Daniel’s consciousness drifted aimlessly after injecting his aura into the Legen ball. Even if he was familiar with containment procedures, it still unnerved him every time they trained on them. Even worse now that he was forced into it. A gentle tug dragged him forward, steadily increasing its intensity until he felt a cold grip around his soul.

  Cold assaulted him like a hammer. He felt his entire being freezing over as his consciousness returned. After desperately channeling his aura, he felt his body thawing enough to let him look around. The silver walls and floor were completely covered in jagged pieces of ice. Stalactites hung from the roof, glittering dangerously above him. In the center of all, Kyurem watched his every move.

  The empty Lord looked like he expected. Ice covered its wings and froze their mouth shut. There were traces of their scuffle a couple of days prior, but nothing major seemed to be broken or injured. Aura radiated in waves, trying to overpower him and freeze him in place. Daniel answered back by flaring his own.

  The energy clashed mid-air with a dull explosion. Even if the legend possessed a higher power than him, Daniel was fortunate that he was mostly immune to it due to his typing.

  “Invader…” A guttural voice, like ice grinding against a rock, rang as Kyurem directed their full attention at him.

  “Lord Kyurem,” Daniel answered respectfully, but not letting his aura go. “I need your help.”

  “You are not welcome in this world.” Kyurem’s eyes flared, and the temperature dropped even more. “Fate should follow its course without tampering. Only by bathing the world in blood will it truly have a chance to heal.”

  “I know.” Daniel frowned, feeling his breath freeze as soon as it left his body. “The wars, the invasions, your death… the second coming of the Lightslayer…”

  “An era of peace will follow the strife, and people will be united with their Pokemon.” The dragon growled, interrupting him. “Your mere presence is a risk to that future.”

  “I didn’t ask to come here!” Daniel screamed back. “I have family waiting for me! But I don’t want to risk my team, they’re my everything.” He bit back a sob with another flare of his aura, masking his true emotions.

  “You are a coward, then.” The dragon sneered.

  “Yes,” Daniel admitted, eyes blazing in pink energy. “Maybe a hypocrite too. I’ll do all I can to prepare people for the future. I know the unification will come. The portals will open eventually. But people will be ready for it.”

  Daniel flared his aura one last time to punctuate his declaration, pushing back against the biting cold. The dragon stood still, assessing him with pupilless eyes. He felt the pressure increasing as the Pokemon took a step towards him, then another.

  Even with a lord in front of him, Daniel didn’t back down. Though, internally his heart was about to burst. Nothing from this experience came close to the times he did it in training or against Ultra Beasts. He could only pray that he would be able to convince the legend to help.

  After what felt like an eternity with the dragon’s face upon him, they huffed.

  “Very well.” The massive Pokemon nodded at him. “Lucian would have hated you, but Michael would have supported you.”

  With that last cryptic declaration, his mind went blank.

  ***

  Daniel awoke with a gasp, startling the horrified and overworked doctors around him. He took a couple of seconds for his mind to start working again. He was surrounded by 2 doctors, a Pignite, a pair of Audinos, and Sarah. His clothes felt wet, and his throat felt dry. He tried to say something but ended up having a coughing fit.

  After drinking some water passed by Sarah, he spoke.

  “The battle…how long?” His voice sounded hoarse. His throat was still patchy, but the water helped.

  “Daniel! What happened there?!” She asked with a concerned expression. “One moment you’re ok, then you collapse and get severe hypothermia-”

  “The fight!” He reasserted forcefully.

  “Still going on.” One of the doctors recovered enough to speak. “You were unconscious for just under 2 minutes.”

  The doctors wanted to continue examining him to confirm he was ok, but Daniel shrugged them off. After leaving behind his jacket and putting the silver Pokeball back into his bracer, he prepared to go out to the field again. Especially now with R2’s new notification.

  [KYUREM, THE EMPTY LORD, HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY ASSIGNED TO DANIEL JOY.]

  Having a lord under your belt was always a delicate topic and an extreme measure. Over the years, instances of people misusing the power of legendary and mythical Pokemon were numerous. Case in point, Ghetsis using 5 Genesect to attack the League.

  The solution was reprograming Pokeballs not to capture Ultra beasts or ‘higher’ Pokemon. Instead, containment Pokeballs were produced. Apart from capturing them much easier, one needed permission from the Pokemon to temporarily add them to their team. Even then, that option was only considered for world-ending emergencies and available for a small list of people.

  “Daniel! Are you sure you feel ok? Why don’t you rest?” Sarah called out after him, worry in her face. “The champion will take care of it.”

  “Sorry, cousin.” He shook his head with a wry smile. “Duty calls.”

  After making promises not to overdo it, he exited the tent and sprinted back into the fray. The battlefield was largely unchanged, saved from fewer combatants overall. Most worrying of all, Iris had only 4 dragons left with her to contend with Ghetsis and his Genesect. The madman was gloating while commanding a bombardment over her exhausted team.

  A glance at his team's information made him narrow his eyes even further.

  Casper managed to knock out the red Genesect, but she was in no shape to continue. She had to use the remaining energy she had to turn invisible and sneak attack when she could. The other members of his team had several wounds covering their bodies and almost no energy left. If the situation didn’t change soon, he worried something serious might happen to them.

  “Alright Kyurem… Let’s get this show on the road.” Daniel whispered, feeling a cold aura latch onto him.

  His body temperature plummeted once more, crystalizing the water droplets still on his clothes. Daniel did his best to ignore the crunching sounds he made with every move. He cocked back his arm and punched at an angle.

