Chapter 105: Hope on the Horizon

A few hours later, the quartet arrived in Celestic Town, where Cynthia lived.

"Do you think she's home? She is the champion after all."

"I hope so."

As it turned out, Cynthia wasn't home, but they did find her…holding up an ice cream stand.

"Miss, please hurry up. You're holding up the line!"

"Oh, just another minute, pretty please? They all look so good…"

A collective groan was heard throughout the entire crowd.

"Hurry it up, lady!"

At last, Cynthia made up her mind, getting a scoop of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry on a cone. She was just heading back to her house when she saw the four approaching.

"Brock, Goh, Chloe, Lillie, What a surprise! What brings you to Celestic Town?"

"I'm afraid this isn't a friendly visit," Brock said solemnly. Sensing what this was about, Cynthia sighed, and her face turned serious.

"It's about Ash and Dawn, isn't it?"

This shocked the quartet. How did she know?"

"I had a hunch. Come with me, we have a lot to discuss."

The quartet followed Cynthia to her house, where they found a girl with red hair waiting for them. Goh, Chloe, and Lillie didn't recognize her, but Brock did.

"Zoey?"

"Hey, Brock. Who're your friends?"

"I'm Lillie, and that's Goh and Chloe. It's nice to meet you."

"Same. I guess you're here for the same reason I am?"

"Yeah. Ash has gone missing, and when we heard Dawn was missing too, we knew it had to be related."

Zoey nodded, accepting the ice cream from Cynthia.

"Dawn promised to help me with my new Contest technique today, but she never showed up. I called Kenny, but he hadn't seen her either, and when I heard about all of the weird Pokemon showing up, I knew I just had to come check it out. And since Cynthia's the big expert on Sinnoh history, I thought maybe she would know something."

"And indeed, I do."

Cynthia walked to her study, before returning with a book, entitled "Hisui, Sinnoh's past."

"Centuries ago, Sinnoh was not a united region. It was divided between three groups: The indigenous Diamond and Pearl Clans, and the Galaxy Team, which comprised of exiled criminals from other regions. The three clans were at war for decades, before a great event caused them to unite against something that threatened their existence. The book mentions two heroes that appeared from thin air who were crucial to their survival: Ash, and Akari. Take a look."

Everyone looked at the book, and were surprised by what they saw. The book had a photo depicting two individuals, who looked exactly like Ash and Dawn.

"The names made me suspicious, but the photo confirmed it. What's more, this book didn't exist until last night."

"So Ash and Dawn were sent back in time?"

"As crazy as it sounds, I believe so."

Goh stroked his chin in thought.

"Well, we may know when and where they are, but how can we get to them?"

"Maybe we could wait for one of those time rifts to pop up?" Chloe suggested.

"Too unpredictable," Lillie butted in. "Besides, for all we know they could take us to a different time than them."

"If only we had access to a Celebi, or Dialga," Zoey said. This gave Brock an idea.

"Maybe we don't need them. Follow me!"

Curious, everyone followed Brock outside. Once everyone was outside, Brock closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. Everyone stared at him, confused.

"What's Brock doing?"

"I don't know, but I hope it works."

Suddenly, an Uxie appeared right in front of them, shocking everyon but Brock, who just laughed as it floated around him.

"Good to see you too, old friend."

"Uxie!"

"Listen, we need your help. Ash and Dawn have been sent back in time, and we're worried they might be in danger. Is there any way you might be able to help us?"
Uxie nodded, and closed his eyes. In a flash, everyone was teleported to the summit of Mount Coronet, where they found a strange portal in front of them.

"Uxie, will this take us to Ash and Dawn?"

"Uxie!"

"Thanks, Uxie. We'll take it from here."

Uxie nodded, before disappearing once more. Brock then turned to everyone.

"Guys, I don't know what waits for us on the other side of this portal. I know we all want to save Ash and Dawn, but…if any of you are afraid, I won't judge you for backing out. But once we're on the other side, there's no going back. Not until our friends are back home and safe."

Nobody dared to back down. Brock nodded.

"Alright, let's do this!"

"Hisui, here we come!"

"I'll stay behind," Cynthia said. "Just in case something from the other side decides to pop in."

And so, with a game plan decided, Brock, Goh, Chloe, Lillie, and Zoey stepped through the portal, ready to face whatever awaited for them.

"We're coming, Ash and Dawn!"

When Lillie's eyes adjusted to the light, she found herself no longer at the top of Mount Coronet. Instead, she was in a snowy, flat piece of land. She shivered as a cold gust of wind blew through.

"If I'd known I would be visiting the arctic today, I'd have worn warmer clothes."

"Pika," Pikachu said in agreement.

"Lillie? Is that you?"

Turning around, she saw Zoey also struggling to keep warm.

"Where is everyone else?"

"I don't know, but something tells me we're not going to like the answer."

"ABOMASNOW!"

Suddenly, a huge figure leapt down from a cliff, the two girls having to leap apart just to prevent themselves from being crushed. When the dust settled, they found an Abomasnow, but something was off. It was much bigger than usual, and its eyes were glowing bright red.

"ABOMASNOW!"

"I've never seen one so big before!"

"Be careful, Zoey! Something tells me there's something not right with him."

"Noted, but we can't let him go on a rampage. Go, Gallade! Psycho Cut!"

Zoey's Gallade landed in the snow with a grunt, before charging at Abomasnow with his blade arms extended. But he didn't even manage to land a hit before Abomasnow smacked him away with an Ice Punch, knocking him out instantly.

"No way! Gallade's one of my best fighters, how could he lose so easily?"

Abomasnow let out a feral roar before charging towards them. Zoey was just about to send out another Pokemon when…

"Dragonite, use Fire Punch! Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"

Suddenly, an Aura Sphere hit Abomasnow from the side, knocking him off course. Before he could start again, a Dragontie flew in, punching him with her burning claw, leaving him singed.

"Now use Close Combat, Lucario!"

While Abomasnow tried to recover, a Mega Lucario leapt from behind a cliff and jumped on him, punching him furiously without letting up. At last, Abomasnow realized it wasn't worth it, and retreated, Lucario returning to his normal state as he and Dragonite walked over to Lillie and Zoey.

"Wow, thanks for the save."

"Yeah, no kidding!"

The moment Dragonite saw Lillie, she let out a happy tril and pounced on her, giving her a big hug. Lillie was momentarily surprised, before she remembered something.

"Dragonite and Lucario were missing too. Can you be-"

"Are you two alright? It's dangerous to be out here alone."

Lillie gasped, turning around to come face to face with-

"A-Ash?"

Sure enough, it was her boyfriend, though he was surprised to see her.

"Pika Pi!"

Without another thought, Pikachu ran up to Ash and gave him a big hug, startling him. Unable to hold in her emotions any longer, Lillie ran up to him and joined Pikachu in hugging him.

"Ash, thank goodness you're alright! Don't ever do that to us again!"

"Huh?"

Zoey laughed, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Glad to see you too, Ash."

But Ash didn't respond, he just stared at all of them. Lillie, realizing something was wrong, broke away and looked him in the eye.
"Ash, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"