In the pitch-black basement of a large building, several unique artifacts and devices stood. One of the devices was large, silver ring with eleven chevrons on it, with a dark golden sphere floating in front of it.
Suddenly, a large emergence of light came from the ring-shaped device. The chevrons lit up, and dark blue energy formed within the Caelestis. The energy originated in the middle and then spread out to encompass the entire interior of the ring. The energy then faded to show an image of a large underground complex, with three people standing directly on the other side.
Caelestis Alpha crossed through the Caelestis to travel lightyears away in a single step. They emerged on the other side of the Caelestis and took out their flashlights to illuminate the room. "It's dark," Baby Mario commented.
"I think we might be in a building," Kooper said as Baby Luigi began exploring. "We might want to look for an exit."
"This is interesting," Baby Luigi says. "There are a lot of artifacts and sorts of devices here. This might be some sort of research facility."
"Apparently, no one's working today," Baby Mario said.
Suddenly, the light from another flashlight illuminated the area around the three. "Halt!" a voice came.
Out of the darkness came a Human. He was about an average height; he had a dark complexion and wore a security guard's outfit. "Are you three authorized to be down here?" he asked.
"We're explorers from another planet," Baby Luigi quickly tried to explain.
"Sure," the guard sarcastically said. "I'm going to need to see your identifications."
"We don't have ID," Kooper said. "At least, not from this planet. Like my friend tried to tell you, we're from another planet. We've come in peace on a mission of exploration."
"Do you seriously think I'd believe that?" the guard asked. "If you won't show me your IDs, I'm going to have to arrest you." The guard took out handcuffs and stepped towards the team.
Suddenly, another voice came. "What's going on down there?" Another Human came into the area, holding a flashlight and wearing a white labcoat.
"Dr. Cedar, I found these three snooping around in the basement," the guard said. "Do you know them? Do they have authorization to be here?"
"I've never met one of them in my life," the man apparently named Dr. Cedar said. He took a step towards Kooper. "I've never even seen one of your kind." He turned to Baby Mario and asked, "Is he a new kind of Pokémon?"
Kooper said, "No, I'm not a Pokémon, or whatever you said. We're explorers from another planet. We've come on a mission of peace."
The guard suppressed a chuckle, but the scientist looked visibly surprised and took a step back. "You…you're aliens?"
"Yes," Kooper said.
"How did you get to Earth, then?" Dr. Cedar asked.
"We came through the Caelestis," Baby Luigi said. "It's a large ring-shaped device that can create a wormhole between two Caelestis, facilitating instant travel between them. We use it to explore the galaxy."
Dr. Cedar staggered backwards again. "So it's true…"
A few minutes later, Caelestis Alpha was being escorted to the top of the building they were in. In contrast to the basement, it was well-lit, and had multiple computers with several scientists working at them. As the team entered the top of the building, Dr. Cedar said, "My friends, let me be the first to welcome you to Earth. This is the Mossdeep Space Center, the center of Earth's space program."
"Pretty nice," Baby Mario said.
Another scientist said, "The Caelestis has been a recurring object in mythology. Legends speak of its ability to transport people across planets."
Dr. Cedar continued, "The Caelestis was unearthed by archaeologists several years ago, but we couldn't figure out how to make it work. We placed it in the basement of the space center for further research, as we wanted to focus on our shuttle program more."
"That's probably what we would've done," Baby Luigi said, "if there weren't detailed instruction books left. Where we found the Caelestis on Plit, there were tons of writings on the walls which helped us figure out how it worked. I'd guess that there were no such writings where you found the Caelestis. If we had to figure out how it worked by ourselves, it might've taken years. Probably longer."
"We've come seeking friends," Baby Mario said. "There's evil out there in the galaxy, and we're looking for friends to help fight it. Is there any sort of government authority that we can speak to?"
Dr. Cedar said, "There isn't really a government. Or, well, there aren't really distinct countries or so forth. All of that really ended after the war. Now, everyone naturally lives in harmony with each other, so there isn't really a need for a government. But the closest thing to an authority here is the local Pokémon League champion, Steven Stone."
"Someone talking about me?" a voice came. Caelestis Alpha turned to the entrance and saw a man dressed in black garments with light-silver hair standing there.
"Mr. Champion!" Dr. Cedar said. "It's an honor to have you here."
"I was notified the instant this began," Steven said. He stepped forward into the room and said to Caelestis Alpha, "So, you're our aliens."
"That's right," Baby Mario said. "I'm Baby Mario, this is Baby Luigi, and that's Kooper. We come from the planet Plit."
"You don't look too different. At least, you two don't."
"Yeah," Baby Luigi said. "It's a mystery we're trying to solve. Every alien species we've come across has been Human. Not even Toad, or Koopa – those are other species on our planet – but only Human. Not only that, they speak English just like we do."
"Interesting," Steven said. "You say you've come on a mission of exploration?"
Kooper said, "That's right. We're looking for technology and allies that could help us fight the Old Kings."
"Who are the Old Kings?" Steven asked.
"They're a race of beings who rule the entire galaxy," Baby Mario said. "They were hostile to us the moment we met them. They force the inhabitants of the planets they conquer into slavery, and I have no doubt they would do the same to Plit or Earth."
"There are legends connected to the Caelestis legend that have beings like what you're describing in them," Steven says. "One of the legends says that one of these Old Kings ruled the world before a Pokémon uprising forced him to leave through the Caelestis."
"You've mentioned these Pokémon things a lot," Kooper said. "Can you tell us what exactly a Pokémon is?"
