"Looks like Dialga and Palkia will never know peace."
On the mountain path leading to the Michina temple, Dylan couldn't help but laugh to himself.
A mysterious ripple had shaken time and space, causing two timelines that should never intersect to collide in the rift.
Because of this, Dialga and Palkia each believed the other had invaded their domain, and so they clashed in fury. This was the opening story of the Sinnoh movie trilogy.
The Sinnoh trilogy was one of the rare sets of movies that carried directly into one another.
The first told of the battle between Dialga and Palkia. The second followed when their fight tore into the Reverse World, angering its ruler, Giratina, who then sought to drag them both in and punish them.
And the third—Arceus's movie—revealed the true reason: Arceus's awakening had stirred time and space itself, causing the collision between Dialga and Palkia's realms.
No doubt, right now Dialga and Palkia were locked in a brutal duel inside the rift.
Though they were all "children" of Arceus, the so-called bond between the three brothers was as fragile as paper.
At the slightest spark, they would fight to the death, misunderstanding or not.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Leaf and the others had caught Dylan's muttering and looked at him in confusion.
Dylan gave them a brief explanation.
"Eh? Isn't that dangerous? Who would win then?" Lillie blinked, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"In terms of raw strength, they're about equal. But the water dragon can't beat the steel one."
Dylan shrugged. How could Palkia, the Water Dragon, ever hope to best Dialga, the Steel Dragon?
Even in the movie, that was the case. After a bloody battle in the rift, Palkia was wounded by Dialga and forced to flee, dragging Alamos Town into the void to hide and heal.
But whether this world would follow the same script remained unknown.
They arrived at the Michina temple.
"Sheena, who are these people?"
A blond boy stepped forward to greet Sheena. This was Kevin, the other guardian of the ruins.
"They're… special guests." Sheena forced a smile.
Even now, she still couldn't understand why Dialga and Palkia had chosen as they did. But it no longer mattered—there was nothing she could do.
"Special guests?" Kevin frowned, clearly suspicious.
He knew Sheena well, and could instantly tell her state was off. Because of that, he looked at Dylan and his companions with thinly veiled hostility.
But soon, his expression shifted.
"Wait—you… you're Champion Dylan?" Kevin studied him closely, uncertain.
Sheena froze.
"Yes. Sorry for intruding." Dylan replied with his usual grace, bowing with a warm smile.
"You really are Champion Dylan! This is such an honor, I'm one of your biggest fans!"
Kevin burst out in excitement, leaving Sheena utterly dumbfounded.
"I've watched all your battles—especially your match against Champion Leon. You were incredible! Dragons really are the strongest!"
"…"
Watching her childhood friend fangirl like this, Sheena felt utterly drained.
How did it come to this?
"Thank you for the support." Dylan's smile remained calm and polite.
"I'll always cheer for you! Just a shame nobody dares challenge you anymore." Kevin's face flushed slightly, his tone regretful.
Sheena's smile grew even more strained.
"Come on, let me show you around the ruins! Michina may not be famous, but our history is second to none!" Kevin declared proudly.
Idiot! This wasn't something to brag about at all.
Sheena could barely hold herself together. The truth of their history was dark, yet Kevin spoke of it with pride.
Under Sheena and Kevin's guidance, Dylan and the others entered the ruins.
Kevin enthusiastically explained murals and Michina's history—though carefully avoiding anything about Arceus.
"Kevin, do you know him personally?"
Sheena finally had a chance to whisper her question.
From the way Kevin addressed Dylan, he was clearly someone important.
"You don't know? He's Dylan, the Kanto Champion."
"The… Kanto Champion?"
Sheena stiffened. Kanto was the League's headquarters itself.
"Yeah. He's the current No. 1 in the World Championships—the strongest trainer in the world!" Kevin's eyes gleamed with admiration.
"You know Leon, right? The one who crushed Champion Iris of Unova and Chairwoman Geeta of Paldea? Dylan wiped him out with ease! Absolutely unbeatable!"
Unlike Sheena, Kevin still paid attention to the outside world.
Though Sheena didn't fully grasp it, she now understood—Dylan was the strongest trainer alive.
"Champion Dylan, please follow me."
Sheena took a deep breath. Her mindset quietly shifted, hesitation fading as she led him deeper into the ruins.
"The history of Michina you already know, so I won't repeat it." Sheena stopped at a stone pedestal, lifting a vessel shaped like a flowerpot.
"This is the Jewel of Life."
She opened the container, revealing a round gem glowing with mysterious green light, radiating vitality.
Lillie and the others stared in awe. This was the Jewel formed from five of Arceus's Plates—what had transformed Michina into a land of life.
"Miss Sheena, are you certain this is the real Jewel of Life?"
Dylan took the gem and rolled it in his hand, glancing at her with a knowing smile.
"?" Sheena froze, baffled.
"I see I gave your clan too much credit. Over a thousand years, and you never realized the truth. You were really going to hand this to Arceus?" Dylan sighed.
"What do you mean?" Sheena's face darkened.
Kevin too was lost.
"I mean, this is a fake."
"Impossible!!"
Sheena snapped back instinctively. The treasure her clan had guarded for generations—fake? That was unthinkable!
