"How did that get through the portal?" Shaymin asked. "It's huge… I know it folded up, but was the portal really that big?"
"Hmm," Cynthia replied, looking up at the flying ship before turning her attention to the portal. "Well, the portal's quite big… I think I was more paying attention to what was on the other side. Maybe it got bigger because something big was trying to pass through."
Then something came flying out of it.
A man wearing a strange costume, on a hoverboard of some sort, with two Magneton and two Magnemite flanking him and a Magnezone overhead.
"Giratina!" the man said. "I've come to talk!"
"Okay, hundreds of years and then two of you come along at once," Giratina said, glancing at Dawn and then turning her gaze to her brother. "Is this something to do with you?"
Ash shrugged. "I don't really have any idea how to tell… I guess weird things do happen around me, though."
He leaned a bit closer. "Hey, that guy's dressed kind of like you!"
"That reminds me of what Volo was wearing, come to think of it," Dawn said. "Only, Volo's outfit was more based on Arceus, this guy's outfit is based more on Giratina."
"Giratina?" the man asked. "My name is Zero!"
"Zero," Cynthia repeated, making a note.
"What's that?" her Lucario asked.
"Oh, just wondering if this is going to be another case of nominative determinism," Cynthia replied. "There's been some fun sociological papers about it, I want to be a co-author on the next one."
"I can translate, if you want?" Ash suggested. "I don't know if you can speak so that humans can understand you."
"I cannot," Giratina admitted. "I would appreciate the translation."
They looked up at Zero. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Giratina wants to know what you want to talk about," Ash explained.
"Help," Zero replied. "I need Giratina's help. And I can help Giratina, as well!"
He swept his arm around. "Giratina's world is polluted! I want to purge the pollution from it!"
"That would actually be helpful," Giratina admitted. "How, though?"
"How would you do that?" Ash asked. "And, uh – how do you know it's polluted, too? You just came through into the portal, and obviously you could have seen the pollution, but that's not why you came through. Right?"
"I already knew Giratina's world had been corrupted," Zero insisted. "Twisted, by the actions of humanity, disrespecting the Reverse World! It's always been the way – Dialga and Palkia are honoured, but never Giratina, and nobody pays any attention to the Reverse World even when what they do harms it so much!"
"Okay, he's a little confused, but he's got the spirit," Lucario said. "It isn't humans, though, right?"
"Unless humans have started doing something very novel recently, no, it is not," Giratina replied. "Humans have been around for a very long time, and whatever is going on is affecting the whole of my world. Not part of it."
She shook herself out. "But he didn't answer my question."
"You didn't answer her question," Ash translated. "How would you purge the pollution?"
"It's simple," Zero said. "The world of humans is connected to the Reverse World, and so I will use that connection to inflict damage on humans and their world in turn. That will redress the balance, and it will punish humans for what they have done!"
Dawn glanced at Giratina.
"That sounds familiar, but in a bad way," she said. "This guy sounds like Volo at his worst, as well."
The Dragon-type was silent for a long moment, hovering there, and Ash didn't say anything either.
He didn't want to put pressure on anyone. And… he had to think about what he might have to do, in a moment.
If Giratina agreed, then… he'd probably have to stop her. Or try to stop her.
He didn't want to have to do it. Fighting his sister, after he'd only just met her… it felt like something he shouldn't have to do. And if he'd wanted to do it, then maybe that would have meant something was wrong, especially if he wanted to do it under circumstances like these ones.
"But…" Koraidon said, slowly. "But that wouldn't fix anything, would it?"
She glanced at Ash. "I mean, even if it did make the Reverse World better, it'd be doing it by making things worse for everyone else, and we already know Shaymin can help. Right, Dad?"
"Ash," Giratina said, before Ash could reply. "My brother… please translate this for me."
One of the Magnemite blinked and stared at Ash at those words.
"I don't know how you know what you know about me," Giratina said, speaking slowly. "It's true, I've felt neglected in the past. Like I was the spare parts, the excess, the parts that weren't needed."
They looked at Zero. "A mere few hundred years ago, I would have agreed with you in moments. It would barely have been a discussion."
Ash repeated what Giratina was saying, trying not to think too hard about what they were saying in the moment in case he lost the thread.
