When a life fades away

Serena was trying to stand up, groggily, failing and attempting again. Sylveon tried to hold her with her feelers, but it was very difficult for her. Dawn was in a very similar state, her body not reacting to her mind's commands.

Goh was agonizing, his leg crushed and broken. He was sitting on the ground, breathing the dust, pain obscuring his brain and making him swear.

Cinderace was at his right side, a worried look on his face, his resolution for the battle lost.

They had been fools, Goh thought. How in the world did they think to challenge Dialga and hope for the best? Their preparation wasn't good enough and a God couldn't be underestimated as they did.

Now they were injured and they were at the mercy of the beast of the time. He was cursing like he never did.

Dawn was a bit lost in her world, part of her trying not to fall into despair and part of her scanning for a solution.

Serena however, had her mind set on one thing and one thing only. She wasn't seeing the situation as desperate, she was focused only on winning the challenge, whatever it took them.

She smiled weakly as soon as her legs stopped trembling and looked down at Sylveon: "Thank you Sylveon, now I can stand!" she declared holding her precious smile; "now let's wrap this performance and stop Dialga!"

She saw the looks on her comrades' faces upon turning and decided it was better to give them an example rather than just speak. Actions are sometimes stronger than words, even the most inspired.

"Gengar, come here!" she asked Ash's Pokémon still able to battle.

Then, she unclipped the four Poké balls she was carrying at that time and released her Milotic, her Ludicolo, a beautiful Altaria, and Pangoro.

Serena had to go all out; Dialga was still there and she didn't want to go down without a fight.

Dawn watched carefully as Goh was still occupied trying to breathe at a calm rate.

Dialga seemed ready for the second round. With a mighty roar, Dialga was summoning a Flash Cannon.

"It saw that Sylveon wasn't affected by Roar of Time…" thought Serena while recalling Delphox who had fainted.

"Milotic, Rain Dance!" called Serena, her posture oozing with confidence even if her whole body was in pain.

The majestic Pokémon summoned dark clouds and a moment later rain started to pour down with increasing intensity.

"It's our move Ludicolo, Surf!"

Ludicolo surrounded himself in a water vortex that accumulated from his feet and used it to leap forward at an incredible speed.

"That's Swift Swim…" commented Goh while gritting his teeth to suffocate the pain he was feeling.

Dawn noticed that as well, still too weak to hold her body still and unclip a Poké ball; she thought that Serena was really experienced, however.

"Altaria! Hurricane on the Surf attack! Sylveon! Fairy Wind on Ludicolo! Make him a shield!"

"Pangoro, Gengar! Ice Punch at full power!"

The Ice punches froze the wave of water pulled off by Ludicolo, Sylveon had now protected the Mariachi Pokémon with a gust of Fairy Wind and Altaria was charging a one hundred percent accurate Hurricane.

The violent move crashed against the frozen Surf, shattering it into pieces and destroying also the Fairy Wind shield surrounding Ludicolo and creating a wonderful spectacle of ice and pink dust.

The goal for Serena's maneuvers wasn't aesthetic this time but instead, it was to attack.

"Come on Milotic! Use Psychic on the shards and aim for Dialga!"

"Ludicolo, Use your Hydro pump! Sylveon, Fairy wind again! Altaria! Full power Moonblast! Pangoro, Go all out with a Stone Edge! Gengar! Shadow ball!"

The misty cloud of frozen pieces was piercing Dialga's skin but also adding power to the attacks which collided with the Time deity causing a loud explosion.

Suddenly from the cloud caused by these collisions, a loud roar echoed and a shiny blue light appeared. The sky got darker and blue thunders came crashing down to the ground, some of them hitting all the Pokémon still capable of a fight. Another explosion came, sending everyone in different directions but Gengar, still conscious, put himself between the explosion and Serena, shielding her from the great energy released by Dialga. The girl was sent back anyway and hit the back of her head against a rock, her vision blurring, but the adrenaline in her veins prevented her from fainting.

