Coovers and Goh struggled to keep calm as they rode in the back of a black car. Their battle against Venarge and Oleana's subordinates only lasted several minutes after distracting them before all of their Pokémon were knocked out save for Sobble. Their enemies allowed Coovers and Goh to return their Pokémon, including Sobble, who was still invisible before forcing them to go in the back of their car. Venarge sent his Corviknight to try to locate Sonia and Gwen, but they were long gone. He called Oleana on the way to the parking lot and told the agents he was flying to Hammerlocke ahead of them before he flew away with his Corviknight. While three agents took Coovers and Goh to their car, the fourth one with the Excadrill carried Agent Porter to his black car and drove behind them.

But even knowing that Sonia, Gwen, and Winnie had escaped, Coovers, in particular, was on edge. As the agents drove out of Stow-on-Side and through the mountains, Coovers worried about whether or not Sonia and Gwen could get Zacia and Zamazenta to help them or if there was a chance they could still be captured. He also thought of how Looker would react learning that he had been captured, potentially losing what credibility he had for getting proof against Chairman Rose. Finally, he thought of Timothy, Ash, and Serena, wondering if anything had happened to them now that the chairman knew about the mission. The only comfort he had was there were no red clouds in the sky, signifying that no Pokémon have Dynamaxed as of late, or worse yet, Eternatus escaped from the hangar.

Within a couple of hours, the agents drove through the mountain pass and down the road to Hammerlocke. The agent whose Durant was unconscious sat next to Coovers and Goh to keep an eye on them while the one with the Steelix drove and the one with the Ferroseed sat in the front seat. Coovers and Goh grew more uneasy as Hammerlocke came into view, but then Goh looked ahead of the road, and his face lit up.

"Hey, look," he said.

Coovers and the agent with the Durant looked at Goh before they turned their heads to where he was looking. Standing far in the middle of the road were Timothy, Ash, Serena, Electchu, Pikachu, Dragonite, Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon. Ash and his Pokémon stood in the middle while Timothy and Electchu stood on the left and Serena and her Pokemon stood on the right. All of them stared in the direction of the cars with serious faces, and Timothy crossed his arms.

As the agents wondered what Coovers and Goh's friends were doing, Serena turned to her Pokémon and gave them a command, pointing at the cars. Without hesitating, Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon used Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, and Swift, respectively, and the attacks collided in front of the cars, creating a massive firework explosion. The agents driving slammed the brakes, and the cars screeched into a halt. The agent with the Steelix grumbled as he and the agent in the front seat undid their seatbelts.

"Keep an eye on those two," the driver commanded the agent with the Durant.

The third agent nodded as his coworkers, apart from Agent Porter, got out of both cars and walked to the front of the leading car, looking daggers at Timothy, Ash, Serena, and her Pokemon. Coovers and Goh watched curiously as they waited for their friends to make a move.

"Gentlemen, you have two of our friends in your possession. I suggest that you let them go," Timothy said.

"Friends? I'm sure we don't know what you're talking about," the agent with the Steelix said.

"Liar! You have Goh and Coovers in your car!" Ash barked.

"Let them go now!" Serena shouted.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted.

The agents laughed like teenage bullies watching younger kids try to act tough.

"Or what?" The agent with the Ferroseed asked.

"You have 2 two-time Pokémon League winners, one of which is a regional Champion, and a Top Coordinator against you. Use your imagination," Timothy said.

The agents laughed again.

"Well, aren't you scary?" The agent with the Excadrill mocked as he and his fellow agents took out his Pokéballs.

They threw their Pokéballs and Steelix, Excadrill, and Ferroseed came out. Timothy, Ash, and Serena looked at each other and nodded, smirking.

"Is that all you got?" Serena taunted. "I don't want to speak for Ash and Timothy, but I was expecting more."

"Why? Because you have your Delphox and Pancham?" Steelix's partner asked. "We just had a battle with several of your friends' Pokémon and they only took out one of our Pokémon even when so many of their Pokémon had moves strong against our partners. Do you plan to beat us by throwing all of your Pokémon at us?"

"Nope. Just one," Ash said before holding his hands to the sides of his mouth. "Now!"

Suddenly, the agents and their Pokémon were lifted off the ground with a light purple aura surrounding their bodies. The six of them screamed in panic with the agents flailing their arms and legs. They were lifted up until they were three stories high in the air and began spinning in circles.

