At the same time, Dialga lifted its gaze back to the starry sky.
Its eyes suddenly shone.
A fierce radiance gathered out in the void of space. The fires of civilization, and the condensed power of history, finally caused that jewel to be born.
[It's here! The Great Kong Jewel!]
That brilliant light, like a falling meteor, dropped down from among the stars.
Dialga received the prize it wanted.
But it didn't stop fighting.
Instead, it gathered an enormous mass of temporal power.
It had been suppressed for so long. Now that it finally had the big jewel in hand, of course it had to show off—
Show everyone the might of a god.
*Let's see if you can handle a Roar of Time that pierces the whole river of history!*
However, something moved even faster than Roar of Time—
Whoosh—
Hikaru, returning from the distant past, immediately started issuing commands.
"Roar loudly!"
Walking Wake let out a deafening bellow.
At the same time, a power-up effect surged through its body.
Its held item: Throat Spray.
When it used a sound-based move, its Special Attack shot up.
Here in this Time Gate saturated with ancient air, Walking Wake felt like it was back in its happy homeland. Its excitement surged, and so did its power.
Dialga's Special Attack dropped, and its Roar of Time was interrupted.
Seeing Hikaru closing in, feeling the red chains rush toward it, Dialga immediately tried to pull back.
Then it suddenly saw, just beside it… when had that little blue dog appeared there?!
*A flying Riolu?!*
Using Magnet Rise to float, and Foresight to slip past the meteor shower, Riolu clutched several Poké Balls in its hands and, mustering its strength, flung one of them.
Fly!
The Pokémon that performed the classic "charge up inside the ball" entrance was Archaludon.
Body Press, go!
It slammed into the enemy with its whole body. The higher its Defense, the greater the damage it dealt.
Plus the boost from V-Wave.
Archaludon's tackle was absurdly effective—its impact almost immediate.
The steel body that had seemed utterly immovable a moment ago suddenly wavered.
Steel/Dragon versus Steel/Dragon.
They shared the same glaring weakness—Fighting-type moves.
So, the second, third, and fourth Poké Balls—
Along with Riolu itself—
Released: Aegislash, Lilligant, and Iron Valiant.
"All four, together!"
"Close Combat!"
The fierce barrage of Fighting-type attacks tore forward like a flood.
Dialga tried to take to the sky—only to be forcibly yanked back down by a massive power.
Deoxys had used Gravity.
Attack Forme. Hammer Arm.
Dialga was smashed into the ground—
And the rest of the team had been waiting for exactly that opening.
Torterra slammed its feet into the earth. Under the amplification of the Green Emblem, an empowered Earthquake tore through the battlefield.
Dialga staggered, unable to keep its footing.
This was the moment to land the finishing blow.
[Sacred Fire!]
A blue-green divine flame spewed from Entei's jaws.
At the heart of that godly fire flew Larvesta, cloaked in Flare Blitz.
Round it up, and you get… "Sacred Fire Blitz."
Larvesta shot forward, its Flare Blitz slamming squarely into the diamond on Dialga's chest.
Whenever the God of Time exerted its power, that diamond shone with light.
And for that very reason, that spot was Dialga's weak point.
The only problem was, that weak point was ridiculously tough.
Ordinary attacks couldn't damage it at all.
In the movies, Palkia's massive pearls on its shoulders had the same status. Once those pearls cracked, Palkia's control over space would weaken, and it would need to rest.
[Hey! Don't hit my chest diamond!]
Dialga felt its power destabilize. The light within the diamond wavered.
It wasn't close to shattering yet, but its power output stalled.
And the attacks weren't done.
"V-tini!"
Victini's Flame Bullet.
Splat.
A tiny Gimmighoul silhouette appeared on the surface of the diamond.
In a clash this intense, Gimmighoul couldn't be much more than a cheerleader, but even the little coin goblin wanted to squeeze in some DPS.
*Me plus my teammates—our DPS is cracked!*
Nasty Plot, Nasty Plot. Power Gem!
Brilliant gemstone-like beams shot forth.
Excellent performance—
They dealt the tiniest of tiny bits of real damage to Dialga.
"Cool~"
*Mission complete!*
After firing off that one hit, the little coin goblin immediately dashed away, swapping back into cheerleader mode.
Time to enter: "My teammates are popping off, I'm just here to go 'Wooo!'" mode.
At that moment, an enraged dragon's roar echoed overhead.
