Crack! Boom!
Charmeleon watched through the window as everything illuminated for a second, before returning to dark and dreary. The lightning also illuminated why he had been stuck doing nothing and was currently trapped in this room; the constant rain that had been pounding them nonstop for days.
He sighed as another bolt of lightning flashed, followed immediately by the powerful rumble of thunder. "Hey, Absol?" he called back to his teammate. They were all sitting by a fake fireplace, though it still exuded heat. The one benefit was that the Pokémon egg was getting plenty of warmth from somebody other than him. "What did you say about the distance between thunder and lightning or whatever?"
"The less time there is from when you see lightning to hearing thunder means the storm is closer," Absol replied. The Dark-type was the only one not to flinch as thunder boomed again.
"So, if there's barely any time in between, that means the storm is right on top of us," Glaceon surmised.
"I hope my friend is okay," Vivillon said worriedly. "It's not easy, flying in the rain, after all."
Charmeleon was pretty sure that the green Vivillon that had been following their resident Flying-type was fine. She had made it this far, and if there were danger, Vivillon would probably drive it off, as he did the Fearow that attacked them the first they had met, according to Vivillon, though he was too dense to figure out how impressed his friend was with him.
But it seemed Bellossom wanted to leave no doubt in Vivillon's mind.
"She'll be fine," she told him brightly. "Most Pokémon that lived a long time in the wild can pick up on when something like this is going to happen, even if they don't have a sixth sense like Absol. I'm sure she's somewhere safe, waiting it out, like us!"
There was a couple of seconds between the thunder and lightning this time. Charmeleon looked at Absol, desperately hoping for some confirmation of what he thought was happening.
His hopes rose for a second, before Absol dashed them. "It will eventually move away. Eventually, being the key word." The Fire-type huffed in irritation.
"Give it a rest, Charmeleon," Glaceon said. "Taking a break for one whole day won't hurt us."
He sneered at his first teammate. "Easy for you to say. I've been stuck doing nothing in my Pokéball this whole time!"
"But you see how it's raining, Charmeleon," Bellossom explained to him patiently, though she knew he didn't appreciate being talked down to. "Your fire isn't going to be strong at all!"
"I still need to be ready for the gym," he insisted, clapping himself on the chest. "I'm going to be featured in the battle, after all."
"What are you talking about?" Glaceon retorted irritably. "Quit exaggerating. All Luna said was that you'd be in the battle, so stop making it out to be all about you."
"Well, that's still better than what she said about you," Charmeleon fired back. "She never said you would be in the battle, and I don't blame her. Imagine losing to a Gabite as an Ice-type. Honestly, that'd be like me losing to a Parasect. I'd be embarrassed."
"I would have won had it been a standard battle," the Ice-type growled, standing up and coming over to get right in his face.
Charmeleon didn't back down. "It shouldn't matter what type of battle it was," he taunted. "You should be beating Pokémon like that in your sleep. I mean, are we really supposed to count on you defeating the Garchomp that rules this region when you can't even beat Gabite, who's not even a full-time battler?"
He could tell he was getting under Glaceon's skin, which was exactly what Charmeleon wanted. If Glaceon's performance was slipping, a fantastic showing at the gym might be what finally vaulted him above her in the pecking order.
"Come on, you two, don't argue," Vivillon said while fluttering over, but it wasn't his words that drew Charmeleon's attention away.
There was a click at the door before it opened, and Luna stumbled in with her hands and mouth full of things, including the key to the room. "I'm fine," she mumbled, depositing everything on her bed before signing in relief. She spun to face them.
"Well, the storm is slowly starting to fade away, but it's probably going to start getting dark by that time, so we'll continue on towards Veilstone in the morning. Even though it'll still be raining." Luna shook her head. "Sheesh. I knew the weather reports said there was always heavy rain on Route 215, and for once they weren't exaggerating."
"Anyways," she gestured to the assortment of papers and boxes she had brought in. "Since we're cooped up in this hotel room for the time being, I got some stuff from the front desk! Like all these brochures, showing off the best that Veilstone has to offer."
Luna picked up the first one. "Here's one for the Game Corner, where you either strike it rich by winning your way to the mountaintop, or throw your life away by falling into the abyss of debt." Their trainer made a face. "Most of which is only for people eighteen years or older. Bah!" She tossed it to the side, though Bellossom quickly moved to grab it.
"That sounds fun," the Grass-type said, looking at the pictures. "I like to live dangerously!"
