Ash and the others were overjoyed after uncovering the real reason Giratina was chasing Shaymin.
After ending the call with Naoki, Ash got ready to bring Shaymin to find Giratina and help it remove the restrictions Dialga had placed.
Watching from afar, Naoki thought everything should go smoothly now.
Meanwhile, Gary and Professor Oak returned to the kids, carrying the bottles of Gogoat Milk Naoki had given them.
Naoki stayed behind a little longer, waiting in the house. After about ten minutes, he left, taking his Cyclizar Mask and a few Pokémon along.
He pretended he was heading out to deliver goods, waved goodbye to Professor Oak, and drove the pickup truck away from the ranch.
After reaching the town, Naoki parked the truck in a lot and then rode Koraidon into the sky, aiming to reach the Reverse World through the portal Giratina had left near the World Tree.
However, just as he landed, Mewtwo suddenly teleported in front of him.
"Is it starting already?" Mewtwo's deep voice resonated directly in Naoki's mind.
Naoki blinked, quickly understanding what Mewtwo meant. He shook his head. "Not yet. First, I need to rescue Giratina."
Hearing this, Mewtwo tilted its head slightly, a question mark practically appearing over its head.
"Giratina? It's in trouble?"
At the same time, in the Sinnoh region, in a town tucked between forests and mountains.
Ash and his friends were walking through the streets with Shaymin, wondering how to find Giratina. Then, all of a sudden, a purple portal shimmered to life in the mirrored wall beside them, and a tornado burst forth, sucking them into a strange realm.
That familiar sensation hit them again — Giratina had appeared!
As soon as they landed, they saw Giratina's massive form hovering in the void, its blood-red eyes locked onto them.
"I-I'm scared..." Shaymin whimpered, trembling.
"Don't worry," Dawn comforted gently.
Ash stood up, braced himself, and called out boldly:
"Giratina! We know you're trapped here! We've come to help you break the seal Dialga placed on you!"
Giratina, who had been expecting them to flee like before, froze in surprise.
Seeing that Giratina wasn't attacking, Ash and the others sighed in relief.
"Shaymin, it's your turn!" Ash turned to Shaymin beside him. "Use Seed Flare!"
Shaymin looked up at Giratina nervously. Realizing that the fierce-looking Pokémon wasn't actually attacking him, Shaymin mustered his courage.
"Mee... Mee, I'm here to help!" Shaymin said bravely.
Dawn smiled at Shaymin's adorable determination and gently patted his head. "You can do it!"
Shaymin jumped down from her arms, tense with focus. Concentrating hard, Shaymin summoned his energy.
A dazzling light burst forth from Shaymin's small body, radiating outward like a blooming star.
At the same time, high in the real-world sky.
A massive spaceship floated among the clouds.
Inside, a man with silver hair squinted at the display on the observation monitor.
"Interesting. That Shaymin is actively helping Giratina remove Dialga's restrictions?"
Watching the force field fluctuations appearing on the Reverse World scanner, Zero knew exactly what that meant: Giratina was about to return to the real world.
"Perfect. It'll save me some trouble," Zero chuckled darkly. He turned and gave an order. "Infi, prepare to initiate the capture plan."
The next moment, a girl-shaped AI projection materialized and responded briskly, "Understood. Devices are ready. Capture operation will begin once Giratina crosses over into the real world."
Zero's lips curled into a cold smile. "Soon... the Reverse World will belong to me. I'll become the King of the Reverse World!"
Back in the Reverse World, under the impact of Shaymin's full-powered Seed Flare, a vortex spiraled, opening a gateway leading to the real world.
"Hmph! Finally done!"
Giratina stared proudly at the portal to the real world.
'That wretched Dialga, how dare it trap me here! Just wait, it wouldn't let this go!'
Turning its head, Giratina looked at the humans and the Pokémon named Shaymin standing before it, its expression full of pride.
"Thank you for helping me this time."
Giratina's arrogant voice echoed directly in Ash and his friends' minds.
For a moment, they stood frozen in surprise, but Ash quickly realized what had happened.
