Several kilometers above White Poplar Town.
A Garchomp’s tail cut through the white drifting clouds.
Cynthia, dressed all in black, stood on Garchomp’s back, her brows tightly furrowed, silent.
“Bamboo Lan, have you arrived over White Poplar Town?” Professor Mustardseed’s voice came through the Bluetooth.
“I’m currently above White Poplar Town.”
In front of her lay a thick, dense white fog, completely obscuring any view beyond it.
Cynthia frowned and looked at Togekiss fluttering its wings, its cyclones howling out.
The dissipated thick fog instantly restored itself, showing no sign of retreat.
“This fog is quite special. Togekiss’s Defog has no effect.”
“White Poplar Town... seems to be isolated by this fog...”
On the other end of the Bluetooth, Professor Mustardseed quickly checked the data and said,
“That is caused by a space-time disturbance, an anomaly called the ‘Dimensional Barrier’ —”
The data on the screen flickered wildly, values rising at an alarming rate, the warning light flashing red.
Mustardseed’s eyes widened, a chill spreading down her spine as she screamed hoarsely,
“Bamboo Lan, get out of there! The space-time rift will swallow you whole!”
The hazy white fog seemed to turn into a monstrous entity that devoured everything, wildly spreading in all directions.
Cynthia commanded Garchomp to retreat while ascending into the high sky, her gray eyes looking down.
Cynthia’s voice was dry, her golden hair falling loosely in front of her, a chill running down her spine.
In her gray eyes reflected a circular pit several hundred kilometers wide surrounding the fog.
The entire White Poplar Town seemed erased from existence, completely vanished.
In some obliterated parallel world.
Time and space collided here, in a void of darkness where only two intertwined silhouettes appeared.
A legendary battle between gods.
Each clash sent ripples through the darkness that shattered all in its path.
The unknown totems resting there were touched by the ripples, silently turning into dust.
Yet many unknown totems were born from the void with each collision of the two terrifying figures.
When the two giant beasts collided, space trembled, and time seemed to freeze.
One was silver-gray with purple-black markings, resembling a bipedal dinosaur, with bright pearls embedded in discs on its shoulders—
The Spatial God, Palkia.
The other had a deep blue body with metallic edges like a sauropod, a crystal diamond embedded in a metal groove on its chest—
The Temporal God, Dialga.
The fierce battle erupted.
Palkia swung its hand and unleashed “Subspace Slash,” fracturing and collapsing space.
Dialga roared with its neck stretched, “Time Roar,” sending ripples crashing into Palkia, countless unknown totems flying out from the wounds.
Palkia deeply stared at Dialga.
Slashing through space, Palkia fled toward a certain world—White Poplar Town’s direction.
Dialga refused to relent, angrily taking flight, following into the spatial rift.
The entire world fell into silence.
Only the unknown totems trembling in fear remained.
If Teacher Lu were here, he would surely translate for them with friendship:
“Stop fighting already! If you want to fight, go reverse the world and fight! o(╥﹏╥)o”
White Poplar Town, Pokémon Center.
Teacher Lu had already woken from the nightmare.
The first thing he saw was a scarlet long tongue.
“Gengarrr~(*⊙~⊙)” Haunter’s lick hadn’t even finished when it noticed Lu Ye had opened his eyes.
After thinking for a moment, Haunter still licked Lu Ye and then chuckled quietly.
Recalling the fragments from his dream, Lu Ye reached out to pat Haunter’s head.
“Next time, remember, you can just take the Moomoo Milk without paying.”
“You like drinking cola; you can take that from the vending machine... Oh right, you can.”
Feeling the weight of the Poké Ball at his waist, Lu Ye couldn’t help but feel emotional.
He was back, all back!
Except for the ‘two-headed adorable Mengmengda’...
Damn the Diamond and Pearl Remake, it actually made my wife look so ugly!
Lu Ye gritted his teeth and stood up to look for Darkrai, ready to discuss battle plans.
Nurse Joy whispered, “Teacher Lu is awake!”
Ash, the Team Rocket Trio, Ami, and Ash (Xiao Huang) hurried into the ward.
Seeing Teacher Lu safe and sound, they all sighed in relief.
“Ash wasn’t dizzy with me?” Lu Ye was surprised.
Ash scratched his head and smiled, “I told Pikachu to use Thunderbolt to wake me up.”
Understandable. Lu Ye looked at Meowth and the others: “So...”
“We don’t know either,” the trio scratched their heads, “It feels like we had a good sleep, very refreshed!”
Darkrai’s “Nightmare” move originally had no malice.
Plus, the trio had excellent constitutions, so waking up quickly was normal.
Lu Ye nodded, “So, what’s the current situation?”
Nurse Joy said, “You’ll know once you go out...”
Lu Ye and the group left the ward; temporary shelters were everywhere.
