"Team Galactic… Their leader tried to use Eternity and Astra's power back then didn't he?" Mari asked.
"If you mean Dialga and Palkia… Then yes, he did. He tried to reshape all of reality into his own image and create a new world." David said.
"Yeesh… Sounds like someone very dangerous." Takeshi said.
"Yeah, I got that vibe from him when I fought him during Rainbow Rocket's attack." Mayumi said. "Actually, I didn't really get anything from him. No emotion, no motive, it was like…talking to an endless dark void. Either way, he'll more than likely have Palkia with him. Maybe even Dialga as well."
"Dude, Shadow Dialga & Shadow Palkia?!" ZS exclaimed in mortal dread. "Forget a Pokémon battle, we wouldn't be able to get near the guy without getting time-and-space crushed!"
"So what is the radar showing for Team Galactic?" Jexi asked.
"Hmm…looks like there's been movements in three different areas. Occupations in Snowpoint City, Twinleaf Town and Pastoria City." Jet said.
"Weird…why would he….The Lake Trio!" David realized, the Eds flinching at the declaration.
"Right. Those lakes are the closest to those cities." Perfuma pointed out.
"Then we have to stop them." Bardock said. "Here's what we'll do: we'll divide into strike teams, two trainers each. Nobody's been to Sinnoh before, so we'll be going into unknown territory."
"Technically, there was Hisui-" Scarlet started to point out.
"Not important right now." Barodock interrupted sharply. "Anyway…it's likely they already have the Lake Trio, so we'll have to focus on liberating the areas."
"Uh…guys, I wanna say something. I think me and uh…my guys…should…go to each lake." Eddy said.
"Huh? Eddy, are you sure?" Mark asked. "You're not even trainers, and Team Galactic is dangerous. Why would you want to go?"
Eddy was silent, darting his eyes to Adora. "Uh…you tell 'em. They'll believe you." he said to her.
"While they were watching me catch Ho-Oh in Paldea, the Eds had an encounter with the Lake Trio." Adora said, surprising the group. "They said that they felt that connection…the kind between a person and their Perfect Link."
"Wait, them? Linking with the Lake Trio?" Denki said, clearly not believing it. "I mean, don't get me wrong, they…try, but…"
"Well, when you think about it, it does kind of make sense." Makoto said. "The Eds do kinda have values that connect them to each of the three."
"Makoto's right." Mark spoke up. "Ed tends to think with his heart more than his brain. Not stupid, but…more emotional. Like Mespirit. Double D…he's a thinker. He's got plenty of brains up there, knowledgeable like Uxie. And Eddy…no matter how many times his scams failed, he never gave up on his goals to fit in. And when he fought his brother when we first met, even though he was terrified of him, he didn't back down and saved Peach Creek. He's got more than enough willpower to be Azelf's Link."
"Mark…c'mon, bro, don't make us cry like this…" Eddy hiccupped as he rubbed his eyes. "Right…what he said. So…yeah, we should go. To…make it official."
"...Yeah, okay. You can go to the lakes." Mark said. "But just to be safe…you should have a Champion-level trainer go with each of you."
"I doubt they need that high a level to…" Jexi said.
"I'll go to Lake Valor with Eddy." Ash K said.
"I'll take Lake Acuity with Double D." Kieran added.
"Oh, oh! That leaves me and Ed with Lake Verity!" Nemona finished the trio of volunteers.
"Okay…you three do your best then." Jexi said as the three teams of two departed.
"So…why did you…" Eddy asked.
"Cause I want to help. Also, I actually met Azelf during my Sinnoh campaign." Ash K said.
"Seriously?" Eddy asked.
"Oh yeah. I helped save it from Team Galactic the first time around…and I won't let them do what they want with it again." Ash K said.
"Heh, now we're talking!" Eddy smiled. "Pastoria City, here we come!"
The two arrived in Pastoria City where Team Galactic grunts were busy trying to bar all of the citizens within the city to keep them from leaving.
"They're holin' everybody up inside the city!" Eddy said. "Think they got the Gym Leader on their side, too?"
