Chapter 46
The omnipotent lord of time stood tall and proud with a hint of malicious glee in its eyes. It swung its tail thunderously through the air, as a Luxray eagerly anticipating the taste of its prey.
IF YOU DESIRE TO CHALLENGE ME, MAKE THE FIRST MOVE, Dialga commanded, its mighty voice resounding through both the channels of telepathy and the ears at once. I WILL WAIT FOR YOU. IF YOU RECONSIDER YOUR CHALLENGE, YOU ARE FREE TO LEAVE. NOW, WHAT WILL IT BE, WEARY TRAVELERS?
At hearing the enraged voice of the temporal dragon, Char felt crushed. He had waited so long for this moment, hoping the lord of time would smile upon him and shed light on the mysteries he held. Instead, the mighty god stood above him condescendingly, snarling in disgust at his very presence.
Why do you want us to fight you? Char tried calling to it telepathically, hoping it would hear. Why, Dialga? What will this accomplish? We don't want to fight you! We have fought enough! Can't you take pity on us?
"We can win."
The bold statement came from Scythe, whose gaze was so focused on the dragon it could have melted Dialga's steel.
"How do you figure?" Prince replied in a low tone, keeping his heart still amidst the presence of the god. "Scythe… realize, there have been many Pokémon throughout history who have fought and defeated the mortal legendaries. We might be the first Pokémon in recorded history to challenge one of the gods… Scythe…. Understand. It is immortal. It cannot die. It has existed since before time began, and you think it can fall in battle?"
"It is not immortal," Scythe breathed, certain of every word he spoke. "As a god, it is immortal and its power is without bound. But only in spirit. When it chose to become corporal, wear the shroud of flesh, it accepted limitations to its power. The dragon you see before you… it is mortal, just like any other Pokémon. It has strengths and weaknesses… and it can fall."
"Scythe… how can you be so sure?" Lily implored in a weak voice. "What do you know about the gods that we don't?"
"Some Pokémon… would call me intelligent," Scythe sighed, speaking solemnly. "But in reality, my only talent is to know when a battle can be won. And I tell you… this is a battle we can win. I… I have learned more, serving in the Master's ranks, than I care to speak of. It is the truth, that… we are not the first to challenge a god. And we will not be the first to defeat one."
"A-alright, Scythe…" Ray whimpered, trying to avert his eyes from the foe, "In that case… what do we do?"
"We will need to make a plan, quickly," Scythe said, slinging the bag of powerful items from his shoulder and dropping it to the ground, causing an orb to roll out and knock against Prince's foot. "Let us examine our assets and our strengths. Forget for a moment about Dialga's significance. Treat Dialga as you would any other enemy."
I… can't, Char thought to himself, unable to speak. Dialga… is the reason I'm here. Not just here in this tower, but here in Ambera. Dialga is the one I remember most vividly from my dreams…
Char stared into the glowing red eyes of the deity, searching for some sign of love, kindness, tenderness – any emotion that could betray the dragon's true inner nature. But he saw none. The god's eyes were deep, powerful, and cold, as though they lacked any mortal feelings aside from wrath.
"Char, pay attention," Scythe snapped, having already started the discussion huddle. "I need your help, too."
"I don't want to fight Dialga," Char insisted. "That's not why we came here! This wasn't part of the plan!"
"Well, Char, nobody promised us that Dialga would be agreeable," Prince said. "Turns out that Dialga wants a fight. We're lucky we've even got a chance to earn its favor. Now, Scythe… you were saying?"
"First, we need to determine Dialga's strengths and weaknesses," Scythe continued, looking over his shoulder to appraise the intimidating figure. "It is a dragon, that is for certain. We might expect it to have weaknesses typical of dragons. Notably, it would be weak to iced attacks, if only we could perform any. Does it appear to have a second elemental affinity?"
"It's Steel," Lily chimed in. "Steel. I heard that once, somewhere. Dialga is a dragon- and steel- type. Its body is covered in steel and diamond, two of the hardest solid substances known to anyone."
Scythe bowed his head, thinking. "Dragon… and Steel," he grunted. "There is a type combination I have never puzzled out before. What does that mean? What would the weaknesses be, then? Prince…?"
"Well, let's go down the list," Prince said, pointing at Char. "Fire. Fire might be a viable weakness. I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't be. What else?"
"Five things," Ray said. "Team Stripes beat the weakness web into us until we were numb. At least the basic weaknesses. I never memorized the combinations… But you can attack steel enemies with… fire, and water, and earth, and electricity… and martial arts. I think that's it."
"Electricity would not be very effective," Scythe puzzled out, looking at Ray for a moment. "The dragon is resilient to it, even if it is a weakness to the steelskin. And we have no means to perform a water attack, or a ground attack… that leaves us with…"
"Fighting?" Prince laughed oddly. "What are you saying, Scythe? You think our best strategy is to get me to run up and punch Dialga in the face?"
Char had a sudden, vivid memory of Prince trying to attack the Rampardos the previous day, and how his knuckles had shattered at the contact. Char imagined Prince trying the same tactic on the diamond-plated forehead of Dialga, only to leave his forearm in some kind of bloody stump.
The team stood still for a moment, each awkwardly trying not to anticipate the insanity of the battle they were about to attempt. He saw that both Saura and Lily were visibly terrified, even more so than himself. Ray's demeanor had changed; he now seemed too fascinated at the dragon's presence to fear it.
And Scythe… Scythe hung his head low, thinking and focusing. By his will, the team's supply of reviver seeds had been thrown away. He had hoped and gambled, betting everything on the assertion that there would be no battle of impossible odds. He had failed that bet. Now… he knew the fate of the team rested on his shoulders.
The Scyther closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, appearing to hold his breath for a prolonged moment. Char knew he was iterating through all of the odds in his head, trying to convince himself that there would be some strategy, any strategy, that would work.
His eyes snapped open. "Dragon and steel. Good. Fire and martial arts will penetrate the defenses. Good. Now, what kind of equipment do we have at our disposal that could help us?"
NOW! THE TIME IS NOW! Dialga suddenly cried, romping his front paws against the floor and causing quakes that nearly knocked Char over. I GROW IMPATIENT! MAKE YOUR MOVE!
"Be silent, dragon!" Scythe surprisingly shot back to the god of time, glaring at it over his shoulder. "How do you expect us to stand a chance against you if you do not give us time to prepare?"
I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO STAND A CHANCE, MORTALS! roared the great blue dragon. WHAT CHANCE DO YOU EXPECT TO HAVE AGAINST ME? YOU CANNOT OVERPOWER ME AND YOU CANNOT OUTSMART ME! WITH ONE LASH OF MY TAIL, I WILL KNOCK YOU ALL DOWN. WITH BUT A BREATH FROM MY MAW, I WILL SEND YOU TO THE FAR CORNERS OF SPACE-TIME! GROOOOOOOOOARRRRR!
