Naoki was truly gone.
By the time the Pokémon on the ranch finally accepted this, it felt as though an eternity had passed.
Day by day, the human world pressed forward, ever-changing, while time flowed ceaselessly around the ranch that had once been so full of life.
The Gogoats had become legends of their own. Some claimed to have followed their trails and seen them make flowers bloom with each step.
But most of the time, the Gogoats remained at the World Tree, standing guard over that sacred place.
Every so often, someone reported catching a glimpse of Calyrex riding atop a Spectrier or Glastrier near the ruins of Naoki's ranch. Yet whenever people drew near, the trio vanished like mist, leaving only mystery in their wake.
After their long grief, the Great Hero Expedition Team embarked on new journeys, crossing into distant worlds. Wherever they went, they aided Pokémon in need, their legend growing ever brighter.
Even Pawmot joined their ranks, donning a tattered red cape and wielding a mighty hammer like a hero of old. It rescued people and Pokémon from peril time and again. But the cape's color had long since faded, for no one ever washed it anymore.
Dragonite returned to the Island for a time, but often it came back to the ranch.
Whenever it did, it would sit for hours near the gate, its eyes fixed on the path leading home.
It waited, hoping one day to see a familiar figure appear again, Naoki, smiling as he walked back from town, patting its head, promising to cook something delicious.
The Indeedee siblings chose not to return to the World Tree. Instead, they lived with Elara, helping care for her children.
When Elara's own life neared its end, she asked to be carried back to the World Tree. There, surrounded by Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, she passed away peacefully.
The lives of all these Pokémon continued on…
But their hearts remained forever in the autumn of the 275th year of the League Calendar.
The 276th year at Naoki's ranch never came.
Because Naoki never returned.
Like all who leave this world, his life had ended, leaving only memory behind.
...
What does death feel like?
Naoki's consciousness grew hazy. His body felt light, as if lifted by the telekinesis of a Psychic-type Pokémon.
A warm energy wrapped gently around him.
One moment, he had been saying farewell to his Pokémon.
The next, he found himself standing in an ancient forest, vibrant and untouched by time.
And not far ahead stood a figure he knew all too well.
The sight made Naoki's heart race. His voice trembled as he whispered,
"Cyclizar… I've finally found you."
He sprinted forward, eager to call out.
But no matter how he shouted, Koraidon didn't seem to hear him.
Naoki froze in confusion.
A heartbeat later, Cyclizar suddenly broke into a run, straight past him.
Naoki turned, stunned, and saw it clash violently with a roaring Roaring Moon.
His breath caught. He looked down at his hands, now translucent and ethereal.
In that moment, Naoki understood everything.
The regret in his final moments had resonated with the power of Terapagos. Combined with Cyclizar's own longing, his spirit had been pulled across time and space, drawn into this ancient era.
This was the place where everything began… and where everything would one day end.
"So that's how it is," Naoki murmured.
He watched Koraidon defeat Roaring Moon, then stagger away, battered, retreating into a cave to rest.
He watched as Koraidon learned to dig deep burrows to hide from other dangerous Paradox Pokémon.
He watched it fight again and again, scarred and worn, yet never yielding.
And Naoki could do nothing, only stay by its side, silently witnessing its endless struggles, its repeated wounds, its sheer will to endure.
Tears spilled down his cheeks.
"Cyclizar… Koraidon… you really went through all this…"
Yet even if he could not touch or heal it, he could still remain.
Days turned into months, then into years, so many that Naoki lost count.
In that endless span, he followed Koraidon across nearly every corner of this ancient land.
And slowly, he began to understand.
The soul carried weight.
If he concentrated, he could project faint whispers into Koraidon's dreams, guiding, nudging, pointing it toward the path that would one day lead to Area Zero.
In its drowsiness, Koraidon felt something, like a guiding hand.
But when it opened its eyes, no one was there.
"Ah… gah?" Koraidon tilted its head.
'Was that… Naoki?'
'No, that couldn't be. Naoki wasn't supposed to be here.'
Its chest sank with a heavy sadness.
Naoki sat quietly at its side. He could no longer touch Koraidon's body, yet he still reached out, trying to embrace it, to stroke its head like he once had.
From that day onward, something in Koraidon changed.
It remembered Area Zero. It remembered the great pit in Paldea.
For the first time in years, it had a clear goal, returning home to Naoki.
So Koraidon began its long, perilous journey.
Time slipped by, unmeasured, until the day it met Flutter Mane.
Naoki, who had never left Koraidon's side, recognized the spectral Pokémon instantly.
He even tried to reach out, to speak, but Flutter Mane only glared with hostility.
Naoki froze.
Of course… Flutter Mane didn't know him yet. Not here. Not now.
Koraidon recognized Flutter Mane as well. But instead of stopping, it pressed on, carrying its scars and determination forward.
One day, Koraidon was ambushed by another Koraidon, this one wild and merciless.
The battle was brutal. Koraidon was torn and battered, barely clinging to life.
Just as the feral Koraidon loomed to deliver the final strike, Naoki poured every last shred of his soul's strength into one desperate act.
His longing… his love… became real in that moment.
The blow was stopped cold.
With that one chance, Koraidon struck back, defeating its attacker.
