Because Hoopa's power had left the Prison Bottle, Baraz was finally free from Hoopa's control.
"What happened to me?" Baraz asked, shaking his slightly dizzy head.
"Brother!" Mary ran to Baraz's side and pointed at the Hoopa that was cheering excitedly in the air. "Look, Hoopa! Hoopa has returned to its original form."
When Baraz saw Hoopa, he remembered everything. "Oh no, we were all wrong. We shouldn't have released Hoopa's power!"
"What?" Mary didn't quite catch that.
At this moment, Hoopa had already set its sights on them, its target being the Prison Bottle in Baraz's hand. As long as it destroyed the Prison Bottle, no one would be able to seal it ever again. From the memories of the Confined Hoopa, it already knew that the old man who had sealed it had passed away.
On a tower not far away, the Team Rocket trio, who had been following Ash, were observing the situation with binoculars.
"What kind of Pokémon is that? It looks so powerful!" Meowth exclaimed.
James's eyes lit up. "If we catch that Pokémon, can we do whatever we want?"
Jessie slapped James. "Idiot, the important thing is that bottle. If we get that bottle, we can control that Pokémon."
Upon hearing this, James and Meowth immediately wore excited grins.
Seeing Hoopa's malicious smile and its preparations to attack, Baraz immediately pried open the lid of the Prison Bottle.
"We have to reseal Hoopa's power!"
As the Prison Bottle emitted a red light, Hoopa immediately found itself unable to move. A mysterious suction force followed, and the power of the Unbound Hoopa was instantly resealed into the bottle. Deprived of that power, Hoopa reverted from its Unbound form back to its Confined form, collapsing from the sky in total exhaustion.
"Hoopa~" Mary ran over to catch it. "Hoopa, are you okay?"
"Hoopa is so scared, it's going to be eaten!" Hoopa said, trembling in Mary's arms.
"Mary, what exactly is going on?" Ash ran over and asked anxiously.
Baraz walked over and said, "We miscalculated. The power sealed within Hoopa developed its own consciousness over the long years. Now, it wants to replace Hoopa and become the true Hoopa."
"How could this happen?" Mary's expression shifted. "That was clearly Hoopa's own power!"
Baraz shook his head. "That power is now filled with feelings of resentment."
Following explanations from Mary and Baraz, Ash and the others learned that the person who had originally sealed Hoopa was their great-grandfather. Baraz and Mary hailed from a mysterious place called the Valley of Creation. The people there shared a special connection with the legendary Mythical Pokémon Arceus, possessing the ability to communicate with nature from birth.
Relying on this power and borrowing the elements of earth, fire, and water from nature, their great-grandfather had crafted the Prison Bottle. After Hoopa was sealed, he hid the bottle and brought the Confined Hoopa back to the Valley of Creation. For the past hundred years, he had constantly taught Hoopa to perceive nature, hoping it would understand the true meaning of power—that it wasn't for causing trouble, but should be used for meaningful purposes.
After he passed away, the task of guarding Hoopa fell to Baraz and Mary. They believed Hoopa had mastered its past power and understood the lessons of their great-grandfather, which was why they left the valley. They traveled to where their great-grandfather had sealed Hoopa, hoping to find the Prison Bottle and reclaim its former power. Baraz had indeed found the bottle in the desert based on his great-grandfather's notes, but he had not expected to be controlled by the sealed power itself.
"So what do we do now?" Ash asked.
Baraz looked at the Prison Bottle in his hand and said, "We have no choice but to hide the Prison Bottle again."
However, before he could finish, a rope suddenly descended, latched onto the Prison Bottle, and quickly dragged it away. Ash and the others looked up to see a hot air balloon flying overhead, with the Team Rocket trio laughing triumphantly on board.
Jessie shouted, "We'll take this bottle!"
"Hahaha~" James and Meowth made faces at them.
"Team Rocket!" Ash gritted his teeth.
Baraz couldn't even stop to ask who they were, and he immediately ordered his Braviary to give chase.
"Flame~" Braviary let out a cry, its wings turning into blades as it easily sliced through Team Rocket's balloon. The balloon burst, and the trio was immediately thrown from the swaying craft. Jessie, who was holding the Prison Bottle, lost her grip and threw it away. Braviary tried to catch it, but it was too far away.
Crack~
The Prison Bottle fell to the ground and shattered into pieces, leaving behind only a few golden rings and a lid. The black-red mist that was Hoopa's power drifted out from the broken bottle and flew toward the Confined Hoopa once again.
"No, it's coming! Hoopa is going to be eaten!" The Confined Hoopa was terrified, shivering in Mary's arms.
Seeing this, Ash commanded, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pika~ Pika~"
Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and unleashed a thick bolt of lightning, aiming it at the black-red mist. Hindered by the electricity, the black mist retreated for a distance, but it quickly began closing in on the Confined Hoopa again.
"It's here! It's here, it's coming to eat Hoopa!" The Confined Hoopa cried out loudly.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt."
