"Gi… Giratina!"
At that moment, Giratina's massive head was less than a meter away from Zillion. He could even see his own reflection in Giratina's red eyes.
"~~~~"
Giratina raised its head and roared. The aura of a Legendary Pokémon exploded in full force, pinning everyone down so hard they could barely move.
Sato clung tightly to Sharpedo's fin, simultaneously channeling Dark Energy into its body to help it resist the terrifying pressure of Giratina.
"Sharpedo, back off, NOW!"
"Shar!"
Sharpedo broke free from the pressure and burst away with Aqua Jet, retreating a good distance to the side in an instant.
But that sudden movement immediately caught Giratina's attention. It let Zillion go without hesitation and turned to "swim" straight toward Sato instead.
Sato: What the #%&+￥￡…
"!"
Giratina roared again, then, like a massive serpent, lashed its tail and lunged toward Sato and the others.
"AHHH!"
Sato hadn't even reacted yet, and Mark's scream was already loud enough to give him a nervous breakdown.
"SHUT UP! Sharpedo, Aqua Jet that way!" Sato silenced Mark's yelling first, then pointed toward Zillion, signaling Sharpedo to keep chasing him.
That Zillion was crazy, taking advantage of Giratina's attention being diverted by Sato to try and escape immediately.
'…But did he seriously think that against the master of the Reverse World, Giratina, his Sawsbuck's four legs could outrun it?'
"Damn it, why did you come after me again?" Zillion snapped, furious that Sato had caught up to him once more.
"Right now, we're like two Scyther on the same string. I don't believe you don't have some way to deal with Giratina, at least temporarily."
Zillion's eyes clearly flickered at Sato's words, but before he could decide whether to tell him or not, Giratina had already caught up.
"~~~"
Giratina didn't use any moves. Instead, it lunged at them directly like a Liepard toying with Patrat.
"Shar!"
Sharpedo flipped backward in midair to dodge the dive.
Zillion wasn't so lucky. Sawsbuck, lacking Sharpedo's aerial agility, got clipped by Giratina's golden horn and went tumbling like a gourd.
Zillion crashed to the ground in a miserable heap and only got back up after a long moment… only to see Giratina "playing happily" with Sato.
It seemed like Giratina hadn't seen living creatures in a long time. Rather than go for the kill, it was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle of these little Rattata struggling for their lives, roaring with glee.
Zillion scanned the surroundings, quickly pinpointed his location, and once again… tried to run.
He recalled the only slightly injured Sawsbuck, mounted it, and dashed away in another direction.
But he didn't get to enjoy that for long. In just a few seconds, Gogoat appeared beside Sawsbuck… and riding on it was Joseph, who had finally caught up.
"We should be almost there, right?" Joseph said casually, provoking Zillion into gnashing his teeth.
"Sawsbuck, Horn Leech!"
"Aerial Ace to dodge!"
Gogoat hadn't reached Pseudo-Elite Four, and Joseph didn't dare go head-to-head.
"You really want to fight here? I might not be able to beat you, but stalling you would be easy… and if it comes to that, we all die together!"
Joseph's expression instantly turned cold. His right hand clutched Florges's Poké Ball, ready for battle at any moment.
Zillion glanced at Joseph, then looked toward Sato in the distance, still playing a game of tag with Giratina.
"Hmph! Sawsbuck, keep moving!"
Then, a bizarre scene unfolded: Sawsbuck and Gogoat remained far apart, yet both continued heading in the same direction.
Behind them, Sharpedo spun and weaved through the air, dodging Giratina's playful pursuit. It looked incredibly dangerous, yet Sharpedo remained "locked on" behind Sawsbuck, effectively dragging Giratina with it.
At last, Zillion could no longer contain his excitement, his destination was now visible to the naked eye, right in front of him.
He snuck a glance at Joseph, then without hesitation threw out another Poké Ball.
With a flash of blue light, a Gigalith charged straight at Gogoat, and at the same time, Zillion shouted a command.
"Explosion!"
BOOM!
A small mushroom cloud instantly engulfed the area where Joseph and Gogoat were located. The massive blast drew the attention of both Sato and Giratina.
In the next second, Sato suddenly felt a pressure far more terrifying than before surge around him.
Giratina… was enraged.
"~~~!"
Giratina completely ignored Sato and charged straight toward the mushroom cloud, spreading out its senses in search of something.
Fwoosh~
A white flash burst beside Sato, revealing a shaken Joseph, along with Gogoat and Gallade. Clearly, he had used Teleport at the last possible moment to escape.
At the same time, Giratina's rage locked onto Zillion. It already hated the black fog patches in this world.
And now, this puny Rattata had dared to damage its domain right in front of it.
This was practically suicide.
Sato, Joseph, and Mark had no thoughts of helping. Never mind the fact that Zillion had already tried to kill them, none of them had the power to intervene.
"Shaymin, Seed Flare!"
Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from beside Zillion, forcing everyone to close their eyes.
Only once everything had calmed down did they dare look toward the source.
Giratina hovered midair, no longer chasing Zillion. The small mushroom cloud had completely vanished without a trace.
Beside Zillion stood a green hedgehog-like creature sneezing quietly. None other than Shaymin, the rare and precious Mythical Pokémon from Sinnoh.
Shaymin could purify toxins in the atmosphere and transform desolate land into blooming fields, that was why the mushroom cloud had disappeared.
But what truly baffled Sato was this: Shaymin communicated via Telepathy and could sense people's gratitude.
Only those with genuine gratitude in their hearts could win Shaymin's favor and potentially become its Trainer.
But Zillion… grateful?
Was that supposed to be a joke?
"~"
Giratina was no stranger to Shaymin. In fact, it liked them immensely, as Shaymin was the only known Pokémon capable of purifying the black fog of the Reverse World.
So, in that instant, Giratina decided to forgive the scurrying little Rattata in front of it.
On one condition: hand over the Shaymin.
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200 Pw = Extra chap
P@treon/Romeloff