Intrigued by Sada’s words, Nemona gave her a curious look. “What’s the space-time rift?” she asked.

“We have to get out of here,” was Sada’s reply. “It isn’t safe.”

A little irritated, Nemona stuck out her hip. “What isn’t safe? Why won’t you answer me, Professor?”

Sada didn’t want her to feel like she was ghosting her, so she explained, “Because now’s not a good time. We have to leave.”

Penny was all for it. She pushed Scarlet, Arven, and Nemona forward and said, “You heard her. Move. Let’s see if we can find a cave somewhere.” Except, how many caves were in the Tagtree Thicket?

Behind, Sada shouted, “Wait! Help me!” Fear, instead of electricity, coursed through her wires, and she held her Terastallized hand out to Arven. “I can’t stand!”

“Oh, whoops,” Arven said, screeching to a stop. He returned to Sada and grabbed her hands. “One, two, three.” Arven started to lug her to her feet, but Sada merely slipped out of his arms and tumbled to the ground again.

She kicked her legs and barked, “Work!” at them. The infrared sky pulsed, and she gasped. Why did the area suddenly feel so much hotter?

After a third failed attempt to stand, Sada finally just waved her hand and told Arven, “Just leave me. I’ve frustrated you guys enough.”

“No way!” Arven snapped. It wasn’t Sada; it was his dad causing his and his friends’ frustration.

“Please.” Sada latched onto his shirt collar and pulled him close to her. “Y’all have to get out of here before they come. I’m only putting you in more danger.”

Arven grasped her hands again. “Who’s coming?”

Sada gave his shirt a quick jiggle before she answered, “The Future Pokémon.”

The second she mentioned “Future Pokémon”, a large, four-legged figure plopped down in front of her and Arven, seemingly from out of nowhere.

Iron Treads threw its red-patterned trunk off its robotic-like face and glared at the two with its red eyes. Its mechanical body shimmered under the broken sky.

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Arven switched from Sada’s hands up to her shoulders. Leaning into her ear, he said, “Let me guess, that’s a Future Pokémon?”

Sada nodded. “Uh-huh. They came here from the future through the space-time rift.”

Although he screamed on the inside, Arven saluted at Iron Treads. “Ta-Take it easy, bro,” he begged. “We were just leaving.” He dragged Sada away from the glaring Pokémon and turned her over to his friends.

“What is that thing?” Nemona wondered, her eyes fixed on Iron Treads. “It looks sick!”

Sada reached into her coat pocket and freed the Violet book from it. She flipped through it and stopped on a page that had a black-and-white drawing of Iron Treads. She ran her index finger over the picture’s label and said, “Its name is Iron Treads. It’s the Future Form of Donphan.”

Arven stumbled back a step, but he held his arms out to his sides to catch his balance. “Let’s get out of here,” he calmly stated.

Penny piped up. “Um, Arven? I don’t think these Pokémon are going to let us off just like that. Look.” She shakily pointed in all compass directions.

One at a time, Future Pokémon dropped out of the rift in space—until there was a whole army of them—and surrounded the party on either side. They included Iron Moth, Iron Treads, and a few other creatures that resembled Hariyama, Gallade, Tyranitar, and Hydreigon. All were robotic-like, and all had an infrared tint to their bodies.

“Hee, hee,” Penny sarcastically chuckled. “We’re all gonna die.” She and her friends caved in on one another, and their backs touched.

Celebi extended its barrier so that it created a bubble-shaped shield around the group, but Miraidon and Koraidon remained on its outer layer.

Miraidon tightened his V-shaped arms, and Koraidon stomped his feet.

Sada closed her eyes and made another attempt to stand. She did, but her crystallized legs wiggled under her, and she had to lock her knees.

“To be brave is something you learn over time,” Sada whispered to herself, and she opened her eyes. “We have no choice.” She drew Roaring Moon’s pokéball. “We have to fight.”

Sada glanced at Arven and his friends. “Get your strongest Pokémon. Or your second strongest in the case of you, Nemona.”

Nemona gulped, but she plucked a pokéball off her belt. She remained quiet while her friends released their Pokémon: Scarlet her Skeledirge, Arven his Mabosstiff, Penny her Sylveon, and Sada her Roaring Moon.

The four Pokémon appeared on the other side of Celebi’s barrier, alongside Koraidon and Miraidon, and unleashed their battle cries.

Sada looked over her shoulder at Nemona, who had yet to toss her own pokéball. “What’s the holdup, Nemona?” She thought Nemona loved to battle.

“I-I—” Nemona studied the red and white ball in her palm. She could feel her hand sweating under her glove.

Nemona shook her head. “I can’t, Professor. My Meowscarada.” She ducked and covered her neck when a Pokémon attack sailed over Celebi’s barrier. It took out a whole line of trees in the thicket, and they all fell like dominos.

The battle had begun.