"Somehow I doubt it….oh." Ash K said as they saw a large man in a wrestler's mask battling down a few grunts with a Floatzel by his side. "Yep. There's Crasher Wake."
"So he's a Gym Leader, and a wrestler? Huh…talk about multi-talented." Eddy quipped. "Well, what's the plan, World Champion?"
"Hmm…I don't see any admin's around…wait…that means…I don't think they've captured Azelf yet." Ash K said.
"Really?! Well, what're we waitin' for!?" Eddy said, as he went off running to Lake Valor.
"Hey, wait!" Ash K said as he ran after Eddy as they both headed to Lake Valor. The two made it to the shore of the lake as Eddy prepared to jump in. "Eddy, hold on!"
"It's fine, I learned how to swim!" Eddy assured as he leaped into the lake.
"There's no way he has enough air…I should-" Ash K started to say before…
*BOOM!*
The lake suddenly exploded in front of him, launching him back. When the World Champion got back to his feet, he saw the lake had been cleared by the blast, Magikarp flopping around inside the hole that remained. Also in the whole was Eddy, covered in soot and dirt.
"Ow…I don't know what just happened but…I didn't do it!" Eddy said as he coughed.
"No…it was him." Ash K said as they saw a man with pointed blue hair entering the cave. "Saturn."
"He's an Admin?" Eddy asked, getting a nod of affirmation. "Right…gotta stop him!" he said, leaping up and chasing after the man.
"Eddy, wait! Saturn's dangerous, and you don't have any Pokémon!" Ash K said following him.
"He and his weird haircut dont scare me!" Eddy said. "I beat the Leviathan on the Moon, I can take this weirdo!"
The trainer and the former scammer entered Lake Valor's cave, just in time to interrupt Saturn before he could do anything.
"Hmm? Oh…so you must be one of the pests those people from Cipher warned us about. Seems now is a perfect chance to do a little extermination." Saturn said as he sent out Toxicroak, a dark aura seeping from it.
Right Hand of the Crusader
Saturn
"He used the Shadow Drug on his own Toxicroak?!" Ash K asked.
"A wondrous concoction, isn't it? Now we in Team Galactic have obtained power enough to finally help Master Cyrus achieve his new goal…seeping all of Sinnoh into darkness." Saturn said.
"Yeah…not gonna happen." Eddy said. "Ain't no way you're sayin' that all willing or whatever."
"Hmm…you aren't going to…I see…you don't have any Pokemon…do you…little runt?" Saturn said to Eddy.
"I don't need one to take you on!" Eddy said, putting up his fists.
"Is that so?" Saturn asked. "In that case…Shadow Break."
The Shadow Toxicroak attempted to ram the younger boy, only for Eddy to dodge out of the way, firing a Ki shot into the Pokémon's back. "If you Cipher puppets ain't playin' by the rules, then neither should we, right?" he taunted.
"Tch. Shadow Panic." Saturn commanded as a shadowy aura blanketed the area.
"Hey, what's going…on…oh boy…" Eddy realized too late as his mind became confused. "Uh…need help here…I think…!"
"Infernape! Knock some sense into him!" Ash K said sending out Infernape as he went and punched the scammer right in the face to knock some sense back into him.
"First off: Ow! Second…thanks, I needed that." Eddy rubbed and shook his face. "Right, now where were we? Oh yeah!" he snapped his fingers, dashing towards Toxicroak and punching her in the stomach, then her face. "I ain't close to done yet! Can't say the same for you!"
Just then, the aura around Toxicroak turned from purple to a raging red as it glared at Eddy before firing out Poison Sting attacks at him. "What's going on?"
"I dunno!" Ash K said. "Infernape, Fire Punch!" he said as Infernape went on interference against Toxicroak.
"Took too much time having fun…I gotta end this now!" Eddy said as he activated Kai0-ken x5 and raced forward, charging a Ki attack. "Get outta way, Fire Goku!"
Infernape jumped out of the way as Eddy got right in Toxicroak's face, letting loose a stream of Ki from his off hand, causing enough damage to make it swagger. "Hey, Ashy Boy! Snag 'em now!" he called out to the Trainer. "We'll give 'em back later, when they're both in the right mind!"