Ash commanded Pikachu to use Thunderbolt again to drive the mist back. After several failed attempts, the black mist began to distort violently, and to everyone's surprise, it transformed into the Unbound Hoopa. To be precise, it wasn't the true Unbound Hoopa, but rather a shadow formed from Hoopa's power!
The Unbound Hoopa stretched out a hand, and the golden ring on its arm drifted rapidly to its front. It reached its hand into the ring, and a second later, a ring appeared behind the Confined Hoopa. The Unbound Hoopa's hand reached out from it to grab the Confined Hoopa.
Fortunately, Ash reacted quickly.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, its tail gleaming with a metallic luster, striking the Unbound Hoopa's hand like a blade.
"Hoopa~" The Unbound Hoopa retracted its hand in pain.
Failing to capture the Confined Hoopa again, the Unbound Hoopa was enraged and unleashed Dark Pulse at Ash and the others. Pikachu leaped into the air, using Thunderbolt to fire a bolt of lightning to clash with the attack. The black energy wave and the golden lightning deadlocked in mid-air, but Pikachu was ultimately outmatched. The Thunderbolt was crushed, and the residual power of the Dark Pulse struck Ash and the others. After an explosion, they were left covered in soot.
Seeing the situation, the Team Rocket trio chose to retreat immediately. The Unbound Hoopa unleashed another Dark Pulse at Ash's party. Serena held Pancham, Mary held the Confined Hoopa, and Bonnie held Dedenne, all instinctively closing their eyes.
At this critical moment, a voice rang out.
"Volcanion, Hydro Pump!"
Following the command, a thick pillar of water shot out from a distance, instantly crushing the Dark Pulse. Ash and the others looked in the direction of the blast to see Ange riding on the back of his Espathra, with Volcanion standing beside him. A Salamence flew above his head, with Diancie holding Z2 on its back.
"Mr. Ange!"
"Ange!"
Ash and Baraz called out in surprise, both freezing for a moment.
"Ash, you know Ange?"
"Mr. Baraz, you know Mr. Ange?"
They both asked at the same time.
"This is no time for this. The priority is how to reseal the Unbound Hoopa," Baraz said, frowning as he snapped back to reality.
"But the Prison Bottle is broken!" Mary said dejectedly.
Ange arrived at their side, while Volcanion and Diancie joined forces to hold off the Unbound Hoopa. Hearing their conversation, Ange asked, "Is there another way to seal it?"
Though Ange had many questions, he knew it wasn't the time to ask—he would wait until the Unbound Hoopa was dealt with.
Baraz and Mary shook their heads. Mary said, "If our great-grandfather were here, perhaps there would be a way, but we lack the power."
Baraz added, "Unless we recreate the Prison Bottle."
"What do we need to do?" Ange asked.
Baraz explained, "We need to go to the Prison Pillar in Desert City and use Mary and my ability to control nature, with the help of Fire, Water, and Ground-type Pokémon."
Hearing this, Ash immediately said, "I have a Water-type Pokémon!" He pulled out a Poké Ball and released his Frogadier.
Serena added, "I have a Fire-type Pokémon," and released her Braixen.
"We still need a Ground-type Pokémon," Ange said.
No one present had a Ground-type Pokémon. Bonnie thought for a moment and said, "Aren't there many Hippowdon and Hippopotas nearby? We can have Hoopa teleport one here."
The Confined Hoopa immediately said, "No problem, watch me!" It used its ring to teleport a Hippopotas over.
The Hippopotas looked around in confusion. Bonnie crouched down and touched its head. "Hippopotas, can you lend us your power?" Although the Hippopotas didn't understand what was happening, it nodded obediently.
"In that case, let's split up," Ange said. "The Unbound Hoopa's target is the Confined Hoopa. Ash and I will take the Confined Hoopa and lure the Unbound Hoopa into the desert. This place is too close to Desert City, and a battle between Mythical Pokémon might cause the entire city to vanish. As for Baraz, Mary, Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie, you all go to the Prison Pillar to recreate the Prison Bottle."
"Right!" Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Then let's get started!" Ange took Ash's hand, pulled him and Pikachu onto the back of the Espathra, and then took the Confined Hoopa from Mary.
"Mr. Ange, I'll leave Hoopa to you," Baraz said.
"Don't worry," Ange nodded, then patted the Espathra's neck. "Espathra, let's go!"
"Espa~" The Espathra responded, and immediately stretched its long legs into a full sprint.
"Ahhh~~~"
"Pika~ Pika~"
The Espathra's speed was so fast that Ash and Pikachu were left in a mess in the wind with Ange.
The Unbound Hoopa, seeing the Confined Hoopa moving away, ignored Volcanion and Diancie, and chased after Ange and Ash, gradually moving away from Desert City. Seeing this, Diancie commanded the Salamence to follow. Volcanion also released a large amount of steam from its arms, quickly ascending into the sky.
