Chapter 697 - 694

As Giratina fought against the Nobles, countless shattered images flashed through its mind, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of longing and pain.

Time flew like an arrow. A thousand years passed like water rushing down a river. Mortals aged far too quickly, and fresh grass soon grew over their graves. Their souls traveled through Turnback Cave toward the realm of the dead, so what purpose did the Distortion World serve?

Giratina also felt an endless sorrow over the destruction of its statues.

The history of the Celestica people had faded like a fleeting dream. The hearts of the ancients were gone, and even the paradise promised by the gods had fallen into ruin. Who could break through the firmament and seek the source and ultimate truth of all things?

["Volo has already been beaten to his knees and blacked out. He can't fight anymore, so there's no point expecting anything from him! This is all because he was too confident. He never imagined the humans on the other side would attack him!"]

["But why does this girl attacking me so fiercely seem so familiar? Have we met somewhere before? Were we friends, even if only briefly?"]

["But if we were friends... No, that's impossible. Friends wouldn't fight each other. And if it happens in the future, how could a human possibly live that long? Humans don't possess such lifespans... She isn't an ancient Sinnoh descendant like Volo. Everything happening before me is utterly incomprehensible!"]

Boom!

Kleavor's Stone Axe ripped through one of the cavern's pillars.

Turnback Cave was a spatial anomaly, allowing it to withstand the violent battle raging within. Ancient stone inscriptions could be found throughout the cave, along with numerous massive Greek-style columns.

Rocks from Stealth Rock shot toward Giratina like cannonballs. Giratina roared, vanished, and reappeared an instant later.

A vicious Shadow Force knocked the warrior lord Kleavor backward. Countless boulders, imbued with ancient power, immediately bombarded it like energy cannons.

["Ancient Power!"]

Giratina had managed to take down one opponent, but...

A beam of light pierced the darkness and illuminated its body. That Dartrix had used Foresight to reveal its true form!

The unusually formed Samurott had already positioned itself along Giratina's escape route. It lowered its body into an iai stance, as though it had been waiting for this opportunity for ages.

Hisuian Samurott: This is my chance... The time has come for a Spirit Helm Breaker!

With a bold, sweeping motion, it brought its blade down in a devastating overhead slash.

Hisuian Samurott: "Retaliate!"

Rumble!

It should have been an attack Giratina was immune to. However, after Foresight revealed its true form, Normal-type attacks could now inflict regular damage!

Furthermore, whenever one of the user's allies had just been defeated, Retaliate's power doubled!

Giratina remembered now. Pokémon in this form had once lived throughout this land in the distant past. As time passed, however, they had gradually disappeared. They could no longer be found upon this cold, barren land of stone.

The other Pokémon's attacks followed close behind.

Without their "commander," Volo's Pokémon had fallen into disarray. One after another, they were defeated by the Nobles. To make matters worse, the opposing side had brought two Mythical Pokémon with them.

The vast interior of Turnback Cave shook without end.

Giratina was sweating bullets.

Were these lunatics actually trying to challenge a god?

The answer was obvious.

Yes!

Even worse, despite being a god, Giratina was losing!

"Woof!"

As the surrounding Pokémon clashed inside this alternate space, the divine Giratina led the Pokémon belonging to that tamer in a relentless battle against the Nobles. The little Growlithe could only watch anxiously.

When it saw the Lord of the Woods fall, something stirred in its heart.

For an instant, it seemed to see its father's shadow.

To protect its companions and create an opportunity for those behind it to achieve victory, Kleavor had continued swinging its massive stone axes even at the very end!

The other Pokémon standing beside the girl were doing the same.

Humans and Pokémon were fighting together!

Hisuian Samurott swung Sacred Sword, driving back the opposing Lucario. Then it glanced toward the little Growlithe.

["Hey, kid. Do you want to become a Long Sword hero too? Unfortunately, you don't have a sword!"]

["Then again, even if you don't have a sword, you still have horns. Maybe you can use them to perform an extraordinary move!"]

["Still, this is strange. Lucario are famous for their sense of justice, aren't they? Why am I fighting one here? Why would a Pokémon like Lucario follow that blond human dressed in white?"]

["Meanwhile, even though I'm a Dark-type, I feel like a champion of justice battling a fallen hero..."]

