Pokemon: A New Path-The Legends had arrived [582]

The flames of divine judgment scorched the land. In just moments, the once lush and thriving Michina was reduced to a scorched and broken shadow of itself.

Thick smoke choked the sky. The town lay in ruins. Fields of crops lovingly tended by farmers were reduced to smoldering ash. The surrounding forest, once teeming with life, was riddled with craters and splintered trees, scars left by the onslaught.

Above it all, Arceus floated silently, cold and unfeeling, gazing down with divine indifference.

This was justice.

This was the price of betrayal.

This was what humans deserved.

With no emotion in His eyes, Arceus slowly turned His gaze toward the ancient temple built atop the cliff, a monument erected by humans in reverence to Him.

It was here, long ago, that the betrayal began.

Now it would fall like the rest.

Arceus glided forward, heading toward the temple gates. He remembered this place clearly. It was here that Damos once walked out to greet Him with open arms and a hidden knife.

In a strange moment of déjà vu, Arceus paused.

A figure was standing there again.

But this time, it wasn't Damos.

Instead, it was a young girl, far too young to have ever stood in that era, yet holding something remarkably familiar in her hands.

"Arceus, please stop!"

She raced forward, clutching a glowing jewel.

Ash and his friends followed close behind, their faces tight with worry.

Arceus narrowed His eyes. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sheena, a descendant of Damos!" the girl cried out. "I'm sorry for what my ancestor did to you! This is the Jewel of Life. I'm here to return it to you!"

At those words, Arceus's expression briefly softened.

But in the next moment, His fury reignited.

As Sheena gently placed the glowing gem on the stone pedestal before Him, Arceus lunged forward, slamming down with a shining golden hoof.

Crack!

The so-called Jewel of Life shattered into fragments.

Ash and the others stood frozen in disbelief as Arceus's voice thundered across the heavens:

"You dare call this the Jewel of Life?!"

"My Jewel of Life is a fragment of myself. It cannot break so easily!"

"You've deceived me again!"

Arceus's fury burned brighter than ever.

A blood-red aura flared around Him as an enormous energy sphere began to form in front of His forehead. Without hesitation, He unleashed it.

A beam of searing light tore through the air, slamming into the ancient temple with terrifying force.

In a flash, the entire temple was cleaved in half, sliced cleanly down the middle as if by a blade of pure light.

"I will never be deceived by humans again!" Arceus roared.

Sheena staggered back, stunned. She raised her hands and shouted over the rumbling destruction:

"Arceus! Please, listen to me!"

"Transcend the confines of time and space!"

She closed her eyes and tried to reach out to Arceus's heart, using the power of Bonds, the ancient spiritual force known as the Heart's Voice in her lineage.

For a brief moment, a connection flickered to life.

But all she saw within was a crimson void, a twisted space filled with rage and betrayal.

The next instant, the link shattered.

Sheena was thrown backward, collapsing onto the floor.

Above them, Arceus's divine ring, the Thousand-Arms Wheel, glowed again, its golden light pulsing violently.

A new energy sphere formed above His head.

And then, it launched into the sky.

Boom!

The blast erupted like divine fireworks, bathing the sky in radiant light.

But the light wasn't a blessing. It was death.

The light from the sky reflected in Ash and his friends' eyes. If that attack landed, the entire temple would be reduced to rubble in an instant. There would be no surviving it.

Just then, two swirling portals appeared before the temple, one blue and one purple.

With a deafening roar, Dialga and Palkia descended from the vortexes. They planted themselves between the temple and Arceus, shielding Ash and the others from harm.

"You too have chosen to side with humans?" Arceus' voice thundered, laced with fury.

Dialga and Palkia called out in protest, trying to reason with their creator.

But Arceus responded with a cold snort. Flames swirled around him as a massive firestorm burst from his body. A towering cyclone of blazing energy surged straight toward the two dragons.

Before they could dodge, the inferno struck.

Palkia was thrown backward, crashing into the side of a mountain. Dialga slammed into the broken remains of the temple, toppling several pillars as it hit the ground.

High in the distance, a Rotom Phone quietly recorded the entire scene.

The phone, sent by a young trainer, streamed the footage in real time to the emergency shelter's big screen. Everyone gathered inside watched, stunned, as the chaos unfolded outside.

"That's Dialga, the Legendary Pokémon who controls time. And Palkia, the one who governs space."

Someone in the shelter recognized them right away.

But seeing them so easily overwhelmed by Arceus shook the townspeople to their core.

"Can even they stand up to the God of Creation?" someone murmured.

No one had an answer. Every eye remained glued to the screen.

