Chapter 7: Reach the Top! Fight, Darkrai!
Flashback
Darkrai was wounded after its battle with Luxray, as Alicia had ran over to check onto the injured Pitch Black Pokémon.
Alicia watched in concern before a small smile rose up on her young face. Her smile turned soft before she expressed her concern for Darkrai again.
"Are you hurt? Are you in pain?" Alicia asked in concern.
Darkrai just gazed at her, before it took several breaths, causing the young girl to realize the pain the Pitch Black Pokémon was in.
"Oh... You are..." Alicia said sadly before she watched Darkrai try to float back up, with the result being negative. At watching her new friend struggle with its injuries, the young girl made up her mind to aid the Dark Type.
"I'll help you... Alicia make you well!" Alicia said brightly, surprising Darkrai. The Pitch Black Pokémon widened its eye before it watched Alicia smile at it brightly.
Flashback End
As Alice cared for the unconscious Pitch Black Pokémon, both Brock and Tonio turned to see Dialga and Palkia still battling their way in the middle of the disappearing town! With the town disappearing, many of the wild Pokémon were starting to panic even more!
Meanwhile, Ash, Dawn, and Hikaru continued their way up the steps to get to the top of the Space-Time Tower with their Pokémon running besides them, only to be caught in surprise as the stairs started to slowly disappear into nothingness!
"Ah! Oh no!" Ash gasped as Dawn and Hikaru quickly pitched in to prevent the stairs from completely disappearing.
"Hold on!" Dawn called out as she sent out Buneary and Buizel to aid them with their problem! Hikaru did the same by sending out the young Buizel, allowing the three of them to appear together!
"Buizel! Water Gun! Buneary, Ice Beam!"
"Buizel, help Buneary out with Ice Beam!"
The orders from the Twinleaf friends allowed the three Pokémon to do their work as the elder Buizel shot water at the disappearing stairs before both Buneary and the young Buizel shot their Ice Type attack onto the water!
The ice froze the disappearing stairs, allowing the three Trainers to safely continue their way up to the top.
"Good... That should keep it from disappearing for a while." Hikaru sighed in relief, with Ash grinning as he made the first steps.
"Great! Careful..." Ash spoke to himself as he walked slowly up to prevent himself from falling on the new ice stairs. Hikaru started to follow as Pikachu complimented his three friends for their assistance.
While the Buizel brothers just smiled and nodded to the Electric Type, Buneary blushed before she hid her face in her fur, much to the Electric Type's confusion.
Back to Alice and the others...
By the time the three Trainers were getting to the top of the Space-Time Tower, the town was nearly close to disappearing in the space for good. Kai, Maury, and Allegra sent out their partners to stop the perimeter wall from getting any closer!
The same went for the Trainers' Pokémon that fought against Darkrai before, as they sent out their Pokémon to attack the closing perimeter walls. Even Alice's Pokémon friends were trying to prevent their home from disappearing as they shot their attacks to prevent the walls from closing in on them!
But while the Pokémon were doing all of that, Dialga and Palkia continued their attacks against each other. The ruler of time Pokémon shot Hyper Beam, with Palkia blocking it with a barrier of some sort!
The ruler of space Pokémon shot an Aura Sphere attack, which hit Dialga! But it didn't stop the Temporal Pokémon as it continued to clash with the Spatial Pokémon, before the two roared together in anger.
Alice, Alberto, Tonio, and Brock all watched this occur, all realizing that they had no chance if they were to fight against them in the raging battle they were currently in right now.
Shaking her head with tears welling up in her eyes, Alice yelled out to them, pleading them to stop, despite knowing on how futile it might be.
"Stop this right now!" Alice yelled, which made Darkrai suddenly open its eyes in surprise, as another memory came to the Pitch Black Pokémon's mind.
Flashback
Darkrai was still lying with its back on the tree, as Alicia tried to comfort it from the damage it had taken at the garden.
"You don't have to leave... You can stay here!" Alicia assured softly, causing the Pitch Black Pokémon to tense before it spoke, uncertain whether if Alicia was saying was real or not.
