Chapter 49: Walking in the Dream World
Ash and the group are wandering around until they reach the town, they see the name of the town as Prion Town. Ash says, "Prion, as in one type of protein that hinders the brain..."
"I am surprised that you know about this..." Gladion says as their voices gain the townspeople's attention.
"Is that Ash Ketchum?" "No way...he has come to save us!" The townspeople suddenly rush towards them, which causes them to get surprised.
"Um...what's going on here? And you know all of them, Ash?" Nora asks.
"I don't know." Ash replies.
"Ash? Nora?" But suddenly, the crowd then leaves a room, and then two adults appear in front of them, Ash and Nora are shocked. "Mom? Dad?" Ash and Nora start to tear up and they rush towards their parents, giving a family hug that they have been missed of.
"Mom, Dad, I finally found you..." Ash says. "I thought...you were...you were..."
Adam says, "I am sorry. Look at you, you have grown so well... it has been a while since I last meet you..."
Delia says, "The same goes to you, Nora. You have also grown into a fine woman..."
"Thank you, Mom..." Nora says. Zachary also walks forward and asks, "Mom...Dad...do you remember me?"
Delia smiles and says, "Of course, we know about you and Zenith. Though I was surprised that Zenith would be the leader of the Infernal Cult and he would lie to you that he sacrificed me for Groudon."
Adam says, "And we are sorry for leaving you two alone, we had missions to do and we just didn't want you to get in danger."
After meeting one another, Ash asks, "But Dad, Mom, how are you two here in this Dream Realm?"
Adam and Delia frown and Adam says, "Follow me, it will be better if we talk inside our living place."
As they get to Cortisol Road, Nora says, "This place is named after a hormone? Wow..."
Ash notices a Hidden Grotto and he asks, "Dad, before we continue forward, can we see what is inside this Hidden Grotto?"
Adam smiles and says, "Of course you can."
As they enter the grotto, they see that a Lanturn is sitting there, but much to their surprise is that it looks different.
"A Delta Pokemon in the Dream Realm? I guess more surprises are happening every day." Nora says.
"And I think it will be better if I capture it." Ash says as he battles the Pokemon with Torterra. In the end, it is defeated and Ash manages to capture it.
Delta Lanturn: The Ghost Light Pokemon: Ghost and Fire Type. The flames it produces are extraordinarily hot. Due to its reclusive nature, lost travelers that stumble upon it may mistake its presence for the gateway to hell.
After getting out of the grotto, they continue their road until they are stopped by Malde and Lillie.
"Stop right there." Malde says as they are having a staredown, Adam and Delia are also surprised to see Lillie being affected by the virus in person.
"...we were doing so well, too. Persephone is insufferable. We tried to help her, bring her into our fold. It's a shame, really. Every person we fail to convert just makes our plan take longer to finish. And you see... I don't think we can exactly follow through with our mission of helping the world from down here. The Dream Realm, a desolate place. There's no easy way out, aside from using Darkrai's ability..."
"What are you going to talk about, Grandfather?" Taen asks.
"...I have a feeling that you should know where this is going here. This world can't survive without the person in which it resides. And if it's your dream realm, Ash...It's a risky move, but it's the only one we see. Let's get this over with."
He turns to Lillie, "It's a shame, too, Ash. I would have loved for you to join us. Lillie? Deal with them."
Just then, Lillie sends out Charizard, Ash says, "Please, Lillie, I don't want to fight you. You have to stop this."
But Lillie just says, "Phantom Force." As Charizard vanishes, Ash quickly sends out Arcanine to guard him. And then it uses Dragon Rush to defeat her Pokemon.
"...fine." Malde says. "You're quite a battler. It's a shame you never chose to join us. You would have been excellent. We could have saved the region in days. We'll need to find another way out of here. I sensed another legendary Pokemon down here... perhaps they have a way to get out. Worse comes to worst, we could just... stay down here. The people down here are corrupt. This would be the perfect place for us to help...I need to give this some thought."
As Malde walks down the stairs, he asks, "Lillie?" But Lillie just takes out the Crystal Shard and gives it to Ash, much to their surprise.
"What are you doing? I said now. Yeesh, give a kid something to look after and their head grows three sizes." Then they leave without a thought.
Adam says, "So Lillie is still conscious?"
"I don't know. But I will save here." Ash says. "But first, Dad, take us to the gym." They nod as they go there.
They then pass through Cerubrum Town, and swim through the REM Ocean, they finally reach Erebus City, as they can see a gym in front of them.
"A Gym in the Dream Realm?" Taen asks in surprise. "So this is how we are going to get the eighth gym badge?"
"That will be funny if it is true." Nora says.
"I know, now we should explain everything to you." Adam says as they head inside and sit down once they enter the gym.
"You see, I heard from the citizens of Prion Town that you finally ended up here. To Ash and Nora's friends, I'm Adam. I'm the leader here, and this is my wife, Delia."
"It is nice to meet you." Damian says with a bow, as others know who they are.
