Palkia swept its arms outward.
Countless magenta lights rippled in all directions!
The spacetime force that had been swallowing Alamos Town—
Stopped.
Then—
The town that had been floating in a twisted dimensional rift distorted once more,
And in the blink of an eye,
Alamos Town returned to its rightful place.
Even the areas consumed by the anomaly
Restored themselves completely.
When the townsfolk saw the familiar blue sky again,
They burst into tears and embraced one another.
They were alive.
Team Rocket collapsed to the ground without dignity—
Just one step away, and they would've vanished from the world entirely.
Palkia was surprisingly considerate.
Not only did it restore Alamos Town,
It even gathered the remnants of Dialga's temporal power left behind—
And used them for one purpose:
To travel back in time
And return someone who should have disappeared
To the present.
Blue sky.
White clouds.
The towering Space-Time Tower.
Everything was as it once was.
When all was done,
Palkia lowered Ash gently onto the plaza,
Nodded in acknowledgment—
And vanished.
But before it left,
A voice echoed in Ash's mind:
"If you ever have need, call my name.
I am Palkia."
After Palkia disappeared,
Dawn and the others finally found Ash.
Seeing him unharmed,
The weight in their hearts lifted at last.
The group stood together on the bridge overlooking Alamos Town.
Seeing everything restored,
Warm smiles appeared one by one.
Everyone was safe.
That was enough.
But Darkrai…
Darkrai could no longer return to the park it once guarded.
The atmosphere grew somber.
"Darkrai…"
Ash whispered, staring at the shadow cast by the sunlight.
If Darkrai hadn't shielded him from that Roar of Time,
It might still be alive…
Then—
Ash noticed movement on the cliffside.
The silhouette had… changed.
At the top of the shadow—
A familiar figure fluttered gently in the wind.
That shape.
That form.
Ash didn't need to think—
He knew who it was.
The Pitch-Black Pokémon—
Darkrai.
"It's alive… Darkrai is still alive!"
The knot in his heart loosened completely—
Smiles bloomed across everyone's faces.
Everything had ended.
Alamos Town was saved.
And even Darkrai, thought to be gone forever, returned.
The final images on the screen showed—
Dawn participating in the Alamos Town Contest,
Her dress elegant, her expression full of spirit,
Her teamwork with Piplup perfect as ever.
And finally—
Under the trees in the park,
Ash pulled his cap down over his face,
With Darkrai floating quietly beside him.
— END!
A line of text appeared on the light screen:
[The "Showdown at the Space-Time Tower" recap has concluded]
[A Q&A segment will begin in five minutes. Theme: "Belief." Please answer based on the recap.]
As the words faded,
The screen turned dark—
But excitement shot through everyone.
The Q&A segment!
The entire world had been waiting for it.
Anyone who answered correctly
Could obtain rewards powerful enough to reshape their entire career.
Just look at Lance's "Flying-Type Mastery,"
Or Cynthia's "Bond Transformation."
No ordinary power compared.
And this time, the theme was even revealed upfront—
It was basically lowering the difficulty!
The chat scrolled rapidly—
[Sabrina: Damn it! What Palkia said was my line!]
[Bruno: It's here, it's here! I'm definitely getting first place this time!]
[Lorelei: Give it a rest. You grab the answer every time and haven't gotten one right yet.]
[Bruno: What kind of talk is that!? I want to see my lawyer!]
[Flint: I've already decided! This time I'm giving my Infernape a bomb-style afro just like mine!]
(While everyone else is thinking about getting stronger, you're thinking about being alternative?)
[Steven: "Belief," huh… could refer to Ash or Darkrai.]
[Wallace: Probably Darkrai. Guarding a town alone for a century… that belief is moving.]
[Jessie: No, no, no! When it comes to belief, Baron Lickitung is the strongest! He believed from start to finish that Darkrai was evil!]
[Flint: …She kind of has a point?]
[Volkner: Don't listen to her. There's no way the answer is Albert. It's 100% Ash or Darkrai.]
[Cynthia: I also think it's Darkrai. That's the belief of one Pokémon guarding one city alone.]
Yes.
Darkrai—
A Pokémon who protected a town for a century
Because of a single promise.
If that wasn't belief,
What was?
—
[Five minutes are up. Q&A begins.]
[Theme: "Belief." Two questions total. Random audience member will be selected for each. Correct answers earn rewards.]
[First question: During its 100 years in the park, did Darkrai's belief ever waver?
— Yes or No]
[Selecting participant…]
[Ding! Selected participant: Bruno]
Audience:!!!
