{At ???}
The gang was looking up. It was all eight of them: Ash, Gary, Green, Yellow, Ethan, Silver, Kris, and Lyra, standing next to their Legendaries, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei, and even the Legendaries felt a cold sweat drip down their heads.
"How did it come to this…" Ethan muttered, his voice slightly shaking.
Ash was also looking up. For once, he didn't have a plan. "Hey, Gary, if you still believe in Mew, then get on your hands and knees and pray for us."
"It's a bit too late for that…" Gary muttered back.
You might ask why they were like this. Well, it was because of what was looking down at them, a single giant Pokémon. It was Arceus, or at least an avatar of it. And right now, they were facing it.
They were alone. No one else was with them. They were tired, hungry, and hurt. Their clothes were torn and dirty. Ash's Aura reserves were running low, and even Yellow didn't have much healing left in her. Since the beginning of the Masked Man's plan, they had been fighting non-stop for five hours.
Arceus looked down, ready to squash them like bugs, as it raised its head and charged a bright orange [Judgment].
Ash was the first one to move. He raised his hands and quickly created an Aura barrier in front of them, just as the attack came down.
As the beam crashed into the shield, it pressed harder and harder until cracks started to appear, making Ash grit his teeth.
You're probably wondering how they got into this situation. Well… let's go back one hour.
—
The land was calm, except for the dashing figures moving as fast as they could through Johto.
These were Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei, carrying the gang on their backs, with Garchomp and Dragonite flying alongside to keep up with their speed.
On the two dragons, Cynthia was, of course, on Garchomp, while Lance rode Dragonite, also holding onto Pryce, who was leading the way.
Giovanni was riding with Silver on Entei. He didn't say much, only looked down at the Legendary, but did nothing for now.
As for Celebi, it had gone back into time, though it promised to help. However, that meant it would…
"So, are you planning on explaining where we're going?!" Lance called out, the wind whipping at his face as he contacted the League.
"We need to get to the Sinjoh Ruins!" Pryce said urgently. At that, Ash finally felt his heart drop. There's only one reason anyone talks about the Sinjoh Ruins, and that's the big man himself: Arceus.
Cynthia also recognized it, though more because she had been searching for it for some time. "What do you mean, you found the Sinjoh Ruins? How, and what's there?"
"I… I don't know. I just know some things from my years of research," Pryce said, looking down. "The Sinjoh Ruins are the remains of a temple created hundreds of years ago by two groups of humans: one who came from Sinnoh, and another who hailed from Johto. The ruins are what remain, and they're located in the neutral area between Sinnoh and Johto!"
"No wonder I couldn't find anything in Johto. It was never in Johto. Fascinating," Cynthia muttered, already thinking about what to write down and almost dozing off.
"Please, not the time!" Ash called out, snapping her out of it. He sounded more frantic than usual, and that was weird, as he looked at Pryce. "Cut to the chase. What did you do?"
"I don't know," Pryce said again. "All I know is that they are related to the Unown, even more so than the Ruins of Alph. And I heard a legend that if you take something called the Azure Flute, something only the Unown themselves can create, then something incredible happens. You gain the power of creation. At least, that's what the legends I read said."
"What? Why did you research it so much?" Lance demanded, looking back at him.
"I… had it as a plan B, in case my plan with Celebi didn't work. Because I don't know what will happen. It was never meant to be used. But when I fell into the time stream, I saw something, a future. Four giant figures rampaging through Johto, then the world, destroying everything in their way!"
"What?!" Giovanni snapped, narrowing his eyes. "Explain. Now. Why are they coming?"
"Yeah, don't tell us you're tricking us into taking you there just so you can start that," Ethan agreed.
"No. I understand what I did. It's no way to move on," Pryce muttered. "But when I started my plan, two of my subordinates… I put what can only be described as a dead man's switch on them. As soon as my mask broke, they got the order to go to the ruins and use the flute."
"Why? For what reason? This is all so stupid!" Lyra blurted out.
"For once, I agree with her," Gary said. "So what's your grand plan then? How are we gonna stop this?"
Ash was also gritting his teeth. If what Pryce said was true, then when he made D break their masks, and probably part of their jaws, it didn't matter. They kept moving anyway. So how the heck was he supposed to know that? And now they were in this situation. This sucked.
"If I can just get to them, I can tell them to stop. They still listen to my orders. We just need to get there before it's too late!" Pryce said as they passed the coast of Johto and moved through the mountains.
