Chapter 7
The Onslaught
The morning following Team Poképals' strong will to resist removing themselves from the world to save all other pokémon, they knew that had to find a different solution that would not be too deceiving. In this scenario, space is being distorted, rather than time being destroyed, but the endangerment of the world was still the same.
After they waited for Team Go-Getters to leave Sharpedo Bluff for today's jobs, Leon and Blaze talked to each other and discovered that Lapras, the blue transport pokémon, had given a lot of insight into Temporal Tower. They knew that she could know something about the distortion of space herself, so they went over to the beach and had a chat to her about this situation.
Just in case there was an exploration today, Leon and Blaze first went to Treasure Town to stock up on their items and put some of their money away, before they went on over to the beach outside of town. Later, they arrived, and to their relief, they found that Lapras was parked on the edge of the sands. They went over to have a talk to her as promised.
"Lapras, there's something we'd like to ask you," Leon began.
'What is it?" the transport pokémon wondered.
"We're investigating the distortions in the fabric of space," answered Blaze.
"The distortion of space itself..."
"That's right, Lapras," Leon said. "We'd like to learn anything that you might know about it."
"So can you help us?" Blaze said next.
Lapras gave it a careful thought, but she couldn't come up with any information.
"I'm sorry to say...but I know nothing about the space distortions."
"I see..." responded a disappointed Blaze.
"However...I do know of a being that embodies space itself," Lapras insisted.
"What?!" exclaimed Leon and Blaze. "A being that embodies space itself?!"
"Correct. Time and space are deeply connected. Just as Dialga governs time itself...there is also a being that governs the fabric of space."
"Who is that being?" questioned Leon.
"His name is Palkia," answered Lapras. "He is said to possess the ability to distort space itself, and that Spacial Rift is said to be his domain."
So Palkia's the one who governs space, Leon thought, just like Dialga, who governs time…
"If we meet Palkia," Blaze said, "we might be able to learn more about the space distortions!"
"How do we get to Spacial Rift?" wondered a hopeful Leon. "Can you travel over there, Lapras? Just like you did to go to the Hidden Land?"
"I hate to disappoint...but I can't travel to Spacial Rift," the transport pokémon responded. "I don't even know where it is. That is all I can tell you."
"Isn't that so..." replied a disappointed Blaze.
"I'm sorry, Leon and Blaze, for not being much help."
Leon shook his head and responded, "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Lapras. Learning about the existence of Palkia is a big help for us. Thanks for your insight. We'll go investigate on our own from now on."
"You're welcome."
With that said, Team Poképals left the beach and headed back home.
At the top of Sharpedo Bluff, Leon and Blaze had a conversation about what unfolded on the beach…
"Basically, Lapras didn't know much about the distortion of space," Blaze began.
"But she did tell us that Palkia controls space himself," Leon replied, "and that he dwells in Spacial Rift."
"If we can meet up with Palkia, we'd be able to ask him about the distortion of space."
"We still didn't find a clue to where Spacial Rift is, though..."
"Well, Leon...I guess there isn't any point in worrying about it right now."
"You're right, Blaze. We'll continue to investigate this tomorrow, but we need to get some rest for today after what happened last night...I'm still tired."
"I'm with you, pal! There's no giving up in our search now!"
Leon and Blaze went into the bluff and spent most of their day resting there after a sleepless night earlier on. Leon forgot to take off his Joy Ribbon, while Blaze simply left his Defense Scarf on around his neck, as they were too tired to take them off.
Later during the middle of that night, both Team Poképals and Team Go-Getters were fast asleep, when suddenly, an earthquake-like atmosphere shook the area, waking all of the pokémon up as they darted out of their beds.
"Whoa! What's going on?!" Leon exclaimed.
A blinding light came in the bluff for a couple of seconds, and when it disintegrated, a large pokémon appeared in the middle of the room! It had a white body, with pink outlines spread on some spots, two gems on it shoulders, with one on each side, and two spikes on its back. It looked at Team Poképals, who were understandably startled.
"Who's that?!" all of Team Go-Getters said.
"I have found you at last!" the menacing pokémon said to Leon and Blaze. "The defilers who are causing...the distortion of space!"
"Who are you?!"
"I am Palkia! I hold sway over space, and I have dominion over dimension!"
"You're..." Blaze began.
"...Palkia?!" Leon finished.