Gengar, now exhausted collapsed as well. It was over.

The smoke settled, revealing a worn-out Dialga, panting hard and suffering numerous wounds, but still standing. On the other hand, every single Pokémon had fainted. Goh and Dawn were incapable of moving a single muscle.

Serena was, however, still trying to stand up again, despite the bad concussion her head got seconds ago.

Her legs were trembling, fatigued and unable to give a balance to her weight.

Her hair was a mess of dust and sweat. Her sweet features were now filled with bruises, ecchymosis, and blood. Her eyes were half closed. They were dimmed, unable to focus on the image in front of them. But she wanted to stand: "Dialga… I won't give up… for me, for everyone, for Ash," she said, panting hard and with a voice more like a whisper than a steady and ready cry for battle.

The Time deity was impressed but the challenge seemed over right now.

At that moment, from the sky, meteors came down crashing on Dialga's body, making the Legendary creature collapse under the fury of the swarm. From the dark sky, a creature appeared. It looked like a Salamance but not quite. On his back stood a cloaked man. Serena was barely able to register this when a meteor crashed on the ground only a few meters from her and then she felt nothing.

...

The sound of a jacket was heard when Pikachu started to feel his surroundings again that morning. The sun was still low, and fog let only a few of its luminosity pass through.

Ash was already getting started. Breakfast was ready for every one of his Pokémon and the boy was doing a little stretching.

He had a bad night, filled with nightmares, anxiety, and worries. Like him, his Pokémon did too.

His mind was drifting back to the clash that happened after the Mesprit fight: Akari getting hurt, the cloaked figure, and the strange Pokémon. Something was odd but he could not stop.

The boy suddenly heard the sound of paws touching the wooden floor and turned around to see his best friend groggily walking on all four toward him: "Hey buddy, slept well?" he asked with a warm smile to cover his internal turmoil.

Pikachu raised his little head with his eyes twisted into a grimace as if to say, "Are you kidding me?"

Ash chuckled softly and scratching the back of his head nervously said, "I know I know, man. We all had the same night..."

…

The duo was reaching Galaxy Hall. As they were walking whispers of people were heard.

As soon as the boy met the eyes of someone in the street, they answered by looking away or muttering in a low voice with someone else. It seemed that people had suddenly lost faith in the foreigner and that they had gone back to the first time Ash had entered the village when around him he could only feel suspicion, indifference, and even hatred.

The boy sighed. Probably everyone was blaming him for Akari's fate.

"Pikapi, kapikachu!"

"Yeh, you're right buddy. As much as it pains me, it wasn't in my power back then and it isn't now to change their minds".

As the door opened, Ash entered Laventon's studio to share more pieces of information about the lakes. The researcher took note of the expected movements of Ash and got ready to give the boy his help.

Then, Ash and Pikachu bid farewell to the Galarian professor and headed to the nursery to pay a last visit to Akari.

The girl was sleeping. Her face, however, looked a little more relaxed as time and the traditional cures from the nurses were healing her body. Pikachu, Clefable, and Prinplup were still there, watching her human friend all day long. The three of them held very tired faces as they noticed Ash enter the room.

He cast a glance and smiled at them before coming closer to the bed: "Come on guys, I know you are worried but go get some sleep. Akari would be upset if she wakes up and sees all of you so worn," he commented as Pikachu went ahead to give a hug to the pained trio.

The three Pokémon nodded in unison and went into another room, downstairs where Kamado had allowed them to sleep.

Ash smiled as they made their exit, leaving him and Pikachu alone with Akari.

He saw her: she looked pale, strained. Her cheekbones were more prominent given the wasting of her body. All these days she was asleep, she had been made to lose weight to the point that her muscles had lost tone and her body was withered and wasted.

despite this, the girl didn't give up and the doctors said that she woke up within a few days. After all, they had sedated her before lacing her wounds and settling the head trauma that had plagued her.

