Two days later...
"That's Mt. Coronet over there, nyaa." Meowth's claws gripped the edge of the airship as he poked his head out to observe the surroundings.
Caleb, who had been sitting inside the airship and checking on the situation in other regions, stood up upon hearing this and walked over to Meowth's side, gazing into the distance with him.
Before them stretched a vast, towering mountain range, its peaks shrouded in mist.
Compared to Giovanni in Kanto, Cyrus could be said to have had far more reverence for nature.
Even after taking control of the Sinnoh region, he had never recklessly developed Mt. Coronet or destroyed its natural environment.
Thus, this world's Mt. Coronet was not much different from the one in Caleb's memories.
"Found it!" James' voice came from inside the airship.
Caleb and Meowth turned around to see a pale blue holographic screen projected from James' wristband, displaying a map of Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh.
James had just hacked into Team Galactic's database and extracted the location of the Ruins of the Divine: "Longitude 135.5, Latitude 34.41!"
"Got it!" Jessie, who was piloting the airship, immediately input the coordinates into the control panel.
"Whew, sometimes James is actually reliable nyaa~" Meowth said to Caleb.
Caleb smiled faintly, "Yeah, you three will always be the best team."
"No way!" Meowth's whiskers twitched, "They're both big idiots nyaa!"
"Hey hey hey! We're right here, you know?" James said, exasperated.
"Meowth?" Jessie also turned her head, her eyes flashing dangerously.
Although her temper had mellowed over the years, Meowth still flinched at the familiar glare and quickly changed the subject, "The sky here is so blue!"
Caleb glanced outside and nodded, "Yeah, it really is."
Giovanni had pursued technological advancement relentlessly. He built factories everywhere, which had shrouded Kanto's skies in thick smog from morning till night.
Compared to that, the weather in Sinnoh was much clearer.
James glanced at the two before lowering his head to continue infiltrating Team Galactic's database.
After Cyrus' death, Team Galactic had fallen into chaos.
With the disappearance of the guardian Legendaries, Dialga and Palkia, the long-oppressed villainous organizations had risen up in rebellion, seizing control of major cities and declaring themselves rulers. With them having manpower and firearms, the remaining Team Galactic executives were no match for them.
In their current state of barely holding on, they certainly didn't have the energy to focus on their database security.
Thinking this, James effortlessly bypassed dozens of firewalls and smoothly accessed Team Galactic's core data storage.
He downloaded all the research materials, scientific achievements, base locations, company intelligence, and personnel records onto his storage drive. Just as he was about to exit, he suddenly noticed a video recording at the very bottom.
James paused, curiosity getting the better of him, and clicked on the video.
A pale blue light condensed in front of him, projecting a floating image...
Roars, explosions, and screams abruptly erupted from it. The noise instantly drew the attention of Caleb, Meowth, and Jessie.
The first thing that appeared on the screen was the image of a Pokémon falling from midair.
"That's… a Garchomp?" Jessie muttered, stunned.
Caleb suddenly had a bad feeling. The video's background was a blood-red sunset.
The heavily injured Garchomp crashed into a pile of rubble. The camera slowly panned, revealing a golden-haired woman in a black coat limping toward Garchomp.
Her face was smeared with blood from who-knows-where, her golden hair disheveled by the wind. Her beautiful features looked tragic and desolate under the sunset's glow.
Cyrus stepped into the frame, slowly approaching the woman's and coldly sneered, "Keep fighting!"
The woman said nothing. Her right arm hung limply, blood soaking through her clothes and dripping from her fingers onto the rocks.
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, "Fourth Division Commander of the Resistance, is this all you've got? Weren't you supposed to be strong? Why are you lying there like a dog now?"
Bloodstained strands of hair fluttered by her ear. With a cold gaze, she used her uninjured left arm to pull out a dagger from her waist and stabbed forward with all her might!
*Thunk!*
The blade sank into Cyrus' abdomen. His eyes flashed with rage as he kicked the woman away.
The video abruptly ended...
*Gulp!*
Meowth swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Th-that… that was Cynthia?!"
"Probably…" James said, unable to hide his discomfort.
Jessie's brows furrowed tightly, "How could he do that?!"
Caleb looked at James and questioned, "Where did you find this?"
James: "Team Galactic's database…"
For some reason, he felt that Caleb's current state was… off.
Though he appeared calm on the surface, James got the distinct impression that he was about to kill someone.
After a moment of scrutiny, James noticed Caleb's clenched fists and the prominent veins on his arms.
James hesitated, his mind quickly piecing things together. He asked, "You… know Cynthia?"
Caleb: "Yes."
He had lived with Cynthia in Celestic Town for three years. Long ago, he had come to see her as an older sister and her grandmother as his own family.