The dragon's mighty roar caused the chamber to shake.
This can't be happening, Char could not stop thinking, squeezing Saura's vine tightly for a fleeing sense of comfort. This just isn't – isn't fair…
But, to everyone's shock, Scythe did not back down. Instead, he turned to face the dragon.
"Your foes outnumber you, and you underestimate them?" the Scyther vehemently called to Dialga. "You are the creator of time. I would have expected a level of timeless wisdom from you. Instead, you make the commoner's mistake of underestimating your opponent? Or, are you perhaps afraid to let us form a proper strategy against you?"
BOLD WORDS, INSECT! The dragon roared back down at him. DO YOU HAVE NO MANNERS BEFORE A DEITY? NO SENSE OF RESTRAINT? I ASSUME YOU ARE THIS GROUP'S LEADER; I WILL OBLITERATE YOU FIRST.
"No, he isn't the group's leader", Char decided to say, dropping Saura's vine and taking a shaky stand before the dragon. "I am. My name is Char. I am a human trapped in the body of a Charmander! I'm – I'm the – the reason we're here. These are all my friends; they helped me come this far. We just—wanted – to ask you a few questions. We just… need… we need your help, Dialga. We don't want to fight you."
A MORPHED ONE, YOU SAY? Dialga hummed, lowering his voice a little in response to Char. INTRIGUING. BUT MY POWER IS NOT TO BE PASSED OUT AND USED AT WILL! I SHALL NOT STOOP TO THE LEVEL OF THE MORTALS. PROVE YOURSELF IN BATTLE, BRAVE CHARMANDER, AND PERHAPS I WILL BE WILLING TO HEAR YOUR INQUIRY.
"What do you mean?" Char stammered, in spite of his cowardice. "You aren't making sense. How can you say you can't stoop to the level of us mortals, but then offer to help us if we defeat you?"
AH, HAHAHAH, Dialga laughed evilly, almost demonically. YOU MUST MISUNDERSTAND. I AM NOT WILLING TO HELP YOU, PUNY ONE. IF YOU WISH TO UTILIZE MY POWER ONTO YOUR OWN ENDS… THEN YOU MUST MAKE ME. I DARE TO YOU, ALL OF YOU: MAKE ME BEG FOR MERCY AT THE TIPS OF YOUR FANGS, YOUR CLAWS, AND YOUR BLADES! FOR THE GIFTS I GIVE SHALL ONLY BE GIVEN IF I AM TO BARTER FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF MAKING YOU LEAVE!
Char clenched his fists. The words he was planning to say next did not escape his throat.
The temporal dragon lowered its head, its condescending eyes peering into Char's own. Char felt the dragon's pressure weighing down upon him, and a sickening jolt filled his stomach, but he did not back down.
"So, wait," Char said, his voice hardened. "You're telling me… that I came all this way, thinking I was some kind of… special combination of human and Pokémon, and that I had some kind of special past that had something to do with you… and that you'd listen to be because of it... and that it was all a lie? You mean all of this fighting we did to get here… All that my friends and I went through… it meant nothing? You're not even going to hear me out?"
HUMANS ARE TRANSFORMED INTO POKÉMON OFTEN, AND RARELY A POKÉMON WILL BECOME A HUMAN AS WELL. YOUR NATURE IS NOT AN UNUSUAL ONE. YOU HAVE NO GREATER RIGHT TO COMMAND MY POWER THAN A COMMON RODENT.
Dialga smirked evilly, lowering its gargantuan head until it was only a few feet from Char's own.
I HAVE WATCHED THE STARS IGNITE, CHARMANDER-HUMAN, Dialga said in a mock-whisper. THE FLAME UPON THE END OF YOUR TAIL MEANS NOTHING TO ME. IF I WERE YOU, I WOULD LEAVE THIS TOWER BEFORE YOU COMMIT TO A BATTLE YOU WILL REGRET…
Char felt different.
Dialga had betrayed him. The gods themselves did not care about him. They did not bother with him.
He was not special.
He had reached the top of the world, the summit of time itself. He had risen to the challenge and stood proud and strong in his Pokémon form, only to find…
… that everything he had hoped for… had been a lie.
Char's fire roiled. A deep disgust, a pure kind of hatred sparked to life within his ember.
"Your taunts mean nothing to me either, Dialga," Char returned, his voice subdued but brimming with bitterness. "I have nothing to live for. Nothing, Dialga. My human life is over. I don't even remember it. And I didn't even get to hatch from an egg here in this Pokémon world. I just appeared here. I didn't get to learn about this world firsthand. I didn't get to grow up with a Pokémon family and have a culture to call my own. I have no childhood memories to hold onto. I have no hopes or dreams. I'm lost here in this world. I'm an outsider, and I have no home to go back to. You try to scare me with your legendary power and all, it doesn't work. What are you going to do? Kill me? I'm—I'm already dead. And that's why I'm not going to back down from your challenge. My friends and I placed all our hopes onto you. We have nowhere else to go, nothing else to do. We have no other options but to fight you…"
Char swallowed hard. He decided to place his trust in Scythe's conviction that the battle could be won.
"…mark my words, Dialga. We'll fight you. And we won't give up until you're lying on the floor and we're standing over you."
Dialga didn't respond. The dragon's eyes had widened slightly, as though it needed a moment to think. But Char did not give it that moment; he turned tail and returned to his group, his heart pounding so hard he could hear it.
"Char… you're nuts," Ray whispered. "You just talked down to Dialga."
Char knew what he had done. But he had snapped now. He no longer felt like a tiny, vulnerable little candle. He felt like a leader, and not just a leader over his puny Team Ember. He felt like a leader who would lead the fight against Dialga. For revenge.
"This is it," Char commanded to group. "We have to use all our tricks. All our items. Everything we learned. And we have to work as a team."
"You heard him," Scythe said. "Our self-proclaimed leader has spoken. Heed his words. And Char… I don't know what latent human abilities you have left within you, but I know the key to this battle certainly does not lay within me. I think it lies in you. After all this time, it looks like is finally time for you to play the role of a Pokémon trainer."
"Maybe, but I think you can help," Char said. "Alright, so… engaging a colossal dragon in battle. What's your first thought, Scythe?"
"Generally speaking, large opponents have a distinct disadvantage over tiny opponents," Scythe noted. "Small targets tend to be difficult to hit. And if you're never hit, you can't be defeated. It does not assure a victory, but it at least assures a stalemate."
"Yes. As my father once put it, 'Stay unharmed, wait for your enemy to make the first mistake. That is how hand-to-hand battles are fought'," Prince said.
"I learned differently," Scythe replied. "You search your opponent for patterns, use their telling motions to anticipate their actions, and cause them to make a mistake."
"Yes, and that is why I defeat you every time we battle," Prince shot. "You always tire out first, and you become easy to fool."
Scythe only hissed in reply.