"I have the Viridian gift, far sharper than your Conduction. I can feel it clearly. Pretty as it is, this gem is nothing special."
Dylan chuckled, shaking the Jewel.
"Since you don't believe me, let's see for ourselves."
He let go. The Jewel of Life fell to the ground.
"Wait! Don't!"
"Sheena!" Kevin lunged, but too late.
Even Lillie and the others flinched.
Crack!
The Jewel shattered on the stone floor, scattering into glittering fragments.
"How… how could this be…"
Sheena's vision blurred as her legs gave out, dropping to the floor in shock. Her empty eyes stared at the broken shards.
The Jewel of Life—destroyed…
"Don't look like that. It was fake, of course it broke. Do you really think the true Jewel of Life, born of Arceus's Plates, would shatter from a fall?"
Dylan ignored the shards, studying the murals instead.
"Even Dialga itself couldn't destroy the real one. Let alone gravity."
Sheena blinked, stunned. Wait—that… made sense.
If it truly was the Jewel of Life, how could it be so fragile?
"Then… where's the real one?" she whispered.
Kevin helped her to her feet, equally shaken.
"You're asking me?" Dylan shot her a look.
"Your clan has guarded a fake all along, and you still thought to return it to Arceus. Do you have a death wish for Michina?"
Indeed—that was exactly what had happened in the past. Arceus saw through the fake instantly, crushed it beneath its hoof, and erupted in fury.
"I…" Sheena's face went pale. The thought of that scene made her knees weak. She would have doomed them all.
"Can you be sure it was never swapped after?"
"No. I've always treated it as my own life. Nobody else has ever touched it." Sheena shook her head, voice trembling.
"Sheena values it above anything. And the ruins have only ever been ours. No one else could have switched it," Kevin added quickly.
"Then the switch happened in your ancestors' time." Dylan nodded. He knew the truth already—Marcus had swapped it a thousand years ago.
The real Jewel was still hidden somewhere in the ruins.
"Then we'll find it. Once we do, I'll be taking it."
"…Understood." Sheena pressed her lips tight, unable to argue.
That night, Dylan and his group stayed in the ruins.
With the ruins so vast, finding the hidden Jewel wasn't easy.
But Dylan had Pokémon. Calyrex, Mewtwo, and other powerful psychics spread their senses throughout the ruins, combing every corner.
By the next afternoon, the real Jewel of Life was found beneath the lake behind the temple.
"What pure, immense energy… I've never felt anything like it."
Calyrex floated beside Dylan, eyes solemn as it gazed at the radiant gem in his hand.
"It was born of the Plates at creation itself. This is the power of the Original One." Dylan smirked.
The Jewel of Life had formed from five Plates—shards of the universe itself.
This world's Arceus was but an avatar, and its Plates mere copies. But even copies carried unmatched power.
"Will you use it?" Calyrex asked carefully.
"Of course. Why waste it? Until Arceus awakens, I'll keep it safe for him." Dylan replied with perfect righteousness.
Though only five Plates—Grass, Ground, Water, Electric, and Dragon—it was still power beyond compare.
Calyrex used its psychic power to separate the Jewel back into five Plates.
Dylan immediately shoved the verdant Grass Plate into Calyrex's hands.
Calyrex froze, not sure whether to take it or not.
"No need to thank me. Sleep with it under your pillow if you like—make the most of it before it goes back to Arceus." Dylan laughed heartily.
Hearing this, Calyrex silently absorbed the Plate into itself. Dylan was right—it was a rare chance.
"The Splash Plate goes to Palkia, the Zap Plate to Miraidon, the Draco Plate… too many dragons, I'll let them take turns." Dylan muttered.
As for the Earth Plate… he didn't have a Ground-type legend yet. Maybe give it to Garchomp for now, until he found Groudon.
A man with the Earth Plate could hardly stop there.
He grinned at the thought—one day, with both Groudon and the Plate, even Kyogre would bow.
Beep-beep!
His phone rang. Dylan checked the screen—it was Cynthia.
"Hello? Cynthia? What's up?" Dylan asked curiously.
"Dylan, you're still in Sinnoh, right?" Cynthia's deep, melodic voice carried through.
"Yeah." He'd mentioned it in the chat group with Wallace and the others.
"Could you come here? Something serious has happened."
"Send me your location. I'll head over."
Standing on a mountaintop, Cynthia ended the call. Her golden bangs fluttered as she gazed at the town in the distance.
Twisted space enveloped the entire settlement. Though visible, the town wasn't truly there—it had been drawn into another dimension.
And worse, the people inside were still trapped there.
"A warped space… is it Palkia?"
Cynthia's voice was low, her eyes heavy with concern.
It could only be Palkia, cloaking an entire town within a pocket dimension.
But why?
Atop the town's central tower, within the distortion, Palkia lay curled in slumber. Its pearl shoulder was cracked with a jagged wound.
It was grievously injured.
Even so, as it slept, its heart burned unchanged.
Damn four-legged lizard… you dared hurt me like this? I'll wreck you, you bastard!
Yes. Unwavering to the last.
(End of Chapter)