Chapter 432: Something About Arceus (5)
~Third POV~
[Johto-Sinnoh Region, Meanwhile, Sinjoh Ruins (Azure Side)]
"SCREEEEE!!!"
Giratina let out a screech that sounded like grinding metal, its red eyes fixed on Azure. Sensing the interference of the other trainers, the Renegade Pokémon flared its wings as it used its power...
*RIPPLE*
A ripple of distortion spread out, forming an invisible, shimmering barrier that cut Azure and Mewtwo off from the rest of the stage. Azure said, a smirk playing on his lips, "It wants a duel. Fine. Mewtwo, show him our strength!"
*SHIII*
Mewtwo's psychic aura flared—a massive, skyscraper-sized pillar of psychic energy. Opposite it, Giratina's ghost energy coalesced into a black-and-purple fog that rotted the stone beneath its feet.
*CRACKLE*
Giratina opened its mouth, concentrating the ghost energy around it. It began to produce a pitch-black ball of darkness, preparing to use a Strong Style Shadow Ball.
Azure commanded, "PSYSTRIKE!"
*SHIIII*
Mewtwo held out its hands, forming a core of pure mental fortitude. At the same time, Giratina unhinged its jaw, firing a sphere of concentrated darkness.
*KABOOM*
The two attacks met in the center, creating a vacuum of energy that imploded and then expanded, shattering the stone pillars surrounding the stage. Azure stood his ground, his hands glowing with a faint rainbow light—Aura.
He projected a barrier around himself, Pikachu, Eevee, and the hidden Mew, protecting them from the shockwaves using his aura and psychic abilities. Through the smoke, Giratina lunged its eyes burned maliciously...
*ZOOOOM*
It was fast—impossibly fast for its size. Its claws glowed with a ghostly green light, preparing to use Dragon Claw!
*CLING*
Mewtwo didn't dodge. It caught Giratina's massive claws with its bare hands, its feet skidding back only an inch.
The psychic Pokémon's muscles braced, and with a grunt of effort, it heaved, tossing the several-ton legendary dragon across the stage like a rag doll as it telepathically stated, 'Is this the best you can do? Puny god.'
*CRASH*
Giratina slammed into a stone wall, but it didn't stay down. It vanished.
Azure cautioned, "Shadow Force! Mewtwo, Future Sight!"
Mewtwo closed its eyes. Future Sight.
*Flash*
In its mind's eye, it saw the fabric of the Distortion World tearing open three seconds from now, right behind its left shoulder. Mewtwo snickered as it thought, 'Attacking from my right? Child's play.
*VWOOM*
Giratina re-emerged from the shadows, its body a blur of murderous intent. But Mewtwo was already gone…
*Swf*
In a flash of Teleport, it appeared fifty feet in the air, looking down at the space where Giratina had just struck. Azure commanded, "Now! Shadow Ball volley!"
*CRACKLE*
*TWHIP*
*CRACKLE*
*TWHIP*
Mewtwo fired two globes of dark energy in rapid succession. They struck Giratina's back, sending the dragon spiraling…
*PEW*
Giratina roared in frustration, spinning its long, serpentine body and unleashing a torrent of blue flames. Dragon Breath!
Azure shouted, "Telekinesis!"
*Shiiii*
Mewtwo's eyes flashed. The roaring flames slowed, stopped, and then began to swirl in a vortex around Mewtwo's hand as it mockingly stated in Giratina's head, 'Heh. Child's play god. Here, I believe this belongs to you.'
*BOOOM*
With a mocking flick of its wrist, Mewtwo sent the flames back at their creator. The Dragon Breath engulfed Giratina, the paralyzing properties of the move causing the legendary's wings to lock up.
*ZZZZZT*
Seeing the opportunity, Azure commanded calmly, "Follow up! Maximized Strong Style Shadow Ball!"
*CRACKLE*
Mewtwo raised both hands above its head. A sphere of darkness grew until it was the size of a small house, crackling with static electricity and psychic feedback…
It hurled it down.