["If I imagine this as one of those old stories, it feels like I've truly become a character from an ancient legend. 'A dishonorable samurai notorious for using any means necessary faces a former hero head-on, proudly demonstrating his convictions.'"]

["Even Pokémon can understand that, right? After all, the Nobles fulfill the same role. We protect the Pokémon and humans of this land!"]

["Come on, little Growlithe. If you want to become powerful, the first thing you must learn is how to fight! I used to be an ordinary Pokémon too, but now look at me. I'm a battle-hardened warrior!"]

Although Samurott's original goal had been to become a Long Sword hero, everything had changed after it learned Sacred Sword.

Now, it was a wandering swordsman who performed righteous deeds in the name of darkness!

At a time like this, perhaps being a Dark-type could also be interpreted as "destroying evil to the last"!

The steel dog standing opposite it maintained a solemn expression. It glanced at Hisuian Samurott and the little Growlithe but offered no response.

Why did it follow that human?

Simply saying it had been "captured" did not seem entirely accurate.

Lucario could understand the thoughts of humans and would only grow close to Trainers with upright hearts. It would never willingly approach someone whose heart was corrupt.

All it could say was that, in certain respects, that man truly possessed a pure heart.

Furthermore, he was exceptionally skilled at fighting.

Lucario wished to awaken its own instinct for battle and survive in the merciless wilderness. It obeyed that man's commands because they shared that goal.

Hisuian Growlithe, heir to the Lord: "Wuh... Wooo..."

Volo's Lucario replied:

[You believe that fighting here is wrong? No. This is how survival works in this land. If you intend to become a Noble, then demonstrate your strength here.]

[The emotions I'm expressing now also belong to that man, the man defeated by your young tamer. He carried too much sorrow within his heart, and that sorrow drove him toward madness. But he genuinely loved us.]

[We fight to answer that pure heart and the love he has given us. Is there anyone else in this land capable of doing as much as he did?]

[Ah... I suppose there is now. Your young tamer is truly strong. But because his love for us was so profound and overwhelming, we cannot retreat here. If you wish to become a Noble, then defeat us! Even if that means we'll be remembered as fallen Pokémon, so be it!]

If that man yearned for the abyss, then they would fall into hell beside him.

If he had already failed, they would share the bitter taste of defeat with him.

They would do so because he had unquestionably loved his Pokémon.

At last, the little Growlithe understood the convictions of both sides.

The Pokémon had done nothing wrong. This battle was inevitable, whether it was fought for conflict, survival, or to answer someone's love.

Until now, Growlithe had never been able to summon its courage. The human woman who cared for it had showered it with affection, but that overprotective love could never help it grow.

That was why she had brought it here and entrusted it to another girl who understood how to fight.

Perhaps Growlithe and Akari still needed time to adjust to one another. But if it wanted to demonstrate its courage, stand proudly beside its companions, protect humans like the other Nobles, and one day protect the woman who had always doted on it...

Then Hisuian Samurott was right!

Light erupted from Growlithe's body!

With a mighty roar, the little Growlithe began to evolve!

A Noble's bloodline possessed unique qualities. Just as the events on Firespit Island had demonstrated, they did not necessarily require a Fire Stone. As long as they could demonstrate the courage befitting a Noble, the power of Almighty Sinnoh would awaken within them and allow them to evolve!

"Awooooo!"

Akari stared at the enormous beast emerging from the light.

"That little Growlithe evolved! It evolved into Arcanine!"

"But it was so small before it evolved. How did it become this huge afterward? Even among other Arcanine, it must be enormous!"

She made that observation because one of the Pokémon Volo had sent into battle was also a Hisuian Arcanine.

Yet when the two stood side by side, there was an enormous difference in size.

The size of a Noble was not fixed. Larger individuals simply appeared far more intimidating. Even so, all the Nobles cared for by the Pearl Clan were larger than ordinary members of their species.

After evolving, Hisuian Arcanine seemed to have inherited a special combat technique through its bloodline, one that allowed it to fight using its horns.

A raging torrent of draconic power enveloped its entire body!

"Outrage!"

Its eyes turned crimson as a red glow covered its body. It entered a frenzy and began charging through everything in its path!

However, during Hisui's era, or perhaps under the influence of the Nobles' power, Outrage did not leave its user confused.