Ash looked at his Snag Machine, before smiling at Eddy. "No, I think you should do it."
"Me?"
"Yeah! It's your first Pokémon capture, and you came here to make a Perfect Link with Azelf right?" Ash K reminded as he tossed Eddy an unactivated Pokéball..
"Alright, makes sense to me!" Eddy said, activating the Pokéball and using it to catch Toxicroak. "Yeah! I caught Toxicroak!" he declared, throwing up a peace sign, turning to Ash a moment later. "Did I say that right?"
"Like looking in a mirror!" Ash complimented.
"No…this…cannot be…" Saturn said before he took off running. As soon as he did, Azelf soon appeared out of thin air as it floated in the center of the cave.
"Whoa…it really hadn't been captured." Ash K said.
Eddy, unusually silent, shuffled towards where Azelf had descended. "Uh…hey there," Eddy said. "Don't know why you chose me…or if I'm a good pick or whatever, but…I'm willing to try." he said, extending a hand.
Azelf just stared at the boy for a bit before extending a paw as it took the boy's hand.
"I think Azelf just said yes." Ash K said.
Meanwhile, with Ed and Nemona at Lake Verity...
"Oh yeah! This is so epic!" Nemona said as she and Pawmot were battling off the Team Galactic grunts.
Meanwhile, Ed ran to the lake, jumped in, swam across to the entrance to the cavern, then ran inside. "I win, I win!" he cheered. "Perfect Link!"
"Hey, wait for me, Ed!" Nemona said as she crossed the lake with help from Milotic. "You can't just run in or…" she said as they saw a girl with red pointed hair inside.
"Sorry, I was here first." she said as she sent out a Shadow Purugly.
"I know you!" Ed seemed to recognize the woman. "You are a Team Galactic Administrator!"
"That's right. My name is Mars, and on Master Cyrus' ordes, Mespirit is-"
"You will not abduct Mespirit, foul planet-named alien!" Ed declared.
"...Excuse me?"
"Oh, I get it!" Nemona smacked her palm with her fist. "Ed thinks you're an alien because your call sign is "Mars"! Hahaha! That's hilarious!"
"Grrr…I will not stand here and be made fun of by a couple of idiots!" Mars called out.
Hotheaded as the Red Planet
Mars
"Purugly, punish them both with Shadow Rush!" Mars said as Purugly went on a mad charge as it rammed into Ed, but was shocked to find the lump barely moving an inch. "What?"
"Wow, you're tougher than I thought, Ed!" Nemona praised.
"This weren't nothing. Now…it's my turn!" Ed said as he picked the Pokémon up and spun her around by the tail, throwing them back towards Mars.
"Wait, you can't just-!" Mars declared before her Shadow Pokémon crashed into her, knocking them both down. "Ugh…"
"You have been a bad alien lady! You have lost your Shadow Pokémon privileges!" Ed scolded as he used a Pokéball to capture Shadow Purugly.
"I didnt even get to do anything, he just bulldozed over her!" Nemona awed. "We're definitely battling once you get a full team!"
"Okay." Ed simply replied.
It was at that moment that Mesprit came out of hiding as it looked at them with curiosity.
"Whoa… it's really here! The Emotion being, Mesprit!" Nemona said.
"Am I truly worthy for a Mythical Pokemon to call me its equal…?" Ed would wonder the same as Eddy, but in his own way. Mesprit approached Ed and tilted its head at him before smiling. This prompted Ed to grab his new Perfect Link in a hug. "We are friends now, yay! To the Galaxy King we go again!"
"Yes!" Nemona said. "Hmm, Ash and Eddy must have met Azelf by now, so I wonder how Kieran and Double D are doing?"
Good question, let's check in on them at Lake Acuity…
"Oh dear! Not good, not good!" Double D said as he was dealing with a Shadow Skuntank as Kieran had been ambushed by a number of Team Galactic grunts.
"You should quit now. I'll be taking Uxie." spoke a woman with long purple hair done in a large bun.
The Giant of Team Galactic
Jupiter
"I can't allow her to make off with Uxie! Think Edward, think!" Double D said as noticed Skuntank using Poison Gas. "Ah…that might work!" he said as he landed so that he was facing the gas. "And…Kiai!" he said, as he used the air currents to carry the poison gas to Jupiter's position.
