Natsume's eye twitched as he watched Wallace plummet from the sky.
Seriously? Just tossed him like that!?
"I don't have a Flying-type Pokémon, damn it!" Natsume roared at Darkrai.
Darkrai, who had been posturing before the Temporal and Spatial Dragons, froze mid-smirk.
"You didn't say that earlier?!"
The Temporal and Spatial Dragons gathered energy in their mouths.
Twin beams—one blue, one purple—symbolizing the power of Time and Space, surged forth violently.
"Dodge it!"
Natsume counted the seconds in his head, issuing a command instantly. "Altaria, catch your Trainer!"
Altaria, still stiff under the pressure of the two deities, snapped into action at the command.
With explosive speed, Altaria swooped down and caught Wallace mid-fall.
At the same time, Darkrai closed its eyes, instinctively obeying Natsume's order.
A white haze swirled, plunging its vision into darkness—until a faint blue path emerged.
A retreat route, constructed via Aura of Ripple.
Suddenly.
It unfolded before Darkrai!
Darkrai's eyes flew open, locking onto the two colossal beasts ahead.
In the next instant, its figure vanished right before their eyes!
Palkia & Dialga: (⊙ˍ⊙)
"Roar!" (Bro, the Spatial God's move missed?)
"Roar!!" (Screw you! If you'd just held it still, I would've hit!)
"Roar?" (You staring at me?)
"Roar??" (Yeah, what about it?!)
"Roar!" (Keep staring and see what happens!)
"Roar!!" (Try me!!)
Palkia and Dialga collided bodily, reigniting their battle.
Darkrai flickered into existence, rising from Natsume's shadow, bewildered.
"Why'd they start fighting?"
"No clue." Natsume shook his head, catching Wallace in a bridal carry from Altaria's back.
"Ugh…" Wallace groaned, clutching his throbbing head as he slowly woke.
The first thing he saw was Natsume-sensei's complicated expression.
"I… I'm alive?"
"Remember. You owe me your life."
"Ah…" Wallace blinked, then nodded after a long pause. "…Yeah."
Setting Wallace down, Natsume assigned Milotic and Altaria to look after him.
He recalled briefly… Wallace had a surprisingly nice ass.
"Ugh, damn it!" Natsume gritted his teeth and bellowed, "Let's wreck 'em, Darkrai!"
Darkrai waved a hand, panting. "Let 'em tire each other out first."
Natsume: "Keep this up, and your precious gardens will be destroyed too."
Darkrai roared: "Let's wreck 'em!"
With a boom, Darkrai kicked off a shockwave, darting toward the Temporal and Spatial Dragons, dark voids swirling in its hands.
"Darkrai, use Dark Void."
"Stop commanding me!! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"
...
Meanwhile.
Yellow is still on his way here on Dodrio.
"I see Darkrai!" Iris, clinging to Yellow's waist, pointed ahead.
"Doduo, we need to hurry!"
Dodrio, blazing forward at breakneck speed, charged toward the heart of the battlefield.
The shockwave from the clashing deities sent Dodrio tumbling, leaving Yellow and Iris rolling in the dirt.
Iris: "I thought… you were strong?"
Yellow: "Ehehe… my Aura of Viridian ran out…"
BOOM!
Another shockwave rippled outward, whipping Yellow's ponytail wildly.
KABOOM!!
A black figure roared defiantly as it faced the full force of the dragons' attacks.
For an instant, Spacial Rend and Roar of Time converged on Darkrai at the center.
Iris's vision flooded with blinding light as tears spilled over.
CRASH!!
The black figure plummeted like a snapped puppet, the sky now streaked with warped auroras.
Time and space distorted—dusk had fallen, yet the heavens shimmered with surreal, dazzling lights.
"Tch." Natsume bit his lip.
Even with a Trainer's guidance…
Taking on the full might of both dragons was too much.
This time, Darkrai couldn't evade.
BOOOOM!
Darkrai hurtled downward.
Like a severed kite, it crashed helplessly beyond the battlefield.
"That's—the Pokémon Gardens!" Iris begged Yellow. "Hurry, we have to go there!"
"Got it."
Yellow nodded, patting Dodrio's three squabbling heads.
"Enough fighting! We've got a mission!"
"Skree!" Dodrio's heads exchanged glances, then straightened, carrying Yellow and Iris again.
"Alright." Yellow squared her shoulders. "Destination: Pokémon Gardens. Move out!"
Dodrio sprinted forward, kicking up dust.
Iris clasped her hands, whispering a prayer:
"Arceus above… please let Darkrai be okay…"
...
Space-Time Tower
The spiraling Space-Time Tower had no elevator.
To reach the top and replace the Oración disc—to make the tower play Oración—
Without flight, the only option was manual transport.
Ash, carrying the millstone-like disc on his back, legs trembling, wiped sweat from his brow as he climbed the winding stairs.
"Mr. Tonio! Do you guys always haul discs up like this!?"
"Normally…" Tonio's voice was strained, "we use hot air balloons or Flying Pokémon, but…"
He glanced toward the distant clash of the two colossal beasts.
"Right now, Pokémon are too scared to come out of their Poké Balls."
"And the building storing the balloons… was destroyed in the earlier chaos."
Ash gritted his teeth, wiping more sweat away.
He'd only brought Sinnoh-region Poké Balls.
His Starly had only just evolved into Staravia—no good for carrying people.