"Do you... mean that?" Darkrai asked, causing Alicia to respond with a smile and another nod.
"Of course! You can stay here as long as you like! This is everyone's garden!" Alicia assured, causing Darkrai to tense again.
Flashback End
By the time the memory faded from Darkrai's mind, both Dialga and Palkia roared in anger! The gem on Dialga's chest began to glow while Palkia's arms began to glow as well, despite the crack it had on its left arm gem.
Tonio widened his eyes as he noticed the power level of the two rising from his computer.
"Oh no! If they collide one more time, our dimension is through!" Tonio exclaimed, causing Brock and Alberto to wince in surprise while Alice widened her eyes in horror at hearing this before she felt a breeze behind her.
Turning in surprise, it was Darkrai! Everyone watched as the Pitch Black Pokémon flew quickly to where the two Sinnoh deities floated as they began to unleash their signature attack against each other!
"STOP!" Darkrai bellowed before he created a shadowy orb that not only surrounded itself, but it even absorbed both Roar of Time and Spacial Rend! The orb began to enlarge itself, before swallowing up both Dialga and Palkia inside.
Everyone watched in surprise from the garden as Darkrai continued to trap the two deities inside.
Back to Hikaru and the others...
The Twinleaf boy was continuing to make their way up to the tower with Ash and Dawn by his side, along with their Pokémon. But as they came across the scene, they all witnessed the shadowy orb that Darkrai has created to stop both Dialga and Palkia.
They all widened their eyes to see Darkrai at the center, with its determination growing bigger as it remembered the words Alicia said to it in the past.
"This garden is everyone's!" Darkrai bellowed, as it continued to hold on to keep the deities inside as long as it could, much to Hikaru's worry as he bit his lips, knowing the limits Darkrai might have...
"Darkrai..." Ash breathed out while Dawn reminded the two of the task they needed to accomplish.
"The disc! Let's hurry!" Dawn called out, earning a nod from the two before Hikaru called to their Pokémon friends to keep up.
"Let's pick up the pace! Let's go!" Hikaru shouted out, before he and his two friends began to continue to run up to the top, as their Pokémon friends followed behind them to keep up.
Back to Alice and the others...
Tonio checked the data on his laptop, realizing that the power levels of both deities had gone down, thanks to the shadowy orb that Darkrai has created to absorb both of their signature attacks.
"Darkrai's blocking the explosion energy, but... for how long?" Tonio stated, before he questioned on how long the Pitch Black Pokémon might be able to hold, due to it taking in both Dialga and Palkia inside!
The scientist was right to be worried as Darkrai continued to trap the two Legendary Pokémon, it felt its energy quickly leaving it as it began to struggle to keep the shadowy orb stable!
As the orb began to grow unstable, it sent a shockwave! The shockwave surprised the Kanto Trainer as the shake suddenly caused him to start falling off the tower!
"ASH!" Both Hikaru and Dawn called out as they quickly caught the Kanto Trainer's hand, with the two Twinleaf Trainers holding onto the tower. Monferno and Piplup tried to help their friends by grabbing onto their Trainers' legs.
But with the three Trainers and the two Pokémon all on the edge, it wasn't enough for them to hold as they began to fall off!
The Pokémon cried out for them in horror before the Buizel brothers quickly shot their double Water Gun attack to push them onto another part of the building! As soon as they regained their footing, they all sighed in relief.
"Thanks, you two! You both saved us all back there!" Hikaru called out, causing the brothers to call back to the Twinleaf boy in response and a wave, before Ash called Pikachu to lead the Pokémon team.
"Hey, Pikachu! Take care of everyone!" Ash shouted out.
"Pika Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu called out in affirmation, before he called to his friends to keep moving. The other Pokémon understood as they continued their pace up the tower. While they were doing so, Hikaru reminded his companions of what they needed to do.
"Come on... Darkrai won't be able to keep those two deities inside forever!" Hikaru reminded, allowing his two friends to nod before they followed after him.
With the Pokémon team and Hikaru's team separating ways, they all began to make their way to the top of the now disappearing Space-Time Tower. But while the two teams were making their way, the shadowy orb began to grow even more unstable!