"You might be wondering why there's an actual full-on Gym in the Dream Realm. Well... let's say I'm just as trapped here as you are. Persephone trapped me here a year ago. It was a brutal trap- I didn't see it coming at all. And now I hear Jaern's taken over in my place...I have so much to tell you, but in private, which is why we are here now."
Taen asks, "Mr. Ketchum, why are there laser lights here?"
"Oh, good question, Taen. You see, it's Dark-type, with a laser puzzle. I'm very fond of it."
"Okay..." Ash says.
"Now, let me ask you, Ash. How much do you remember about me?" Adam asks.
"All I remembered is that you wanted to protect us, which is the reason you sent us to Kanto while having Nora by your side..."
"I see. Well, to other people, I guess nobody remembers me...since all that Jaern's done to censor my name out..."
"So, you weren't dead, but you were stuck here..." Damian asks.
"I might as well be. I guess it's storytime, isn't it? This was a few years ago, back when the Torren Region was a complete mess. Despite that, life was amazing for me. I was happy, I had a family, I was a Gym Leader. I was even chosen by Hoopa, a legendary Pokemon, and Delia is chosen by Meloetta. Not only that, it is a surprise that Arceus chosen my son."
Delia says, "Because of it, Adam thinks that he grew arrogant and he thought that he could save the Torren and solve the problems..."
"As the former leader of the Timeless...I messed up." Adam sighs.
(Flashback)
"Are you serious? Adam? You are going to use the crystal that is meant for Ash?" Cynthia gasps at him.
"Yeah, what if Arceus finds out?" Steven asks.
"But he's more strong-hearted than he seems, Steven." Diantha says.
"You better be right about this..." Suzerain says.
"So. Adam, you are going to use the Crystal to stop the cults?" King Vesryn asks.
"All the cults... all the chaos in the region... I can't stop it alone. And I couldn't get your help because of your region duties."
"Unfortunately, the side that was for you borrowing the crystal was nearly unanimous. But Adam, you need to listen carefully. Even we don't know what the crystal is for... all we know is that Arceus wants it guarded." Arata says. "And if Arceus wanted it guarded, then it must be clearly very important. People have tried to steal it before, and you cannot let that happen."
"You mean those weirdo Giratina-lookalike cultists? They're no threat! Not with that crystal by my side!" Adam says.
"They are not cultists. They're... something else. I'm not entirely sure. Fortunately, they can't steal it from you, they have to win it from you first." Professor Sylvan says.
"We have decided to lend you this crystal to help you deal with the huge cult problems that Torren has. But you have to return it- you cannot let it fall into the hands of Giratina's group! " King Vesryn says.
As the crystal goes to Adam, he nods, "I won't let you down, guys. I won't lose!"
(Flashback ends)
"And then...I lost..." Adam says with a frown.
"You lost? Dad?" Zachary gasps.
"I bit off more than I could chew. I thought I was undefeatable- and in a way, I kind of was. With Arceus' ancient crystal, I couldn't die or be defeated. ...but I learned a very important lesson that day." Adam closes his eyes, "Never go against someone smarter than you. Because even invulnerability has a loophole. It was clever, I admit. Exactly one year ago, Persephone and Jaern had the bright idea of using my family against me."
"To protect Ash, he has to stop fighting..." Delia frowns.
"But even then- even with my not fighting back- I was still invulnerable. This was the first time that Persephone met Darkrai." Adam says. "She convinced them to seal away me and Delia...in the dreams of my son. And then her Gengar uses Dream Eater."
"Luckily... you had Lillie and Gladion to rescue you, and Arceus woke you up and guided you out. Already, you're doing so much better than we are." Delia smiles.
"Mom..." Ash says.
"We saw your win against Audrey and Zenith. You are the hero, not me." Adam smiles. "And it's up to you to reunite this crystal, to return it to its guardians and stop this Giratina group. They've been manipulating us since forever. I'm not sure why exactly, but they want that crystal. The entire prophecy business? The fake prophet that you meet in the Infernal Base? Whatever mind abilities Zenith had? It all ties back to them. I just wish I knew more about them."
"We will. Dad." Ash says. "We can go back to Torren together."
"It is impossible to leave..." Delia says, "Unless that you have Hoopa. His Hyperspace Hole is the only way to get out."
"Do you call Hoopa?" Just then, Hoopa and Meloetta appear in front of them as Ash sends it out.
"Hoopa?" Adam is shocked. "Meloetta?" Delia is the same.
The two pixie Pokemon reunite with their chosen, then Ash says, "They are given by Ridley and Baraz so that we can help you. And we also have these."
Ash gives the Prison Bottle and seven mysterious scrolls to Delia, who gets them and thanks to them.
"So, Dad, Mom, you can leave with us." Nora says.
"We can." Adam says, much to their excitement. "But first, we have to begin this. A battle, father against their children, the battle of the centuries."
"Wait, you are battling us?" Ash gasps.
"Of course, Ash." Delia says. "After all, we have seen you being betrayed. I know you want to win this league, which needs your father's badge."
Ash and Nora are excited, as they all head to the battlefield for their final gym badge.
Here is a new chapter, and in this chapter, Ash, Nora and Zachary reunited with Delia and Adam, and they are going to battle in the next chapter. I hope you like it.