*B-B-B-BOOOOOOOOM*
The entire Sinjoh Ruins groaned. A massive crater opened in the center of the stage.
For a moment, there was silence. Then, a low, guttural vibration shook the earth…
*RMBL*
Azure's eyes narrowed, feeling the pressure. Then he saw a pop-up screen as he mentally cursed, 'Oh come on! It has a fucking second phase?!!'
[Giratina has entered its Second Phase!]
From the smoke, Giratina rose, but it was changing. Its legs retracted into its body, its golden ribs elongated into spikes, and its wings became flowing, black streamers tipped with red claws.
Origin Forme Giratina.
*THUWMP*
The pressure tripled. The air turned metallic.
Azure whispered as his eyes hardened, seeing Giratina's full power, "It's getting serious. Pikachu, get ready just in case."
The mouse stood poised on his shoulder, "Pika! (Right!)"
Azure looked at Mewtwo—the Pokémon born from a laboratory but possessed of a soul that burned brighter than most gods. Azure projected, his rainbow Aura flaring to form a protective cocoon around himself and his smaller partners, 'Let it out, Mewtwo. No more holding back. Show the Renegade what it means to face the pinnacle of your power. Show it… Who's the Strongest Pokémon in the World.'
Mewtwo's eyes glowed with a terrifying violet light. It didn't just feel ready; it felt joy and excitement.
The two legends didn't start with probes; they started with annihilation. Giratina surged with the black-and-red energy of a massive Shadow Ball, while Mewtwo condensed reality itself into a glowing Psystrike sphere…
The collision was like a localized supernova.
*KA-BOOOOOM*
The resulting explosion rocked the ruins, the smoke thick with ionized particles. Azure stood firm behind his barrier as the debris cleared, revealing the two combatants hovering in the crater.
*Wooosh*
Origin Forme Giratina vanished again, but this time it wasn't just a move—it was Phantom Force. It moved through the air like a needle through silk, appearing and disappearing in flashes of purple light…
It struck Mewtwo from three different angles in a split second.
*WHAM*
*SLAM*
*CRACK*
Mewtwo was knocked back, its Delta Shield flickering as it held. Mewtwo used Recover as its voice echoed telepathically, sharp and mocking, 'Is this all the Master of the Distortion World can muster?'
Giratina's eyes narrowed as it roared hatefully, "GRAAAAA!!! (YOU PUNY MORTAL AND YOUR MOUTH!!! I'VE HAD IT!!!!)"
*KRA-BOOOOOOM*
Giratina didn't give it room to breathe. It opened its mouth, and instead of a beam, it released thousands of jagged bolts of black lightning imbued with the power of the Distortion World aimed at them.
Azure threw his hands forward as he gritted his teeth, yelling, "AURA SHIELD! PSYCHIC BARRIER! FULL POWER!"
*BOOOOOOOOM*
The explosion was blinding. A pillar of black and purple light erupted toward the heavens, visible for hundreds of miles across Johto and Sinnoh. The shockwave knocked Lance and Pryce—who had just finished restraining Dialga and Palkia—off their feet.
Lance yelled, shielding his eyes, "Azure!"
*ZOOOOM*
From the center of the explosion, two orbs of light shot into the darkened sky. One was a sickly, bottomless black; the other was a brilliant, celestial purple.
In the air, Mewtwo was changing. The genetic Pokémon's body shrank, its tail migrated to its head, and its psychic pressure became so dense it began to liquefy the air around it as it mega evolved into Mega Mewtwo Y.
The two Legendary Titans clashed in the stratosphere. The two moved like streaks of lightning across the sky. Every collision sounded like a mountain falling…
*CLANG*
*SHINK*
*BOOM*
Giratina, sensing its stamina fading, began to glow with a terrifying, golden-white light. It was charging a Hyper Beam, but not just any Hyper Beam—one fueled by the spite of a banished god.