It began to shrink, allowing both Palkia and Dialga to be free from Darkrai's hold as its energy was completely sapped from the battling and damage it was forced to take during the colossal battle.
While Hikaru, Dawn, and Ash were continuing to make their way, the Twinleaf girl spotted the orb shrinking as she widened her eyes before she called to her two friends to call them back.
"Ash, Hikaru, come back!" Dawn cried out. The boys stopped in their tracks, both confused as to what the Twinleaf girl was shocked about. But when they looked out the window to see, they couldn't blame the Twinleaf girl for her surprise.
The shadowy orb disappeared, with Darkrai shutting its eyes tight in pain, with all the energy that it was forced to spend!
Everyone at the garden widened their eyes to see this as both Dialga and Palkia mercilessly blasted Darkrai into the air with both Hyper Beam and Aura Sphere! The sight shocked everyone as they watched Darkrai float into the air.
Its body began to disappear into nothingness, with everyone watching in horror to see what occurred to the Pitch Black Pokémon.
"Darkrai!" Alice shrieked, horror on her face was clear when she watched her grandmother's friend disappear into nothingness.
"No way... Why... What the heck...?" Hikaru breathed out in disbelief, his face growing pale in disbelief, as his mind didn't want to believe one single thing that he had witnessed just now, while Ash gritted his teeth in anger.
"But how...?" Dawn asked, as she too sounded shocked to see such a thing happen to the Dark Type.
Even the Pokémon team stopped to see Darkrai disappear from both of the deities' attacks as they too, were in horror at seeing a good Pokémon disappear from the double attacks it was forced to take.
As Darkrai had disappeared, tears began to well up on Alice's eyes as she bit her lips, unable to say anything after for what she saw. But with their rage still clear, the two Legendary Pokémon roared angrily, both ready to continue their battling now that the intruder is out of their sight.
Hikaru's face darkened before he clenched his fists in anger. Turning away from the window, the Twinleaf boy called to his two friends to keep moving.
"Let's go..." was all Hikaru said, which was more than enough to make his friends understand. They both nodded before the three Trainers, Monferno, and Piplup kept moving to make their way to where the music disc would be set.
"I am not gonna let Darkrai down now!" Ash grunted angrily as the three Trainers and their two Pokémon friends continued to make their way, as they eventually reached the room where they had set the music disc for the tower!
Upon arriving, the Pokémon team arrived at the top at the same time!
"Pikachu!" Ash called out in relief.
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu responded back before the three Trainers continued to make their way where the music disc would be set. Ash ejected the disc off with Dawn putting it away. But as the Kanto Trainer was about to insert the Oración disc...
"Ah... It won't fit!" Ash exclaimed, much to both Dawn and Hikaru's surprise.
"Say what!?" Hikaru snapped as he bit his lips in annoyance. They had come so far and it stops here because of the disc not fitting!?
Back to Alice and the others...
After Darkrai had vanished out of sight, Dialga and Palkia continued to clash with each other, continuing their fight until they both began to unleash their signature move once again! The gems on their bodies began to glow to charge up their attacks.
The laptop began to create a dangerous noise, with Tonio realizing what this could mean if no one stops them this time.
"This is it... If those two collide once more, then it's over for all of us!" Tonio exclaimed, much to the others' surprise as Brock turned to where the Space-Time Tower was, feeling hopeful for his three young friends.
"But Ash... Dawn... and Hikaru... Please bear in time!" Brock pleaded as he prayed for their safety and for their timing to be done before the attacks could be done.
Back to Hikaru and the others...
The three Trainers continued to check the Oración disc, all unsure of what to do with it, as it wouldn't fit inside the music slot.
"This is Oración, isn't it!?" Ash asked, as he checked the disc over to see whether they made a mistake or not.
"It must be!" Dawn stated as Hikaru took the disc from Ash, before he turned the disc over to see... a pattern that seemed quite peculiar. As he blinked at this, the Twinleaf boy looked at the center of the music slots, before noticing a slot bigger than the others!
There was the same pattern on the slot, just like the one on the Oración disc before he narrowed his eyes.
