Floating Island is the most mysterious among the dozen or so S-level sanctuaries in Draconia.
The entrance lies at the northernmost tip of Draconia, high in the mountains where ice and snow never melt. It's hidden by a strange spatial force, making it almost impossible to find without deep knowledge of space manipulation, let alone to actually enter the Floating Island.
Even the Elite Four, championship-level powerhouses, rarely set foot there.
Because of this, very few Trainers venture into the Floating Island. No cities have formed around it either.
John and Saul arrived by plane at IceFall City, the northernmost major city in Draconia. From there, it would normally take two days by car to reach the Floating Island.
Luckily, the two of them were strong enough.
John used Lugia to clear the way and It took them less than an hour to reach the sanctuary.
When they arrived, the wind and snow were raging, turning the world into a blur of white.
Hovering high above, John scanned the mountain range. Halfway up, about ten meters above the ground, the snow and ice twisted oddly, like light bending through water.
"The first person to discover this sanctuary, also found it during a snowstorm," Saul said.
John nodded. From the mountainside, the sky would look perfectly blue, and the spatial distortion would be invisible. Only in weather like this, with the snow swirling, did the twist of space stand out.
"Gardevoir," John called.
Gardevoir appeared instantly, hands clasped at her chest. Her psychic energy spread out, mixing with the power of space channeled through the Lustrous Orb.
Soon, the spatial barrier was broken.
A faint blue portal shimmered open in front of them.
With a flap of Lugia's wings, the two stepped through.
The snow vanished.
An island appeared before John and Saul.
It was strange, covered in a grayish haze that no wind could clear. Even the flowers and trees swaying in the breeze gave off an eerie feeling.
Above, there was no sky, only faint, pixel-like colors flickering overhead.
"It's called a sanctuary, but this place feels more like a space crack," Saul explained. "Just like the one you came back from after rescuing Scarlett."
"But there's a small difference. This place isn't just cut off from space, it's cut off from time."
John's eyes lit up with realization.
Back when he saved Scarlett, he had entered a space rift and fought a special Zapdos that could manipulate space. That rift had no sunlight, no energy source, just an empty wasteland. Over time, everything inside withered away.
That's why Zapdos, who commands the power of space, made it his lair, gathering countless Electric-type Pokémon to serve him.
But this place... was different.
It was the exception.
There had once been a powerful Trainer who discovered a world inside a space crack, one the size of a town, complete with light and wind from impossible sources. The humans and Pokemon there never aged, sickened, or died.
They lived like a movie stuck on repeat.
That's why the plants here, which should have perished long ago, still swayed gently as if they could feel the wind, even when there was none.
John remembered his own theory: that such a realm might have formed due to a clash between two Pokemon controlling time itself.
That idea came from a movie he'd seen in his past life: The Decisive Battle in the Tower of Time and Space: Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai.
In that film, the battle between Dialga, god of time, and Palkia, god of space, nearly trapped Poplar Town in a collapsing time-space rift.
"We've come to the right place," John said, raising an eyebrow. In the distance, countless islands floated within the distorted space. "This isn't something ordinary Pokemon could cause. It could very well be the work of Dialga and Palkia."
"Mentor, take me to where you found the Lustrous Orb."
"Alright," Saul nodded. "Let's land first. We won't use any flying means here."
Lugia descended onto the nearest island.
Once they got off, Saul released his Gengar.
"Have your Gardevoir maintain the spatial field," Saul warned. "The space here is unstable, things keep slipping in and out of reality."
No sooner had he said that than a broken brown wooden cabinet appeared twenty meters ahead, hurtling toward them at incredible speed.
Just as Gardevoir and Gengar prepared to block it, the cabinet vanished ten meters away, as if it had never existed.
"Now that's something," John muttered. "There aren't even towns here, so why would a cabinet show up?"
Gengar led the way while Gardevoir used Future Sight and maintained a spatial defense around them.
John and Saul advanced cautiously.
"By the way," John asked suddenly, "are there any Pokemon here?"
If time really stood still, then any Pokemon trapped inside should've lived countless years. Their strength should be terrifying.
"The Floating Island has existed since its discovery," Saul explained. "But all the Pokemon found here were taken away for research. There shouldn't be any left now. If there are, they're either unlucky enough to have fallen in, or they're training here because they understand space."
He smiled faintly. "That's why I left my Gengar here to practice."
"Gengar~" it said proudly, waving its hand.
John nodded. That made sense. If any Pokemon like he imagined were still here, this place wouldn't be quiet at all.
It seemed the S-level rating of the Floating Island came not from its Pokemon, but from the strange environment itself.
Still, as Saul said, this place might be perfect for letting Gardevoir train as well.