The highest mountain in all of Sinnoh was seen as a hallowed ground by many. Calling it 'The Path of Souls' made it no less intimidating, yet there was still a steady trickle of visitors making the pilgrimage to the top of the world.

"Och, I think I can see daylight." A heavy voice echoed from one of the emerging tunnels. "It's been so long, I've forgotten what she looks like."

"Our journey is almost over, Mo!" Glace's enthusiasm burst through.

"Aye indeed," Mo emerged massively from the cave mouth. "An' te think sleepin' beauty here missed it all."

Eve grumbled softly on his back.

"I almost don't wanna wake 'em up," Mo snickered.

"Are they cute together?" Glace said.

"No clue Glace. I've no got eyes in the back of my head."

"Hmm…" Glace wiggled carefully before making the jump and climbing onto Mo's back. Weaving his way across the shaggy fur, he found the pair of them were resting against each other, sound asleep. Glace giggled happily, his tail swishing with delight.

"Aha, they are indeed cute together." He beamed.

"Am not…" Eve muttered immediately, before sinking back into a doze again.

Mo cleared his throat, unable to force down his laughter, "H-how cute are they, Glace?!"

Eve grumbled again, but remained stubbornly asleep.

"S-super cute!" Glace snickered. "They are the cutest things I've ever-"

"I'm not cute, dammit!" Eve sprang awake like a jack in the box. "So you can quit sayin'… where are we?"

Mo dissolved into hulking laughter while Glace kept face in front of her.

"We're at the top of the path, Eve!" his eyes shone brightly.

"Aye, that was some nap ye took!" Mo snorted. "Cannae blame ye though, ye were almost exploded after all."

"Was not." Eve slid smoothly down the Mamoswine's back. "I knew exactly what I was doing, don't you two worry."

"Aye, an' the wee lass saving yer life was all part of the plan?" Mo said. "Gonnae wake her up by the way? She's the reason we're all here, mind."

"…you ask me that after I get down?" Eve groaned. "Glace, you do it."

"I shall!" Glace smiled, kneeling down in front of Sparky. Despite everything that was going on, the little Emolga was still asleep, looking all washed out and grey. The poor thing didn't look well, but letting her sleep right now was silly.

"Good afternoon, Sparky…" Glace soothed, bumping her with his snout. It took a few attempts, but eventually she flinched and groaned, wrenching herself upright.

"Wh-wha? What's going on?" She mumbled. "…Glace?"

"We have to stop meeting like this, friend!" Glace chuckled. "It's time for you to wake up! We're at the top of the path!"

"…huh? How?" She blinked rapidly. That was quick. Among the blinding daylight, she could piece together towering columns and crumbling stone walls. This place looked older than time itself. But she was here for a reason. If there was even an answer to her problem, this place was her best chance of finding it.

"W-wow, thanks guys…" She staggered to her feet. "So uh, what now?"

A palpable mote of tension rippled through the others.

"We uh… we were hopin' you'd know that bit, lass!" Mo laughed awkwardly.

Sparky's stomach twisted. Not only had she tried and failed to get here by herself, but dragged along three relative strangers in the process. And then to top if off, there was nothing here. What was she supposed to do now?

Her gaze fell to the floor. What was she even going to tell them? 'Sorry guys, I think we've wasted our time'? She'd be lucky if they talked to her again…

"Oh, how lovely." Eve jumped the gun for her. "So even if whatever you're looking for is here, you don't know how to activate it? Perfect!"

"…sorry." Sparky deflated. The idea was a long shot at best, but now Eve was spelling it out in all its flawed glory.

"Maybe it's not so bad?" Glace chimed in. "Perhaps we could look around and find something!"

"Find what, Glace?" Eve raged. "There is nothing here! Unless the gate's hiding behind that column, we've just wasted a whole day getting here!"

"Gonnae calm doon Eve?" Mo cried. "We cannae be sure until we're sure!"

"That's just the problem, Mo…" Eve sighed, picking up a pebble and scratching into it with her sharp claws. "We don't know anything! So what were we thinking, comin' all the way out here?!"

She threw the pebble, which hurtled through the air at a furious speed. Sparky flinched. The last thing she wanted was for them to wreck the place and knock down one of those columns or something. But it didn't happen. The stone never touched the ground.

"…huh?" Eve grunted. "The hell?"

"Did it… disappear?" Glace squinted into the space in front of them. There were dozens of pebbles peppered across the floor, so maybe it was one of those...