"I can show you," Steven said. He grabbed a small red and white orb roughly an inch in diameter. He then pressed the button on it, and it expanded to over twice its original radius. Steven pointed the orb at the ground and pressed the button on it again. A beam of red energy shot forward from the orb and materialized a massive robotic being with a turquoise, disc-shaped body and four legs.
"Wow!" Caelestis Alpha exclaimed at the same time.
"This Pokémon is called a Metagross," Steven explained. "Pokémon are creatures with extraordinary powers. Metagross, for example, can use psychic and telekinetic powers. Humans and Pokémon have worked together for as long as history records; some people keep them as pets, while others use them to help in professions like construction or demolition. Most people, including me, train them and then use them to battle other Pokémon trainers."
"Wow," Baby Mario said. "I'm thinking that these Pokémon might be good allies to have in the battle against the Old Kings."
"I think so too," Baby Luigi said. "How can we get one?"
Dr. Cedar said, "Let's make a deal; we'll give you three each your own starter Pokémon, and in exchange, you show us how the Caelestis works."
"I can agree to that," Baby Luigi said. "I'll show you how it works right now!"
"Great!" Dr. Cedar exclaimed. He, as well as a few other scientists, followed Baby Luigi back down to the basement.
Two other scientists walked up to computers and typed a few things in. Two orbs like the one Steven used materialized in the scientists' hands. They then handed the orbs to Baby Mario and Kooper.
"Those are called Poké Balls," Steven said. "They store a Pokémon as energy, and convert its form to matter when you want to call it out. By pressing the button on the front, you can release and call back the Pokémon."
"Alright," Baby Mario said. "Let's see what kind of Pokémon we have." Baby Mario and Kooper pressed the buttons on their Poké Balls at the same time. Two red bursts of energy shot forward and materialized into matter. Baby Mario's Pokémon was a small, bipedal lizard with a flame on its tail, and Kooper's Pokémon was a small blue quadruped with a blue fin on its head and star-shaped gills on its cheeks.
"Baby Mario, your Pokémon is called a Charmander," Steven said. "It's a powerful fire-type Pokémon from the region of Kanto. Kooper, your Pokémon is a Mudkip. It's a water-type Pokémon. Each Pokémon has an arsenal of moves that it can use in combat. Charmander can use Scratch, Ember, and SmokeScreen, while Mudkip can use Tackle and Water Gun. As you train them more, they'll become more powerful and learn new abilities. Eventually, they might even evolve into new, more powerful Pokémon!"
"Cool!" Baby Mario said.
"Before you start training your Pokémon, maybe you want to see a couple battles by experienced Pokémon trainers," Steven offered.
"Sure," Kooper said.
"Alright. Come, I'll take you to the Pokémon League."
A few hours later, Caelestis Alpha, along with Steven, were in the stands of an arena, watching a Pokémon League battle. On the sandy-red arena of the battlefield stood two large Pokémon. One was a tall and mostly humanoid Pokémon, except for the fact that it had four extremely muscular arms. The other was a bipedal yellow Pokémon wielding a silver spoon in each hand. Steven had explained that they were called Machamp and Alakazam, respectively. The Machamp roared and charged forward, pulling its fists back and infusing them in ice. The Alakazam muttered something, and then a purple aura appeared around the Machamp. The Machamp was stopped dead in its tracks, lifted up into the air, and then was telekinetically thrown across the arena. As the Machamp struggled to get up, a light blue orb of energy formed in between the Alakazam's hands. After a few moments, the energy orb shot forward at the Machamp, impacting and causing a small explosion. As the dust from the explosion cleared, the Machamp was revealed to be knocked out.
The announcer said, "Machamp can no longer fight! The red team is the winner!"
"Wow," Baby Mario said.
A few minutes later, they had cleared out of the arena standings and were walking back to the Mossdeep Space Center. "I would definitely like to have a Pokémon like Machamp or Alakazam at my side when facing down another Old King," Baby Mario said.
"Agreed," Baby Luigi and Kooper said.
"By the way," Steven said, "have you gotten your Pokémon yet, Baby Luigi?"
"I have!" Baby Luigi said. He took out a Poké Ball and called out a small, light green Pokémon with a shell on its back and a leaf on its head.
"That's a Turtwig!" Steven said. "Turtwig, Charmander, and Mudkip are all rare Pokémon, so take care of them. They all have extremely powerful final forms of evolution, so if you train them enough, they might even be able to fight one of these Old Kings."
As they got closer to the Mossdeep Space Center, Steven said, "I'll get in touch with the other Pokémon League Champions to discuss the possibility of an alliance with Plit. In the meantime, you guys can either go back to your planet, or you can stay the night in a hotel."
"I think I'll head back to Plit," Baby Mario said. "I'll be able to fill in General White on what's been happening."
"I think I'll head back too," Kooper said.
"I'm going to stay and do some more research on these Pokémon," Baby Luigi said.
"Alright," Steven said. "I'll see you all later."
A few hours later, the scientists at the Mossdeep Space Center were conducting a survey of the night sky. Two scientists were working at computers. "What's the value you have for the observed wavelength?" one scientist asked.
"Looks like…660.24 nanometers."
"Okay, so the redshift is 0.006. That's all the data we need from there. Move the telescope to observe area H."
"Moving it…there's a massive spherical object in this area of the sky. It looks to be about six miles in diameter, moving at about fifty kilometers per second…"
"An asteroid?"
"Seems like it…nickel-iron composition…oh no."
"What?"
"Based on its direction and speed…it'll hit the planet in a few days."
