"Today, this battle, you won."
"Two Divine Domain Level Pokemon, Yveltal, Giratina, all fell at your hands. Since I joined Team Galactic, I've never suffered such a loss."
"But don't celebrate too early. Team Galactic is in the dark, you're in the light, you can't always be so lucky."
He paused, his voice emanating a chilling coldness: "I've remembered you, Ash. Next time we meet, I'll make you pay for everything you've done today."
Then he turned and stepped into the rift, followed closely by Pluton.
The ghostly purple light suddenly contracted, the spatial rift exploded into a ring of silent ripples in the air, then completely dissipated, leaving not a trace.
The Reverse Space laid down by the Netherworld Dragon also vanished along with Saturn's departure.
Giratina lay in the crater, breathing weak but steady.
That strike from Rayquaza earlier severely injured It, but also successfully freed it from the control of the Griseous Orb.
If the Griseous Orb and that man were present, It might not have been able to break free even in this state.
But now, the Griseous Orb is far away in Sinnoh, and that man is absent, so after Its own power was shattered by Rayquaza, the Netherworld Dragon successfully escaped being controlled.
Ash slowly pushed himself up from the ground.
The Aura Power was nearly depleted, but now he recovered some strength, so simple movements weren't a problem, and he gently placed Mitsumi down from his embrace.
With no enemies now, Mitsumi would not be threatened, and once the follow-up matters were handled, he would take Mitsumi back to Pallet Town.
Pikachu looked up at Ash, the worry in its eyes hadn't fully dispersed, gazing as if saying, "Are you okay?"
Ash waved his hand to indicate he was fine, then walked toward the huge crater created by Giratina.
The pit was deep, with Giratina lying at the deepest part, its entire body sprawled laxly amongst the rubble, the wound on Its belly still oozing a purple-black energy.
But Its eyes were clear, unlike the savage-filled crimson dragon eyes Ash saw before in the Crystal Tower. Now, though fatigued, those eyes bore a sense of relief suppressed for too long.
Ash crouched by the edge of the pit, looking down at the gigantic creature, then turned to call out to Mewtwo: "Mewtwo, give me a hand, I'm not fully recovered yet."
Mewtwo's eyes flashed with helplessness: "If you're not recovered, don't move around."
Despite the words, she was very obedient to Ash, using Spiritual Power to steadily lower him to the pit's bottom.
Ash approached Giratina, Its vast dragon's head just inches away, each breath carrying a chilling aura, blowing his forelocks backward.
He raised his hand, the viridian green light of the Power of Viridian glowing in his palm.
After the fierce battles, the Power of Viridian was also greatly consumed. The light was weaker than before, yet still carried a vibrant energy.
He pressed his palm against the edge of Giratina's belly wound, starting to slowly infuse it.
The green light infiltrated the purple-black wound like spring rains seeping into parched soil, making Giratina's dragon body quiver slightly and then slowly relax.
This human... is healing It.
Just now, they were mortal enemies, and now It was being treated by this human. Did this boy see that It was controlled earlier?
"It's okay now, Giratina, I'll heal you. This wound looks scary, but Rayquaza held back just now; It only scattered your inner power without harming your essence." Ash turned to glance at Giratina and met Its eyes, then spoke comfortingly.
He thought Giratina might be worried he would still harm It, so he quickly explained.
A moment later, a low and hoarse voice echoed in Ash's mind, filled with weariness yet still dignified.
'You're called Ash.'
Ash paused for a moment, then realized it was the voice of the Netherworld Dragon. He nodded: "Yes, I'm from Pallet Town... Maybe you don't know where Pallet Town is, but it's not far from here. In the future, I'm going to become a Pokemon Master; you might as well remember my name."
Ash wasn't surprised that the Netherworld Dragon knew his name because Saturn and Pluton had shouted it quite loudly just now. Knowing his name wasn't strange, yet at this moment, he didn't forget to boast about his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master to the Netherworld Dragon.
This left the Netherworld Dragon quite baffled.
It paused momentarily and continued: 'I'll remember.'
This dialogue nearly made Mewtwo stumble beside them. You, with your sound embodying awe, and your terrifying form, yet responding with such simplicity.
Do you understand your current situation? You just escaped human control, and now you're conversing with a human so easily?
But on another note, Ash's words... indeed had an ineffable charm, not to mention Giratina regaining Its freedom was greatly linked to Ash. Plus, now Ash is healing Giratina, so it's reasonable for Giratina to lower Its guard toward Ash.
Ash grinned, still healing Giratina, then asked, "How are you feeling now?"
'Thank goodness, this power of yours is quite useful to me. The immense vitality it contains is enough to heal even a being of my level. In a little while, I will be able to move again.'
Ash's Power of Viridian might not yet be at its highest specification, but in terms of quality, it is no lesser than Xerneas's Life Power.
This power is sufficient to heal the Pokemon atop Divine Domain Peak.
After all, its Origin Power wasn't harmed. The wounds look frightening but only temporarily immobilized it. The vast Life Force of a Legendary Beast is no joke.
While the Origin survives, life does not perish.
"That's good... can I ask you a question?"
'What question?'
"How did Team Galactic manage to control you?" Ash voiced the question that was on his mind.
He was astonished when he saw Giratina; why could Team Galactic control even a Divine Domain Peak entity like Giratina when, not long ago, they could only briefly use Yveltal's power to control Lugia?
That power has since dissipated, and now, this last piece of Yveltal's Origin Power should be all Team Galactic has.
However, Giratina wasn't controlled by this power, because Ash sensed no death energy on Giratina, and Giratina was different from Lugia.