'Telepathy... just like Shaymin!'
'Naoki was right after all!' Ash thought, scratching his head awkwardly. "Don't worry about it. We're just glad you're okay."
"As long as you don't eat me!" Shaymin added quickly, his tiny body still trembling slightly.
Giratina didn't respond. Instead, it turned its gaze back to the swirling vortex and twisted its massive body, flying swiftly toward it. With a single, powerful movement, it pierced through the vortex and entered the real world once again.
As Giratina crossed over, the force of gravity shifted. Its body immediately transformed, six sturdy legs extended from its sides, and the streamlined wings along its back folded into two pairs of black, bat-like wings, giving it the appearance of a fearsome vampire lord.
With a heavy thud, Giratina landed by a lakeside.
At last, it had returned to this world!
Giratina's heart swelled with relief. It flexed its body, adjusting to the different gravitational pull of the real world.
High above, the clouds churned.
Suddenly, a gigantic spaceship burst through the mist, the clouds parting in its wake. At the front of the vessel, a mechanical device resembling a massive harpoon gleamed with a sinister red light.
The next moment, the device launched at high speed, cutting through the sky with a sharp, shrill noise.
Giratina, sensing something wrong, snapped its head up, but the harpoon-like device was already upon it.
In an instant, mechanical arms unfolded from the device and fired beams of red energy, forming a massive cage that locked around Giratina.
Giratina roared in shock and fury, struggling violently to break free.
At that moment, Ash and his friends emerged from the portal, only to witness the terrifying scene unfold before their eyes.
"There it is!" Dawn cried out, alarmed.
"Giratina's trapped!" Ash shouted, stunned. "What's happening?!"
"I won't let you escape!" A cold, determined voice rang out from the spaceship.
Zero watched Giratina on the screen with a triumphant smile.
"I've waited a long time for this day."
This spaceship, this device, everything had been meticulously prepared for this moment. As long as Giratina was contained, the preset program would automatically activate.
No matter how strong Giratina was, once inside the device, it would be reduced to a helpless caterpillar, powerless, vulnerable, and easily defeated.
"Infi, begin the ability extraction!" Zero commanded.
"Understood," replied Infi, the AI girl projected beside him.
Infi quickly input the commands into the control panel. If everything went as planned, the device would unleash countless beams of energy, draining Giratina's power until no trace of life remained.
Zero leaned back, a cold, amused smile on his lips as he watched Giratina struggling helplessly inside the energy trap.
"The program has started. 1%... 26%... 67%... 89%... 100%. Program successfully initiated!"
Infi's calm voice echoed through the command room.
On the main screen, countless red beams shot out from the device, forming a dense web of light that seemed to blot out the sky.
'Almost there. Soon, the Reverse World will belong to me!'
Zero's eyes gleamed with wild excitement, his entire expression twisted with fanaticism.
But the next second, Infi's voice rang out again, filled with alarm.
"Warning! Warning! An unidentified creature is approaching at Mach 15!"
Startled, Zero snapped his head toward the screen.
Infi immediately pulled up the feed.
On the monitor, a piercing black streak blazed across the sky, cutting through the clouds like a divine lance. It shot straight toward them, landing with an earth-shaking crash.
Before Zero could even make out what it was, the black light slammed into his painstakingly built device.
The mechanical arms were instantly torn apart, snapping like twigs. The red beams that had been trapping Giratina flickered, dimmed, and vanished completely.
Without the device's energy, the cage fell apart.
Roaring furiously, Giratina shattered the weakened trap into pieces in an instant.
But Zero no longer paid attention to that.
At this moment, Infi automatically adjusted the camera feed, bringing a new image onto the screen.
The entire command room fell silent.
Hovering over the vast forest was a colossal, pitch-black dragon.
Its long, serpentine body was coiled elegantly, ancient golden patterns gleaming along its dark scales. Golden eyes radiated an overwhelming, awe-inspiring light. It was so massive that it could rival their spaceship in size.
Zero's eyes widened, disbelief etched across his face.
"That's..." he breathed.