Sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling onto the land of Poplar Town.
The people let out a sigh of relief as they looked at the sky, which had regained its light.
People returned to their original forms: the rejuvenated young girls turned back into kind old grandmothers, and the graceful young ladies became tiny infants in their mothers' arms.
Those who had vanished into light also returned to this earth.
A light filled with hope enveloped all the people of Poplar Town.
Cynthia sat kneeling on the rooftop, resting Lucas's head on her lap. She squinted as she looked up at the sky. Had a whole night really passed already?
A fierce wind suddenly rose as Lugia left and then returned.
"What's wrong?"
Cynthia looked up at Lugia.
Lugia shook its head, looked at Lucas sleeping on her lap, and spoke: "Forget it, I'll wait until he wakes up before I leave to avoid the heat for a while."
Cynthia: ?"
Seeing that Lugia had no intention of speaking further, Cynthia didn't press for more information.
It sensed that three fellows were fighting over the seas of the Galar region.
It had already been fighting all night and didn't want to go over there yet; it would let them cause a ruckus for a while first.
Lugia thought to itself.
Then it looked at Lucas, constantly calculating something in its mind.
It wondered if Lucas would go to the Galar region. If he did, maybe it could ask him to help deal with those three guys' problems. At worst, it would just give him another chance for a promise—
Wallace stood on the rooftop, his palm constantly stroking Altaria's head. He admired the rising sun for a moment, then bent down to pick up his white hat. The hat was intact, just covered in dust.
Wallace blew on it and placed the hat on his head.
Walking over to Cynthia, he suggested, "A rooftop isn't a good place to rest. Why don't we find a place for him to rest properly first?"
Wallace proposed.
Cynthia thought for a moment and nodded.
"Go to the garden; it's a suitable place for resting,"
Darkrai said, emerging from a nearby shadow.
"After all—"
"I like that place very much, too—"
Cynthia looked at the reminiscent Darkrai and nodded with a smile, "Okay."
Latias, who had chased after them, stopped when she saw Darkrai pick up Lucas and glared fiercely at Darkrai.
"You're dead!"
Darkrai had a bitter expression on its face.
Wake up quickly, Lucas. If you don't wake up soon, I'm going to be beaten to death by her.
Arriving under the large tree in the garden, Gengar pulled out a blanket and spread it on the grass, then took out a pillow and a quilt, skillfully laying them out, preparing for Lucas to lie down and have a good sleep.
Cynthia hesitated for a moment, then reached out to stop Gengar. Under Gengar's puzzled gaze, she placed the pillow under her own knees and then knelt on it, letting Gengar help adjust Lucas's position so he could rest comfortably on her lap.
Gengar: Σ(@□@;)
I understand!
Gengar gave a mischievous grin and then skillfully dove back into the shadows.
Leaving behind only a crimson gaze.
Jie jie jie—
On the other side, Darkrai raised its hands toward the rushing Latias.
I surrender.
You wouldn't want Lucas to be woken up while he's resting, would you—
Latias: —
You're dead once he wakes up.
Darkrai breathed a sigh of relief.
What a vengeful woman.
Afterward, it stood beside Latias, watching Cynthia and Lucas under the tree.
Lugia landed in the garden, lay down on the grass, and squinted to sleep.
Darkrai saw Gengar's cheeks bulging in the shadows, chewing on something unknown. It flew over and performed a frog leap into the shadow.
"Gen gengar?! ∑(°∀° )"
Who is it?!
Turning its head, it found it was Darkrai.
"What are you eating?"
Darkrai asked.
Gengar pulled out a jar of snacks and handed it to Darkrai.
"Gen gengar!"
Hungry? Want some?
Darkrai took it, opened the lid, and ate a bit.
(—)
Delicious!
So Gengar and Darkrai hid in the shadows, continuously eating snacks.
Looking at Darkrai, who was eating even faster than itself, Gengar felt a sense of crisis from a Pokémon other than Dash for the first time.
Wallace stood in the garden, watching Cynthia stroke Lucas's forehead, a look of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to a certain Gym Leader in his contacts.
"I miss you."
Soon, there was a reply from the other side.
"?"
"Are you sick?!"
"Who beat you stupid?!"
"I remember we broke up, didn't we?!"
Wallace didn't get angry at this.
The other side hesitated for a long time before finally sending another message.
—
"Then come back and visit."
Wallace smiled knowingly and stretched.
In the towering Spear Pillar, the massive bell hammer swung continuously, playing the joyful and bright 'oración'.
It was being played incessantly by the Spear Pillar.
Feeling Poplar Town slowly regaining its vitality, Wallace felt incredibly wonderful.
Since the Sinnoh Champion is busy, let me, this Hoenn Champion, handle things.