"Alright, so not getting hit. We might be able to accomplish that," Char said, cutting the tension between them. "Ray and Prince, look in the bag. There must be some things in there that can help us."
With a curt nod, Prince descended down into Alakazam's bag and began to dig through it. "Probably can't use orbs," he said. "Dialga's pressure is too severe. It's interfering with the orbs. We would have to run down a floor if we wanted to use an escape orb."
"Can we use seeds?"
Saura had asked the simple question. He was surprised that everyone seemed to pause at the notion.
"What?" he stammered. "I was just asking, do you think seeds could work on Dialga? That's what our team would do whenever we met an enemy that was too strong for us. We'd throw a seed at it to make it fall asleep, or to stun it or something. That's… usually how we dealt with enemies we couldn't beat by ourselves."
"Saura… you're a genius!" Ray blurted in a whispered laugh. "Dialga has eyes! And if he has eyes, just smack a cross-eye seed right between them, and he won't be able to see. And if he can't see, he can't attack us! At least not accurately."
"We also have seeds to turn ourselves invisible," Scythe noted. "I believe there are only two, but they would also assist us in protecting us from harm."
"I don't know how long it will take for the battle to be over," Prince said. "We could be up here for weeks. Let's not squander our supply of seeds."
"We have plenty, trust me," Ray said. "We brought a few of our own. And then there are all the seeds in Alakazam's bag."
"Good," Char said. "At least we didn't have to use them all before we even got here. Good job. Now, what kind of items do we have to wear?"
"The X-ray goggles would be useless up here," Prince said, sorting them out onto the floor. "The speed brace, on the other hand, may help. So will the detect bands. Those will help us evade taking some hits. This looks like, hmm, a defense scarf? And a mobile scarf… Yes, I can see many of these coming in handy."
"Hey, do you think maybe Dialga's actually listening to us?" Lily uttered under her breath. "Dialga's been eyeing us down all this time…"
"I believe not," Prince replied, pretending to be fully focused on the items he was sorting. "I believe it could hear us if it wanted to, but its eyes have been glancing to the side every now and again. Dialga might be distracted."
"Distracted by what?" Lily asked, looking around the grand chamber. "There's nothing else in this room."
"Not by anything here, Lily," Prince said. "I believe Dialga is lost in thought. The temporal dragon appears contemplative. Maybe even confused."
"Not only confused, but… afraid," Scythe said thoughtfully. "Dialga fears us. It has been acting as such ever since you spoke just now, Char. Either it genuinely believes there is a chance it could lose the battle, or… something you said shook Dialga to the core. Or perhaps both."
Char looked into the dragon's eyes again. Though they were just as piercing and intimidating as ever, he searched them deeper this time, trying to tell if Scythe was right. It took him a minute to realize that the temporal dragon was no longer looking at him. It was gazing past him, possibly straight through him. It was true… something was unmistakably on its mind.
Dialga… what are you thinking?
"What else do we know about Dialga?" Char wondered, focusing back on the meeting. "How does he battle?"
"Dialga is said to possess a supernatural battle technique known to no other Pokémon, only known as 'Roar of Time'," Prince offered. "Unfortunately, no one knows exactly what the Roar of Time is. Every Pokémon who has ever experienced it has been unable to describe it using words. And none of them seem to remain alive today, so we cannot read their memories."
"Well, there's one thing we might know for sure about it, at least from what Legend says," Lily recounted. "They say that when Dialga performs the Roar of Time, it takes all of its energy. Like, enough to knock it senseless for a minute or so. All the stories say that Dialga only uses its greatest power when it has no other options, because… if the attack isn't fatal, it leaves Dialga vulnerable."
Char thought about it for a moment.
"Alright, one more question," Char said, clenching his claws and grasping at the ghost of an idea in his mind. "If you want to cripple a quadruped, what do take out first: a front leg or a back leg?"
"You can incapacitate a quadruped by destroying any two adjacent legs," Scythe offered. "That would be optimal. But if you only had the opportunity to destroy one… that is a good question."
"Front leg, that would be my guess," Lily replied, demonstrating by lifting her left front paw from the floor. "Front legs are weaker, you need both of them for support. If you lose one, standing and walking gets really hard. And since most of the time you're not walking backwards, you're going forwards, it would be easier to get thrown off balance if you tried to run too fast. But… I haven't lost a leg before, so I don't really know. Char, you would know better than me, losing an arm and all."
"Yeah, but I can walk on two legs anyway," Char said. "I couldn't answer for a Pokémon who can't stand up on two legs. But I'll trust you. Front leg it is, then. Now… I think I might have an idea. Here's what I think we should do."
Wasting no time, Char explained the plan to his friends, making sure not to speak loud enough for the dragon to hear. When he was done, he waited for their replies.
"I, for one, have no objections," Prince said. "It seems like the best we can do, given the elements we have at our disposal. My only worry is that we might end up slaying the god of time if things go too well in our favor."
"You would only be slaying the god's corporal form," Scythe reassured him. "Dialga's spirit is eternal. If we were to kill its body, the spirit would be released. Perhaps that is precisely what we should aim to do."
"So… fight hard, have no mercy, and aim for the kill if we absolutely have to," Char said. "And maybe, if we're lucky, we can ask a favor of him when we're done. Like, destroying the Master."
A moment of silence ensued as Char reflected upon how crazy it all was. He tried not to remember that he had no reviver seeds left, either – except for the one he held in his paws, and the one Saura secretly had hidden in his bulb. There was nothing to stop a casualty if Dialga deemed one of them no longer had the right to live.
"Heh… you know, when you put it that way, it really does sound like a longshot, doesn't it?" Char nervously admitted. "I hope that coming up here wasn't just a big mistake."
The team solemnly nodded their agreement. The six Pokémon exchanged some sad glances, acknowledging that this meeting might be their very last as the team that had scaled the horrors of Temporal Tower and met the great and fabled Dialga face-to-face.
"Well, I guess we have nothing better to do," Char sighed. "I guess now's the time… Saura, Lily, let's go have a talk with Dialga."
Char's heart pounded hard as he accompanied the two grass-type Pokémon to the opposite end of the room where Dialga sat in wait for the battle. Though Temporal Tower's chamber was about as spacious as the Gold Division's meeting hall, the temporal dragon's majesty and stature was a sight which Char was finding difficult to swallow. Just gazing at the beast gave him a sense of vertigo, and the steely mass of its body seemed to grow larger the closer he approached.
And through it all, Char couldn't help but feel that the Dragon's appearance was… deeply beautiful, in a misleading, deceitful way. Its towering presence, glittering scales, steel so polished he could see his own reflection… it all combined to demand trust, to radiate a surreal sense of serenity. It was as though Dialga was a motherly figure, or perhaps a fatherly one, a god which he could find peace and comfort with…
"Come," Dialga told him, deep in his heart. "Lay at my side. I will protect you. You no longer have anything to fear, little one."
