Z-Moves—those "once-in-a-battle god-tier attacks"—were even more widely known than Mega Evolution.
True, a Z-Move couldn't fundamentally alter a Pokémon's typing or base stats.
But more often than not, a single Z-Move could decide the outcome of a match. It was like the three-bar super move in Street Fighter—land it right, and the battle was yours.
On top of that, Z-Moves were far more versatile than Mega Evolution, since every Pokémon could use them.
So if Mega Evolution was like handing an angel's hymn to a single chosen Pokémon, then Z-Moves were like giving every deck's ace monster a copy of Maxx "C".
Yet, this supposedly invincible, awe-inspiring trump card—when unleashed against Necrozma—had been erased into nothingness.
As if the Z-Power itself had been completely absorbed by that Pokémon.
So which was it? Had Necrozma's strength already surpassed human comprehension, or was there some hidden link between Z-Moves and that mysterious being who appeared to be a girl, yet was clearly no ordinary Pokémon?
Some people recalled what Iono had said before about the "Absorption Fun Pack" incident, and suddenly they thought they'd figured it out.
This Pokémon… was the natural nemesis of Z-Moves.
Already terrifyingly strong, and on top of that capable of nullifying Z-Moves—what other powers could this thing be hiding?
Unfathomable. Truly unfathomable.
Of course, while the crowd was lost in awe and speculation, Blue's heart was overflowing with turbulence—so much that even his chest was about to start "overflowing with turbulence."
Family, who gets it?! This is the definition of a Big Speechless Moment.
I'm just a perfectly fine Champion trying to casually fish for fun by picking a random lucky trainer, and somehow I run into this broken Legendary-holding dude?!
Is there no justice in this world? Is there no law?!
Every time he thought of it, Blue felt despair wash over him… and then he just kept dancing.
It wasn't that he had some strange fetish. He was simply praying for a miracle—something like: "Z-Move didn't count, Incineroar's back on its feet, and bam, one last move!"
But alas, reality was merciless. The miracle he prayed for never came.
And while this utterly eye-burning scene played out, Haru calmly snapped secret photos and asked him in a level tone:
"Want to keep going?"
Keep going?
Blue asked himself the same question.
As a person, as a man, he really didn't want to keep humiliating himself in front of a crowd.
But… before he was a man, he was a Trainer.
If he surrendered to this "Legendary Holder" guy's tyranny, then what was the point of Incineroar's desperate struggle earlier?
So even if he lost, he had to lose with dignity.
Besides—wasn't Iono still watching from up there? As the man obsessed with impressing her, he couldn't just run away.
"Battle!"
Blue spat the word with determination.
Of course, in the back of his mind, he was already planning how to justify sending out his real Champion team next time, so he could beat Haru to a pulp.
You've got a whole Legendary zoo—if I use my Champion squad, that's only fair, right?
Red, meanwhile, was watching from the stands with a different thought in mind.
He had his own dark sense of humor, sure, but what fascinated him more was the battle itself.
Right now, the question he pondered was: How would a humanoid form affect Pokémon battles?
He didn't know what Haru's Pokémon's original form looked like, but in the battle just now he had clearly seen the advantages of a humanoid shape.
For large Pokémon especially, becoming humanoid meant a smaller target, making dodging easier.
And when launching attacks, their movements became subtler, making it harder to read which move they were about to unleash.
If a humanoid Pokémon suddenly started weaving hand seals, who could tell whether it was prepping Flamethrower or Ice Beam?
…Should he try it too?
With that thought, Red's gaze fell on his Charizard.
Maybe not as iconic as his Pikachu, but still one of his most loyal partners.
If Charizard had the ability to transform, it would probably grow much stronger in actual combat.
So the question was—how to make Charizard transform? Even if not into a humanoid… turning into, say, a Milkcow Dragon wouldn't be bad either?
Charizard didn't know what its Trainer was plotting, but the intensity of Red's gaze sent shivers down its spine.
W–what's happening? Why do I feel so uneasy?
Are there enemies nearby? But… I don't sense any hostility…
Poor Charizard was utterly baffled.
Meanwhile, as Red's galaxy-brain musings churned away, Haru advanced the battle to the next stage.
"Not willing to surrender? Then… as you wish."
"Necrozma—use Calm Mind!"
Even though Incineroar had already been defeated, Haru didn't bother to switch out. Instead, he let Necrozma boost itself right there on the spot.
He wasn't excited about this match anymore—it had gotten boring. He just wanted to finish things quickly with the simplest means possible.
Calm Mind raised Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage—a common boosting tactic.
Like how Slowbro next door loved spamming it.
Sure, it wasn't as efficient as Nasty Plot, which doubled Special Attack outright.
But Necrozma didn't have Nasty Plot. It had Swords Dance instead, which only boosted physical power—so Calm Mind it was.
Not that it mattered. Necrozma's base damage output was already absurd; stacking some extra Special Attack was basically just "win more."
