"Hmm…another day of survey work it seems." Hope said.
"Uh…maybe not." Granite said, opening their doors. "Have you guys even seen the sky?"
"Is the rift gone?" Perfuma asked.
"Uh…quite the opposite actually. Look." Granite said, pointing to the sky as it was a strange collage of colors with some sort of film enveloping all of Hisui.
"The sky… No, the whole landscape is tinted red!" David said.
"Is spacetime collapsing?" Ace asked.
"No idea…but the commander is both frightened and furious. He thought you all dealt with all the Nobles." Granite said.
"Well, we let them live, but… Why is this still happening?" Ayase asked.
"I don't know… But if the commander really believed we're connected, then not even this town is safe for us anymore." Tsubaki said.
"We all fell from the sky. Prejudice was always set even before now. Actually…I'll need you all to follow me out. As of now…you're no longer affiliated with the Galaxy Team and ordered to be expelled from the village." Granite said.
"Exile? Just like that? Is he serious?" Tsubaki asked.
"I'm afraid so." Esmeralda said. "As long as he believes that our presence is causing this, he'll be accusing us at every turn."
"There…is a solution, though. That merchant we kept running into." Ayase said.
"Volo? Hmm… Yeah, he always seems to know what's going on around Hisui." Tsubaki said.
"Then let's seek him out and get some potential answers. I'm all for clearing our name. And this mess." Siege said.
"Looks like we won't have to seek very far, look!" Hope said, as Volo was at the front gate.
"Well, perfect timing." Rutega stated bluntly. "Hey, Volo, any idea what's going on?" Rutega asked as she approached.
"Hmm…would you like help in settling this?" Volo asked.
"Yes. Any bit you can provide would be much appreciated." Tsubaki said.
"Yeah, we'll do anything we can to solve this." Siege said.
"Funny thing was, I was about to go looking for you people. Hate to lose valued customers. But not to worry, there are still places in Hisui where answers can be found. Come with me." Volo said.
They followed the merchant out of the village before he lead them to a small little hut out in the middle of nowhere where a woman in black sat with three fairies by her side.
"Oh! Fairies!" Perfuma said.
"Ugh… humans." the spriggan said. "Get out of here."
"Dust. Come on. They don't look too bad." a Cat Sith said.
"Plus, we're not exactly all human here." Glacius said.
"Some of you hang with them. You're just as bad." Dust said.
"Nice to see such a cheery disposition. And nice to see you, Lady Cogita." Volo said to the woman sitting down.
"And these people…" Cogita said.
"Our heroes of the hour. The ones who quelled the Frenzied Nobles." Volo said.
"I see…those who are displaced from space and time. Seems I'll be able to fulfill my duty at last." Cogita said. "After all, this rift must be mended."
"What can we do to help out?" Rutega asked, not wanting to waste time.
"The space time rift is said to be a gateway to an innumerable number of different times and dimensions. And still farther from those dwells Almighty Sinnoh." Cogita said.
"Which one?" Hope asked.
"Hard to say. However, time and space are inseparable. Those two clans are fools for worshiping one over the other. Throughout Hisui are three lakes: Lake Valor, Lake Verity and Lake Acuity. In each of them dwells a Pokémon that embodies an aspect of the mind. Complete these trials and take their proofs to the Shrouded ruins. There you will forge the Red Chain and bind the world back together." Cogita said.
"(It's no wonder the Red Chain was sought out years in the future…)" Siege mumbled under his breath.
"Lakes…the Lake Trio." Jexi realized.
"Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie." Hope said. "Willpower, Emotions and Knowledge."
"I think it would be a lot faster to seek out each of the lake guardians in groups, right?" Scorpia asked.
"No…that's not gonna work." Senku said. "The groups are too big to just be divided."
"Senku is right. It's not just us, but the plate holders as well." David said. "There's too many of us to divide equally."
"Right." Hope said.
"Look…we need to attack this in a system. We'll hit Verity, then Acuity and the Valor since the ruins are in the same location as the last lake." Gus said.
"That sounds like a very good plan." Glacius said. "So, first stop… Obsidian Fieldlands."
They traveled to the Obsidian Fieldlands where they traveled across Lake Verity before entering a small cave. Waiting inside however was a large Goodra with a shell acting as its tail and its eyes glowing red.
"It's an Alpha Goodra! But, wait… Something's different." David said.
"It's got a shell. Must be a Hisuian Goodra." Ayase said. "Looks more like a snail than a dragon."
"I'll take care of this." Perfuma said. "Go, Voltorb!" she said, sending out Hisuian Voltorb.
"Strange that an Alpha is in here. This must be a test to see if we're worthy of the guardian's time." Hayase said.
"In that case, guess we better put on a show." David said.
The Alpha Goodra made the first shot with Hydro Pump, but Voltorb rolled out of the way.