"They've also got the Mall of Sinnoh, which is a giant department store that sells anything and everything, from electronics, to furniture, to custom toys, to fancy gifts, to premium foods, most of which are rather overpriced or we don't need. At least they've got the usual stuff a market would have." Luna didn't appear to be impressed, and Charmeleon felt the same way. When were they going to talk about the gym?
Glaceon leapt up next to Luna to take a look for herself, eventually pointing to something. "It might be worth going to check these out," she suggested to their trainer. "They might have a powerful Ice-type move."
Charmeleon knew that both Luna and Glaceon really wanted one, because most of their current Ice-type attacks wouldn't cut it as the competition continued to get better, but Luna looked doubtful.
"I'll check it out, but don't get your hopes up," she eventually conceded. "Looks like they're selling Icy Wind, but who knows? Maybe they'll screw up royally and hand us Blizzard instead." She moved onto the next one.
"The main park in Veilstone is Meteorite Park, named because it's built around meteorites that fell from space and landed right there." Luna flipped the brochure to the back before continuing. "Apparently, it also might be connected with the Legendary Pokémon Deoxys, which came from space, though that might just be advertising to get people through the gate."
"Even if it is, I would like to visit," Absol said, though he didn't not elaborate any further when they all looked at him.
Luna nodded, somehow understanding Absol despite his minimal words. "And finally, there's supposed to be some sort of Bug-type festival or event going on, that we'll be in town for, though the front-desk lady had never been, so she couldn't give me any more information. But we can go if you're interested, Vivillon."
"That might be nice," Vivillon hedged, though he was wrestling with himself for his next words. Charmeleon wanted to smack some sense into his teammate. Of course it would be okay to bring his mate along! Luna would only be happy for them, Charmeleon would be sure of that.
He started paying more attention now that Luna was done with all the boring stuff, and was getting to the good part. "And of course, finally, there's the gym, which is the main reason we're going there. Now's as good a time as any to discuss how we're going to approach it."
Charmeleon smirked, making sure he made eye contact with Glaceon, though she pointedly looked away from him. "So, the Veilstone Gym is a Fighting-type gym. The gym leader there is young and new and doesn't have a stellar reputation, and she's therefore very beatable, so I'm told, but we're not going to underestimate her."
Luna crossed her legs and sat up straighter, as she usually did when she was being serious with them. "Maylene's signature Pokémon is a Lucario, which is part Steel-type, so it does well against the usual Fighting-type answers like Fairy and Psychic and Flying. Most Fighting-types are strong in close combat, as you might expect, but Lucario is an exception because it's equally powerful at range."
The Fire-type glowed with happiness as Luna looked directly at him. "That's where you come in. Steel is weak to fire, and out of everyone, you can fight up close and at range. You're going to be the one taking down Lucario."
"I know you're a little out of practice, Charmeleon, but there's actually a desert around here, where it rains once in a blue moon," she continued. "That'll be the perfect place to train prior to the battle."
"That seems impossible," Bellossom said, throwing her hands in the air. "How can it rain all the time here, and never somewhere right next to us?"
"It's very possible," Absol explained to her. "The mountains… they change the movement of the winds and clouds. Some areas get all the rain, and some get none as a result."
Charmeleon wasn't really concerned with random details. "Told you I was going to be featured," he gloated.
Glaceon rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Who else is going to be in the battle?" she prompted their trainer.
Luna's eyes lingered on each of them for several seconds, before settling on someone in particular. "Vivillon," she called out. "You're going to have a big role to play in the battle as well."
"Me?" the Bug-type asked nervously, an emotion Charmeleon seconded. "Are you sure? I don't want to mess it up for everyone, after all."
"You'll do great," Luna assured him, though Vivillon was unsure of himself and his skills, as was typical. "You've been progressing well, even if you've been doing your own thing. And as a Flying-type, you can stay far away from the Fighting-types and strike them from afar. I'll find some opponents for you to make sure you're ready as well, though I can't guarantee that they'll be easy wins like last time."
"This is going to be a three versus three, since we only have two badges so far." Luna made a face, no doubt remembering the loss in Hearthome. "And I'm leaning towards you as the third, Bellossom."
"Yes!" the Grass-type cheered, as Charmeleon did the same internally. This was going better than he had hoped. Vivillon was probably not going to contribute at all, which meant the bulk of the battle would have to be carried by him. And Glaceon wouldn't be there. If there was ever a time to outshine her, this would be it.
