After traveling through the space-time vortex for a while, Cynthia felt her feet touch something. She calmed her mind and realized she was already standing on a stone slab.
"Are we… back?" Ash asked, looking around.
Cynthia looked around. The ancient architecture, the melodious chirping of birds, and the bright sunshine in the sky formed a stark contrast to the apocalyptic scene in Michina.
"Gen Gengar?"
Gengar's cry rang out. Cynthia looked at the Gengar that had come with her group and reached out to tug at the corner of its mouth.
"Lucas said we need to rescue Damos, then defeat Marcus, take back the real Jewel of Life, and return it to Arceus."
"But how are we going to find Damos?" Ash asked, puzzled.
Cynthia looked at the slightly warm wooden plaque on her wrist, her eyes sharp.
"Beat it out of him."
Simple and brutal.
"kao!"
Garchomp's powerful aura erupted.
"Gen Gengar."
Gengar tugged on the hem of Cynthia's clothes. Cynthia turned back, and Gengar pointed in a direction.
Cynthia looked and saw a familiar figure flying over.
"Celebi?"
Celebi came to Cynthia's side and nodded with a smile, the wooden plaque pendant given by Lucas of the Breeding House hanging around its neck.
"Saa~"
Celebi pointed in a direction.
Cynthia understood and nodded.
"Let's follow Celebi."
Ash and the others nodded, but he couldn't find his Pikachu. After searching for a while, he found his Pikachu in a bush, along with a Spiky-eared Pichu.
Ash was a bit confused, but hearing Dawn urging him from behind, he grabbed Pikachu and the Pichu and ran towards the group.
Damos was sitting in a pitch-black cell, covering his face and weeping.
What should he do? The day of the promise was coming—he had been captured, and the Jewel of Life had been stolen. What was he supposed to do? Would Arceus…
The more Damos thought, the more miserable he felt.
At this moment, the cell door opened. He looked up and saw a blond woman with a powerful aura, with several people standing behind her.
A green Pokémon was flying beside her.
"Celebi?" Damos was a bit surprised. "What are you all…"
The Spiky-eared Pichu jumped onto Damos's shoulder. Garchomp stepped forward, raised its scythe, and then gave a light Slash, destroying the chains on Damos.
"The situation is urgent. We came from the future. Arceus is destroying our time, and the purpose of our return is to help you take back the Jewel of Life and return it to Arceus to appease the Arceus of the future."
Cynthia thought of Lucas, who was left alone in Michina. Her speech was fast, her eyes cold, and even Damos felt an inexplicable fear.
Damos looked at their clothes, which were different from those of his era. As a possessor of the power of the aura, he could feel that these people were not lying.
"I understand. I will take you to Marcus."
Boom!
Marcus looked at the group that appeared in front of him and was stunned for a moment.
"Damos? How did you escape? And who are you people?"
"Where is the Jewel of Life?" Cynthia asked, looking at Marcus before her.
"The Jewel of Life? I've hidden it."
Cynthia frowned, then heard Gengar shout.
"Gen Gengar."
Cynthia looked at the scepter in his hand and saw the Jewel of Life wrapped inside the scepter.
"Hand it over."
"Not a chance."
A red light flashed, and a steam-emitting quadrupedal Pokémon blocked Cynthia's path.
Cynthia looked at the Pokémon with a red body, white face, and four legs standing.
"Heatran?"
Lucas was right; he really did have a Heatran, but so what?
The aura on Cynthia's body erupted again, blowing her windbreaker.
Heatran? She would just beat it up!
"Ash, you guys step back. Garchomp, Gengar, let's go!"
"kao!"
"Gen Gengar."
Garchomp was wild and violent; Gengar was gloomy and cold.
Marcus felt inexplicably panicked. He tapped his scepter on the ground, and many Pokémon carrying metal objects began to appear in various cave entrances.
"Gen Gengar."
"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"
Garchomp rushed toward Heatran, slashed through Heatran's Magma Storm, and then slammed into Heatran, knocking it flying.
Looking at the surrounding Pokémon, Cynthia took out a lipstick from her pocket.