"Voltorb, use Thunderbolt!" Perfuma called.
Goodra quickly retracted into the shell as it protected itself against the Thunderbolt.
"He blocked it!" Scorpia said.
"It must be a move Goodra can only use in its Hisuian form." Hope said.
"Okay…let's change it up." Perfuma said, recalling Voltorb. "Go, Decidueye!" she said sending Decidueye out.
"Nice thinking!" Scorpia said.
"I'm not the same trainer I was before starting this journey." Perfuma smiled. "Decidueye, Triple Arrows!"
Deciduye pulled off its signature move against Goodra, garnering super effective damage. Goodra quickly collapsed from this.
"I see…Hisuian Goodra is a Steel Type. So it was weak against Fighting Type moves." Ayase said.
A bright glow then filled the cavern before a small pink Pokémon appeared, floating in the air.
"There's Mesprit." Hope said.
"Your emotions…share them with me…" Mesprit's voice echoed in their minds.
"It's speaking to us telepathically." Perfuma said.
"Yeah, a lot of Legendaries have been known to do that." David said.
"Now…how did you all feel when you fell from the sky?" Mesprit asked.
"Honestly… Somewhat confused." Glacius said.
"How did it feel to bond with Pokémon and work together?" Mesprit asked.
"It was quite exhilarating. A very heartwarming experience." David said.
"How did you feel when you mingled with Hisui's clans?" Mesprit asked.
"Honestly, it showed how different we all are." Hayase said.
"What did you feel when cast out of the Galaxy Team?" Mesprit asked.
"A mix of emotions. Some of us were…pretty pissed to put it mildly." Tsubaki said.
"So many emotions…please…take this piece of me to help mend the world." Mesprit said as it gifted to them it's plume.
"We won't let you down. We hope to see you again soon." Esmeralda said.
"Looking forward to it." Mesprit said as it vanished.
"Next stop, Lake Acuity." Luna said.
"That's Uxie's place, right?" Siege asked.
"That's right." David said.
"Phew. Glad I remembered right for once. I always get Azelf and Uxie messed up in the places they are." Siege admitted.
"Well let's hope our knowledge is brushed up for Uxie then." Mari said.
"Leave the knowledge part to me. When it comes to Siege and Rutega… those two could forget something you told them half an hour ago if circumstances were right." Allison chuckled.
"Hey!" Siege and Rutega yelled in unison.
"And that lake is in the Alabaster Icelands, right?" Mari said.
"That's right." Hope said.
It didn't take long for them to arrive in the Alabaster Icelands and reach the island in Lake Acuity. Upon entering through, they found a Hisuian Zoroark inside with glowing red eyes as it howled.
"Zoroark. An Alpha one at that." Jexi said.
"I've never seen a Zoroark like that before." Ace said.
"Yeah. We ran into one before we met with you all." Jexi said. "Although, it wasn't Alpha sized."
"Even more, it's Normal and Ghost type. Since both typings are immune to each other, neither type is going to do any good. It's only weak to Dark-types." Glacius said.
"Dark-types, huh? Well, in that case…" Tsubaki said as she sent out her Alpha Honchkrow.
Zoroark roared before it unleashed Bitter Malice onto the Alpha.
"Keep going. Night Slash!" Tsubaki said.
Honchkrow unleashed a powerful Night Slash at Zoroark, taking it down quickly as it fell.
"Just for good measure." Tsubaki said as she threw a Heavy Ball at the Alpha Zoroark. The ball hit it as it was pulled inside as the fireworks went off.
"Whoa…seems we had the same idea. Like how I caught Goodra before we left Lake Verity." Perfuma said.
They soon saw a small yellow creature appear above them.
"So, you must be Uxie. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." David said.
"Come. I will test your knowledge." Uxie said telepathically.
"Knowledge huh? Fire away." Sunset said.
"Combee. Magneton. Dusclops. Zubat. Unown. How many are their eyes?" Uxie asked. "Tell me each one by one yet all at once."
"Okay… The answer is… 63,101." David said.
"Correct. Take this piece of me to bind the world once more." Uxie said as it gave them one of its claws.
"Thank you, Uxie." Hope said as Uxie disappeared. "Last is Azelf at Lake Valor."
The group proceeded towards Lake Valor in the Crimson Mirelands. Upon entry, they encountered a large pufferfish-like creature with massive needles and glowing red eyes.
"Is that some mutant Qwilfish?" Luna asked.
"No…it's an Overqwil. The evolved form of the Hisuian Qwilfish." Keith said.
"It looks pretty dangerous. Those long needles could pierce right into someone's heart." Scorpia said.
"Ground type moves would be the way to go for this one." Mari said.
"Good call. Much like my own Hisuian Qwilfish, Overqwil is a Poison and Dark type." Hope said.
