Boom!
A deafening explosion shattered the quiet morning of Kitakami. The bald administrator rushed outside, only to see thick smoke billowing and flas rising from the direction of Mossui Plaza.
"What happened?"
"The plaza—the plaza exploded!"
"Fire! Put out the fire!"
"…!"
Within minutes, the once-silent village erupted into chaos. Residents poured toward the plaza, drawn by the commotion.
At the ho of Yukito's family, the elderly couple stood with Kieran and Carmine, gazing toward the smoke in the distance.
"Is it him?"
The husband and wife exchanged a glance.
Unlike the other villagers, they didn't rush over blindly.
"Grandpa, aren't we going?"
"You two go ahead."
Yukito shook his head and turned back inside.
He knew.
This disturbance had to be Sora's doing.
Although Sora never explicitly ntioned reclaiming Ogerpon's masks, Yukito had already guessed.
Those three masks had always belonged to Ogerpon.
And Mossui Plaza—
A place built on lies and reversed truth.
If Sora saw it and destroyed it in passing, that would be entirely understandable.
There was no need to join the spectacle.
"Co on, Kieran."
"Okay!"
The siblings, far more curious than the elders, dashed out and ran toward the plaza.
Watching their backs, Yukito fell into thought.
Perhaps… it's finally ti to tell them the truth.
anwhile, at the now-ruined Mossui Plaza, Ogerpon smashed open the shrine doors with a single swing of her club.
Inside, three masks rested upon the altar:
Blue.
Gray.
Red.
The very masks she had lost centuries ago.
"Now," Sora said calmly as he stepped into the shrine alongside Lilligant and Victini,
"it's ti to return what belongs to its rightful owner."
Outside, Bloodmoon Ursaluna stood guard.
Its towering three-ter fra instantly drew the attention of the first person to arrive—the administrator.
"W-What is that?"
"A monster?"
He had never left Kitakami. His knowledge of Pokémon was pitifully limited.
He didn't recognize Ursaluna—let alone its Bloodmoon form.
Seeing the massive ancient beast, his face turned pale. He froze in place, terrified that even the slightest movent might provoke it into tearing him apart.
"So rude as ever."
Hearing the man's words, Sora frowned slightly.
He picked up the Hearthfla Mask and placed it over his face.
Then he handed the Cornerstone Mask and Wellspring Mask to Victini and Lilligant.
Together with Ogerpon, all four masks appeared before the villagers.
The sight stunned them.
"Th-The oni descended!"
"The demon is real!"
"They stole the Loyal Three's masks—just like the legend says!"
For generations, the people of Kitakami had woven the legend of the Loyal Three and the Ogre into daily life.
Yet most had never truly believed the ogre existed.
But now—
The ogre stood before them.
"Demon, huh?"
Sora didn't care.
Compared to their ignorance toward Ursaluna, being labeled a demon alongside Ponpon was hardly an insult.
"If that's what you want to call us," he said quietly,
"then I'll gladly beco one."
Better to share a label with Ponpon than stand with people who had wronged her.
"Who are you?"
"Return those masks imdiately!"
The administrator forced himself to step forward.
He had no choice.
The Loyal Three legend—and those masks—were the backbone of Kitakami's tourism.
Now the plaza was destroyed. The masks were gone.
The village's inco would collapse.
Just thinking about the repair costs made his chest tighten.
"Our masks?"
Sora laughed softly.
Then he glanced at Ursaluna.
The great bear understood instantly.
Golden energy gathered in its mouth—
And blasted forward.
BOOM!
With a thunderous impact, the ground split apart. Rocks and soil exploded outward.
One strike.
That was all it took to reduce the remaining half of the plaza to rubble.
"Ahhh!"
"M-My plaza!"
The administrator's face twisted in agony.
"Stop! Stop right now!"
Money.
All he could see was money disappearing.
"Soone—soone stop him!"
He called to the surrounding villagers.
But none dared move.
Ursaluna's presence alone was overwhelming.
Kitakami was a remote region. It had no strong trainers.
Kieran and Carmine were still children. Their Pokémon were beginners.
And given their strained relationship with the villagers, they had no reason to risk themselves defending the town.
In fact—
The reaction was the opposite.
"So… cool."
Kieran stared wide-eyed at Ursaluna's display of power, then at Sora and the three masked figures beside him.
"The oni are real… the oni are actually real!"
He couldn't recognize them.
Even Lilligant—common elsewhere—was unknown here due to its Unova origin.
And with the masks and their small stature, the girls could easily be mistaken for human children.
"No one's going to stop us?"
"Hmm."
"Disappointing."
Sora shook his head.
He had half-expected so brave hero to step forward and challenge him.
But he had overestimated the village.
"Let's go."
The masks were recovered.
There was no reason to stay.
"Rrr."
Ursaluna dropped to all fours, shifting from its upright stance into a traveling posture.
Instead of taking a boat, Sora planned to cross the mountain range and traverse the forest on foot.
But just as they prepared to leave—
BOOM!
Three beams of light shot into the sky.
Each glowed with a different color, pulsing with unmistakable life energy.
The sudden surge made both Sora and his Pokémon stop in their tracks.
"What is this…?"
On the shattered plaza, where the statues of Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti had once stood—
Three grotesque figures began to reform within the light.
The Loyal Three.
Creatures long thought slain by Ogerpon.
Now returning to life.
"The Loyal Three!"
"They're back!"
"They must have sensed the ogre's presence!"
"Our guardians have returned!"
Relief and excitent swept through the villagers.
Their eyes filled with worship and hope as they looked toward the resurrected trio.
They believed their protectors had co to save them—
To defeat the masked "demons" standing before them once again.
—------------------------------
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