Sleeping Pokémon and trainers lay on straw mats.
A Bidoof in a soul-like state leisurely floated through the air.
“Am I hallucinating?” Lu Ye rubbed his eyes.
“That’s not a hallucination,” Nurse Joy said anxiously, “That’s Darkrai’s Nightmare. It traps people around in nightmares, including soul separation and body swapping...”
Lu Ye was stunned, vaguely recalling related scenes from the movie, suddenly enlightened.
“It must be Darkrai’s doing!”
Among the crowd, a Lickitung hugged its round belly, shouting loudly,
“I will definitely defeat Darkrai and show it some colors!”
“T-Talking Lickitung?!” Team Rocket looked shocked.
“If I’m not mistaken,” Nurse Joy held her forehead, “That’s Baron Alberto...”
“Because of Darkrai, their bodies swapped in the dream, and it actually happened...”
Others swapped bodies with beautiful girls in dreams; this guy swapped with a Lickitung.
From a certain angle, that was a very deep bond...
“...” Nurse Joy covered her lips with slender hands, “Honestly, I also think... cough!”
The Team Rocket Trio: “o(*≧▽≦)ツ”
“Hey, what are you laughing at!”
‘Lickitung’ crossed its short arms on its hips angrily, “Am I funny?”
“No, Baron Lickitung,” Jessie smiled awkwardly, then burst out laughing, “You’re hilarious!!”
“Hahaha, who would become a Lickitung?” James laughed so hard he leaned back.
“It can even talk, Meowth!” Meowth laughed until tears came.
‘Lickitung’ glared angrily and shouted,
“It’s Baron Alberto, not Baron Lickitung!”
Lu Ye: “Okay, Baron Lickitung.”
The Baron’s neck flushed red with anger, and he stuck out his tongue.
After thinking, he still didn’t dare lick Teacher Lu, turning away in a huff.
“I will defeat Darkrai and restore everything!”
After the interlude, Lu Ye looked at Ami, whose face was flushed and who kept coughing,
“Where’s Mr. Wallace?”
“He’s at the outskirts of town, investigating the fog,” Ami said breathlessly.
Lu Ye nodded, “I’ll head there shortly.”
Ash quietly said, “Teacher Lu... I feel like Darkrai isn’t a bad person...”
Lu Ye turned, “The real disaster requires your power to calm it.”
Ash was stunned, pointing at himself.
Receiving Lu Ye’s approving look, Ash took a deep breath, took off his straw hat, and tied his yellow hair into a ponytail with a headband.
Ash: “I’ll give it my all!”
“If Darkrai has no malice, then that Baron Lickitung just now...”
“Leave it to him,” Lu Ye licked his lips, “If he really defeats Darkrai, it might become a great story...”
Lu Ye decided to head to the outskirts of town to meet Wallace first.
He looked back at Ash with a serious tone,
“Ash, I remember you mentioned Alice’s name?”
Ash was surprised and nodded.
“Good, your mission is to climb the Tower of Time and Space with her.”
Lu Ye placed his hands on Ash’s shoulders, “First find the song ‘Oración,’ then use the Tower of Time and Space to play it!”
“Oración?” Ash looked confused.
Nurse Joy frowned, “It’s a legendary melody passed down in White Poplar Town, said to calm hatred... but it’s long lost...”
Lu Ye: “It’s in the White Poplar Town library.”
Footsteps sounded behind them.
A researcher ran over, panting,
“I-I'm Tonio. Please believe what I say!”
“Darkrai has no malice! Please stop!”
Everyone stared at Tonio as if he was crazy,
As if someone had already spoiled the story, and another mysteriously leaned over,
“You here? Know who the culprit is?”
Tonio took half a step back, “Y-you don’t believe me?”
“No, we believe you.”
Lu Ye patted Tonio’s shoulder firmly:
“Take Ash with you, go to the Tower of Time and Space, and save the world!”
Tonio was stunned for a moment, then said “Oh.”
Ash followed behind, curiously asking,
“Mr. Tonio, why can the Tower of Time and Space play music?”
“Ah... that’s because it’s the largest musical instrument in the world today.”
“Then, what is ‘Oración’?”
“A melody-engraved disk placed in the library.”
“Oh, I know that. Teacher Lu mentioned it.”
Tonio felt a heaviness in his chest.
The information he painstakingly found in the library...
Teacher Lu already knew it?
Tonio gave a powerless wave but felt some relief.
Without Teacher Lu here, White Poplar Town wouldn’t be so orderly.
In the face of disaster, Teacher Lu showed the calmness and wisdom befitting a champion.
Compared to him, the other coordinating champion seemed a bit flashy...
White Poplar Town, bridge to the outside world.
The bridge was shrouded in thick fog; some tried to pass but inexplicably turned back.
