Tonio's words left Iris stunned.
On one hand, she was shocked by the truth of what happened back then; on the other, she felt relieved—Darkrai truly wasn't that kind of Pokémon.
Except…
"Then why is Darkrai causing trouble everywhere? It's making everyone really troubled~ya!"
Dawn still couldn't understand Darkrai's behavior. After all, her Buizel was still trapped in nightmares.
"I'm sorry, I don't know the reason yet. But I will find it. Please give me some time."
Tonio said with absolute conviction.
Dawn thought for a moment, then decided to trust him.
She really was just that kind-hearted.
[Kalos Champion Diantha: Come to think of it, we're judging this whole event from a god's-eye view. Ash and Tonio didn't know anything about the distortion happening in the unknown space.]
[Elite Four Bruno: Exactly. Aside from Ash sensing the fog using Aura, no one knew Alamos Town was already isolated from the world.]
[Aaron: And that's the point. Everything currently points toward Darkrai, and no one knows why it attacked the townspeople and their Pokémon.]
[Volkner: It all depends on Ash now. So far, he's the only one who's come into contact with the truth—however small that piece may be.]
They were right—everything was still unknown.
With Palkia's sudden arrival, the entire Alamos Town had been wrapped in spatial power.
Aside from finding Palkia, there seemed to be no other options.
And worse—something even more dangerous was approaching.
Dialga—at full power—in that distorted dimension.
If it descended upon Alamos Town… that would be the true catastrophe.
What should Ash do?!
On screen——
The Lickilicky Baron gathered a group of Trainers to subdue Darkrai.
Following a Trainer's pointed finger, they easily located Darkrai—standing still, staring into the sky.
Except… Darkrai looked off.
Normally it hovered.
Yet this Darkrai… had extended its legs.
Long legs.
[Tobias: Huh? Darkrai has legs?! I thought it only floated!]
[Drake: What's unusual about this? Having legs doesn't stop a Pokémon from flying!]
[Max: I know this one! I read it in a picture book! Groudon can't fly!]
[Maxie: Silence, brat! The great Groudon can fly!]
[Archie: Heheheh… Groudon absolutely cannot fly~]
[Maxie: You—! Steven, I'm reporting Archie hiding in Mt. Chimney again!!]
[Archie: Try it!]
[Steven Stone: Drake, deal with this.]
On screen——
The furious Trainers launched their attacks.
Infernape's Mach Punch!
Empoleon's Ice Beam!
And countless other moves showered Darkrai like water.
But Darkrai unleashed a single Dark Pulse combined with a massive Dark Void—
Instantly knocking out every Pokémon the Trainers sent.
Only Team Rocket and the Lickilicky Baron remained.
Realizing the situation, the Baron mustered his courage as a "Lickilicky (Baron)" and charged Darkrai.
The real Lickilicky couldn't even touch Darkrai—how could this knockoff version?
The result was obvious.
"Looks like we're blasting off again~~~!"
Team Rocket and the Baron vanished into the sky.
In the Space-Time Tower lab—
Tonio repeatedly replayed the scene from the plaza, following his line of reasoning.
The results were promising.
After tireless research, he finally found the source—
The silhouette hidden at the center of the energy burst.
A peculiar Pokémon.
As Tonio gasped, Ash and the others arrived.
On the screen, Palkia's figure was clearly visible.
"That's the guy who appeared in my dream." Ash recognized it instantly.
Brock then spoke the name aloud—
The God of Space: Palkia.
According to Tonio's deduction, the destruction of the park's ruins was a sign of Palkia's approaching.
And Darkrai's "Don't come here!" was directed at the sky—toward Palkia.
"So that's it… Darkrai was trying to warn me in the dream."
"When the energy burst happened, Darkrai was the only one who noticed Palkia."
Ash murmured.
And suddenly everything connected.
The park incident, the alley encounter—Darkrai had been trying to warn him about Palkia.
But why did Darkrai trust him so much?
No—that wasn't important now.
"Tonio, do you know where Palkia is?"
Ash asked seriously.
Tonio tapped through the system and finally located the source—
The highest point in Alamos Town—the top of the Space-Time Tower.
"Let's go help Darkrai!"
Ash rushed out immediately.
Darkrai had reached the plaza of the Tower.
And not far from it, a blonde woman casually licked her ice cream.
Though her expression was serious, she hadn't stopped eating.
[Prof. Magnolia: Cynthia, you were in Alamos Town too?]
[Cynthia: No idea. This is the future me—maybe I just happened to be nearby for research.]
[Aaron: Doesn't add up. Aren't you mainly into mythology?]
[Flint: Idiot. Darkrai and Palkia are legends.]
[Aaron: Still, nobody expected a little town like Eterna to harbor two legends!]
[Caitlin: With Cynthia there, I'm relieved. Cynthia + Ash should be able to handle anything.]
[Cynthia: …Perhaps.]
This time, Cynthia didn't sound confident.
Legendary Pokémon had tiers.
And Palkia stood at the top of the hierarchy.
Even injured, Cynthia didn't have absolute confidence.
"Don't worry, Miss Cynthia! I'll stop all of this!"
Ash's voice rang out beside her.
Yes—there was Ash.
With him, even world-ending crises always found a way to resolve.
