The spatial power enveloping Alamos Town was shattered, and the town had once again returned from the distorted subspace to the real world.
And precisely because that spatial power had been destroyed, the dimensional barrier that Palkia had used to conceal itself also disintegrated.
Atop the spire of the Space-Time Tower , Palkia slowly opened its eyes. A faint violet-red divine glow spread from its body, rippling in the air like liquid light.
"Damn it… was it that four-legged lizard? No… something's off."
Palkia turned its head toward its left shoulder, where the cracks blasted open earlier by Dialga's Roar of Time had now completely healed.
Then, narrowing its cold eyes, Palkia swept its gaze around the area.
The only being capable of breaking through the prison forged by its own spatial power… should have been that cursed four-legged lizard.
But after scanning the surroundings, Palkia saw no sign of Dialga.
Moreover—
"A Shiny Rayquaza… and Reshiram?"
Its gaze fixed on the distant pair of dragon-like figures—the black Rayquaza and the radiant white Reshiram. Palkia's eyes flickered with doubt.
Why were these two Legendary Pokémon here?
And could it be… they were the ones who shattered its spatial barrier?
"Officer Jenny, while there's still time, have the citizens of Alamos Town evacuate immediately."
Seeing that the town had returned to normal space, Cynthia immediately gave a clear and firm order to Officer Jenny.
They still had no idea what might happen next.
Pulling Alamos Town back from the subspace was merely the first step.
The conflict between Palkia and Dialga was far from over—and from the look of it, Dialga would be arriving very soon.
"Yes, ma'am!" Officer Jenny replied briskly, her expression serious.
She quickly pulled out her communicator to contact the local police station.
As long as they could inform the townsfolk of the situation, they could begin evacuating Alamos Town immediately.
"Overcome it… the laws of time and space!"
Beside Cynthia, Sheena raised both fists and closed her eyes, calling forth her Power of Overcoming. She was attempting to connect her consciousness directly to Palkia's.
"Palkia, can you hear my voice?"
Through that mental link, Sheena called out to Palkia's mind—and to her surprise, she sensed that Palkia's emotions weren't particularly turbulent at this moment.
It was working! She could communicate with it!
Palkia, hearing Sheena's voice within its mind, wasn't overly shocked either. It was just about to respond to the descendant of the aura-bearing people when suddenly—
Its draconic pupils went cold.
Its head snapped sharply in one direction, as a suffocating, violent aura erupted from its body.
It was here.
"Ugh—ah!"
On the hillside, Sheena let out a cry of pain, collapsing onto the ground.
"Sheena! Are you all right?" Cynthia rushed forward, helping her up anxiously.
"Anger…! Terrifying, uncontrollable rage! Dialga's here!"
Sheena's face turned pale as she steadied her breathing, her trembling gaze fixed on the distant Palkia.
Just moments ago, she had been preparing to explain the misunderstanding between Palkia and Dialga—but before she could say anything, an overwhelming fury had exploded within Palkia's heart.
That unrestrained rage had nearly crushed her mind through the psychic link.
Why?!
There was no doubt about it—Palkia's fury had been ignited because its greatest enemy had arrived!
"Dialga…" Cynthia pressed her lips together. Her expression grew complicated and weary.
"So it's come to this after all, hasn't it…"
"ROOAAAR!"
A deep, ethereal dragon's roar echoed through the sky—ancient, distant, and resonating with a hollow timbre that sent chills down the spine.
It was the cry of a dragon from another dimension!
A swirling temporal vortex appeared in the skies at the edge of Alamos Town, twisting and spinning violently. From within that vortex, a colossal figure radiating a deep blue divine light slowly emerged—
The Dragon of Time—Dialga!
"ROAAAR!"
The moment it appeared, Palkia let out an enraged bellow at its eternal rival.
That damned four-legged lizard again!
"So, it really showed up, huh? That was fast," muttered Lucas with amusement as he rode on Reshiram's back, gazing at Dialga's arrival.
Its speed was astonishing.
Clearly, Dialga had been scouring the dimensions in search of Palkia all this time.
The moment Palkia's presence was felt, Dialga had come barreling in.
What grudge, what hatred ran this deep…?
Their clash had been caused by a mere collision of time and space!
Was that really enough to drive them this mad?
Well… the hearts of legends were truly impossible to understand.
"Lucas, are we going to intervene in their fight?"
The shiny Rayquaza glanced uneasily at the two enraged gods of time and space, both emanating an atmosphere so dangerous it made its scales prickle.
Something told it that interrupting them right now was a terrible idea.
One wrong move, and it might be torn apart by the two of them!
After all, these two were administrators under the Creator God itself—Arceus!
In short, they were the biggest bosses of this entire world.
"What's wrong? You scared?" Lucas gave Rayquaza a sidelong look.
"Ridiculous! I am Rayquaza! There exists no being in this world worthy of my fear!"
Rayquaza snorted coldly, raising its head with pride. Its long, black serpentine body exuded an overwhelming aura of confidence.
Hah! A flying caterpillar like it didn't even know what fear meant!