Up above the historical battlefield, Aerodactyl appeared.
It stared blankly at the scene below.
Legendary dragons.
All kinds of Pokémon clashing with each other.
The intensity made any ancient turf war look like a kiddie scuffle.
For the first time, the Sky King was shaken.
Really, being sealed in Old Amber all this time—
Sure, it called itself king of the sky, and it had ancient memories.
But in truth, it was just a freshly revived newbie.
"Don't stress. Use Rock Slide!"
Hikaru immediately issued a command to it, while thinking to himself:
*So it didn't revert back into Old Amber after all?*
History's memory had restored it.
It had even briefly experienced Dragon typing—
Though it never did get off any Dragon-type moves.
For attacking, Rock was still its bread and butter.
Once the familiar command reached it, the Sky King instantly found its footing again.
Oh, Rock Slide, huh?
Just like when it flattened Flutter Mane earlier, right?
Then there's no problem.
It had no idea what this battle was actually about, or what exactly it was supposed to be doing, but—
Whatever. Just slide rocks.
Massive boulders crashed down toward Dialga.
The damage was tiny, barely a chip.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was… flinch chance.
"Celesteela, use Air Slash!"
Boom.
The biggest teammate entered the fray.
She still hadn't quite recovered from that last huge explosion, and now, seeing how insane the battlefield had gotten, the great lady was already dizzy.
[What's going on, what's going on?! What *is* this fight… so scary, so scary!]
[A-air… Air Slash!]
She hoisted her thrusters.
A rain of razor-sharp wind blades crashed down onto Dialga.
Combined with Rock Slide, the two moves forced a double flinch.
"Genesect!"
Genesect roared in, in its high-speed flight mode.
This time, Extreme Speed brought it right up to Dialga for real.
Seeing the red chains closing in, Dialga panicked.
*Wait, wait, we can fight normally! If I get chained here…*
Hikaru seized the opening and flung out the Red Chain.
This counterfeit, forged from meteorite and imbued with Arceus's power, wrapped around Dialga's body.
Crack.
The chain began to proliferate on its own, rapidly binding Dialga tighter and tighter until it couldn't move at all.
And with that, the battle was essentially over.
[Fine!]
[I lost. You won.]
Bound by the Red Chain, without even getting its Roar of Time off, Dialga could only admit defeat.
It wasn't that it wasn't strong enough—
It was that the other side was ridiculously over the top.
A pile of insane items.
Plus a hacked-up Giant King on their side.
[You passed the final battle. We, who were drawn here by Arceus, have obtained what we wanted as well…]
[Your strength is truly terrifying… in every possible sense. Spine-chilling.]
[I didn't expect you to have *that* many things. As frustrating as it is, your victory really is the result of a power roulette you forged with your own hands. The Red Chain, the Giant's Key, even that enhanced Regigigas itself… The Giant King can actually be repaired? Unbelievable.]
It had been too focused on trading big attacks to notice that flying blue dog coasting over and tossing balls.
*That little Pokémon can fly?!*
Even though it was bundled up in the Red Chain, Dialga wasn't being forcibly slammed to the ground.
It maintained its Origin Forme, reining in its monumental power.
The swirling stars of the cosmos slowly stopped glittering.
Once it had fully suppressed its power, the Red Chain unraveled.
After all, the Chain's purpose was to restrain the space-time dragons.
So long as they calmed down and stopped letting their powers run wild, the Chain would "very intelligently" stop binding them.
Dialga clicked its tongue.
Then shook its head.
A jewel gleaming with a steely light dropped into Hikaru's hand.
At the same time, Dialga's Time Crest finally overlapped with the crests of antimatter and space, appearing together on the back of Hikaru's hand.
The three crests became one—
Symbolizing power equal to that of the Three-Phantasm Stage.
It meant that with Arceus's creation power added in, he might be able to forge an "Impossible Jewel."
Of course, such a jewel wouldn't be able to turn into a Mythical Pokémon.
But as an ultimate crafting material, it would probably be something the entire universe could barely find.
With a material like that…
What kind of item *should* he make?
Hikaru had no idea yet.
The temporal illusions around him began to fade.
That meant Dialga, now satisfied, was preparing to leave this world.
And so, the world of Unova would begin moving again.
The separated world would knit itself back together.
[Originally, the destruction of the Linking Trees didn't have much to do with us.]
[But when the Creator descended at the Sinjoh Ruins, because of the three orbs, the space-time here drew us in.]