The sedatives and the IV were necessary for her to avoid the pains of those rudimentary surgeries and she had been lucky that the exploration team had recently got their hands on a special type of berry from which the scientific team had extracted a new juice berry with pain-relieving and sedative powers.

Ash took hold of her hand and noticed Akari's expression soften and her eyes twitch.

He whispered in her ears: "Sleep well. You were amazing and I'm proud of you. Now it's my turn to protect you and your people" before releasing the hand. Akari's mouth made a move as to speak but only a moan came out.

Ash smiled again with Pikachu now joining in and with that, he left the room. They had a mission: find the other two legendary Pokémon.

...

A powerful light was seen as Clemont and Brock were approaching Spear Pillar: "Whoa! Did you see that?!" asked with a dumbfounded face Clemont.

Brock was quiet. He saw the meteors only a few moments ago and now this. He still wasn't sure of what was happening but he had his bets on something really bad. He only nodded and commented: "Get ready to land."

…..

"And with that, no one can stop me!" commented the hooded figure with a disgusted tone in his voice, while wiping blood off his hood.

There Dialga stood, a blade made of light stuck through its chest. Roaring Moon stood there, watching as that man was calling someone on a strange-looking watch.

Dialga's body started to glow and then it faded away, leaving on the floor only the blood that once flooded through its veins. It was red but it had a lot of blue sparkles in it.

The hooded man kneeled and collected some of it in a test tube.

"I'm ready to win it all. I'm coming back" he said to the watch before a black hole opened from nothing and engulfed him and the beast.

Dawn saw this. She had fought so hard to not faint and she saw everything. Dialga was dead. That man had Giratina at his command as well as that strange-looking Salamance. And then… she saw his eyes. He immediately recognized him…

And then she fainted, fatigue, trauma, and wounds overcoming the little adrenaline she had left in her body.

….

Arceus felt something from its place in the Hall of Origin. Like its heart was ripping it fell. Pain and turmoil. It felt time losing its consistency: "What have you done, my son?" he panted before fainting.

...

"Holy shit! Serena!" shouted Clemont, noticing his honey-blonde friend on the floor of a now devastated Spear Pillar.

"Lucinda! Goh!" shouted Brock as well, running between debris and ruins of what was a majestic temple not so long ago.

"Serena is severely injured!" called Clemont, lifting the girl's body, and checking on her.

"Goh has his leg under a pillar! We must move it from him, or he might lose the limb!" checked a worried Brock, calling out his Steelix who made quick work of the rock.

"How do we transport them?!" thought aloud Clemont. Their craft was only two seated and there was no way to fit everyone in there. Dawn might need a collar to not move her back too much. Serena had to lay still, and it was easily recognizable since her head was still bleeding.

"A Pokémon can't help us either…" commented bitterly Brock. They had come as fast as they possibly could but right now, they were feeling helpless.

Suddenly, from the sky, an aircraft came from the horizon, leaving the duo wondering who it could be and if there was a way to call for its help but there was no need for it since it started to descend as soon as it approached the Spear Pillar.

It was a huge aircraft, with two short wings into which the blades were inserted, inserted in a circular metal system that made it possible to manage both the crossing and the descent. It was black, and a series of stickers of what probably they were suppliers and sponsors.

One particularly struck Brock: he recited "Sinnoh League".

Finally, the gigantic craft was over the heads of the two boys and landed softly. From the hatch emerged a tall, slender figure with blond hair and a confident posture. The gray eyes, however, hinted at a sense of urgency and concern. It was Cynthia, the Sinnoh champion: "Quick, get those three aboard!" she shouted meanwhile that a ramp was being lowered.

Brock and Clemont observed that mouth agape for a bit, before refocusing on the task.

….

"So they told you Solgaleo will respond to that device of yours?" asked Gary while he, Jessie, James, and Meowth were walking through the Vast Poni Canyon. They had landed in Alola a day ago and they made their way to Poni Island to reach the Altar of the Sunne.

