What... was that just now?
Lucario stared at the scorched trench gouged into the earth—wider than his entire body—and felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Even in his [Mega Evolved] state, he doubted he could unleash an attack with that level of devastation.
Judging from the power behind that [Hyper Beam], the Pokémon they'd briefly clashed with might be on par with Regigigas.
Lucario didn't know why a Pokémon of that caliber would appear here, of all places.
But one thing was clear—it had been aiming for Volo.
The man had vanished along with his cage under the beam's impact. Not a trace left behind.
He and Garchomp—two of the camp's strongest defenders—had their coordinated defense shattered in an instant.
To Lucario, that was nothing short of disgraceful.
Wait a second...
"Where's Garchomp?"
Halfway through fuming, Lucario suddenly remembered—she'd been hit by the [Hyper Beam] too.
The explosion had lit up the sky, its thunder shaking the clearing. The shockwave had jolted nearly every sleeper in both clans from their dreams.
Judging by the disheveled clothes on the people arriving, many had come running without even getting properly dressed.
"Lucario, what happened?"
Elias arrived quickly, scanning the scene before hurrying over.
This was the second night in a row he'd been jolted awake the moment he started dreaming.
Had he delayed even a few seconds longer, Elias feared the gathering crowd might've turned on Lucario out of confusion or fear.
Seeing Elias, Lucario finally let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
He pressed his lips together, then quietly gestured toward the devastated ground.
"A Pokémon attacked. The human... is gone."
Something in Lucario's tone made Elias pause.
Was that... embarrassment?
But as the words settled in, Elias's expression darkened.
A Pokémon attack?
What kind of Pokémon could leave a mess like this? Did the High Sovereign of Sinnoh descend from the heavens?
And—
Gone? Did that mean what he thought it meant?
He glanced at the blackened trench.
Volo's odds of survival didn't look good.
As Elias and Lucario exchanged information, the Pearl Clan Chief arrived.
After a brief rundown of events, the chief clapped his hands and turned to the murmuring crowd.
"The prisoner has escaped. Leave the rest to us."
"Everyone return to your tents and rest. Stay alert, but don't panic."
His calm and commanding presence slowly dissolved the tension.
Only a few stayed behind—Cynthia among them—striding toward them with long, determined steps.
Watching the crowd disperse, Elias nearly applauded the chief.
Pinning the blame for the destruction on Volo was a smooth move. It cooled tempers and offered the people closure.
"Lucario, where's Garchomp?"
Cynthia had scanned the area and noticed her Pokémon was nowhere to be found. She frowned.
Her first instinct was that Garchomp had gone after the attacker.
After all, the clash had been brief—surely no one could've defeated Garchomp that quickly?
Lucario fell silent for two seconds. Then, using [Aura], he pointed toward the tunnel carved into the forest.
"In there."
Cynthia: ...?
---
[When you found Garchomp, she was already unconscious, her body too battered to continue fighting.]
[Thankfully, her injuries weren't critical. With some rest, she should make a full recovery.]
[But unlike the hardy Garchomp, Volo had disappeared entirely.]
[Despite hours of searching, only a few fragments of his cage could be found.]
[It wasn't hard to guess—something had gone very, very wrong.]
[And that frustrated you. You'd hoped to interrogate Volo, to learn why he needed the Plates and what exactly his goal was.]
[But now the trail was cold. The only silver lining? Cynthia seemed unaffected—still full of life, with no signs of fading.]
"Eyes glowing crimson... and filled with killing intent?"
Elias leaned back, mulling over Lucario's description of the creature.
He searched his memory but couldn't match it to any known Pokémon.
Well... almost.
His eyes flicked sideways toward Zoroark.
But the second she started bristling, Elias quickly looked away.
Definitely not her. She'd been in his arms the whole time and hadn't left his side.
And even if she had, her strength wasn't anywhere near that level—not yet, anyway. There was no way she could've one-shot Garchomp.
"It might be Giratina."
The voice came from beside him—Cynthia, her expression suddenly grim.
"Giratina?"
Elias echoed the name instinctively.
"It's a legendary Pokémon, said to dwell in the shadowed mirror of our world," she explained.
"According to legend, it was banished by Arceus at the dawn of creation—exiled for its violent nature."
"Ever since, it's lurked in the Distortion World, biding its time. Waiting for a chance to return."
"But hardly anyone has ever seen it, and historical records are nearly nonexistent. So most people think of it as myth."
She summarized the tale calmly, but her eyes were sharp with thought.
During her earlier conversation with Volo, he'd clearly recognized the name—and possibly more than just the name.
Now it seemed likely he hadn't just heard of Giratina... he'd met it.
"Cynthia, do you know what Giratina's typing is?" Elias asked suddenly, as if something had just clicked.
"Based on the legends... probably Ghost and Dragon," she replied. "Why?"
Elias nodded.
"That makes sense, then. Remember the Plate I mentioned? The one Volo had was Ghost-type."
"So the two were probably working together. Now that Volo's failed... Giratina came to silence him."
It was the most logical conclusion he could come up with.
Regigigas had a Plate—why wouldn't Giratina have one too?
The only thing that didn't add up was—with Giratina's power, it should've been easy to rescue Volo. So why kill him?
Surely it wasn't just a matter of a short temper?
He and Cynthia talked it over for a long while, but no theory satisfied them.
At the edge of the firelight, Zoroark lay curled beside Elias, her head resting gently on his shoulder.
She listened to the parts she could understand, but most of it went over her head.
Eventually, she gave a big yawn.
Nuzzling deeper into Elias's chest, her eyes fluttered shut.
But just as she was about to drift off...
A feral dragon's roar echoed in her ears, sharp and sudden, making her jolt upright.
"Bad dream?"
Elias felt her tense in his arms and looked down in concern.
---
Author's note:
Giratina's power is no joke. Especially its durability—remember in the movie it took Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent head-on and didn't even flinch.