"The Pope is using me, but I am using him as well. The moment Celestic Town is erased will be the moment we turn our backs on the Temple," Cyrus said with a cold, calculating laugh.
"Saturn, Mars, Jupiter—take the Galactic Bombs and head to Lake Acuity, Lake Valor, and Lake Verity immediately. We must capture the Lake Guardians. Their psychic essence is the only thing that can forge the Red Chain to shackle the Dragons of Time and Space."
"Once the Dragons are ours, Team Galactic will be the true masters of Sinnoh. The Temple and the League will be nothing but footnotes in history. The Pope believes those Orbs held by the clans can synthesize the true Jewel of Life? Fool. Those are mere fakes created by the first Pope, Damos. The real Jewel has been missing for a millennium."
Cyrus looked at his most trusted commanders, his eyes burning with an intense, hollow light. "I discovered a hidden ruin that detailed the betrayal from a thousand years ago. The truth of the Temple is far darker than the myths suggest."
The Frozen City
After bidding farewell to his family, Feng Che took a flight to Snowpoint City, the northernmost settlement in Sinnoh.
The city was a world of white, buried under a perpetual snowfall that blanketed the streets in a thick, crystalline layer. Feng Che arrived late at night, his boots crunching through the deep snow as he moved toward the city's edge.
Rising from the center of a vast, partially frozen lake was a majestic, solemn structure: the Great Temple of Sinnoh. An expansive stone platform jutted out from the temple, dominated by a gargantuan statue of Arceus that seemed to watch over the frozen wastes with silent judgment.
"So, this is it," Feng Che murmured. "The seat of power in Sinnoh."
The security was suffocating. Above the temple, dozens of Staraptor fitted with specialized tracking anklets circled in precise, overlapping patrol patterns. On the ground, Bronzor and Bronzong drifted between pillars.
Bronzong, shaped like an ancient bell and etched with patterns resembling Unown, were fitted with bronze control rings that hummed with energy. Groups of Temple guards followed them, armed with spears capable of discharging high-voltage electrical arcs.
In the waters surrounding the temple, Floatzel darted through the icy currents. Feng Che noticed the same control rings on their wrists—these were the Temple's aquatic sentries, known as "sea-foxes" for their incredible speed and agility.
"The security is tight, and I sense a strange, oppressive warding spell surrounding the area," Mewtwo warned, its eyes glowing faintly purple as it scanned the perimeter. "Feng Che, you aren't actually planning to storm the gates and steal the Earth Orb, are you?"
"You're half right," Feng Che smirked. "I'm going into the water. The real Jewel of Life is at the bottom of this lake."
The Millennium Betrayal
"A thousand years ago, the priest Damos intended to return the Jewel of Life to Arceus to honor their pact," Feng Che explained to Mewtwo. "But another high-ranking priest, Marcus, refused to relinquish the power. He stole the Jewel and hid it in this very lake."
"Marcus then ambushed Damos, assumed his identity, and led a betrayal against Arceus. He used a fake Jewel to lure the Alpha Pokémon into a trap, wounding it so severely it was forced back into its own dimension to slumber."
"Arceus swore that when it woke, it would bring the 'Judgment of Humanity.' The current Pope is a fraud; he claims to receive divine oracles from Arceus, but Arceus hates humans with every fiber of its being. It would never speak to him. The entire Temple is being led by a madman chasing a hollow dream."
Feng Che pointed toward the dark, frigid waters. "I'm here for the original Jewel—the one Marcus hid. He intended to retrieve it after killing Arceus, but he ended up entombed in the mud alongside Damos during the chaos of the battle. The God-tier resource is just sitting down there, waiting."
"I need to get in without alerting those Floatzel or the Staraptor overhead."
The Archeologist and the Pope
Inside the Temple's main hall, the Pope sat upon a magnificent throne. Above him, a massive circular skylight allowed the starlight to pour into the chamber, where the Orbs he had collected floated in a slow, glowing dance.
The throne sat atop a high dais, flanked by lapis lazuli railings and inlaid with sparkling sapphires. Seated on a smaller chair to his side was a man with thick eyebrows and a rugged, scholarly appearance: Brandon, the Pyramid King.
Brandon was an archeologist at heart, driven by an obsession with the Legendary Titans. He had already captured Regirock, Registeel, and Regice, and had allied with the Temple solely to find the remaining Titans and the King, Regigigas.
"Mr. Brandon," the Pope spoke, his voice dry and rasping. "The Millennium Comet is nearly upon us. Have you finalized the ritual to summon the Dragons of Time and Space?"
"Lord Pope," Brandon replied respectfully. "I have combed through the ancient texts. To summon Dialga and Palkia, we must go to the Spear Pillar atop Mt. Coronet. We will need the Adamant Orb and the Lustrous Orb to bridge the gap between dimensions."