[Iono]: "!!!"
Was this real?
Global superstar treatment—just for providing information?!
Had Arceus finally smiled upon her?!
Before she could recover from the shock—
[Diantha]: "Oh my~ Reaching my level requires becoming a regional Champion first. Little sister… how strong are you~?"
Iono: …Huh?
I'm just a weak, pitiful Gym Leader!
A corporate slave!
Still chasing unpaid sponsorship money!
Champion level?! That's way overestimating me!
Weak, pitiful, helpless—but can eat a lot!
[Diantha]: "Besides, Steven—could you even control that shiny Rayquaza? You're not Ash. You don't have that kind of power."
[Steven]: "..."
Fair point.
[Steven]: "I'm sure Ash would be willing to help."
…Wait.
That's allowed?
So in the future, whenever you can't handle a deity—
Just call Ash.
Noted.
Back to the Battlefield
Ash and Red rode Mega Charizard X toward the summit.
Below them—
Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre tried to rise—
Only to be smashed back down by Mega Rayquaza's sweeping Dragon Pulse.
Golden eyes gleamed coldly.
Gone was the tenderness it showed Ash.
Now—
Only arrogance.
Contempt.
It didn't even consider the two Primal titans opponents.
Maxie and Archie gritted their teeth in fury—
But they were powerless.
One exchange was enough to prove it.
Even their gods were outmatched.
"Retreat?"
"Retreat? Don't forget our ideal! It looks like Rayquaza is holding us back—
But actually, we're holding it back!"
Archie blinked. "…What?"
Maxie flushed with excitement.
"If Rayquaza reaches the summit, Dialga and Palkia might be freed!
As long as we stall here, the Rainbow Plan succeeds!"
Archie's eyes lit up.
Oh.
Ohhh!
So they were heroes now?
Half the credit?
Suddenly, stalling felt great.
At the Summit
Giovanni stood calmly at the peak of the fractured mountain.
He checked his watch.
Fifteen minutes.
A quarter of the required time.
Acceptable.
Now—
He would handle the rest himself.
Mega Charizard X finally reached the summit.
Ash's thoughts raced.
Giovanni's "Rainbow Plan" couldn't be that simple.
There had to be more.
But speculation meant nothing.
They needed answers face-to-face.
They landed.
Giovanni greeted them like old friends.
"Gentlemen. Care to talk?"
Elegant.
Composed.
Even now.
Red and Ash dismounted, standing opposite him.
"There's no need to be tense," Giovanni said calmly.
"When my plan completes, Dialga and Palkia will be released. Everything will return to normal. It only requires… a little time."
So reasonable.
So measured.
Red's brow tightened.
He hated this feeling.
Like being maneuvered.
He had learned one thing growing up:
Never trust a villain's words.
"Ash," Red said quietly, "we rush him."
Ash's eyes ignited.
Makes sense.
Giovanni sighed softly.
He expected this.
Reason didn't work on Red.
But—
He tried once more.
"Would you spare a moment… to hear my story?"
Even with Mega Charizard X poised to strike—
He remained unfazed.
Red paused.
"…Fine. Let's hear it."
Giovanni smiled.
Time.
That was all he needed.
He lit a cigar.
"I once had a dream…"
"Skip the fluff," a voice interrupted coldly.
"Even if you have a dream, I won't turn around for you."
A woman in a black coat stepped forward—
Cynthia.
Ash froze.
She was supposed to guard the space-time gate.
How did she get here?
Cynthia smiled gently.
"I came with Togekiss."
Ash's eyes fell to the egg in her hands—
Speckled with colorful patterns.
His throat tightened.
Togekiss had forced itself through space-time turbulence—
Reverting to an egg to protect her.
Cynthia's voice was steady.
"Don't worry. Once this is resolved, Togekiss will recover.
Right now, we end this at its source."
Her gaze locked onto Giovanni.
He clapped slowly.
"Impressive. Cynthia—even from another world, you shine."
But admiration didn't equal fear.
"I've pondered," Giovanni continued,
"What is humanity's true meaning?
Why must humans and Pokémon be bound only as Trainer and tool?
Why not family? Companions?"
He glanced at Red.
"Once, a boy in red defeated me.
He asked me:
If you lose your family, your friends—
Even if you gain everything, is it truly yours?"
Red's eyes sharpened.
"You've heard my story?"
Giovanni exhaled smoke.
"That's when I understood. A person needs a dream."
Ash frowned.
"You still haven't said what your dream is."
Giovanni coughed awkwardly.
Children.
No patience for monologues.
"Very well," he said, spreading his hands.
"My dream is simple.
A world where humans and Pokémon coexist in true peace.
No oppression.
No imposed rules.
A world where every being lives according to its own will."
His body trembled slightly.
Three parts lie.
Seven parts truth.
The most convincing kind.
Silence fell.
Even Cynthia hesitated.
A world where humans and Pokémon truly coexist…
Was that—
Wrong?
In the Chat
[Wikstrom]: "He's stalling."
[Lucian]: "Agreed. But the choice lies with Ash and Red."
[Leon]: "Giovanni isn't an ordinary villain."
[Giovanni (Main World)]:
"The other me acts independently.
Team Rocket has already begun reform.
Rocket Logistics is proof."
Gray.
The world was gray.
Back at the summit—
Ash finally spoke.
"If that's your dream…
Why imprison Dialga and Palkia?"
Giovanni's eyes darkened.
"Because to build a new world—
The old one must first be broken."
Wind howled across the summit.
Behind them—
The space-time gate pulsed violently.
The final countdown had begun.
And Cynthia—
Still holding Togekiss's egg—
Stepped forward.
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