April 25. Sky Challenge Arena.
A Roselia stood calmly on the battlefield, blue and red roses in its hands.
High above, a Pidgeot beat its massive wings, its expression completely indifferent.
"Coordinate your attacks, then use Flash!"
The strict trainer gave the command.
Several lifelike copies of Roselia suddenly appeared across the field.
Pidgeot's eyes sharpened.
It spread its wings, unleashing a violent hurricane that instantly scattered the Double Team illusions.
But hidden behind the storm, the real Roselia leaped over the edge of the gale. Brilliant white light erupted from its body, forcing everyone, including Pidgeot, to instinctively shut their eyes.
When Pidgeot opened them again, two identical Roselia stood on opposite sides of the battlefield.
For a brief moment, it couldn't tell which one was real.
Without hesitating for long, it picked one at random and dove toward it.
The instant its talons made contact, that Roselia dissolved into mist.
It had guessed wrong.
The challenge was over.
The challenger was Ryan, a teenager from the nearby town.
Lin Feng had noticed him long ago and had been quietly observing him because, over the past month, the boy had come to challenge the Sky Challenge three times every single week.
His home wasn't far away.
Every day after school, he would head straight here.
After only one month, he had finally cleared the first stage of the Sky Challenge.
That alone was already an impressive achievement.
After all, he was still only a high school student.
According to the current standards of the Donghua League, most rookie trainers didn't begin their journeys until after graduating from high school.
Ryan could genuinely be considered a gifted prodigy.
At the very least, once he officially began his journey, earning Gym Badges would be far easier than it was for ordinary trainers.
Lin Feng stopped watching and leisurely headed back toward the ranch.
As he walked, he couldn't help wondering when Mew would return.
Its last visit had been five days ago.
Judging by its usual habits, Mew generally came back once every fifteen days.
That meant it would probably visit again sometime before May 10.
Thinking of Mew naturally reminded Lin Feng of the Tree of Beginning.
As far as he knew, the Tree of Beginning rejected humans.
Anyone who entered without permission would trigger the tree's immune system, causing it to create Pokémon guardians that could even absorb a trainer's Pokémon.
That was the real reason Lin Feng had never gone there.
Although both he and Serperior had now received the Tree's recognition...
What if something still went wrong?
What if he accidentally activated its defense system and caused irreversible damage?
The consequences would be catastrophic.
He couldn't bear that responsibility.
As far as he remembered, even Ash, the legendary Pokémon magnet, hadn't immediately earned the Tree's approval.
Still...
Speaking of Ash...
If the Indigo League had already concluded, then Ash should soon be traveling to the Johto League.
And Johto...
That was where Alto Mare, the City of Water, was located.
So...
When exactly would he arrive there?
Lin Feng's thoughts wandered endlessly.
Just then, a wave of Aura from Gardevoir reached him.
Inside the kitchen, Gardevoir had been making Pokéblocks alongside Latias, who was disguised as Kanon.
Without warning, Kanon's body froze.
Every ingredient floating before her suddenly lost control and scattered across the floor.
"Gardevoir?"
Gardevoir immediately sensed the abnormal fluctuation in psychic energy.
Seeing the panic filling Latias' eyes, Gardevoir didn't ask any questions.
Instead, it quietly watched.
The next second, Latias dropped her disguise and returned to her original form.
She rushed outside toward the reservoir, anxiously patting the surface of the water with her tiny forelimbs.
It was obvious.
She wanted to return to Alto Mare through the Reverse World.
Unfortunately, it wasn't time.
Giratina hadn't opened a passage to the Reverse World.
Although Gardevoir had no idea what had happened, it immediately sent an Aura message to Lin Feng.
Moments later...
Lin Feng arrived.
"Latias..."
The moment she saw him, Latias became frantic.
She waved both arms wildly, so anxious that she couldn't even speak properly.
"I know, I know. Right away."
Lin Feng already understood.
The only thing capable of making Latias panic like this...
Was something happening to her brother.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a bottle of Honey Grape Wine from his storage Poké Ball and poured it into the reservoir.
This was the method he and Giratina had agreed upon.
Lin Feng couldn't enter the Reverse World whenever he wished, and Aura couldn't penetrate its barrier.
In most situations, only Giratina could come looking for him.
Still, there were times when Lin Feng wanted to contact Giratina.
So they had come up with a simple signal.
Whenever Lin Feng poured wine into the reservoir, the water would change color.
If Giratina noticed the color change, it would know Lin Feng was calling.
As the wine spread across the water, the reservoir slowly turned purple.
Latias anxiously circled above the surface again and again.
She was terrified that every second she lost would put her brother in greater danger.
Lin Feng was nervous as well.
He knew the Phantom Thief Sisters' ultimate goal.
They wanted to borrow the power of Latios and the Soul Dew to seize control of Alto Mare.
If Latios had already sent a desperate plea to his sister...
Then the situation was probably already serious.
"Please don't let me down, great Giratina..."
Lin Feng silently prayed while staring at the reservoir.
At the same time, he gently comforted Latias.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
"Use Dream Projection."
"Let me see what's happening with Latios."
Dream Projection was a unique ability shared by both Latias and Latios.
It allowed someone with psychic compatibility to witness what the other sibling was seeing.
Latias hurriedly infused a strand of psychic energy into Lin Feng.
Instantly...
His vision shifted.
It felt as though space itself had twisted.
The scenery before him transformed into the underground garden beneath Alto Mare.
Since Lin Feng had visited once before, the surroundings were immediately familiar.
His eyes swept across the area.
Everything looked exactly the same.
Nothing appeared damaged.
And Latios didn't seem to be in immediate danger.
Lin Feng blinked in surprise.
It looked as though...
Nothing had happened.
"Latias... Latias!"
Finally calming down enough to explain, Latias cried anxiously,
"The Soul Dew!"
"The Soul Dew has been stolen!"
"Kanon has been kidnapped too!"
"..."
Lin Feng let out a quiet sigh of relief.
As long as the situation hadn't reached the point of no return...
There was still time to fix everything.
Just then...
Ripples spread across the reservoir.
A moment later...
Giratina's enormous head slowly emerged from the water.
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