From the very first Pokémon disappearance case until now—
A full half month had already passed.
That was extremely abnormal.
After all, in White Tree Town, the clash between the two gods had nearly erased the town into the Void World in less than half a day.
This situation very likely had a deep connection to the legendary Creator God, Arceus!
Otherwise—
Dialga and Palkia could never have fought for such a long time.
With that thought, Cynthia began to see a clear direction.
She walked to the section of the library labeled Creator God Arceus and took out a picture book detailing Arceus's creation of the worlds, reading it carefully.
Most legends about Arceus were passed down in the form of illustrated storybooks.
Of course, that didn't mean there were only picture books.
But Cynthia, who was well-versed in mythological texts, could say with certainty—
In all her memories, there were no direct records of parallel worlds.
The only clue lay in a single line:
When Arceus creates a new world, it leaves behind one of its avatars to maintain that world's balance.
That was enough.
The picture book Cynthia was reading recorded various stories of Arceus's creation.
Naturally, it was presented mainly through illustrations—
And it was also the most famous picture book in all of Sinnoh.
However, reading with a clear purpose, Cynthia soon reached a conclusion.
"During the creation of the world, Arceus sent down three gods to balance time and space, and banished Giratina to the Distortion World to monitor all unstable factors."
Her thoughts clicked into place.
Cynthia lightly nodded.
It seemed her deduction was correct.
Across all the worlds created by Arceus, the God of Time Dialga, the God of Space Palkia, and the ruler of the Distortion World, Giratina, should each be unique existences.
After their previous conflict, Dialga and Palkia should have already reconciled.
Which meant—
Someone had deliberately provoked their conflict, causing space itself to distort.
Moreover, Cynthia could determine that the battle between the two gods was not taking place in this world, nor in the other one.
Otherwise, Giratina—tasked with maintaining balance—would have intervened to stop them.
That made things troublesome.
A rift in unknown space…
Wasn't that very similar to what happened in White Tree Town?
Yet also different.
This time, there was no "anchor point" like White Tree Town.
So much so that even Giratina couldn't observe Dialga and Palkia's location.
"This is difficult…"
Cynthia frowned in thought.
Things were starting to slip out of control.
At present, aside from waiting for those randomly appearing spacetime portals, there seemed to be no other way.
No—wait!
There was still one method.
Giratina.
Although Giratina hadn't detected Dialga and Palkia,
With its ability to connect different worlds through the Distortion World, it should be able to lead her into the other world.
As things stood now, Cynthia could be certain—
All of this was absolutely connected to that Team Rocket trio.
According to the information she'd gathered,
Aside from a small number of Pokémon that went missing on their own,
Most of the disappearances involved three strangely dressed individuals capturing Pokémon.
And based on the victims' descriptions—
Those three matched perfectly with the otherworldly Team Rocket trio she'd seen today.
But here was the problem.
The randomness of those spacetime portals was far too great.
And Giratina, ruler of the Distortion World, resided there permanently.
It wasn't something Cynthia could simply contact at will.
Troublesome.
Not just troublesome—
Extremely troublesome.
While Cynthia was deep in thought,
Ash and Dawn had unknowingly come up beside her.
Dawn was worried sick about her Piplup.
As for Ash—
He was furious.
Those otherworldly Team Rocket members were going too far!
They dared to set their sights on Pikachu and Charizard?!
Unforgivable!
They absolutely had to be taught a harsh lesson!
"Miss Cynthia, did you find anything? Putting everything else aside—if you need to call for reinforcements, I can even bring Giratina over for you!"
Ash spoke with great passion.
There wasn't even the slightest hint of a joke in his tone.
Even Dawn and Pikachu beside him nodded in agreement.
After all—
Given Ash's relationship with Giratina, asking it for help was definitely possible.
Hearing that—
Cynthia froze.
This was truly like someone handing you a pillow right when you were getting sleepy.
"Ash… can you really contact Giratina?"
Cynthia's eyes lit up, filled with anticipation.
Under that expectant gaze—
Ash nodded seriously.
"Of course. Giratina and I are really close!"
Watching Ash pat his chest confidently,
A smile naturally appeared on Cynthia's lips.
As expected of Ash.
When it really mattered, he was always reliable.
All of her earlier worries completely vanished at that moment.
[Diantha]: You're really infuriating!