"Champion Cynthia, I'll go handle the subsequent matters first. I expect Poplar Town still needs a Champion to manage the post-disaster affairs."
Wallace said softly to Cynthia under the tree.
Cynthia nodded, "Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Wallace."
Wallace waved gracefully and then walked out of the garden with Altaria.
At that moment, Ash's voice came from the Spear Pillar.
"Hey, can you hear me? Everyone."
Ash asked into the loudspeaker.
"Oh, it's being transmitted back here, so people outside can definitely hear it."
This was Jessie's voice.
"That's true."
Ash gave an 'oh' and then spoke: "'oración' is already playing. How is it? What's the situation outside? Have Palkia and Dialga returned to normal?"
"Can't you just go to the window and see for yourself? Honestly."
This was Dawn's voice.
Ash put down the loudspeaker and ran to the window to look out. He found that Poplar Town had returned to its original state, and the damaged buildings had also been restored.
Ash grinned widely, "That's great, Pikachu, we succeeded!"
"Clearly, it was Lucas and the others who put in the most effort."
Dawn stood beside Ash and said.
Ash nodded heavily, "Lucas is so amazing, and that Lugia, and Darkrai—they're all so incredible."
Ash murmured to himself, then looked at the Pikachu on his shoulder, "Pikachu, one day we'll be just as amazing as Lucas and the others."
"Pika pika."
The crisis had passed, and the 'oración' echoing in the air turned into tiny, sparkling lights, drifting down onto various parts of Poplar Town.
Lickilicky—Baron Alberto and the others also stopped in their tracks.
"Finally, did we succeed?"
Baron Alberto murmured to himself.
The scene just now had left a deep impression on his memory.
"So that Lucas—captured 3 Lugias?"
Baron Alberto thought of something and took a sharp breath of cold air.
Hiss~
What a terrifying human—
Three Lugias, plus Latias and Darkrai—
Baron Alberto's legs went soft, and he almost slumped onto the floor.
Good thing, good thing he still had his mother around.
The next second, he saw his 'mother' heading toward the garden with Machamp, Lilligant, and Luxray.
Baron Alberto: (*1)
Was 'Mother' also one of his Pokémon?!
Alice, worried about Darkrai's injuries, ran into the garden, but the massive white Pokémon in the garden scared her so much she didn't dare take another step forward.
Lugia opened its eyes to glance at her, then closed them and turned its head the other way.
She cautiously entered the garden and found the legendary Latias floating above the Lake, while a Milotic lay quietly on a rock in the Lake, gently swaying its tail.
Beside it, a Gastrodon was crawling along. Darkrai, Gengar, Garchomp, and Lucario were sitting in the distance, each holding a jar of snacks and chewing incessantly while discussing which flavor was the best.
Darkrai was incredibly curious—how many snacks did Gengar actually have? Why did they seem to increase the more they ate?
Though it really did enjoy eating them.
Luxray, Glaceon, and Spiritomb were lying in the sun, basking.
Dash and Roserade were whispering to each other.
Ninetales was lying beside Cynthia, squinting as it slept.
Lucas lay on Cynthia's lap, and Cynthia pinched his cheek with her hand.
Feeling the soft touch, Cynthia's face turned red. After a cough, she looked at Lugia.
"Is he okay?"
Lugia didn't even lift its head, its voice echoing in Cynthia's mind.
"Commanding us took too much of his mental energy. He'll be fine after a sleep."
Cynthia withdrew her gaze with relief, watching Lucas sleep peacefully before her.
"Lilli~"
Lilligant and Gothitelle seemed to have agreed on something.
Under Cynthia's curious gaze, Lilligant took a brush from Gengar.
Then, dipping it in ink, she began to draw on Lucas's face with divine inspiration.
Cynthia pursed her lips tightly.
After Lilligant finished drawing, she handed the brush to Gothitelle. Gothitelle's eyes narrowed, and she pulled out another pen, using both simultaneously.
Cynthia's shoulders began to tremble.
After Gothitelle had vented her feelings, she let out a sigh of relief and then looked at Cynthia.
"Gothitelle?"
Do you want to try?
"Gothite~"
It's very fun, why don't you try?
Cynthia struggled for a second before taking the brush and drawing all the way from his cheek to his neck.
Cynthia handed the brush back to Lilligant, thought for a moment, then pulled out her phone. She leaned in next to Lucas's face with Lilligant and Gothitelle and took several photos with a few clicks.
Cynthia put away her phone with satisfaction.
Looking up at the sky, she listened to the leisurely song echoing from above, squinted her eyes, and began to hum an unknown tune.
At Cynthia's gesture, Alice sat down on the blanket, stealing glances at Cynthia and Lucas with her peripheral vision.
Lucas and Champion Cynthia look so well-matched.
It would be even better if there were no patterns on Lucas's face.
Alice thought to herself.