"Garchomp."
"Slash them!"
"Mega Evolution!"
A brilliant white light shone, and Garchomp's form began to change.
"kao!"
Gengar looked back, stuck out its tongue, and looked at the key stone on its tongue. Pity Lucas wasn't there—
In Gengar's vision, the key stone began to emit a dazzling white light.
Michina Temple.
Mega Latias had just used Draco Meteor when she realized her body felt weak, transforming from a blue fighter jet into a small red plane.
Latias: ???
"Latias, help me out."
Darkrai's voice rang out, then a shadow flashed, and Darkrai appeared behind Latias.
Latias looked at the Judgment.
???
Latias crashed heavily beside Lucas.
"Latias, why did you change back?"
Darkrai came to Latias's side, helped it up, and asked.
With a laggy connection, how could they fight? They were fighting, and then the Mega Evolution form was canceled.
Latias's mouth bled. It looked at Lucas.
With a look of confusion.
Lucas was also a bit confused. He looked at the key stone on the pendant that had lit up again.
This is—
"Gengar?"
Lucas looked at Latias apologetically. "Gengar is logging in from another location. Wait for me."
Darkrai: ???
Latias: ????
Latias vomited even more blood.
"Mega Evolution!"
Lucas's voice was weak, and then he saw the light from the key stone fly toward the sky and drill into the space-time vortex.
"Saa~"
Hehe.
Celebi?
Arceus looked at Lucas and stopped its movements, which gave Palkia and the others a chance to catch their breath.
Gothitelle acted as a healer, quickly restoring health and feeding herbal medicine.
"You are very bold."
Arceus laughed, the first time it had been angered to laughter.
"In front of me, you actually split your power."
Arceus was furious after saying that. "Lucas!!! Do you really think I won't bring down punishment?!"
The surrounding space-time began to shatter. In the sky, countless Judgments were aimed at Lucas, and then fired mid-air.
The Sinnoh creation trio, Lugia, and Regigigas blocked in front of Lucas with their bodies.
Darkrai dragged Latias and Lucas and fled into the distance.
The Legendary Birds, who had just regained consciousness, were about to take off when they suddenly felt the world go dark and fell asleep again.
The late-arriving Legendary Beasts looked at the terrifying scene ahead. Raikou and Entei looked at Suicune.
You said to come and help, and we came. In this kind of situation, how are we supposed to help?
Suicune: —
Entei: Should we just leave?
"The helpers you found?"
Darkrai threw Latias and Lucas beside the Legendary Beasts and asked Lucas. Lucas sat on the ground weakly and nodded.
"You're here."
Lucas greeted with a smile.
Legendary Beasts: We wish we hadn't come.
"Arceus can be handled by Palkia and the others. Can you help me go into the city to search and rescue the trapped people?"
Hearing Lucas's words, the Legendary Beasts nodded, then their bodies leaped quickly, disappearing from Lucas's sight.
The power of bonds crossed time and arrived at Gengar's side. Gengar curled its tongue, bathed in the light of Mega Evolution.
The light dissipated, and Mega Garchomp and Mega Gengar made a brilliant entrance.
"Draco Meteor."
"Shadow Ball—Dark Void!"
Under Cynthia's command, Garchomp spat Draco Meteor toward the sky, while Gengar clutched a huge Dark Void and threw it at Marcus and Heatran.
Marcus: ???
After the explosion, Heatran lay on the ground, unable to get up, and Marcus also lost consciousness.
Cynthia walked over, picked up the scepter, glanced at the Jewel of Life that had revealed its true form, and turned to hand it to Damos.
"Go."
Cynthia said, "Return it to Arceus and quell this anger."
Damos took the scepter, nodded, took the lead in running out of the temple, and stood on the platform outside the temple.
Damos looked at the moon above his head, which was gradually darkening.
"The day of the solar eclipse—it's coming."
Damos said, "This is also the day I promised Arceus."
"Arceus is here."
Ash's voice rang out. Everyone looked into the distance. Ripples appeared in the sky, then a spatial rift appeared, and a holy giant beast emerged from it.