"Oh please, I've had Skuntank for years! I'm used to Poison Gas, runt!" Jupiter said.
"Perhaps. But the thing is…that wasn't what I was counting on." Double D said, as he pulled out a matchbox, took out a match, set it aflame, and tossed it into the poison cloud in one quick motion.
"What's that gonna-?" Jupiter started to say before the gas was set aflame, covering her in flames. This gave Double D the chance to charge and knock her into the lake.
"You're quite welcome for the assistance!" Double D chuckled. "Kieran, you wouldn't happen to have-?"
"I've got one for you right here." Kieran said, tossing the shockheaded boy a Pokéball.
"I certainly won't be lacking for complaints with a Skuntank as one of my Pokémon…but I love the diversity of the moves it can learn despite it being Poison and Dark Type." Double D said as he caught the Shadow Skuntank. "Now then, shall we proceed?"
The two made their way into the cavern, where they saw Uxie floating down.
"Wowzers! So that's Uxie, the being of Knowledge!" Kieran said.
"Indeed. I must admit, I'm surprised that this is happening. I'm far from the smartest member of the team." Double D pointed out.
"Maybe…but Uxie chose you." Kieran stated as Uxie floated over to Double D.
"...Yes, I suppose they did." Double D smiled as Uxie settled and floated next to his head. "Let's rejoin the others. I'm sure Eddy and Ed have managed to succeed as well."
"All three duos reported in. The Lake trio has linked up with the Eds." Noel said. "They also caught their first Pokémon."
"Heh, I knew they could do it." Mark smiled.
"We should probably give them Starter Pokémon when they get back here." Titanica said.
"We're in the Sinnoh Region right now, maybe we could call up Ultra, see if he would be willing to part with his Sinnoh Set?" Scorpia asked.
"You do know that there is a professor here, right?" David asked. "They can easily get their starters there."
"Plus you don't always need to have a starter on your side." Jexi said.
"Yeah, I mean… Half of us don't." Cia said.
"Now we just need to link up and…." Twilight said before they heard an explosion went off. "What the…"
"That explosion…let's see…it came from Canalave City! Putting image through!" Jet said as an image came through to show Dialga lying on the broken bridge and very injured.
"It's Dialga! He's hurt bad!" Glimmer said.
"We gotta head over there." Mayumi said.
"Yeah, before Cyrus gets to him." Hope said.
"Uh…Hope…Cyrus isn't just getting to him…" Adora said as they saw Palkia hammering away as the man himself stood by and watched. "He's the one leading the attack!"
"Jet, punch it!" Miu said.
"Hang on!" Jet said as the Galaxy King rushed to Canalave City. They saw the attack taking place as Cyrus just watched without showing even a hint of emotion.
"Hmm…not going off. Dialga and Palkia aren't Shadow Pokémon." Aria said.
"So then how's Cyrus controlling Palkia?" Bow asked.
"I'm not getting any Red Chain energy readings." Entrapta said.
"Hmm…either way…we'll need to try and break these guys up." Jexi said.
However, before they could try and intervene, emerging from the shadows was a familiar ghostly dragon as it rammed into Palkia.
"It's… Giratina!" Cia said.
"But how? Wait…" Aelita said as she saw someone standing on it. "There's someone on it. I'll enhance and….ah!" she said in surprise as the one standing on Giratina was the Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia.
"Cynthia… I didn't expect her of all people to possess Giratina." Shun'ei said.
"So…she's…not infected?" Entrapta asked.
"Not everyone is going to be infected." Jexi said. "Honestly, considering her ancestor, this doesn't really shock me."
"Well, one less thing to worry about, then." David said.
"Phew, thank goodness." Mark said in relief. "Imagine if we had to battle Cynthia on top of all of this."
"Let's not." David said.
The ship quickly landed as the group departed, the medics rushing over to fix up Dialga as it lied on the ground helplessly.
"Oof… Yeah, he looks hurt pretty bad." Mayumi said. "I'm just glad we got to him in time."