But fate would not have it. The Dialga which Char approached was a proud, ruthless, and hostile god. It perceived only issues as large as itself, and didn't care about the hopes or the well-being of the tiny earth-crawlers far down below, beyond the doors of the tower…
…Or so it seemed. It had come down to this final encounter. Char was giving the lord of time one last chance to be agreeable, to listen to the pleadings of a tiny little Charmander and the friends that stood by him. He figured it probably wouldn't work, and the confrontation would result in violence, but he was prepared to take that risk.
Because he wasn't scared of Dialga. Not anymore. Now, he was enraged.
Remembering for once that his tail flame would betray his true state of mind, Char tried to calm himself, at least superficially. He needed Dialga to think he was a humble Charmander for the moment. He needed to look vulnerable.
The Charmander is not in control right now, Char repeated in his mind, remembering the discipline technique that Prince had taught him. The human is in control. I am the human. The trainer. And I order the Pokémon to stand down…
You will get your chance…
Dialga's eyes did not follow the three little Pokémon as they drew nearer. Its eyes were now subtly darting from side to side, as though watching something invisible fly past at high speeds.
Probably watching the stars, Char figured. No concern for us, I guess. Alright...
…here goes nothing. And everything.
Char exchanged a glance with a quivering Saura on his left, and a steadfast Lily on his right. Finally, clutching tightly the reviver seed in his claws, his glance fell upon the dragon god…
"Hey!" Char shouted up to the massive beast.
Dialga's daze was broken. Its belly emitted a deep groan of frustration as its head swiveled to attention.
HAVE YOU MADE YOUR DECISION, TINY ONES? It blasted in its voice that was both audible and telepathic at once.
"Yes, great one," Lily replied, humbly and reverently. "We have decided not to battle you."
There was a visible change in Dialga's demeanor. It looked almost like… relief.
A WISE AND UNDERSTANDABLE CHOICE, Dialga roared. I COMMEND YOU. NOW, LEAVE MY PRESENCE, AND YOU WILL HAVE MY FORGIVENESS.
"…No," Saura shouted. "We're not leaving."
Dialga was visibly surprised. The dragon's head jerked forward.
"You misunderstand us, great one," Char told it in a powerful, authoritative tone. "We're not going to battle you. But we're not leaving. Since you won't listen to us, we're going to mind-control you."
A snort of laughter thundered from Dialga's throat.
WHAT GIVES YOU THE NOTION YOU CAN DO THAT? WHAT DRIVES YOU TO BELIEVE YOU CAN CONJURE ENOUGH INFLUENCE OVER MY MIND TO MAKE ME BEND TO YOUR WILL? YOU ARE NOT EVEN PSYCHIC POKÉMON.
"Because we are the Call-bearers of Ambera," Char proudly spoke up to the dragon, "Out of all the Pokémon in the continent of Ambera, we have been gifted with the power to move mountains with our minds. With one blast from my mind, I can control the actions of thousands of Pokémon. If the three of us combine our power, we can make even you grovel at our feet."
Char held his breath, not because he feared Dialga's response, but because he hoped Scythe and Prince would not suspect the truth about Saura. When he had described the idea for his plan, he mentioned that he would "pretend" Saura had the Call to trick Dialga. He prayed to whatever benevolent gods remained that Scythe in particular would not immediately jump to the conclusion that his ruse was reality.
Dialga tilted its head. CALL-BEARERS, YOU CALL YOURSELVES? I HAVE BEEN ALIVE SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME, YET I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING.
"Then you must not know very much about the world you helped to create," Char taunted. "I called to you, Dialga. My presence in Ambera is what summoned your tower to appear!"
Dialga snorted again, and he seemed to wince in discomfort. YOU ARE EITHER BLUFFING, OR YOU ARE DELUDED. I OBEY NO ONE BUT THE ALMIGHTY ORIGINAL ONE. HOW CAN YOU CLAIM TO HOLD POWER OVER ME OR MY TOWER OF RESIDENCE? HAVE YOU EVER STOPPED TO CONSIDER THAT PERHAPS REALITY DOES NOT HINGE UPON YOU, LITTLE CONCEITED CHARMANDER? HAS IT OCCURRED TO YOU THAT, PERHAPS, THERE ARE HIGHER COSMIC FORCES AT WORK?
Why is he denying everything I say? Char wondered, absolutely puzzled at the responses the god of time gave him. Is Dialga really this ignorant? I expected better of him.
"I would ask the same of you," Char shot back. "I am a higher cosmic force than you. I am a human! Isn't it true that the gods themselves gained their wisdom from the humans? Of course, I have always found that hard to believe myself, but every Pokémon in Ambera seems to believe it, so who am I to deny it? I am a human. A Pokémon trainer. And you are a Pokémon. If I had a Poké Ball, I could capture you and make you subservient to me. That makes you inferior to me. No matter how powerful you are. A human baby is superior to you, Dialga!"
Lily and Saura both cringed. "Uh, Char… overdoing it, much?" Lily hissed.
Dialga seethed in rage, rearing back its massive head as though to slam it down upon the three tiny Pokémon far beneath.
TALL WORDS! VERY TALL WORDS! Dialga cried, roiling in anger. AND EVEN SO, BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT HUMANS AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO POKÉMON… BUT, UNLESS I AM MISTAKEN, YOU ARE NO LONGER A HUMAN, ARE YOU? YOU WERE TRANSFORMED! SO YOU HAVE LOST THE RIGHT TO TAUNT ME AS A HUMAN, PATHETIC LITTLE CHARMANDER! GRRRRAAAWWWRRR!
Char, Saura, and Lily stood still, their expressions steadfast and stoic as Dialga's tantrum shook the chamber. Far behind them, at the opposite end of the room, Prince, Scythe, and Ray could only watch in nervous anticipation. Their minds were focused, their claws drawn, their muscles coiled to pounce. They knew the battle would start soon.
ENOUGH SPEAK, THEN! Dialga roared. IF YOU ARE CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITIES, DEMONSTRATE YOUR "CALL-BEARER" POWERS TO ME. PROVE THAT YOUR WORDS HAVE WEIGHT.
"Very well, your majesty," Char replied. "We will."
Char took one final deep breath, to prepare his inner Ember for what was about to come. He turned to Saura.
"Alright… now's your chance," Char whispered to his best friend, quiet enough that he hoped Dialga could not hear. "If there was one time we needed to figure out how to activate the Call on our own… it's now. And between the three of us, I think you're the only one who's done it."
"Uh… I did?" Saura replied. "When did I do that?"
"During the meteor storm," Char told him. "I think you used the Call on Lily to get her not to run off. Didn't you?"
"Um… I don't remember."
"You're kidding," Char said flatly.
"Yeah… I'm sorry, but I really don't remember what I did," Saura admitted. "I just remember I was really scared. The thoughts that were coming from my headache were really powerful, with the Watchers speaking to me and… and I just kept remembering my brother and my sister, and… that's all I remember. I was just really scared."