Arceus arrived in the air in front of everyone.
It stared at Cynthia and the others beside Damos.
A flash of light crossed its eyes; it had seen the battle from the distant future.
"Arceus, in accordance with our agreement, we will return the Jewel of Life to you at this time."
Damos held the Jewel of Life high with both hands and shouted toward Arceus in the sky.
Arceus nodded. The Jewel of Life began to shatter, transforming into five plates that flew toward Arceus and merged into the halo behind it.
Arceus looked at Cynthia and the others. "You—do not belong to this era."
"We come from the future."
Cynthia stepped forward, showing no signs of fear.
"The future me, wants to destroy everything?"
Cynthia nodded. "Can you calm your anger? The Jewel of Life has been returned; can your rage be quelled?"
The Arceus of this time had a gentle temperament, but at this moment, its tone was compassionate yet helpless. "The me from that space-time is not the me of this current space-time; I am powerless to help."
"Why? Haven't we already returned the Jewel of Life?" Ash shouted.
"You have disrupted the order of space-time, thus giving birth to another timeline," Arceus said.
"Is it the current timeline?" Cynthia asked.
Arceus nodded. "They are already two different space-times."
Cynthia gritted her teeth. "Then can you send me back?"
Cynthia clenched her fists. "The person I love is there; I need to go back and fight alongside him."
This was the first time Cynthia had formally expressed her feelings for Lucas.
"The person you love—Ms. Cynthia—" Dawn's eyes widened.
"Huh? Ms. Cynthia and Lucas are together?" Ash was shocked.
Arceus watched Cynthia, feeling the emotions radiating from her, and then turned to look at Gengar. The emotions coming from Gengar made even it feel surprised.
It saw something in Gengar. "So that's how it is."
It looked at Cynthia. "I have left an opportunity for you. The me in that space-time should be able to sense it. The person you love will be fine, provided he is as I think he is."
Cynthia breathed a sigh of relief. "I want to return to his side."
Arceus gently agreed, and then a warm golden light emanated from its body, covering Cynthia and the others.
Back in Michina.
After watching the Legendary Beasts leave, Lucas looked at Latias; Darkrai had already fed it a pile of herbal medicine.
"Latias, Mega Evolution!"
Latias, once again transformed into a blue fighter jet, and Darkrai charged toward Arceus.
The next second, Darkrai was sent flying back, slamming heavily into the mountain behind Lucas, blood continuously pouring from its mouth.
Lucas looked at the situation on the battlefield.
Lugia, Palkia, and Giratina were struggling to hold on; Regigigas's body was shattered, and Dialga was kneeling on the ground, unable to stand.
Commanding several Legendary Pokémon at once, Lucas felt his consciousness becoming increasingly blurred.
Palkia, Dialga, Giratina, Lugia, Regigigas, as well as Darkrai and the Mega-evolved Latias.
Have I actually held on for this long?
"Gothitelle."
Nine minutes have passed.
"So it hasn't even been ten minutes?"
Have I really held on for nine minutes? Ms. Gothitelle, are you using your psychic power to help me?
Gothitelle did not respond to Lucas, falling into silence.
Lucas's vision was already blurring, and blood was streaming from his nose; he felt as if his brain matter was about to leak out.
"Cynthia, Ash, haven't you solved things on your end yet—" Lucas muttered to himself.
Lucas vaguely saw a white figure slam down in front of him, but he couldn't see clearly who it was.
Palkia? Lugia?
I don't know—
Lucas was blown over by the shockwave created by the Pokémon's landing and fell backward.
Latias reverted back to its red form, and it looked back. "Lucas—"
It saw Lucas falling backward, and Gothitelle had already lost consciousness.
The Pokémon present all looked toward Lucas. Arceus watched the falling Lucas, and a strange glint appeared in its pure white eyes.
"Is this the end?"
With his consciousness blurring, Lucas felt a new surge of power welling up in his body. He stumbled and sat down on the ground.
Lines of text popped up before his eyes.