"Both of you cannot escape now!" the spacial pokémon responded. "This is the end for you!"
He roared as the gems on his shoulders glowed white, and he was later enveloped in a big bright yellow orb. He went towards Leon and Blaze and grabbed them, as they cried out. They, along with the orb, went out of the jaw of the bluff, and out of sight. Team Go-Getters could do nothing more but to wonder about this abrupt event that unfolded in front of them...
"Oh no!" Ian began. "Palkia took 'em away!"
"Did he say that Leon and Blaze were causing the distortion of space?" Charmander said.
"Yeah," Chikorita answered, "but what did he mean by that?"
"I'm not sure," Ian insisted, "but I hope those guys will be okay..."
Meanwhile at an unknown place, Palkia, along with Leon and Blaze, landed on a green, rocky ground. The duo looked around the area.
"Where are we now?" demanded Leon.
"This is Spacial Rift, my domain!" answered Palkia.
Team Poképals turned to him.
"What?!" they both exclaimed.
"This is Spacial Rift?!" Leon said.
Ignoring the last sentence, Palkia spoke again.
"You dare distort space...without my permission?! I will be rid of you now!"
"What do you mean by that?!" demanded Blaze.
Palkia approached the duo, as the stepped back in fear.
"This is the end!" he proclaimed.
He took a swipe with one of his claws at both Leon and Blaze, as they dodged and stepped back again!
"Whoa! What're you doing?!" exclaimed a shocked Leon.
He and Blaze looked back and saw that they were at the edge of a cliff!
"There's absolutely nothing behind us!" the chimchar announced.
Palkia roared as Team Poképals turned back to him. He went ahead and took another swipe at them as they dodged again but fell off the cliff behind them! They screamed out, as Palkia growled in frustration.
"They fell! However...there is no escaping me!"
He wrapped himself in a bright yellow orb as he transported himself away to search for Team Poképals…
Leon and Blaze fell for several seconds, until they landed hard on their backsides with a thump. They groaned in pain as they slowly got up and dusted themselves off before they turned to each other.
"Are you okay, Leon?" began Blaze.
"Yeah," the piplup answered, "I'm fine."
The two pokémon looked around the area to see where they were at right now, before they spoke again.
"It appears as if we landed somewhere else," Blaze said.
"But man, oh man!" Leon replied. "All of this is a complete shocker! Who knew things would turn out this way? I can't understand why Palkia suddenly attacked us back there!"
"He seemed to be bellowing about the distortion of space..."
"It looks like that was the case. He seemed to know that we caused the distortion of space somehow, and tried to attack us...but I just don't get why that was the case..."
"There's no mistaking one thing though, Leon. Palkia's trying to get rid of us."
"He might come attack us again, so we should get outta here ASAP!"
"I'm with you on that idea, pal!"
Leon and Blaze turned to where the exit of the room was and started to try and make their way out of Spacial Rift.
The dungeon of Spacial Rift had 25 floors of mixed type pokémon that Leon and Blaze both had to deal with. Having memorized the various advantages and disadvantages of those types, and their own, they had to be sure that one protects the other when he was at a defensive disadvantage.
When they arrived at the end of the dungeon, they tried to go further, but ran into a dead end in a room.
"Oh no! It's a dead end!" exclaimed Leon.
"What'll we do now?" wondered Blaze. "There's nowhere else to go!"
Suddenly, an earthquake shook the area, as they were both startled. A few seconds later, Palkia appeared right in front of them, forcing them to jump a few feet back!
"Yikes! It's Palkia!" Blaze announced.
"Your resistance is useless!" the special pokémon began. "Both of you will never escape from this place! I will reveal why… It is your fate...to be obliterated by me!"
Palkia roared as he got into his battle stance, while Team Poképals got into their own stances.
"We've got no other choice but to make him come to his senses, Blaze!" Leon announced with a determined look. "Are you ready?"
"I'm ready as I'll ever be!" the chimchar responded with confidence.
Just like that, the battle got underway!
The duel against Palkia was going to be tough as Team Poképals predicted. He had the Pressure ability, which would lower the frequency of the moves that Leon and Blaze used in this battle, However, with every prior boss battle that they experienced so far, the duo was absolutely confident that they would beat him without failing. Thanks to the extra elixirs that they supplied earlier on, along with items to hinder Palkia, Team Poképals managed to use every trick that they learned in order to defeat him.