"And how can we trust you to keep your word?" Lance asked, eyeing him. It was still hard for him to process everything. He had known Pryce for a while. Heck, there were even a few years where Pryce was his mentor, helping him fight against strong Ice Pokémon, his biggest weakness. But knowing now that it might have all been fake… that was hard to believe.
Pryce simply looked at him, meeting his eyes directly. "You can't."
That spoke louder than any empty promise could. As for the others, like Misty, Blaine, and Surge, Lance had already told them to head back to the League to send a message to Professor Oak, since they didn't have the strength to help.
And the only reason Lance, Cynthia, or Giovanni were even willing to let the gang go was because they had the Legendaries, and the Legendaries clearly weren't letting go of them. No matter how stubborn Lance was, he couldn't argue with that. Still, if there was a battle, he'd do everything he could to get them away from danger.
Eventually, they stopped in an area surrounded by mountains. They were outside Johto now, and hidden between the stones was what looked like a door, or at least a cave with a door-shaped opening.
As they got off and started walking in, the area was dark. Ash gave a small whistle, and Pikachu used [Flash], lighting up the cave. Along the walls, they saw hundreds of drawings of Unown.
Cynthia, being the archaeologist she was, was immediately enamored. She walked over and began scribbling notes into a notebook she pulled out of seemingly nowhere. "There is so much more than I could have ever possibly imagined!"
"Uh, Cynthia, maybe save the research for after," Lance reminded her. "We're here to stop whatever Pryce did, so we can't waste time."
"Right, right," Cynthia muttered, reluctantly snapping her notebook shut. Still, her eyes darted along the walls. "But it's interesting… this place has elements of the Temple of Sinnoh."
"Like I said before, this place was constructed by both the people of Johto and Sinnoh. So it's to be expected," Pryce said as he moved alongside them in his ice-formed wheelchair.
"I know, but still, it's fascinating," Cynthia mumbled, her gaze still lingering on the carvings. "I'd love to study this more… but you're right, we need to go."
Ethan was in the back. As he walked, he felt something shift in his jacket. He looked down, his eyes widening. "W-wha-why are you out? I told you—"
Kris looked back. "Hmm? What was that?"
Ethan jumped in place. "N-no, nothing," he stammered. But there was clearly something struggling under his jacket. Whatever it was wriggled up and popped against his chin, knocking him flat onto the ground.
As Ethan fell, a Togepi dropped out of his jacket. It crossed its arms with a huff, clearly annoyed it had been left in its Poké Ball for so long. Ethan groaned, "Sorry, Togebo…"
Green lit up as she spotted the Togepi. "Oh hey, it's you. Hello again!"
Togebo looked up, saw Green, and raised one tiny hand to give her a cheeky thumbs-up. He always liked Green. Togebo had a certain… quirk. Since he was born in a casino thanks to Ethan's gambling habit, he'd picked up the same gambler's spirit.
Ethan got back up, rubbing his head. "Togebo, you need to go back in the Poké Ball. It's way too dangerous, you're still too small."
Togebo huffed and turned away from him. Ethan sighed helplessly. "It's always like this…"
"So… your Togepi seems to be… unique, to say the least," Lance remarked, eyeing the little Pokémon.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. And I don't think Togebo likes me very much," Ethan sighed.
Cynthia glanced at Togebo and gave a knowing smile. "Well, I wouldn't say that," she whispered softly, low enough that Ethan didn't hear. Then she knelt down beside Togebo. "Hello there. Nice to meet you. You're a cute little one. Here, maybe this will help."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, shimmering Shiny Stone.
Togebo blinked at it. He wanted to say something but couldn't, so he huffed, took the stone, and tucked it carefully inside his eggshell before looking away again with another huff.
Finally, Ethan pulled out Togebo's Poké Ball and held it out. "Togebo, return. You can't be with us right now."
Despite Togebo's visible protests, the red beam pulled him back inside. Ethan closed the ball with a sigh and got back to his feet. "Okay. Let's keep going, please."
Cynthia let out a low laugh. "Sure." Her eyes lingered on Ethan's Poké Ball. She was looking forward to seeing how that would play out.
The deeper they went, the heavier the air grew. With Pikachu lighting the way, they walked through the cave, passing more and more walls filled with drawings.
But Yellow pressed closer to Ash and whispered in his ear, "Ash… these Unown… you can tell too, can't you?"
