All the viewers watching the light screen held their breath—
Terrified that even their breathing might disturb the events unfolding within the projection.
But—
Wasn't the story supposed to go the way where Ash, carrying everyone's hopes, saved Alamos Town?
Why was it turning out like this!?
Just then—
A black silhouette flashed by and instantly appeared behind Ash and Garchomp.
It was Darkrai!
Facing Dialga's attack,
it spread its arms wide—
using its own body to withstand the Roar of Time!
This was the simplest method Darkrai could think of.
In terms of speed,
Darkrai was faster than Palkia.
Not that the God of Space was slow—
but over short distances,
Darkrai held the advantage.
Facing the star-river-like Roar of Time, Darkrai's sapphire eyes were filled with resolve.
Perhaps—
its time had come.
Its life should have ended a hundred years ago on that afternoon, anyway.
"Ash… you must save Alamos Town."
The moment those words fell,
Darkrai's entire body was swallowed by Dialga's Roar of Time.
In an instant—
a blinding white light engulfed the tip of the Space-Time Tower,
as though everything—
absolutely everything—was ending at this moment!
"Darkrai! NO!"
The explosive shockwave slammed into Ash.
The violent surge of energy was enough to make him despair.
Yet even so,
as the blast faded away, Darkrai still used its last strength to speak to Ash.
"Go… now! You must… succeed…"
Even as it dissipated,
Darkrai did not forget its final request.
"I definitely will!"
Tears instantly welled up in Ash's eyes.
Stubborn as always, he wiped them away with both hands.
He spun his cap backward,
then said to the Garchomp beneath him:
"Let's go! We can't let Darkrai down!"
Sensing Ash's determination—and Darkrai's—
Garchomp roared and surged forward, pouring all its power into its flight toward the tower spire.
However—
Trouble always follows.
With Darkrai gone,
Palkia now faced Dialga alone and immediately fell into disadvantage.
Thankfully, standing on its shoulder was the woman who reigned at the very peak of Sinnoh.
Under Cynthia's command,
Palkia barely managed to stall Dialga at full power.
But even then—
most of the time, Palkia was forced to dodge.
And as a result,
it couldn't properly intercept Dialga's attacks.
The leftover blasts only accelerated the rate at which spacetime energy devoured Alamos Town.
In just a few minutes,
everything—including the Space-Time Tower—was being consumed.
All residents had gathered on the plaza beneath the tower.
Watching the creeping tide of spacetime distortion,
every face was drowned in despair.
"Are we… going to die?"
"Daddy, I'm scared!"
"Jessie, we shouldn't have come here for Pikachu!"
"I don't wanna die, meow~!"
"…"
Despair spread like poison.
The two gods battling in the sky made it hard to breathe.
Even the woman standing at the top of Sinnoh couldn't calm the crowd.
At that moment—
Albert spotted Ash rising on Garchomp's back.
To his memory, this kid seemed ordinary.
Yet here he was—standing up in humanity's bleakest moment.
Even if he didn't know the details,
Albert could guess Ash's goal was the top of the Space-Time Tower.
Was that… the key to saving everything?
But Alamos Town was already in ruins.
Could it really be saved?
"Kid… you'd better do it!"
"Please! Please reach the top! I don't wanna die! Meow~!"
Albert shot a strange look at the self-proclaimed reporter trio.
They seemed very familiar with the boy on Garchomp.
Could he… really save the world?
Curiosity and sheer survival instinct pushed Albert to ask them directly.
Their answer was a firm YES.
They told him—
Ash was someone capable of miracles.
He had already saved the world once before!
Hearing this,
Albert lifted his gaze to the blue streak cutting across the sky.
Perhaps that streak… was hope.
"Everyone! I am Baron Albert! Our town faces an unprecedented crisis!
But even now, that child refuses to give up—so why should we sit here waiting for death!?
Everyone! Fight back!
If a child has the courage—we cannot lack it!
Even if we die, we die on our feet!"
The chat scrolled rapidly—
[Alice: I didn't expect you had this side to you. I really underestimated you before.]
[Gardenia: Now that's what a Sinnoh man should be like. I couldn't stand the way you were before.]
[Flint: Exactly! A real man should step up!]
[Lance: Suffering a little loss is good for you. Look how much better Albert is after that setback.]
[Caitlin: Ash is still the impressive one. He actually managed to reform Albert.]
[Denji: Good thing Albert wasn't chosen by the light screen, or he'd be sweating buckets by now.]
[Tonio: He's odd, sure, but he's not bad at heart. Don't make things hard for him.]
[Alice: You're such a softie. He bullied you like that and you're still speaking up for him.]
[Tonio: We all grew up together. No need to isolate anyone.]
[Cheryl: What a pity—this kid traded all his emotional intelligence for IQ.]
Albert's final transformation was forgiven by most.
He had been arrogant, yes—
but he knew how to correct himself.
Darkrai's sacrifice,
Ash's determination—
these rekindled the light of hope in his heart.
On screen—
When Albert learned Ash was only twelve,
he truly awakened.