Eventually, one of their moves staggered the spacial pokémon, as he was stunned from the attack. Leon and Blaze quickly turned to each other in response.
"Are you ready to unleash our best moves for the double finish?" Leon said.
"Yeah!" answered Blaze. "Let's end this!"
The two charged up their respective water and fire-type moves simultaneously for a few seconds, before they shouted their names…
"Hydro Pump!"
"Flamethrower!"
The beams shot out towards Palkia and made contact, as he roared in pain. After a few moments, the dust had cleared, as he laid down on one knee, immensely weakened by the moves. Not admitting defeat yet, he stood up and roared again, when suddenly, he froze. The light in the area also went dark.
"Whoa! Palkia stopped moving!" exclaimed Leon in disbelief.
"What in the world happened to him?" wondered Blaze.
"Palkia has been enveloped by the nightmare," a voice rang out, "just like Azurill."
The voice startled Team Poképals, as they looked around to find its source.
"Where is that voice coming from?" Blaze said.
"Whoever you are, we want to know why Palkia's been enveloped in a nightmare!" demanded Leon.
"It means that the power of darkness has spread so much farther," the voice explained. "If its growth remains unchecked, the world will become drowned in darkness. Now...I want both of you to enter Palkia's nightmare."
"What?!" exclaimed Team Poképals.
"Palkia's..." Blaze began.
"…Nightmare?!" Leon finished.
"Yes," the voice replied. "By entering his nightmare...you will learn why he attacked you. So...will you enter it?"
Leon and Blaze turned to each other.
"Blaze, we need to know the truth!" the piplup began. "We'll have to enter the nightmare!"
"It seems that there's no other choice..." agreed Blaze.
"Then it's decided," the voice rang out once more. "I will transport both of you into Palkia's nightmare."
Leon and Blaze were enveloped in a purple wave as they were transported into Palkia's nightmare…
They later arrived in the spacial pokémon's nightmare, as they saw that he moved again and was alive.
"What are both of you doing in my dreams?!" demanded an angry Palkia. "Wait, I remember! We battled! So why am I...dreaming?"
"You've been enveloped by a nightmare, Palkia..." Blaze answered regretfully.
"What did you say?! I'm...in a nightmare?"
The spacial pokémon roared in anger and disbelief, startling Team Poképals. He spoke again.
"This proves it! Both of you should not exist!"
He roared once again as he put one of his claws up in an attempt to attack the duo!
"Palkia, wait a second!" Leon pleaded. "We want to ask you something first! Why are you trying to get rid of us?"
The space governing pokémon lowered his claw and replied.
"You dare pretend that you do not know?! You are distorting space with reckless abandon! If the distortion spreads, the power of darkness will grow, which will drown the world in this nightmare of darkness! To prevent it...you must be wiped from this existence!"
"But there must be some other way!" Blaze insisted. "You govern space and dimension, don't you, Palkia? Can't you correct the distortion of space yourself?"
"It is true that I can bend space to my will...but for the first time ever, I am unable to control a part of space! Worse still, the distortion is amplifying...because of you! There is only one way to save the world...that is for both of you to be erased from this world forever!"
Leon and Blaze turned to each other, with the chimchar starting to lose hope.
"Palkia is saying the same thing that Cresselia said, Leon..." Blaze began. "Cresselia was telling us the truth after all...maybe both of them are right about us...maybe we do have to be destroyed."
"Blaze, no!" the piplup exclaimed in alarm.
"I feel sorry for both of you," Palkia said, as the two pokémon turned back to him. "But this must be done to preserve peace...please understand."
"There you are..." a voice rang out. "I've found all of you at last."
A blinding light appeared in the room for a few seconds, and when it was gone, Cresselia appeared between the three pokémon. Palkia moved aside, while Cresselia examined the area.
"It's Cresselia!" Leon exclaimed.
"The spreading darkness engulfs even this place!" she said.
The lunar pokémon turned her attention to Team Poképals.
"Both of you must be eliminated as soon as possible..." She approached them slowly, as they backed away… "Before we finally pass the point of no return."
She got closer again, as Leon and Blaze backed a few more feet away. The chimchar was starting to sweat in fear.
"L-Leon...we refused to give up, and we did what we could."
Cresselia got even closer, as the duo backed away again.
"After everything we did...was it all for nothing?" Blaze continued.
Cresselia got closer to them again.