It aimed it straight down, intending to vaporize both Mewtwo and Azure in one go. Giratina gathered every ounce of its malice into a terminal Hyper Beam; the golden energy aimed to erase both Mewtwo and the 'nuisance' human below.
But Mewtwo, having read Giratina's thoughts, narrowed its eyes. Mewtwo whispered darkly, 'I think not.'
*ZOOOOOM*
Mewtwo's eyes didn't just glow; they burned like twin stars. It dived straight toward the charging beam. Just as Giratina was about to fire, Mewtwo grabbed the dragon's head. It didn't use force…
It used a surgical strike of psychic suggestion. Mewtwo temporarily erased Giratina's memories for the briefest of moments…
*FLASH*
For a microsecond, the connection between Giratina's brain and its power was severed. The legendary dragon blinked, its red eyes widening in sudden, jarring confusion. It forgot why it was angry. It forgot how to hold its form…
*Hisss*
The golden light of the Hyper Beam flickered and died like a blown-out candle. Giratina reverted to its Altered Forme, falling through the sky, stunned.
Azure commanded, his voice ringing with the authority of a champion, "Finish it, Mewtwo! STRONG STYLE PSYSTRIKE!"
*SMACK*
Mewtwo summoned a massive, shimmering spoon of psychic energy—a memento of its origins in the Kanto legends—and slammed it into Giratina's chest to pin it in place. Then, Mewtwo raised its hands...
*SHIII*
Thousands of crystalline shards of psychic energy coalesced into a single, massive sphere of pure, crushing mental force that materialized around Giratina. Mewtwo commanded telepathically, 'Do be sure to remember this, Master of the Distortion World. You have been bested by the Strongest Pokémon in the World… Mewtwo.'
The dragon roared one last time, "GYAAA-RRRRH! (DAMN YOU MEWTWO—)"
*SHIII*
*BOOOOOOOOM*
*THUD*
A purple supernova consumed the sky. When the light faded, Giratina fell toward the Mystri Stage, hitting the stone with a heavy THUD. It didn't get up. Swirls of energy dissipated from its body as it succumbed to unconsciousness.
The silence that followed was deafening.
*Tmp*
Mewtwo descended slowly, its Mega Evolution fading as it landed softly beside Azure. It was huffing, its chest heaving, but its eyes were filled with a rare spark of satisfaction as it commented respectfully, 'That was… a good fight.'
Azure stepped forward, the snow crunching under his boots. He looked up at Arceus, who had remained motionless throughout the entire ordeal. Dialga and Palkia had also ceased their struggle, lying down in defeat.
Arceus looked down at the teenage boy, the Pikachu, the Eevee, and the exhausted Mewtwo. The Alpha Pokémon spoke, the weight of its voice now filled with something resembling respect in their heads, 'HUMAN… YOU POSSESS THE WILL TO DEFY THE STARS. THE WORLD IS FRAGILE, BUT AS LONG AS BONDS SUCH AS YOURS EXIST, THE FABRIC SHALL HOLD.'
*Wooosh*
The Unown began to spin in reverse. The nebula in the sky started to contract.
Azure asked nervously, wiping a smudge of soot from his cheek, "Does that mean we're good now…?"
*SHIII*
Arceus didn't answer with words. Instead, a warm, golden light washed over the ruins. Azure felt his fatigue vanish. Mewtwo's wounds closed instantly.
Even the shattered pillars of the Sinjoh Ruins began to knit themselves back together. Then Arceus voice echoed in their minds, 'GO. CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY. SHOW THIS WORLD WHAT A TRUE CHAMPION LOOKS LIKE.'
*FLASH*
With a final, blinding flash, Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, and the unconscious Giratina vanished, returning to the dimensions from which they came. The afternoon sun broke through the clouds, casting a long shadow across the now-peaceful ruins.
Lance walked over, shaking his head in disbelief, while Pryce simply leaned on his cane, a small, rare smile on his frozen face. Lance started, looking at the crater where Giratina had been as he asked, "That… That was something else, Azure. I don't think I've ever seen a Pokémon move like your Mewtwo."