Ash frowned. He could. With Aura, he saw that although most of these were drawings, some of them were real Unown. He just nodded slightly and said nothing. They might be watching them, but for now that was the least of his worries, if what he thought was going to happen actually happened.
As they walked deeper into the ruins, they eventually stepped out into an open chamber. There, standing tall before them, was a giant statue of Arceus.
But before anyone could point it out, walking toward the statue were two people, Carl and Sham, no masks, just themselves, with a purple flute in Carl's hands.
Pryce shouted, "Carl! Sham! Stop!"
At those words, they froze. Their bodies loosened, and for the first time in hours, they were back in control of themselves. They blinked, remembering everything they had been about to do.
Pryce continued, "You two… it's over. Just walk away from the statue and hand over the flute. We're going to surrender."
They both stopped and looked back. Sham narrowed her eyes, while Carl clenched the flute tight in his hands. His voice cracked but firmed as he spoke. "No…"
Sham continued, "The Master we know, the one whose goal was to take power for himself, would never say that. Therefore, you are an imposter."
Carl raised the flute high. "Therefore, from this point on, we'll use the power ourselves, and Team Rocket will be ours to control!" He lifted the flute to his lips, ready to blow.
Ash snapped his fingers. Pikachu leapt off his shoulder, flipping midair and firing an [Electroweb]. Carl managed to get only a single note out before Pikachu's web wrapped around his head and yanked him to the ground.
But it was too late. The sound had been made.
Carl hadn't known the song, he had just blown to make noise, but that was enough. Around them, the eyes on the walls blinked to life, glowing with sinister energy. Hundreds of Unown tore themselves free and swirled into the chamber, dancing wildly through the air. Everyone could only watch in horror.
As the Unown circled the statue, the stone eyes began to glow.
Then a leg twitched. The massive body shook. With a thunderous stomp, the statue moved. Dust and fragments fell away as its form pulsed with light. The "statue" wasn't a statue at all, it was a husk. And now it was filled once more. Color returned to its body as it looked down at them all.
Carl ripped the web from his face, grimacing in pain, but still smiling. "Yes! With Arceus itself, we are invincible! Now, Arceus, destroy them!"
But Arceus did not move. Instead, it turned its head downward, a single glowing eye narrowing.
"You idiot!" Pryce shouted. "You can't control Arceus's power! Get out of there!"
Arceus' eyes blazed with unearthly golden light, the cavern trembling as its voice rolled across the ruins like the weight of the heavens themselves.
"So this is what mortals have done in my absence… pitiful creatures, soiled with greed, arrogance, and blasphemy. You trespass upon the sacred chamber of creation, thinking yourselves worthy to wield my power? Pathetic."
Everyone froze, stunned by Arceus' words. Even the Legendaries, Entei, Suicune, Raikou, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, lowered themselves instinctively, their bodies quivering under the suffocating pressure.
Pryce's face went pale, his voice breaking. "No… no, this wasn't supposed to happen…!"
Arceus raised its head, "Your kind has overstepped its bounds for far too long. Mortals… you create, destroy, consume, and corrupt. You are stains upon existence. You are the greatest mistake in this world. Your era ends here."
"Wait, we aren't all bad, you know," Ethan tried to say. "I mean, we—"
Arceus' gaze sharpened, silencing him with a single word, "Silence. The cries of sinners hold no weight before divinity. There is no redemption for you filthy mortals. You shall be erased."
With a single pulse, a thousand rings made of Unown began spinning and separating from it. On the ground, three circles took shape, each bearing a symbol, Time, Space, and Antimatter. They glowed with blinding force.
From the blue one, a colossal figure rose, its roar bending time itself, Dialga.
From the pink one, a serpentine titan of warped space slithered forth, Palkia.
And from the shadows of the deepest chasm, wings unfolded with a scream that curdled blood, Giratina, master of Antimatter.
"Behold… fragments of my infinite authority. The guardians of Time, Space, and Void, bound to my divine justice. Together, they shall purge this wretched world of mortal filth."
The ground split beneath their feet as Dialga's roar sent shockwaves through the cavern. Palkia twisted the air into fractured shards. Giratina's distorted cry dragged the shadows closer.
Then Arceus looked down and saw the gang, the ones currently commanding the Legendaries. It let out a scoff, "Mortals attempting to rise beyond their station… I shall deal with you myself."