[Steven Stone]: This must be Champion Cynthia's charm—after all, she's one of the strongest female Trainers of our era.
[Lt. Surge]: Ash, I'm so jealous! Two beautiful Champion ladies favoring you—I'd be laughing myself awake even in my dreams!
[Sabrina]: Then keep dreaming. It's more realistic that way.
The audience was stunned.
Something was off with Sabrina today.
Seeing Ash and Cynthia being so close—
Shouldn't she be angry?
She'd been upset about this for quite a while before.
So what was going on today?
A personality change?
No attacks on anyone?
Could it be…
She'd come to terms with the fact that Ash wouldn't belong to her alone?
[Professor Rowan]: Ash, when you have time, come visit Celestic Town. This old woman is very interested in you.
[Professor Juniper]: I always feel like these gods have some sort of connection with Ash. Even Giratina, the mysterious ruler of the Distortion World—Ash talks about summoning it as if it's easy.
[Professor Oak]: Ash has always been special. Pokémon have liked him since he was little. And those gods are still Pokémon at heart—of course they'd like him.
[Gary]: That's not normal at all! Pokémon like me too! But I never ran into Legendary Pokémon during my journey!
[Ash]: That's because your heart isn't sincere enough! I face every Pokémon with equality!
[Sabrina]: That's true. My Haunter really likes Ash.
Gary was furious.
Really furious.
He wanted to argue that he did the same.
But thinking it over—
He realized he was only that sincere toward Pokémon he'd already caught.
Was this the real difference between him and Ash?
Gary began questioning his life choices.
[Cynthia]: Diantha, the only loser here will be you.
Back on screen—
After confirming that Ash could communicate with Giratina,
Cynthia's tightly furrowed brow finally relaxed.
"It seems our hope of reaching the other world rests entirely on you."
She gently rubbed Ash's head, speaking in a relaxed tone.
Honestly—
Cynthia really liked patting Ash's head.
The sensation was oddly soothing, almost addictive.
Usually, she restrained herself.
But now, having found a breakthrough—
She couldn't help but thoroughly ruffle his hair.
And honestly?
It really was relaxing.
As for Ash—
He didn't resist at all.
On the livestream, viewers could clearly see him squinting his eyes in enjoyment.
Dawn was completely stunned.
This isn't right!
Your relationship with Champion Cynthia is way too good!
This makes me feel totally unnecessary!
For some reason, Dawn felt like a stray Yamper on the street that suddenly got its mouth pried open and force-fed dog food.
Honestly—
She was kind of full.
What was even stranger—
Watching Ash and Cynthia interact didn't make her jealous.
She was actually enjoying it.
That realization made Dawn feel like she was the weird one.
Shouldn't she be jealous?
All that could be said was—
Cynthia's "Champion filter" in the eyes of Sinnoh's people was just too strong.
It completely erased any sense of jealousy.
Still—
The ambiguous atmosphere didn't last long.
The three soon left the library.
There were too many people inside, and quite a few of Cynthia's fans had already started gathering.
To avoid causing a disturbance—and to better discuss their next plan—
They chose to leave.
[Johanna]: Dawn, my dear daughter, aren't you usually fearless? Why are you chickening out now?!
Who cares if she's Champion Cynthia—go grab Ash's hand and declare your territory! You and Ash are the same age! That's your advantage, something Cynthia can't beat!
[Dawn]: Mom! I'm still young! I'm not at the age to talk about romance yet!
[Johanna]: By the time you are, it'll be too late! Haven't you seen Chloe? She's a perfect example!
People the same age don't need all those twists and turns—charging straight ahead is how you find happiness!
Go for it! Mom believes in you!
[Aaron]: This lady is really fierce…
[Flint]: Seriously. She wants to NTR right in front of Big Sis Cynthia—does she think Big Sis has a good temper?
[Aaron]: You're one to talk. Saying that—are your injuries healed already? Paldea's medical tech must be amazing.
[Iono]: I want to say Paldea's medical tech is great, but Uncle Flint definitely hasn't recovered! The only thing he can still move is his mouth.
[Volkner]: Can't help it—even if Flint dies, his mouth will still be tough!
[Diantha]: Hehe~ Cynthia, your subordinates are quite interesting. Unlike mine—my people are all sharp and capable.
[Drasna]: Oh, I wouldn't dare compare. It's thanks to Miss Diantha's careful arrangements that the Kalos League runs so smoothly.