On-screen, Palkia had already recovered and launched a powerful Spacial Rend at Arceus.

But the attack vanished the moment it struck, absorbed effortlessly like a drop of water in a vast ocean.

Palkia's strike had no effect.

Dialga, still lying among the temple ruins, charged up its Roar of Time and fired it.

Yet again, nothing. Arceus stood completely unharmed.

"If even Pokémon oppose me, I will show them no mercy," Arceus declared, cold and resolute. Not even his own creations were exempt.

He unleashed another terrifying wave of divine power. A storm of golden energy roared toward Dialga and Palkia.

The pressure was suffocating.

Faced with such overwhelming might, the two dragons froze. Their own strength paled in comparison. For a moment, they felt no different from ordinary Pokémon.

They closed their eyes, bracing for impact.

But the pain never came.

Amid the explosion, Dialga slowly opened its eyes.

Before it stood a towering figure cloaked in shadow and flame, its wings were unfurled wide to shield them from harm.

It was Giratina.

But it was not alone.

Behind Giratina, swirling portals to the Reverse World opened one after another.

From those glowing vortexes, more legendary Pokémon emerged.

A great blue titan, covered in golden markings and brimming with primal majesty. Kyogre.

A tall, humanoid figure with sleek pink fur and a long tail, radiating raw psychic power. Mewtwo.

A burst of golden light flashed across the sky as a magnificent rainbow arced overhead. With a radiant cry, Ho-Oh soared into view, trailing flames of rebirth behind it.

Then, a deep roar echoed through the heavens. A sleek black dragon streaked out from the clouds, its golden eyes locked on Arceus. Rayquaza, the Sky High Pokémon.

And finally, emerging in a dignified glow with a regal crown-like form and a calm, powerful presence. Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests.

Just when Dialga thought everything was over, a deafening rumble echoed behind him.

Boom!

Dialga turned his head instinctively and saw a colossal figure slowly emerging from behind the temple, towering like a mountain.

Its body radiated intense heat, and golden lines glowed like molten magma across its red, armored shell.

"That's... Groudon, the Continent Pokémon!" Ash exclaimed from the ground.

Brock, standing beside him, was utterly speechless, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Giratina is here, Groudon too. And Kyogre, and even Rayquaza. What in the world is going on?"

At that moment, Hina, whose eyesight was especially sharp, suddenly pointed upward above Giratina's head.

"Look there!"

Ash and the others turned to where she was pointing.

Hovering above Giratina's head stood a human figure. The person wore a flowing cloak and a mask that concealed their face.

"That's..." Dawn murmured. "That's the legendary Cyclizar Mask."

Ash's eyes widened, then drifted to Calyrex floating calmly in midair nearby.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. It was so outrageous, it made his heart race.

'That masked figure might actually be Mr. Naoki.'

Beside him, Brock also seemed to come to the same realization. He glanced at Ash knowingly, both of them remembering their visit to Naoki's ranch last year.

Back then, they had joined the Great Hero Expedition Team to help Jirachi and traveled to the Paldea region. It was there they met Mr. Naoki and Calyrex, and Pikachu had the chance to spar with Calyrex in a Pokémon battle.

Now, seeing this scene unfold, the answer felt clear.

Mr. Naoki was Cyclizar Mask.

Ash's pulse quickened.

He looked up at the Legendary Pokémon gathered above: Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Mewtwo, Giratina, Ho-Oh. Could Mr. Naoki really have partnered with all of them?

In the underground shelter of Michina, the townspeople were stunned by what they saw on the screen. A hushed awe fell over them as they watched the godlike Pokémon assemble one by one.

"Those Pokémon... Could they actually be here to help us?"

"I recognize them! That's Groudon, the Guardian of the Land, Kyogre of the Oceans, and Rayquaza, the Lord of the Skies."

"And over there, that's Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests."

"Wait, look on Giratina's back. There's a person!"

"Oh my goodness, it's Cyclizar Mask. He's really here, and he brought all of them with him to protect us."

Cheers, gasps, and awe rippled through the crowd. The people of Michina stared at the screen, their fear slowly being replaced by a sliver of hope.

At that moment, a chilling realization swept through the minds of everyone watching.

Those legendary Pokémon... they had all been captured by Cyclizar Mask.

And now, Cyclizar Mask had brought them here to help, just like during the great crisis in Hoenn the year before.

"No way!" someone gasped. "Just how strong is this guy to have so many legendary Pokémon at his side?"

A king? No, even that title wasn't enough. A champion? No, not even champions had this kind of power. There was no one like him.

"This is insane! I need to stream this to the internet right now!"

Within minutes, a special livestream room popped up online. Viewers from around the world began to flood in.