Ash craned his neck, staring up at the tower's cloud-piercing peak.
"It'll take at least half an hour to climb that!"
"There's… no other way."
Tonio's eyes darkened. "Our only hope is Natsume-sensei and Darkrai…"
A sudden gale nearly knocked them back. Tonio braced himself.
Ash stumbled—and the Oración disc slipped from his back, tumbling down the stairs!
Whoosh—
Hundreds of meters in the air, the disc plummeted. Ash and Tonio stared in horror.
Then, before Tonio could react, Ash leaped off the tower after it!
Tonio: (・_・)
Tonio: Σ(°△°|||)︴
Wind screamed past Ash's ears as he stretched a desperate hand toward the falling disc.
If Natsume were here, he'd lose his mind:
"Ash, you absolute lunatic, that's not how physics works!"
Newton would've burst from his grave, challenging Ash to a battle with an Applin!
Ash's eyes lit up.
"Got it!"
In one motion, he hurled the disc like a discus back toward the tower.
"Catch it, Pikachu!"
The disc shot upward—straight into Pikachu's waiting Iron Tail.
Ash, still falling, blinked. "Huh?"
"WAAAH! HELP!!"
A hot air balloon materialized below.
"Jessie, something's falling from the sky."
"Let's see… It's the twerp!! Meowth, quick, catch him!"
"Ack—Wobbuffet, grab the twerp, nya!"
"Wobbuffet!"
At the last second, James sent out Cacnea, its vines snagging Ash midair.
In a crisis, you can always count on James.
Jessie and Meowth exhaled. "Close one…"
Ash, stunned: "Team Rocket?!"
James yelped: "Cacnea, not my face—OW OW OW!"
After explanations:
Meowth: "So ya gotta get up that tower to play Oración, nya?"
Ash: "Yeah! Pikachu and Mr. Tonio are waiting. It's the only way to calm them down!"
BOOM!
Ash glared at the clashing Temporal and Spatial Dragons.
Team Rocket Trio exchanged nods.
Jessie: "Consider it… part of the Executive's master plan!"
James: "Leave it to us!"
Meowth: "Nobody does hot air balloons like us, nya~"
Wobbuffet: "Wobbuffet!"
...
Natsume's pupils reflected the Darkrai falling from the sky.
At this point, he had no means left to oppose the Temporal and Spatial Dragons.
Natsume frowned deeply, glancing back at the Space-Time Tower. "Ash… hasn't finished yet?"
BOOM—!
Natsume looked up again.
Across the vast sky—
Palkia and Dialga, their pearl and diamond brilliance flickering dazzlingly, opened their massive jaws.
Twin beams—one violet, one blue—clashed violently.
A black hole formed, swallowing nearly half of Alamos Town whole.
Wallace's white hat had long since been lost.
His handsome face was covered in wounds, his green hair disheveled, teeth clenched as he struggled to rise.
"I can still… keep fighting."
Natsume sighed heavily.
"Do all Hoenn Champions prepare themselves for sacrifice?"
Wallace froze, meeting Natsume's deep, contemplative gaze.
After a long pause, he nodded solemnly.
Natsume's mind flashed back—
To the Tree of Beginning.
To Steven in his suit, shielding him.
Who would have thought that, just months later…
He would be the one shielding another Hoenn Champion?
Natsume's brow furrowed slightly as he flexed his wrist, murmuring:
"An Elite Four-level Mega Blastoise should buy us some time…"
"It's not as strong as Mega Altaria, but if it can hold out until Alamos Town is completely destroyed… until Ash unleashes 'Oración'… it should be enough."
Wallace stared at Natsume, recognizing the resolve in his eyes.
He said gravely: "Whether it's Hoenn, Kanto, or Sinnoh's Champion…"
"The moment we take the title… we accept this duty."
Natsume snapped: "Shut your damn mouth!"
Wallace blinked.
Did I… say something wrong?
"No…" He rubbed his chin, muttering to himself. "It was all true…"
What worried Natsume was precisely because Wallace's words were true.
If the Sinnoh League detected the anomaly in Alamos Town…
The one most likely to appear here was—
BOOM—!
The collision of the Temporal and Spatial Dragons' moves sent violent tremors through the air.
Natsume raised his eyes to the sky.
The aurora—twisting, churning, shimmering from the distortions of time and space.
"So beautiful."
He whispered.
Then—
The aurora abruptly split open.
A rift expanded, and from that bridge emerged—
The last person Natsume wanted to see right now.
Natsume's pupils shrank, reflecting a breathtaking golden-haired beauty.
Cynthia stood atop Garchomp's back, surveying the scene below like a queen.
Her eyes were cold, detached, filled with unyielding ice.
Her gaze swept over the vanishing Alamos Town, the clashing Temporal and Spatial Dragons—without the slightest tremor.
But when her eyes met Natsume's—
For just an instant, the ice melted.
A faint, gentle smile flickered in her gaze.
Natsume's heart clenched.
A chill ran down his spine.
Then—
Cynthia turned toward the Temporal and Spatial Dragons, her golden hair billowing in the shockwaves.
She raised a hand, eyes sharp as blades, and commanded:
"Garchomp—"
"Draco Meteor!!"
In that moment—
The aurora-lit sky erupted in a dazzling storm of meteors.
Natsume's breath caught.
He remembered—
The first gift Cynthia ever gave him.
It was during Tanabata.
A sky full of stars, illuminated by brilliant fireworks.
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