As they spun around, two dark crimson beams outlined in pink shot out from thin air and hit Excadrill. A second after that, two purple and black balls of energy with purple static around them suddenly appeared and hit Ferroseed in the back. Then, a block of ice shaped like a first appeared and hit Steelix on the jaw. Steelix, Excadrill, and Ferroseed tried to find where the attacks were coming from, but there was nothing but their partners they could see so high up.

Beams of ice and balls of energy continued to hit the Pokémon in different directions. Maniacal laughter could be heard, scaring the agents and their Pokémon. After getting hit with another Shadow Ball, Steelix tried to use Iron Tail where it last heard the mysterious voice, only to hit Ferroseed accidentally. Ferroseed used Pin Missile on Steelix angrily, agitating the Iron Snake Pokémon. It prepared to use Iron Tail again, but at the last moment, Ferroseed floated away and Excadrill levitated to Steelix's line of fire, resulting in getting smacked in the face. Excadrill prepared to retaliate with Rock Throw, only for it to rotate to Ferroseed at the last minute. Before Excadrill realized what happened, it fired multiple stones at Ferroseed, angering the Thorn Seed Pokémon even more.

"Excadrill, what are you doing?" Excadrill's partner called out.

"Stop fighting each other!" Ferroseed's partner shouted.

But the Pokémon didn't listen. Steelix, Ferroseed, and Excadrill began to attack each other like a trio of comedians performing a slapstick routine. The invisible being continued to hit them from behind with Night Shade and Shadow Ball, making the agents think one of them had just attacked the other. By this point, Serena was covering her mouth to hide her giggles while Ash snickered, and Timothy was holding his gut as he laughed.

Finally, Steelix smacked Excadrill and Ferroseed unconscious with Iron Tail and had a moment to breathe before the invisible being clocked it below its jaw with Ice Punch. The purple aura disappeared and the agents and their Pokémon crashed into the ground with a thud. The agents stood up, massaging their bottoms before their eyes widened, stunned that their Pokémon were down. They then heard a snicker from behind that sent shivers down their spines and they slowly turned around to see Gengar emerging from Steelix's partner's shadow.

"GENGAR!" It shouted.

The agents screamed and returned their Pokémon as they ran away in the direction back to Stow-on-Side, with one of them crying out for his mommy. Timothy, Ash, Serena, and their Pokémon burst out laughing until their sides were sore. After they calmed down, they walked over to the leading car and Timothy opened the back door. The fourth agent was quivering as Electchu, Pikachu, Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon gave him menacing glares.

"I'd catch up with your friends if I were you," Timothy said.

The agent nodded and unbuckled before getting out of the car. He ran to the second car to grab Agent Porter and ran as fast as he could while carrying his unconscious coworker. Timothy smirked as Goh got out of the car, followed by Coovers.

"Ash! Serena!" Goh shouted.

"Hey Goh," Ash said.

"Thank goodness you two are okay," Serena said.

"Yes, we're fine thanks to you," Coovers said. "Though please don't tell Looker I was captured. I've got a good thing going on with my mission nearly complete."

"Our lips are sealed though Looker is here in Galar, and he didn't like that you left Hammerlocke," Timothy said.

"That figures," Coovers said. "Where is he now?"

"He was fighting some of the chairman's agents at Rose Tower with the police when we left to chase Ezria," Ash said.

"Then we went to rescue you guys after your friend, Gwen, called Timothy and told him what happened to you," Serena said.

"And now you guys are rescued, we just need to storm Hammerlocke Stadium," Timothy said. "Did Venarge take out all of your Pokémon?"

"He did. He took out Goh's Pokémon save for one that was too scared to fight," Coovers said.

"And how many Pokémon do you have at hand, Goh?" Timothy asked.

"Just three," Goh said.

"How about you, Serena? Do you have any other Pokémon apart from Delphox, Pancham, Sylveon, Poliwhirl, and Absol?" Timothy asked.

"No. Just those five," Serena answered.

"Ash?" Timothy asked.

"I have Pikachu, Dragonite, Gengar, Riolu, and Farfetch'd," Ash said.

"Okay, so, with you and Serena having five Pokemon each and Goh only carrying three, that leaves only Timothy and me having a full party," Coovers asked.

"Actually, I only have five, too," Timothy said. "Ezria and Knightblade found out the truth when Looker came to Rose Tower, and Knightblade fled with her."