"Let's hope that this works..." Hikaru grunted as both Dawn and Ash realized what their friend was about to do as they smiled in realization. As the Twinleaf boy set the music disc onto the slot, it made a click!
"It fits!" Ash exclaimed as he, Dawn, and Hikaru all went for the lever, before they pulled it down! The Pokémon all watched their Trainers as they all prayed that it would work! But as the lever turned the machine on, nothing happened...
The gears wouldn't turn, as electricity only sparked weakly, as the power seemed very weak. The three Trainers all widened their eyes in disbelief, as did their Pokémon friends, as they all looked around in confusion.
"The power...!" Ash breathed out as the Twinleaf girl finished it for him.
"It's dead..." Dawn added, before Hikaru clenched his fists.
"Are you kidding me... ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? We've come so far and THIS is the result that we get!?" Hikaru yelled as he slammed his fists onto the Oración music disc. He didn't notice the disc reacting a little as it turned golden for a quick second.
Ash and Dawn both blinked at this, but didn't say anything as they knew that they had to focus on the task at hand right now, instead of trying to calm their friend down. Monferno frowned at his human brother angry with the situation they were in.
He understood how Hikaru felt, especially since Darkrai had to sacrifice himself so that the town and garden would be at peace. But with the power of the Space-Time Tower being dead, and with Dialga and Palkia continuing to clash...
Back to Alice and the others...
Everyone at the garden watched as both Dialga and Palkia continued to gather energy from themselves to launch their signature attacks at each other! The readings from Tonio's laptop began to go haywire, causing the scientist to grit his teeth and fear for the end.
"Too late...!" Tonio grunted, causing everyone to widen their eyes before they began to await for their end once the collision of the two attacks made a hit.
Back to Hikaru and the others...
As Hikaru had calmed down, he realized that without power, the tower wouldn't be able to make music as an idea came to his head.
"Electricity... We need more power! Ash, Dawn! Get Pikachu and Pachirisu up there! Luxio and Dratini, you two help, too!" Hikaru ordered, causing both of his friends to nod in understanding while Luxio made an affirmative cry.
Dratini made an affirmative coo as Staravia flew Pikachu up in the air before allowing the Mouse Pokémon land next to the machine where the electricity would be stored as Dawn sent out her EleSquirrel Pokémon for her assistance.
"Pachirisu, Discharge!"
"And Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt, full blast!"
"Luxio, aid Pikachu with Spark! And Dratini, you aid Pachirisu with Thunder Wave!"
The four Pokémon didn't need to be told twice as they all shot their Electric Type attacks to where the power should be showing. Everyone prayed for this to work, because if it didn't... then it would mean the end for all of them and everyone counting on them.
But as soon as the four continued to charge their electricity onto the music machine, the power began to go on! Gears started to rotate and the music that would soothe every soul was about to begin.
One sound was rung, before another sound was rung. And soon, the music of Oración began. As it began to go on, both Dialga and Palkia stopped their attacks as they both turned to see where the soothing music was coming from.
The people and Pokémon at the gardens all turned to see where the Space-Time Tower was. As the music went on, the tower began to glow a little with golden light. The perimeter wall stopped swallowing up the town, as the fighting had stopped.
Soon, all attention was towards the Space-Time Tower, as the soothing music went on. While it was going on, the tower began to restore itself to normal. Flowers bloomed onto parts of the tower coming out as Hikaru, Dawn, and Ash watched in awe.
The same went for their Pokémon friends, as they were all awed for what was happening and what they were witnessing just now. But as they watched carefully, the tower began to sprout bright, golden light!
The light took the form of golden wings, radiating the light around the dimension that Alamos Town was currently in. As light showered around the remains of the town, Tonio understood what this all was.
"That's it... This is Oración..." Tonio breathed out, causing Alice to blink before she took out the music notes of the music her grandmother always used to play before she turned to see the picture of Alicia and herself.
Feeling joy and relief in her heart, the tears on Alice's eyes threatened to fall as she looked up to hear the music go on with the beautiful light showering around the town. It even seemed to soothe both Dialga and Palkia as they remained in the air, listening.
