"Ash!!!"
Cynthia saw Ash frozen in the void, and she cried out sharply, wanting to rush forward.
But the pull of the black hole's gravity was too terrifying. As soon as she and Garchomp got close, they were firmly gripped by that force and could not move forward a single step.
On the other hand, the situation for Misty and the others, protected by Mewtwo's psychic barrier, was completely different.
That barrier was set up by Ash and Gardevoir with all their strength at the beginning of the battle, specifically to resist the leftovers of a Divine Domain Level.
Though the gravity of the black hole was terrifying, under the protection of that barrier, Misty and the others were unharmed and not affected at all by that devouring force.
After all, they were not at the center of the black hole; otherwise, even with the protection of the barrier, they would be sucked in.
The intruding Cynthia, however, had no such protection, and with no preparation, she was directly swept in by that gravitational force.
"How could this happen..."
Misty watched through the barrier, helplessly seeing Ash getting drawn closer to the black hole, on the verge of breaking down.
"Ash! Ash, come back!"
She frantically hit the barrier in front of her, with tears welling up in her eyes.
Beneath her, Togepi was also anxiously waving its fingers.
For the first time, the small creature felt utterly powerless.
"Mewtwo! Please, bring Ash back!"
Misty's plea, laced with a sob, was heard by Mewtwo, but at this moment, Mewtwo was itself firmly locked by the black hole and could not attend to anything else.
The black hole's pull was growing stronger.
"Boom!"
The vortex suddenly expanded, and an irresistible devouring force erupted violently.
Dialga and Palkia's huge figures were the first to bear the brunt, directly swept into the depths of the black hole by the force.
Next were Mewtwo and Giratina, who were similarly trapped.
"Ash!!"
Before being completely swallowed by the black hole, Ash didn't even have time to leave a word for Misty.
Cynthia and Garchomp were also swept in by the force shortly afterward.
Seeing this scene, Pikachu, who was always at the edge of the barrier, leaped suddenly.
"Pika Pika!!"
The small yellow figure hesitated not for a bit, leaping toward the black hole, chasing closely after Ash.
"Pikachu!"
Before Misty's cry could fall, Pikachu's figure had already disappeared into the dark vortex.
In the rear, Cyrus' face suddenly changed when he saw this.
He never expected the situation to evolve into this conclusion.
Though he had created the black hole himself, it was indeed an uncontrollable space-time turbulence, beyond even his control of its destination.
Giratina, the Legendary Beast he long coveted, was about to be swallowed by this sudden black hole.
"No, Giratina can't just disappear like this!"
Cyrus panicked, instinctively wanting to rush into the black hole to retrieve Giratina.
But just as he took a step,
"Buzz."
An invisible force firmly blocked him outside.
It was a distorted space he set up to protect himself from sneak attacks.
Ironically, that self-protecting force had now become the biggest obstacle preventing him from approaching the black hole.
"Damn! Move aside!"
Cyrus was shocked and angry, but no matter how much he exerted himself, he couldn't bypass that barrier within the fleeting time.
After all, he wasn't Ash, just an ordinary human being.
"Boom——!"
The next moment, the black hole that devoured everything suddenly contracted, finally turning into a point of light and completely disappearing in the collapsing Chaos Space.
Ash, Cynthia, Pikachu, and those four Legendary Beasts.
All vanished without a trace, as if they had never appeared.
Cyrus stood frozen, staring intently at the place where the black hole had disappeared, his chest heaving violently.
He had planned for so long, and success seemed within reach.
In the end, not only did he fail to obtain Giratina, but he also lost the Space-Time Gods he had controlled.
This ending was something he never anticipated.
Meanwhile, inside the barrier, Misty collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
"Ash..."
Her voice was filled with despair.
That boy who always smiled and said, "It's okay," was swallowed cleanly by the black vortex before her eyes.
She didn't even get to say a complete goodbye.
...
In the boundless chaotic space, Ash slowly opened his eyes.
What he saw was an endless void.
In that void, he vaguely saw the figures of Dialga, Palkia, and the other Legendary Beasts.
But when he opened his eyes wide to see clearly, those figures vanished instantly, as if they'd never appeared.
Ash shook his slightly dizzy head.
Was what he saw just real, or was it a hallucination after falling into the black hole?
He couldn't tell.
Fortunately, he wasn't alone.
Beside him were two floating figures—one human, one Pokemon.
That Pokemon was Pikachu.
At the moment, Pikachu also had a puzzled look on its face, those round eyes searching around, clearly unable to figure out where they were.
And that human figure was naturally Cynthia, who got swept into the black hole as well.