Instead, it caused fixation!

The Pokémon became fixated on the last move it had used. That move inflicted 50 percent more damage, but the user also received 50 percent more damage from incoming attacks.

However, the Pokémon would not become confused!

If anything, it became even stronger and infinitely more terrifying!

The Hisuian Arcanine that had inherited the title of Noble, the Lord of the Isles, charged into battle. It unleashed Outrage several times in rapid succession and defeated the opposing Arcanine. Flames then wrapped around its body as it hurled itself into the steel-bodied Lucario!

Flare Blitz!

The fires of battle consumed Turnback Cave. Flames rose and burned with terrifying intensity.

Giratina's sense of foreboding grew stronger. The enemy's fighting strength was increasing at a frightening rate, while the number of Pokémon on its side continued to fall.

Although Giratina was also pummeling the Nobles, it still couldn't turn the situation around.

"Gya-yu!"

Basculegion, one of the Nobles, suddenly leaped into the air.

The water surrounding its body receded. Then, under Giratina's astonished gaze, it swung its tail straight at the god of antimatter!

The girl's voice seemed to rise from the deepest reaches of the underworld.

"Last Respects!"

Countless spirits surged forth.

It was as though the entire realm of the dead had awakened, and the gates of the spirit world had been thrown wide open!

The attack struck Giratina with devastating force.

What kind of move was this?!

Giratina had never seen any of the old Nobles use it!

Basculegion was only one of the five weaker Nobles. In the present era, they had been reduced to mere Ride Pokémon, possessing no mightier title or position!

Had the times changed?!

Basculegion's tail slammed Giratina into the ground, defeating its Origin Forme. Terror filled Giratina's expression as it watched the Pokémon around it continue to fall.

At that moment, it understood how the move worked.

It was similar to Retaliate!

The more Pokémon that had fallen, the stronger the move became. That had to be it!

This was bad.

If the battle continued, Giratina itself would become the one receiving everyone's last respects.

The girl on the opposing side had not been standing idle either. She was currently...

"Heyah!"

She struck Giratina with a Gigaton Ball, or suddenly pulled out something resembling a machine gun and sprayed it with Balls of Mud, lowering its defenses and slowing its movements!

She wielded every available tool with the practiced skill of a veteran.

["Wait... What is that Ball?!"]

Now she had taken out a red Ball!

Red was the color that had existed at the universe's origin. It contained the power of Almighty Sinnoh, as if the entire world had been born from that single Ball!

["Impossible! That is stone from the universe's beginning! Didn't all of that stone become Plates? There's still unrefined ore left?!"]

Someone had used Origin Ore, a substance made from the same material as the Plates but without a fixed type and containing even greater energy, to create a Ball.

Furthermore, another power resided inside it.

That was undoubtedly the power of the Red Chain.

Yet this was precisely what Giratina found most confusing.

Had someone completed the pilgrimage to the lakes?

When had that happened?

Giratina had been watching this world from the reverse side through the space-time rift. Although the emergence of power transcending time and space had repeatedly disrupted its observations, the lakes acted as mirrors, so it had still been able to observe them relatively clearly.

No one should have visited the lakes, obtained their treasures, and forged the Red Chain.

If there was no Red Chain, where had the power inside that Ball come from?

Furthermore, if she was pulling out a Ball...

A Ball!

Those people from the Galaxy Team had developed such objects over the past two years. They had apparently existed in distant lands for much longer, but Giratina had never paid any attention to such things.

And Poké Balls were normally used when...

When a Pokémon's strength had been reduced to its limit, a Poké Ball could capture it more easily!

Which bastard had designed such an outrageous thing?!

Giratina had no time to think.

With Dread Power and the Griseous Core, it could freely change forms in this world, repeatedly shifting between its Altered Forme and Origin Forme.

Furthermore, under the influence of Dread Power, once its first form was defeated, entering its second form would fully restore both its HP and any status conditions!

Yet the red Ball filled Giratina with an overwhelming sense of danger.

The wings on its back transformed into hooked claws and violently tore open a pitch-black passage within Turnback Cave!

Still lying on the ground, Volo watched Giratina's bizarre actions and immediately realized what it intended to do.

No matter how many ages passed, he was destined to rebuke Giratina at this moment.