The music and the light even fixed the crack on Palkia's gem on its left arm, allowing the Spatial Pokémon to recover from the serious wound it had taken from the battle with Dialga earlier.
And that was not all what Oración had done.
The light surrounded the remains of Alamos Town, before the entire town was completely restored!
The two Sinnoh legendary deities turned to each other, both understanding the flaws that they each had in them by their anger, and the unthinkable actions that they have caused to make a town disappear, due to their foolish and unnecessary battle.
"Dialga and Palkia... They're in peace with one another now..." Hikaru breathed out, allowing his two friends to hear as they all watched Dialga make the leave first, heading to where it originally belonged to.
As soon as the Temporal Pokémon was soon out of sight, the Buizel brothers alerted their human and Pokémon friends of who was coming. Turning, the three Trainers turned to see Palkia slowly approaching the Space-Time Tower.
It floats above the tower, but it seemed to be looking down at the ones that caused the music to happen, while preventing the battle from occurring any further.
Hikaru clenched his fists, not wanting to snap, but deep down, he knew... Even the Legendary Pokémon wasn't perfect. And they never will be.
"You... You... You and Dialga... are both horrible, you know that, Palkia!? Your battle and rage has not just caused most of Alamos Town to disappear, but you both had the gall to eliminate Darkrai, when all it wanted to do was stop your fighting!" Hikaru bellowed angrily.
Dawn was about to calm Hikaru down before she widened her eyes at the tears welling up on the Twinleaf boy's eyes, while Ash had his face darkened. He knew how the Twinleaf boy had felt, and only wished he could help in with the reprimanding.
"Can't you see how many people and Pokémon's lives you put at risk!? You're supposed to be one of the deities of Pokémon! A deity that leads people and Pokémon to the right way! And yet, you both... You both still... You..." Hikaru continued before he broke down.
He fell to his knees, sobbing loudly while Dawn quickly comforted her childhood friend. Monferno did the same, before the rest of Hikaru's Pokémon followed suit. Ash did the same with Pikachu, as all their Pokémon friends surrounded their three human friends.
"Hikaru's right... You bring this town back the way it was!" Ash demanded, with Dawn joining in.
"You've got to do it! Palkia, please!" Dawn pleaded loudly.
"Pikachu!"
"Monferno Mon!" Both Pikachu and Monferno made their angry demands, as Palkia seemed to have tensed a little. After a second, the Spatial Pokémon roared lightly, before surrounding the whole town and garden with its aura!
Everyone watched to see themselves engulfed with the aura before a bright light shone!
As little time passed by, everyone found themselves back to the original dimension, where they truly belonged to before the legendary battle had begun.
Hikaru had stood up, and watched the sight with Ash and Dawn, along with their Pokémon friends as they looked around to see where they were now.
"We're back!" Dawn exclaimed as the Twinleaf boy narrowed his eyes, before a weak smile crept up to his face. He wiped the remaining tears he had on his eyes before he noticed someone missing in the scene.
"Looks like Palkia... went back to its own original dimension." Hikaru blurted out, before the frown returned to his face. His two friends turned to him in worry, as they knew how the Twinleaf boy was feeling.
After for what they had seen so far in the dimension they were trapped in, they both understood what dangerous times everyone had to go through. That went for...
"Darkrai..." Hikaru whispered silently, inaudible enough to not let anyone hear.
Later, that evening...
With the peace returned to the town, everyone in Alamos Town continued their original duties and activities, with the people and citizens enjoying their time in the town now that the danger was over.
But the group, Tonio, and Alice hadn't forgotten on else that occurred during the battle, as they all thought about the Pitch Black Pokémon. Alberto hadn't forgotten either, but he went somewhere else to say or think of his thanks to the Dark Type.
The group and the two childhood friends watched from the fronts of the tower to face the cliff walls to watch the garden that was below them, all mourning for the loss of the true hero of the space-time conflict earlier.
"Thank you, Darkrai..." Alice whispered, before tears threatened to fall from her eyes again.