"Well, uh… aren't you really scared right now?"
"Yeah?"
"Then can you at least try to do it again?" Char pleaded. "Look, if this doesn't work… we have to fight him. As in, battle. Physical, claw-to-claw battle. And even though I think our plan is going to have a chance to work, I don't think it's going to be easy."
Saura pawed the ground. "I can't… I can't do it," Saura said. "I have no idea how the Call works. I can't use it on purpose. I… I'm sorry."
Char sighed.
"So that's it, then?" Char told him. "We can't use the Call on Dialga?"
"I guess not…" Saura replied. "I'm sorry, Char, I really am…"
"In that case… I guess this is it," Char said. "We have no other options left…"
Dialga watched the panicked little Pokémon with amusement.
"Alright…" Char said loudly, calming himself and closing his eyes. "Focus the power. Focus the power of the Call."
Char remembered all the times that it happened.
That first time in the Gold Division. That awful second time in the Emerald Division.
And that third time… when they learned that there was more to the Call than they thought. That it wasn't just an uncontrollable superweapon, but a means of communication. That it could be used to talk to the other Pokémon around him, or to hear them respond. And that it could be used against those sensitive Pokémon like Scythe to alter their internal feelings, as an enforced sense of empathy.
He reflected on the Call, on everything it had ever done for him, and everything he had ever felt…
It is a shame that we can't actually mind-control Dialga, he told himself. I think if the Call were to activate again, especially if it's supposed to activate in response to peril, it would have done so by now. In the end, our powers proved to be worthless.
I can't control the Call. I know that by now. It does what it will.
Like a wild animal. One that can't be controlled. One that can't be reasoned with, or tamed.
We can only learn about it; we can't control it. At least not using what we know right now.
It is a shame that this is the best we can do, pretending to try activating the Call, just to catch Dialga by surprise.
It is a shame…
Char's muscles tightened. He finally began to let his fire burn freely.
If it is true, that past and present are lies…
If all that exists, truly is fate…
I suppose…
This is what fate wanted.
It is…
…a real shame…
Drawing one long, sharp breath, he spoke a tiny little word.
"Now."
That was the signal.
Char felt four vines swivel around his back, two from his left and two from his right. In a heartbeat, the two grass-type Pokémon combined their strength and slung Char high into the air.
And before the temporal dragon knew what hit him, the tiny Charmander had latched onto its elongated headplate.
YOU—
I'm getting good at flying, Char realized, proud of his one-clawed landing, as the other claw still tightly clutched his dear reviver seed. Now if only I could evolve already. I think I've got this Charizard thing nailed down.
Char swung around on Dialga's forehead to stabilize himself. He found that the steely ridges of Dialga's headplate made excellent footholds.
YOU TREACHEROUS, SLIMY—
Char didn't listen to the flabbergasted rambling of the dragon. Instead, he drew a great breath, restrained an exhale, and a stream of thick, tightly-compressed black smoke poured from his maw and his nostrils. He held that breath until he choked out the last bit of ashen cloud his throat could produce.
It was the best smoke screen he could possibly perform. Dialga deserved no less from him.
WHAT?
The cloud of smoke expanded quickly, leaving Dialga's head drowned in a void of no visibility. The dragon took a lurched step forward trying to escape the smoke screen, but it had expanded too rapidly, and Dialga could not seem to find the open air again.
I WILL PUMMEL YOU INTO THE GROUND! The dragon roared, jerking its head up and down in an attempt to shake Char off. I WILL BREAK YOU! YOU WILL KNOW MY WRATH!
"Tall words, for one who is outnumbered," Char returned. "…and soon to be outsmarted. Go ahead. Smash the annoying rodents with your powers. I dare you!"
Dialga thrashed its head violently, barreling forward through the cloud of smoke at the place where it had last seen the bystanding Pokémon. Every crash of its paws against the chamber floor caused a magnificent earthquake that rattled the tower's infrastructure and felt as though it would shatter the floor.
But the cloud had expanded at a startling rate, and Dialga could not find the way out. The Pokémon he had once seen standing at the opposite end of the room were no longer there.
COWARDS! Dialga cried, a sickening distortion echoing in its rage-filled voice. YOU HIDE IN THE SHADOWS LIKE COWARDS! REVEAL YOURSELF! FACE ME!
"Actually, I'd say what we're doing is pretty courageous," Char said plaintively from his perch on Dialga's forehead.
The enraged dragon crashed its forehead into the wall of the tower in an attempt to smash the Charmander. But Char had leapt free of the dragon and scampered off into the darkness. The walls and pillars of the chamber trembled, and bits of debris fell from the ceiling.
After recovering from the failed attack, Dialga found itself standing lost and alone in a cloud of darkness.
GROOOOOAAAARRR!
It rampaged aimlessly, stamping its massive paws in an effort to flatten Pokémon that were never there. Its tail swished around unpredictably, a giant steely mace praying for a skull to bash.
There was an orange glow from nearby. Fire, probably from the Infernape's head. Dialga pounced toward it, but the attack missed and the target was nowhere to be found.
"Whiffer! You're just a whiffer!" a high-pitched voice called from nearby. "Try aiming next time!"
GRAAAHHH!
Dialga lunged in the direction of the voice, but once again hit nothing.
"The ironic thing is, I'm just a common rodent!" the voice taunted again. "Maybe next time you'll speak more highly of us common rodents!"
CRASH! In its rage, Dialga slammed face-first into one of the chamber's pillars. It cracked and collapsed against the might of the steel collision, falling harmlessly to the ground. On the other side, the smoke screen had been slightly fanned away, enough for Dialga to catch sight of a defiant little Raichu standing there.
"Oh… you found me," Ray gasped, static sparking across his fur. "Uh oh."
SLASH! SLASH!
With its front paws, each as thick as an oak tree's trunk, Dialga furiously slashed at the rodent… and the attack connected, knocking Ray onto his back.
But Ray wasted no time in righting himself, and stood on four coiled paws, prepared to dash away.
"What's wrong?" Ray said to the temporal dragon. "Thought that would hurt me more?"
Ray indicated an article of clothing around his neck.
"Defense Scarf," he said. "You're going to have to hit me a little harder of you want to do some damage."
OBLIGED.
Dialga paused. Its feet seemed frozen in place.
WHAT…?
The dragon gnashed its teeth, furious that its muscles would not seem to obey commands.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?
"Oh, you can't move?" Ray said to Dialga, humorously surprised. "Oh. You're probably paralyzed. That tends to happen if you touch me. I've got the power of several lightning bolts in my cheeks, you see. I'm not safe to touch if I get angry!"
Ray released a stream of static power which arced through the murky clouds and struck Dialga on the metallic forehead. Dialga snarled, and Ray dashed off into the dark clouds.
NO! Dialga cried in a breaking voice, waiting impatiently for the paralysis to release his legs. YOU WILL NOT TOY WITH ME AS THOUGH I AM SOME INSECT! IF YOU DESIRE TO WITNESS MY TRUE WRATH, THEN YOU SHALL SEE IT!