Before anyone could react, Ash, Gary, Green, Yellow, Ethan, Silver, Kris, Lyra, and Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei, vanished, along with Arceus.
"NO!" Lance cried, gritting his teeth. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
Giovanni clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles cracked, his face twisting with rage. "That stupid glorified statue took my son. I'll tear its head off for that."
"Focus," Pryce snapped, pulling their attention forward. "We need to take care of this before we can think about them." He pointed at the looming titans: Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.
"So… how are we doing this?" Cynthia asked, a drop of sweat running down her temple.
"We'll deal with this. You find them and make sure they're safe," Pryce said as he slid into position. Off to the side, Carl and Sham lay on the ground, unconscious and forgotten.
Cynthia blinked, owlish. "Eh… are you sure?"
"Yeah. And when you get there, just stall. We'll catch up soon," Lance said.
The fact that they hadn't been erased from existence immediately told them this Arceus was only a weaker avatar. These titans, then, were constructs of it, strong, but weaker still than the true gods. Even so, no one knew how much of a chance they had. But they didn't have a choice.
"…Fine," Cynthia finally said. She glanced at each of them, her voice hard. "I'll go. But you three, stay alive."
"Don't worry, we'll cover you," Lance said, stepping to the front.
Pryce rolled forward toward the left, locking his gaze on Dialga. "I'll take Dialga."
Dialga lowered its head, its mouth glowing as it charged a devastating blast straight at the old man and the Swinub perched in his lap. Pryce didn't move. He couldn't, his wheelchair left him nowhere to run.
The roar of power split the air as the blue beam engulfed him. The entire temple shook, stone cracking, dust and debris exploding upward.
When the light faded, Dialga straightened with a satisfied rumble, turning to seek its next target. But then, it heard the sound of dusting.
The smoke cleared, revealing Pryce calmly swiping soot from his coat. His voice was steady, cold. "Is that the best you can do?"
Dialga froze. Confusion flickered in its eyes.
For those watching back home, it may have been just as confusing. But there was an answer, when Pryce had once fallen into the time stream, he kinda became a fixed point.
That meant a lot of things, but basically Pryce was now a living paradox. Any tampering with his past no longer altered his future. So he was immune to anything Dialga could do to him, and guess what, he had a certain Lapras with him that just so happen to have done the same
–
Meanwhile, Lance turned his glare on Palkia. "Alright then, I'll take down Palkia."
Dragonite fired a test Hyper Beam, and the shot ricocheted wildly, bouncing hundreds of times, the temple walls fracturing like mirrors splintering under light.
Palkia almost seemed smug, its warped body shimmering in distorted space.
Lance's eyes narrowed, glowing faintly as his Aura flared. He raised his hand like a commander aligning artillery, "Eighty-three degrees up. Thirty-four left. Dragonite [Hyper Beam]!"
Dragonite unleashed another beam. It struck the angle precisely, bouncing from wall to wall in impossible patterns, cutting through warped space like a predator weaving a net.
Palkia tilted its head in disdain, as if mocking his futility. But then—CRACK!
The beam snapped back at an impossible angle, slamming into the back of Palkia's head. The titan reeled, staggering from the blow.
This time it was Lance's turn to smirk. He tilted his head mockingly. "What? Did you think that would work against me? I mastered this kind of training long before I became a trainer."
"Now…" he raised his wrist where there was a Keystone and held an orange stone, "I think, now is a good chance to use this, don't you agree"
–
Giovanni strode to the center, his voice cold steel. "Then I suppose I shall deal with Giratina."
He glanced back at Cynthia. "Go. Now."
Cynthia nodded sharply and slipped past, sprinting deeper into the ruins.
Giratina screeched, twisting its shadowed wings as it lunged to intercept her. But before it could strike, a Rhyperior charged in, its [Rock Wrecker] smashing the distortion beast across the side and throwing it back.
A Beedrill buzzed down beside it, wings cutting the air.
Giovanni raised his wrist, "Let's make this quick. My son is waiting for me." The Keystone on his wrist gleamed, as he pressed it
—
Meanwhile, the gang blinked against sudden light as they found themselves in another chamber.
It was empty. Too empty. The silence pressed down on them as they tried to catch their breath, their minds racing to process the chaos that had just unfolded.
Kris raised a trembling hand, pointing ahead. "Uh… guys… look."
They all turned, and froze.
There was Arceus, towering before them, eyes narrowing like the weight of judgment itself.
