The hall was silent. Even Misty and Brock's faint footsteps were completely masked by the sound of the wind and rain outside.
After entering, they met no resistance. They moved through the darkness and reached the room with the device without any trouble.
This was the only lit area in the cathedral. The two had been on edge the whole way, but thankfully, they found no fossil Pokémon guarding the area. They peeked their heads out and saw that the device in the room was still running. In the iron rings, the restrained Latios was still having its power drained, its face twisted in pain.
Latias, desperate to save her brother, charged directly toward Latios. Misty and Brock had no time to stop her.
By the time they realized what was happening, Latias had already reached Latios's side.
Her actions immediately gave them away, ruining the element of surprise.
"What rats have scurried in here!?"
The silver-haired thief, Oakley, who was controlling the device, snorted. She then used the Soul Dew to revive several of the previously defeated fossil Pokémon to eliminate the two intruders. The waterspout raging in the plaza also began to head back toward the cathedral under her control.
This was, of course, noticed by Natsui and the others outside. Knowing that something must have gone wrong with Misty's plan, they followed the waterspout back toward the cathedral.
Inside the room, Misty and Brock knew the situation was urgent. They both threw their Poké Balls, released their Pokémon, and began commanding them to attack the massive device beneath Oakley.
Although the device was built by ancient people and made entirely of steel, it still seemed fragile under the power of the Pokémon.
After just a dozen or so hits, the device began to malfunction. It tilted severely, and even Oakley, operating it from inside, was greatly affected.
"You brats!" Oakley yelled. "Why do you have to interfere with us!?"
She tried to activate the power of the Soul Dew again, but the control panel in the sphere suddenly flickered and then sparked violently.
At that moment, the situation began to spiral out of control. The sphere Oakley was in started to spin faster and faster. The iron rings binding Latios began to drain its power frantically, like a pump, causing Latios to let out a painful cry.
This made Latias even more anxious. She rammed the iron rings with all her might, ignoring the electric currents shocking her body.
But before she could rescue Latios, a black light suddenly flashed from within the sphere.
Misty looked up and saw that the once beautiful and flawless Soul Dew had somehow turned a dark purple.
A deep purple light shone from within it, looking incredibly dangerous.
"This is bad!" Having heard Lorenzo's explanation before, Misty knew what this meant. "The Soul Dew has been corrupted!"
When they first entered the Secret Garden and saw the Soul Dew, Lorenzo clearly said that Latias and Latios used the gem to fend off a monster attack. It symbolized purity. If used by someone with evil intentions, it would become twisted and corrupted. Once corrupted, it would not only lose its original power, but the island itself would disappear along with it.
At first, she thought it was just a story, but now, the gem looked like it could explode at any moment.
Bang!
Freed from the device's influence, Latias finally shattered the iron rings and rescued Latios. However, he was in a terrible state. Not only was his body badly injured, but his spirit was also completely drained.
Misty glanced at Brock. "We've rescued Latios. Let's get out of here quickly!"
Brock nodded. The two supported Latios on either side and carried him out of the cathedral. Just as they were leaving, they came face to face with the blonde thief, Annie.
However, Annie clearly had no time for them. Seeing the still-spinning device in the distance, she ran toward it anxiously.
"Oakley! Are you okay!?"
The groups passed each other, exchanging only a brief glance, but neither paid any attention to the other.
Watching Annie run off, Misty let out a sigh of relief. She continued to help Latios out of the cathedral. Just as they got outside the main door, they met Natsui and the others who had come to help.
Seeing Latios with them, Bianca's face lit up with joy. "You saved Latios?"
Misty nodded, then noticed it was a little too quiet around them. "Huh? Where's the waterspout?" she asked, surprised.
"We don't know. It just suddenly disappeared," Ash said.
Speaking of disappearing, Misty remembered the Soul Dew. "Right! The Soul Dew seems to have been corrupted. It just turned black!" she said nervously.
"That's terrible!" Hearing this, Lorenzo's face turned pale. "Once the Soul Dew is corrupted, it will not only disappear, but it will also cause a tsunami!"
Natsui frowned. "Is there a way to purify it?"
Lorenzo shook his head. "The Soul Dew is the crystallization of the souls of Latios and Latias. It is perfectly pure. Once it's corrupted, it's irreversible."
Erika suddenly said, "Look around. Something doesn't seem right."
At her reminder, the group turned to look and were shocked to find that not only had the rain stopped, but the water in the surrounding canals was slowly receding.
The water receded quickly. The small boats floating on it were left stranded on the riverbed as the water level dropped.
This was an island in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by seawater. Even if the river water disappeared, the sea should have flowed in to fill it. It shouldn't be receding like this.
Lorenzo seemed to realize something and ran to the coast next to the plaza. Natsui and the others followed his gaze and saw that the seawater around the city of Alto Mare was also pulling back into the distance, like a receding tide.
The entire city—no, the entire island—was now surrounded by exposed reefs and seabed. Countless shellfish and Pokémon were stranded, caught by the sudden retreat of the water. In the distance, the ruins of a castle were even revealed.
These ruins had been submerged under the sea for hundreds of years and were in a state of decay. Now, revealed before them, people finally knew that such a building had existed here in ancient times.
Lorenzo's gaze was fixed on the sea, which was receding like a white line. "This is bad," he said in a low voice. "It's a tsunami. And it's a super tsunami, the likes of which has never been seen before!"
"A super tsunami?" As someone from inland, Brock didn't quite understand. "Does that mean a huge wave is coming?" he asked.
"That's right," Lorenzo said, his face filled with deep worry. "A tide receding like this has never happened before. I'm afraid a conservative estimate would be that when it comes back, it will reach a height of 100 meters..."
"100 meters!?"
Hearing that height, the group looked at each other. They all knew Lorenzo was not exaggerating.
"Grandfather..." Bianca's voice trembled as she asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to. "Can this city withstand a tsunami that big?"
"Impossible," Lorenzo sighed, his face ashen. "A tsunami like that will submerge the entire city. The people in the city... they will probably all lose their lives..."
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