Once free of the static's hold on its muscles, Dialga jumped forward and opened wide its maw. A spiral of energy formed in front of its face, which it launched as a glowing, electric ball of power blindly into the darkness.
CRASH! CRUMBLE…
They hyper-powered ball of light struck the far wall of the chamber, exploding shards of polished rock everywhere.
Char trembled on the floor, drawing panicked breaths. The unexpected attack had just barely missed him.
"I'd say he's getting angrier," Prince noted from Char's side.
"Yeah…" Char said, short of breath.
"Shall we see how far we can push him?" Prince said as he picked Char up into his arms and ran behind another pillar. "Perhaps soon we can begin to use the seeds."
"Not yet," Scythe hissed from his position overhead, planted on a small ridge upon the pillar. "Wait until the smoke dissipates first.
"Ah, Char, can't you just make some more smoke?" Ray wondered, catching up. "When this smoke goes away, I mean…"
CRASH! CRUMBLE…
"Probably not a good idea," Prince told him. "If Dialga keeps using projectile attacks like this, he'll-"
CRASH! There was another impact very nearby. Char felt the rubble pelt his face.
"What I mean to say is, we'll need to be able to see those attacks coming, too," Prince finished. "Smoke screens work both ways, you know…"
"Ahh, good point," Char said, trying to worm his way out of Prince's grasp and back onto the floor.
"Here he comes!" Scythe warned. "DODGE!"
CRASH! The pillar shattered as Dialga swung its mighty tail, having no regard for the condition of its own home in its blind rampage.
Clang! Clash! Clang! Clang! Char heard a resounding metal clash as Scythe harassed the dragon, striking around its face with his blades. Prince reaffirmed his grip on the Charmander and dashed out of the way before the pillar could fully fall and crush them.
YOU CANNOT MATCH ME,Dialga's voice resounded. TASTE THE STEEL OF YOUR GOD!
Slice!
After a sickening sound of blades cutting through carapace, Scythe struck the ground next to Prince and Char. Three deep gouges appeared on his body under his arm.
"…Pain…" Scythe said, lying crumpled on the floor for a moment.
CRASH! CRASH!
Rocks began raining down from the air. They were the broken chunks of the pillars and other parts of the chamber interior. Dialga was somehow lifting them into the air telekinetically and launching them around.
"Char, go," Prince commanded, tossing him to the ground and leaping above Scythe. "I'll get him a berry."
Char scampered away. Before running too far, he looked back in time to witness a large boulder-shard falling upon Prince's head and splitting into two, as he relied on the power of the Frozen Flame to shield the fallen Scyther.
Nearby, Saura danced around at Dialga's feet. He knew he had to distract the Dragon from his friends until Scythe could move again.
"Hey, Dialga!" He called. "Having trouble seeing? Want some sunlight? Here! I saved some for you!"
Saura blasted a solar beam from his bulb, striking the dragon on the flank.
Dialga groaned and tried to retaliate, but it once more found that its body wouldn't move. The intermittent paralysis still affected him.
ACCURSED ELECTRICITY, Dialga seethed. I SHALL RETURN TO THE MOMENT WHEN ELECTRICITY WAS CREATED, AND PREVENT IT FORM EXISTING…
Saura ran away as fast as he could before Dialga regained mobility.
It was a deadly game they played, taunting and harassing the deity before evading its wrath and running out of its reach. But it was the first stage in Char's idea, and they were able to keep it up for a few minutes while sustaining minimal damage and keeping themselves healed with their supplies.
The smoke cloud was starting to let up as Char found Ray, who had been hiding behind the room's third pillar with the lesser bag of supplies.
"Scythe got hit," he reported. "I think he'll be okay, though. I might need an Elixir soon…"
"Already?" Ray said, digging in the bag to find one. "I was starting to feel tired, too…"
"It's Dialga doing that to us," Lily said from nearby. "You fight a legendary, you get tired faster. They do something to the air around them that makes you get tired. It's called 'pressure'. "
"Here," Ray said, breaking open the elixir. "That's our last one. We'll have to share it. The rest are in Alakazam's bag."
I CAN SENSE YOU, INSECT, Dialga called from across the room. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT I CAN FOLLOW YOUR SCENT? DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME?
Crash-crumble…
Char, Lily, and Ray trembled at the oppressive sound of the Dragon's voice as it apparently hunted down Scythe.
"If we're going to get tired faster, we may have to speed this up," Char realized. "He's not getting angry enough."
"He's almost ready to bring down the roof of Temporal Tower," Lily noted, wincing as a tremor rattled the ground beneath her. "I'd say he's pretty angry already…"
"No," Char said, shaking his head. "He's not using enough of his supernatural attacks. I don't think he's even considering using 'Roar of Time' just yet. He's holding back on us…"
Char was about to sip from the elixir bottle, but handed it to Lily.
"No," he said. "You and Saura are going to need this more than I do. Ray, I think we should start figuring out which seeds we should use."
"Ah-alright," Ray said, digging into the bag again. "Let's see. If we're going to make Dialga miserable, we have to use a few different kinds of seeds. Here's a stun seed. I'll take this one. Char, since you're holding that reviver seed already, you probably can't hold two, but here, you wear the mobile scarf. Your job is most dangerous, you can probably hide inside one of the boulders or something."
"Wait, let me try something," Char said, taking the mobile scarf.
He tied it tight around his belly, wedging the reviver seed against his back.
"There, now I have a free hand," Char said. "Give me something."
Ray tossed Char two metal spikes.
"Remember these?" Ray said with a sly grin. "You were good with them."
"Yeah, but I don't need them anymore," Char said. "Now that I learned how to turn my claws into metal."
"You can always throw them," Ray said. "If that doesn't work, you can always just use fire fang. You're good with that, too. Anyway… Prince has a detect band. He also has the speed brace, I think. He's going to give it to Scythe, but Scythe isn't wearing it yet…"
"If Dialga starts messing with the flow of time, that'll come in handy," Char noted. "I'm just wondering why he hasn't started doing that yet… you'd think that he'd be going back in time and undoing his mistakes by now… why isn't he?"
"Lily, you take this," Ray said, handing her a seed. "This is a hunger seed. I don't know why I brought it, but we had some extra room left in the bag and all we had left in storage were useless items. But I guess we're going to use it after all. Throw it at Dialga when we throw the seeds."
Saura came scurrying from nearby.
"THERE you are," the Bulbasaur sighed, almost out of breath. "I'm getting really tired for some reason. But I found you because… the smoke is going away."
"Saura, good. We're going to use the seeds a little earlier than planned," Ray told him. "Here. This is a vile seed. It will reduce Dialga's defenses. This one's from Alakazam's bag, it's really powerful, so don't miss, okay?"