The next day. Baby Mario and Kooper were back at the space center, along with Baby Luigi and Kooper. The scientists had revealed to them the discovery of the incoming meteor. "It'll impact with a million megatons of energy," the scientist explained. "The blast from the impact alone will annihilate Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Ejecta will cause destruction across the rest of the planet. We're probably looking at an extinction event."
"Do you have any way to stop it?" Baby Mario asked.
"We're working on a way," the scientist said. "We were wondering if you guys had any ideas."
"Besides evacuate through the Caelestis?" Baby Luigi asked. "Nope. It's way too late for kinetic deflection or a gravity tractor, and it would take six of our heaviest nukes to fragment it."
"What's your plan to stop it?" Kooper asked.
"First," Steven said, "I think I should tell you about mega evolution. You already know about normal evolution, where one Pokémon, when it's gotten enough experience, evolves into another, more powerful species. There's another type of evolution called mega evolution. A fully evolved Pokémon, like a Charizard or Swampert, can tap into the powers of certain stones and objects called Key Stones to temporarily evolve into even more powerful versions of themselves."
The scientist nodded. "We plan to harness the power from mega evolution in order to create a portal to teleport the asteroid elsewhere; kind of like the Caelestis."
"That's some pretty advanced stuff," Baby Luigi said. "Wormhole creation is only theoretical at best back on Plit."
"To be honest, we don't understand even the most basic underlying mechanisms behind it," the scientist said. "It's our only hope, though."
"We'll help you in any way possible," Baby Mario said.
"I'm thinking we should start evacuating people to Plit," Kooper said. "If this doesn't work…"
"I'll start getting the word out," Steven said. "In the meantime, there's a few more things we need to do before this plan can begin."
The scientist took out a small object and said, "This is a dimensional shifter. It's what we're going to use to teleport the asteroid away. But right now, it doesn't have enough energy to do it. Thousands of years ago, an asteroid like this one impacted the planet, causing a small extinction event. The few shards that we've managed to find emit energy like the energy from mega evolution. If this plan is going to work, we need more of those shards; at least two."
"I think I know where we can find some," Steven said. "Granite Cave and Meteor Falls are two caves which were apparently struck by the meteor impact millions of years ago. If there are any places we can find meteorite shards, it's those two places."
"We'll go and see if we can find any," Baby Mario said.
"You guys check out Meteor Falls," Steven said. "I'll head to Granite Cave."
"Where is Meteor Falls?" Baby Luigi asked.
"It's on the other side of the region, but don't worry," Steven said. "You can use Pokémon to get there." Steven took out a Poké Ball and summoned an Abra; a small, yellow, humanoid Pokémon that looked like the Alakazam earlier, except it was much smaller and didn't hold any spoons. Its eyes were also closed. "Abra, take these three to Meteor Falls."
The Abra nodded and seemed to concentrate. A few moments later, the environment around Caelestis Alpha suddenly changed. They were now standing at the foot of a rocky mountain, with the shadow of Meteor Falls looming overhead. Abra was also next to them. "It teleported us!" Baby Mario said. "Cool…alright, Abra, you stay here. We'll be back soon."
The Abra nodded. Caelestis Alpha entered Meteor Falls. The floor and walls of the cavern were a bright tan, almost white. Waves of crashing water rushed down a stream near them. "I guess we just start looking, then," Kooper said.
Caelestis Alpha began searching around the cavern, looking for any meteorite shards. After half an hour of searching, they had searched the entire entrance area, and had moved on deeper in the cave. It was very dark this deep, so the team took out their flashlights. As they turned them on, a screech came, and a large, blue and purple bat-like Pokémon came flying at them!
"What's that?" Baby Mario asked.
"I think it's a Golbat," Baby Luigi said. "The evolved form of another Pokémon called Zubat. Apparently, these things show up in caves a lot."
The Golbat leered at the team, and then shot a poison stinger at Baby Mario! Baby Mario leapt over it and began to draw his hammer. "Well, if this thing wants a fight…" Baby Mario then remembered about his Pokémon and decided to use it. He put his hammer back and took out his Poké Ball. "…it's going to get one!" Baby Mario called out Charmander. "Alright, Charmander, take that thing down!"
"Char!" Charmander exclaimed. Charmander opened its mouth, and a puff of flame came out, flying towards the Golbat. The Golbat swung to the side to avoid it, and then zoomed at high velocity towards Charmander, hitting it with its wing and knocking it back!
"It's too fast to hit!" Baby Mario said. "What can we do?"
"I did some research on all of our starter Pokémon!" Baby Luigi said. "Try using SmokeScreen to blind it!"
"Alright, then," Baby Mario said. "Charmander, use SmokeScreen!"
Charmander opened its mouth and fired tons of smoke into the air, filling the area with smog. Caelestis Alpha and Charmander quickly jumped out of the affected area. "Is the Golbat still in the smoke?" Baby Mario asked.
"I think so!" Kooper said.
"Charmander, breathe fire onto the smoke!" Baby Mario commanded. Charmander shot a torrent of flame into the smoke, erupting it into a massive fireball. When the flames died down, a charred and knocked out Golbat laid in the center of the room. "Alright! We did it!"
"Nice job!" Baby Luigi said. "That's your first Pokémon battle won!"
Baby Mario nodded. "We'd better get back to searching for that meteorite shard." He returned Charmander to its Poké Ball, and the team went back to looking.
About an hour later, Caelestis Alpha had searched most of the cave, using their Pokémon to fight off any wild Pokémon that attacked them, and still came up short. They were on the upper levels of the cave, which they had to climb the walls to get up to. They turned to explore a smaller branch of the cave, when he saw someone standing at the end of the path. "Hello?" Baby Mario called out.