Azure petted the Pikachu on his shoulder and felt the Eevee nuzzle his ear. He looked at Mewtwo, who gave him a sharp, knowing nod.
Azure said calmly, looking out toward the horizon, "We've had a lot of practice. But I think we're just getting started."
Pichu (Mew) poked its head out of Azure's jacket and let out a soft, melodic, "Mew! (Oh, thank goodness that's over…)"
Azure laughed, the sound echoing off the ancient stones. He had come from another world, had beaten the best the Earth and the Pokémon world had to offer, and had just stared down God and its lieutenants.
The sky was wide, and there were still many more horizons to conquer. He whispered, "Let's go home, guys."
*Swf*
Mewtwo nodded in agreement, and as they took to the sky, the Sinjoh Ruins faded into the mist, a silent witness to the strength of a boy who was no longer just a stranger in a strange land, but its greatest protector. With that, Mewtwo used Teleport to transport Azure back home.
/////
[Kanto Region, Afternoon, Pallet Town – Sky's Airship]
It was early afternoon when Azure and the gang returned home. After that battle, Azure had burned quite a bit of energy and now felt a touch sleepy.
After lunch, he curled up with Pikachu and Eevee in the shade of the Airship and took a nap. But in the middle of his dream, Azure suddenly heard a voice, soft and ethereal, like a whisper carried on the wind, "Azure... come here."
Azure's eyes snapped open. Hovering in front of him was a softly glowing orb of golden light, drifting gently in the air. He jolted upright as he thought, 'What... is that? I… didn't die again, did I?'
Before he could even gather his thoughts, the orb, seemingly sensing he was awake, began floating toward the door. Azure stared in disbelief as he muttered to himself, "Was this something that existed in the Pokémon world? Or was I dreaming?"
He turned his head. The Pikachu and Eevee that had been napping beside him were still curled up peacefully... but something wasn't right.
They weren't breathing. Azure's eyes widened as he noticed it wasn't just his partners. Everything was frozen.
The leaves drifting midair were suspended in place. The curtain caught in the breeze stood still like a painting. Even the squawking Pidgey hung motionless in the sky.
Time itself had stopped. Azure couldn't help but think, 'Dialga?'
He immediately thought of the Pokémon that governed time, but shook his head as he pondered deeply, 'But... no. This didn't feel like Dialga's power. It was something else. Something... deeper…'
After a moment of hesitation, Azure stood up. He slipped on his shoes and walked quietly toward the door.
Waiting for him just beyond the entrance was the glowing orb, still gently bobbing in place. Seeing him approach, the orb began to float forward.
It passed over the yard, glided silently across the airship, and hovered over the deck at its center. Then, the light finally came to rest outside of his airship.
Azure stared at it, confused and amazed. He asked calmly, "Who are you?"
In response, the light pulsed. Then, it began to change.
*FLASH*
Golden radiance expanded outward, and from within the glow emerged a familiar, divine form, its body radiating with holy light, its Thousand-Arms form gracefully orbiting its frame. Azure gasped.
This was Arceus. The Pokémon he had passed its trial not long ago.
But something was different. No stone plates were orbiting its body. No signs of the elemental slates of creation.
That's when the realization struck him as he thought in disbelief, 'Wait. Could this be... the true form of Arceus? The Original One?'
As that awe-inspiring thought surfaced, the divine figure finally spoke, "You have met my avatar. But I am the one true Arceus, the creator of this world."
Azure froze, stunned by the presence before him, and couldn't help but utter, "Ar... ceus? The Original One?"
This wasn't the avatar or clone of Arceus he had encountered during the trial. This was the true Arceus, the original, divine being who existed beyond all worlds, a creator god who had never been defeated.
In recorded history, Arceus had only appeared once, centuries ago. Since then, there had been no sign of Him. But then a thought occurred to Azure, 'Wait a second. Shouldn't Arceus exist beyond the fabric of all universes? What was He doing here, coming into my home for…?'
