----
Above the Crystal Tower, the Three Legendary Birds, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno, spiraled higher and higher into the thickening storm clouds.
Lightning crackled within the swirling mass of black clouds, but instead of striking randomly like before, the energy remained contained, building and churning in a focused vortex.
The Birds weren't attacking yet.
They were gathering power.
Preparing something terrifying.
---
Back on the battlefield, Gengar glanced at Kai anxiously.
"We need to get out of here. Now," Gengar urged.
"You know what's coming. No one no Pokémon can withstand what's about to happen."
Kai nodded grimly.
He wasn't a Pokémon.
Caught in the center of that blast, he wouldn't just be injured he'd be completely obliterated.
Without hesitation, he recalled Gardevoir into her Poké Ball, then mounted Charizard alongside Gengar, and they took off into the stormy skies, flying as far and fast from the Crystal Tower as they could.
Before leaving, though, Kai cast one last glance back at the tower.
'Ash… please tell me you've already made it to the lower levels.'
If not…
Well, knowing Ash's ridiculous resilience capable of lifting massive trees, shoving Wailords, surviving electrocution and fire without lasting harm Kai figured he'd somehow survive this too.
Misty and Brock had been around Ash long enough that they might've picked up that same absurd toughness.
No need to worry.
---
Back at the tower's base, tension built to a breaking point.
The Three Legendary Beasts grew restless, sensing the unnatural stillness, the ominous pressure pressing down on them from above.
In a desperate attempt to disrupt whatever was coming, they launched attacks skyward streams of fire, lightning, and water.
Their combined power ripped into the dark clouds…
Only to vanish without a trace.
The storm clouds absorbed the attacks effortlessly.
The gaps they tore were instantly refilled by the swirling vortex.
It was like throwing pebbles into an ocean.
---
If the Beasts had cooperated better, perhaps they could have disrupted the ritual.
Individually, each was powerful. Together, they could have matched the Birds.
But they lacked the harmony the Birds had forged with Kai.
The Birds weren't just strong individually they were united.
And being aerial Pokémon, they could draw strength from the very atmosphere itself, channeling the storm, the wind, and the rain.
The Beasts, bound to the ground, had no such advantage.
The storm was no longer nature's fury.
It belonged to the Birds.
---
Charizard raced over the crystalline forest, Kai and Gengar on its back, speeding away from the epicenter.
Above them, in the heart of the storm, the Birds danced.
Each flap of their powerful wings stirred the storm higher.
Their energy bled into the clouds red, blue, and yellow light seeping through the blackness.
The lightning no longer flashed wildly.
Instead, it coiled and converged toward the Birds, feeding them.
The storm was deathly silent now.
The stillness before the catastrophe.
---
As Kai sped away, something caught his eye.
Down below, trudging alone toward the tower—
A lone figure.
Narrowing his eyes, he recognized her immediately.
Erika.
What was she doing here!?
Without hesitating, Kai patted Charizard's neck, signaling a rapid dive toward her.
---
On the ground, Erika sensed something overhead and looked up just in time to see Charizard descending fast, Kai leaning out to grab her.
Before she could even react, a strong hand seized her wrist, yanking her into the sky.
"Wha—!?"
In a heartbeat, she found herself swept into Kai's arms, held tightly against his chest as Charizard soared back into the storm.
Kai's right arm supported her back, while his left arm… awkwardly braced under her thighs.
For a moment, time froze.
The warmth of Kai's body, the strength of his arms, the wild beating of her heart—
Erika's cheeks flushed crimson, but she didn't pull away.
She understood immediately this wasn't about romance or propriety.
It was about survival.
Still… she couldn't stop the flutter in her chest.
---
Kai, for his part, gritted his teeth and focused.
No time for distractions.
The pickup had been rushed. No chance to let her climb up properly. It wasn't ideal, but it was necessary.
"We need to move fast," he said sharply.
"Look behind you."
Erika twisted slightly in his grip, looking over his shoulder.
Her eyes widened.
In the distance, the swirling mass of black clouds blazed with unnatural light.
The energy pulsing within was so intense, so raw, that even from here, it radiated a bone-deep sense of dread.
"What… what is that!?" she gasped.
Kai didn't sugarcoat it.
"The Birds are about to unleash the Triple Bird Strike."
He quickly explained everything the gathering of the Legendary Birds, the battle against the Beasts, the desperate final gambit.
---
Erika listened, her heart pounding.
So it was true.
The Three Birds Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno were real.
Kai truly commanded them.
And now, in the heart of Johto, six Legendary Pokémon were locked in battle and Kai was in the center of it all.
Her mind reeled.
How much about this man did she still not know?
When she thought back to their raid on Team Rocket's base when Kai had hinted at a hidden power he hadn't yet revealed.
Had it been this all along?
The mysteries surrounding Kai only deepened.
But now wasn't the time for questions.
The storm was about to break.
And when it did, nothing would ever be the same.
----
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