Chapter Sixty-Five: Palkia and Dialga
The group hurried into the cavern. As they made their way, Ash recounted everything that had happened earlier, including Cyrus's ominous words. Upon hearing that the Red Chain forged from the fallen meteorite could control legendary Pokémon, Cheng felt a pang of regret; he’d been so close to encountering the legendaries himself. Yet even if Cheng had obtained the Red Chain, he would never have used it to control the legendary Pokémon. Besides, those beings were not so easily subdued.
Gradually, a strong light appeared ahead, and soon they saw Team Galactic members summoning Dialga and Palkia. Two figures materialized in the air—surely, it was them.
“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
A crackling Thunderbolt shot forth, striking and destroying the machine outright. Team Galactic finally reacted and launched a counterattack.
Toxicroak leapt forward, jabbing at Galactic's own Toxicroak and knocking it to the ground, finally settling its score. At that moment, Cynthia released her Garchomp, and Cheng called out his Lunatone.
“Stop them!” commanded the Team Galactic boss, ordering his subordinates to hold the group back. But Cheng and his friends were not easily deterred.
“Crobat, Supersonic!”
“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”
“Piplup, Bubble Beam!”
“Lunatone, Rock Slide!”
“Garchomp, Dragon Claw!”
With such coordinated attacks, Team Galactic’s Pokémon were quickly overwhelmed.
“Dialga, Palkia, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf. Who would have thought that the Pokémon I’ve always dreamed of meeting would appear before me in such a way,” Cynthia sighed.
It was true; one reason Cheng had chosen to travel with Ash and his friends was to see these legendary creatures. Now, at last, he had—but this was not the ideal moment. Though the situation was dire, Cheng still took a moment to look over the data on these Pokémon.
Pokémon: Palkia
Type: Water, Dragon
Level: 94
Rank: Purple
Rarity: Legendary
Ability: Pressure
Hidden Ability: Telepathy
…
Moves: Dragon Breath, Scary Face, Water Pulse, Slash, Power Gem, Ancient Power, Dragon Claw, Spacial Rend, Heal Block, Hydro Pump, Earth Power, Slash, Aqua Tail, Aura Sphere.
Special Moves: Spatial Movement, Space Warp.
Pokémon: Dialga
Type: Steel, Dragon
Level: 94
Rank: Purple
Rarity: Legendary
Ability: Pressure
Hidden Ability: Telepathy
…
Moves: Dragon Breath, Scary Face, Metal Claw, Ancient Power, Slash, Power Gem, Metal Burst, Dragon Claw, Roar of Time, Heal Block, Earth Power, Slash, Flash Cannon, Aura Sphere.
Special Moves: Time Acceleration, Time Travel.
Pokémon: Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf
Type: Psychic
Level: 88
Rank: Purple
Rarity: Legendary
Ability: Levitate
…
They were indeed powerful, on par with Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza.
Soon, Cheng and his friends had defeated all of Team Galactic’s Pokémon.
“Now’s our chance! Everyone, hurry—let’s rescue Uxie and the others!”
Pikachu, Piplup, and Toxicroak dashed past Team Galactic and each used their signature moves to shatter the Red Chain gems at the center of the Lake Trio’s foreheads.
With the Red Chain gems destroyed, the Lake Trio was freed. However, their strength was spent, and they dropped toward the ground—Ash, Brock, and May caught them just in time.
Immediately after, the projections of Palkia and Dialga began to fade.
“Cyrus, looks like you won’t be summoning Dialga and Palkia after all,” Cynthia said, looking at him with a touch of irony.
“Is that so?” Cyrus replied, a sly smile on his lips. He raised the Red Chain gem in his hand toward the vanishing projections. Instantly, both illusions let out a cry of agony—Palkia and Dialga fully materialized, now bound and under his control.
“How could this be?”
“Why?” Everyone was stunned; they hadn’t expected Dialga and Palkia to still be summoned.
“Hahaha, at last it’s done!” Cyrus laughed triumphantly, issuing a command to the two Pokémon.
“Dialga, ruler of time, Palkia, master of space—combine your powers and create a new world!”
“This is bad—everyone, run!” Cynthia realized things had taken a turn for the worse and ordered Ash and the others to flee.
As they escaped, Dialga and Palkia fused their powers, creating an enormous space-time vortex.
“What incredible power,” everyone could feel the overwhelming energy within the vortex.
“A new world is about to be born!” Cyrus shouted, elated.
“Everyone, aim for the two red rings—if we break them, we should be able to free Dialga and Palkia!”