As if reading his thoughts, which in truth He had, Arceus watched Azure silently. There was no need for speech. As an all-knowing, all-seeing god, He understood the questions in Azure's heart.
Arceus said calmly, "I have come here for one purpose."
Azure blinked, whispering, "What purpose?"
Arceus turned slightly. His gaze drifted toward the endless sky above. For just a moment, His expression carried a trace of wonder as Arceus began, "I have created many worlds. Some with only humans. Some with only Pokémon. And others where both exist together. I've seen the worst and best in Pokémon and Humanity. But now, something has appeared here that defies all of that. Something that should not have been possible in this world. You… you Gamers defied this world's tragedies in multiple events. You've saved it. You've changed this world's fate time and time again... You've saved MY CREATIONS."
Arceus turned its gaze back to Azure. His divine voice was soft but resonant, "That is why I have come."
Azure was startled. He furrowed his brow, the unease creeping into his voice, "… You mean the times where I've intervened in historical events of this world… and in others. Is that what you mean…?"
*Swf*
Arceus replied with a gentle nod of its head as it showed the actions Azure's done ever since coming to the Adventures World, "Yes. You've assisted Red in recovering fully before the battle against the Elite Four at Mt. Silver's healing springs. Battled Lance in Yellow's stead, winning and changing his perspective. You've ensured the Masked Man repents his sins, undoing his frozen heart. Earned the trust of Rayquaza, preventing natural disasters from Kyogre and Groudon that would've been damaging the planet, and undoing Zinnia's plans. Battled Giovanni and captured Deoxys, ensuring the Meteor prophecy never occurs. And helped my chosen Akari in another timeline battle and survive against Origin Forme Dialga with your and Pokémon strength… you've done more than you think."
Azure finally let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He repeated, still trying to keep up, "You want to give me something?"
But Arceus did not answer immediately. It looked above the sky, staring at the stars before finally speaking once more. His voice echoed through the stars, "Of course. You've helped keep my creations safe. At the very least, I would personally like to reward you for the troubles my creations caused as thanks. And hope that you continue to help them in your way."
*FLASH*
Arceus turned to him, his golden light warm and radiant. With a gentle pulse of his divine power, Arceus created all 19 Plates floating around Azure, each filled with cosmic power, and a ring bracelet resembling a Mega Ring and Mega Bracelet.
Azure could only stare in awe. He asked, "What... is this?"
Arceus spoke with reverence as it explained to Azure calmly, "These Plates will be of great use to you when you meet my Avatar again. And that tool I created is called the Omni Ring. It will enable you to use Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization. Consider these my thanks for saving my creations."
Azure's eyes widened seeing the Plates. But his eyes were mostly at the ring bracelet as it clamped down on his wrist, adjusting its size magically to match. He quickly applied [Observe] to the two key items he had gained.
[Item: Omni Ring
Rarity Item: -
Type: Key Item
Description: The Omni Ring is a device created by Arceus. It is a bracelet worn by a Pokémon Trainer that support for special battle features. The Omni Ring allows the user to enable Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization, which contains infinite energy, so the user wouldn't worry about the Omni Ring being charged and being indestructible to any harm.]
[Item: Legends Plate
Rarity Item: -
Type: Key Item
Description: A stone tablet imbued with the essence of all creation. When used on a certain Pokémon (Arceus), it allows that Pokémon to gain the power of every type there is. When used by others, it boosts other moves regardless of type by 50% and gains the STAB coverage.]
Azure stared at the divine llama silently. And slowly put away his new items as Arceus continues, "It seems you've already figured out how to use it. With that, I'll take my leave and to ensure you enjoy my world a bit more… I've accelerated the 'plot' while not affecting others. You'll know soon enough."
*FLASH*
As soon as the words left His mouth, a radiant golden light flared around Arceus. Moments later, His divine figure vanished completely. Arceus had departed from the Worldline and from this world.
Azure stood in stunned silence, staring at the sky above. For a moment, it all felt surreal, like a dream…
/////
A/N: Hope you liked the chapter!