"But, why was Cyrus having Palkia attack Dialga?" Glimmer said. "Cyrus' big dream was to use the two of them to create a new world, with him as its ruler. It doesn't make sense for him to want to keep one and destroy the other."
"I think he may have a new plan. Eddy reported that Saturn said that Cyrus' new goal was 'seeping all of Sinnoh into Darkness'." Adora said.
"But…wasn't Palkia…supposed to be the Shadow Pokémon that he would use?" Perfuma asked.
"I'm afraid you all are wrong." a voice said as Cyrus looked down on them from above. "You assumed I would use Dialga and Palkia to accomplish my goal. No…truth is…I do have a Shadow Pokémon, it's just not either of them."
"Okay, let's see…seeping the land into darkness, we're in the Sinnoh region, it's not Giratina…"
"No. There's only one Pokémon in the entire Sinnoh region that can shroud the entire region in darkness…" Hope said.
Rising up from the shadows came a small black creature that a number of the group already knew too well. The bringer of nightmares themselves: Darkrai. This time, a massive dark aura was surging from its small frame.
"I knew it…" Hope said.
"Finish them." Cyrus said as Darkrai started to rain down darkness across the entire city through a massive orb of shadows, the citizens running in sheer panic at this.
"Stop it!" a voice cried out as the group saw Ash K and the other teams running in.
"These people have nothing to do with this!" Kieran said.
"They are a necessary sacrifice for a new world of darkness." Cyrus said as Darkrai focused its ire on the group as it launched a massive ball of darkness right at them.
"Oh here it comes!" Sora said.
However, as the ball approached, a thin veil of light protected the group from the impact.
"Huh?" most of them said as they looked up and saw a certain lunar Pokémon floating up above with someone on its back. This Pokémon was in fact Cresselia.
"It's Cresselia!" Glimmer said.
"But who is that riding on….oh no way!" Ash K said smiling as he saw the person riding on her was Dawn. "Dawn?"
"Ash?" Dawn said. "Long time no see! Kind of wished we met again under better circumstances."
"I'll say, but where did you get that Cresselia?" Ash K asked.
"Funny story, I actually ended up bonding with it on Full Moon Island." Dawn said.
"The Pokémon of dreams… the balance to Darkrai…" Cyrus said. "You won't get in my way. I will see our ambitions fulfilled!" he said.
"That's Cipher talking, and you know it, ya downer!" Eddy retorted.
"Eddy, he's not gonna listen. He's like a machine." Hope said.
"Then I believe it's time for a touch of physical maintenance!" Double D said, as the three Eds got ready. "We stand no chance against Palkia, but Darkrai, on the other hand, is well within our reach!"
"To the underworld with fear! Lothar fears nothing!" Ed declared.
"We're right here, Cyrus! You wanna do this right now?" Eddy demanded. "Cause we're not gonna let you have your way!"
"We will see. Darkrai…Shadow Dark Void!" Cyrus commanded as Darkrai started to rain down orbs of darkness across the city, anyone hit with them falling into a horrible nightmare.
"Now's a good time to get started! Come on out, guys!" Eddy said as the Lake Trio emerged as floated by their chosen links. "Let's see if this works…Burst!"
Light surrounded the Eds forms as they fused with their partners; their physical forms did not change, but auras of pink, yellow, and blue surrounded them.
"Oooh, pretty colors, Eddy!" Ed said.
"Hmm… I suppose our Burst forms are simpler than most." Double D said.
"They'll do." Eddy said. "Let's get that Shadow!" he said as the three charged Cyrus and Shadow Darkrai.
Leader of Team Galactic, Cipher Executive of the Sinnoh Region
Cyrus & Shadow Darkrai
(Cue: Team Galactic Boss Battle Music - Pokémon Diamond/Pearl)
"Shadow Rave." Cyrus ordered as Shadow Darkrai launched shadow spikes from the ground, nearly skewering the trio of boys, who thankfully dodged in time. Double D unleashed Swift after Swift, while Ed stuck to Physical moves like Psycho Cut and Iron Tail. Eddy, in the meantime, seemed to be sticking solely to punching the Shadow Pokémon, which seemed to have little effect besides pushing it towards where it had fired Dark Void.