"…I'll try again." Eve grabbed another pebble. Four Pokémon watched as the stone arced through the air away from them, before suddenly vanishing from sight.

Eve grinned. "Interesting."

She paced forwards a few feet, before grabbing and tossing another stone, only for it to disappear almost instantly.

"Maybe there is something here after all." Her eyes glinted.

"Y-you mean-" Sparky gasped.

"Don't hold your breath just yet," Eve dismissed with a hand wave. "Something's goin' on here, sure, but we've gotta figure out what it is first. Triggering it's a whole different-"

Her sentence died where it stood however, when a heavy rock smacked her square on the head.

"Ow, son of a-" She recoiled backwards. "Alright, who threw that?! Cause I'll warn ya, I'm about this far away from-"

"N-no one threw anything, Eve!" Glace shouted back. "I-I think it fell from the sky and hit you!"

"Oh, bull!" Eve raged. "C'mere, kid! You're the only one with hands, so it had to be you!"

"B-but it wasn't me!" Sparky flailed hands at Eve. "I promise!"

"Oh, really?" Eve's eyes were bulging. "You just think I'm gonna believe that it appeared out of nowhere?!"

"Y-yes?" Sparky gulped. Everything she had was shaking. Eve was scary enough when she was in a good mood, but right now she looked like she wanted to fight the whole mountain. The bright red bruise on her forehead was throbbing furiously, which didn't help, either…

"…of all the stupid suggestions," Eve shoved her away. Rubbing her sore head with one hand, she knelt down to pick up the offending stone. Her eyes widened when she turned it over, however.

In clear, almost overtly square capital letters, the words 'LEAVE NOW' had been carved into it.

"…okay, maybe I was wrong," Eve rolled her eyes. "There's definitely something here, and it doesn't want us here."

"…oh." Sparky rubbed her paws together. "S-so… should we go, then? I mean, we don't wanna make them mad do we?"

"Don't we?" Eve smirked. "What if we keep bugging it? What's the worst that could happen?"

"I'm no' sure of this, Eve." Mo swallowed heavily. "Death and dismemberment seems pretty likely!"

"What's gonna dismember us?" Eve casually tossed another stone into the void, which was promptly swallowed up. "It's gonna have to come out if it wants to do that!"

"B-but what if it won't help us because we made it mad?" Sparky mumbled.

"Got a better idea?" Eve folded her arms.

"Umm…" Sparky's lip trembled. Better wasn't the word for it, that was for certain. But maybe there was a different approach to just antagonising whatever was hiding here.

"H-hello?" She spoke to no one. "Is there… anyone here?"

And if anything, the mountain seemed to grow quieter still. Even the winds stopped, as if time itself had stilled. Eve just rolled her eyes.

"I-I… I don't know if you can hear me," Sparky swallowed down her nerves. "But I need your help. I came here from really really far away, because someone I love was taken away from me… and I want her back…?"

"Hang on, this is your amazing idea?" Eve scoffed. "To make whatever happen, you're playing the sympathy card?"

"Eve! What could that accomplish?" Glace cried.

"Probably nothing!" Eve raged back. "But d'you think talking to an empty space is a better idea?!"

"Well how is hurting Sparky's feelings going to help?"

"Maybe she needs a reality check!"

A sharp noise escaped Glace, as if he'd stood on something painful, while Mo's jaw dropped, and even Eve looked ashamed of herself. But it was Sparky whose complexion fell. With little more than a whimper, she turned and ran.

"Kid, wait!" Eve shouted, making the chase.

"Great goin', Eve!" Mo yelled. "You've gone and upset the lass! Now go get her back!"

"Whaddya think I'm doin'?!" Eve seethed back. "I was just about to-"

But the conversation was derailed by a sudden, huge explosion of energy. The four Pokémon found themselves rooted to the spot as an impossibly bright ball of bluish light materialised out of nowhere, with the silhouette of a gargantuan creature swarming amidst it.

Slowly, as if wading from a thick, sticky marsh, a dark blue Pokémon stepped out from the nova and stared the four of them down. Easily taller than even Mo, the blue monstrosity had bright white horns spiking out from just about everywhere and piercing red eyes, just to make it that little bit scarier.

"…explain your impertinence." The imposing creature spoke. Its voice calm and concise, yet cutting through the tension in the air like a knife. "You were warned to leave. Yet you have not. Why?"