"But… that was then, and this is now," Giratina went on. "No. I am not the kind of person who would do that, not any more… and I refuse to let someone use me or my world for their own revenge, regardless of why they say they want it."
"This is so cool," Riolu said, very softly.
"You don't-" Zero said, then paused. "I don't understand."
He frowned. "You're refusing… because you think I'm doing this for selfish reasons? I can assure you, I'm doing this for the opposite of selfish reasons. I want to see the human world punished for what they have done to the Reverse World. To you."
"And I don't agree," Giratina replied.
"She doesn't agree," Ash passed on.
Zero didn't seem to do anything, but his hoverboard floated back up into the air to return to his flying ship. The Magnemite-line Pokémon followed, holding position on him, and they were back with the ship in moments.
"...that's a bit rude," Dawn said.
She frowned. "Actually, come to think of it… he got here in minutes. And he already knew at least something about the state of the Reverse World. Isn't that a bit weird? We knew Giratina was probably nearby because of what happened with Shaymin, but he didn't have a clue like that… is it a huge coincidence?"
"Maybe, but that's… reminding me of something," Ash said. "There was this guy we met in the Orange Islands… he had a big flying castle with propellers, and he had this weird idea about collecting Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Lugia. And seeing something that big and flying is reminding me of him…"
"Infi," Zero said, as soon as he was back on board the Megarig. "Were you listening in?"
"I have the data, master Zero," Infi replied.
The machine intelligence appeared on a screen next to him. "I cannot verify the integrity of the translation, however. Available data suggests that the Pokémon who was speaking is Pokémon League champion trainer Ash Ketchum, and that next to him is-"
"Cynthia, I know," Zero replied. "A skilled trainer. Thank you for pointing that out, Infi."
"Yes, master Zero," Infi said. "What is your direction?"
"I'd hoped to be able to persuade Giratina," Zero replied. "But if I can't do that, then – regrettably – there is only one remaining option. The Reverse World must be saved, even if that means taking action when the world's master will not."
He glanced at Infi. "Prepare defences, and activate them and the capture grid at the same time on my command."
"As you wish," Infi agreed, bowing slightly on the screen.
"What do you think he meant, get revenge?" Ash asked. "He said he could use the connection to hurt the real world… is that something that can happen?"
He glanced at Dawn. "Do you know?"
"I don't," Dawn admitted. "I know that there was something going on that was making the Noble Pokémon angry, but I never got a full explanation."
"Is that something we need to be worried about?" Latias asked, concerned.
Giratina gave her a confused look. "Why would you need to be…"
Their tone of voice changed. "Oh. You're a Noble Pokémon. And so are Pikachu and Unown… you can make Noble Pokémon, Ash?"
"Yeah, though I still don't know exactly how to do it, it sort of happens by accident," Ash admitted. "I was at least intending to make Miraidon and make Mew real, but Koraidon was another accident… though she wasn't a mistake."
Giratina paused.
"I like the way that sounds," she said. "That an accident can be someone, or something, that is not a mistake."
Her voice went quiet, then she resumed. "But… you do not need to be worried about the Noble Pokémon connection. And… yes, the Reverse World can be used to harm your world, because they are connected so intimately. Any change in one produces a change in the other, but in my world there is only me, and so a sudden change in your world has a greater risk of causing harm… and, in addition, my world is more delicate, because it is not solid and because weight acts on it lightly. If a mountain in your world is linked with a network of pillars in mine, then to damage the pillars is easier, and it damages the mountain."
Lucario passed that on, and Riolu frowned before nodding.
"I think I get it?" he asked. "So… it's something you could have done, before, with Volo I mean – but you didn't, because it would just be destroying everything. Including your world."
Giratina nodded to him, slowly.
"Yes," she said. "I was banished to the Reverse World, or that is how I saw it… but I found it beautiful, and to destroy that beauty in order to punish the real world was not something I thought of."
The big floating ship went clunk, and they all looked up to see something unfolding – making a kind of circular shape between two of the main armatures, as Magnemite and Magneton floated out of the ship.
"Shouldn't it be folding up again?" Dawn asked. "So it can get out of the Reverse World?"
"Maybe, or maybe Zero is going to take out his frustration," Samurott warned. "As revenge because Giratina didn't listen, Zero might want to spite him and destroy his world."
"I hope not," Giratina rumbled.
