"Ah, what a shame!"
The radiance faded, and Ultra Necrozma's body reappeared.
"I never imagined those Dark Arceus had an ability like that. They could even corrupt the psychic links back toward us."
"We miscalculated this time."
Arceus said nothing, merely using the Plates to seal away all the remaining Shadow Pokémon.
Then Arceus said calmly, "There's nothing we can do. We can't foresee everything."
"This wasn't a complete loss, either. At least we captured this many Shadow Pokémon. That's enough to deal the Dark Side a devastating blow."
"They'll likely have to lie low for a long time."
"We can use that time to make more preparations."
As Arceus spoke, Arceus looked at Chen Shi. "Thank you for your efforts this time. Go back and get some proper rest."
"Do we really have to wait?" Chen Shi asked quietly.
"What else can we do?" Arceus sounded rather helpless, too.
Just like today, without Chen Shi, even teaming up with Necrozma would have left Arceus struggling against the Dark Arceus.
And neither of them dared leave this world in their true forms, or the Dark Side might seize the opportunity to invade at any moment.
On top of that, Chen Shi had nearly been killed on his first trip to a parallel world. Arceus truly had no other options.
All Arceus could do was find ways to strengthen the Legendary Pokémon, or hope Chen Shi would create another miracle.
Chen Shi sighed softly. "We can only stay in our own world. If we're stuck on the defensive, what preparations can we really make?"
"Chen Shi, don't overthink it." Afraid he might want to run away again, Arceus urged him, "We can look for allies. Things haven't gotten that bad yet."
"Don't keep thinking about finding a mystery realm to hide