Sinnoh Region, Celestic Town
Celestic Laboratory
The air around the laboratory was still tense.
The Sinnoh Alliance hadn't taken any chances; they sent the Elite Four along with a full investigation team.
Their Pokémon patrolled the perimeter in steady rotations, eyes sharp, ears twitching at every small sound.
No one wanted to get caught off guard again.
A few investigators stood near the entrance, speaking in low voices, when a shadow swept across the ground.
At first, it was just a blur, something large, fast, descending from high above.
Then a deep, rolling sound of wind followed.
A yellow figure broke through the clouds.
The patrol Pokémon reacted instantly.
"Awooo!!"
Mightyena across the grounds raised their hackles and spread out, forming a defensive semicircle as their warning cries echoed.
Investigators stiffened, hands instinctively hovering over Poké Balls.
The disturbance drew more people out of the lab.
Boots thudded against the steps as investigators and members of the Elite Four rushed outside.
Lucian adjusted his glasses, squinting up at the sky.
"Is that… Dragonite? It's enormous!"
The gigantic silhouette grew clearer as it approached, and the crowd instinctively stepped back.
"Stay alert!" someone shouted.
"It could be Team Galactic again!"
Flint (the Fire-type Elite) reacted instantly.
Flames reflected in his eyes as he sent out his Magmortar with a sharp motion.
The rest of the investigators readied themselves, tension thick enough to taste.
Just as Magmortar raised its cannons,
Professor Carolina hurried out of the lab, waving both hands.
"Stand down! It's fine! That Dragonite belongs to Samuel"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Only then did people really look, two figures riding on the massive Dragonite's back.
The Elite Four exchanged relieved glances as the warning order lifted.
The tension in the air thinned but didn't disappear entirely; the Dragonite was simply too large for anyone to ignore.
With a heavy boom, the titan-sized Dragonite landed.
The impact shook dust from the rooftops and sent a tremor across the field.
Even knowing it was an ally didn't stop several investigators from stumbling back.
Its wings folded neatly, but its presence was overwhelming, a wall of warm breath and quiet power.
Sam and Cynthia slid off its side the moment its feet touched the ground. Both of them landed running.
"Grandma, are you okay?" Cynthia's voice broke with worry.
"Grandma, did they hurt you?" Sam asked at the same time.
Carolina smiled softly beneath her exhaustion and patted Cynthia's hand.
"I'm all right. You two worry too much."
"Sorry we got here late," Sam said, guilt threading through his voice.
He couldn't keep his eyes from scanning her for injuries.
Carolina had practically raised him. When he was little, she fed him, scolded him, spoiled him, sometimes even more than she spoiled her own granddaughter.
Whenever he looked at her, pieces of childhood warmth came back.
"Silly boy," she said gently, reaching up to pat his shoulder.
"You're here now. That's what matters."
Once Sam confirmed she truly wasn't hurt, his gaze drifted to the interior of the lab behind her.
Papers were scattered everywhere; shelves were toppled, and several machines sparked faintly.
The whole place still smelled of ozone and burned wiring.
"Team Galactic attacked because of the two orbs, didn't they?" he asked.
Carolina's expression tightened. The small smile faded. She nodded heavily.
"Yes. They took them."
"The Lustrous Orb and the Adamant Orb," Sam muttered, jaw tightening.
The orbs are tied to Palkia and Dialga, two ancient artifacts powerful enough to shape space and time itself.
And now they were in the hands of the last people who should possess them.
Cynthia folded her arms, her expression cold.
"They're escalating. If they went this far in Celestic Town, they must be preparing something big."
Sam could feel Dragonite behind him shifting, its low rumble echoing his own unease.
The attack wasn't random.
And the orbs were only the beginning
Cyrus had finally moved.
The man who dreamed of tearing the world apart and building a new one from the ashes… he was already acting.
Sam's expression darkened as the pieces clicked together.
Beside him, Cynthia reacted immediately.
"We need everyone. Now."
She didn't ask why. Sam's urgency was enough.
She turned sharply to the Elite Four.
"Gather the investigators. Prepare for deployment. We're heading to the Spear Pillar on Mt. Coronet!"
"Understood!" they answered in unison, scattering to carry out her orders.
Sam already knew what waited on that mountaintop.
The moment the orbs were stolen, the timeline in his memory was sealed.
Mt. Coronet's summit, Spear Pillar.
Team Galactic intended to summon the rulers of space and time.
Where everything could collapse.
Far above the clouds, the peak of Mt. Coronet was battered by cold winds and a sky split with shifting colors.
The ancient stone platform of Spear Pillar trembled faintly, as though reacting to something enormous stirring in the air.
Team Galactic had gathered in full force.
Grunts lined the edges in disciplined rows while commanders barked orders.
And at the center of it all stood Cyrus.
In his hands were the Adamant Orb and the Lustrous Orb, glowing with an unnatural radiance as they fed power into a machine behind him.
Scarlet lights pulsed from its core, bathing the orbs in shifting red beams.
The ground vibrated.
The sky above the Pillar twisted.
Two black scars tore themselves open in the air, warped, swirling holes that led to dimensions no human was meant to see.
From within the distortions came a sound that shook the mountain.
A roar that felt ancient enough to shake the bones.
Two colossal figures, towering nearly fifty meters tall, pushed through the rifts.
Metallic plates glinted, temporal energy crackled, and waves of distorted light bent reality around them.
Dialga
Palkia.
Their presence alone made the air feel heavy, thick, almost suffocating.
A shockwave rolled across the Spear Pillar.
Some Galactic grunts fell to their knees from the pressure, eyes wide with awe and fear.
And Cyrus… Cyrus laughed.
A wild, unrestrained sound.
"Hahaha…! At last!" His usually composed face twisted with triumph.
"My ideal world, my perfect world without conflict, is finally within reach!"
He raised both arms toward the sky, voice rising with delirious conviction.
"Palkia! Dialga!"
"Shape the new world I've dreamed of!"
With a final, triumphant motion, he slammed a button on a remote device in his hand.
The air pulsed.
Three chains of crimson light materialized from the void, serpentine and glowing.
Two of them shot straight toward Dialga and Palkia, twisting around their limbs and bodies like living bindings.
"Roooaaar!!"
"GRAAAH!!!"
The gods of time and space unleashed bursts of power that shattered stone and made the pillars quake.
Temporal shockwaves and spatial fractures slammed against the chains.
But the chains didn't break.
They didn't even falter.
They simply tightened, sinking deeper into the divine creatures.
Their eyes flickered, consciousness slipping, replaced by an eerie stillness.
Cyrus tilted his head back in triumph.
"It's useless! The Red Chain is forged to bind even gods. You cannot resist. You will obey."
His voice dropped into a chilling whisper carried by the wind.
"Now… create a new world for me."
Behind him, Team Galactic erupted into cheers.
They shouted, pumped their fists, and celebrated their long-awaited moment.
They believed they were seconds away from victory.
But none of them realized the truth.
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