"Trouble ahead!"
Maki gritted his teeth—he was too late to run, and these Lunatone and Solrock just weren't holding out long enough! Couldn't they have lasted a little longer?
It seemed that Dragonite's size and flight speed made it all too conspicuous in the air. Celesteela's massive body slowly turned, its helmet-like head revealing no discernible eyes, yet Maki felt an intense gaze locking onto him—like prey caught in the sights of a predator. Even Tyranitar hadn't given him this level of dread.
"We need to land."
Maki sighed. At this point, escaping through the air was no longer an option. In fact, they'd only be turning themselves into easy targets.
Despite its overwhelming size making it seem cumbersome, Celesteela's arm-like boosters—each nearly three meters in diameter—could easily crush most Pokémon with a single strike.
And to make matters worse, Celesteela's typing—Steel and Flying—meant it resisted Dragonite's primary Dragon- and Flying-type moves. Even Tyranitar below was at a disadvantage, given its Rock/Dark typing.
Dragonite cast a wary glance at the sky, noticing that Celesteela's focus had already locked onto him. It wasn't sure what this enormous Pokémon was, but battle instincts honed over years of combat screamed one thing—this thing is dangerous!
Prioritizing Maki's safety, Dragonite dived sharply. Getting Maki to the ground took precedence over engaging in aerial combat.
However, Celesteela immediately raised its bamboo-like arm boosters, crossing them in front of its body. A bright white energy gathered briefly before shooting straight at Dragonite.
Flash Cannon!
Maki cursed internally. The moment Celesteela attacked, it went straight for a high-power move without hesitation. No probing strikes—just pure, destructive force.
Dragon Pulse!
Dragonite opened its mouth, unleashing a surge of blue energy to intercept the incoming Flash Cannon. The two attacks collided midair, but the power disparity was evident.
Dragon Pulse, which could be continuously channeled, barely held against the Flash Cannon—a one-time burst attack. The fact that they reached a stalemate at all already spoke volumes about the overwhelming strength of their opponent.
After neutralizing the attack, Dragonite wasted no time, landing swiftly with Maki in tow.
Oddly enough, Celesteela didn't continue its assault.
Before Maki could react, Celesteela raised its arms again, charging up another Flash Cannon—not aimed at him or Dragonite this time, but at the cliffs surrounding the valley.
Or rather, it wasn't specifically targeting anything at all. It was simply destroying everything in sight.
Whether Lunatone or Solrock, Celesteela paid them no mind. Its attacks rained indiscriminately across the landscape, tearing into rock formations with reckless abandon.
For Maki, this was bad news. The valley walls crumbled under the onslaught, sending a cascade of boulders crashing down. The ground trembled violently, forcing Maki to cling to Dragonite just to stay on his feet.
Then—boom!—the entrance was buried beneath the rubble.
Maki had every reason to believe Celesteela was doing this on purpose. I don't even want to fight you! Just let me leave, and you can do whatever you want! Blow up Mt. Moon for all I care!
After all, the Moon Stones found here mostly ended up in the League's pockets—Team Rocket didn't benefit much from them anyway.
But with Celesteela's rampage, Maki's only escape route had been completely sealed off.
"Got any other ideas?"
Maki shamelessly turned to Tyranitar, as if he hadn't just tried to abandon it moments ago. Dragonite stood alert beside him, wary that the enraged Tyranitar might retaliate.
After all, Tyranitar was notorious for its short temper. And Maki's earlier actions? Definitely aggravating.
But from Dragonite's perspective, Maki had done nothing wrong. In situations like this, self-preservation came first. Whether the other Pokémon lived or died was irrelevant.
What mattered was Maki's safety. If something happened to him, that would be unacceptable—especially for Giovanni.
"Tyran!"
Tyranitar shot Maki a glare but didn't say much. As much as it disliked his actions, the reality was clear—Maki alone couldn't fix this mess. He needed Dragonite's help.
After a moment of hesitation, Tyranitar finally spoke—to Dragonite, not Maki. No point in addressing a human who wouldn't understand.
Dragonite furrowed its brow, glancing at the exhausted Lunatone and Solrock scattered around the battlefield. It motioned toward them, suggesting they lend a hand—after all, they had been the ones holding back the dimensional rift earlier.
Tyranitar shook its head.
Most of them had already depleted their energy during the sealing ritual. Many were injured from the rift's expansion and Celesteela's emergence.
More importantly, their ability to contain the rift hadn't come solely from their own power. They had been channeling solar energy.
Had this occurred at night, Lunatone would have led the ritual instead. Over the years, the two species had relied on this alternating method to keep the rift sealed.
The problem? Night and day couldn't coexist simultaneously.
That meant neither Lunatone nor Solrock could operate at peak efficiency at the same time.
Had they been at full power, Celesteela might never have escaped in the first place.
"Boo?"
"Tyranitar, tyran!"
"Luna! Sol!"
The two Pokémon continued their heated discussion, with Tyranitar growing increasingly agitated.
Understandable—this was its home, after all.
Maki and Dragonite were outsiders. Their priority was survival. But for Tyranitar, Lunatone, and Solrock?
This valley was their home.
And now, it was under siege by a monster bent on destruction.
There was no way Tyranitar could remain calm.
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