----
Professor Oak's explanation, as logical as it tried to sound, was riddled with contradictions.
Anyone listening carefully would find themselves confused:
If the Unown had created the Entei illusion, why would they suddenly conjure up two more Legendary Beasts?
Was Ash and his friends' strength so overwhelming that the Unown had to summon extra firepower just to hold them off?
That didn't add up.
And even stranger if the Unown were losing, why would they manifest the Three Legendary Birds, seemingly siding with Ash and the others instead of against them?
It made no sense.
Yet, with no better information and no direct view of the battlefield, those at the Pokémon Center could only assume the simplest answer:
The Unown had conjured all of the Legendary Pokémon and for reasons unknown, some had turned on each other.
It was the only explanation that fit what little they knew.
After all, why else would the Three Legendary Birds symbols of Kanto suddenly appear in Johto?
And why else would they clash so fiercely with the Beasts?
Something had gone wrong. Something no one understood.
---
Outside, thunder rolled endlessly across the sky.
The battle still raged in the distance, lightning flashing, explosions rumbling, and the storm clouds had grown so large that they now blanketed the entire Pokémon Center.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before even they were pulled into the chaos.
It was nearing 6 PM when Erika, worry clouding her expression, pulled out her phone and tried to call Kai.
No signal.
The storms above had jammed communications completely. No matter how many times she tried, the call wouldn't connect.
She frowned, anxiety gnawing at her.
'If even Legendary Pokémon were caught up in this battle… how could a human possibly stay safe?'
Her fists clenched. She couldn't sit still any longer.
While the others remained fixated on the distant flashes of battle, Erika quietly slipped away into the darkness.
She had made up her mind.
There was no reason to stay here, waiting helplessly.
If Kai was out there, fighting alone, then she needed to reach him no matter the risk.
---
Minutes later, the long-overdue rescue team finally arrived at the Pokémon Center a convoy of helicopters, bulldozers, and excavation trucks.
But their efforts were immediately hampered.
On the ground, the excavation crews attacked the crystal forest with their heavy machinery, only to realize how dense and vast the formations were. Even at full power, they could barely dig a meter at a time. At this pace, it would take them until tomorrow evening just to reach the tower.
In the air, things were even worse.
Helicopters tried to approach the battlefield, but the violent winds, hail, and lightning forced them back. The pilots had no choice but to retreat to safety.
Until the battle ended, there was no way to get through.
---
Back at the Pokémon Center, Professor Oak's gaze swept the gathered group and he immediately noticed something wrong.
"Wait… where's Erika?"
John, leaning casually against a pillar, answered without looking up. "She slipped away. Headed toward the Crystal Tower to help Kai, I guess."
"What!?" Officer Jenny spun around, voice rising in alarm. "She went alone? In this storm!? At night!?"
Panic crept into her voice as she searched the dark horizon, but Erika had already vanished into the blackened wilderness.
John simply shrugged. "Danger is just part of the Trainer job Besides…" His voice softened. "Isn't it natural to run to the person you trust most?"
---
Meanwhile, at the Crystal Tower—
Kai had been watching the aerial battle, every sense focused, when the ground beneath him shuddered violently.
He staggered back as the very top of the tower exploded, shards of crystal raining down.
As the dust settled, the shattered walls exposed a scene from within.
There, illuminated by the broken light of the Crystal Tower's inner chambers, Kai caught sight of a battle raging inside.
Entei versus a Charizard.
Kai's heart jumped.
He recognized that Charizard instantly it was Ash's.
Memories stirred.
In the movie, Ash's Charizard had rushed from Charicific Valley after seeing his Trainer in danger, arriving just in time for the showdown against Entei.
So… it was happening here too.
Kai hadn't even noticed Charizard's arrival in all the chaos. But now, the two were locked in a fierce, desperate duel inside Molly's shattered bedroom, where crystalline spikes were bursting up through the floor and tearing the room apart.
The collapsing tower had forced fresh air into the enclosed space, and with it, Ash, Misty, and Brock finally caught a glimpse of the world outside.
What they saw stunned them speechless.
Above them, through the swirling snow and flashing lightning, the Three Legendary Birds danced through the skies Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno in a furious battle.
Below, the Three Legendary Beasts Entei, Suicune, and Raikou roared and countered with thunderous force.
The entire mountain of ice and crystal had become a colossal battlefield.
Brock's eyes widened behind his normally squinting gaze.
"Zapdos? Articuno? Moltres? And—Entei!? Suicune!? Raikou!? What the heck is going on!?"
It was incomprehensible.
They had guessed that Kai might be fighting something powerful outside but they could never have imagined six Legendary Pokémon locked in battle.
Even Misty, though faster to recover, was awestruck.
Her gaze dropped downward and there she spotted Kai, standing alone among the shattered crystals, orchestrating the aerial assault.
There was no doubt now.
Those Three Birds…
They belonged to him.
Of course, they did.
Only Kai could do something as outrageous as taming three Legendary Pokémon.
But the Beasts?
Where had they come from?
And why were they fighting him?
Misty bit her lip, mind racing.
Whatever was happening… it was far bigger than anything any of them had imagined.
And it was only getting worse.
----
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