The Pokémon world is a strange place.
In the modern era, humans and Pokémon have become inseparable. You only need to visit any city to see daily life shared by humans and Pokémon.
They help each other and keep each other company. Many human jobs have become much easier thanks to Pokémon.
Being a Trainer is one of the most popular professions in this world. After all, the many different characteristics, moves, and type matchups of Pokémon clearly exist for battling.
And as long as there is competitive battling, there will naturally be a ranking of strength. Pokémon are no exception.
Because of this, Legendary Pokémon stand at the very top among living creatures.
They are like the creatures from the old stories of Damian's past life. They possess terrifying power and abnormal abilities, looking down on the ordinary world.
However, even though they are Legendary Pokémon, many of them have a very unusual attitude toward humans.
Some Legendary Pokémon choose humans to be their partners. For example, Ho-Oh has its Rainbow Hero. Rayquaza has chosen its Successor. Reshiram and Zekrom have each chosen a hero.
Zacian and Zamazenta also have their heroes. Even Calyrex did not mind traveling with humans and was willing to give humans a chance.
Or take Koraidon and Miraidon. They were pulled from the distant past and the far future by a time machine, yet they still followed a human and protected "Paradise."
Legendary Pokémon choose humans as partners for many different reasons. Some do it for their beliefs, some to stop "evil," and some simply for the sake of their partner.
And Giratina, too, would choose a human to become its partner.
That was unusual, wasn't it?
Giratina was different from most other Legendary Pokémon. As one of the six ancient Pokémon tied to creation, it was known as the "violent double" of Arceus.
At the beginning of the world, it was sent to the other side of the world by Arceus. It became the sole master of that distorted world.
In terms of status and strength, Giratina could be said to stand at the absolute peak of this world.
But Giratina still had its own fixation. For that goal, it would also pick a human to become its partner, in a certain sense.
"This favor you mentioned... you wouldn't be asking me to help you fight Arceus, would you?"
Damian looked at Giratina and asked cautiously.
"Is that not allowed?"
Giratina asked back through its hoarse telepathy.
It really was that.
Damian was not surprised. After all, Giratina lived in the Distortion World year-round. There was not much else it could need help with.
Kyogre: "???"
"I think we should just continue our battle. I still have a trump card. I believe I can defeat you and make Dialga and Palkia return to normal," Damian said without hesitation.
Fight Arceus? Him?
Damian felt like Giratina was just acting out. With the power they had right now, they wanted to challenge Arceus?
What was Giratina thinking?
Wouldn't they just get crushed by Arceus?
Kyogre felt a wave of relief. It had been scared out of its mind. Luckily, Damian was still being reasonable.
Fight Arceus? Kyogre did not have that kind of confidence.
"Human, you are cowardly," Giratina's eyes remained cold.
"The humans of ancient times were much braver than you."
Giratina was referring to the hero from the Hisui era who took ten Pokémon to challenge Arceus.
That person did it to prove the strength of humanity to Arceus. He wanted to show that humans had improved enough to no longer need Arceus's protection.
Damian could not help but smile. Could that example really be used like this?
That hero who challenged Arceus was indeed brave and impressive.
Because of that, Arceus recognized the growth of humanity. That was why it left the human world and returned to the Hall of Origin.
But if they had truly fought without holding back, Arceus would only need one move to wipe out that hero and all ten of his Pokémon.
If it weren't for that, would such a story have been passed down?
The meaning was completely different. That hero wanted to show the Great Sinnoh the strength of humans.
But Giratina wanted real rebellion.
If they truly started a fight with Arceus, would they not just get destroyed?
Well, maybe not killed. Arceus might leave them alive.
But who would want to go get beaten for no reason?
Just to see their own limits?
"Arceus is missing five of its Plates. It is not unbeatable," Giratina said calmly.
"Even so, its power is still unmatched."
Damian tilted his head. Giratina was not completely clueless. It even knew that Arceus was missing the Plates that made up the Jewel of Life.
But that made sense. Even in the plot of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Plates were left behind across Hisui.
In fact, Giratina had even found one Plate and given it to Volo.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The light in Giratina's eyes flickered, sharp and unstable.
Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf did not look surprised by Giratina's behavior at all. They remained calm.
Cynthia and Caitlin, however, were clearly nervous.
After a minute of standoff, Giratina lost its patience. Since this human was unwilling, it would do it alone.
