“Do you still remember the shrine your grandfather broke in South Vietnam?”
Zhang Heng's simple, understated words instantly pulled Zhu Zi's thoughts back to the distant, legendary early days of the nation's founding.
What appeared in his mind was the heroic and fearless period of his grandfather's life. Zhu Zi understood the hint in Zhang Heng's words, and he gazed intently at Zhang Heng.
Then he asked, “Do you mean that this suddenly appearing Pokémon is the Evil-type Pokémon that chased my grandfather all the way into China after he shattered its shrine? Is it here to seek revenge on Zekrom?”
Zhang Heng did not answer Zhu Zi's guess but continued to ask, “Do you remember what was enshrined in that shrine? Or what shape was the object?”
Zhu Zi began to recall his grandfather's past conversations with him, vaguely remembering that such an object was mentioned, and said with uncertainty, “I'm not too sure, it's been too long. I vaguely remember it was something similar to a vase. The body of the vase also had ring-shaped decorations similar to the golden ones on the ground.”
“Indeed…” Zhu Zi's description was largely consistent with Zhang Heng's expectations regarding the shape.
“Indeed what? Do you know what Pokémon it is now?”
Zhang Heng speculated that the object enshrined in the so-called shattered shrine might have been a sealed Prison Bottle. The breaking of the Prison Bottle led to Hoopa's complete liberation, but this kind of resentment should be Hoopa Unbound, not Hoopa Confined.
Hoopa Unbound is the resentment formed from long-term imprisonment in the Prison Bottle; its nature is more tyrannical, which is why it chased the Chinese army all the way into China's borders.
Zhang Heng responded, “If your description is not mistaken, according to my speculation, the first Southwest Champion inadvertently broke the Prison Bottle that sealed Hoopa.”
“Hoopa, the Mischief Pokémon? Or Hoopa Unbound?”
Hoopa Confined has a Psychic/Ghost-type combination, while after complete liberation, it becomes Hoopa Unbound, which has a Psychic/Evil-type combination. However, given the current situation, Zhang Heng felt that this Hoopa might be Hoopa Unbound.
Its personality is also more tyrannical and irritable than Hoopa Unbound; not only did it pursue the Chinese army, but it also had a three-day and three-night duel with Zekrom before, where both sides exhausted their power, Zekrom fell into slumber, and Hoopa's body shattered, forcing it to return to the broken shrine.
Zhang Heng stood there silently, his eyes fixed on Zekrom in front of him.
At this moment, Zekrom was like an angry mountain of thunder, continuously gathering incredibly powerful electric-type energy around its body. The dazzling electric light, like nimble silver snakes, danced wildly around its body, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.
Accompanied by one deafening thunderclap after another, Zekrom mercilessly launched one fierce Tackle after another at the light barrier formed by the golden aura.
The immense impact force generated by each Tackle caused the air to tremble violently, as if it would tear this world apart.
And that seemingly indestructible light barrier also began to tremble slightly under these continuous attacks, its flickering light dimming and brightening, as if it could collapse and disintegrate at any moment.
From Zekrom's eyes, filled with rage and hatred, one could clearly feel the long-suppressed emotions deep within it.
Ever since awakening from its long slumber, it was first rejected by the Ideal Person, and then unexpectedly encountered its old enemy that had once put it to sleep—Hoopa.
The repeated attacks had already pushed this legendary Pokémon to its limit; it wanted to fight to the death! A desperate battle! No quarter given!
Buzz, buzz, buzz~
Suddenly, six dazzling golden rings appeared without warning around Zekrom's massive body. These rings seemed to appear out of thin air from the void, exuding a mysterious and powerful aura.
From the golden ring behind Zekrom, an enormous fist, containing endless power, suddenly thrust out.
This fist shot forward with the force of thunder, carrying a violent impact, and slammed heavily onto Zekrom's black body.
With a earth-shattering roar, the entire space seemed to tremble. Zekrom's body swayed from the sudden heavy blow, and the fist quickly retracted after hitting its target, disappearing without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
Upon seeing this move, Zhang Heng immediately thought of Hoopa Unbound's signature move, Hyperspace Fury, an Evil-type physical attack move with 100 power in the game.
It uses many arms to continuously attack, ignoring the opponent's Protect or Detect moves. In the game, it has a side effect of lowering one's own defense.
However, this attack seemed to be a guaranteed hit; once targeted by the move, there was no escaping it. Zekrom did not let out a cry of pain; instead, its eyes were tinged with furious blood, and it suddenly turned its head, a fierce bolt of lightning striking directly into the ring from which the arm had retracted.
Just as Zekrom unleashed that lightning bolt, imbued with endless thunderous power, from the ring on its right side, another large and powerful fist of Hoopa suddenly thrust out!
This fist came with great momentum, but Zekrom did not panic. Suddenly, another dazzling lightning bolt erupted from its body. This lightning bolt intertwined with the previously launched one, forming a Crossed Thunder, and directly struck the rapidly advancing fist!
Zhang Heng recognized the move and shouted, “That's Crossed Thunder!”
Crossed Thunder, an electric-type physical attack move, has 100 power in the game and is the signature move of Zekrom and Black Kyurem. If combined with Reshiram's Fusion Flare, the power of this move would double.
Boom~ The electric light flashed, and the protruding fist was also struck by a fierce electric attack.
At this moment, how could Zekrom easily let go of this excellent opportunity! Its massive and majestic body moved slightly, and its huge black Dragon Tail suddenly whipped out like a lightning bolt.
Accompanying a whistling sound, several Dragon Scales, shimmering with cold light, suddenly shot out.
Those incredibly sharp Dragon Scales, like arrows released from a bowstring, flew at astonishing speed directly towards Hoopa Unbound's outstretched arm.
In the blink of an eye, they precisely pierced Hoopa Unbound's palm. Instantly, blood splattered, and Hoopa Unbound's painful roar echoed from within the golden ring.
However, Zekrom's attack did not stop there. Its powerful Dragon Tail swung with the momentum, actually forcing Hoopa Unbound's originally aggressive fist to be slammed into the hard ground below.
“This… this Dragon-type Scale Shot move, can it be used like this?”
Zhang Heng, observing the battle from the side, secretly marveled at Zekrom's combat wisdom and superb skill. With just one signature move, “Crossed Thunder,” Zekrom was able to cleverly evade Hoopa Unbound's powerful “Hyperspace Fury.”
And it was able to react quickly in such a short moment, delivering a fatal blow to its opponent, thereby causing immense damage. Such tactical application and display of powerful strength were truly astonishing.