The space-time Pokémon

Cynthia nodded in agreement and led Kaim into Mount Coronet.

It was pitch-black inside, and Kaim's lantern and flashlight illuminated their surroundings. Having a suitable Pokémon would have helped, but unfortunately, neither of them had a Pokémon that could use Flash.

"Cynthia, is Dawn the one you mentioned before?"

"Yes, the kid who's been collecting Gym Badges at an incredible pace."

"Really?"

"Is something bothering you?"

"I'm just surprised a child had the courage to come to a place like this."

"She's a child with a strong sense of justice. Like you, she cares deeply about Pokémon."

"Doesn't that apply to you too?"

"Yes."

Before long, the broken mural gave way, revealing a hole ahead.

Even from the fragments, it was easy to see how exquisitely the mural had been made.

"This mural had tremendous historical value too."

"I imagine so. But they don't seem to have appreciated it."

"Let's go."

As I continued forward, I saw Team Galactic's grunts sprawled out. Someone seemed to have already defeated them in battle. Most had their eyes rolling wildly, looking almost as though they had been killed in the fight.

"You did well."

"It looks like that kid's work."

"Thanks to you, we get to have some fun."

"Let's catch up. No matter how strong she is, Dawn and her Pokémon don't have unlimited stamina."

"Ah."

"Phew."

Dawn hid behind a rock, took a water bottle from her bag, and drank.

Unable to forgive Team Galactic's careless treatment of Pokémon, she and her Pokémon had launched an attack despite the police's objections.

None of the grunts were particularly strong, but they weren't weak enough to take down in a single blow either. Things were quite difficult, as some of the stronger grunts occasionally threw her off.

"This is a little rough on my own."

Her healing items were limited too. Since I was traveling, there was only so much I could fit in my bag, even though I usually carried plenty of supplies. At this rate, my Pokémon would soon run out of stamina.

I poked my head out from behind the rock and looked around. There were no grunts nearby, but I could see some searching for me in the distance. If they left their posts, I could sneak past, but they wouldn't budge.

Just as I put my hand on a ball, ready to force my way through, the grunts collapsed.

"Huh?!"

When I raised my head in surprise, Lucario stood behind the grunts. Beside him was a man with an expressionless face.

"Are you Hikari?"

Dawn silently nodded.

"I see. You have lovely eyes, just like his."

"And you are?"

"I'm Kaim. Cynthia's assistant."

"Miss Cynthia's?"

"Hikari, are you all right?"

A beautiful blonde woman emerged from behind Kaim.

"Miss Shirona!"

"Sorry I'm late."

"Courage is good, but you should think a little more before you act."

Kaim treated Dawn's Pokémon with the supplies he had brought.

"There. They can still fight now."

"Okay. Thank you very much."

"You were flashy and aggressive. Seeing how far you'd come, I knew your Pokémon must have been exhausted."

Even Cynthia's Pokémon would probably have been tired after rampaging to that extent. If a girl with no more than a year's experience as a Trainer had managed it, I could predict the consequences.

No matter how talented you were, you couldn't simply disregard accumulated experience. In a battle alone, many things could overturn that advantage, but not this time. There were no rules here.

"Hehe, did I go a little overboard?"

"Fufu, aren't you a little too bold?"

"I didn't think that much about it, but maybe."

"I don't think that's a bad quality, but this time, it was a bad move."

Reinforcements would gather, including the grunts who had already been defeated.

The grunts brought out their Pokémon one after another, forming a wall that blocked the route to the summit.

"Cynthia, leave this to me."

"Got it."

"How will you clear a path?"

"Easily."

Kaim released Umbreon, Blaziken, and Staraptor from their balls.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere. Little Black, mix your Dark Pulse with Lucario's Aura Sphere."

The Pokémon followed Kaim's instructions. Aura Sphere combined with Kuroko's Dark Pulse and the large, letter-shaped flames, its firepower boosted by Tailwind as it struck Team Galactic's grunts.

Smoke billowed amid the roar. The grunts were blasted away, opening the blocked path.

"There you go."

"Thank you, Kaim. Let's go."

"Yes!"

The two continued climbing toward the summit.

Kaim stood in the path and looked down at Team Galactic's members. Powerful as the attack was, it wasn't enough to defeat everyone in one blow. Aside from the firepower boosted to Hyper Beam levels, Aura Sphere at least had some strength in a one-on-one fight. But it wasn't a move suited to suppressing a crowd, so only a few of the grunts who had been blown away were incapacitated.

Still, I couldn't let them through to interfere with Cynthia and Dawn. There might be commanders and their boss up above. The commanders ought to be far stronger than the grunts. To let the two focus on those at the top, I had to stop the grunts here.

"A mob."

Kaim narrowed his expressionless eyes and looked down at the grunts.

"Sorry, but I can't let you go any farther. A mob is still a mob."

"Let's all get along."

The words carried immense pressure and were terrifyingly cold.