"Well, umm…" Glace stammered. "The thing is-"

"I need your help!" Sparky burst in. "A-and I won't take no for an answer!"

"…is that so?" The enormous creature laughed dryly. "And I presume you have plans to threaten, small one?"

"You bet I do!" Sparky cried, breaking into a run. "I-if you don't help me, I'll-"

The gigantic blue Pokémon blinked, and Sparky's advance was stopped in her tracks. Floating gently upwards, her eyes darted about helplessly.

"Cute." It said, staring through her. "Where is that threat now, little one?"

Sparky remained in her frozen state, meeting the creature's empty gaze.

Was this the sum of all her efforts? To climb the mountain, meet the gods, and come away with nothing? Not even a chance of explaining herself?

"Perhaps I should restate my warning." The creature spoke. "I am Dialga, controller of all things temporal. You four have invaded my shrine, so I shall insist that you leave promptly. There will be no further warn-"

Dialga's eye flashed. It slowly turned to look Sparky in the eye again. While she was still blue and frozen, floating in the air, her face had since twisted in fury. Occasionally a body part would twitch and stutter, but the writhings were becoming more common by the second, until she broke free of the spell completely.

"So you're not even gonna listen to us?!" Sparky shrieked, still flailing uselessly in the air. "After we came all this way, you're just gonna evict us?! You're worse than the takers, you big bully!"

"…bully?" Dialga said. "You want me to 'listen', do you? After desecrating my shrine?"

"Those were pebbles!" Sparky threw an arm outwards. "I'll put them back if that's what you want! But I only want one thing, and you don't even know what it is because you're not gonna listen to us! So I've gotta just float here like a dummy because you feel like abusing your super special powers! Well how about using those special powers to help someone instead of bully them?!"

"Are ye no wise, lass?!" Mo shouted. "Ye cannae say that to a-"

"Silence." Dialga uttered calmly, and suddenly all sound was abolished from the area as if sucked up with a vacuum cleaner. Mo continued shouting, but no sound made it through.

"Listen, child." It explained. "I am a deity. I control time. What possible reason could you have that would warrant my involvement?"

Tears began sparkling down Sparky's face as the gravity started to set in. Ever since… then, all she'd been doing was getting help from others. Higgle and Socks, Candice, Eve, Mo, Glace, even Ros and Phil, and now an almighty Dialga. What was she doing for them in return? Why did she even deserve it?

Eve and the others were just standing there now. Maybe they'd finally realised there was nothing they could do. It was all in Sparky's hands.

"I… I know what I'm asking is selfish," she sniffled. "But you're my last chance…"

Her body touching floor again, she barely even bothered to stand back up. "M-my trainer… died recently." She mumbled. "And I couldn't do anything to stop her."

"Stop her?" Dialga rumbled. "You mean that your trainer took her own life?"

"…yes." Sparky said. "B-but there's the problem! I know she didn't really wanna do it!"

"What makes you so certain?" Dialga countered. "Such a sequence of events cannot happen accidentally, child."

"B-because there were people who were trying to take her stuff away!" Sparky cried. "She… she didn't have enough dollars, so the nasty takers wanted her things, b-but she didn't wanna give up her things because… because they were hers!"

"Yet instead, she gave up her life, and abandoned her three loving Pokémon?" Dialga didn't sound impressed. "Rather selfish of her, wouldn't you say?"

"I-I'm telling you, she didn't wanna do it!" Sparky yelled. "She only did it because – wait, three?"

"Yes, three."

"H-how did you-"

"Child, I am a deity. We know everything that goes on in this world. There is no detail too large or small."

"…so there's more of you?"

"Yes."

"…oh."

"Indeed." Dialga said. "For example, your trainer Holly…"

Something venomous grasped at Sparky's heart at the mention of that name. Sickness, sadness, regret… she wasn't sure exactly what.

"We know that her heart was pure, yet filled with an immensely heavy burden. Unable to satisfy it, yet unable to seek help, she took control of the only thing she had left; her own life. And we do not-"

"S-stop!" Sparky shrieked, new floods of tears escaping her eyes. "Stop that right now! What is this, a doctor's report? She didn't wanna, I just know it!"

"I am merely telling you the truth. Take it how you will." Dialga rebuked. "We receive full details on every being that passes through this gate, so-"

"Passes through?" Sparky repeated, the lightbulb flickering. "S-so she's here?! Right now?!"

Dialga averted its gaze. Meanwhile Sparky's just got wider.