"I see. I shall handle this. Come…Gallade!" Hayase said sending out an Alpha Gallade. "Take it down…with Sacred Sword!" he said before the Gallade cut it down with a quick cut before it was captured.
"Well, thats one other way to do it." Perfuma said.
"Discussion of matters do not get us to the end of them." Hayase said.
At that moment, a small blue creature soon appeared in the air.
"The being of Willpower appears." Hope said.
"Show me unyielding will. Strike me, if you can." Azelf said telepathically.
"Alright. I assume that means a Pokémon battle. I'll give you my very best!" Siege declared.
"No…nothing like that." Azelf said as a basket of balms appeared. "You will try to strike me with those."
"Ooooooh. Hey, let me have at it." Rutega then said.
"Hmm… Sounds simple enough." Ayase said. "Though, knowing Azelf… It probably isn't so simple."
"I got this." Rutega said, stepping up and taking a balm. "Alright…" She said, taking a few more balms and hiding them on her person… before initiating and tossing the first balm at Azelf.
At that moment, Azelf suddenly teleported before appearing in a different part of the room.
Just as Azelf did so, it looked around, and Rutega had moved as well, not in sight, as Rutega dashed from behind, chucking another balm from the back side!
Azelf quickly teleported each of the balms she threw.
"This would seem pointless. You should give up." Azelf said.
"Give up is not in my vocabulary!" Rutega smirked, dashing around and chucking balm after balm at Azelf. But the Willpower pokemon dodged every single one. "So what if the battle is pointless? So what if the odds are against me? Give up? Never! As a warrior, you stand after every time you're knocked down, you push on until your last breath, you battle with all your heart and know that even if you're meant to die… you left this world knowing you put everything you had on that field of battle, and you can die with honor and glory! Never give up! Never surrender!"
Azelf just floated there as it allowed itself to be hit with a balm. "There is no further need. You people pass. Take this piece of me and bind the world together." Azelf said as it gave them its fang.
"The three pieces of the Red Chain. We have what we need." Siege stated.
"Let's head back to the Ancient Retreat and craft the chain. We need to resolve this as fast as we can." Hope said.
"Hope, weren't you listening? We need to go to the Shrouded Ruins to craft it." Perfuma said.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Hope said.
"You sure can be scatterbrained. But don't worry, we still like you." Scorpia said.
They headed over to the Shrouded Ruins as the sky seemed to darken upon arrival.
"Hey…what's going on?" Sunset asked.
"Ah…so the end of this world is near…which means I best not waste the chance to cause mayhem." a voice called out.
"Who's there?" Hope asked.
"I've waited so long for this chance…Now it's here!" the voice said as a large stone dropped before them.
"What on earth?!" Ace said.
"The party is all here. We had to stick to one of you, but now we all reunite." the voice said as many ghostly orbs flew from behind Tsubaki and into the stone as a large spirit emerged. "All 108 of us!"
"Guys, be careful. This one feels extremely dangerous." Tsubaki said.
"Wait… I think I remember hearing about something like this. A spirit emerging from a cursed stone that harbors 108 evil spirits…." Perfuma said.
"A Spiritomb. I fought one once and this is exactly what it looks like." Jexi said.
"This is a Spiritomb? Are you serious?" Tsubaki asked.
"Don't worry, girl. Since it was cause of that strange spiritual energy that we were able to cling to, we'll make sure your end is swift." Spiritomb said.
"Not if I can help it." Ayase said.
"Ayase, don't! You don't know what he'll do to you." Tsubaki said. "And…what did you mean by spiritual energy?"
"You are a spiritmaster, are you not?" Spiritomb asked. "You should know that spirits are always attracted to your energy be they good or evil."
"This thing definitely wants to destroy us. But this is a good opportunity as well." Hope said. "Battling Spiritomb, and catching it, that's a great opportunity."
"Oh really? You wanna fight us? Capture us?" Spiritomb asked. "How can you all even think to do that?! Hahahahahahaha!"
"Quite simple, actually." Tsubaki said. "I beat you down for clinging to me."
"Be careful, Tsubaki." David said.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Tsubaki said as she sent out Quilava.
"Dark Pulse!" Spiritomb said attacking Quilava with darkness before it went about firing ghostly balls of fire at it. "And Will O Wisp! Burn for…what?!" he said as he saw Quilava was absorbing the flames. "But that's spirit fire! Surely it cannot…" Spiritomb said as Quilava was glowing.
Quilava soon grew taller and more mellow as ghostly flames surrounded its neck.
"It evolved into Typhlosion…the Hisuian one." Sunset said.
Typhlosion just gave a yawn as it seemed to absorb energy from Spiritomb.
"This Pokémon…I had heard legends…it's the one Pokémon all spirits fear." Spiritomb said.
