Just like that, Ash gained the friendship of Giratina, and together with Dawn and Anabel, they had witnessed the breathtaking scene of Shaymin and the Gracidea flowers forming a bouquet in the sky.
Not only that, they had also stopped a massive glacier from causing catastrophe.
It was both a thrilling and romantic encounter!
The time had come for Shaymin to leave.
The group of sky form Shaymin soared through the skies, circling overhead before finally flying off toward the rising sun in the distance.
They would continue their journey to find the next blooming field of Gracidea flowers.
Who would be the next lucky soul to witness the bouquet of sky and ice dancing in unison with Shaymin?
"Ah… Shaymin's gone now. Even though it was super tsundere at first, I really liked that little one. Thanks to Ash, it even stopped being so prickly. I wonder when we'll get to see it again…"
Dawn's voice trailed off as she watched the Shaymin disappear, a tinge of sadness in her tone.
But she soon smiled and comforted herself, saying, "It's alright. Shaymin has its own path to follow, just like I have mine with my Pokémon. Our next stop—the Grand Festival! Let's go!"
Anabel, who had just been about to approach and offer comforting words, paused and smiled instead. Dawn had truly grown—her emotional resilience was much stronger now. She didn't even need anyone else's support to bounce back.
"This entire event nearly turned into a disaster because of me… Thank goodness everything turned out fine in the end," Professor Newton Graceland sighed deeply, clearly still shaken from what had happened.
The Irregular Stone was now gone, and he could no longer enter the Reverse World to continue his research.
In fact, he hadn't yet decided where to take his research next.
Ash looked at Professor Graceland and was reminded of his ongoing collaboration with the Devon Corporation to study Mega Evolution and Dynamax. On impulse, he spoke up: "Professor Graceland, this wasn't your fault. If you don't have any plans going forward, why not work with me?"
"Work with you?" the professor repeated, intrigued.
Ash explained his Mega Evolution project. To his surprise, Newton Graceland was immediately fascinated and agreed to the idea on the spot!
Ash was thrilled. He had only asked on a whim, but it actually worked.
Professor Newton Graceland was a truly brilliant scientific mind—even more impressive than Dr. Gordon, the inventor of Mystery Candy.
Their deal was quickly finalized.
Professor Graceland would head directly to the Hoenn region to join the Devon Corporation, where he'd meet with Joseph Stone, the company's president and Steven's father, who had been introduced by Ash.
Naturally, a genius researcher like Professor Graceland would be welcomed with open arms.
With everything settled, the group packed up and set out once more—this time heading toward their next destination: Sunyshore City.
Suddenly, a flash of white and green zipped across the sky.
"Dawn! That's Shaymin again! It must've come back because it missed you!"
It was the same tsundere Shaymin from before!
Though it had initially followed the group of flying Shaymin into the sunrise, it had paused halfway and realized… it truly preferred being with Dawn.
And so, here it was again.
"Shaymin… You want to come with me?" Dawn asked, eyes wide in hopeful surprise.
"That's obvious, right? Shaymin likes you a lot. You want Shaymin to stay with you and the others, don't you?"
"Yes, I do! Absolutely!" Dawn beamed.
She pulled out a Poké Ball. Shaymin didn't resist—it let itself be captured willingly.
Ash and Anabel watched the scene with warm smiles.
Even Professor Graceland found himself marveling at how fate could be so full of surprises.
Just like that, Dawn had added a new legendary Pokémon to her team, and Ash had gained a powerful ally in Professor Graceland.
Together, they continued their journey toward Sunyshore City—the location of Ash's eighth gym challenge.
———
Five days had passed since they left the Gracidea Flower Field.
Now, the group had arrived at a peaceful town near the largest lake in the region.
Lakeside Town.
Sunyshore City lay just beyond this place—once they crossed it, they'd be at their destination.
Currently, the group was resting at the Pokémon Center.
"Awesome, Ash is finally heading to Sunyshore City! I heard the Gym Leader there is a really strange person," Dawn said, clapping her hands in excitement. Shaymin and Piplup stood at her side.
"I've heard about that too," Anabel added. "Some trainers who go to challenge the Sunyshore Gym don't even meet the Gym Leader—they just get handed a badge. No one knows what's really going on. I guess we'll have to see for ourselves."
Beside her, the Stantler she had raised from a baby had now grown to nearly two-thirds of full size—practically a full-grown Stantler now.
Nurse Joy walked over with a Chansey and smiled warmly. "All of your Pokémon have fully recovered and are in great shape!"
Then she added, "If you're not in a rush, we've got a battle field behind the Pokémon Center. A lot of trainers are having matches there right now."
"Sounds great! Ash, let's go take a look. We might even run into someone we know!" Dawn suggested.
Ash nodded, and the group made their way over.
Almost every Pokémon Center had battle grounds to help trainers with training and practice.
When they arrived, sure enough, a battle was already in full swing.
And one of the trainers… was someone they all recognized—Barry, with his usual quirky catchphrases.
"Empoleon, use Metal Claw!"
"Butterfree, dodge and use Silver Wind!"
"Faster, faster! Go, Empoleon, Metal Claw again!"
Author's Note:
Next chapter—Monferno evolves! Big brother is finally arriving on the scene!
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: p@treon.com/PokePals