"Y-You intend to run away...? I only... offered you my assistance... because you wished to challenge Arceus..."

Giratina replied:

["Enough! Call me spineless if you want! For some reason, that is the only thought filling my mind right now!"]

"You miserable bastard... You're humiliating me, a descendant of the ancient Sinnoh people, in front of my brethren from Hisui and Sinjoh... I only just finished making my grand declaration!"

That said, Volo had already been beaten flat against the ground and had lost the ability to fight. Only his mouth still worked.

Giratina ignored him with utter disdain.

The only thing that mattered now was avoiding that red Ball!

But then...

Hikaru spoke.

"This conversation was supposed to happen at the Temple of Sinnoh, yet it's happening here in Turnback Cave instead. That proves history has already changed. When the future alters the past, the new history overwrites the old one."

"Of course, standing alone at the top of the Temple of Sinnoh with that freezing wind blowing around you must have been cold. Or perhaps you were so excited by the future you imagined after your plan succeeded that both your body and soul felt unbearably hot."

"Giratina, are you truly going to run?"

"Volo is right. If you flee from mere humans, can you still call yourself a champion of justice who intends to challenge Arceus?"

"Your future self will surely wail in regret over the decision you make today. This is a rare opportunity. Are you really going to abandon it?"

"Still, the part of history where your entire team was defeated remains unchanged. Haven't you always dreamed of living in a world filled with sunlight? If you run away now, Volo will drag your name through the mud. He'll remember this for the rest of his life, write it down in books, and spread the story throughout human society..."

["Y-You people?!"]

Giratina froze for a moment.

It realized that its presence here had already altered the outcome of certain events, causing hesitation to creep into its heart.

Still...

It should at least escape Turnback Cave first.

As for challenging Arceus...

["The universe that transcends all things is about to awaken. I can challenge Arceus whenever I wish! Yes, that's right! Since all of you are so powerful, you can go quell Arceus yourselves!"]

["Once you've beaten it within an inch of its life, or both sides have crippled each other, I'll suddenly appear and complete my revenge...!"]

["This is only a temporary truce! I'm the one sparing you!"]

Dread Power, Strong Style, Shadow Force!

This time, however, Giratina did not use the move to counterattack. It genuinely had no intention of continuing the battle.

With the assistance of Dread Power, Shadow Force received an enormous boost when used in the Hisui era!

It allowed Giratina to enter an obscured state for a time!

Becoming obscured enhanced its evasiveness. Since Foresight had already revealed it, that increase in evasion was effectively useless.

But with this much smoke...

Even if the Pokémon could see Giratina and locate its true body in the smoke, the humans couldn't possibly ignore the smoke's effects!

Therefore, as long as it avoided that...

"Giratina, I found you! Please stop!"

"Join me, and let's fight together!"

Akari's voice came through the smoke.

The red Ball released a bloodlike radiance, making Giratina's heart lurch!

She had identified the direction in which it was fleeing through the smoke?

That couldn't be right.

Giratina was currently using Shadow Force and was about to enter another dimension. How could she possibly see it?

"Shay!"

The smoke filling Turnback Cave was suddenly drawn upward in vast quantities.

At the top of the cavern, within this sunless world, a Pokémon used Sunny Day. Sunlight poured down upon the Pokémon covered in Gracidea flowers.

It stirred the frigid winds and transformed them into blades, blessed by the grace of the heavens.

The radiance shifted from green to pure white, like an enormous flower of light beginning to bloom!

"No matter how much time passes, gratitude will always be passed down... even across dimensions!"

"It possesses the power to absorb toxins from the atmosphere, purify them within its body, break them down into light and water, and release everything at once. In an instant, it can transform barren land into a field of flowers."

"And that overwhelming power can blast open..."

The gateway to the Distortion World!

Giratina's expression changed drastically.

["The Gratitude Pokémon... It absorbed all my smoke and unleashed Seed Flare at maximum power! It's over!"]

The more smoke Shaymin absorbed, the stronger the move became!

In the myths of the distant past...

Hikaru said, "Long ago, there was a legend that Shaymin once used Seed Flare to blow away an ancient forest."

The Nobles and the other Pokémon unleashed waves of ranged energy, holding back Seed Flare's shock wave.

Everyone else hid behind a Barrier created by Irida's Glaceon.