Free points!
This was too easy.
How could Darkrai have wavered?
If it did, it wouldn't have stayed for 100 years!
[Bruno: Hahaha, this one's in the bag! I choose—No!]
[Correct.]
[Reward granted: Aura Mastery]
[Aura Mastery: A seed of aura is planted within your body. Once awakened, your Fighting-type Pokémon will simultaneously gain aura abilities.]
Bruno exploded—
[Bruno: Holy crap! I get what I want just by thinking about it! I was planning to learn aura from Master Ash anyway—now I don't need to! If I can do it, they can too!]
[Lance: I'm insanely jealous!!]
Aura wasn't just Aura Sphere—
It meant sensing, predicting, communicating in battle.
A massive power-up for a Fighting-type specialist.
[Chloe: I'm so jealous! I want to awaken aura too, so I can be more in sync with Lucario!]
[Bea: Champion Bruno is ridiculously lucky!]
[Bruno: All thanks to Master Ash bringing me good luck!]
[Lance: I'm not jealous at all!!]
(Lies. He was jealous out of his mind.)
[Second question begins]
[Question: What belief drove Ash to risk his life to save a town on the brink of erasure?
Explain in your own words. Reward scales with completeness.]
[Selecting participant…]
[Congratulations—selected participant: "Ash."]
Entire chat:????
[Lance: This is cheating! You're letting the person himself explain why he did it!?]
[Ash: No, really, I don't know why I got picked either.]
[Leon: This is the chosen one's luck. My mentor once said some people are born favored by fate. Ash is one of them.]
[Gary: Favored by fate? How could that person not be me?]
[Drake: Hahaha, youth is wonderful.]
Cynthia gently patted Ash's head.
"Don't be nervous. Just say what you feel."
"…O-okay."
Of course he was nervous.
He had never expected to answer about himself.
But what was his belief?
Ash took a breath, then typed—
[Ash: I'm not really sure what I was thinking at the time…
Maybe I just didn't want to see any Pokémon get hurt,
Or I didn't want a beautiful town like Alamos to disappear.
But I think, back then, I only had one thought—
That everyone should live.
The townspeople, the two gods of space and time, even Darkrai…
I didn't want anyone to be hurt.
I just didn't want beautiful things to vanish before my eyes.
That's all.]
The sincerity in his words
Was the same as always.
[Ash's answer evaluated: 100% completeness]
[Reward: Exclusive Title — "Counter-Type Master"]
[Counter-Type Master: When your Pokémon is at a type disadvantage, its Defense and Sp. Defense increase by one stage, and all your moves become guaranteed hits.]
Lance:I'm numb. Completely numb.
A universal counter-type buff—
Defense boost, special defense boost, AND guaranteed accuracy!?
If Ash caught a Groudon,
Precipice Blades would NEVER miss again.
Flying-type? Water-type?
Didn't matter.
Ash would hit you out of the sky, into the sea, wherever you hid.
[Steven: Congratulations, Ash. This suits you very well.]
[Brock: It really does suit Ash! Wait—did Ash already have this trait when he first set out!? Otherwise how do you explain my Onix getting hit by Thunderbolt!?]
[Volkner: Electric-type hitting Ground-type… only Ash could pull that off.]
[Ash: No, really! I didn't even understand type matchups back then! I don't know why it hit either!]
(He truly didn't know—it was pure beginner's luck.)
[Recap "Showdown at the Space-Time Tower" officially ends]
[Legendary Trainer's Road to the Summit (Part 3) begins in three days]
The light faded—
Life returned to normal.
Cynthia said goodbye to Ash and hurried back to Sinnoh.
That girl "Sheena" from the chat bothered her—
Cynthia suspected she had ties to Dialga and Palkia's encounter.
As for Steven—
He left simply because he wanted to go dig rocks.
Devon Corp had found a new mine, and their young master was urgently needed.
Then—
The Silver Conference entered its final and most intense match.
Ash from Pallet Town
VS
Duke from the Johto League.
That afternoon, the finals began.
Duke's ace was a Rapidash.
In the original timeline, his Rapidash one-shot a Rhydon to win the championship.
But this time—
His opponent was Ash.
And Duke's luck ran out.
His first five Pokémon were defeated by Ash's Charizard and Bulbasaur.
When his final Rapidash came out—
Ash sent in Pikachu.
One Thunderbolt—
Ash lifted his first championship trophy.
"Let us congratulate Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town—
Champion of this year's Silver Conference!"
"Congratulations, Ash!!"
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