And at that moment, Kaim's expression could only be described as thoroughly Dark-type.

The summit of Mount Coronet.

Spear Pillar.

The commanders and their boss had already gathered there and were preparing something.

"That's far enough, Team Galactic."

"The Champion! Here, of all places!"

Jupiter, one of the commanders, cursed.

"Mars, Jupiter, buy me some time."

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

At the order from Cyrus, Team Galactic's boss, the two commanders picked up their Poké Balls.

"It looks like we'll have to battle. Dawn, are you ready?"

"I'm fine! Mr. Kaim already healed my Pokémon!"

"Good. Then let's go."

"Yes!"

"I won't let you interfere with Lord Cyrus!"

"That's right."

Cynthia and Dawn defeated the two commanders' Pokémon in a one-sided battle.

Cynthia's Pokémon played a major role in that outcome. Aside from doing most of the fighting, they supported Dawn's Pokémon well according to type matchups, making the battle easier. She hadn't even given them such instructions. Without orders from Shirona, the Pokémon began fighting on their own.

So this was the Champion!

Dawn would also be participating in the Sinnoh Region's Pokémon League the following month. Naturally, the Champion, Cynthia, would be there too.

After nearly a year of traveling, Dawn understood it clearly: the Champion, still undefeated in official matches, was stronger than any Trainer she had ever battled.

"Thanks for your hard work. Are your Pokémon all right?"

"Oh, they're fine! Thanks to you, Miss Cynthia, they barely got hurt."

"Good."

The smile she had directed at Dawn turned into a sharp stare as she faced Cyrus.

"But I think we're a little late."

"That's right, Champion. Everything is ready to create a new universe here. Now everything ends, and everything begins."

Cyrus continued speaking without turning to look at Cynthia and the others.

"This Red Chain was created from the three creatures in the lakes, and another Red Chain was created from it. With them, I will open the door to another dimension. And your power will serve me alone."

The red chains in Cyrus's hands began emitting an ominous glow.

"Dialga, the mythical Pokémon that controls time. Palkia, the mythical Pokémon that controls space."

Space warped. Two distortions formed, and a blue Pokémon and a pale pink Pokémon emerged from them.

Dialga and Palkia. They were Legendary Pokémon that appeared in myths.

"Those are Dialga and Palkia."

"The Pokémon from the myths."

"We have to stop him!"

"Unfortunately, we can't. With the power of those two Pokémon, we can't even get close to where Cyrus is."

"No way!"

Whether it was Dialga's power or Palkia's, an invisible wall stood before Cynthia and the others. It was so solid that even Cynthia's Garchomp couldn't break it. Unless something happened inside, it could not be breached.

"I've been waiting for this moment. This universe was formed from the double helix of time and space. Now I will make your power my own and bring forth a new galaxy! A new universe! Now! This imperfect world, this ugly world, must disappear. Everything must be reset. To create the ultimate world, a perfect world, imperfect and ambiguous things such as the spirit must be eliminated."

I suddenly sensed a presence in the sky. Three lights circled overhead, seemingly trying to block something.

"Heh, just as I expected. Uxie, the God of Knowledge, Azelf, the God of Will, and Mesprit, the God of Emotion. Together, the three can suppress a deity's power. If it were one or the other, that is. However..."

Indeed, the three were trying to suppress the divine Pokémon's power, but they could not.

"If both appear at once, even they can do nothing."

Cyrus finally turned toward Cynthia and the others.

"In this situation, even the Champion is powerless. Dialga and Palkia's powers are creating this invisible wall. No matter how you attack it, it separates space and repairs itself by rewinding time."

"The girl beside you-if I remember correctly, your name is Dawn. First, those precious to you! Then your Pokémon will disappear! Ah, the moment my wish finally comes true!"

Just as Dawn was about to protest, an overwhelming sense of menace engulfed all of Spear Pillar.

"What is this?"

"What does this presence mean? Is someone angry?"

"It can't be."

The next moment, a "shadow" spread before Cyrus's eyes.

From it emerged a gigantic "shadow" that looked down at Cyrus.

"...Law."

"Could it be Giratina?"

"Giratina?"

"A Pokémon with power equal to Dialga and Palkia's, rarely mentioned in myths. According to those myths, it lives on the other side of the world."

Cynthia had anticipated Giratina's appearance to some extent. But she hadn't expected things to take this turn. Giratina hardly ever interfered with this world-the world on this side. She had therefore thought it would quietly watch events unfold, or intervene in some other way. She hadn't expected it to appear as a shadow.

"How interesting. A Pokémon that can only appear in shadows. But this is foolish. No matter how much divine power you possess, against me, who commands the powers of Dialga and Palkia..."

The shadow reshaped what appeared to be its wings and aimed them at Cyrus.

"From me, Cyrus, to you..."

The next moment, shadows engulfed the world.

"Hey, hey, what happened?"

Just as Kaim had successfully sent the grunts packing through a peaceful resolution and a one-sided annihilation, things took a rather nasty turn.