"Good. Since you're not afraid, today's training opponent will be those two."
Lucas nodded in satisfaction—now that's his main powerhouse, bold and fearless!
"Nani?!"
Rayquaza froze.
What the hell?! Are you insane?! Those are the Gods of Time and Space!
You want me—a newbie who hasn't even mastered Dragon Ascent yet—to fight them?!
What kind of death wish is that?!
"Wait, wait, wait! Human! I can't beat them!"
Rayquaza shook its massive head furiously, scales rattling like a drum.
Sure, it had been sparring with Eternatus and the others every day, but those were companions! They always held back when it was pushed to its limit.
But those two…
Just feeling the oppressive pressure radiating from Dialga and Palkia, Rayquaza knew that they were both completely consumed by rage.
In this state, they wouldn't hold back at all.
If it got caught in their crossfire, it might lose half its life!
"That's exactly why you need to fight them," Lucas said calmly. "Don't you feel like you're still missing something in your power?"
"No! I don't want to! I'll die!"
"Relax. We'll provide cover for you."
"But they're completely out of their minds! What if something happens to me—?!"
Lucas stared expressionlessly at the panicking dragon.
Seriously? This thing was the same creature that dyed itself black and called itself a "Shiny Rayquaza"?
Just as the human and the dragon were bickering at full volume, Dialga and Palkia finally lost control.
"ROAAAAR!"
With twin, deafening roars, the two dragons charged straight at one another.
Violet-red and azure divine lights collided in midair, exploding with cataclysmic force.
Hurricane-force winds and energy waves erupted outward in every direction.
The next instant, the sheer impact sent them both flying back.
Palkia brought its claws together, condensing a swirling orb of pink energy—an Aura Sphere!
At the same time, Dialga gathered power in its maw, energy coalescing into a Dragon Pulse!
BOOM!
The two attacks collided violently, detonating like a supernova in the sky.
When that strike failed to decide a victor, Palkia raised its right arm high, a blade-shaped wave of violet-red energy forming rapidly.
Spacial Rend!
The crescent-shaped energy slash ripped through the air toward Dialga—it was sharp enough to slice through space itself!
Dialga didn't attempt to block it head-on; it twisted its massive body aside, narrowly avoiding the attack before dashing forward at extreme speed.
But the deflected Spacial Rend was now heading straight for Alamos Town.
"Oh no!"
On the hillside, Cynthia, Officer Jenny, and Sheena's pupils contracted in horror.
If that attack struck the town… Alamos Town would be wiped off the map!
"What awful luck…" Green sighed helplessly.
She had seen many Legendary battles while following Lucas—but never before in the middle of a human settlement.
And now, the Gods of Time and Space were about to turn Alamos Town into a battlefield—
But just then—
A massive wave of dark energy erupted from the ground, intercepting the descending Spacial Rend!
The sudden intervention stunned everyone.
"That's… Darkrai?" Cynthia's eyes widened as she spotted the black, wraith-like figure rising into the air. Its nightmare-like silhouette was unmistakable—the Mythical Pokémon of Nightmares!
There was a Darkrai… hidden within Alamos Town?!
BOOM!
Dark Pulse clashed violently against Spacial Rend.
But almost instantly, the dark wave was overwhelmed and shattered by Palkia's power.
In terms of raw strength, Darkrai was no match for Palkia—and its Dark Pulse paled in comparison to Spacial Rend.
The single visible blue eye on Darkrai's face remained calm as a shimmering green barrier rose around it—Protect!
The spatial slash struck the barrier with immense force, stopped cold by the move's perfect defense.
But the shockwave was enough to send Darkrai flying backward through the air.
"It's… protecting the town?"
Marnie's eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the Nightmare Pokémon risk everything to block the attack.
As a Dark-type specialist herself, she knew more about Darkrai than most.
Despite its terrifying, ghostly appearance and the dread its Nightmare ability brought—causing any nearby creature that slept to suffer endless bad dreams—Darkrai wasn't truly evil.
But because of that ability, no Pokémon or human wanted to live near it.
It had been shunned, hated, and branded a bringer of misfortune.
Yet now, that very same outcast had stepped forward—risking itself to protect Alamos Town.
"So you've shown yourself at last… Darkrai."
From afar, Lucas glanced toward the black phantom.
Compared to the Darkrai owned by Tobias—the one that crushed Ash's championship hopes in the Lily of the Valley Conference—this Darkrai's strength was leagues beyond.
Even though it was being pummeled by the two gods, it still managed moments of brilliance.
Its power was already close to the pinnacle of its entire species.
"Even a Darkrai has the guts to challenge Dialga and Palkia head-on. And you—why are you such a coward?"
Lucas shot an unimpressed look at the shiny Rayquaza, clearly disappointed.
"You're making your ancestors ashamed."
Rayquaza: "..."
Its face darkened, especially when it noticed Reshiram giving it a strange, judgmental look.
The humiliation made its whole body tremble.
"ROAAAR!"
Finally, with a furious roar, Rayquaza lashed its tail and shot straight toward the battling gods.
Damn it all!
(End of Chapter)