"If he is, we'll help stop him," Ash advised.
"Yeah," Koraidon nodded firmly. "We'd help even if you weren't my uncle, but I want to get to know-"
There was a sudden crackle of reddish energy from the unfolded circle, and Giratina recoiled.
"That's-" she began, then the crimson lightning lashed out and gripped her wings. They tightened like chains, then yanked, and Giratina was bodily pulled forwards into the grip of the system.
She screamed in pain as the energy crawled over her, lasers and lightning running over her, and Cynthia threw a Pokéball with each hand to send out Garchomp and Gastrodon.
"Clear out those Magnemite and Magneton!" she called.
Ash switched to his Flying-type badge, kicking off into the air, and sent Swellow back out as well. As he did, Zorua fired out a Swift attack, but the stars shimmered against an energy field before they reached the flying ship itself.
"Good idea, Zorua," Ash said. "But, uh – if there's a shield up, we need to get through it! Latias, take Pikachu and Zorua and go save Giratina!"
"On it, Ash!" Latias agreed, catching both Pokémon as they jumped up onto her back. Then she went rocketing forwards, dodging two attacks from the defending Steel-types, then vanished in a brilliant flash of golden light to reappear inside the shield.
Then ice cannons opened fire on her and Pikachu had to deflect them with a whirling, snapping curtain of thunderbolts, but Ash was already trying to think of how else he could help.
"What is going on?" Zero asked. "Infi, is something wrong with the shield?"
The Megarig rocked back and forth as something exploded, and Infi's hologram stuttered for a moment.
"Are you all right?" Zero checked.
"I am fine, master," Infi replied. "The Magnemite and Magneton are being rapidly defeated by a Garchomp with a Gastrodon on her back, as well as several other Pokemon. Three Pokémon teleported through the shield and are attacking the Giratina Power Duplication System. Scan is continuing."
"Teleportation…" Zero repeated. "That explains that."
"Master, please move to the fighter," Infi advised. "The Megarig is already damaged and I cannot guarantee that it will survive the current attacks."
"I suppose that would be best," Zero admitted, turning to walk down the corridor. Infi's holographic images followed him, each one coming online as he approached and vanishing as he walked past, then there was another explosion and he stumbled.
"How long can the Megarig last?" he asked. "And will you be all right?"
"I can transfer into the fighter," Infi told him. "My current estimate is that the Megarig will be rendered unable to continue flying shortly after the scan is complete."
A scan progress bar appeared, and Zero decided to start moving faster.
"And Giratina?" he asked. "It would be a shame if Giratina died, but a sacrifice worth the benefit."
"Unknown," Infi answered.
"Where is it… uh, here," Ash said, glancing through his box of Badges and other plates. "Giratina is Ghost type so they're going to be okay if I use a Fighting or Normal one… Unown, can you target a Judgement really carefully? So it doesn't hit any of the Magnemite, or wherever that Zero guy is – or Latias, or anyone else?"
He stopped, and tried again. "Can you target it so that if it's Fighting type, it goes through Giratina and only hits bits of machine?"
"Precise targeting is possible," Unown said, then they were interrupted by a crash as the giant flying ship fired out a blast of flame. Cynthia's Lucario blocked the attack, paws glowing as he split it in half and diverted it off to the sides, and Koraidon danced back and forth on her paws.
"I wish we could help!" she said. "But I can't reach that high easily and I don't have good moves to help out!"
Dawn's Samurott was attacking anyway, using Razor Wind, and Ash looked up then down as he tried to think about what he was missing.
He was missing something.
"Wait!" he realized. "Swellow and Staravia can give Koraidon a tow up high, and Koraidon can carry some of the other Pokémon into range!"
He raised his voice. "Swellow! Staravia! Back down here-"
Pikachu used Thunderbolt, again, and this time something big changed.
The reddish light stopped flowing over Giratina, and the airship let go of her with startling suddenness. She dropped towards the area they were on, passing right through the flying ship's remaining defences, and Lucario, Koraidon and Samurott all ran forwards without needing any orders.
Koraidon switched to her fully-erect battle stance, glowing as her ability gave her extra strength through sunlight, and she and the other two caught Giratina as the Ghost-type reached them.
"Please be okay!" Koraidon said, urgently, trying to let Giratina down gently onto the ground.