"W-well? Is she?!" She demanded. "If she's here, and you're not telling me, then that's just mean!"

"…and if she is?" Dialga narrowed its eyes. This scrap of a Pokémon had the nerve to talk to them like that? "What will you do then?"

"Aha! So she is here!" Sparky yelled. "So that means you can go get her back!"

"Oh, does it?" Dialga growled. "And what gives you the right to demand her back?"

"Because she's not meant to be there!" Sparky cried. "S-so you can just go… get her back now…"

"I see." Dialga said shortly. "And if I am not to blindly follow the orders of some random Pokémon that invaded my shrine?"

"Then I'll…" Sparky faltered. "Then I'll keep bugging you until you listen!"

"You underestimate my patience, little one." Dialga sighed. "I am the guardian of time. I think you'll find I can be very-"

"But it's not fair!" Sparky cried.

"Life is not fair, child." Dialga said bluntly. "And I feel it's about time you learn this, like your two friends have done."

"You know-"

"Yes, we know. And if you promise to give up on this endeavour, I can show you."

"I-I can see Higgle and Socks?!"

"Yes. If you concede this fruitless endeavour."

"I…" Sparky hesitated. Once again, she was the odd one out. The newcomer. Socks and Higgle always got along so well, and her high energy approach never helped.

Maybe that was why she got so attached to Miss Holly. Because the other two didn't like her so much. They never said it, but it was obvious, because they liked each other so much that they couldn't have any room left to like her too. Miss Holly was always there for Sparky, but that must've only made things more difficult. The old dilemma… it had been taunting her for years now.

"Do we have a deal, child?"

She tuned back into present day, only to find that another enormous Pokémon had appeared before her. This one was a huge mass of greyish purple instead of Dialga's blue, with a long curved neck and a bright red jewel on either shoulder. Not as scary as Dialga, but still pretty intimidating.

Hovering above this new Pokémon was some form of portal, and through it, Sparky could see Socks and Higgle!

The pair of them were lost in conversation on a little bed, accompanied by some silly looking pink Pokémon.

"Socks! Higgle!" Sparky cried. "Guys! How've you been?! I've been wondering where-"

"They can't hear ya, kid." The enormous purple Pokémon muttered, staring coldly at her. "Ain't too bright, huh?"

"B-but they're right there!" Sparky exclaimed. "I can see them, so why can't they see me?"

"It's a one-way portal…" The purple Pokémon sighed. "Kids these days…"

Dialga huffed in response. "There, little one. You have seen your friends. Now you must-"

"No no wait, sshhh…!" Sparky flailed at the deity. "They're saying stuff!"

Dialga sucked in a heavy breath, but stayed silent, meanwhile Sparky enamoured herself.

"Do… do you think that New Person is nice, Higgle?" Socks asked, who was wearing a beanie hat for some reason.

"She seems… inexperienced as a trainer, that I will concede." Higgle said simply. "For example, Mythos here appears to be a water-type, yet lacks any realistic access to water-"

"…bath." The pink Pokémon on the floor muttered slowly, its low, dull voice, echoing through the portal, "…time."

Its mouth stretched into a little smile, and its eyes slipped out of focus once again.

"…very well," Higgle laughed. "I thank you, Mythos."

Mythos grunted gently in response.

"Young Miss Catherine may seem inexperienced, Socks." Higgle said. "But her heart is most certainly in the right place."

"Mhmm… it'd be really weird otherwise, huh?" Socks mumbled, her eyes drooping. "I mean, what if your heart was on your head or something? That'd be super strange…"

Sparky spluttered with laughter on the other side of the world.

"Oh, are you getting tired, Socks?" It seems as though your brain cannot keep up with your mouth."

"…you know what else can't keep up?" Socks giggled softly, her sentence hanging.

"…Ducklett."

"Duck…lett?" Higgle narrowed his eyes. "H-how-"

"Wanna know why?"

"I suppose they are rather unintelligent…"

"G'wan Higgle, ask me why."

"Hah. Alright Socks, I yield. Why can Ducklett not keep up?"

Socks stifled another giggle, forcing it down before;

"C-cause they're covered in down!"

Sparky crashed to the floor in laughter, and even Higgle dropped his spoon in surprise. "Oh, very well done, Socks! Such a fantastic joke!"

"D'you… remember when all those Pidove flew into the house, Higgle?" Socks mumbled, "a-and Trainer got Sparky to chase them out with her electric attacks?"

