sky.
Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno flew in a triangle formation, their wings stirring flames, thunder, and frost in equal chaos. So much so that it became impossible to tell whether the scene was burning hot or freezing cold.
Then, a streak of violet flame screamed overhead. A "Searing Shot" so intense that the air itself seemed to ignite!
In the distance, the solemn Entei bounded through the forest, followed closely by Raikou and Suicune. Each launched their respective attacks skyward.
Their targets: the just-passed trio of Legendary birds!
Legendary birds ⚔️ Legendary beasts!
Who would win?
Naturally… there was no answer. Because from both ends of the sky, two more figures appeared.
Ho-Oh…
Lugia!
The two most well-known Legendary Pokémon in the Kanto Region, with more legends than any others, had now shown up simultaneously.
One red, one white, flying side by side… somehow looking surprisingly harmonious.
Meanwhile, Kyogre had already glided from the air back into the ocean.
The three Legendary birds circled one another in the sky, following behind Lugia at a relaxed pace.
Entei, Suicune, and Raikou also soared through the sky -treading on flame, frost, and electricity- chasing after Ho-Oh's radiant path.
Only Groudon was left behind¹[1]…
Its heavy footsteps echoed as it slowly walked back toward the magma deep underground.
Perhaps unable to resist, Groudon turned and unleashed another Precipice Blades toward a nearby cliff…
The cliff collapsed, and Groudon finally disappeared into the earth. The gaping hole it had entered slowly closed, leaving no trace behind.
And just like that, the field returned to its original, empty state!
Zoroark now quietly visible at the center once more.
Compared to all those Legendary Pokémon, Zoroark looked utterly unremarkable.
But in that moment… the very same Legendary Pokémon began appearing behind Zoroark, one by one.
As if stars surrounding the moon, Zoroark stood in the middle of them all! like…
The Sovereign of the LEGENDS!
•
¹.Mm... PFFFHAHAHAHAHAHHA!
[1] Mm………… PFFFHAHAHAHAHAHHA!