After Ange and the others left, Baraz and his group found the shards of the Prison Bottle and quickly headed toward the center of Desert City.
The Espathra ran extremely fast; even if the Unbound Hoopa could fly, it couldn't keep up. They ran deep into the desert for some time until they were in an uninhabited area, not even a single Pokémon in sight. They could fight without any restraint here.
Running away wouldn't solve the problem!
"Espathra, stop!" Ange patted the Espathra's neck.
"Espa~" The Espathra made an emergency stop, nearly throwing Ash and Pikachu off.
Seeing Ange and the others stop, the Unbound Hoopa halted as well. It roared furiously at the Confined Hoopa, "Disappear! I am the true Hoopa!"
The Confined Hoopa shouted back defiantly, "I won't disappear, you're the one who should disappear!" Clearly, it was the real Hoopa...
Provoked, the Unbound Hoopa immediately launched an attack on them using its signature move, Hyperspace Hole. Six rings flew from its arms, rapidly growing larger and surrounding them from all sides. Just as Hoopa prepared to reach its arm through the rings to attack, Volcanion and Diancie arrived just in time.
Volcanion unleashed its signature move, Steam Eruption, while Diancie used Dazzling Gleam, a Fairy-type move that countered the Unbound Hoopa. Even the Salamence, temporarily serving as Diancie's mount, didn't stay idle; it unleashed a pillar of fire toward the Unbound Hoopa. The Salamence, chosen by Z2 to serve as a mount, was at a very high level.
The Unbound Hoopa was knocked to the ground and forced to retract its rings for defense. In terms of true strength, the Unbound Hoopa, which could only be considered half a Hoopa, was no match for Volcanion, let alone with the help of Diancie and the Salamence. But the challenge lay in the Unbound Hoopa's magical rings.
"Damn it! Damn it!" The Unbound Hoopa flew back into the air, letting out an angry roar. "Hoopa is angry! Hoopa is angry!" It flung two rings, and the next second, two Legendary Pokémon emerged from them: the Incarnation of Land, Groudon, and the Incarnation of the Ocean, Kyogre.
As soon as they appeared, both Pokémon underwent Primal Reversion. Clearly, since the Unbound Hoopa couldn't handle Volcanion alone, it had called for backup.
Seeing this, Ash exclaimed, "Groudon! Kyogre!"
Ange patted his forehead. "This is trouble."
The two Legendary Pokémon immediately launched attacks on Volcanion and Diancie. Kyogre used its signature move, Origin Pulse, to strike at Diancie and the Salamence in the sky. Four cyan-white beams formed under its fins, shooting out like giant water arrows. Meanwhile, Groudon used its signature move, Precipice Blades, to attack Volcanion. It stomped the ground, and jagged, sword-like pillars of magma shot up, slamming into Volcanion.
Diancie naturally wouldn't go head-to-head with Kyogre. The Salamence flapped its wings forcefully, soaring high into the air and flexibly dodging Kyogre's attack. At the same time, Diancie completed Mega Evolution and fired a Diamond Storm. Countless pink diamonds swirled toward Kyogre.
Volcanion managed to clash with Groudon's Precipice Blades using Steam Eruption, but it didn't win the trade; it immediately controlled the steam to ascend quickly, dodging Groudon's follow-up. Because of the arrival of Groudon and Kyogre, the situation reversed. Volcanion, Diancie, and the Salamence were held back, leaving the Unbound Hoopa free to deal with Ange and the others again.
The Confined Hoopa, nestled in Ange's arms, was furious.
"Hoopa can find help too!"
The ring hanging from its horn flew off, growing rapidly as it soared into the sky. The Unbound Hoopa possessed six rings worn on its six arms, while the Confined Hoopa only had three—one on each horn and one on its waist. The rings were symbols of Hoopa's power, which showed that the Unbound Hoopa's power was far greater than that of the Confined Hoopa. Once the Confined Hoopa was caught by the Unbound Hoopa, it would inevitably be devoured.
Soon, a Legendary Pokémon emerged from the Confined Hoopa's ring: the Incarnation of Monsoon, Lugia!
"It's Lugia!" Ash shouted excitedly.
Lugia looked toward the sound, its expression one of surprise as it saw Ash and Pikachu. Ash had helped it greatly in the past—first, when he helped calm the disaster caused by the capture of Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno, and second, when he helped rescue its child, a baby Lugia, from a Team Rocket scientist.
"Lugia, please help us stop Hoopa!" Ash yelled at Lugia.
Lugia nodded. At that moment, the Unbound Hoopa was about to launch another Hyperspace Hole at Ange and Ash, but Lugia dove down with Aeroblast, slamming into the Unbound Hoopa and knocking it away.
"Damn it! Damn it!" The Unbound Hoopa was nearly bursting with rage, immediately unleashed Dark Pulse toward Lugia. Lugia flew agilely through the air, causing the Unbound Hoopa's attack to miss and scatter the desert sand in all directions.