The person was a girl with dark black hair and clothes, wearing a short white cloak. "Hey!" she called back.
"Who are you?" Baby Mario asked.
"I'm Zinnia!" the person said.
"I'm Baby Mario," Baby Mario said. "This is Baby Luigi, and this is Kooper."
"Well, yeah!" Zinnia said. "Who could've not heard of the alien visitors?"
"Listen, we're looking for some meteorite shards," Baby Mario said. "Do you know where we can find one?"
"Yeah," Zinnia said. "I have one right here."
"Alright," Baby Mario said. "We need it to-"
"Stop an incoming asteroid," Zinnia interrupted. "Am I right?"
"How do you know that?" Baby Luigi asked.
Zinnia smiled and said, "I have my ways! Anyway, this plan that you're going to use to stop the asteroid; it's a bad idea. You have no idea about the kind of energy that you're tapping into."
"We admit that," Baby Luigi said, "but a bad idea's better than no idea. What else can we do?"
"Have you heard of the Draconid people?" Caelestis Alpha shook their heads. "The Draconids were an ancient clan of Dragon Pokémon trainers that lived in ancient Hoenn. When the legendary Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre clashed, they called upon another legendary Pokémon, Rayquaza, to stop the battle. After that, they foretold that another meteor would strike the planet, and constructed the Sky Tower to call upon Rayquaza when this meteor would hit, so he could destroy it. My plan is to finish what the ancestors started; to reawaken Rayquaza, so he can destroy this meteor."
"Well, that's nice," Baby Mario said. "Now we have a backup plan to stop the meteor in case this one doesn't work. We need that meteor shard now, though."
"You know, for advanced aliens, you're not too smart," Zinnia said. She reached into her pockets and took out the meteor shard that the team was looking for. It was jagged along the edges and was a dark brown color, but glowed with a dim light. She gave it to Baby Mario and began to leave. Before she left, though, she said, "On your way back, think about the potential consequences that doing this will have."
When Zinnia had left, Kooper asked, "What do you guys think? Is awakening this Rayquaza a better plan than ours?"
Baby Luigi said, "I did say that it would take six of our heaviest nukes to fragment this asteroid. Now from what we've seen of them, not even the Old Kings are that powerful. I think Zinnia might be applying what we call a no-limits fallacy to Rayquaza. Just because he defeated Groudon and Kyogre doesn't mean he could destroy a massive six mile wide meteor."
Baby Mario said, "So you're saying that our plan to teleport the asteroid away is still the best shot at stopping it?"
"Yeah," Baby Luigi said. "Let's head back to the space center."
Caelestis Alpha had made it out of Meteor Falls and used the Abra's Teleport move to get back to Mossdeep City quickly. When they got there, they saw barricade tape around the Space Center and tons of policemen surrounding it. The team rushed up to one of the policemen. Baby Mario asked, "What's happening?"
"Team Aqua has invaded the space center," the policeman said. "We don't know what they want, but we're trying to set up negotiations now."
"Who's Team Aqua?" Kooper asked.
"Shouldn't you…oh right, you wouldn't know," the policeman said. "Team Aqua is a gang of villains who wanted to awaken the legendary Pokémon Kyogre and use its power to expand the sea. We thought they were disbanded when their plan was foiled, but apparently not."
"We need to get in there," Baby Luigi said. "You know about the meteor that's going to strike soon, right? We have important stuff needed to prevent it from hitting!"
"Champion Stone told us you'd be arriving soon. You have authorization to go in, but be careful."
"Right," Baby Mario said. The team hopped over the barricade tape and dashed inside the center. On the first floor, they saw scientists huddled in a corner, and a group of Team Aqua members blocking the staircase to the second floor. "You!" Baby Mario shouted at the Aqua Grunts. "We need to get up to the second floor!"
"So you can save the planet?" one of the Aqua Grunts said. "Ha! I don't think so. We knew you'd be coming. Attack!" The Aqua Grunts took out Poké Balls and sent out a total of five dark, hyena-like Pokémon.
"I've read about these Pokémon," Baby Luigi said. "They're called Mightyena, powerful Pokémon that hunt in packs."
"Well, it looks like we've got a fight on our hands," Baby Mario said. "Let's do this." The team took out their Poké Balls and summoned Turtwig, Charmander, and Mudkip.
"Ha! Not even evolved!" one of the Aqua Grunts said. "This'll be easy. Mightyena, get them!"
The five Mightyena leapt at Caelestis Alpha's starter Pokémon. Turtwig withdrew into its shell, while Charmander and Mudkip leapt away. "Focus all our attacks on one of them at a time!" Baby Mario shouted.
"Kooper," Baby Luigi whispered, "Mudkip can use Mud Slap to temporarily disable the others while we focus one down."
"Got it," Kooper said. "Mudkip, Mud Slap!"
Mudkip shot a blast of mud at four of the Mightyena, getting the mud in their eyes. As the afflicted Mightyena stumbled around trying to get the mud off, Baby Mario shouted, "Charmander! Ember the one that didn't get hit!"
"Turtwig, Tackle it!" Baby Luigi shouted. Charmander shot a puff of flame at the Mightyena, while Turtwig leapt at it.
"Mightyena, Bite that Turtwig!" an Aqua Grunt shouted.
"Withdraw!" Baby Luigi said. Mightyena grabbed Turtwig in its jaws, but Turtwig withdrew into its shell. The Ember from Charmander struck, knocking the Mightyena back and causing it to drop Turtwig. "Now, Razor Leaf!" Dozens of small leaves with razor edges appeared around Turtwig and zoomed at Mightyena, hitting it and knocking it out.
