In a deep trench beneath the Orange Islands, violent tremors suddenly surged upward from the seabed, startling nearby sea life into fleeing in all directions.
Inside the base, seawater began flooding in uncontrollably. Under the terrifying pressure of the deep sea, the entire facility started collapsing rapidly.
Sato and Surge had already separated. In the face of the ocean's overwhelming force, there was no other way out except through the Reverse World.
Earlier, Gardevoir had been gone for a long time, and during that time, it hadn't just been looking for Zillion.
First, it had destroyed the base's only passage to the surface. Only then did it break open the facility, allowing seawater to flood in.
And, thanks to Zillion's reminder, it also made sure to destroy the few remaining emergency escape pods, cutting off any possible retreat.
Now, Sato, Mark, Joseph, and Zillion had relocated to the changing room of Lab 9, the place where they had first arrived.
All that was left was to wait for Gardevoir to return so they could leave.
At this moment, Gardevoir was ordering Beheeyem and Gallade to help it rescue Pokémon.
Yes, this was the second thing Gardevoir had been doing while it was gone. It had already scouted out every location where test subjects were being kept.
Now that the base was doomed, these innocent Pokémon needed to be relocated. Otherwise, except for a few strong Water-types, the rest would perish at the bottom of the sea.
"There are too many Pokémon to move… Shaymin's Seed Flare won't last much longer," Zillion said woodenly, watching Gardevoir and the others work tirelessly, his tone devoid of emotion.
"No other way?" Mark shouted as he helped move storage capsules.
All the captured Pokémon were contained in spatial capsules. The ones already transported totaled several hundred, and Gardevoir and the others were still bringing more.
"Unless we have another item like the Relic Vase… and Shaymin cooperates from within the Reverse World, maybe we could open a slightly more stable passage."
After speaking, Zillion shook his head. He had spent years just to steal one Relic Vase from Sato, which showed how rare they were.
…But the next second, Zillion's eyes widened as he watched Sato slowly pull a Relic Statue from his backpack.
"Will this work?"
"…I don't know," Zillion admitted honestly. He didn't have any detection devices on hand to confirm.
"Shay~" Just then, Shaymin poked its head out and gave a firm, obedient nod.
"If Shaymin says yes, then it's a yes!" Mark clearly trusted the Pokémon more than Zillion.
"Joseph, take Shaymin and head to the Reverse World first," Sato said as he glanced at Zillion, issuing the order directly.
"Shay~" Shaymin ducked back into Zillion's arms, clearly unwilling to part from its Trainer.
Zillion and Sato locked eyes for two seconds. Then Zillion lowered his head and gently comforted Shaymin. "Don't worry, I'll meet up with you in a bit. You want to help save these Pokémon too, right?"
"Shay~" Shaymin popped its head back out, looked at Zillion, then at Joseph.
Seeing this, Joseph didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and released the Viridian Power within him.
A soft green light bathed Shaymin, who shook the little flowers on its back in delight. Feeling that forest-born power, Shaymin finally stopped hesitating and jumped onto Joseph's back.
Joseph nodded at Sato, took the Relic Statue from his hands, and carried Shaymin to the massive mirror in the changing room.
"Shaymin, Seed Flare!"
"Shay~"
A brilliant light flashed. When everyone's vision returned, Joseph and Shaymin were nowhere to be seen.
Just then, Gardevoir and Gallade returned to the changing room with dozens more capsules, only to find everyone staring intently at the mirror, like they were trying to see a flower bloom inside it.
"Gar~"
"Are all the Pokémon transferred? What's the situation outside?"
"All the ones that could be saved are here. The base is about 80% flooded. I've temporarily held this area with Psychic, but it won't last long," Gardevoir said through Telepathy.
"Just a little longer. We're almost ready…"
Before Sato even finished speaking, the mirror began to glow, just like the cross-section of the boulder on Reversal Mountain.
The portal formed!
"Gardevoir, transfer the capsules through first."
"Gar~"
With a wave of its hand, hundreds of capsules were hurled through the portal in a rush. Then Mark, Sato, and Zillion all jumped into the passage one after another.
Gardevoir turned and looked one last time at this place steeped in sin. Then, decisively, it withdrew its Psychic field and followed them through.
Without its protection, the last room was instantly breached by seawater… and was gone in an instant.
In the Reverse World, Sato let out a huge breath of relief as he saw Gardevoir return safely.
"!!!"
Giratina was visibly excited. The moment Shaymin reappeared in the Reverse World, it came rushing over with glee.
"Let's go back to the original portal," Sato said as he approached Zillion with a clearly threatening tone.
Zillion stared deeply at the three of them. Since they wouldn't ask, he decided to spell it out himself.
"Aren't you curious which faction that base belonged to?"
"The Pokémon League. So what?"
"So… disappointed? The publicly acknowledged rulers, and behind the scenes they're no different from the villainous organizations." Zillion laughed heartily, but noticed none of the three reacted.
Sato's expression didn't even change. Joseph frowned in silence, and Mark just looked down, lost in thought.
"You're all League affiliates. If they find out you destroyed the base and saw what you shouldn't have… how do you think they'll deal with you?" Zillion growled with frustration.
"Giratina's probably getting impatient. Let's go." Sato grabbed Zillion and shoved him onto Sharpedo.
"Let go of me! Can you really just ignore this?! You're supposed to be the League's prized Trainers!" Zillion shouted arrogantly, relying on his connection with Shaymin.
After all, Shaymin's stance would influence Giratina's, and no one here could defeat that Legendary Pokémon.
Sato stared coldly at him. "Since you want to speak plainly, then let me be just as clear: you're only telling us all this now because you want to plant a seed in our hearts.
As long as we continue to struggle with the League's actions, we'll never fully submit to them. And someday, becoming enemies might not be impossible.
But the fact that you're so desperate to divide us now means one thing… you're definitely planning to let us leave the Reverse World. Otherwise, your words would be meaningless.
And more importantly, many people already know we went to Undella Town to find you. If they discover our disappearance is connected to you, then even if Trish isn't caught, she'll live her life in hiding, constantly running, scared and alone.
…And that's exactly what you least want to see, isn't it?"