She recalled everything of what Darkrai had done to protect Alamos Town, along with the garden where it had met Alicia in the past.
Flashback
She remembered the time when Darkrai rushed through the air to confront Palkia, only to be blasted back by the bubble between the Space-Time Towers. He hurtled through the air and crashed into the ground, only to reappear five seconds later to strike back at the deity.
Alice also thought back to where she only stared numbly at the falling Dialga and Palkia, petrified to the ground by her fear, when Darkrai suddenly arrived to blast the two Pokémon out of the way and back into the sky, saving Alice from the danger of being crushed...
Another thought came to when a combination of Aura Sphere and Hyper Beam from Dialga and Palkia was blasted onto the Pitch Black Pokémon. A cloud of smoke puffed out, and Darkrai shot out of the cloud and crash-landed into the forest area.
Then, there was a time when she and Tonio, who had managed to stay on the partially destroyed hot-air balloon, were about to get hit by Dialga's Roar of Time. But Darkrai suddenly appeared and bravely took the blow, shielding most of the damage that would've been fatal to them.
Another thought came to her when she and the others were helplessly watching Dialga and Palkia charge up their most destructive moves when Darkrai, who was unconscious just a moment ago, unexpectedly rushed into the air, created the shadowy orb around himself.
By using the shadowy orb, the Pitch Black Pokémon was able to halt the two attacks from colliding with one another, before the orb absorbed both Dialga and Palkia inside to prevent them from fighting any further.
But it didn't last, as Darkrai had spent most of its energy trying to stop the two Legendary Pokémon from fighting any longer.
With its last energy spent, the shadowy orb no longer surrounded Dialga and Palkia.
The two Sinnoh deities, angered even more by its interference, mercilessly attacked Darkrai with a Hyper Beam and an Aura Sphere, which slammed into the Pitch Black Pokémon, causing it to float into the air, disintegrating into dust... until Darkrai was no more.
Flashback End
"...for everything." Alice finished, tears flowing from her eyes as she couldn't hold them back any longer.
Ash was the next one to speak, as he spoke his regrets for having doubt about the Pitch Black Pokémon, despite of Hikaru's insistence of believing that Darkrai wasn't the true enemy in the town.
"I'm sorry, Darkrai... I should have known... you were just trying to do the right thing, but... I still doubted you, even when you tried to give me a sign and when Hikaru told me you were a friend..." Ash grunted bitterly.
He shut his eyes tight, with Pikachu giving sad cry for his human friend.
Hikaru was the next one to speak, with his eyes being shadowed as he didn't want to show the others what his face was currently like now.
"Darkrai... When you called me the Young Prince, at first... I didn't understand what you meant, but... when you asked me to stop both Dialga and Palkia, there was hardly anything I could do..." Hikaru breathed out.
"I just wish... I was able to help more when you fought against them... If I was more stronger... then maybe, you would still be here..." Hikaru breathed out, as his shadowed eyes showed tears streaming down to his cheeks again.
Dawn widened her eyes a little at her childhood friend's words before she sniffed, having a tear fall from her eyes as well.
With the mourning done, Tonio led Alice away softly, as he too, felt thankful for the brave action that Darkrai had done for his hometown and for the people he cared about. Alice slowly followed, with Chimchar following after the two friends.
The group started to follow after them as well, until Pikachu and Monferno turned to their right! They both widened their eyes as they made surprised cries at what they were seeing right now.
"Pika!?"
"Mon!?" The two cried out, causing everyone to turn and see where the two starters were staring at. As they all turned, what surprised them was... there was a large shadow that they all knew quite well!
Running over to see the shadow again, the group and the two childhood friends realized what this could mean as they all turned to see who was standing at the top of the Space-Time Tower.
"Darkrai!"
"Piplup!" Dawn and Piplup cried out together as Ash grinned at seeing the Pitch Black Pokémon looking well and alive.
"Darkrai, you're okay!"
"Pika!" Ash exclaimed, with Pikachu crying out in relief and joy.
Hikaru had his eyes widened before he wiped his eyes again, the smile on his face growing more as relief was the first thing he felt before he gave a small chuckle at seeing the Pitch Black Pokémon once again...