"Mudkip, watch out!" Kooper shouted. One of the Mightyena had successfully gotten the mud out of its eyes and pounced on Mudkip. Mudkip rolled to the side to avoid it and then fired a burst of water at the Mightyena. Charmander and Turtwig then used Ember and Razor Leaf at the Mightyena. The combination of attacks caused the Mightyena to be knocked unconscious.
The other three were still clustered together, trying in vain to get the mud out of their eyes. "Charmander, SmokeScreen and then Ember!" Baby Mario commanded. Charmander fired a ton of smoke at the Mightyena, and then ignited it with Ember. The Ember transformed the SmokeScreen into a burning mass of fire, nearly incinerating the Mightyena and knocking them out.
"What?!" the Aqua Grunts exclaimed. "How?!"
"We're just that good!" Baby Mario said. "Now, let us up to the second floor!"
"Grr…fine. But Matt will crush you!" an Aqua Grunt said. The five stepped aside and allowed Caelestis Alpha to ascend to the second floor. There, they saw Steven and another member of Team Aqua, probably the Matt that the Aqua Grunt had mentioned, facing off. Matt was holding the dimensional shifter in his hands.
Steven turned and saw Caelestis Alpha. "Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Kooper! Your timing's impeccable!" Caelestis Alpha rushed up to Steven. Steven turned to Matt and said, "What are you planning on doing with that dimensional shifter you hold? You do realize that that's our only hope of saving this planet, right?"
"Heh. Saving the planet, huh?" Matt chuckled. "That's exactly what I'm trying to stop. You prevented Team Aqua from expanding the oceans of Earth! Human arrogance prevented Pokémon from having a better world to live in! In response, fate sent this meteor to wipe out all Human life, and create a new, better world for Pokémon to live in! Some girl tipped me off that you had a plan to stop this. But good luck! I intend on destroying this dimensional shifter, and along with it, any chance that this new, better world for Pokémon may not be realized!"
"You're insane," Steven said. He turned to Caelestis Alpha, "It looks like we're going to have to fight him. Are you ready?"
"Let's do it," Baby Mario said. Charmander, Mudkip, and Turtwig jumped in front of their trainers and got into a battle stance.
"Alright then," Matt said. "Sharpedo, go!" A torpedo-shaped shark Pokémon emerged in front of Matt.
"Sharpedo is a water type," Baby Luigi said. "Charmander better be careful."
"Sharpedo, Agility!" Matt said. Sharpedo dashed around the room, getting faster and faster with each dash.
"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!" Baby Luigi said. Dozens of razor-edged leaves appeared and shot towards Sharpedo. However, the shark Pokémon was too fast, and effortlessly dodged all of them.
"Alright Sharpedo, Poison Fang!" The Sharpedo rocketed towards Turtwig and opened its jaws. Purple poison seemed to permeate its teeth.
"Withdraw!" Baby Luigi commanded. Turtwig withdrew into its shell, but Sharpedo snapped down hard on Turtwig. The poison seeped through the shell and knocked out Turtwig.
"Mudkip, Mud Slap it!" Kooper said. Mudkip fired a blast of mud at Sharpedo, but again, Sharpedo was too fast and dodged it. It then Skull Bashed Mudkip, slamming it into a wall and knocking it out.
"Watch out, Charmander…" Baby Mario said. "It's too fast to hit head-on."
Charmander and Sharpedo stared each other down for a few moments before Matt shouted, "Just Skull Bash it already!"
"DODGE!" Baby Mario shouted. Sharpedo rocketed at Charmander, and Charmander leapt up into the air, avoiding the attack by a hair's breadth. Sharpedo smashed into the wall. As it attempted to reorient itself, psychic energy suddenly appeared around it, and it was lifted up into the air.
"Metagross, Psychic!" Steven commanded. Metagross used its psychic powers to slam the Sharpedo into the floor, knocking it out.
"No!" Matt exclaimed. "Sharpedo, return!" The Sharpedo was converted into energy and returned into its Poké Ball. "Agh…am I just not good enough?"
"I guess not!" Baby Mario said. "Now, give back that dimensional shifter."
Suddenly, a small, pink Pokémon with a spherical body ran up to Matt, grabbed the dimensional shifter from him, and ran back to the entrance.
The team turned to see who was there. "Zinnia!" Baby Mario said.
"Nice one!" Zinnia said to her Whismur as it gave her the dimensional shifter. Zinnia then stepped forward and said, "So, pretty impressive device. You press a button, and the meteor is gone. The planet is saved, and the meteor will never harm anyone. Am I right?"
"Yes," one of the scientists said.
"It will never harm anyone in this universe…" Zinnia turned around. "But what about another universe? One that doesn't have the technology to stop this asteroid?"
"What are you talking about?" Baby Luigi asked.
Zinnia turned back to face the team and said, "When you teleport that asteroid away, you won't teleport it to another position in space. It'll stay in the same position, on the same course, except it'll be teleported to an alternate reality."
"What's an alternate reality?" Baby Mario asked.
Baby Luigi answered the question. "According to the multiverse theory, there are an infinite amount of other universes living in parallel with our own. Everything that could possibly ever happen since the formation of the multiverse has or will happen in one of those alternate realities. In one reality, maybe we failed to defeat the Shroobs. In another, maybe we unearthed the Caelestis ten years before we did in this universe. In another universe, maybe the only difference is that you ducked to tie your shoes right now." Baby Mario looked down at his untied shoes and shrugged.
