[Delia:]Ash, I know you're very excited, but you can't act like that again, okay? You're really strong, and if you hug Pikachu like that, he won't be able to breathe. You must treat Pokémon like you would a girl — always be gentle, understand?
[Ash:]I understand, Mom! I won't do it again!
On screen —
"Ash, don't hug Pikachu like that, it's almost out of breath," Dawn said softly, patting Ash's shoulder.
Ash blinked in surprise as he took in his surroundings.
Just a second ago, he had been in the park…
But now, he was in a place he didn't recognize at all.
After talking with Dawn and the others, Ash finally understood what had happened.
During his battle with Darkrai, he'd been struck by Dark Void and fell into sleep.
Because of Darkrai's Bad Dreams ability, anyone who falls asleep under its power is forced to experience terrible nightmares.
Naturally, Ash assumed everything he'd seen earlier was part of that nightmare.
He didn't take it too seriously… though he still felt a little annoyed at Darkrai for putting him through that.
"Powerful forces have caused time and space to intertwine…" muttered Tonio, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the spiral patterns on the floor. Without hesitation, he rushed out of the hospital room.
That night, the whole of Alamos Town was alight with celebration.
Because of the Pokémon Contest being held, fireworks filled the sky every evening.
Under the glittering fireworks, Tonio worked tirelessly inside the Space-Time Tower, studying the strange phenomena he'd discovered earlier that day.
While reading through Godey's journal, Tonio found an old photograph —
A picture of Godey sitting on a park bench beside a young girl.
Below the photo, some notes were written:
"Alicia rescued Darkrai in the park."
"Alicia…? That's Alice's grandmother," Tonio realized aloud.
As he spoke, the images on the screen faded to gray —
a vision of the past recorded in the diary.
The scene shifted.
A young girl ran through the park, panic in her eyes.
All around her, Pokémon lay collapsed on the ground, struggling as though trapped in terrible nightmares.
Alicia ran faster, until she saw —
a Luxray surrounded by a swirling darkness before falling unconscious.
Even though she was frightened, she pressed forward.
And there, under the shadow of a tree, she saw it — Darkrai.
The Dark-type Pokémon looked weak and wounded. When it saw Alicia, it stumbled and fell against the trunk, expecting her to attack.
But instead, Alicia knelt beside it, gently stroked its forehead, and smiled warmly.
Moments later, Godey, drawn by the sound of music from the park, arrived to find something miraculous —
The Pokémon that had been suffering in nightmares were calming down, their faces peaceful again.
High on the branches, he saw a shadow — Darkrai's shadow — watching silently.
"Darkrai, once hated by everyone, was accepted by Alicia… and began living peacefully in the park."
"So that's what really happened back then," Tonio murmured as the memory faded and the screen returned to color.
[Cynthia:] So the reason Darkrai lived in the park… it was because of Alice's grandmother.
[Lance:] But in that record, Darkrai was clearly injured. What kind of Pokémon could have wounded it that badly?
[Bruno:] I think the title already gave it away — Dialga and Palkia!
[Lorelei:] Not bad, Bruno. Smarter than Lance this time.
[Bruno:] Of course! I am one of Kanto's Elite Four, after all!
[Professor Oak:] Things seem to be getting more complicated. Perhaps the "Battle at the Space-Time Tower" means more than we thought.
[Gary:] Grandpa, look! Tonio just found something incredible!
Everyone's eyes turned back to the screen —
Tonio was flipping through the journal, revealing a detailed blueprint of the Space-Time Tower.
"Bad dreams show me what I must do for the future… I must play the Oración," Godey's voice echoed faintly.
"Oración?" Tonio repeated, startled. He remembered that name — it was mentioned before in Godey's diary. He was certain it was important… but how?
At that moment, the scene shifted again.
Moonlight poured into an old castle. From the shadows, Baron Alberto walked forward with a smug grin.
Apparently, a TV crew had requested to interview him — and, naturally, the arrogant Baron didn't refuse.
But as the camera panned, the audience saw who the "TV crew" actually was —
Team Rocket.
Things were about to get interesting.
[Alice:] Oración has such power? My grandmother only told me it was a simple melody.
[Steven:] Maybe even your grandmother didn't know its true purpose. From what we saw in the memory, Oración can calm Pokémon — that's probably the key.
[Elaine:] A song that soothes Pokémon… that reminds me of the light from the Tree of Beginning in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. It had a similar effect.
[Lt. Surge:] Come on, a song that powerful? That's crazy! It's not even a battle move — it's just music!