“All right! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”
“Piplup, Bubble Beam!”
“Lunatone, Wake-Up Slap!”
“Garchomp, Draco Meteor!”
“Palkia, Spacial Rend! Dialga, Roar of Time!” Cyrus commanded the two legendaries to unleash devastating attacks. Only Cynthia could barely withstand Palkia’s Spacial Rend—Cheng and the others simply couldn’t hold off Dialga’s Roar of Time. The massive energy wave surged toward them; a direct hit would spell disaster.
Suddenly, the Lake Trio soared into the air, shielding the group and absorbing the brunt of the Roar of Time.
“Thank you so much,” the group called out gratefully.
Just then, the space-time vortex was complete.
“It’s ready! Master Cyrus, let’s enter quickly!”
“Hmph, my world has no place for you. Your very presence would sully it; this world belongs to me alone.”
“Master Cyrus!”
“Everyone, now’s our chance—let’s try again!”
“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”
“Piplup, Bubble Beam!”
“Lunatone, Wake-Up Slap!”
“Garchomp, Draco Meteor!”
The Lake Trio joined in with their own signature moves. At last, through their combined efforts, the Red Chains binding the two legendaries shattered, and both Pokémon collapsed to the ground. As they were freed, the space-time vortex began to fade.
“Master Cyrus, is this really the end?”
“Hmph, this world belongs to me—me alone.” With that, Cyrus dashed into the vortex.
“Master Cyrus!” the red-haired woman shouted, rushing to follow, but the blue-haired woman held her back.
The space-time vortex continued to shrink, almost disappearing.
“We did it—it’s finally over, right?” someone breathed in relief.
But suddenly, Dialga and Palkia attacked once more, expanding the vortex and creating a powerful suction.
Everyone scrambled for cover, bracing themselves.
“Is everyone all right?” Cynthia called.
“We’re fine.”
“It seems Dialga and Palkia aren’t fully freed yet. If this continues, the entire Sinnoh region could be swallowed up!”
“How could this happen? What should we do?”
At that moment, the Lake Trio rose again, communicating with Ash and his friends. They wanted Ash, Brock, and May to help them completely liberate Dialga and Palkia.
The Lake Trio, in turn, unleashed their powers. Soon, Dialga and Palkia calmed, and peace began to return to the realm.
“We did it!” they cheered.
Together, the Lake Trio exerted their power, sending Dialga and Palkia away, and then vanished themselves.
“We’ll see them again someday,” Ash said, gazing at the darkened sky.
“Yes, maybe somewhere out there we’ll meet them once more,” Brock replied.
Cheng glanced at the spot where the vortex had appeared—perhaps the world beyond was the Reverse World. He wondered what Cyrus would think upon arriving there, though it was likely Giratina, the Renegade Dragon, would expel him.
With the departure of Palkia, Dialga, and the Lake Trio, peace finally returned. The group detained Team Galactic and contacted Looker and Professor Rowan.
Soon, the International Police arrived to take Team Galactic into custody. Professor Rowan came as well, placing the Lustrous Orb, the Adamant Orb, and the remnants of the Red Chain into a special case, then preparing to leave with them.
“Ash, thank you all so much. You saved the entire Sinnoh region.”
“We saved Sinnoh?” Ash, Brock, and May echoed in astonishment.
Cheng just smiled. It wasn’t wrong to say they’d saved Sinnoh. Even if something had gone wrong, perhaps Giratina would have restored this world from the Reverse World.
“Well then, Ash, I’ll be taking these with me. I hope we meet again.” With that, Professor Rowan and his team drove away.
“Cynthia, it’s time for us to set out as well.”
“Ash, you all did wonderfully. I hope we can meet again someday.”
“Of course, Cynthia. See you!”
Ash, Brock, and May decided to continue their journey, while Cheng lingered. Ash immediately understood.
“Cheng, are you leaving again?”
“Yes, everything here is settled now. Professor Oak’s research is about to begin, so I’ve decided to head there and join his team.”
“All right, but you have to come watch my matches!”
“Of course—I’ll come with Professor Oak. I’ll be staying in Pallet Town for a while. We’ll definitely meet again.”
“Then, Cheng, until next time.”
“Goodbye, Ash, Brock, May—and Pikachu.” Cheng patted Pikachu on the head.
And so, Cheng parted ways with Ash and his friends.
As he journeyed on, a sudden voice echoed in his mind—it was the system. After listening to what the system had to say, Cheng was left utterly stunned.
“What?!”