The city had barely begun to rebuild after Pyrax's fiery rampage. Smoke still rose faintly from the industrial district, though most of the flames had been extinguished.
At the Rangers' base, Yuriko sat quietly, holding the snowman and Ember keychains in her hand. Beside them, the new Wade and Clod charms gleamed faintly.
Gia leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Snow. Fire. What's next—wind?"
Emma nudged her. "Hey, don't joke. These powers might be the reason we're still standing."
Yuriko closed her fist around the charms. "But why me? These keychains shouldn't hold power… and yet, they answer me."
Before anyone could respond, Gosei's voice rang out, urgent:
"Rangers! A new threat has emerged at the harbor. Armada General Thalador commands the seas themselves. If he takes control of the city's waterways, Harwood will be lost."
Troy's jaw tightened. "Then we stop him now."
---
Waves crashed violently as the Rangers arrived. Cargo ships listed dangerously in the stormy waters, lightning flashing above the harbor.
At the center stood Thalador—an armored sea creature with barnacle-plated armor, a trident crackling with ocean energy. His voice boomed like rolling thunder.
"I am Thalador, master of the tides! This city shall drown beneath the Armada's reign!"
"Not if we stop you!" Troy shouted.
The Rangers charged. Blades clashed with the trident, sparks flying. Thalador spun his weapon, unleashing torrents of pressurized water that hurled the Rangers off their feet.
Emma tried to blast him with her blaster, but the water twisted into a shield around him. Gia dove forward with her saber, only to be swept away by a tidal wave that crashed across the docks.
"Too strong!" Jake coughed, spitting seawater. "He's using the whole ocean as his weapon!"
---
Yuriko stepped forward, transforming into her Snow Form. She slammed icy blasts at Thalador, freezing the edges of his watery shield. For a moment, it seemed to work—until the shield shattered, the water surging back and striking her like a hammer.
She switched instantly to Fire Tackle, fists blazing. She lunged, igniting the air, but the storm smothered her flames before she could land a strike.
Her armor flickered. She staggered back, drenched and drained. "Snow… fire… nothing works…"
Thalador laughed, raising his trident high. "Your power is meaningless against the tide!"
---
Yuriko fell to one knee, the waves crashing at her feet. Her hand brushed against the Wade keychain—its small droplet charm glowing faintly through the storm.
She held it tightly. Unlike snow and fire, this one didn't feel like resistance. It felt like acceptance—like a river's current guiding her.
Her mind whispered: Don't fight the water. Flow with it.
The keychain pulsed. Light blue energy surged outward, wrapping around her body in a spiral of liquid light. The waves around her bent inward, as if bowing to her.
The Rangers shielded their eyes from the glow.
When the light faded, Yuriko stood in her third new form.
---
Her armor was sleek and flowing, shimmering with rippling patterns like the surface of a lake. Her visor glowed aqua-blue, and streams of water curled around her arms, constantly shifting as if alive. The Wade charm pulsed proudly at her belt.
She had become Water Tackle.
Emma gasped. "She did it again…"
Gia smirked. "And just in time."
---
Thalador snarled and sent a torrent of water toward her. But instead of resisting, Yuriko stepped forward and merged with the flow. The wave wrapped around her harmlessly, becoming part of her aura.
She raised her arm, and the water obeyed, spiraling upward into a massive whip. With a single motion, she lashed it forward, striking Thalador with the force of a crashing tidal wave.
The monster staggered, roaring in shock. "How can you command the sea?!"
"Because I don't fight against it," Yuriko said calmly, her voice steady as the tide. "I move with it."
She leapt high, summoning a vortex of water beneath her. With a cry, she unleashed her new finisher—Oceanic Spiral—a roaring column of water that surged forward, engulfing Thalador. The impact shattered his armor, sending him flying backward before exploding into sea spray.
The storm dissolved. The ocean stilled. The harbor was safe again.
---
The Rangers gathered, soaked but victorious. Troy nodded with respect. "Snow. Fire. Water. Each time, your strength grows. These powers… they're not random. They're meant for you."
Yuriko looked down at the Wade charm glowing beside the Ember and Snow keychains. She tightened her fist. "If they've chosen me, then I'll honor them. For this world… and for the friends I've found here."
Back at the base, Gosei's voice carried a tone more serious than ever before.
"These powers are not mere coincidences. Yuriko, your presence here… and the awakening of these elements… may be connected to the Morphin Grid itself."
The Rangers exchanged stunned looks. And Yuriko, for the first time, wondered if her second life here was part of something far greater than fate.