Ash ran forwards, skidding to a halt next to his much bigger sister, then Shaymin arrived as well.
"I – I want to help!" she said. "I don't know if I'm responsible for this or not, and – but – I was thinking and Giratina's the one in trouble here and I'm still scared but-"
She swallowed. "I have a healing move but I can't use it unless I'm in Sky Form! It just doesn't work otherwise, and I need Gracidea pollen for that and I can't find any!"
Ash concentrated, trying to think.
Could he heal Giratina? Or would that take a different Pokémon, who specialized in that?
"I've got an idea," Dawn said. "Ash – can't you change Pokémon into different forms?"
"Right!" Ash realized. "Yeah, I can – hold on-"
He went through his bags again, reaching for his fused Frontier-Symbol amulet, then focused on it and on Shaymin.
He didn't want Shaymin Dynamaxed. He didn't want whatever else he could do – not Mega Shaymin, if there was a Mega Shaymin.
Sky Form. Ash didn't really know what it looked like, but he knew Shaymin knew, and a moment later a glow lit up on his amulet – matched by a flash as Shaymin transformed.
"Whoa!" she gasped, as she reached Sky Form. "That actually worked – how did you – no, not important right now!"
Jumping in a kind of floaty, gliding way, she landed on Giratina's head, and a moment later lit up with a greenish glow. Waves of light washed out, and Ash was on tenterhooks until Giratina groaned and shifted.
"Are you feeling okay?" Ash asked.
"Better now," Giratina replied, her voice a bit of a mumble.
Overhead, something fast-moving shot out of the flying ship, then the ship began to splinter and break apart.
"Unown, use Gravity to make sure that doesn't land on us!" Ash instructed.
"Good call," Cynthia agreed. "But Zero just escaped, I think. We need to follow him, in case he damages the Reverse World."
"Is everything functioning?" Zero asked, at the controls of his parasite fighter – the Mecha Giratina. "I can see the indicators, but there are some warnings."
"Indications are that the copy process was ninety-nine percent successful," Infi replied. "Not all of Giratina's attacks were successfully copied, but dimensional shifting is available and in addition so are Will-o-Wisp, Dragon Claw and Aura Sphere."
"No Ghost moves?" Zero said, curious, then shrugged. "Well – these will suffice. Is Giratina dead?"
"Giratina appears to have survived," Infi announced.
Zero nodded slightly. "That's good," he said. "It would have been a shame if Giratina had to die… perhaps it's something to do with the incomplete copy process."
He twisted the controls, banking the Mecha Giratina around. "I'd rather have the moves, though perhaps Giratina will realize once she sees what I'm doing that it's only right for me to do what I do… perhaps she'll even realize it's right for me to rule the Reverse World."
Something caught his eye on one of the screens, and he saw a group of Pokémon heading his way – a Sky Form Shaymin, Giratina, that strange reddish Pokémon, Ash Ketchum, the Latias, and a Garchomp along with two smaller Flying-types. Both human trainers were along as well, one riding on the Garchomp and the other on Giratina, and Zero frowned slightly as he thought.
Then he twisted the Mecha Giratina through a turn, and tore open a portal to the real world – closing it behind him.
"He's escaped into the real world!" Ash said. "We have to follow him, right?"
He was flying alongside the others, keeping up with his sibling who was the slowest of the group and setting the pace, and glanced at her. "Is that something you can help us do?"
"Once I open a portal I'll end up switching to my altered state," Giratina replied. "I won't be able to fly even this fast… unless you can help? I don't know how much you can do, Ash."
She returned his gaze. "I'm actually surprised you have Plates of your own."
"This one's a Gym Badge," Ash explained. "I've got ten Badges which work for this, and then three other things I won in different ways which act like they do. Uh…"
He looked down at Unown. "I don't know how my Frontier Symbol abilities work… do you think I could keep Giratina in her faster form?"
"Evaluating," Unown declared. "Whether you would be able to do this at the same time as using a Plate is unclear."
"I guess it'd be pretty bad if doing it meant I stopped flying…" Ash admitted. "Uh…"
"I could help," Latias volunteered. "I can carry you, Ash – if that's okay?"
"Yeah!" Ash agreed, and Latias swooped in to take hold of the upper sections of Ash's ring.