He couldn't tell if Absol was disappointed at all, though Charmeleon figured the Dark-type probably wasn't, but Glaceon certainly was. Luna quickly moved to console her first Pokémon. "Hey, nothing is set in stone yet. Bellossom is my first choice, because she knows Moonblast, and because it'll be a neutral matchup with most Fighting-types. If she has a Toxicroak, then I may need to call on Absol and his Psycho Cut. And if she has a Monferno or Infernape, then I'll need your Rain Dance and Water-type attacks."
"Besides," Luna continued, leaning down conspiratorially though they all could hear her. "Gym number four is a Water-type gym, so Charmeleon is not going to participate in that battle, whatsoever."
A sharp look from Luna cut off his grumbling, because Charmeleon did not like that at all. At least there was plenty of time to perform so well that she could absolutely not leave him out, despite being against Water-types.
"I'm glad we got all that out of the way," Luna said, clapping her hands and grabbing the boxes she had brought. She placed them on the floor before sitting around. "Now, let's have some fun! I brought some board games to pass the time. This first one is called, Pokémon: Master Trainer."
She read the description aloud. "Journey around the amazing Kanto region, catching and building your Pokémon team for an eventual showdown at the Indigo Plateau against the reigning Pokémon champion." They all looked at each other, and Charmeleon was pretty sure that they were all thinking the same thing.
Luna pushed it to the side. "It's probably more fun for people who aren't living it out in real time," she muttered, grabbing the next one. "This one looks like a Pokémon version of Monopoly. Set in Kanto, again."
She was still talking under her breath. "Boardwalk is Silph Co, and Park Place is the Fuchsia Safari Zone. Interesting…" Despite her words, Luna set that game to the side as well. "I don't feel like teaching you guys how to play a complicated game that I've never actually finished. This one though," she picked up the next box and opened it, dumping the contents, a bunch of rectangular blocks, onto the floor. "I have high hopes for."
Charmeleon and his teammates watched as Luna built the blocks into a tower. "The goal is," Luna said, while holding one arm behind her back and carefully pushing a block out, "is to do this without letting the tower fall down. And whatever block you take, you have to place on top. Who wants to go next?"
The Fire-type reached out to knock the tower down, because that would be something exciting, but sighed when Glaceon and Bellossom glared at him, and let Vivillon try and pull a block out with String Shot.
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He didn't really pay attention while he had to play the game, because Charmeleon quickly had found a way to cheat. Every time it was his turn to take a block out, he glanced at Absol, to see what the Dark-type thought. If he got no reaction, then he was fine to do as he pleased. If Absol shook his head slightly, he moved on to a different block until the okay was given. Everyone else started picking up on his strategy as well, and as a result, their tower had become very tall. This time though, Absol wasn't indicating anything, instead spacing off into the distance.
"I've never gotten this far, so I haven't been saying anything, but next time we play this, you're sitting out, Absol," Luna broke the extended pause, as Charmeleon continued to wait for Absol to make his move.
If only the sound of thunder had come in and knocked their tower down, he might have gotten out of this earlier. Charmeleon sat upright as he realized what no thunder actually meant. The storm had finally passed!
Charmeleon got up and stretched, pretending not to notice when he turned around and "accidentally" knocked over the tower with his tail. He definitely ignored the outraged sounds, and strode to the door.
"The storm is over, so I want to go outside," he told everyone looking at him. Luna opened her mouth to argue, then sighed.
"Take someone with you," she said, cutting him off when he tried to reply. "It's raining."
"Fine," he grumbled, pointing at Vivillon. Maybe he'd take him to the green Vivillon, and he'd have to drive off an aggressive wild Pokémon. "Let's go."
"Actually, take a third," Luna added, as Vivillon flew over to him. "It's hard to fly in the rain."
He definitely wasn't taking Glaceon, so that left him with two choices. Absol wouldn't bother him with a conversation unless he initiated one, but out of all of them, only Bellossom liked to squish around in the mucky ground left by rain.
A side product of spending much of her life underground, as an Oddish, he supposed. As he chose Bellossom, Absol suddenly stood up.
"I am coming also." Luna and Glaceon looked at each other for a moment, having some sort of silent conversation before Luna gestured her head towards them. Charmeleon slumped. This was supposed to be a solo training mission! Not another team bonding exercise!
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"I'll have dinner ready when everyone comes back!" Luna called, as they one-by-one left the room.
"Where are we going?" Bellossom asked him, once they were out the door, down the stairs, and outside in the rain.