[Gratitude: Twinleaf Town has a history of celebrating Thanksgiving Day for over a hundred years. Because of you, they held a grand Thanksgiving Day event once again. They have not forgotten what they should be grateful for; they are most grateful for you at this moment. You provided them with hot fresh milk, helping the elderly nourish their bodies; you provided them with herbal tea and herbal medicine, helping them ward off illnesses; you provided them with Pokémon, alleviating their loneliness; you treated their fevers. Therefore, they will forever remember and be grateful to you. You have received a gift from everyone in Twinleaf Town: Blessing of Twinleaf Town.]
[Blessing of Twinleaf Town: You will live a safe and healthy life.]
This is—the blessing of Thanksgiving Day?
He felt his stamina slowly recovering within his body.
Lucas felt as if he could hear the people of Twinleaf Town speaking to him.
"Safe and sound." "Healthy and strong."
So my lack of stamina was taken as a sign of being unhealthy?
Lucas couldn't help but chuckle.
"So I have one too, a cheat."
Lucas stood up shakily and raised his left hand high. "Latias, Mega Evolution!"
Latias once again transformed into a blue fighter jet.
It roared toward the sky.
Immediately after, Palkia, Dialga, Giratina, Lugia, Regigigas, and Darkrai all came before Lucas and looked at Arceus.
Arceus looked at Lucas, then looked behind him.
"There is something—strange about you. What is that?"
"Emotions."
Lucas stood on the ground, looked at Arceus, and said, "In the place where I am, I opened a Breeding House. There is a town there called Twinleaf Town. We have a very good relationship with Twinleaf Town; the people of Twinleaf Town care about me and have bestowed a blessing upon me. They wish me—"
"Safety and health."
"I see. Are these the emotions between humans?"
Arceus said, "Then now, let me witness the bond between you and your Pokémon, Lucas."
Lucas wiped away the nosebleed that had started flowing again. "Then open your eyes wide and watch closely."
"Regigigas, Crush Grip! Darkrai, Dark Void! Latias, Draco Meteor! Palkia, Spacial Rend! Dialga, Roar of Time! Giratina, Shadow Force! Lugia, Thunder!!!"
All the Pokémon present rushed toward Arceus.
"Lucas, look what we found."
The Team Rocket Trio ran toward Lucas, holding the Jewel of Life.
Halfway there, the Team Rocket Trio discovered that the Jewel of Life in their hands had turned into dust and dissipated.
At this moment, Cynthia and the others also appeared beside Lucas.
They watched as Palkia and the others were attacking Arceus, unable to believe it.
"How is this possible—" Dawn covered her mouth.
Ash was equally unable to accept it. "Arceus, hasn't the Jewel of Life already been returned? Why do you still inflict punishment?"
"Did we fail—" Sheena shed tears of pain.
Lucas turned back to look at Cynthia and grinned.
Cynthia looked at Lucas's pale face, her heart tightening. Lucas reached out and took Cynthia's hands.
"It's fine. It's already been resolved."
Cynthia looked at Lucas, puzzled.
Lucas took a deep breath, watching Arceus, whose figure remained completely motionless, hovering in the air. He watched it block all the attacks, then gently raise its front hoof, causing all the Pokémon to crash to the ground, with Latias immediately reverting to its red form.
"How long the hell do you want to play?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lucas quickly clamped his mouth shut.
Crap, spoke too soon.
Cynthia: ???
Garchomp: ???
Gengar: ?!!
Sinnoh's Three Dragons: ???
Regigigas: As expected of you.
Darkrai: Oh my god—
Latias: I might as well just die—
Lugia: You—ah, I'm fainting.
Just as everyone and all the Pokémon were worried, Arceus's light laughter rang out.
"When did you figure it out?"
Lucas pointed to his own eyes. "The eyes, there's no red glow."
Arceus smiled and shook its head. "Your eyes aren't bad."
Arceus gently raised its front hoof.
"But cursing at me, that's not right."
Lucas was sent flying, crashing into the Articuno behind him.
Articuno: Pfft— (fainted)
"Petty."
Lucas lay on Articuno, saying weakly.
***************************
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