Haru's original plan was to keep piling on defenses and then grind Blue's team into dust while shrugging off their pathetic attacks… but clearly, that wasn't even necessary now.
Still, wasn't it kind of ridiculous?
According to a certain professor's theory—you know, the one who came up with the "Dog-type," "Cat-type," and "Cotton-type" classifications—all "Cosmic-type" Pokémon should be able to learn the move Cosmic Power.
It boosted both Defense and Special Defense.
And yet… the so-called Prism Pokémon Necrozma…
Thanks to Game Freak removing Cosmic Power from TMs in Scarlet & Violet, its fused Sun/Moon forms could use it, but Necrozma itself—the Pokémon literally called "Cosmic"—could not.
As if Charizard were unable to breathe fire.
Ridiculous.
Morning light broke gently across the room, carried in by a soft breeze that lent the space a peace hard to put into words.
Sunbeams filtered through the sheer curtains, dappling across the old wooden table and chairs, draping the quiet room in a soft golden glow.
On the windowsill, a potted plant stood still, dew clinging to its leaves, sparkling faintly in the light.
Haru stretched, yawning wide as he sat up in bed. Casually, he tugged the blanket over a suspicious damp patch on the sheets.
His main purpose for coming to Kanto was already accomplished—Blue had been defeated with almost no effort. Honestly, it had been way easier than his last fight against that radiant god-tier figure.
Still, he couldn't leave just yet. He hadn't acquired Mega Evolution, nor Cynthia's promised Gardevoir. Until then, he'd be sticking around.
He and Cynthia had already arranged to meet again later that afternoon.
Of course, Mega candidates weren't limited to Gardevoir alone—there were Lucario, Latias, Diancie, and plenty of others worth considering.
Haru was interested in nearly all forty-plus Mega-capable Pokémon—except Garchomp.
Rough Skin Garchomp for "shark riding"? No thanks. Too uncomfortable.
Blue, on the other hand, had reacted very strangely after learning Haru's plans. Fired up, he was already preparing to raise yet another new team.
This time, he even claimed he would travel to other regions to master Dynamax and Terastalization. If only he'd had Terastal in the last match, maybe he wouldn't have lost so fast.
Meanwhile, their fellow Champions and Elite Four were gleefully speculating about Blue's next "punishment" for losing. Would he have to dance again—or dress up as Bunny Girl Blue? Every last one of them shamelessly egged Haru on.
Most of them actually believed that if Haru didn't use his Legendaries, he'd have little chance against Blue's full power.
Even so, this battle hadn't just boosted Haru's reputation—it had pulled him into the circle of top-tier Trainers, even drawing out those elusive "seen once in a blue moon" types.
Leon, Galar's walking billboard himself, had even sent an invitation, asking Haru to visit.
Of course, the true purpose was obvious: Leon wanted a battle.
Like Red, Leon was a battle maniac, never shy about employing "righteous" but tricky tactics. In the games, he'd even shown the power to suppress Eternatus at one point.
And Eternatus wasn't exactly weak—in reality, among first-rank Legendaries, it would rank pretty high.
Haru was somewhat curious about Galar.
Not because of Nemona, Marnie, Bea, Nessa, or Sonia—no, no. As an upstanding gentleman and a "serious Pokémon antiquities scholar," he was purely interested in the region's folklore and Dynamax phenomenon.
Of course, the chance to witness the power of Zacian—the signature sword of Legendary inflation—was also very tempting.
But that was for later. Defeating Blue didn't mean everything was wrapped up. Haru still had some loose ends to tie up.
Like…
"Liko, why did you suddenly come running to me for a heart-to-heart about life?"
Haru looked helplessly at the girl in front of him.
After "finishing his mission," he had intended to finally sleep in for once. A rare chance for a late morning.
But at 8:30 sharp, his "disciple in theory," Miss Liko, knocked on his door.
It was about the time he normally woke up—clearly, she'd chosen it deliberately.
And now here she was, saying she wanted to… have a life consultation?
To be honest, the last time Haru had heard that phrase was in some anime about an uncle, so he was more than a little lost.
The girl, on the other hand, jumped nervously like a startled bunny when asked.
"Uh… um, Professor Haru."
"I… I feel like something's been really strange about my body lately."
"I could endure it before, but now it's just…"
Liko was already a shy girl by nature, and now she was even more timid than usual, her words stumbling over themselves.
"What's wrong?"
Haru still hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation. To him, it sounded like Liko had caught some mild illness—one she'd been too shy to admit before but couldn't hide anymore.
In the Pokémon world, fatal diseases were practically nonexistent. With his power, he figured there would always be some way to cure her.
But then Liko's words struck him like a Golduck flying in with a Kyogre in its beak.
"I want you… to help me touch the darkness in my heart."
"???"
"…Could you maybe rephrase that in a way I can understand?"
"Professor Haru… please train me! I want to learn so badly!"
Her face was bright red as she forced out the words.
Train?
From the shadows, Mewtwo pondered silently: What exactly does she mean by that…?