"Yep," Zinnia said, "and this dimensional shifter you're planning on using will teleport the asteroid to an alternate reality. An alternate reality where the people of Earth don't have the technology to prevent the impact. The people of that world would be wiped out. Which is why I'm going to do this." Zinnia then crushed the dimensional shifter in her hand.
"What kind of fool are you?!" one of the scientists exclaimed. "You have no proof of this other world you speak of! And even if you did, our responsibility is to the people of this universe! You've destroyed our only hope!"
"No. Not our only hope," Zinnia said. "We can protect both worlds."
Baby Luigi said to Steven, "Her plan is to awaken a legendary Pokémon called Rayquaza and use it to destroy the asteroid." He then said to Zinnia, "Your plan requires that we assume that Rayquaza is capable of this! You don't have any proof that he's that powerful. He stopped Groudon and Kyogre, but that doesn't mean he can stop a six mile wide asteroid!"
Zinnia just said, "We'll see. Oh, and before I forget…" She walked up to Steven and Matt and quickly swiped something.
"Hey!" the two exclaimed.
As she turned to leave, she said, "If you want to help, meet me at the Sky Pillar." She then left.
"What did she take from you?" Baby Mario asked.
"My Key Stone," Steven said. "It's what allows us Pokémon trainers to tap into the power of mega evolution and allow our Pokémon to evolve."
"That's the girl who tipped me off about your plan to stop the meteor," Matt said. "So…it was just a ploy, so she could steal my Key Stone. Still, even though it wasn't in the way I expected it to be, my goal was accomplished. I'm out of here." The Team Aqua admin left.
"This is a bad situation," Kooper said.
"It looks like we don't have a choice," Baby Mario said. He asked Steven, "Where's this Sky Pillar?"
"It's off the coast of the mainland, near a settlement called Pacifidlog Town," Steven said. "My Metagross can teleport you there."
"Alright," Baby Mario said. "In the meantime, start evacuating people through the Caelestis to Plit. We'll try our best, but if this doesn't work…"
"Right," Steven said. "And here, take this." Steven handed the meteorite shard he had acquired at Granite Cave to Baby Mario. "I won't be needing it now. Go."
Baby Mario nodded. Metagross used its psychic powers. The terrain around Caelestis Alpha suddenly changed again. They were now on a small beach, with ocean out to the front and a massive, towering structure behind them. "This must be Sky Pillar," Baby Mario said. "Let's go."
The trio stepped inside Sky Pillar. Several tiles on the floor were cracked, and there were several drawings on the wall. Ladders connected each floor to each other. Kooper looked up and realized that he couldn't see the roof. "We've got a long way to climb, apparently," Kooper said.
After several straight minutes of climbing, Caelestis Alpha found themselves at the peak of the structure. The roof was triangular, with what seemed to be some sort of altar at the back. A voice came. "There you are. I knew you would come." Zinnia was standing at the base of the altar. Caelestis Alpha rushed up to her. "Welcome to the Dragonhark Altar. It's here where we'll summon Rayquaza and destroy the meteor heading for our planet. That is my duty, entrusted to me since I was born by my clan, the Draconid clan."
"There's not long until the meteor hits," Baby Luigi said. "Whatever you're going to do, we have to do it now, and quickly."
Zinnia nodded and turned to the altar. "Right, then. I think it's time I gave this a shot." She brought her hands to her face and recited the words, "With jewel bright and borrowed might from the spirits of the departed…through sacred rite, in thy sight, my life as well I offer…" Suddenly, Steven and Matt's Key Stones began glowing. The roof began shaking. "I summon thee…to aid…this fight…and save us…from disaster! Realize this upon this world, for this do I summon thee, Rayquaza!"
A blinding flash of light occurred. The members of Caelestis Alpha raised their arms to shield their eyes from the light. When it faded, they saw a massive dragon Pokémon standing there. "Rayquaza…" the three whispered.
"Rayquaza!" Zinnia exclaimed. "I…I did it! Now the world can be saved!" Caelestis Alpha looked on, skeptically but hopefully. "Great Rayquaza, hear my wish. Take hold of your power, and destroy the meteor that threatens us!"
Rayquaza roared in defiance and knocked Zinnia to the ground with its tail. "Woah!" Baby Mario exclaimed. He drew his hammer as Baby Luigi and Kooper rushed to Zinnia and helped her up.
"Are you okay?" Baby Luigi asked.
"Yeah…" Zinnia said. "Why? Why won't you help, Rayquaza?"
Rayquaza roared again. "Can you understand what it's saying?" Kooper asked.
"Rayquaza…wishes to test us," Zinnia said. "To ensure that we're worthy."
"That's stupid!" Baby Mario said. He shouted at Rayquaza, "Billions of people and Pokémon will die if you don't help!" Rayquaza roared again.
"It's no use…" Zinnia said. "You have to defeat it."
Baby Mario shook his head and said, "Wow, I really wish you didn't destroy that dimensional shifter. Alright, then. If it's a fight this thing's looking for, it's a fight that it'll get."
"We can't use our Pokémon," Baby Luigi said. "They're way too weak to fight a legendary of Rayquaza's caliber."
"Good thing I brought some power-ups," Baby Mario said. He handed a Fire Flower to Baby Luigi, and then used a Super Cape.
Kooper told Zinnia, "This could get ugly. Get down to the second-to-last floor and wait there." Zinnia nodded and descended the ladder.
