Officer Jenny saluted toward the three "police officers" standing guard at the door of the vault and asked, "Is there anything unusual?"
Jessie and James immediately straightened up and answered in unison, "No, everything is normal!"
"Good," Officer Jenny said seriously. "Now open the vault. Do not neglect the surrounding security."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The two of them responded loudly, then quickly stepped aside and yielded the entrance.
Professor Carolina walked forward and stood in front of the operating console beside the door. She inserted a magnetic keycard into the slot, then pressed her finger onto the fingerprint scanner.
Beep!
Verification successful.
The thick iron door of the vault slowly slid open with a heavy mechanical sound. Behind it was a second layer of protection—a metal monitoring grille. As the grille retracted, the inside of the vault was revealed.
Inside stood a display platform made of reinforced alloy. On it rested a single glowing gem, protected by a transparent bulletproof glass cover.
The Lustrous Orb.
As for the Adamant Orb, it had already been stolen by Team Galactic earlier. This time, Cyrus had come personally for the remaining Lustrous Orb.
Everyone stepped into the vault.
Their gazes were immediately drawn to the shining gem inside the glass case.
"What an incredible glow…" Brock murmured in awe.
The surface of the Lustrous Orb shimmered with a soft, watery blue light, as if it contained a living ocean within. Even someone with no knowledge of Pokémon artifacts could tell at a glance that this object was priceless.
"It's magnificent… no matter how many times I look at it," Cyrus said quietly.
The honest expression he had worn earlier slowly shifted into something more intense. A trace of fanaticism and darkness flashed through his eyes.
However, no one found this strange.
Professor Carolina herself had shown the same expression when she first studied these artifacts years ago. Whenever she spoke of ancient history and legendary Pokémon, her eyes also shone with excitement and obsession.
After admiring the orb for a long moment, Cyrus turned to Ash and Dawn.
"Well?" he asked softly. "Do you feel anything?"
Ash: "..."
Dawn: "..."
The two of them stared intently at the Lustrous Orb inside the glass case, but neither of them felt anything unusual.
Gary, standing slightly behind them, almost laughed out loud.
If Palkia didn't deliberately make contact, there was no way ordinary people could sense anything from the Lustrous Orb.
Ash had been able to see Azelf only because of his special aura sensitivity. As for Dawn, perhaps it was simply destiny—or the favor of Mesprit.
It might also be that the Lake Guardians were searching for suitable humans. Mesprit and Azelf might both have been interested in Ash at first, but when Azelf chose him, Mesprit turned its attention to Dawn instead.
"No… I don't feel anything," Ash admitted.
"Me neither," Dawn said, shaking her head.
"Pika…"
Pikachu scratched its cheek and tilted its head.
"Piplup?"
Piplup leaned closer to the glass, peering at the orb curiously.
Since they felt nothing, both Ash and Dawn could only give up.
"That's impossible…" Cyrus suddenly said in agitation. "Try again. Concentrate harder!"
Ash and Dawn were startled by the sudden anxiety in his voice.
"Cyrus, don't be impatient," Professor Carolina said calmly. "These children are seeing the Lustrous Orb for the first time."
After hearing this, Cyrus realized that he had lost his composure. He immediately lowered his head slightly and apologized.
"Sorry. I became too excited. After all, this artifact is closely related to the origin of the world."
"Haha…"
Gary couldn't help letting out a soft laugh.
Everyone immediately turned to look at him.
"What are you laughing at?" Cyrus asked, frowning slightly.
He didn't care much about Gary personally, but the Lustrous Orb was something he considered sacred. Gary's laughter naturally irritated him.
"It's nothing," Gary said quickly. "I just felt the atmosphere was a bit tense, so I laughed to ease it."
In truth, Gary knew very well what the Lustrous Orb actually did. Calling it the "origin of the world" was an exaggeration.
The world itself was born from the natural explosion of the universe. Arceus created certain Legendary Pokémon, but most Pokémon descended from Mew and evolved naturally according to their environment.
Even many Legendary Pokémon followed this rule.
For example, Cyclizar. A billion years ago, its ancestors were said to rival even the most powerful ancient Pokémon.
"Gary, just say what you know," Ash said suddenly. "I remember you once talked about time and space in Celebi Forest. You should understand this well."
Gary: "..."
Why did Ash always expose him at critical moments?
"You've researched time and space?" Professor Carolina asked in surprise.
After all, Sinnoh's myths were centered around Dialga and Palkia—Pokémon that governed time and space.
"Yeah," Brock added, "Gary's grandfather is Professor Oak. Maybe he really does know something."
"Oh? You're Professor Oak's grandson?" Cynthia asked in surprise.
She had thought Gary was simply Ash's friend. She hadn't expected him to have such a background.
Gary shot Ash an annoyed look.
"I only have a little understanding of time and space," Gary said. "Nothing more."
"From your grandfather's research?" Professor Carolina asked.
"No. It's my own inference."
"Oh? Then let's hear it."
Professor Carolina was clearly curious about Gary's views.
"Well… I'll embarrass myself then," Gary said slowly. "In my opinion, the origin of the world was formed during a massive cosmic explosion. The universe itself is diverse, and… parallel worlds should also exist."
"How can you be sure that parallel time and space really exist?" Professor Carolina asked.
So far, no scientist had confirmed their existence.
"Because in Celebi Forest, I saw my grandfather as a child," Gary said. "Celebi brought young Professor Oak into the present, and I saw it with my own eyes."
He continued, "Later, I verified it with my grandfather. He told me that he had once visited Celebi Forest when he was a child—but he had never seen Celebi itself. That means what I saw could not belong to our original timeline."
The room fell silent.
Professor Carolina, Cynthia, and Cyrus all stared at Gary in shock.
"Gary, didn't you say this had to remain confidential?" Ash asked in confusion. "We agreed not to tell anyone."
"In the past, it had to remain confidential," Gary replied. "But now, it doesn't matter anymore. With our current level of technology, humanity has already begun studying different dimensions. If this information is revealed early, it might accelerate research into time and space."
In the future, the Team Rocket from another timeline would attempt to use space-time power to dominate another world. That Meowth wearing a special space-time suit was far more dangerous than the ordinary one.
"Another world… have you been there?" Professor Carolina asked.
"No," Gary answered honestly.
"Then how can you be sure it exists?"