"Uh… I can try," Saura said, twitching nervously and grasping the seed with the end of his vine.
I SEE YOU GROW WEAK! Dialga shouted at Prince or Scythe, far away from the huddled group of Pokémon. YOU CANNOT RESIST MY POWER FOREVER. SUBMIT TO MY AUTHORITY!
Ray took a few deep breaths and continued focusing on the plan. "I hope this works, guys," he said. "Three seeds. We have to hope they all hit, and they neutralize Dialga long enough to do damage. We have some more, but the longer this battle goes on, the harder it will get. I wish we would have known about the 'pressure' beforehand…"
"What if the seeds don't work?" Saura implored, his voice quivering at the thought. "W-what if he's too powerful?"
"Then our whole plan falls apart and we probably fail," Char sighed. "But it's worth a try."
WAAAARRRRRRRGHHHH!
The vengeful cry of the dragon god sounded from very close by, filling the Pokémon with terror.
Dialga galloped into sight, thrashing its head around. Char's heart sunk as he realized that Dialga was holding Prince in its maw.
Prince lit his body on fire, surprising the dragon and prompting it to fling the Infernape across the room.
It occurred to Char that he needed to run. He bounded to the nearest safe place he could find: the still-sanding pillar. He pounced and his body disappeared inside of it, harnessing the power of the mobile scarf he now wore.
Lily and Ray also got away, taking the bag of supplies with them.
But Saura wasn't so lucky. It was clear that Saura was exhausted. He hesitated for too long.
Char peered out from the safety of the pillar, and realized too late that Saura was in the dragon's line of attack.
Char held his breath in horror as he watched his best friend realize the fate which was about to befall him…
…but then released that same breath, a moment of utter relief, when he remembered the reviver seed tucked inside of Saura's bulb. Dialga could stomp the poor Bulbasaur to death, but he'd be revived.
So he watched, perhaps in bile fascination, for the roaring dragon to strike.
Dialga reared up on its hind legs like a rampaging horse, a fearful, awe-inspiring sight.
It eyed the Bulbasaur.
KA-CRAAASH!
Cracked craters formed in the floor as the fearsome god pounded the ground, one mighty leg crashing down on either side of the cowering Bulbasaur. With a flick of one of its clawed paws, the dragon punted the Bulbasaur to the side.
Char was speechless, not believing what he had just seen.
He…
He… hesitated, Char realized. He… Dialga…
…Dialga stopped himself from killing Saura.
…Why?
…Dialga, what's holding you back? Why are you restraining yourself?
What is going through your mind?
Char hid from the raging beast, confused. Something wasn't right.
Maybe… maybe Dialga really is testing us after all.
Maybe he's just toying with us. Deeming us worthy.
His stomach rumbled. The mobile scarf was taking its toll.
Oh, no… Char realized. No, no, no… I am NOT passing out from hunger. Not this time.
Mustering his courage, Char stepped out from the pillar.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU FINISH HIM?" Char blasted at the dragon. "YOU COULD HAVE DEFEATED HIM! WHY DIDN'T YOU?"
BECAUSE I AM A GOD OF MY WORD, CHARMANDER,it replied. AND I PROMISED I WOULD DESTROY YOU FIRST!
Dialga's head whipped down, and before Char could react, he found the floor spinning around far beneath him. Dialga had captured him between his jaws.
Uh oh…
CRY OUT FOR ME, CHARMANDER, Dialga commanded. YOUR STRENGTH CANNOT LAST FOREVER. LET ME HEAR HOW PAINED YOU ARE.
Char strugged, but teeth were bearing through his skin, holding him in place.
Not good… not good…!
He tried to use the power of the mobile scarf to phase out of the dragon's grasp, but it didn't work. The mobile scarf had not the power to allow Pokémon bodies to pass through one another…
YOU DESERVE A COLD, AGONIZING DEATH, FOR TRESPASSING UPON MY LAIR AND BRINGING HUMILIATION UPON ME.
Char flung his right hand, the hand that dangled out of Dialga's mouth. He released the spike it held.
It was a blind shot, made in complete desperation.
The spike sailed a few inches, then sunk into Dialga's eye.
WRYYYYYYYYYYY!
Dialga opened its jaws to roar in shock, dropping Char to the ground with a thump. Char felt blood trickling over his body from the teeth-wounds, but he resisted the pain and did not worry. He still had the reviver seed. Besides, his plan was working.
And now, it would come to fruition.
As soon as the torn, bloody Charmander thumped to the ground, and as soon as he shook off the dizziness of the pain, the hunger, and the exhaustion caused by Dialga's pressure, he tilted his head back and gazed up at the temporal dragon which loomed over him.
"You want to see me cry out?" Char shouted. "Okay! Alright, Dialga! I will cry out! THROWWWWW!"
Seconds later, a loud pop could be heard, as though a firecracker had exploded. The stun seed struck Dialga's jaw.
The hunger seed followed, emitting a loud snap as it landed between Dialga's jaws and sank into its mouth.
The third seed followed, the powerful vile seed. It struck Dialga straight on the muzzle. From the collision, a sizzling kind of energy flowed forth, spreading over Dialga's face and tracing its way down its body.
And for just a moment, the chaos stopped. The shroud of ash had almost entirely faded away, and the lord of time was frozen in paralysis, unable to move a muscle, speak, or turn its head. Only its eyes, one of which was still gouged with the metallic thorn, glared down at the tiny little Pokémon with eternal disdain.
"This is it," Lily said, passing the remainder of the elixir to Saura. "Drink. Get your strength ready. You're going to need all of it."
"Scythe, this is your moment," Prince said, tossing the speed brace to the Scyther. "Remember. Aim for the right front knee. Do your best."
Not hesitating, Scythe slipped the speed brace down a blade and onto a shoulder. It would allow him perceive and exist in time twice as fast as every being around him.
Once it had taken effect, Scythe drew his steely blades, spread his wings, and zipped forward in a blur of green.
"KIAAAAAHHH!"
CLANG-g-g-g-g!
A pure, sharp, high-pitched ringing sound reverberated from the collision of Scythe's blade and the temporal dragon's knee.
Scythe paused once the deed had been done. His blade was wedged halfway into the dragon's limb. For a few moments, it remained stuck in place, and he could not yank it free, but after a few attempts he managed to withdraw it. The dragon's posture slouched.
Scythe's blade was broken. A large gouge of his steel had simply snapped off from the collision, leaving a jagged, crippled claw within the husk of the mantis's arm. Scythe looked at it disbelievingly for a moment, but then his attention turned to the wound it had caused.
Dialga was hurt, now. Thanks to the vile seed, Dialga's natural defenses had been weakened, allowing the Scyther's blade to cut a deep gash into the very core of the dragon's joint.
"The tendon is severed, and the joint is mangled," Scythe said, his voice sounding warped as he struggled to speak at half-speed so his allies could understand. "Dialga clearly needs to take more iron."
CLANG-g-g-g-g!