"Fantastic," Coovers said sarcastically. "So altogether, we have twenty-four Pokémon to storm the stadium. Well, hopefully, that should be enough to face Ezria and Venarge."

"No. You guys should focus on Venarge and any other agents the chairman has. Leave Ezria to me," Timothy said

Coovers furrowed his brow and said, "Timothy, she has seven Pokémon now and you barely won a double battle against her. Don't let your attachment to Knightblade get in the way."

"This isn't just about trying to get Knightblade back Coovers," Timothy said. "Ezria is delusional but she's also one of the strongest trainers in the region. She promised she'll try to force me to love her the next time we meet. If I can get her to focus solely on me, to separate her from Venarge and any agents..."

"Then we have a better chance of battling our way to the Energy Plant and catching the chairman," Serena said.

"And if we do that, then we just need to hope Sonia and Gwen find Zacian and Zamazenta," Goh said.

"Exactly," Timothy said.

"Hold on. Who are Zacian and Zamazenta?" Ash asked.

"Long story," Coovers said. "In any case, you're probably right Timothy. I don't like your plan, but if Looker is still in Wyndon, we should stop Chairman Rose when we have the chance, and using Ezria's feelings might be the best way to do it."

"Then let's head to the city and get your Pokémon healed right away," Timothy said. "Ash, would you mind having your Gengar give us a lift?"

"Not at all," Ash said with a smirk.

With that, Serena returned Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon to their Pokéballs, and she and Ash climbed on Dragonite's back with Pikachu standing on Ash's head. Gengar's eyes glowed and Timothy, Coovers, Goh, and Electchu were lifted into the air with purple aura surrounding them. Dragonite and Gengar took off and soared toward Hammerlocke with the trainers' eyes on the stadium.

***********************************************************************************

Ezria was still sitting in the hall with Doublade and Knightblade. She heard scientists talking frantically from the other side of the hangar door. Every few minutes or so, a subordinate would come into the hangar and report something to Chairman Rose and Oleana. The longer Ezria waited, the more she grew impatient for the chairman or her aunt to give her something to do to redeem herself. She amused herself by strategizing for the inevitable battle against Timothy in her mind. He may have two Pokémon less than Ezria did but she was confident Timothy wasn't going to make it easy for her and that's just the way she wanted it.

Ezria's train of thought was interrupted by someone letting out a mocking cackle. She lifted her head to see Venarge standing in front of her with a smug look on his face. Ezria scoffed and stood up with Doublade floating on her left side and Knightblade on her right.

"What do you want Venny," Ezria asked with irritation in her voice.

"Oh, nothing. I just love how your future hubby turned out to be using you and endangering Uncle Rose's dream," Venarge mocked. "Do you wanna hug for your little feelings getting hurt?"

"Mug it up Venny, or I'll have Doublade and Knightblade teach you a lesson," Ezria snarled. "Besides, you're the one who failed to warn everyone about Timothy and his friends."

"And I've fixed that problem by capturing his officer buddy so the police can back off," Venarge said.

"And as I've pointed out to Uncle Rose and Aunt Oleana, that won't stop Timothy from trying to stop us anyway, which is why I have the idea to up the security," Ezria said.

"Oh, so you're why a bunch of security officers are gathering outside. Bully for you," Venarge said.

"Enough."

Ezria and Venarge turned their heads to see Chairman Rose and Oleana exiting the hangar. The chairman was high in spirits while his loyal secretary glared at her niece and nephew, peeved. Oleana walked ahead of Rose and pointed her finger like a teacher disciplining her students.

"This is no time to argue like little children," she rebuked. "You are both to blame for the situation we are all in. Until Timothy's friend arrives and Hammerlocke Stadium is fully guarded, there's no guarantee that all obstacles will be eliminated. Understood?"

"Yes, Aunt Oleana," Ezria said obediently. "How close are we to being fully guarded, though?"

"As of right now, the security teams from the stadiums in Motostoke, Turffield, Hulbury, Circhester, and Wyndon are here and positioned in front of the drawbridge," Oleana said. "The team in Ballonlea are taking Flying Taxis to get here while the team on Stow-on-Side are driving. They should arrive not long after Agent Porter arrives with Coovers. Once we have everyone, we will raise the drawbridge to ensure nothing goes in or out."

"Leaving us with more than enough time to prove that Uncle Rose's dream is what's best for Galar," Venarge said.