The three members of Caelestis Alpha stared down Rayquaza. After a few moments, Rayquaza roared and flew at Kooper. Kooper ducked into his shell while Baby Mario zoomed towards Rayquaza and Baby Luigi began charging up a fireball attack. Baby Mario slammed his fist into Rayquaza, causing the Pokémon to halt its attack on Kooper and turn to face Baby Mario. Kooper then shot at Rayquaza from within his shell, slamming into him. Rayquaza roared and clawed Kooper, knocking the Koopa back several meters. Baby Mario delivered a flurry of punches to Rayquaza, but the legendary Pokémon shrugged them off and fired a beam of energy at Baby Mario, knocking the hero back and severely damaging him.
Baby Mario got up quickly and flew at Rayquaza again, smashing his hammer into the dragon's body. Rayquaza roared in pain and swept his tail across horizontally, knocking Baby Mario into the air. Rayquaza then grabbed Baby Mario with a claw and began squeezing. Baby Mario struggled to escape, but his escape came when Baby Luigi launched a massive fireball at Rayquaza, causing the dragon to roar in pain again and drop Baby Mario. Baby Luigi then unleashed a flurry of smaller fireballs at Rayquaza. Rayquaza shrugged off each successive hit and began charging up a beam of energy in his mouth. Baby Luigi ducked to the side just as Rayquaza fired the hyper beam, blasting the place where he was standing.
"He's too powerful at close range and he's too powerful at long range!" Baby Mario shouted. "What can we do?" Before Baby Luigi could answer, he had to jump over a tail sweep from Rayquaza. He infused his fist with flame and then punched Rayquaza as hard as he could. Rayquaza slightly recoiled, but formed a turquoise-colored energy ball and fired it at Baby Luigi. Baby Luigi leapt to the side, just barely avoiding the energy ball. Rayquaza then fired more energy balls at Baby Luigi in quick succession. The scientist rushed to try to avoid them, but tripped and got hit by one. An explosion shot out from the impact, and when the dust cleared, Baby Luigi was unconscious.
"BABY LUIGI!" Baby Mario exclaimed. "Agh…alright then, time to go all out." Baby Mario leapt at Rayquaza and slammed his hammer into the dragon. Rayquaza flew backwards a bit and fired an energy ball at Baby Mario. Anticipating this, Baby Mario raised his hammer and slammed it into the energy ball, deflecting it back at Rayquaza. Rayquaza clearly didn't expect this and roared in pain as its own attack exploded against it. Baby Mario then leapt forward and attempted to smash Rayquaza with his hammer, but the dragon Pokémon flew up high into the air. Baby Mario looked up and tried to spot Rayquaza. He then saw Rayquaza, diving directly downwards onto him! Baby Mario leapt to the side and just barely avoided Rayquaza smashing into the ground, destroying it. Baby Mario then rolled to the side and barely avoided Rayquaza coming up through the roof. Rayquaza then smashed its body forward into Baby Mario, creating a small explosion and knocking the hero unconscious.
Suddenly, a bullet smashed into Rayquaza's scales. The legendary Pokémon looked to the side and saw Kooper holding a super scope. Kooper fired more bullets at Rayquaza, but the legendary Pokémon only looked mildly irritated. Kooper then ducked into his shell, infused his shell in flames, and rocketed at Rayquaza. Rayquaza brought his tail up and slammed it into Kooper, sending him flying backwards and slamming into the ground, nearly knocked out.
Rayquaza flew to Kooper and towered over him, observing him. Kooper mustered the strength to speak. "So kill me then," Kooper said. "Kill us because we fought to save a planet from extinction."
"Stop!" a voice came. Kooper and Rayquaza looked to the side and saw Zinnia.
"Zinnia…" Kooper whispered.
Zinnia rushed up to Rayquaza and fell to her knees. "Please, Rayquaza! Please just stop this and help us!" Rayquaza looked at her, apparently considering it. It then nodded. Zinnia slowly stood up and said, "I…I think I understand now."
Kooper fought through his pain and stood up. "What is it?" he asked.
"I was wondering why Rayquaza would test us," Zinnia said, "why he would want us to prove ourselves worthy before he would agree to save us from extinction. But I understand now. It's not us that he was testing. It was you."
As Baby Mario and Baby Luigi slowly came to, Kooper asked, "Me?"
"All three of you," Zinnia said. "Rayquaza knew that you were aliens. He wanted to test you, to see if you would fight and possibly die for a world that you knew almost nothing of. He wanted to see if your hearts were pure enough to do that." Rayquaza nodded.
"So…we didn't need to win," Kooper said. "We just needed to show that we were willing to fight to save innocent people." Rayquaza nodded again. "Well then…" Kooper straightened and walked up to Rayquaza. "…let's try this again. Rayquaza, will you help us? Will you destroy the meteor that threatens to wipe out all life on Earth?"
After a few seconds, Rayquaza nodded. It looked to the sky and roared. Then, it took off, flying directly upwards at the incoming meteor.
A short while later, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were conscious again. Baby Luigi set up a small telescope so they could watch Rayquaza. As the team looked into the telescope, they saw Rayquaza flying into the stratosphere, then the mesosphere, then the thermosphere, then the exosphere, and then space. After a few more seconds of flying, Rayquaza paused. Baby Luigi turned the telescope slightly, and they could see the incoming meteor. "There it is…" Baby Luigi said.