Higgle just nodded slowly. "I-I do, Socks. Why do you ask?"

"That was where I got the joke from." Socks giggled quietly. "B-but I changed it to Ducklett so you wouldn't get it so easy."

"Ohh, very well done!" Higgle pat her on the head. "Perhaps you should get some sleep, Socks. You must be exhausted, to be talking such non-"

"No." socks said immediately. Her eyes bolted wide open. "Almost story time."

"Oh, it is?" Higgle glanced across the room. "If I recall correctly, Miss Catherine has begun writing a new story to read to us!"

"Y-yeah, and it'll be super nice!" Socks cried. "Be-because New Person is really good at storying!"

And almost cheesily on cue…

"Hi guys!"

Socks bolted upright in response to a young blonde girl strolling into the room holding a teapot and several sheets of paper.

"Wanna hear my new story?" She beamed down at the pair of them.

"Yay!" Socks cheered, bounding forwards at the mention.

"Alrighty!" The girl smiled, lowering her teapot with a clumsy clunk. "This new story is about a brave little Emolga that goes on adventures!"

Sparky let out a stunned gasp from the other side of the portal, while Higgle's face dropped and Socks recoiled.

"…that's scary, Higgle. Will it be bad?" She mumbled.

"I-I am sure it will be fine, Socks." Higgle whispered back. "She cannot possibly know about Sparky, I am sure."

The blonde girl took in a deep breath. "Most Emolga are shy creatures, avoiding contact with humans and other Pokémon at all costs, and only leaving their nests if they really had to. Zippy was not your typical Emolga, however; he was an adventurer!"

Sparky let out the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. Maybe it was all just a huge coincidence then. What else could it have been?

"Zippy was the bravest of the brave, fearing nothing and no one!" The girl continued in her story voice, her eyes aglow. No matter what the danger, no matter where, Zippy would be there to take on the challenge, from the depths of the Whirl Caves to the peak of Mt Coro- oh, bother. I forgot my spoooooon!"

The girl shuffled her papers and put them down next to Socks and Higgle before dashing from the room. "You can't have tea without a spoon! So wait right here, I'll be back soon."

"New Person is fun, isn't she Higgle?" Socks asked, as their new trainer made a swift exit from the room. "Always playing with us, and reading us funny stories, and-"

But Sparky yelped in surprise as the glowing vision dissolved away in front of her eyes. "Hey what?! Oh c'mon…!"

"I believe that's enough, Palkia." Dialga spoke.

"Took ya long enough," Palkia groaned. "That must've been twenty minutes."

"B-but they were just getting to the good bit!" Sparky scrambled back to her feet. "Change it back!"

"Change it back?" Dialga simply frowned at her. "Child, you cannot just ask me to 'change it back'. Now I think you will agree that we have been amply patient with you…"

"But they were just talking about important stuff!" Sparky cried. "That's the whole reason I'm here! Just a little bit longer, please!"

"What purpose would this serve?" Dialga's voice dropped. "What if, after another half an hour of idle chit chat, you learn nothing new?"

"T-they were talking about whether or not they liked their new trainer, right?" Sparky's eyes were enormous and pleading. "That means I'll find out if they're happy with their new life. A-and if they are, I promise you, I'll go. Just that one last thing, okay?"

"…ten minutes." Dialga sighed heavily. From out of nowhere, an enormous sand timer surged into existence, the grains slowly tinkling from one end to the other. "You may watch them for ten more minutes. Once these grains of sand reach the bottom, regardless of what you have or have not learned, you will leave this mountain. By force, if necessary."

Sparky gulped thickly. "…okay."

Dialga and Palkia shared a tired look. Palkia concentrated for a second, and suddenly the portal was back.

Grains of sand slipped through the timer mercilessly, meanwhile Sparky could see her dearest friends one more time.

"-Yes Socks, Lady Holly was a wonderful trainer." Higgle's voice sounded dainty. "A-and I am sure she is watching over us right now, happy and smiling in the knowledge that we are safe."

"Well, two of us are…" Socks sniffles, glancing up at the ceiling. "T-Trainer? I-if you're up there, look out for Sparky for us, okay?!"

"Oh gosh, Socks…" Higgle gasped, pulling the sobbing Furret to his chest. "I am sure Sparky is doing just fine…"

"I'm right here, guys!" Sparky yelled from the other side of the portal. "Don't you worry Socks, I'm okay! I'm gonna fix everything, I promise!"