"Exactly Venarge," Rose said. "As we speak, the scientists are making another attempt to extract energy from Eternatus safely. If any Galar Particles escape and Pokémon Dynamax and rampage, Timothy, his friends, and Leon will deal with them, keeping away from us. I'd rather you two join them to prevent as much damage as possible, but we all know sacrifices are necessary for our future."

Oleana, Ezria, and Venarge nodded, with the raspberry-haired woman giving an approving smirk. The moment was interrupted by the sound of alarms blaring from the other side of the hangar door. Oleana pressed a button on the door panel, and the metal door rose, revealing pink sparks from around the core. The chairman's scientists were staring at the core in fear.

"Emergency! Halt the Galar Particles injection!" One scientist shouted.

"We'll never make it in time!" Another scientist shouted.

"What's going on?" Oleana demanded as she, Rose, Ezria, Venarge, Doublade, and Knightblade went in.

"Ms. Oleana, we tried to extract Eternatus' energy, but it's too much for the core to handle! It's overloaded!" A third scientist shouted.

Oleana opened her mouth to make a command, but she was interrupted by a monstrous roar coming from inside the core. The roar was followed by a massive red light shooting from the top of the core and bursting through the hangar ceiling. People closest to the core ran to avoid falling debris. When the light disappeared, there was a hole in the ceiling where Hammerlocke Stadium's battlefield could be seen.

"If this keeps up, Eternatus could escape from the hangar," the first scientist said. "Chairman Rose, what are your orders?"

All eyes turned to Rose, but he just stared at the core as though he and Eternatus were the only souls in the facility. Though he showed it with only an edge of a smirk, the chairman was ecstatic. It didn't matter that Eternatus was breaking free from the facility he spent countless money on. As far as Chairman Rose was concerned, witnessing Eternatus' power was a treasure beyond measure and he still had three skilled trainers under his belt to capture Eternatus should it escape. And Chairman Rose knew it was going to escape. It was a mathematical certainty.

"Mr. Chairman, please," the scientist said.

Chairman Rose remained silent for a moment before he turned around and gestured to Oleana, Ezria, Venarge, Doublade, and Knightblade to follow him back to the hall. His top minions silently obeyed, leaving the scientists flabbergasted. Oleana exited the hangar last and turned to the scientists while closing the metal door in front of her.

"Continue your work. Do not let Eternatus escape," Oleana ordered.

The scientists let out incoherent words of protest until the door was firmly shut. Oleana turned back to Chairman Rose, who continued to smile with his back facing everyone, making Ezria, Venarge, Doublade, and Knightblade unsure if he heard the scientists. After several seconds, the chairman turned to Venarge with a friendly smile and his hand in his pants pocket.

"Venarge, I'm placing you head of security in Hammerlocke Stadium," he announced. "Go to our main force outside, raise the drawbridge, and call me when your aunt's team arrives with Coovers. I leave positioning our teams from Stow-on-Side and Ballonlea when they arrive in your hands. When Timothy and his friends come, attack only to defend the stadium. Do not pursue them. Defend the gate at all costs. Do you understand?"

It took a moment for Venarge to process what his boss said before his mouth stretched from ear to ear with a triumphant grin. He never wanted to be security before, but the specific responsibilities behind the position allured him the more he thought about it. To be the main line of defense for the chairman's dream, have control over all the forces under the chairman's payroll, including Oleana's subordinates. To have an army that would crush the man Venarge's sister was madly in love with a simple command was too good to be true.

"Consider it done, Uncle Rose," Venarge said.

"Very well. Dismissed," Chairman Rose said.

Venarge turned to Ezria and stuck his tongue out at her while lowering his eyelid. Ezria stood flabbergasted as she watched her brother race to the elevator. As soon as Venarge was out of sight, she turned to Chairman Rose.

"Uncle Rose, how could you make Venarge head of security? Gathering our forces was my idea," she protested.

"I must admit, your decision is odd, to say the least. I don't consider Venarge security material," Oleana said.

"Perhaps, but he has his redemption, and he has the passion for protecting this facility to the end," Rose said. "Besides, I have a more important job for you, Ezria."

Ezria looked at the chairman puzzled as he walked over to her. He took her hands and held them up, confusing her more as Rose paused for a moment.

"Eternatus is going to escape the core," he said.

"What? Are you sure?" Ezria asked.