If even a child could give everything to save Alamos Town—
what excuse did he, Baron Albert, have?
Let them… give that child their final strength.
"Everyone! Send out your Pokémon and attack that blue monster! We must let that kid reach the top!"
The passionate cry ignited hope across the plaza.
For the boy who carried the seed of hope—
they would fight too!
"Go! Infernape—Flamethrower!"
"Empoleon—Ice Beam!"
"Torterra—Seed Cannon!"
"Lickilicky—Hyper Beam!"
"…"
Voices rose one after another.
This was their final cheer for Ash!
A spark can start a wildfire—
all residents and visiting Coordinators launched their attacks at a single target:
The God of Time—Dialga!
Their damage was low—
but the insult was enormous.
How could a god tolerate ants attacking it!?
Dialga raised its proud head.
Dragon-type energy gathered above it,
then rained downward in countless meteors—
Draco Meteor!
The comments section exploded again—
[Lance: Not right! Something's very wrong! It was fine just earlier—why did it suddenly turn into this!?]
[Caitlin: It's all Albert's fault! If he hadn't led the attack on Dialga, it wouldn't have gone berserk!]
[Wallace: This is goodwill twisted into disaster—they wanted to ease Ash's pressure, and ended up maxing it out!]
[Sabrina: I warned you. He's a menace. Should I just go kill him?]
[Flint: Calm down! There's still a chance! Ash will definitely turn this around!]
[Sabrina: He'd better. Otherwise I can't guarantee what I'll do.]
Lance: …
Sabrina's wrath was terrifying.
He had only just escaped her last "conversation."
If he had to go to Goldenrod again to calm her down—
Lance shuddered.
Being attacked by a Psychic on a whim—he really couldn't handle it!
Then—
[Ash: Sabrina, don't be mad. He meant well. And I will save everyone!]
[Sabrina: Since you said so, I'll spare him.]
Goldenrod City—
Sabrina, who had just stood up, sat back down.
Since Ash had spoken,
she would spare Albert.
But she was still upset.
Maybe… she should go visit Lance again?
Lance: (in despair) Why me again!?
On screen—
Standing on Palkia's shoulder, Cynthia's pupils shrank.
"Palkia! Stop it!"
She was the first to sense Dialga's anomaly—
but it was too late.
Draco Meteor launched instantly!
Meteor showers poured like world-ending doom.
Even Ash, still ascending, was caught in the shockwaves.
The Space-Time Tower was struck as well.
The once-sturdy structure tilted,
the impacted section dissolving into red particles.
"Garchomp!!"
"GAAARRR!!!"
Blue flames burst from its tail—
its final push toward the tower top.
But now the spire was tilting.
Would they make it!?
"Faster, Garchomp! Leave the rest to me and Pikachu!"
Ash stared at the tilting spire,
his eyes filled with the same resolve Darkrai had shown.
A blue streak cut across the sky—
Garchomp finally reached the tower top.
"Thank you, Garchomp! Go help Cynthia!"
Ash stood atop its back.
The audience froze.
There was still some distance to the tower top—
Was Ash crazy?
Why didn't Garchomp just land!?
Then they noticed—
the balloon-landing platform had been destroyed.
The only entrance left
was a human-sized doorway.
Even Cynthia's Garchomp would need time to break in.
But still—couldn't Ash have Garchomp hover at the edge?
"GAAARRR!!"
Garchomp thought the same—
it didn't understand Ash's plan.
"There's no time!"
Ash looked at the expanding spacetime distortion
and at the townspeople struggling against Dialga.
Then—
"Hold tight, Pikachu!"
His voice boomed.
Ash jumped—
a full leap with meters of distance to the spire.
A Leap of Faith.
His body arced through the air—
the entire world froze as it watched.
Ash grabbed the ledge—
hauled himself inside—
And once inside,
he still turned back and gave Garchomp a thumbs-up.
The barrage of comments exploded again—
[Delia: You scared me to death!! Ash, do you think your mother's heart can take this!?]
[Professor Oak: Delia, are you all right? If you feel unwell, say so—we have a fully equipped lab!]
[Flint: That's Master Ash for you! Ordinary people don't have this kind of courage! Even Crystal Cavern in the Tree of Life wasn't this dangerous!]
[Mustard: Good disciple! Ash, come to the Isle of Armor sometime! My Invisible Fist martial arts await your inheritance!]
[Ash: It wasn't that amazing, I just had to act in that moment!]
[Mustard: Precisely because you chose by instinct, it proves your character!
You are the Chosen One—the only one! The strongest martial arts prodigy of this era!
Even if you won't acknowledge me as your master, I'll still pass the martial arts legacy to you!]
Galar, Isle of Armor—
Mustard sipped his tea in melancholy.
In this fading age of martial arts,
a leader like Ash was the last hope for revival.
What can be passed on is martial arts.
What cannot… is dross.
Thinking of Leon—
his talent as Champion was superb,
but his talent in martial arts was nonexistent.
Mustard's heart ached.
He gave Galar a Champion,
but martial arts…
he failed.
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