The reason Yveltal's power could leave Lugia so devastated is that not only do they share the same Flying Type Origin, but the Dark Attribute power greatly suppresses Lugia, causing Lugia to be controlled.
Though Giratina's power was similarly constrained, not even a Divine Realm Advanced entity could be controlled by a mere fragment of Origin Power, nor could the presence of Yveltal alone subdue Giratina.
Then what method did Team Galactic use?
Giratina was silent for a while, its crimson dragon eyes swirling with complex emotions, seemingly recalling something.
Ash didn't urge it, simply continuing to channel the Power of Viridian into the wound.
The green light flickered in the depths of the pit, like fireflies at night.
'Griseous Orb.'
Giratina finally spoke.
'It was one of the powers given to me by Arceus when I was sent to the Reverse World. It enabled me to control the Reverse World, transform my shape, and made me stronger than an ordinary Divine Domain Level.'
'From the day I was tasked to guard the Reverse World, it has always been with me, linked to the Origin Power inside my body, completely fused into me.'
Ash raised his head, a hint of confusion on his face, "Did the Griseous Orb fall into Team Galactic's hands?"
Giratina glanced at Ash; its crimson eyes showing some surprise, 'How do you know?'
"I guessed. Since you mentioned the Griseous Orb, it indicates your control must be related to it, so likely, the Orb ended up with Team Galactic."
'That's right, because of the Griseous Orb, I was controlled by Team Galactic.'
"How did that thing end up with Team Galactic? Wasn't it fused into your body? How could it suddenly be in their hands?"
'I don't know.' Giratina's voice carried a heavy sense of powerlessness.
'There is no day or night, no seasons in the Reverse World. I've guarded it for so long, so long that I can't remember the last time I left.'
'One day, the Griseous Orb suddenly vanished from me, not stolen, not taken, just disappeared into thin air.'
'I searched every floating island, every void in the Reverse World, searched for a long time, yet still couldn't find it.'
'I wanted to go out and search. But I can't leave the Reverse World, as it's my duty. Unless in the most urgent circumstances, I must stay to maintain the balance between the Reverse World and the real world.'
Giratina continued, his voice tinged with some doubt and anger, 'One day, something appeared in the Reverse World that shouldn't have been there.'
'It was a trace of spatial distortion, very faint, but the entire Reverse World is under my control. Even without the Griseous Orb, I'm the master of Reverse Space, so naturally, I sensed it.'
'I followed that trace, traversing space, reaching the place I sensed the anomaly, and there that man stood at the cave entrance, wearing silver-grey clothing, holding a small device in his hand. From that device, I felt... the power of the Griseous Orb!'
Ash's eyes slightly narrowed; the story sounded almost like some heavenly tale.
To have a Divine Domain Peak, beyond the average peak existence, suddenly lose its Origin tool, and shortly after, a human appeared in the world it controls with said tool.
It sounds like that man's capabilities are not just terrifying; moreover, he dared to come alone to the Reverse Space, clearly well-prepared.
Apparently, that man is the leader of Team Galactic!
Only the leader of Team Galactic would possess such boldness.
'I asked him how he obtained the Griseous Orb and who he was, his answer was—Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic, Cyrus.'
Cyrus... Is that the name of Team Galactic's leader?
Though there might be others named Cyrus in the world, having a name at least provides some clues.
'He said the Griseous Orb is in his hands, and he wants to use its power and mine to create a new world without conflicts.'
Giratina's voice carried a trace of derision.
'I think he's mad. A human, holding a force he shouldn't possess, standing at the entrance to the Reverse World, speaking of creating a new world.'
'I decided to capture him first, retrieve the Griseous Orb, then find out the whole story.'
At this point, the expression on the Netherworld Dragon's face showed an emotion even Ash could understand—that was a fury!
'As I charged at him, Cyrus sighed, seemingly disappointed by my non-cooperation, then activated the device in his hand.'
'The power of the Griseous Orb surged out of the device, twisted by some technology I couldn't understand, then drilled into my body like countless nails, each one pinned to my consciousness.'
'From that day, I became a puppet of that man.'
This was the process of how Giratina was controlled; how to say it... it was rather plain.
Except for how the Griseous Orb ended up in Cyrus's hands, other circumstances couldn't merely be described as reckless.
Though humans lack the powerful strength of Pokemon, through their wisdom, they created Pokeballs, and even relied on Pokemon power to create many things to control Pokemon.
Back then, Lugia severely suffered due to such a device, although at that time, Lugia had just emerged from the sea, entirely unknowing of the situation, thus being controlled.
Giratina, on the other hand, was different. When someone suddenly appeared with the Origin Orb, standing in front of it, even speaking of using the power to create a new world.
Anyone who could say this is either an idiot or truly powerful, having ventured to the Reverse Space, Cyrus clearly wasn't the former.
If Giratina had decisively left at that moment, maybe it would have had a chance to escape, but instead, it sought him out.
However, it's not Giratina's fault; after all... compared to little humans, the power of Legendary Beasts is overwhelming, crushing a human with less effort than a human crushing an ant.
In such circumstances, how could Giratina have any sense of caution?
"Cyrus, right... I see. I'll ask Miss Cynthia to search for this person at that time. Leave the rest to me, Giratina. What do you plan to do next?" Ash gently withdrew the Power of Viridian.
The wounds on Giratina had healed considerably, not fully recovered but movement was possible.
Cyrus's issue requires a longer-term plan; for now, what should be addressed is... Giratina's next steps?
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