"Yes, our boss is always one step ahead of everyone!" proclaimed Jessie, a little pissed by the guy's distrust.

Finally, the altar was seeable: "Yes! It's there!" pointed excitedly James but then a loud rumble was heard.

In the sky, an Ultrawormhole appeared, but against all odds, it started to draw the group to him.

"Damn, what the hell is this?!" Jessie cried as she grabbed onto a rock to avoid being sucked in.

"I don't understand, but it doesn't look good to me!" commented Gary who instead had sought shelter under an overhanging boulder.

Unfortunately for them, James hadn't had time to find a foothold and was immediately engulfed by the vortex.

"No James!" Jessie yelled desperately, reaching out her hand as if trying to reach her friend but in doing so, losing her grip and flying into the hole as well.

"Shit!" Gary sighed, coming out. At this point, he had no choice but to figure out what the heck contained that bizarre paranormal phenomenon.

"Nyart! That twerp causes us trouble even when he's not around. Jessie, James, wait for me!" yelled Meowth getting sucked in.

As soon as the Cat Pokémon was also absorbed, the vortex closed again, and the sky returned clear over Poni island.

….

"Doctor, how are our friends?" Clemont asked running towards the doctor who was just leaving the operating room at that moment.

The doctor removed his mask and gloves, advancing to the ward desk to pick up three medical records.

After he had rubbed his eyes for a couple of seconds, as if to refocus his vision after an intense work that leaves you exhausted, he turned to the blond boy who was staring at him with eager anticipation.

"So, the boy has been, his leg is safe but clearly it will take a few months to heal. The girl with the blue hair is serious, not in danger but still, it will take a while to regain consciousness.

Instead, the most serious is the blonde one. Her prognosis is guarded, and she is still in surgery. The traumas that she has received from her are serious and her physique was reduced to an extreme. It is already a miracle that she made it to the hospital alive. Anyway, thanks to champion Cynthia, she's in the best hands in Sinnoh."

The world collapsed around Clemont. The doctor put a hand on the young boy's shoulder and walked away.

….

Meanwhile, Brock was with Cynthia: "How did you know Lucinda and the others were headed to the Spear Pillar?" asked the tanned doctor, sipping his coffee.

They were in the bar at the entrance of the Main hospital in Hearthome. It was the best medical facility in Sinnoh and Cynthia had dragged the group there to receive the best cures possible.

She had learned from her grandma about them and their mission and soon had realized what did it mean.

She should have helped them. She should have understood something was odd when she saw them in front of the Canalave library all those months ago. They were looking for Ash. They knew something around the whole story. The boy wasn't dead.

Someone was plotting in the shadows something so serious as to distort space-time itself.

By the time he set out to reach the boys and uncover the culprit who was sure to appear upon Dialga's revelation to the boys, it was too late.

the weather god was dead, killed by someone whose plan was still unknown but had somehow caused a cascade of events to send a talented boy into the past.

She had been stupid and irresponsible after her pride was hurt by the PWC organizers.

What would happen to Ash now? And of the world? Who was behind all this. Too many questions and the only answers could come from those three boys who were now fighting for their own lives. All this only because she didn't understand.

She tried to hold back a tear that was peeping into her eye but by now everything seemed destined for chaos.

….

Void and then light. Gary opened his eyes and in front of him saw the Team Rocket Trio trembling. He felt like he was moving… and he was. They were on Solgaleo.

"RAHHH!" shouted the majestic Pokémon.

Meowth jumped: "He said he's gonna bring us to see the world of the future if dat brat boi does not come back!"

Gary stayed still. Finally, they were making some progress.

….

Celebi finally woke up. He was still drained of energy but had a mission to complete. In his sleep, he felt Dialga's life, to which he was related, extinguish. He needed to make a move. He closed his eyes and wished for something. With that, he disappeared from the bed he was resting. Kukui was asleep and did not notice anything.