Dialga and Palkia were still fighting violently. In the sky above Mt. Coronet, time and space had already begun to warp.
Seeing this, Damian's eyes flickered. He suddenly thought of a good idea.
"At the very least, with our current battle power, it is impossible for us to have even a single chance of winning," Damian said, changing his tone.
"?" A question mark practically appeared above Giratina's head.
"And if you want me to help you with something like that, what do I get out of it?"
Damian looked at Giratina with a smile.
"I can make those two calm down. Isn't that what you want?"
"No. The safety of Dialga and Palkia has nothing to do with me. If it wasn't for the fact that their fighting would affect this world, I wouldn't care at all," Damian said casually.
"And you can't use that as a bargaining chip. Giratina, I am confident I can defeat you. Once I beat you, Dialga and Palkia will still return to normal."
Hearing this, Giratina lowered its eyes and glanced at Damian. Defeat it?
Giratina did not believe Damian could do it with just these two Pokémon, but Damian had mentioned earlier that he had a trump card.
However, arguing about that was pointless.
"Arceus is a difficult target. I can agree to help you, but..."
Damian grinned at Giratina.
"What do you want?" Giratina's telepathy still sounded layered and distorted.
It sounded like a final boss.
"First, you become a Pokémon on my team. That shouldn't be hard, right? Since we're going to cooperate to challenge Arceus, you naturally have to be with me."
"I cannot leave the Distortion World for too long."
Giratina replied in a low voice. This request was not difficult. Damian was the strongest human it had ever seen.
Since it had chosen him, becoming his partner made sense.
The problem was that it could not leave the Distortion World for long, or else things could go wrong there.
And if something happened to the Distortion World, it would also affect the real world.
That was why it guarded that place.
"Of course, I understand that. But when I need you, you must come and lend me your strength."
Damian understood. Giratina, Dialga, and Palkia all had their own roles, and those roles mattered.
"Agreed."
Giratina's eyes stared at Damian. After thinking for a moment, it agreed.
A glowing golden orb flew out from Giratina's body and landed in front of Damian.
Damian reached out and caught the orb. This was Giratina's Griseous Orb.
"If there is a time when you need my help, use this orb to summon me."
Giratina spoke calmly. The Griseous Orb was one of its treasures.
It was not like Dialga and Palkia, who had even lost theirs.
"Deal."
Damian put away the Griseous Orb. Giratina possessed two types of treasures: the Griseous Orb and the Griseous Core.
The Griseous Orb could boost Giratina's power, while the Griseous Core could not only increase its power but also allow it to stay in its Origin Forme in the real world.
"And second, challenging Arceus requires preparation. Giratina, if we go challenge Arceus with our current strength, there is no way we can win."
"You want to wait for the right time?"
Giratina's eyes narrowed. This was an opportunity it had waited a long time for.
"Human, the space-time where Arceus resides is mysterious and unpredictable. If we don't use the space-time power of Dialga and Palkia to open a rift, we won't even have a chance to see Arceus."
Giratina's telepathy was low.
This was also why it had made Dialga and Palkia go berserk. It wanted to find Arceus by using the rift created by their fight.
This was the same plan it had used with Volo.
"If we miss this timing, it will be even harder to get another chance like this."
"A chance will come sooner or later. And there is a better option for finding Arceus. I can find a way to do that," Damian said without hesitation.
If he really wanted to see Arceus, the best way was to use the Azure Flute.
As long as he got the Azure Flute and played it at Spear Pillar, he could open the path to the Hall of Origin.
"What we need to do is increase our strength. We need to make full preparations for challenging Arceus. Instead of walking up to Arceus right now and getting sent flying."
Hearing Damian's words, Giratina fell silent. The fierce light in its eyes kept flashing and fading.
It was true that it did not want to give up this chance, since Dialga and Palkia appearing together was rare.
But it also did not want things to go the way Damian described, finally having a chance to challenge Arceus and then getting thrown aside immediately.
"Give me more time, and I can become even stronger. Giratina, as long as you assist me properly, believe in me. One day, we will stand before Arceus!"
Damian gave Giratina a confident guarantee.
He was confident about standing before Arceus. Whether they could defeat Arceus was a different story.
But just as Damian said, challenging Arceus was a massive project.
"At that time, we can let Arceus see our limits!"
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