  “KYUREM!”

  His voice boomed with a surge of Fairy aura, and the silver Pokeball shot forward, releasing its legendary occupant. As the dragon landed with a thunderous roar, its immense power cascaded outward, its aura spilling across the battlefield like a tidal wave. The ground trembled and ice spread rapidly, creeping across the earth at an alarming rate. Above, the clouds churned and darkened as snow began to fall, blanketing the scene in a chilling stillness. The Empty Lord had arrived, their presence undeniable, and the world seemed to pause in their wake.

  Silence hung over the battlefield, the cold seeping into every corner. Allies and enemies alike stared in awe at the legend before them. The first to react were Daniel’s team, swiftly returning to their Pokeballs, followed closely by the Gym Leaders and Elite Four. All stood ready to capitalize on the moment.

  “SURRENDER, TEAM PLASMA!” Iris’ voice boomed with a flare of her aura, imitating Daniel’s technique.

  “NEVER!” Ghetsis answered back out of reflex. He extended his left hand towards Kyurem. “ATTACK!”

  The other members of Team Plasma were much more reluctant to fight back after the display, even more so as the League capitalized on the opening. The Genesect acted as one unit, shooting a barrage of techno blasts directly at the dragon.

  “Protect!”

  Their bond wasn’t deep enough to form a proper mind link, but even their tenuous connection allowed Daniel to send impressions and simple commands. Kyurem seemed reluctant to follow his orders, but complied, nonetheless.

  A dome of energy sprung in front of the dragon before the lasers connected. Kyurem lumbered forward before jumping at the Genesect with surprising agility. However, they folded into their high-speed forms to evade. Still in the air, Daniel didn’t let them capitalize.

  “Freeze dry!”

  Kyurem’s eyes shone before the air itself froze around one of the Genesect. The Pokemon was completely encased in ice. Before he could celebrate, it got free from its prison. The other three flanked and went on the offensive with metal claws.

  “Blizzard!”

  The ground shuddered violently as Kyurem descended from the sky, its colossal form creating a crater that stretched several meters wide. A mighty roar echoed across the land, just before the legendary Ice Pokémon unleashed a devastating burst of cold energy. The frigid blast froze the very air as it surged upward, rapidly expanding in a wide arc toward the approaching Genesect. While the Steel-type Pokemon powered through it, their resilience wasn’t enough to avoid the full brunt of the attack. One Genesect was caught off guard, its body encased in a thick shell of ice, and crashed to the ground, unable to move.

  The other two were considerably luckier, managing to connect their attacks. One of them followed with iron head, while the other charged a signal beam. Daniel cursed and ordered another Protect, feeling the strain the move was putting on the dragon. When the shield dissipated, Kyurem fired a dragon pulse to make some distance.

  With a flick of his wrist, he summoned Gamera as backup. Though the Lapras wasn’t at his peak, he was still eager to join the fight. Without a word, Gamera silently nodded and surged forward, unleashing a highly pressurized hydropump aimed at the rear Genesect. The attack hit with a force that caught the insect completely off guard, sending it tumbling several meters through the air. It finally crashed into an allied Stoutland, knocking both Pokemon to the ground in a messy heap.

  Daniel quietly said sorry and sent more orders through his aura.

  As the remaining two Genesect readied another round of steel claws, Gamera swiftly intercepted with surf. The two insect Pokémon narrowly dodged, their speed allowing them to evade the brunt of the attack. However, their momentum was short-lived as Kyurem unleashed another blizzard, the freezing winds destabilizing their flight patterns and leaving them vulnerable. Seizing the opportunity, Gamera followed up with a Water Pulse, drenching the Genesect and leaving them confused and disoriented. Kyurem finished the job with another freeze dry, encasing the myths in blocks of ice.

  [MYTHICAL CONTAINMENT MEASURES ENGAGED.]

  Three silver Pokeballs shot towards the frozen Pokemon before they went into his bracer. He thought he needed to search for the other two, but Iris’ voice booming across the battlefield satisfied his worries.

  “GHETSIS HAS BEEN CAPTURED! SURRENDER NOW!”

  The young champion stood victorious, the madman in cuffs suspended by her Hydreigon’s claws. With his capture, the battle was effectively over, though a few pockets of resistance remained. The Gym Leaders quickly moved to mop up any remaining threats, while teams of nurses rushed in, carefully carrying the wounded off the field.

  Kyurem stood by Daniel’s side, quietly watching the Ace trainers and Veterans carry their comrades, mourn the losses, and deal with the Plasma operatives. Daniel felt the uncertainty hidden under the unshakeable draconic might the legend emanated. He huffed with a smirk and patted the dragon on their side.

  “What are you thinking about, lord Kyurem?”

  The Pokemon ignored him for a moment, feeling some rage surge under their skin. But what came out was their equivalent of a sigh.

  “Some of them were destined to die,” Kyurem said gravely. “Some of them were not destined to die until much later. The future has changed.”

  “Yeah, I figured.” Daniel chuckled. “Let’s just hope it’s a better future.”

  “Indeed.” Kyurem nodded and turned their face to ‘look’ at him.

  “Well, are you ready to return to the wild?”

  “The wild?” The legend cocked their head. “I expected you to add me to your team. Am I not worthy of you, invader?” They narrowed their eyes and huffed a frigid breath in his face, freezing the sweat that permeated his forehead.

  Daniel blinked in confusion as his brain caught up to what was happening. So caught up in the fight itself that he forgot to talk about the… provisional nature of their small contract.

  “Well?”

  ‘Arceus give me strength.’

  heavy.