"Who knows," Charmeleon muttered, still miffed how this turned out.
"What about there?" Absol asked. They all turned in his direction, surprised, because he usually wasn't the type to volunteer a suggestion.
"Is there something over there you want to check out?" Glaceon asked, looking in the direction Absol was nodding.
Vivillon took it upon himself to get an aerial view. "I don't see anything," he reported after a minute.
"I don't know what it is," Absol said, walking in the direction he had indicated. That was even more odd, that Absol had no idea what was going on. "Something is going to happen, though."
Charmeleon shrugged at his other four teammates before scrambling to follow Absol. Hopefully, it was exciting. Like a battle against a powerful Pokémon.
It quickly became apparent what. Out of nowhere, a bright blue wall appeared in front of them, and when Vivillon went to investigate this time, they found out it was actually a round bubble of something. And if Absol didn't have a clue, then the rest of them had no hope.
Not that his teammates intended to give up so easily. "It looks a bit like the psychic barriers put up during official matches," Glaceon suggested.
"If that were the case, wouldn't we able to see the Pokémon doing it?" Charmeleon found himself saying. He waved an arm at the bubble. "Those things are clear, so everyone can see inside. This one is foggy and cloudy."
Everyone was staring at him, so Charmeleon felt the need to defend himself. "What?"
"No, you're right, Charmeleon," Bellossom said, looking at him oddly. "We just didn't expect that from you, that's all."
"Shall we go inside then," Absol asked rhetorically, because he was already moving. "I don't sense any danger that we shouldn't be able to handle."
How much danger are we supposed to be able to handle?" Vivillon questioned no one in particular.
"I'd say a lot." Charmeleon quickly followed Absol inside, leaving the other three to bring up the rear. "Whoa," he breathed, as soon as he passed through the bubble's barrier, and got a glimpse of what was inside.
"What is this place?" Glaceon asked from behind him, echoing the question inside his head. Because inside this bubble, it was as if nothing obeyed the rules of the outside world. For example, the rain that had been falling on their heads this whole time.
In some places, it was coming down in slow motion, and in others, it was coming down twice as fast. "Is this like Porygon's Trick Room?" Vivillon thought out loud. "A place where everything is backwards?"
Bellossom spun in a circle to test that theory out. "I don't feel any different. Maybe we should explore and find out?"
That sounded like a great idea to Charmeleon. "I agree. Let's find out what's up!" Not more than four steps into his exploration though, he hit a roadblock. "Ow!"
"Are you alright?" Glaceon called out to him, walking over.
"Yeah." Charmeleon brushed off her concern. "I stepped on something sharp, that's all. Some sort of broken shard, colored red. I dunno what it is." He picked out all the pieces from his foot and tested it on the ground."
"Now that you mention it, there is a bunch of stuff scattered on the ground. Look at this!" Glaceon moved over to a shiny, round, gold colored object on the ground. "What do you suppose this is?"
"It's a cool-looking rock, that's all," Charmeleon said, moving up next to her to take a look. He kicked it away. "Probably worthless."
Glaceon watched it fly into the distance, before turning around. "I suppose you're right. Anyone else find something interesting? Bellossom? What have you got there?"
The Grass-type was holding some sort of dark, ragged, cloak, and apparently, it affected your head. "I'm not Bellossom. I'm the reaper… of souls!" She pulled the cloth to cover most of her body, and peeked out behind it. "What do you think? Pretty scary, huh?"
"Totally," Glaceon lied, before Charmeleon could say anything.
"I knew it!" Bellossom said brightly, hugging the cloak to her. "This would be perfect for a ghost Pokémon."
Charmeleon looked at Glaceon, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing. At least they weren't going to be on the receiving end of any of Bellossom's tall tales. That would probably be reserved for whatever hatched out of the egg.
"Hey, we found something!" Vivillon shouted, from a little away. Not that he needed to, because they could hardly miss what he was hovering over.
But somehow, they managed to the first time. Charmeleon wandered over with Glaceon and Bellossom, trying to look around the giant blue and beige blob that had appeared out of nowhere. "Is this the Pokémon responsible for this?" he asked. "It's huge! What even is it?" He could see the faint rise and fall of the Pokémon, in rhythm with its loud breathing. "Uh, is it sleeping?"
"It's called Snorlax, and yes, it is," came Absol's voice, from his left. "And no, it's not responsible for this. It would take a Pokémon much more powerful than Snorlax to accomplish this, even if it were to wake."