"Irida, your Glaceon just used a move I've never seen before..."

Palina, the Warden, was knocked to the ground by the lingering blast. Iscan stood behind her. Both of them stared in astonishment at Glaceon and the Barrier it had created.

The blond girl took a deep breath, her expression solemn and dignified.

"Barrier. This is the new move my partner and I learned through constant training. It creates a sturdy barrier that partitions space and protects everyone behind it. This is what I, as leader of the Pearl Clan, can do!"

"Very few Pokémon are capable of learning this move, and my Glaceon is one of them. I knew I had to put that ability to use. And it isn't limited to Barrier. Glaceon can also use Reflect to reduce the force and damage of physical attacks!"

She turned to face the scene ahead.

At the farthest reaches of the realm of the dead, deep inside Turnback Cave, which appeared to contain only a single chamber but was actually connected to countless ancient caverns and alternate dimensions, the god who ruled over antimatter had been struck down by that immense light.

Giratina was immobilized and gasping for breath.

Immediately afterward, the scarlet Ball came flying toward it.

The Origin Ball released a fierce red light. A spiraling tide of energy erupted from within, pulling Giratina into the Ball!

Akari stared at it in disbelief.

"I... made the god of antimatter my partner!"

"I fulfilled the swordsman's request!"

[This brings me one step closer... If I have the same Pokémon, share the same connection, and forge a bond with Giratina...]

[Then I can soar freely through the same world!]

"Giratina was caught?! How could something like that happen?! What was that red Ball? I've never heard of the Galaxy Team possessing such technology..."

"Ah! Of course! Rumors said that the Lightning-Fallen Swordsman spent a long time mining ore in the mountains. Was he searching for stone that could be used to manufacture a red Poké Ball?!"

Volo shakily pushed himself off the ground.

As he watched a beam of light descend upon the red Ball containing Giratina, something seemed to explode inside his skull. His thoughts went completely blank.

It was over.

This was no longer limited to a battle between Pokémon tamers.

Even the frenzied child of a god upon whom he had placed all his hopes, the almighty being who governed antimatter, had been defeated.

No, Giratina had not been defeated easily.

Their opponents had simply been too powerful.

Furthermore, Giratina itself had created the circumstances of its defeat!

If it had never attempted to flee, it would never have released all that smoke. Then the green Pokémon flying overhead would never have produced that colossal light!

"Why?! Why would people like you receive Arceus's blessing?!"

"You detestable outsiders! You despicable foreigners came here through the space-time rift, from worlds unimaginably far away, all for this exact moment?!"

Volo's hands and feet went cold.

He stood in the shattered realm of the dead, surrounded by black iron Balls and craters of every size left behind by the fierce battle.

Then he looked toward the person who had picked up the Origin Ball.

Heavens!

For some reason, it looked as though the wheel of a thousand arms had appeared behind the back of her head.

Was that merely his imagination?

"Why did this happen? She's only a foreigner, an ignorant girl who happened to receive the Lightning-Fallen Swordsman's guidance and instruction!"

"If he had taught those combat techniques to me instead, I could have done the same thing!"

Hikaru replied, "No, you couldn't."

"Impossible... I... I am a descendant of the ancient Sinnoh people!"

"Listen carefully! Your methods of battle are fundamentally wrong! You possess no true bond with your Pokémon!"

"I will never give up... I will force Arceus to create a better world! That is the paradise the hearts of the ancients always yearned for!"

"I..."

"Then let's put that to the test," Hikaru said. "You may still insist on resisting now, but you'll understand soon enough."

"Defeat the boss, and the boss joins your party. That's common sense, my friend."

"Are you going to send out the Pokémon born from anger and hatred?"

"Then I'll do the same. Why don't you and I exchange a few moves?"

"If you win, you may do whatever you want. But if you lose, you're coming with us."

Hikaru took out the Odd Keystone containing the wisps.

He looked toward the last Pokémon standing beside Volo within Turnback Cave.

Spiritomb.

Dark flames rose from the Odd Keystone in Hikaru's hand.

"No matter what ending awaits beyond the final curtain... Darkness shall overflow and consume the world."

"Ancient soul of Celestica, descend upon this place and sever the 108 worldly attachments."

"Fight, Vessa!"

(End of Chapter)