It felt weird being suspended by it, but it meant he didn't fall, and combined with Koraidon getting a tow from Staravia and Swellow it meant they were all airborne at once as Ash switched to his Frontier Symbol.
He concentrated, trying to fix Giratina's current form in his mind so he could make sure she didn't change. It didn't seem to work at first, then he thought about how what he wanted was like Giratina being able to carry around a little bit of the Reverse World with her.
For a moment, there was a kind of glow, and Giratina gasped.
"That's like when Volo-" she began, then stopped. "I think that's working. Everyone hold on!"
Giratina's power flared, and she sliced open a hole in space. They all appeared into the real world at once, and for a moment Dawn tensed.
Then she relaxed. "Good," she said. "Looks like it's working, Ash!"
"I'd love to see your other form, but later," Cynthia decided. "Where's Zero gone?"
"Over there!" Pikachu said, pointing off to their right. "Just going into that valley!"
The group banked around, giving chase, and Ash tried not to think about how far down it was.
Latias wasn't going to drop him. He trusted her.
More than a minute later, the Mecha Giratina flashed back into the Reverse World, and Zero looked around before pointing.
"There," he said. "That looks like a close match for that last valley…"
It was an ethereally beautiful structure, a three-way matrix of a thousand stone pillars with trees growing on top of every vertical one, and a watery current flowed in endless circles around and around the bases of those same vertical pillars.
Zero turned the Mecha Giratina a little, firing an Aura Sphere, then jumped back into the sidereal world to watch as a dozen pillars exploded in a cloud of stone and splinters.
The valley he'd found boasted forested slopes and a river winding down the wide, flat centre, remnants of an ancient glacier, but when the Mecha Giratina emerged back into the real world one of the slopes was collapsing. A sudden rocky avalanche was developing, carrying trees with it, and Zero leaned forwards on his console as he took it in.
"Yes," he said. "That's the power of the Reverse World… the power everyone needs to respect-"
There was a thump as something hit the Mecha Giratina, and Zero yanked the controls over to send the Mecha Giratina into a roll. He activated Dragon Claw, swiping out, then saw that there was no sign of any Pokémon nearby.
"What hit us, Infi?" he asked, glancing from one screen to another.
"A Shaymin," Infi replied. "It may be the same Shaymin as before."
Zero shook his head. "Magnezone!" he said. "Deal with the Shaymin – knock it out! If it got here it's Flying-type, you should have the advantage."
"Zoooone," Magnezone buzzed, moving backwards through the ship.
Garchomp touched down and Cynthia sent out her Lucario, Gastrodon and Roserade before she'd even properly got off.
Latias dropped Ash off, as well, and the moment Giratina was close to the ground Ash switched from his Frontier Symbol amulet to his Mind Badge.
Giratina changed form, landing on six legs as they formed, and Dawn sent out much of her own team. Then Ash's focus was on the landslide, rushing downhill and destroying the forest, and his ring glowed with reddish-pink light as he tried to stop it.
He could lift his Pokéballs, and he was supposed to be… strong, if he really needed to be. This was a lot more stuff, heavy rocks sliding downhill, but it was just more things… and he needed to stop it.
He had to stop it.
A glow spread out, and Ash stayed as focused as he could be, barely noticing the flash and crackle as Pokémon attacked the landslide to try and slow it down – to erase the momentum it had, and make sure that it wouldn't hurt the Pokémon here. Garchomp using Stone Edge and forcing rocks back up at it, Koraidon charging forwards in a Collision Course to clear a space around them, Pikachu using Thunderbolt and Samurott using Waterfall and Grotle using Earth Power.
Unown was using Gravity, without being prompted, and that was slowing it down as well, but Ash wasn't sure if that was going to be enough.
It needed to be enough.
Then he felt a sudden extra surge of strength, from someone so familiar these days that he recognized her instantly. Latias combined her own psychic power with Ash's, and the slide slowed… slowed… and stopped.
His head ached, but he didn't want to let it just collapse all over again. Ash relaxed… slowly… and the ache in his head got worse, until he was feeling wobbly and Koraidon came trotting back down the slope.
"Are you okay, dad?" she asked, worried. "You look like you're about to fall over…"
"I can't," Ash replied, tensing. "We still need to stop Zero."