But the effort left Naoki's spirit nearly extinguished. His vision blurred, and his eyes fluttered closed.
For the rest of their journey, Naoki drifted like a faint ember, swaying between wakefulness and dream, holding on by sheer willpower.
He watched Koraidon encounter Flutter Mane once more, the two forging an unlikely bond and traveling together toward Area Zero.
Yet his soul had weakened so much that even Flutter Mane could no longer sense him.
Still, Naoki clung to one final promise, he would stay until Koraidon returned safely home.
Time blurred. He couldn't tell how long it had been when a familiar energy suddenly surged around him.
Opening his eyes, Naoki saw Koraidon standing before Terapagos.
He watched as Terapagos bent space and time, sending Koraidon hurtling into the future. He saw Flutter Mane pulled away too, drawn forward by Professor Sada's time machine in its search for Koraidon.
Cyclizar was safe. At last.
Relief washed over Naoki. His determination ebbed away, and his soul began to dissolve into nothingness.
But at that very moment, the Terapagos turned.
Their wide, gleaming eyes fixed on Naoki's fading spirit.
Startled, they chattered softly, as if realizing something.
One small Terapagos darted forward.
It summoned the radiant power of the Tera Crystals within itself and released that energy into Naoki's soul.
Light engulfed him.
Naoki's spirit, fused with the crystallized energy, reshaped itself, transforming into a Pokémon of ghostly essence, bound with the brilliance of the Tera Crystals.
When Naoki opened his eyes again, he found himself hovering in a new form. A cluster of Terapagos floated before him, tilting their heads in curiosity.
"Bagu?" one chirped, wide-eyed.
"I…" Naoki's voice wavered. He glanced at his hands, translucent and shimmering with crystalline light.
For a moment, he was stunned.
Then slowly, he understood.
The kind and innocent Terapagos, using the power of their Tera Crystals, had saved him from fading away.
At that moment, Naoki's heart was a storm of emotions.
He looked at the dozens of familiar little turtle Pokémon before him, opened his mouth, and said softly,
"I am Naoki."
The Terapagos froze, their gem-like eyes widening.
"Bagu?" they chorused, voices trembling with shock.
'Naoki? Wasn't that the human the Pokémon had been searching for?'
Seeing their doubts, Naoki nodded with a bittersweet smile. Slowly, he began to tell them a story...
The story of a young man and the Cyclizar who carried him across time.
The Terapagos listened intently. Their eyes shimmered like crystal as they were moved by his tale.
Some immediately bounced forward, crying out, "Bago! Bago!"
They wanted to send Naoki back to Koraidon right away.
But Naoki gently shook his head.
"No… not yet."
He knew there was something he had to finish first.
The cycle was incomplete.
He had to save these Terapagos. Only then, with their power, could he one day return to the past, accompany Koraidon, and ensure its survival.
Naoki also knew the truth, the Terapagos were destined to perish in a massive earthquake, their kind wiped out by the violent shifting of the earth.
That was his mission now: to protect them and change their fate.
From that day onward, Naoki lived among the Terapagos.
Together, they left the depths of Area Zero and ventured to the surface. They foraged for berries, basked in the sunlight, chased off hostile Pokémon, and played games together like family.
Days slipped by until, on what seemed like an ordinary morning, the ground trembled violently.
A devastating earthquake struck.
The cataclysm, as fierce as any extinction event, swept across the land.
The skies burned red, the wind howled like a raging beast, and torrential rain poured down as though the heavens themselves had split open.
From high above, Naoki and the crystallized Terapagos watched the apocalypse unfold.
For days it raged. And when at last the shaking subsided, the continent was unrecognizable, shattered and scarred.
Naoki gazed out over the desolate land. The old world had been destroyed. From its ashes, a new order would rise.
Paradox Pokémon… they were to the Pokémon world what the Jurassic and Cretaceous eras had been to Earth.
Flutter Mane would someday echo into Misdreavus. Scream Tail into Jigglypuff. Roaring Moon into Mega Salamence…
When it was finally over, Naoki led the Terapagos back into the heart of Area Zero, where the earth itself had nearly swallowed them.
"I'm leaving now," he told them quietly.
The Terapagos stirred in alarm.
"Bagu?"
Naoki crouched and stroked their gemmed heads, his voice gentle.
"Don't worry. Sleep here and rest. When you wake up, we'll see each other again."
"Bagu…"
The little Pokémon sensed he had something he must do. Though their eyes glistened with sadness, they accepted it, curling up and slipping into peaceful slumber.
Before they slept, Naoki borrowed their power. Fueled by his longing for Koraidon and all his beloved Pokémon, he let the crystal light envelop him.
And with that, he was carried across the currents of time and space, back toward his own era.
But when he opened his eyes again, his heart froze.
The Terapagos had sent him back… to the wrong time.
The ranch lay before him, but it was no longer the home he knew.
Weeds had consumed the fields. The land once tended by Diglett was overrun with wild growth. The old Pokémon Tavern, the barn where Miltank had lived, the chicken coops, all had collapsed into ruins, abandoned for countless years.
The familiar warmth of life was gone. The ranch was utterly silent, desolate, and empty.
Naoki's chest tightened.
What… had happened?
He broke into a run, searching every corner, desperate for even a trace of what once was.