'God's power?'
When he heard Professor Oak's words, Axel's eyes lit up.
He knew it. Talking with these old folks was never a bad thing.
And look, here came the intel.
Axel ignored the fight between Palkia and Dragonite in the sky and leaned closer toward the Rotom Dex.
"Professor Oak, can you explain in detail?"
["No problem,"] After spending a few months together, Professor Oak understood Axel very well.
Aside from not agreeing to his granddaughter's pursuit, he was practically a perfect young man.
If such a junior could grow, it would be a good thing for the entire Pokémon world.
He flipped through the thick book in his hands, stopping on a few yellowed pages in the middle.
["Actually, I don't know all that much about your Aurient's history either. But more than ten years ago, the academic world suddenly had a wave of archaeological enthusiasm, so I gave it a look."]
["I didn't expect to actually find something."]
["Do you know the history of the Three Kingdoms period?"]
Axel blinked and shook his head.
If it were the official history from his previous life, he did know some things.
But this world's Pokémon-influenced history… yeah, forget it.
Back during the college entrance exam, he had already seen how wild the history here could be.
["You don't know? That's fine too."]
Professor Oak glanced at his notes and then explained the wildness of this Three Kingdoms in an extremely serious tone.
["According to my research, when Lu Bu was defeated in Xiapi, it was at that time that Diao Chan's Gardevoir unlocked a very mysterious power."]
["Cao Cao's entire military unit was all bizarrely controlled and began slaughtering each other."]
["The exact text in the book records it like this:"]
["In the third year of Jian'an, Xiapi fell, and Lu Bu perished at White Gate Tower. His concubine Diao Chan was consumed by grief and swore to avenge her husband."]
["Thus she joined spirit and mind with her mystical companion Gardevoir, performing secret arts under the moon. In an instant, heaven and earth changed color, radiance burst forth, and the two underwent a strange and uncanny evolution."]
["Once the change began, for a hundred li around, man and beast alike were seized, their souls and minds lost, becoming puppets under their command."]
["At that moment, a rift tore open in the void, and a god calling himself 'Order' descended, awe-inspiring, his voice shaking the clouds: 'The power of gods must not be glimpsed by mortals! Break this taboo and you shall be struck down!'"]
["The god brought thunder, the earth erupted with black flames. Diao Chan and Gardevoir fought desperately, but could not withstand divine might."]
["Gardevoir was gravely wounded, hovering between life and death, its blood staining the dust. Diao Chan also collapsed from exhaustion."]
["Taking advantage of the god's brief distraction, the two fled in panic, escaping toward Xuchang, hiding their tracks, and their fate became unknown."]
["Later, curious folk said that on deep nights near Xuchang's outskirts, faint weeping could still be heard, accompanied by the mournful cry of a spirit companion, its sorrow chilling to the bone."]
Axel blinked. As someone who grew up under nine years of compulsory education, his language skills were still passable.
The general meaning was that Lu Bu died, and Diao Chan wanted revenge. She and Gardevoir completed some sort of special evolution, and everyone's minds, human and Pokémon, on the battlefield were controlled.
In the critical moment, a god calling himself "Order" appeared and declared that mortals were forbidden to glimpse divine power.
During that battle, Gardevoir was mortally wounded and fled with Diao Chan to Xuchang.
It didn't sound unreasonable.
In the Pokémon world, there was a common understanding that the more ancient the era, the more interaction humans had with gods.
At that time, Gardevoir gained power comparable to a god, which violated Order itself, so it was normal for the "God of Order" to step in.
Only after Arceus fell asleep did gods and humans gradually evolve into the near-total separation seen today.
The only thing that made Axel a bit speechless was that Old Zhao hadn't even entered the main plot yet.
The third year of Jian'an… which was year 198 AD.
Zhao Yun hadn't even joined Liu Bei yet. How was he supposed to find Zhao Yun for Glastrier?
Axel subconsciously turned to look at Dialga, wondering whether this guy could send him to Diao Chan while sending Glastrier to Zhao Yun.
Hm?
Noticing Axel's gaze, Dialga started nodding frantically.
["I can!"]
Seeing Dialga suddenly acting so confident, Axel was confused.
"I didn't even say anything. What can you do?"
["Everything!"], Dialga's tone was resolute. These past few days, he had been completely convinced by Axel.
The man was ruthless, his Pokémon were even more ruthless, and now even his friends were ruthless.
If he didn't behave, he'd be stuck with that red chain for life.
"Alright then. Send me to year 198, and send Glastrier to year 208."
Dialga: "???"
'Damn it, you're really asking for it!'
'Nearly two thousand years of time travel, and you want me to do it twice in a row?'
"What, you can't?", Axel was about to say forget it if it didn't work.
After all, Gardevoir was already very strong. No matter how much stronger she became, it probably wouldn't be that drastic.
But to Dialga, that was not what Axel meant at all.
If he refused Axel now, would he ever have a good day again?
In the old days, if he and Palkia were captured for this long, Zygarde would've already shown up.
But now Zygarde wasn't here.
That meant either Axel capturing them aligned with Order, or Zygarde was already in trouble.
The only way out was hard work.
Thinking of this, Dialga hardened his resolve.
So what if he ended up exhausted afterward?
Do it!
After reassuring Axel, he took off the chain around his neck and unleashed the power of Roar of Time.
The river of time that had once appeared in Eterna Forest reappeared. Dialga's body floated up slowly as he cut out two long segments from the time-stream.
When he finished, the temporal power on Dialga's body dimmed instantly, looking almost the same as when he was bound by the red chain.
["Axel, it's ready!"]
["Just step into the river of time and you'll reach the two time points you designated."]
["But remember, you can't change anything there, and you don't need to put too much effort into anything."]
["After three days, you will automatically return, but the return time may shift."]
["Centered on today, it might be three days earlier or three days later."]
["If you return early, hide. Absolutely do not meet yourself!"]
Axel memorized Dialga's advice and patted Palkia on the head.
"If I don't come back within three days, Dialga is yours."
After that, Axel watched Glastrier enter its time-stream, then recalled all the other Pokémon into their Poké Balls.
He reached his right hand into the other river of time, and his body vanished.
"Diao Chan, and that Gardevoir who can control minds… I'm coming!"
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