He looked up, but the weird fighter had just ripped open a portal back to the Reverse World. Ash could see a white-green blur and a steely shape fighting on one of the wings of the fighter, lightning crackling from an attack, then the fighter vanished through the portal and they lost sight of it.
"I'll get us back into-" Giratina began, but she didn't finish her sentence. Only a few seconds later, another portal appeared.
Zero's fighter rematerialized in a big explosion of green smoke and light less than forty feet from a ridgeline, and the wing clipped the crest as it tried to evade. One whole half of the fighter came off in a crash, then an ejector seat fired off, and the Mecha Giratina fell apart.
"Latias, Swellow, catch-!" Ash began, and he didn't have to say anything more. Latias vanished in a golden flash of light as she teleported, reappearing next to the largest bit of the fighter and catching it, and Swellow used his Extremespeed to blur upwards to help out. Cynthia's Garchomp rocketed into the sky as well, then a parachute opened overhead, and Ash sank back onto his haunches.
"What just happened?" Koraidon asked. "Why did he do that?"
"He didn't," Pikachu replied. "That was Shaymin – she can't make portals into the Reverse World, but she can make them out."
"She did really well," Ash agreed. "I guess that parachute must be Zero… I wonder if there was anyone else on board?"
Between Swellow and Garchomp, the Magnemite, Magneton and Magnezone that Zero had brought with him on the Mecha Giratina were quickly defeated or forced to surrender. Latias brought down the disintegrated bits of the fighter, as well, including a machine intelligence who quietly but firmly professed her loyalty to Zero, and by the time Zero himself landed Cynthia and her Roserade and Lucario were waiting for him.
"So, first question," the Champion said. "...why?"
"Why what?" Zero replied.
"I thought it was obvious, honestly," Cynthia said. "But, if you want specifics… why did you destroy part of the Reverse World?"
"Because I am the king of the Reverse World," Zero answered. "I alone understand it, and how it has been so terribly wounded by the corruption humans have forced upon it."
Giratina rumbled.
"But that doesn't even make sense!" Dawn protested. "So you were damaging the Reverse World to punish this world for damaging the Reverse World?"
Zero shook his head.
"You may try to make it seem like I'm in the wrong, but you won't get anywhere," he said. "The simple fact is that I'm the one who's in the right. I was doing what was necessary, and any damage is justified."
"It's not!" Ash said, hotly. "That's not what it means – I-"
He took a deep breath, then exhaled, but it only banked the fury he was feeling – driven by heart-stopping fear that he was about to see one of his siblings killed in front of him, and by what he was hearing.
"What you were doing wasn't necessary," he said. "You're acting like it was, like it was the most important thing in the world, but what you were trying to do wasn't that important, and… and if you think it is, then you still don't get to make decisions like that for everyone else."
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Zero replied.
"Then try to explain it in a way that makes people understand!" Ash said. "But even then, you just… turned up, and decided that you knew better than Giratina about her world. She's been living there since the world was created, and you haven't been, and – it's hers!"
Ash's voice caught. "And you nearly… and you don't even care, do you?"
"Of course I care," Zero said. "It would have been a shame if Giratina had to die."
Ash trembled, not sure what he was going to say and not trusting himself to speak properly.
"You don't believe that, do you?" Dawn asked Zero. "Not really. It's… something you're telling yourself, because it's the sort of thing someone's supposed to think if they're the kind of person you've decided you are."
She frowned. "There's someone I met once, who… well, they were different to you, but they hated the world. They thought everything about it was wrong, and they wanted to fix it. But that's not because there was something wrong with the world, it's because there was something wrong with them. They needed help… and they got it, but it was something they really did need."
"I don't know if you're talking about me, or about Volo," Giratina said, softly.
"Master," Infi began, getting Zero's attention. "Based on available information, I believe they are correct."
"You're supposed to be on my side," Zero said.
"I am," Infi replied. "I am merely giving you advice. Ignore it if you wish."
Zero looked unsure.
"What will you do, if I tell you to help me do what I was already planning to do?" he asked.
"I will help you in every way I can," Infi replied. "Although it is likely that you will be arrested, so that will not be very much."
Zero paused for several seconds, then sighed.
"Everything I tried to do has fallen apart," he said. "Maybe… I will see what others have to say about it."
AN:
An actual action scene in a movie! I know, it's surprising.