Charmeleon didn't know. Snorlax sure looked big and powerful, even if it was the lazy type. He poked the sleeping giant with a claw, not that it noticed at all. "What kind of Pokémon was it then? I mean, this thing showed out of nowhere, which is pretty impressive, considering how big it is."
Absol hesitated. "I do not know. As for how Snorlax got here, there was a bright flash of light, and then it appeared in front of Vivillon and I." The Dark-type turned, narrowing his eyes. "Like those," he said.
Everyone turned to look. Three flashes of light were occurring, and as soon as the light had faded, three brown, angular, Pokémon that looked like they had crawled up from the sea, with sickle-like claws, were in their place. And these three were not in the mood for a nap.
This is what he had been waiting for! As the first of the three aggressively surged forward, looking like it was skating in the rain, Charmeleon ignited his fists and ran forward to meet it. He barely had time to react as the enemy Pokémon covered itself in water and rushed him, sending him flying backwards.
Had Snorlax's blubber not afforded him such a soft landing, he might have been seeing even more stars. Once he had gotten his senses in order, Charmeleon looked back to see if Snorlax had woken up, but all the slumbering Pokémon did was scratch its belly before putting its arm down.
"Are you alright?" Vivillon asked him concernedly, because Bellossom, Absol, and Glaceon had each engaged one of the attacking Pokémon.
"I feel like I fell down a waterfall, but I think so," Charmeleon groaned, trying not to show how hurt he actually was. "What are those things?"
Vivillon looked over nervously before replying. "Kabutops, I think they were calling themselves." As he was saying that, one of the three, for whatever reason way slower than its brethren, was caught in Bellossom's Petal Dance swirl. From there, it collapsed rather quickly.
"It seems they're pretty weak to grass," Vivillon mused. "Do you, uh, want to get back in the fight?"
Of course he did, but if they were weak to grass they were likely strong against fire. "I'll leave it to them," he told Vivillon grudgingly. "Even I need some assistance sometimes." He really needed a lot more work in order to beat Water-types like these at gyms that specialized in them, that was for sure.
His flying friend looked relieved, but it seemed the Kabutops had other ideas. The middle one, who had blasted him backwards, had been fighting Glaceon, but broke off to charge them with another Waterfall attack.
Vivillon squeaked, but threw out a String Shot that Kabutops easily slashed through. Charmeleon readied Metal Claw to meet the attacking Pokémon, but Glaceon had other ideas.
"Absol!" she called out. "Switch!" She froze the rain around her and directed the ice pellets at Absol's Kabutops, so the Dark-type could disengage from scraping his horn from his opponents blades, and lunge in their direction.
He slammed into the offending Kabutops with Sucker Punch before it could reach them, but though it was surprised, it was not knocked off its feet.
The Kabutops dug in its heels and charged right for Absol, scythes glowing blue. "You can get a taste first then, if you're so eager! Feel my X-Scissor!" It slashed downwards, whistling the air as its scythe blade sliced through it.
Their opponent blinked in confusion as its attack connected with nothing, since Absol had used Detect to dodge it by an inch. "How?" it asked, dumbfounded.
"Not even close," Absol deadpanned. Instead of explaining, he fired a Dark Pulse right into the Kabutops's face. Charmeleon added his own Dragon Rage, and Vivillon threw in a Psybeam, which all exploded on Kabutops to send it slumping to the ground.
Glaceon had managed to freeze the last one in place long enough for Bellossom to finish off with a Magical Leaf, once the Grass-type had gotten her bearings. "Who else wants some!" Bellossom shouted, still in battle mode.
When no one responded, because Snorlax was still sleeping, Glaceon started to ask everyone if they were injured. Absol quickly cut her off.
"We can do that later. Right now, we need to leave."
They all looked at him for further explanation, but Absol shook his head. "No time to explain. This place is unstable. It won't be here much longer. And we should not be caught in here when it disappears."
"But I want someone I can battle!" Charmeleon complained, looking around for someone to take the challenge, though no one appeared.
"And I dropped my reaper cloth somewhere!" Bellossom added, scanning the field for her item.
"Out," Absol insisted, nudging the Grass-type forward..
"I trust Absol's judgment," Glaceon said. "We can find it later. Let's move, everyone."
With a sigh, Charmeleon begrudgingly followed his teammate out of the bubble, with only Bellossom looking sadder than he was feeling. And not a moment too soon. Right after he had exited, a brighter light started coming from inside, blinding them with its brilliance. When Charmeleon pulled his arm away from his face, it was gone.