First, the sky turned a strange color, and then the pillars warped. The two commanders had inexplicably slumped in defeat, but they could be left alone.

"Kaim."

"Cynthia, what's going on?"

"Giratina. It was enraged by Cyrus's attempt to use the Red Chain to manipulate Dialga and Palkia's powers, and it swallowed him."

"Then what is this space?"

"Probably a passage to the other side of the world, where Giratina lives. Normally, Giratina's world and ours don't interfere with one another. But the two worlds are connected through this space, causing our world to distort."

The world was indeed warping. The stone pillars at Spear Pillar bent in impossible ways, and the area affected by the distortion was gradually expanding.

"If we don't close this space, the distortion will spread throughout Sinnoh, and the world will collapse."

"How do we stop it?"

"We have no choice but to calm Giratina's anger. To do that, Dawn, we need you."

"Me?"

"Yes. As long as you show Giratina the deep bond you share with your Pokémon, Giratina will understand. So let's go."

"Yes!"

"You too, Kaim."

"I know."

When I passed through the distorted space, a world in another dimension appeared before me.

"Wow, this is amazing."

"What are you doing here?"

The space unfolding before Shirona and the others was clearly far removed from reality. There were buildings, plants, and water, but everything was distorted. Countless island-sized platforms made of something resembling pale blue crystals floated in the air.

Even the water flowed in strange directions, running upward in some places. The building clearly looked artificial, but it was so distorted that it seemed no one was inside.

"A world where the laws of physics and everything else have broken down."

"I can't sense any living things."

"This is a world where time doesn't flow and space is unstable."

"So? We're going after Giratina, right?"

"Yes. I can sense Giratina on that largest island."

It was at the top of the largest island visible from where Shirona and the others stood. From there, I sensed the same presence I had felt in the shadows.

"I have no choice but to keep going."

"Yes. Let's go. Dawn, watch your step."

"Yes!"

"Yacht."

Moving forward wasn't difficult.

First, gravity was weaker than in the real world, so even a small hop carried them a great distance. Even a girl like Dawn, who didn't exercise, could easily move from one foothold to another. Kaim, the most physically capable of them, went ahead, checking the footing and gravity so they could proceed in relative safety.

"This really is a strange world, though."

Some things looked like artifacts, but there were no people in this world. Giratina was the only Pokémon here.

"I don't know how this world works, but judging by the artificial objects, it may be a world influenced by the real one. So if something breaks in the real world, something here breaks too. On the other hand, if something goes wrong here, it could cause problems in reality."

"So it's like the two worlds support each other?"

"I think that's a good way to explain it."

Cynthia concluded that the real world existed because of this broken world, and this broken world existed because of the real one.

"Originally, the two worlds didn't interfere with each other. But because Dialga's and Palkia's powers were used unlawfully, time and space became distorted, connecting them."

"Is the real world all right?"

"I don't know. They say Giratina's anger is causing the distortion, but there's no guarantee that's true. Still, Giratina is the only one who can stop it. Let's find Giratina as quickly as we can."

As the group crossed the Distortion World, a black mist blocked their path.

"What's this?"

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"It looks poisonous."

"Is it Giratina?"

"No, probably not. Look."

Following Cynthia's gaze, they saw a spatial distortion with black clouds spilling out of it.

"Anything."

"Perhaps the disturbances in space and time are affecting this world too. Whatever the case, it can't be good."

"We have to get to Giratina right away!"

"I'd like to, but..."

There was no path ahead from which Staraptor could disperse the black clouds. A few rocks barely stayed afloat, but they could hardly be called a path.

"This doesn't seem like a very friendly world."

"Then there's another way."

"We don't have time. I'll take the shortest route."

Kaim kicked a pebble at his feet to check the gravity. The gravity ahead was weak, and the pebble flew off in the same direction.

"The gravity is weak."

"You could make it, but wouldn't it be a little difficult for Dawn?"

"For you too. Dawn, do you have a Flying-type Pokémon?"

"Oh, sorry. I do."

"Then I'll ask Staraptor. But Staraptor isn't used to flying in a world with unstable gravity, so it won't be completely safe. Cynthia has Togekiss, so you two go ahead."

"It would be a shame to waste time thinking. Let's go."

Right now, Cynthia and Dawn were the ones who needed to press on. Getting Kaim across was a lower priority, since he was, at most, an escort.

"...Let's go."

After checking a route that seemed to intersect, Kaim launched himself into the air.

First, I soared across a distance I couldn't have cleared in the normal world, then used a rock ahead as a foothold to propel myself farther.

With gravity like this, I could do things like wall-running, couldn't I?

Kaim entertained that thought, even though these conditions would normally be life-threatening.

He leaped from rock to rock, parkour-style, wall-running across flat slabs of stone.

"You can go now."

In that way, his leaps grew longer and longer, until he kicked off the final stone and sprang into the air.

Cynthia and Dawn watched us from the other side, and then I landed in front of them.