"Was all of our effort...a waste?" Blaze said to Leon.
"Are you ready to meet your doom?" questioned Cresselia.
"C-Cresselia...tell us one more thing," Blaze replied. "If we disappear...will the world really and truly be saved?"
"Yes. It absolutely will. The world will be saved. It's beyond a shadow of a doubt."
Cresselia lowered her stance, readying an attack…
"Are you finally satisfied now?"
"...Yes." answered Blaze. "If we really must be destroyed...to save the world..."
No… Leon thought. After so much...Blaze's will...is starting to sway. My own will is as well...but is this truly and absolutely the correct course of action?
"Cresselia, wait," Palkia ordered. "Blinded by fury, I attacked them earlier...but upon seeing them now...they do not seem driven by malice or wickedness. In my dreams, Cresselia, you insisted that they were bad...but are they truly bad?"
She said that about us in Palkia's dreams?! Leon thought in alarm.
"Don't be fooled by appearances, Palkia," Cresselia replied. "If we get rid of them now...all will be saved."
So just like we did, Leon continued to think, Palkia met Cresselia in his dreams...but now he's growing suspicious. Something is very wrong here! All of this is based on what Cresselia claims!
"Enough talking!" Cresselia bellowed to Team Poképals. "I must be rid of both of you now!"
"Blaze...whatever you do, don't give up hope!" Leon said to his friend.
"Take this!" Cresselia said, as she started to attack the duo!
They closed their eyes, when suddenly, a voice rang out!
"Yes, that's exactly it! Never give up hope!"
Leon and Blaze opened their eyes, as Cresselia in fact never finished them off. They, along with Palkia, looked to the left as another Cresselia appeared! They appeared to be in utter shock!
"Is that another...Cresselia?!" Leon exclaimed.
The second Cresselia emitted a blinding light for a couple of seconds, and when it cleared, the first Cresselia was replaced by a mysterious black fur pokémon who had white hair, a red neck, and was floating off the ground.
"Whoa!" Blaze cried out, as he and Leon stepped back.
"Who is this?!" demanded Palkia.
The real Cresselia went in front of the mysterious pokémon and knocked it a few feet back with an attack.
"Excellent! I was just in time!" she said.
The black pokémon rose up slowly, appearing to be angry, and spoke with a deep male voice.
"Curse you Cresselia! I've been foiled, just as I was about to dispose both of those meddlers once and for all!"
"Everyone, please listen to me!" the real Cresselia said. "All of you have been misled all this time...by Darkrai there!"
The mysterious pokémon's name had been revealed to the three pokémon. Darkrai had been posing as an illusion of the real Cresselia, as they gasped in shock by the discovery.
"The Cresselia you thought you knew until now...was not me!" the lunar pokémon announced. "That false me was nothing more than an illusion made by Darkrai! It was merely a mockery of me!"
"What?!" Leon, Blaze, and Palkia exclaimed.
"The Cresselia we knew up to now...was just a fake?!" Blaze said.
Knowing what the chimchar said, the real lunar pokémon focused back on Darkrai.
"Darkrai, using an illusory duplicate of me to deceive others...is so typical of you! However, you usually never bring your actual self out of hiding! You normally operate under cover of darkness! That you'd personally emerge from the shadows to dispose of Leon and Blaze...is so very unlike you!"
Ignoring what Cresselia claimed, Darkrai turned his attention to Team Poképals.
"Both of you, behind Cresselia..."
"Us?" Leon and Blaze said.
"Correct. Pay close attention to me. The one who was truly responsible for exploiting the space distortion, and for shrouding the world in nightmare...is my doing, and mine alone."
The duo, along with Palkia, were shocked by the discovery.
"What did you say?!" Leon exclaimed.
Darkrai ignored him as he spoke again.
"Both of you are more than welcome to try and stop me. Come meet me at the Dark Crater."
"Darkrai, you're not getting away from us!" Cresselia bellowed.
She went up towards him, but he emitted a black orb to transport himself out of the area. He vanished within a blink of an eye.
"Darkrai's gone!" Blaze announced.
"You cannot catch me, Cresselia," The pitch-black pokémon echoed. "Not ever."
He turned his attention to Team Poképals once more.
"Leon and Blaze...I will be waiting in the Dark Crater."
They wondered about the name of the place, as their ordeal at Spacial Rift had finally ended.