Although the gods scoffed at Alaric's talk of other worlds, the existence of this bizarre space was undeniable proof that, even for gods, there were truths beyond their understanding.
So then, however slim the possibility, who could truly deny the existence of other worlds?
Meeting the doubtful gazes of the assembled gods, Alaric only shook his head.
"It seems that your long reign as gods has blinded you with arrogance.
Very well, let me show you this world… no, the truth of the myriad worlds that exist within the Sea of Chaos."
As he spoke, he extended his hand. A vortex of space immediately swirled into being before him.
"Now then, let us see… which opponent shall you face first?"
From the vortex dropped two red-and-white spheres into his palm.
Poke Balls.
Alaric glanced at the sealed beings within them, and a satisfied smile touched his lips.
"Ah, so it's them," he murmured, before hurling the spheres forward. "In that case, it's decided! Palkia, Dialga!"
The Poke Balls shot from his hand.
Zeus assumed they were some strange weapons and braced to intercept them, but before the spheres traveled far, they opened of their own accord.
Two beams of crimson light burst forth, coalescing into immense forms. The gods beheld two monstrous dragons of terrifying presence.
One was a bipedal dragon with a pale violet body striped in deep purple-black.
Discs with violet markings jutted from its shoulders, each set with a pearl encircled by gray rings, within those pearls, faint patterns of flowing time could be glimpsed.
The other was a quadrupedal dragon of deep indigo, traced with pale blue lines.
Fins like those of a fish rose from its back, a crown sat upon its head, and metallic plating reinforced its torso.
At the center of its chest gleamed a diamond, within which the shifting of space itself seemed to swirl.
They were none other than the gods of time and space from the Pokemon world: Palkia and Dialga.
Of course, these were not the true deities themselves, but replicas conjured through Alaric's Reality Marble.
Yet even as imitations, they possessed most of their originals' power, imbued with temporary intellect, indistinguishable, for now, from the true gods.
"Now, let these so-called gods witness the might of another world, Spacial Rend! Roar of Time!"
At Alaric's command, the two divine beasts roared. From their maws erupted torrents of power, time and space themselves unleashed, striking the gathered gods in an instant.
Where Spacial Rend passed, the very fabric of space shattered. The force of Roar of Time plunged everything into chaotic temporal flux.
This was no ordinary magic of time and space. It was the raw dominion of gods over those concepts, impossible for even deities to resist.
Caught within such an assault, most gods would be either slain outright or gravely wounded.
Zeus had no choice but to step forward. As the mightiest among the Olympians, he would not allow his fellow gods to be wiped out in a single strike, for then they would have no strength left to face the sorcerer before them.
He had to block it.
"Aegis!"
Zeus roared, and a brilliant golden shield appeared upon his arm.
This artifact was wrought from the hide of Amalthea, the divine she-goat. Though forged of goatskin, it held the power to repel all evil and disaster.
Even Zeus's own thunderbolts could not mar it.
The Roar of Time crashed into the shield.
Temporal chaos surged, dragging the artifact through cycles of destruction and rebirth, threatening even to erase it back to a state before its creation.
Yet Aegis was the supreme defensive relic of the Greek pantheon. With Zeus's strength behind it, he managed to withstand the onslaught.
On the other side, Spacial Rend tore toward Poseidon.
The sea god, second only to Zeus in might, had no shield of such defense, only his trident.
Forced into a corner, he thrust it and summoned an endless tide, attempting to hold back the rending space.
But against such a power, his waves were as feeble as drops in an ocean. He could only meet quality with quantity, pouring forth infinite waters to patch the shattered void.
Yet even this was not the full might of the two beasts.
Seeing the dragons poised for further destruction, Zeus could only cry for aid.
"Hades! Use the power of death, slay them!"
Against such dreadful divine monsters, brute force was folly. The swiftest path was to obliterate their very souls.
The black-robed Hades stepped forth. He raised his scythe of death, donned his Helm of Invisibility, and vanished without a trace.
As a relic, the Helm's concealment was beyond ordinary detection.
"You think you alone have allies?"
Alaric laughed, summoning another Poke Ball to hand. Without hesitation, he cast it forward.
"Go, Giratina, hunt down that sneaky rat!"
From the ball emerged yet another massive dragon. Its body was gray, marked by bands of red and black, golden half-rings arching from its neck and spine.
Shadowy wings like those of a phantom unfurled from its back, tipped with crimson claws. Six thick legs carried its terrifying form.
Like Hades himself, Giratina was a lord of the underworld, sovereign of the Reverse World.
Hades' invisibility might fool others, but it could never elude Giratina, who perceived truth through the mirrored realm.
"Giratina! Shadow Force!"
At Alaric's command, the Renegade Dragon dissolved into deathly shadow, lunging at the hidden god of the underworld.
Death clashed with death.
"Damn it! How many of these monsters does he have!?" Zeus cursed, still struggling against Dialga's power.
Gritting his teeth, he barked orders to the others. "While we hold these beasts, strike down their master!"
The fastest Hermes sped forth, joined by the war-mad Ares and the golden-bowed Apollo.
But even as they closed in, Alaric remained calm.
"Pointless," he said, shaking his head. "You've no idea how many trump cards I hold. Then… I'll use this to face you. It's my turn, draw!"
Three cards appeared before him.
"Not bad," Alaric smiled as he looked them over.
"Now, face your true enemies, when thunder roars in heaven's chaos, when the chains of the ancient Grimoire bind infinity, arise! Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
He played the first card. From it surged a primal aura, and a crimson dragon of titanic size spread its wings, hundreds of meters long, blocking Hermes in his tracks.
But Alaric wasn't finished. He played the second card.
"By the hymn of spirit, by the ancient force that rules all things, life, soul, even bone, descend upon this world! The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
From the card blazed forth a golden colossus, a dragon cloaked in radiant armor, its beak like that of an eagle, its body shining like the very sun.
It faced Apollo, a god whose own aura mirrored its own brilliance.
And still Alaric continued.
"When it comes, a scorching gale scours the earth, life turns to corpses, and doom befalls the world. Appear! Obelisk the Tormentor!"
The third manifestation was not a dragon, but a colossal warrior, clad in blue armor with mighty wings upon its back. It planted itself firmly in Ares's path.
Thus the three gods each met an opponent like unto a god in its own right.