"Yes. Eternatus is getting closer to being fully restored and in the process, more Galar Particles will leak until the core is fractured to the point that Eternatus can burst out. There's no stopping it," Rose said with a smile. "It's clear no amount of reinforcement can truly contain unlimited power while Eternatus isn't willing to comply. It will likely make its way to the battlefield upstairs where the barrier can contain it, but if that doesn't work, that's where we must turn to our nuclear option."

It took Ezria a moment before she realized what Chairman Rose was talking about and smirked.

"You want me to catch it," she said.

"But sir, I thought you planned to have Leon be the one to catch Eternatus should it escape," Oleana said.

"And if he were here, I would reveal that catching Eternatus is what I've raised him to do, but he's not here, and even if we call him he's probably too far away to get here before Eternatus gets out," Chairman Rose said. "Ezria, on the other hand, is here, and so on the chance that Eternatus breaks through the barrier, it will be her job to capture Eternatus, and then it will submit to my will."

Ezria's smirk grew into a Cheshire Cat grin. She turned to Doublade and Knightblade, and though her partners had no mouths, she could see in their eyes that they shared her excitement. They unsheathed their swords slightly to show they were ready and able to do the job with her.

"It will be so, Uncle Rose," Ezria promised. "I'll crush Eternatus' spirit with all seven of my Pokémon."

"Very good," Chairman Rose said. "Wait at the top of the main tower. I'll be up at the battlefield to activate the barrier shortly."

"At once, Uncle Rose," Ezria said.

Without another word, Ezria headed to the elevator with Doublade and Knightblade behind her. They took the elevator to the main floor and then went to the nearest public elevator to head to the top of the tower. As the elevator went up, Ezria stared at the wall, thinking of ways for her Pokémon to damage Eternatus ruthlessly. The elevator went to the top with a "ding." Ezria, Doublade, and Knightblade went out to the top floor, where they could see all of Hammerlocke, the Wild Area and Motostoke in the south, the mountains in the west where Stow-On-Side and Ballonlea reside, the valley in the east leading to Spikemuth, and the mountains in the north where Wyndon and Circhester reside. Hammerlocke Stadium was so close to the center of the region that it was no wonder Eternatus' energy could cause Pokémon all over Galar to Dynamax, but as far as Ezria was concerned it meant all of Galar could watch her single-handedly capture Eternatus making it past the barrier. The very idea gave her chills.

"My lovelies, I don't know about you, but I hope Eternatus makes its way up here," Ezria said. "I want all of our beloved Galar to realize that it's safe with Eternatus in my possession. And then, Timothy and I will start our relationship anew."

Doublade and Knightblade looked at each other, confused, before questioning Ezria in their respective languages. Ezria chuckled with her mouth closed and turned to the two Pokémon with a proud smile.

"Don't you see? Timothy said he could never love, much less marry, someone who risks lives, but if Eternatus is under my control, it will let us extract its energy willingly, and there will be no danger. I, therefore, will have saved Galar," she explained. "Timothy lied about many things, but he didn't deny catching Arceus, thus turning the tide. By catching Eternatus and ensuring everyone's safety, I'll have done the same thing he did. When Eternatus is mine, Timothy and his police friends will have no choice but to believe that we have everything under control and we can end our disagreement with them peacefully. Through that, Timothy and I can make amends, and we can start over again. We can be completely truthful with each other, and he'll learn to love me with our shared desire to be there for people and Pokémon. We'll still need to battle each other at the Champion Cup. That's inevitable, but I will have my rematch with the two of us as rivals in love instead of enemies. You can be his Pokémon again, Knightblade. Would you like that?"

"Aegislash!" Knightblade shouted ecstatically.

"I knew you would," Ezria said. "Then let us be ready. Today, we take down the most powerful Pokémon for our region, the future, and love."

"Aegislash!" Knightblade shouted.

"Doublade!" Doublade shouted.

Ezria chuckled again at the Pokémon's enthusiasm and turned to look at the view again. She leaned on the edge, where she could see Venarge ordering security officers down below while the drawbridge was lifted. Ezria could only imagine Venarge's face when he realized his job meant nothing compared to saving Galar. At that moment, Ezria let out a maniacal laugh that started quiet and then grew loud until she could be heard from down below. In her eyes, nothing would stop her from everything her heart desired. Not even the full might of the Darkest Day.