For some reason, Cynthia felt a sense of calm after hearing him speak.
The kind of peace she only felt beside her Garchomp.
Without noticing, Ash's place in Cynthia's heart had risen to match her lifelong partner.
Garchomp—who had been with her since childhood.
A bond with no equal.
On screen——
Darkrai stared sharply at the Tower's peak.
"You—get out!"
It roared, gathering massive Dark-type energy.
Dark Pulse fired.
But the rebound alone smashed Darkrai into the ground.
The attack didn't break Palkia's shield—
But it did wake the slumbering god.
Ash emerged from the Tower just in time to see the descending figure—
Palkia, falling like a furious deity.
The sky instantly darkened—
Just like the dimension where Palkia and Dialga battled.
Palkia crashed into the plaza, roaring at Darkrai who had awakened it.
And Darkrai charged right back—
Not afraid at all.
The battle erupted instantly.
"Palkia has shifted all of Alamos Town into an alternate dimension."
Tonio's expression darkened.
Dawn and Brock were confused.
Ash looked toward the battling legendaries—
And then—
Noticed the blonde woman standing still.
"Miss Cynthia? Why is she here?"
Ash asked, puzzled.
He hadn't expected to meet Cynthia here either.
[Steven: Here it comes! My favorite part!]
[Flint: Question—without the livestreams, when did Ash and Cynthia actually meet? They sound pretty familiar.]
[Volkner: Irrelevant. Go play somewhere.]
[Caitlin: As a top-tier Ash × Cynthia shipper… I'm ready for the duo-team arc!]
[Brock: Fighting alongside a beautiful older woman to save the world—heavens, that's the dream!]
[Aaron: An—an older-woman romance? The boy has taste!]
Viewers: ???
Is this considered a little horse pulling a big carriage?
No—Ash isn't a little horse!
He's just young!!
On screen——
With Palkia awake, Alamos Town was fully severed from reality.
The phantom Pokémon created by unstable spacetime returned to their bodies.
The nightmare-afflicted Pokémon awakened.
Even the Lickilicky Baron reverted back into Alberto.
But while things seemed to be improving—
They weren't.
Floating in the unknown meant one thing:
Dialga was coming.
At the same time—
Darkrai attacked Palkia again.
But even as a divine being of nightmares, Darkrai was far from matching the God of Space.
Ash noticed Cynthia—
And then the cracks on Palkia's shoulder gem.
"Palkia is injured!"
Even so, Palkia easily suppressed Darkrai.
Dark Pulse, Dark Void—none worked.
And Palkia's counterattacks were swift—
Aura Sphere formed instantly, and though Darkrai dodged, the blast destroyed half the plaza.
Things were getting worse.
Worse still—
Because the God of Time descended.
Meteor-like Dragon Pulses rained from the sky toward both Palkia and Darkrai.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt—now!"
"Pika!!"
But these were Dialga's Draco Meteors—
Not so easily blocked.
Pikachu barely held them back—
The falling meteors inched closer—
Ash's palms were sweating—
"Garchomp—Dragon Rush!"
A clear voice called out.
A blue blur streaked across the sky—
Shattering the incoming meteors.
Cynthia walked up to Ash.
She placed a gentle hand on his head and said softly:
"Are you alright, Ash?"
Ash looked up blankly—
Meeting Cynthia's smiling eyes.
Even with the sky burning with battlelight,
Even with chaos everywhere—
Her face looked serene.
Ash's cheeks flushed instantly.
"I—I'm fine…"
His voice was barely audible.
[Delia: Oh my, he's shy~ It's been so long since I saw Ash make that face!]
[Ash: Mom!! I'm NOT shy!]
[Gary: Sure, keep telling yourself that.]
[Brock: Ash, seize the chance! Older girls are the truth of the universe!]
[Caitlin: Perfect ship! Sweet younger boy × elegant champion! I can already write a 10k-word fic!]
[Lusamine: Share it. DM me!!]
[Ash: H-HEY!!]
[Bea: He's flustered. Clearly not calm inside.]
[Mustard: It's natural! Humans need emotional release, don't bottle it up!]
[Leon: Exactly. My master is sixty-something, and my mistress is only ten years older than me.]
[Raihan: Bro what—Old Tauros eating young Skiddo grass?!]
Meanwhile, Bea's apprentice Kiba was still riding an Onix to get there.
"Master Ash is so young and already has a Master's wife… Should I bring extra gifts?"
He fretted.
On screen——
Cynthia's sudden arrival stunned everyone.
Then almost simultaneously—
Relief washed over every face.
With a Champion here—
Nothing was impossible.
After all, before them stood the Sinnoh Champion—
The strongest woman in the world—
A legend wrapped in countless titles.
A savior descending at the moment of despair.
She answered Dawn's questions politely,
Then turned to Tonio for the situation report.
Upon learning the town had left reality entirely—
Her expression hardened.
Dialga, arriving through the distortion, immediately challenged Palkia.
Each clash erased entire buildings into particles of light.
The situation was far worse than imagined.
No ordinary Pokémon could intervene.
Only gods could stop gods.
Cynthia's brows knitted tightly.
She had hoped to evacuate survivors—
But with Alamos Town no longer in the real world—
Escape was impossible.
At that moment, Ash raised his hand.
—…END SCENE.
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