"Mortals." Its voice thundered from everywhere and nowhere, a sound that felt like it could grind their souls to dust. "Your refusal to perish when commanded is… bothersome. You will not leave this place alive."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" Ash muttered, Pikachu and Vee stepping defensively at his side.
Even the Legendaries, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Raikou, and Entei, looked stricken. For once, they actually looked scared
Lyra swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper. "What happened to having fun… why are we dealing with this…?"
"You can say that again." Green felt a sweat drop slide down her head.
"Ash, be honest, what are our odds?" Gary asked, gulping.
"A million to one, and rising fast," Ash said, not even sugarcoating it.
"Don't like those odds," Ethan muttered, "but I guess we have no choice, do we?"
The six Legendaries roared in unison, spreading out defensively in front of the gang. As regular old humans, they were the weakest, and so they started pulling out more Pokéballs.
The first strike came in a blinding flash. Arceus raised a golden wheel of energy, a weak [Judgment] bursting forth in a beam of burning light. The combined attacks of the six Legendaries slammed against it, Raikou and Zapdos' [Thunder], Articuno's [Blizzard], Moltres' [Mystical Fire], Entei's [Sacred Fire], and Suicune's [Hydro Pump].
The chamber filled with an explosion of color, light, and sound, enough to shatter the stone ceiling and send the Unown scattering like frightened birds.
Meanwhile, Ash, Gary, Green, Yellow, Ethan, Silver, Kris, and Lyra sent out Dragonite, Blastoise, Venusaur, Dody, Exbo the Typhlosion, Silver and Kris' Feraligatrs, and a Meganium. They all began the raid against Arceus, attacking one after the other, spamming moves, because that was all they could do.
Zapdos shrieked, bolts lancing across Arceus' flank. Raikou followed with a crackling roar, but Arceus barely flinched. With a flick of its head, it summoned a sphere of pure gravity. The orb detonated, slamming both Zapdos and Raikou into the stone floor with a sickening crunch.
"Raikou!" Ethan cried, reaching out helplessly as the thunder beast struggled to rise, sparks sputtering from its mane.
Articuno tried to freeze the air solid, wings glowing with crystalline frost. For a moment, the Avatar's form shimmered beneath the encasing ice. Green's eyes lit up. "It worked!" But then the ice shattered outward in a storm of shards, one spike slicing across Suicune's shoulder. The water legend staggered, bleeding blue onto the stone.
"Keep pushing!" Gary shouted, his voice trembling as his Blastoise launched a [Hydro Cannon] alongside Silver and Kris' Feraligatr. The torrents hit… and rolled harmlessly down Arceus' glowing barrier like rain on glass.
Then Arceus countered. Its ring shifted crimson, and flames hotter than molten rock poured across the chamber in a wave. Entei charged forward with a roar, taking the brunt of it, shielding everyone behind. But the beast's body lit up in fire, and it collapsed with a pained howl.
"Entei!" Silver shouted.
Ash's Dragonite darted forward with a [Dragon Rush], while Pikachu and Vee fired [Thunderbolts] to support her, slamming into Arceus' chest. For a fleeting heartbeat, it looked like the strike connected. But Arceus merely tilted its head and swatted the dragon out of the air with contempt, sending her crashing into the wall beside Kris.
And for once, Pikachu and Vee's effect, the Legendary-killer, didn't work. When their [Thunderbolts] hit Arceus, it didn't weaken, didn't lose its resistances.
Meanwhile Yellow was working overtime, gritting her teeth, hands glowing with healing light as she held them out, quickly patching everyone after every hit from Arceus, especially Suicune, who had taken the worst. "Stay with me, just stay with me!"
If it wasn't for Yellow's healing, they would have already lost half their Pokémon. One hit from Arceus was enough to knock out nearly anyone. But Yellow was already running low from before, she couldn't keep this up.
Arceus' gaze finally locked on her, "Cease your defiance. Mortals were not meant to stand in the path of gods."
And that's how they ended up here in the situation in the beginning
Ash jumped in front of everyone, pouring every last drop of Aura into a shield trying to stop the beam from turning them to dust as Yellow got the Legendaries back in fighting shape.
The gang huddled together, exhausted, hungry, battered. Their Legendaries barely standing. And Arceus pressed harder, its [Judgment] crashing against Ash's cracking shield.
And then… Ash was out of Aura. The shield finally shattered.