[The true reason those two Linking Trees were destroyed was the breaking of civilization, the disappearance of history, the fading of dreams in human hearts.]
[Black Skyscraper is the crystallization of human wisdom. I made it appear early in this world. Trainers and Pokémon clash there—their histories, their ideals all colliding. In the end, that will produce tremendous power.]
[Then, let us part ways here. Black Skyscraper will continue to exist. You've fulfilled your promise with Azelf and reached the pinnacle.]
[From now on, you are the boss of Area Ten. Though I suppose… that doesn't mean much to you.]
Light shimmered over Dialga's body.
Sensing its desire to leave, the Red Chain loosened as well.
Then, with a blast of blinding radiance, the Time Gate vanished, and the Dialga from another universe was carried back by the far-off power of time to the world where it belonged.
[With my crest, you can roam the currents of time and space much more safely now.]
[Farewell… Though, maybe you'll see me again someday. …Ha, just kidding!]
As Dialga departed, a stream of information flashed through Hikaru's mind.
He also looked down at the jewel in his hand.
『Precious Material: Adamant Orb!』
『Description: When held by Dialga, its Dragon- and Steel-type moves grow stronger. A jewel that radiates dazzling brilliance.』
『Acquired Knowledge: Adamant Training – You can better nurture Dragon- and Steel-type Pokémon, greatly boosting their power.』
『Acquired Craft: Time System (A+) – A mysterious technology that allows you to adjust time itself.』
『Hint: By adjusting an individual's time within the current world, you can connect and leap across eras, creating "gates" in time through the C-Device.』
[Craftable: Time Gear, Time-Space Meter, Dimensional Ring (Replica).]
[You can install a Time Gear in the C-Device.]
[You can specify the coordinates of a time-space jump and search for its temporal location. Consumes vast mental power. Danger Level: 30% (you may be ambushed).]
[C-Device Skin: "Dialga" recorded. Effect: unknown.]
[You defeated the shiny Dialga (Civilization Sovereign) from another universe. Emergent Power has increased dramatically!]
[Your and your Pokémon's Effort Values and growth have drastically improved! Your Pokémon have learned new moves!]
The Time System was the single most important system in the Pokémon world—
In any world, really.
It governed the changes of the whole world and dictated certain natural phenomena.
That was just common sense about time.
In the Pokémon world, that power was made very concrete, taking the form of things like the Time Gears.
Once the system that maintained time was damaged, the world could slip into a "Stopped Star"–style era of stasis.
But now that he had obtained the Time System—
He could finally build a true Anywhere Door.
In the Pokémon games, that kind of "teleport anywhere" was essentially just a bug.
This time, though, it was legit.
Once Dialga left, the shaking of Black Skyscraper stopped.
Area Ten fully returned to its original state—just a crimson top-floor room, as if nothing had happened here.
[At last, it's over. That outsider drawn from a different universe has finally gone.]
[Next, I'll be heading to Giant Chasm.]
The twin dragons of black and white breathed out in relief.
They had spent this whole time fighting the historical phantom legions and had burned through far too much power.
Still, it was like reenacting the battles of three thousand years ago.
Unova had turned to ash again this round.
"Reji!"
Regigigas was in excellent spirits.
The Giant King had really gotten its fill, smashing its way through flocks of dragons.
Once Dialga left, Hikaru finally noticed that the summoned Koraidon and Roaring Moon had vanished as well.
So they'd been temporal phantoms too.
Regigigas gave Hikaru's Pokémon a once-over, then glanced at the twin dragons, and finally fixed its "gaze" on Aerodactyl.
With that pancake of a face, it was hard to tell where exactly its eyes were.
But when the array of three-colored dots lit up and focused on a specific Pokémon, the pressure was overwhelming.
Aerodactyl almost had a panic attack.
The Giant King crackled with a puzzled hum.
*Where'd this guy come from?*
*Why does it have a dragon's aura but not a Dragon type?*
*Aren't you a dragon?*
After thinking for a bit, the Giant King gave up thinking.
Whatever. It clearly wasn't summoned here to fight.
Time to head back.
"Thank you for your help," Hikaru said to Regigigas with a bow.
[Think nothing of it. Facing dragons is my mission. This battle has finally cleared my heart. From now on, I'll be able to roam this land more freely. It's *me* who should be grateful.]
[This fight was *so* satisfying. Next time you're up against a dragon, summon me again. Whether it's some cosmic dragon or an alien invader, I'll rip them apart for you.]