"They can hear ya kid…" Palkia sighed. "Didn't I explain this already? Pretty sure I explained this…"

"Sshhh…!" Sparky flailed at it. "They're saying important stuff!"

Palkia just glared. "Rude."

"I miss them, Higgle. I really do…" Socks moped.

"I do as well, Socks."

"I… kinda wish we could go back and change things, don't you? Then Sparky and Trainer would be back, a-and we'd all be a big family again…"

"I-I would like that, Socks…"

Sparky crashed to her knees. Grief bubbled just beneath the surface, threatening to fall at any moment.

"They miss me…"

The portal dissolved away again, showing a fading image of the blonde girl trying to console a distraught Socks.

"That is enough, I think." Dialga's voice rumbled. The enormous sand timer disappeared in a puff of smoke. "So, I suppose you'll be leaving, child?"

Silent tears rolled down Sparky's cheeks. Guilt boiled in her stomach. What was she supposed to do now? She wasn't happy. They weren't happy. No one was happy.

"They… Miss Holly!" She cried. As if a balloon had just inflated inside of her, suddenly it all made sense.

"Yes. They are your friends. Don't you miss them too?" Dialga muttered. "Now, please leave my shrine and go find them. Go find your happy ending."

"I came here to find my happy ending!" Sparky cried, rage seething through her. "You said that you're the one who changes things back? How about you change my life back?!"

"What right have you to demand such a thing?" Dialga roared.

"I'm no one special! I admit that!" Sparky yelled back. "But life hasn't been fair to me! So I wanna go back and fix it! I don't care what the price is; I'll pay it!"

"You'll pay the price, will you?" Dialga's eyes flashed dangerously. "Even if it costs your life?"

"You can take it!" Sparky cried. "I've got nothing to lose! My life isn't worth anything without my family in it anyway!"

"And yet you claim that your life has been ruined." Dialga snorted. "For you to give such a selfish answer, your life must be worth something after all?!"

"Well… then it's all the more reason for you to pay up, isn't it?!" Sparky shouted. "All I want is for you to bring Miss Holly back! Then you can do whatever you want with me!"

"Urgh… listen child." Dialga sighed. "I do not know exactly what you expect from me. My job is to keep this world in balance. Why do you think I would jeopardise that balance to appease a spoiled brat like yourself?"

"Because you guys are supposed to be like gods, right? And gods grant wishes, right?" Sparky raged, her eyes burning. "If you can't help out a Pokémon in need, then what kinda god are you? A pretty sucky one if you ask me!"

"Child!" Dialga bellowed. "Gods do not serve Pokémon! If anything, Pokémon should serve the gods!"

"Oh, so you're better than the rest of us because the humans pray to you?!" Sparky screeched. "Alright then, I'll do it your way!"

Her head touched the floor. Arms in front of her, she chanted. "Oh gods, hear my plea! I wish to make things right!"

"This won't work…" Dialga sighed. "Once a life has regressed back to its basic form, it cannot be returned! It will have to be reassigned!"

"Well then you can reassign my life instead! How's that sound?!" Sparky didn't move. "Oh gods, please, hear me! Save her life! Take me instead!"

"You cannot save her!" Dialga roared, literally knocking Sparky back a few feet from the force of its shout. "Souls have no identity, child. You cannot just go and retrieve her soul, and expect her lifeless body to just accept it again! Leave my shrine now, or I will be forced to make you!"

"I don't care!" Sparky yelled. "I'm as good as dead anyway! I'm lost up a mountain and my family's on the other side of the world! Without them, I'm nothing! So you can either take this nothing of a life, or you can make it into a something!"

"And if I send you so far back in time that you will never see your family again?" Dialga threatened.

"Then wouldn't that screw up your precious balance?!" Sparky countered immediately. "If you're gonna do that, then you might as well gimme a chance of fixing things instead! Either way, I'll be off your damn mountain, so whaddya say? Do we have a deal?!"

Dialga shrieked in rage, an awful, warping noise that shook the very air.

"You are impossible!" It seethed. Sparky tumbled to the ground as another explosion of power burst from Dialga's depths. The very air itself felt like it was being stretched and compressed under the creature's rage, and then an endless, viscous darkness suddenly overtook the mountain.

"W-what the?!" Sparky cried. "What's going on?!"

Two bright red eyes glinted among the darkness, and a new voice entered the situation;

"A chance, you say?"