[Sabrina:] Please. Only people with no education enjoy rap. Pokémon, though uneducated, have a much better sense for true music.
[Ash:] Honestly, I think Alice's Oración is amazing. Even through the screen, I felt at peace listening to it.
[Bruno:] There it is! Proof that Ash is basically a Pokémon in human form!
In Pallet Town, Ash froze.
What did that have to do with anything?!
He was just complimenting the song — how did that mean he was a Pokémon?!
No way! He was an ordinary human — no psychic powers, no aura stuff, nothing!
Gary, sitting a few rows behind him, smirked.
Typical Ash. Still the same as ever.
That fluke victory at the Silver Conference? Total luck.
Next time, he'd win it back for sure.
On screen —
The next day, under Alice's guidance, Ash and his friends continued touring Alamos Town.
Their next stop: the Contest Hall — the tallest building in town — none other than the Space-Time Tower, designed by the great architect Godey himself.
Inside, Alice explained that Godey was Tonio's ancestor, and that beneath the tower lay Tonio's lab.
Hearing the word lab, Ash perked right up.
Under Alice's lead, they entered — only to find it a complete mess. Papers everywhere. And Tonio… lying behind a desk, motionless.
Startled, Alice rushed over, only to realize — he was just sleeping.
When she sighed in relief and let go, Tonio fell to the floor with a thud.
Meanwhile, Piplup accidentally knocked over a disc, which Pikachu quickly caught.
Ash took it and examined it curiously. Alice explained that it was one of the music discs used to play songs through the Space-Time Tower — which was, in fact, the largest musical instrument in the world.
That immediately caught Ash and Dawn's interest. They decided to try it out.
With Alice leading the way, they climbed the spiral stairs toward the tower's peak — though halfway up, they resorted to using a hot-air balloon instead.
At the top, Dawn placed the disc onto the massive music turntable, and Alice pulled the lever.
Electricity flashed — and soon, the tower rang with beautiful, resonant music.
The melody flowed across the whole of Alamos Town, filling the night with peace and joy.
The townspeople began singing and dancing along under the fireworks.
But far away, in a distorted void —
Dialga was still chasing Palkia.
Cracks spread across the pink gem on Palkia's shoulder, its power leaking rapidly. Realizing it couldn't win, Palkia tore open space itself and escaped—
emerging directly above Alamos Town.
At once, a brilliant pink aura spread outward, enveloping the entire city.
In mere moments, Palkia had separated the town from the rest of the world entirely.
The townspeople noticed nothing at first, but Ash and his friends paused mid-battle as they felt the strange energy pulse from the tower's peak.
Back in the void, Dialga roared in fury — its rival had escaped, and the entire dimension trembled from its wrath!
[Bertha:] What the—?! How did Palkia just appear in Alamos Town out of nowhere?!
[Lucian:] Well, it is the Spatial Pokémon. Warping through dimensions is probably trivial for it.
[Bertha:] Then why didn't it do that earlier?
[Lucian:] …
Good question. Next question, please.
Whatever the reason, one thing was certain:
With Palkia's arrival, the real battle for the Space-Time Tower had begun.
In Alamos Town, a chill spread through the air as Palkia descended.
Darkrai, having learned of this day long ago through Godey's notes, knew the true danger had come.
He had tried for so long to prevent this—
And now, two cosmic beings were bringing chaos to the peaceful town.
Darkrai's eyes glowed with cold blue fire.
This was anger.
This was resolve.
He had made a promise — to Alicia.
He would protect this place, no matter the cost.
Even if they were gods,
he would not back down.
Darkrai sank into the shadows, ready to strike.
As he glanced toward Alice, who was praying beneath the tower, for a moment he thought he saw Alicia's shadow overlap with hers.
"So alike…" he murmured.
On the surface, Alamos Town still looked unchanged.
Only Tonio's instruments showed the truth — the readings were all wrong.
The data never lies. Something was terribly wrong.
Then —
"Get out of here!!!"
A thunderous shout echoed across the plaza.
People turned in confusion, just in time to see Baron Alberto pointing furiously at the shadows where Darkrai hid.
Believing Darkrai to be the source of the chaos, Alberto ordered his Lickilicky to attack.
But his attack barely scratched Darkrai — and his arrogance only enraged it further.
Darkrai rose into the air, a massive Shadow Ball forming between its hands.
"GET! OUT!"
The same words — but this time, filled with fury.
Hundreds of small black voids erupted across the plaza, pulling both humans and Pokémon alike into sleep wherever they touched.
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