And not only the bubble. The massive sleeping Snorlax was too, and when they went back to search for Bellossom's cloak, that, and all the other various items that had been scattered on the ground, had vanished.
As they were walking back, Vivillon voiced the thing that they all must have been thinking. "Are we all sharing a dream, or did that really happen?"
Charmeleon snorted at the notion, but listened in when Glaceon asked Absol what he thought, regardless.
"It was real," the Dark-type assured them, shaking his head. "I fear what power like that being in our world means, though."
Whatever Pokémon did that, Charmeleon didn't know. But he definitely wanted to see it for himself.
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"Hey, do you think that one girl in the science division is cute, or is it only me?"
The grunt looked at his compatriot. "How am I supposed to know? All the girls look the same with their uniform on. I don't know who anyone is."
His friend's response was cut off by someone sprinting down in their direction. "Out of the way! Step aside, fools!"
The two grunts nearly tripped over themselves trying to salute. "Commander Charon! How can we assist you today!"
"I told you already! Move!" the commander spat. The two grunts scrambled to make way, as Charon rushed past them.
"He's kinda rude," the second grunt remarked to the other.
"No kidding," the first grunt nodded at his partner's words. "He's not nearly as scary as Commander Mars, though. She's known for verbally and physically abusing her subordinates!" He looked around to make sure no one heard his next words. "Kinda wish I'd be transferred to her command. I'd love to be stepped on by her. Or crushed between her thighs."
"Same, brother. I think Commander Jupiter's are thicker, though."
Charon had no time to listen to the ramblings of idiot grunts not that didn't even have a quarter of the intelligence that he possessed. He swiped his card at the door to the owner's office, letting himself inside without announcing himself, because he was just that important, panting for breath.
Important enough to interrupt a meeting between the owner of Team Galactic and Galactic Energy, and the CEO. "Can you wait outside, Commander Charon?" Saturn asked him, though his polite voice didn't disguise the younger man's annoyance. "We are discussing something that doesn't involve you."
"Silence. What do you have to report, Charon?" Cyrus cut off his son with his monotonous voice. Saturn clammed up, face twisting. Charon sneered at his fellow commander. Honestly, when would the fool realize that him being the son of Cyrus did not earn him any points with the man.
Cyrus only had time for those who shared in his brilliant vision. "Master Cyrus, we've finally achieved a breakthrough! Our testing and experiments on the Adamant Orb have allowed us to harness Dialga's strength! Not only will I be able to draw forth Dialga when the time comes, I believe, at some point, I can create a portal to the past!"
Saturn looked stunned, but Cyrus remained unmoved. "And you would be able to draw forth Palkia, with the Lustrous Orb, as well?" His blank stare pierced Charon to his core, but he gulped and stood up straighter.
"Of course, Master Cyrus." Invoking the power of legends was extremely difficult, but Charon said what Cyrus wanted to here. His position at Team Galactic was too good. He could nota afford for Cyrus to replace him because he wasn't confident.
"Excellent." Cyrus was not one to offer praise lightly, but Charon chalked it up to one visionary respecting another. "Inform Mars and Jupiter. We need to take the Adamant Orb into our possession, permanently."
"As you wish, Master Cyrus." Charon showed himself out while Saturn turned to his father with a raised eyebrow.
"Surely, this necessitates an investigation. Why would we go through all the trouble of creating a new world if we could go to the past and start building from there?"
Cyrus was unmoved. "The past is just as flawed and weak and ridden with strife as this one. My goal remains unchanged, and for that, I need the full power of Dialga and Palkia. Investigate Charon's discoveries or don't; I could not care less."
"Perhaps I'll involve the hunters," Saturn mused, recognizing the dismissal. "I'm sure they would be up for this, given the right motivation."
Instead of replying, Cyrus turned to the window. Even now, he could look down and see the shambolic state that Veilstone City was in, because the deplorable human spirit was too wrapped up in petty emotions such as pride and arrogance to create even simple solutions, let alone complex ones to start to resolve the world's numerous problems.
No one could see how doomed the world was. That it needed to be started over.
Except for him.
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"You see? You can banish me to this domain, you can wipe me from history, but you will never be rid of me. Humans are your creation, but they will be my salvation."
"I will be free," Giratina hissed at the vision of the Creator inside its head. "And once I am, I'll make sure this world never forgets me again."