"You never cease to surprise us, even from the shadows, do you, Darkrai?" Hikaru asked himself silently, with Monferno crying out with a grin. Brock, Tonio, and Alice all smiled at Darkrai's presence before Alice moved closer to where her childhood friend stood.
At feeling Alice come close to him, the scientist blushed before he slowly began to accept the feeling back.
As everyone watched Darkrai still standing on top of the tower, they all realized something...
Peace has truly come, now that the true hero has returned to its home.
Hikaru's POV
Alamos Town was no longer in danger anymore... And with peace finally settling in, there was only one thing that would come to Dawn's mind, along with mine... The Alamos Town Pokémon Contest that was about to take place.
At first, the incident yesterday that involved Darkrai and the two Sinnoh deities still shook me up, but I was able to handle the pressure at the Contest well, thanks to the others cheering both me and Dawn on.
Allegra, Kai, and Maury were participating in the Contest too, which meant that today's competition was going to be a tough one.
By the time the Battle Stage was set, Dawn and I both knew we had to fight our hardest if we wanted to face each other to get to the Alamos Ribbon, but...
It was a close competition. I had to face Maury and Torterra first in the first round, which Monferno and I barely won against before we had to face Kai next. Kai and Empoleon were both tough opponents to face, but in the end, we managed to make a close win.
It was also the time when I heard Dawn losing to Allegra in the semi-finals. But instead of being upset about it, she was happy about it as she had fun in the competition.
In the end, it was me against Allegra. But despite of our combinations and battling skills, we were no match for the two, as Monferno and I ended up as the runner-up at the Alamos Contest, with Allegra and Infernape taking the win and the Alamos Ribbon.
But, even with the loss... I had no regrets. No hard feelings.
I'm just satisfied that even with this loss, I was able to learn from what I was doing wrong in the competition, which would also help me be able to do much better the next time I'm at a Contest.
With the Alamos Contest ending, so did our plans to stay at Alamos Town for a while. So as we began to take our leave, we said our farewells to both Alice and Tonio, as they said their goodbyes to us while we made our leave.
As we were leaving, I thought I felt Darkrai's presence as I managed to get a glimpse of it staring at me before it disappeared out of sight.
I could only smile, knowing that there will be someday when I would meet Darkrai again someday, as well the Sinnoh deities...
"Pokémon and people... Some may act harsh and dark, but in truth... they have light inside them, whether if it's big or small. The light that they wish to protect... even if it means their own life. But in the end, a miracle can happen... no matter how harsh reality can be someday..."
"We will meet again someday... But in a time when things are bright with no hints of disaster, I hope..."
End POV
Hikaru's Team:
Monferno: (M): (Flame Wheel, Fire Spin, Mach Punch, Fury Swipes)
Luxio: (F): (Thunder Fang, Spark, Hidden Power, Iron Tail)
Leafeon: (F): (Razor Leaf, Synthesis, Shadow Ball, Iron Tail)
Buizel: (M): (Ice Beam, Aqua Jet, Swift, Water Gun)
Dratini: (M): (Wrap, Thunder Wave, Twister, Dragon Rage)
Next chapters:
VOL 2:
Chapter 1: Enter Shaymin! A New Friend?
Chapter 2: The Reverse World and Reality!
Chapter 3: Take Flight! Sky Forme Shaymin!
Chapter 4: The Dark Truth About Zero
Chapter 5: Take Down and Battle Zero!
Next chapter preview:
Ash: Awesome! This looks so good! Let's dig in, gang... Wait, huh!? Wait! That's our pancakes, you know!
Hikaru: This Pokémon... I've seen it before, but I never thought I would see it here right now. Your name is Shaymin, right?
Shaymin: Yes, that's right. I have to get to the Flower Garden right away so I can meet my friends there!
Ash: Okay then... So which way is the Flower Garden? You're going to have to be specific if you want us to help you get there.
Shaymin: Well, if you head a little further from over there... And then you head over there, then...
Dawn: Poor thing. Whatever happened to it must've been really bad. It even caught a fever in the process!