"Then it seems you're in a pretty bad position right now." Tsubaki said.
"Big deal! I still have my Dark typing to rely on." Spiritomb said.
"It won't help against a Pokémon you said is the bane of all spiritual existence." Hope said.
"Now…show your might. Infernal Parade!" Tsubaki said as Typhlosion unleashed several ghostly balls of fire as they bombarded Spiritomb, leaving it weak.
"Wait…we can talk. I promise to leave and live a peaceful existence. I promise!" Spiritomb begged.
"I'll make sure you keep your end of that bargain." Tsubaki said as she threw a Great Ball.
"What? But I said-!" Spiritomb begged before being pulled into the ball and captured.
"Phew… That's one problem solved." Tsubaki said as she let Spiritomb out. "You are mine now. You will never trouble anyone or face my wrath as a Spiritmaster. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am." Spiritomb said in fear.
"Whoa… Tsubaki and Typhlosion really nailed it on him." David said.
"Yeah…and now…we can do what we came here for." Siege said.
They presented the three pieces before they all changed and morphed into a large red circular chain.
"The Red Chain." Ace said.
"David, I need to speak with you momentarily." Richard stated, gesturing towards David. "Will you come with me?"
"I-I guess. This will take a moment, guys." David said.
Richard then led David away from the group, just barely far enough to be out of earshot.
"...David, you did notice something off with Volo, didn't you?" Richard asked firmly. "I'm sure that everyone sensed it, to some degree."
"Yeah. He always seems to show up right when these guys wanted to know about something. That, and he seems to know more than he's letting on." David said.
"That's exactly right. The fact that he's helping us so strongly with little motive rings a lot of bells. And what might be surprising… I might have a clue about his motive." Richard responded back. "The fact that he's having us deal with the myths here… And that feeling that I felt when I heard him speak before me for the first time. I do not sense true malice, but I do sense ambition, and a lot of it. Perhaps he runs a parallel to Giovanni and Cyrus in a way, but with different justifications and motives. All in short, keep your guard up, and try not to startle him either."
"Now that you mention it… I do sense…a little bit of Jexi in him too for some reason. Mainly when Tsubaki and the others said he mentioned the plates they've been gathering." David said. "Why is he so focused on the plates, I wonder?"
"So, you guys had suspicions about him too?" a voice said as they saw Senku. "Yeah…the guy seems way too nice to be doing this for free."
"But what could he want?" David asked.
"Well let me ask you this…do these plates have any special powers for humans?" Senku asked.
"No…the only being to benefit from them is…Arceus, of course. Urgh… I'm an idiot. I should've pieced this together sooner." David said. "But… What if there's actually more to it than that? What if there is another reason Volo wishes to confront Arceus?"
"My thoughts exactly." Richard stated, crossing his arms. "Think about it, let's liken Arceus to God, then who do you think can stand up to God? Who is their nemesis in most mythologies?"
"Satan, the fallen angel, correct?" David asked.
"Yeah…but this is a Pokemon World. So…in contrast…the enemy of Arceus has gotta be one Pokemon…the Renegade. Giratina." Senku said.
"Giratina…?" David asked. "You mean to say that Volo formed some sort of contract with him?"
"Close…I think he's found a way to control it. We have ten plates. But there are still 8 out there. Including the Draco and Spooky plates." Senku said.
"So there's a chance that Volo is hiding one of those from right under everyone's noses." David said.
"But he's careful. He doesn't want to get on our bad side…least not until the remaining ones have been found." Senku said.
"So we keep hush-hush about it, to him and the others." Richard stated. "Let's keep this a secret between us as long as we can. If push comes to shove… We have a few Legendaries of our own to even the odds."
"Yes, sir." David said with a salute.
Richard nodded with a firm smile.
"Though keeping that in mind…I think I know what…or rather who is causing the rift." Senku said. "Our favorite Space Time deities."
"Dialga and Palkia… Talk about the ultimate irony." David said. "Think about it. The Diamond and Pearl Clans are always feuding over which deity is the true Almighty Sinnoh. But little did they realize, that the Almighty Sinnoh they keep gawking about are not one but two separate Pokémon."
"Meaning the place we need to take the Red Chain is simple. Get your climbing boots on…cause we're going…right there." Senku said, pointing to Mt. Coronet.
"Mount Coronet… Of course. Kamado and the Galaxy Team have probably come to the same conclusion as well. We might want to hurry." David said. "Because I don't think Kamado is gonna be so lenient against those two. He might plan on destroying them outright."
"Destroy Dialga and Palkia?" Mark asked. "That guy's got no shot doing that with what he's got. He'll get himself killed if we don't stop him!"
"You are absolutely right. Meaning…we don't have the luxury of time or space." Senku said.
"Gather everyone together! We make haste for the Coronet Highlands!" David said.