With its new Ability and no more Slow Start, even its tone had gotten more confident.
Never again would it "be unable to show its full power."
If anything, from now on, there wouldn't be many who *could* force it to go all-out.
"If I ever get attacked by Necrozma, I'll be counting on you again," Hikaru said.
[Necrozma?]
"Yeah. It doesn't have Dragon typing in its base form, but once it undergoes Ultra Burst—its further transformation—it gains Dragon typing. It's a dragon of light roaming the cosmos."
[Oooh! Sounds strong. I hope it can push me to my limits!]
A victor's declaration upon awakening.
So then—who's the strongest Legendary Pokémon?
The Giant King stepped through the Gate of the Moon and returned.
Reshiram turned back into the Light Stone and entered power-saving mode.
[Take care of me a bit… I'm exhausted. I need a nap.]
With those words, the Light Stone zipped back into Hikaru's bag.
Zekrom, on the other hand, remembered it still had to go find Kyurem so Kyurem could tap it for power.
The thought alone made it feel weary.
[I'll be sleeping in Giant Chasm after this… With Kyurem and the Swords of Justice there, it'll be pretty safe.]
[Thank you for everything you did for Unova—and in the Dream World, too.]
[Even though I didn't choose you as the Hero of Ideals back then… if you call out to me, I'll come to help. So long as no new hero appears, that is.]
"No problem. Whenever you're tired, head back to the Dream World. Next time I go in there, I'll give you a full tune-up."
"As for Reshiram, I can handle its maintenance in the real world."
[Oh! Then I'll leave it to you!]
Zekrom's mood instantly shot up.
The polishing and tuning of a legend-class craftsman—
Every dragon stone that had tried it gave rave reviews.
Looked at that way, Kyurem was the only one missing out.
"Kyurem's got the DNA Splicers," Hikaru said. "It doesn't really need it, right?"
Zekrom's face heated up.
[Ahem! Don't read my thoughts… I, uh, I'm off! I've gotta get to Giant Chasm and fulfill my promise!]
Just then, Aegislash drifted over.
The royal blade muttered excitedly to itself as it glanced around at the mighty Pokémon nearby.
Without noticing, it had already "stamped" quite a few legends.
Their "nation-building journey" had taken another big step forward.
So then—
"For the new one…?"
Aegislash looked at Aerodactyl, who was still nervously huffing and puffing.
Yeah, the new teammate clearly wasn't used to this scene yet.
Still, the Trainer had gotten even stronger.
This was the third Pokémon capable of high-speed flight… though its role felt a little fuzzy.
For long-distance aerial travel, Genesect could handle it.
For venturing into space, Celesteela could handle it.
So Aerodactyl's niche was—
"A fast Rock-type attacker," Hikaru answered Aegislash's doubts. "It fills the Rock slot now that Regirock's gotten a job at the convenience store. Plus, it'll make all the other flyers think twice about taking off—because Aerodactyl *will* ambush them."
Aerodactyl looked left and right for a while.
Then suddenly roared.
*These guys all look strong… right?*
They were all shaped weird.
Giant sword. Plant lady. Robot lady. Blue dog. White little bug. Metal dragon. Alien. Lion.
Plus a bunch it didn't recognize.
Only that one big blue dragon looked kind of similar to itself. Probably the same kind.
"Ahem."
Hikaru coughed.
"About the relation between dinosaurs and pterosaurs… Pterosaurs aren't dinosaurs. Strictly speaking, you're just a flying reptile that *looks* like a dragon."
"Rooar?"
Aerodactyl twitched.
*You're saying I'm not a dragon?!*
But I *feel* like a dragon.
And you lot—
You clearly don't understand what it means to be Sky King.
Sure, you all fought hard just now.
But I'm no slouch either!
Come on, let's go a round!
Hey, rocket-thruster thing, you stand back!
And you, you little coin goblin—what are you laughing at?!
"Graah!"
Walking Wake perked up the moment it heard Aerodactyl's roar.
Fight? Or hunt?
That, it excelled at.
*Nobody move. Leave this to me.*
Demolition mode: ON.
『Aerodactyl, a Pokémon revived from Old Amber.』
『Met during the events at the Time Gate.』
『Has a very impulsive nature.』
『Can eat anything.』
『Likes taunting and provoking its enemies.』
『Seems to have gained a hidden Dragon typing due to the influence of the God of Time.』
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]