"Come on, Rayquaza," Zinnia whispered. "You can do it…"
Rayquaza pulled its head back, and a massive beam of energy began forming in its mouth. After a few seconds, Rayquaza jolted its head forward, and the beam of energy flew into the asteroid, causing a massive explosion. Heat and radiation burst forward from the surface of the asteroid, and when they dissipated, the team could see that only small parts of the asteroid had been knocked off. "It didn't work…" Baby Luigi said. "The asteroid's still intact…"
"It's just like you feared," Kooper said. "Rayquaza isn't powerful enough…"
"Asteroid is still on course to impact in…" Baby Luigi took out a piece of paper and did some quick calculations. "…two hours, forty-six minutes."
"Well, it's over, then," Baby Mario said. "We should get back to the Caelestis."
"Wait," Zinnia said. "There's one more thing we can try. I think it's time that you learned the origins of mega evolution. Thousands of years ago, in a primal age long lost, the world was overflowing with natural energy. Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre fought over that energy in endless, furious clashes. In the face of their terrible power, people could do nothing. One day, a meteor shower struck the world, and several meteors landed in the home of the Draconid people. The meteors shone with a rainbow brilliance, as if a great life was held within. Then, as if drawn by the brilliance, a Pokémon that shone in a blazing emerald hue descended from the skies…"
"Rayquaza," Baby Mario said.
Zinnia nodded. "Rayquaza's power overwhelmed Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, and peace returned to the world. Rayquaza was revered as a savior. A thousand years later, the meteors fell once again. A huge meteor, far larger than any before, struck the planet, boring deep into the ocean and leaving behind a massive crater, creating the land of Sootopolis. When this meteor struck, the land cracked beneath it, and a well of natural energy poured out into the world. Thirsting for that energy, Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre once again awoke. The people remembered what happened a millennium ago, and wished for Rayquaza to once again appear. The huge meteor that lay at the heart of Sootopolis gave off a blinding brilliance, resembling a Key Stone. Once again, Rayquaza descended from its place in the skies. The people wished for salvation from Groudon and Kyogre's power. As they did, a great change came over the legendary Pokémon. It was enveloped in a blinding light, and as the light receded, a Rayquaza beyond all knowledge was beheld; a sublime, incandescent figure overflowing with life energy. Combined with the power from the meteor and the strength of the peoples' wish, Rayquaza had mega evolved. Wielding its great powers, Mega Rayquaza once again stopped Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre's clash. Transforming back into its normal form, it then soared back up into the heavens where it dwelled."
By now, Rayquaza had descended from space, and was now on the roof of the Sky Tower with the team. "So you're saying that if we can get Rayquaza to mega evolve again," Baby Mario said, "it might have enough power to destroy this meteor."
"Yes," Zinnia said, "but the power required to do that is enormous. Normal Key Stones, like the two I have here, won't cut it. We would need fragments of the massive meteor that impacted so long ago. You have one, from Meteor Falls, but we would need another." She looked down at the ground and said, "I don't think we have the time to search for another."
"I have another," Baby Mario said. "Steven gave it to me just before we left."
"Really?" Zinnia asked. "Then…there's still hope! Use the meteorite shards to induce Rayquaza's mega evolution!"
"Alright…" Baby Mario took out both of the meteorite shards and stepped up to Rayquaza. "Okay, I've never mega evolved a Pokémon before…" Rayquaza cocked its head in slight confusion. Baby Mario held out both of the meteorite shards. "Please, Rayquaza, mega evolve. You're this planet's only hope."
Rayquaza and the meteorites then suddenly began glowing. Rayquaza's form changed to be much larger. Another burst of light shot forward. When the light dissipated, Rayquaza's body was much longer, almost serpentine. Its front horns had become much longer and had gold lines running over them. Long tendrils extended from its jaw, which seemed to emit particles. The delta sign had appeared on its forehead.
"We did it!" Zinnia exclaimed. "Rayquaza has mega evolved!"
"Alright then!" Baby Mario said. "Mega Rayquaza, destroy that meteor!"
Mega Rayquaza roared and flew up into space at a much faster speed. The team quickly gathered around the telescope again. Mega Rayquaza approached the asteroid and then accelerated to its top speed. Mega Rayquaza shot through the meteor at breathtakingly fast speeds, causing a massive explosion that annihilated much of the asteroid and sending chunks of it flying away from the planet.
"YEAH!" everyone exclaimed.
The team looked up to the sky. Tiny fragments of the asteroid shot into the atmosphere, burning up harmlessly. "Where's Rayquaza?" Kooper asked.
"Probably returned to its home in the ozone layer," Zinnia said. She turned to the team and said, "You did it. You saved Earth."
Baby Mario said, "Not just us. And not just the Earth of this universe. We all saved this Earth, and the Earth of the parallel universe you talked about." Baby Mario looked to the sky and saw more tiny fragments burning up, like shooting stars. "Let's get back to the space center."
Back at the Mossdeep Space Center, the Caelestis had been moved to the top floor. Caelestis Alpha stood in front of it, with Steven and various other Pokémon League champions assembled in front of them. Steven said, "We can't thank you enough for what you've done."
"Actually, you can," Baby Mario said.
"Plit and Earth are of similar technology levels," Baby Luigi said. "But there are some things that you guys have that we don't, and some things that we have that you don't. If we can set up an alliance and trade agreements, we can strengthen both of our planets to prepare for the inevitable battle against the Old Kings."
Kooper said, "Caelestis Epsilon, our diplomatic team, will be by in a few days to begin the negotiations. I hope we can set up something that mutually benefits both of our planets."
"Absolutely," Steven said. "Thank you again."
"Alright, guys." Baby Mario said. "Let's head home." Baby Luigi dialed the remote on the control sphere, and Caelestis Alpha stepped back through the wormhole, back to Plit.