As he spoke, a memory surfaced in his mind... something Cynthia had once told him:
"I've always wanted a little brother." Cynthia had said it softly, her eyes bright as she looked at Caleb, "When I was little, I used to think that if I had a brother, I'd save all the sweet cookies and milk Grandma made for him."
"...I'd buy him the nicest clothes, the coolest shoes…" She had smiled, "Thank you, little liar."
That night, the weather had been beautiful. Cynthia had taken him to lie on the roof and watch the stars, the air filled with the scent of her grandmother's freshly baked cookies.
And so... even though he knew this world's Cynthia wasn't the one he knew, Caleb couldn't stand seeing her treated like this.
'That bastard Cyrus… He deserved to die!'
Seeing the storm of emotions flickering across Caleb's face, James wisely chose not to press further.
Caleb gritted his teeth, seething with fury. He wanted nothing more than to find Dialga, go back in time, and cut Cyrus down himself.
But Dialga was nowhere to be found, and he had already used up his three questions for the Book of Answers.
Just then, the airship suddenly came to a halt and began its descent.
"We're here!" Jessie announced as she stood up.
Caleb took a deep breath, forcing himself to push the video out of his mind. He looked down at the Ruins of the Divine below.
An ancient, mysterious aura emanated from the ruins, which were embedded deep within Mt. Coronet's massive structure.
The entrance was overgrown with yellowed weeds, and the interior was pitch-black. It seemed like no one had set foot here in years.
"Mmmph…" James bit down on a flashlight, using his free hand to operate his wristband, "I found an internal map of the ruins in Team Galactic's database."
Caleb took a flashlight from Jessie, and the group followed the map's directions into the Ruins of the Divine.
The interior was far more spacious than Caleb had expected. But it was also in complete disarray, as if it had endured an apocalyptic battle... Shattered pillars, collapsed sections, lifeless zones… There were even skeletal remains half-buried in the dust.
Meowth shivered in fright, "D-do you think those bones are from Pokémon…?"
James glanced at them, his expression grim.
"Probably." he replied.
Meowth's fur stood on end, his mind conjuring up horrifying images.
Caleb gave him a look and released Lucario while reassuring him: "Relax, Meowth. There are many of us here."
"I know, nyaa…" Meowth muttered, "I'm just… sad. Everyone used to be so happy nyaa… Why did things turn out like this? The twerp's gone, Pikachu's gone, everyone's gone… So many Pokémon went extinct…"
Hearing this, Jessie and James also fell silent...
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Caleb sighed softly and turned to Lucario, saying, "Use Aura to scan the surroundings."
Lucario nodded, closing its eyes as it released its Aura, sensing everything around them.
No one spoke. The Team Rocket trio held their breaths as they waited quietly.
Soon, Lucario opened its eyes... but its expression was puzzled as it turned toward a particular direction.
"Let's check it out." Caleb said.
With Lucario leading the way, the group soon arrived at a crumbling stone chamber. The walls were covered in faded murals, their details long lost to time.
On one wall, there was a square indentation.
James examined it, mumbling in intrigue, "A mechanism?"
Caleb felt the indentation looked familiar. After a moment's thought, he took out the Spear Key he had stolen in the previous Instance and slotted it into the groove.
It was a perfect fit.
With a soft click, the stone door slid open.
Caleb retrieved the Spear Key, placed back in in his inventory, and stepped inside. The others followed closely behind him.
What awaited them was an enormous, cavernous space, one that appeared to have been artificially excavated.
It bore a striking resemblance to the ancient Roman coliseums Caleb had seen in history books.
"It's so dark in here, nyaa." Meowth swept his flashlight around.
James took out a Poké Ball from his backpack and commanded: "Dustox, use Flash!"
A brilliant white light burst from Dustox's body, illuminating the entire area in an instant.
When the group saw what lay before them, their pupils contracted in shock.
Jessie's voice was barely a whisper, "That's…"
James finished her sentence, his tone hollow, "Dialga and Palkia."
Meowth's flashlight clattered to the ground, "They've turned to stone…"
Caleb frowned at the two lifeless statues before him.
Back in Dialga's time dimension, he had received news that the Temporal and Spatial Duo were severely injured and near death. But he hadn't expected to find them here like this.
'If Dialga and Palkia are here, then where is Arceus?'
A terrible premonition gripped his heart.
Just then, James called out from nearby, "Look at the ground here!"
Perhaps due to the passage of time, the floor was covered in dust... but even so, under Flash's illumination, it reflected a faint silvery sheen.
James brushed away some of the dust, then muttered with uncertainty, "Is this solidified mercury?"
Jessie's face paled, "Arceus isn't buried under this, is it?"
....
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