“Strange... I was definitely running forward.”
“In my hometown, this is called ‘ghost wall’.”
“No signal at all, no electronic devices work!”
Wallace, wearing a white cloak, stood on the bridge staring at the fog, frowning.
Even he was powerless against the fog despite various attempts.
“Local scholars say this is a phenomenon called ‘Dimensional Barrier.’”
His assistant trembled but forced herself to speak, voice quivering, “H-he said something even more terrifying is about to arrive.”
“I’ll take you to the houses first.” Wallace opened his cloak, shielding the assistant’s body.
The assistant shivered, looking at her soaked skirt, lazily wiping liquid from the ground with her high heels, nodding silently.
Some were optimistic, firmly believing that with Teacher Lu and Wallace here, defeat was impossible.
Some broke down, surrounded by the dark endless fog, with loved ones missing and tormented by nightmares.
From noon until dusk, the fog had lasted only half a day.
Wallace couldn’t imagine what kind of fear would erupt in people’s hearts as night fell.
He looked down at his phone, lips moving slightly, then firmly raised his gaze.
In those green eyes reflected the dark endless fog and the responsibility and mission of a champion’s heart.
Footsteps sounded behind him.
Wallace turned and gave a graceful, apologetic smile:
“Teacher Lu, the finals will have to be postponed.”
“Still thinking about your Mikuri Cup?” Lu Ye teased.
Wallace was taken aback, shaking his head.
“Do you have any spatial abilities?” Lu Ye asked. “You should be able to break Palkia’s barrier temporarily.”
“No.” Wallace’s eyes widened. “Palkia?”
“You’ve probably heard of it.”
“Indeed... but how would you know about it?”
“I’m also a mythology historian.” Lu Ye did not lie.
Wallace nodded slightly, seeming to understand, then pondered,
“So, Darkrai’s warning was directed at Palkia?”
“Not just Palkia.” Lu Ye shrugged, “Dialga is also involved, challenging it to a duel.”
“They’ll fight here, in White Poplar Town.”
After a moment, Wallace dryly said, “You seem to have the ability to foresee the near future, like Gardenia...”
‘Not foresight, I have the script.’
Lu Ye glanced at his phone, saw no help from the chat group, and couldn’t summon Red for a “Qianli rescue wife” mission, sighing.
“In any case.” Lu Ye put away his phone, “You have to cooperate with Darkrai. Only then do we have a chance to survive the final battle.”
Wallace had no objections, arms crossed, hesitating to speak, “Then you...”
“You wouldn’t want a patient fighting on the battlefield, right?”
“I just got hit by Darkrai’s Dark Void; my head is still buzzing. Don’t believe me, listen.”
“...” Wallace sighed, “There’s something I must tell you.”
Lu Ye suddenly felt nervous but nodded slightly.
“Staying too long in the fog causes partial memory loss.”
Wallace bitterly smiled, “I tried to dial that phone number, but I just can’t remember.”
“That means you haven’t memorized it well enough; you should kneel and practice—”
Lu Ye opened his mouth but found his mind was also a blank snowstorm regarding Mengmengda’s phone number.
It was as if... due to the space-time fracture, the entire White Poplar Town was locked in a dark prison.
A bone-chilling cold crept up Lu Ye’s spine and exploded throughout his body along the vertebrae.
Lu Ye whispered, “We must resolve this incident quickly.”
Wallace nodded solemnly, “Yes.”
Suddenly, violent shaking came from behind.
Screams, cries, explosions.
The two turned to see the distorted, spinning space-time rift above White Poplar Town.
Outside White Poplar Town, several hundred meters high in the sky.
Cynthia stood on Garchomp’s back, her black clothes fluttering in the wind, silent.
“Gao?” Garchomp looked back at its trainer.
Cynthia brushed aside the golden hair blown by the wind, showing a faint smile:
“We’re going straight into the space rift.”
“Gao!??” Garchomp’s eyes widened in terror.
Cynthia didn’t answer; her deep gray pupils flickered with a brief sadness.
Then she became the golden-haired queen who looked down on all, arms crossed, black cloak billowing.
White Poplar Town... there was a reason she had to go there.
Cynthia’s gaze was fierce like a beautiful yet fierce lioness, golden hair swaying in the wind.
“No matter if time twists or space shatters...”
In her hand were two dazzling pearls and diamonds.
Using the Spear Key, she might be able to build a bridge linking to the space rift.
Even if... failure was possible.
“My love for you only grows stronger...”
A thrilling smile spread across Cynthia’s face.
“Garchomp, Dragon Rush!” Cynthia softly commanded.
Garchomp, like a fighter jet, surged with fierce red light, charging into the thick fog.
The Spear Key radiated brilliant blue light; the key opened a bridge.
The space-time rift abruptly opened.