"Your attempt is doomed to fail." Cyrus said emotionlessly.
"...Yeah, you're right." Eddy said. "I just had to get this fight close enough to the people you hit so I can do this! Uproar!" he called.
As Eddy began to lay into Shadow Darkrai, the people put to sleep with Dark Void began to wake up, seeing the battle.
"Run! Run for your lives!" Ed called out to them, the people fleeing from the fighting.
"Not bad. They managed to undo Dark Void and evacuate the people." Scarlet remarked.
"Now they can fully focus on subduing Darkrai without any civillians getting hurt." Ace said.
"Hit 'em with the Tri Attack!" Eddy said as all three of the Eds hit as one, Shadow Darkrai getting hit by nine beams at once.
"Tch. Shadow Storm." Cyrus ordered as the Shadow Legendary whipped up a vicious tornado.
"Psychic!" the Eds said, using the combined Psychic type energy to dispel the winds.
"Dark Pulse."
"TIme to wrap this up, boys! Final move time!" Eddy said.
"Very well. We're ready when you are!" Double D promised.
"Alright. Mystical Power!" Eddy said as the three boys unleashed their links signature moves as they clashed with Shadow Darkari's power. In the end, the combined might of the Eds won out, hitting the Shadow Legendary head on, sending its health into the red. "We got it on it's last legs! All yours, guys!"
"Oh yeah…let's do this." Nemona said as she tossed the ball right at Darkrai as it was sucked right into it. The ball was twitching and shifting for a bit before it finally clicked.
"Yes! We did it!" Jexi said.
"It's over, Cyrus!" Mayumi said.
"Make it easy on yourself and surrender." Hope said.
"I don't think so." Cyrus said. "This world is incredibly flawed. The only solutions to fix it are to either remake it anew or have it become lost to the shadows."
"I can agree with the former sentiment… but destroying the world isn't the way." Hope said. "But if anyone is going to create a new world, we'll be the ones to do it."
"You think all of you can remake the world?" Cyrus asked.
"Not completely, but we can change people's lives for the better. If there really are flaws in our world, then all we have to do is work around those flaws. One little blemish does not ruin the whole thing." David said.
"I see…" Cyrus said as he turned to leave. "If that is your ideal for a new world…then by all means, pit it against ours in Cipher. In the end however, only one ideal can stand firm for the future." he said as he walked off to parts unknown.
"I know hes evil… but the way he says what he says while all cold like that is kinda cool." Merrin said.
"Can't deny that. And Dialga…is it…" David said.
"Dialga will recover. He just needs time." Chopper said.
"Okay, good. That was quite a beating he took." David said.
"I had no idea Pokémon were capable of such incredible power." Merrin said.
"Makes you think about going on a journey of your own?" Mayumi asked.
"Perhaps someday." Merrin said.
"Well…I think we can effectively say that Team Galactic's attemptive occupation of Sinnoh has been halted." Cynthia said as she descended with Giratina.
"Right, that's two regions freed. Now we move onto Johto and-" Mark started before Jexi's phone began ringing. "...Putting that on hold for now."
"Hmm…actually, it does look like Johto needs us now." Jexi said.
"Team Rocket?" Ash K asked.
"Yeah. They've taken a lot of the major cities hostage and their big bosses are held up inside of a radio broadcast station." Jexi said.
"The Radio Station at Goldenrod City." Yoko said.
"Yeah…so we need to bounce ASAP now." Jexi said.
"No time to waste then. Let us hurry." Francisca said.
"Sorry we didn't catch up. But hopefully, there'll be time after all this is over!" Ash K called out.
"I know there will!" Dawn called out.
"You two are really close, aren't you?" Hope asked.
"Dawn and I traveled the Sinnoh region together awhile back. She's one of the many people I'm proud to call a friend." Ash K said.
"You can tell us the story later. Right now we gotta go!" Emo pointed out.
The battle against Team Galactic had ended, but the battle against Team Rocket has only just begun. The Johto region now awaits, just what sort of plans do Giovanni and the 4 Team Rocket Executives have in store?