[Lucian]: Champion Diantha, I disagree. Among the Sinnoh Elite Four, aside from Flint—the black sheep—we're all very diligent.
[Cynthia]: Want to fight?
[Diantha]: Afraid of you? You've held the title of strongest female Trainer for too long—it's my turn now.
In an instant, sparks flew across the screen.
The audience could practically feel the tension.
Fight!
Fight now!
We love watching women fight!
Unfortunately, they were probably going to be disappointed.
[Ash]: Miss Cynthia, Miss Diantha, everyone's friends—there's no need to fight.
Wait—
Ash?
Why did your emotional intelligence suddenly increase this much?!
You're actually mediating between two Champions now?!
Is someone secretly coaching you?!
Kanto – Delia's house
Ash scratched his head, looking at his mom in confusion.
"Mom… is it okay if I send it like that?"
His eyes were filled with innocent confusion.
Seeing that look, Delia wanted to hold her forehead.
I clearly told you to mediate between the two Champions—and invite them over for dinner.
How did you only remember the first half?
What about the rest?!
Delia took a deep breath, silently chanting "Better than Red" to comfort herself.
After a moment, she smiled gently again.
"Well done, Ash. But next time, remember everything I tell you, okay?"
"Mhm! I will, Mom!"
Ash looked like he totally understood.
Delia: "..."
You absolutely did not understand.
Kanto – Orre / Tree of Beginning
Walking along the outer region of the World Tree,
Yellow was in a very good mood.
This counted as rare alone time with Red.
A date!
Even though Red's attention wasn't on her at all—
He was busy interacting with Mew—
Yellow was still very happy.
She even wore a satisfied smile.
You're way too easy to please!
Hidden behind them, Blue was furious at her lack of initiative.
"Go! Grab Red's arm!"
A voice suddenly sounded in Yellow's ear.
It carried suppressed anger, yet carefully guided her.
"Blue… isn't that a bit too—"
"Too what?! Hurry up and hold on! If you're any slower, Red's going to get seduced by Mew!"
Blue, speaking through the earpiece, was both anxious and furious!
She wished she could jump out and demonstrate what a proper date looked like.
Hearing Blue's words,
Yellow hesitated—
Then finally gathered her courage and took Red's hand.
Linking arms was too intimate—she was afraid she'd faint on the spot.
But the instant her hand reached out—
Red instinctively clasped it back.
"Yellow, Mew says there's ancient Pokémon ecology inside the World Tree! Let's go check it out!"
Without waiting for her response, Red pulled Yellow toward the World Tree.
Running under the sunset—
That was youth!
(Might Guy gives a thumbs-up.jpg)
Seeing this,
Mew blinked mischievously at Blue and the smug Green beside her.
Then the two pink little hands covered its mouth as it giggled.
Only after Yellow and Red disappeared did Blue finally smile.
Perfect. Mission accomplished.
Looking at their retreating figures, tears even welled up at the corners of Blue's eyes.
Aunt Delia—
This mission was way too hard!
I need a raise!
Back on screen—
They headed to a secluded forest.
Of course, it wasn't for anything strange—
Just to find a place far from the city.
After all, this involved Giratina.
If Ash suddenly summoned Giratina in public, that would be chaos.
Only when all traces of civilization faded away did the three finally stop.
Cynthia turned and spoke seriously to Ash.
"Ash, can you explain how you plan to summon Giratina? Do you need any special materials?"
Faced with Cynthia's question, Ash didn't hesitate at all.
He immediately explained how he contacted Giratina.
Ash raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
In Cynthia and Dawn's astonished gazes—
Ash's shadow suddenly stretched out.
Then it rose upright, forming a semicircular ancient-style archway.
Not only that—
Ash's Gengar gracefully stepped out from the arch.
This time, it was dressed in a vampire tailcoat, complete with makeup on its big face.
A medieval vampire Gengar!
Vampire Gengar flicked the handkerchief in its hand and made an inviting gesture toward Cynthia and Dawn.
"Gengar~"
"Ash…?"
Cynthia spoke up cautiously.
Ash scratched his head, a little embarrassed by Gengar's antics.
"Well, it's not about summoning Giratina—we're going to find it.
My shadow is connected to the Distortion World. As long as we go through my shadow, we can enter the Distortion World directly.
Then we just ask Giratina for help."
Dawn, Cynthia: "?"
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