"To find a friend." Caleb answered.
Arceus's tone sounded somewhat puzzled: >..A friend? Is it also human?..<
"No, it's a Pokémon," Caleb explained patiently.
Although he didn't know what Arceus intended to do, judging by the current situation, the other party bore no ill will towards him.
Arceus fell into thought. Its divine eyes swept over the Dragonite, Hydreigon, Lucario, Mimikyu, and Celebi beside Caleb, before finally returning to Caleb himself.
Then asked: >..Are all these your friends as well?..<
Caleb nodded, "Yes."
Arceus said nothing more. Its figure vanished into the void, leaving behind a final sentence: >..My name is Arceus. Human, if you need help, you may call upon my name..<
Caleb could hardly believe his ears. He turned to Dragonite and asked, "What did it just say?"
"Wuu..." Dragonite obediently repeated the message.
Caleb was still somewhat incredulous, "Are you sure you heard correctly?"
Dragonite blinked its eyes innocently.
"Alright." Caleb took a deep breath, suddenly feeling that the path ahead had become much brighter.
He turned to look at Giratina, who seemed not to have processed what happened yet, and asked, "Big guy, can you let us out now?"
"Roar!"
This time, Giratina did not fly away as it had last time. It obediently opened the portal to the material world.
"Goodbye!" Caleb took out half of his stored food and Pokéblocks from his inventory and gave them to Giratina.
Giratina did not move. It simply hovered silently in the void, watching as the group departed.
Before stepping out of the Distortion World, Caleb stopped and looked back.
Behind Giratina lay a vast, dark, and profound void. Apart from the area transformed by Xerneas, everywhere else was still filled with an aura of desolation and decay.
Broken rocks drifted in the void. Cold, lifeless islands floated along with piles of ruins that looked like remnants left after a world war.
Giratina was there, seemingly about to merge with those things.
"Roar?" Giratina tilted its head, somewhat confused.
Caleb thought for a moment, then stepped back, jumped in front of Giratina, and took out the Clefairy Doll from his inventory.
"This is for you," he said, "Let it keep you company in this desolate place."
Giratina's gaze was immediately captured by the Clefairy Doll. It stared unblinkingly as the cute pink doll floated to its front.
Then, it carefully gathered the doll into its embrace with its black right wing.
Seeing this, Caleb smiled silently. He turned around, caught up with Dragonite and Xerneas, and left the Distortion World.
The moment he left, he received the notification for the completion of the hidden quest:
*Ding!*
[Hidden Quest: "The Renegade Pokémon Who Wants a Beautiful Home" completed!]
[Reward:
Hearing this, Caleb opened his inventory and, sure enough, saw a new chibi Giratina icon.
He closed the panel, and the portal behind him gradually disappeared.
At that moment, the horns on Xerneas's head had already returned to their usual blue color. It looked at Caleb and said: >..I must go now..<
"Thank you for your help," Caleb said earnestly, "And goodbye!"
Xerneas took one last look at him, then turned around and nimbly moved through the forest, quickly disappearing from sight.
"Meeting and encountering different Pokémon during travels... perhaps this is the charm of the Pokémon world."
Caleb muttered as he watched Xerneas' figure dissappear, then turned to look at Lucario, Hydreigon, and the others... Feeling fortunate that he was accompanied by all his companions...
…
After resting overnight where they were, Caleb continued on his way to find the location that had appeared in the Book of Answers.
Only one last area remained before he could fully explore this world...
When Caleb reached the sky, he once again saw that green figure in the clouds.
Compared to a few days ago, Rayquaza's energy seemed somewhat weakened. It coiled its body in the clouds, revealing only half its head to greet Caleb.
"Are you injured?" Caleb asked, simultaneously having Dragonite approach it while using his Viridian Power to check its condition.
Rayquaza nodded: >..Yes, I am about to enter into hibernation to heal my injuries..<
It had come today specifically to say goodbye to Caleb.
"How did you get so seriously injured?" Caleb asked, using his ability to treat it.
>..Some reckless fools entered invaded my territory. I taught them a lesson..<
'Reckless fools… Could it be that Deoxys came to this planet?'
Thinking this, Caleb sensed Rayquaza's thoughts and, sure enough, saw in its mind the scene of it battling eight Deoxys in the atmosphere.
Caleb: "…"
Feeling the warm energy mending its wounds, a trace of weariness showed in Rayquaza's eyes. This weariness was not just physical; it was more of a weariness of the soul and spirit.
This battle had consumed too much of its innate energy. It would need to hibernate for a long time to recover it.
>..I must go. I'll come find you after I wake up..<
Rayquaza shook its large green head, said its fairwelll, then soared high into the sky and disappeared into the ozone layer.
It had to be said, the Rayquaza of this world was truly powerful. Even facing so many Deoxys at once, it hadn't been at a disadvantage at all.
Caleb sighed with emotion for a while as he watched the direction Rayquaza had left, then said to Dragonite, "Let's go buddy!"
"Wuu!" Dragonite responded, then flew with its trainer toward the last area.
…
Three days later...
Caleb looked at the endless plain before him, feeling somewhat crushed, despairing.
There was nothing... No mountain piercing through the clouds.
He thought of the words from the Book of Answers, 'It doesn't exist...'
But back when he had asked about Mewtwo's location, it had shown 'Above the Clouds and Sky'...
He wondered if it was maybe because the place didn't exist yet in this era. But then… whether it was the formation of mountains or the movement of tectonic plates, all of it required a very long time…
If that place truly existed, it simply couldn't have formed in just thirty-eight years.
So he wondered if Celebi had brought him back to an even earlier point in time.
"Celebi, can you determine how many years it is from the point in time we came from?" Caleb asked.
"Bi…" Celebi frowned, troubled, extending its small hand and counting on its fingers.
Caleb waited patiently. He thought, since he had already spent so much time, a little more wouldn't matter.
Soon, Celebi arrived at an answer, "Bii!" (Thirty-nine years!)
'This is only 39 years in the past? But, how was that possible?'
Caleb was sure he hadn't missed a single area.
But…