Scythe reared back and struck again, this time with his other blade, striking at the same wound. It cut even deeper, causing the dragon's stature to buckle, but it did not sever the leg completely. Scythe yanked the blade back out, and saw that this one had fared much better; only a small chip had formed in it.
Knowing that the dragon would soon gain control of its body again, Scythe withdrew his attack and returned to the floor.
"Scythe-!" Ray gasped, horrified at the sight of his destroyed blade.
"It is only a blade. Blades grow back," Scythe reassured him. "Now… run. I think we've angered him enough."
The six Pokémon bolted from the disabled legendary, hurrying around and across the rubble left behind by the fallen pillars and damaged walls. They assembled on the opposite end of the room, right near the staircase from where they had come, and stood in the same place they had when they first laid eyes on the majesty of the temporal god.
And they waited.
"By the way, in case this doesn't work…" Ray squeaked, "I—love you guys."
"Don't die," Scythe grumbled powerfully.
Perhaps it was the distortion from the speed brace, but Scythe's voice sounded terrifying to Char. It seemed as though every layer of strength had finally been stripped from him, leaving him with only the raw core, which sounded like some kind of monster.
"Don't… die…" Scythe said again, speaking very slowly and deeply. "Hold… your will to live… don't let the pain consume you… and… you will not die…"
Dialga's head twitched. The seeds were wearing off.
"Do not let the fear consume you…" Scythe said. "Do not let the pain consume you… do not… lose sight of yourself… do not let your thoughts stop… hold… onto reality… FOCUS…"
Scythe's words were chilling.
"Do not… die… Survive… survive… survive…"
Char vaguely wondered if Scythe was talking to himself.
Dialga bent its neck, swiveled his head around… and glared at the small group of gallant Pokémon with one eye.
The eye burned with deep, dark hatred.
One leg shifted, as Dialga carefully began to turn its body around to face them.
The temporal dragon staggered, hobbled, as it found that one of its legs would not fully support the weight of its gargantuan form. A wince crossed its face. Pain glowed in its eyes.
It said nothing. It didn't have to say a word. Char figured how humiliated it must have been, for a god, one of the creators of the realm of the real, to be abused so by a few insolent, seed-throwing pests.
Char knew that its rage transcended anything that a mere mortal could have comprehended.
"Cry out for me, Dialga," Char whispered to himself. "Let me hear how pained you are."
Dialga bared its teeth.
Its chest expanded as it drew a thunderous breath.
"Survive," Scythe repeated one more time. It was an order.
You have left me with no choice, it said, its voice weakened. Behold! The strength which has co-authored your world…
And Dialga released the Roar of Time.
…Hey!
…Hey, wait!
I want to change something.
May I change something? Will you let me?
They were memories.
Many memories flooded his mind. So many at once, all in slow motion.
So many… both from his time as a Charmander, and of his time as a human, although they were far detached from reality and he couldn't recognize any of them…
Or perhaps, some of them were from the future.
He wondered if… if…
…if he had been sent back in time, to briefly witness those moments…
There's no stopping him.
You know that. That's how fate works.
That's how Dialga designed it.
Unless… we make our own fate.
And that's complicated.
Because you can't see everything.
Only the gods can do that…
Char came back to himself.
The pain. The pain. The pain…
I can't move…
I… I am nearly dead…
His mind was so clouded, so deeply destroyed and distorted… he barely had the strength to twitch.
But once he found reality, he clung to it tightly, not wanting to get sucked back into the horrible, painful vortex of memories…
Temporal Tower.
I am in Temporal Tower.
Facing Dialga.
In battle.
There was…
Something really important.
Did I win?
Did I win the battle?
No…
No!
Not yet!
NOT YET!
"NO!" Char grunted, stirring from his position on the floor. "NO! We… we have to get… up… We're not done yet…"
Suddenly, the pain went away. All the tiredness, the hunger, the bitterness, the confusion…
It was washed away by a sacred, cleansing fire, a fire he knew so well. And with that fire came his strength, his power, his clarity of mind. The strength to go above and beyond his full potential.
Char didn't have to look; he knew his tail had become a bonfire, with flames that might as well have been licking the ceiling.
He was blazing.
All of a sudden, Char felt himself lifted into the air. Prince had helped him up.
Char looked at the Infernape, and beheld a brother of the flame. Prince was blazing too; his flames had grown to engulf almost his whole body. He stood as a fire elemental, his eyes glowing with such a bright whiteness that his pupils could not be seen.
"Have you blazed before?" Prince spoke.
"Yeah…" Char answered. "You were there. Remember?"
"Ah… I am sorry," Prince said, setting Char onto his feet. "I seem to have lost the distinction between past and present… So, you know what to do now?"
"Yes," Char replied. "We fight."
Char looked at the others.
Saura and Lily stood nearby. Their bodies were overtaken by an incredible power as well, but a different kind than Char's, as they harbored a different elemental affinity in their hearts. Their eyes glowed with a bright yellow light, their leaves sprung to life and shed particles of pollen, and multiple tentacle-like vines sprouted from their bodies and waved around their heads…
And at his other side, Scythe… his teeth were gritted, his eyes became blank and emotionless. His body twitched with uncontrollable power. It was a reaction that Char had seen him have before when he reached his limit; it was his swarm reaction.
Char's plan had worked.
They had coaxed the temporal dragon into using the ultimate attack, knocking them onto the very edge of defeat. Now, in their one and only moment of opportunity, their second winds had all activated… and Dialga was helpless to stop them, as the dragon was frozen in an exhausted daze, panting and grinding its teeth.
Ray, the only Pokémon of the six who did not possess a biological second wind, still lay on the ground.
"Well… what are you waiting for, guys?" he grunted, trying to ignore the pain. "Go! I'll… watch from here. Good luck…"
The five other Pokémon nodded to one another… and then rushed toward the weakened dragon god.
No…
Leave me alone. Can't you see you have done enough?
"Not yet, we haven't!" Char said to himself, smiling gleefully. "But… almost…"
Snap! Snap!
Saura and Lily aligned themselves on the right side of Dialga's body. Using their body's accelerated growth, they each launched a dozen vines up and onto the dragon; Lily wrapped her vines around Dialga's neck, while Saura hooked them around the large steel plate on the dragon's back.
No!
You… cannot do this… to me…
But Char and his team were already dead-set in their plans. No amount of whining from the downed dragon would keep them from victory.
Saura and Lily sprouted a series of roots from their paws, roots which dug into the ground and anchored them in place. Once they were secure, they began to pull on their vines with all of their might.
Dialga buckled at the force. They were ever-so-slightly shifting the dragon's weight onto its broken leg…
No…
Stop this… Cease your attacks, this instant…
You have no right to defeat me…!
"PULL!" Lily ordered. "PULL…HARDER!"
The vines were taught and strong. Dialga, still winded from the great roar, was succumbing to their force.
I will… never… fall…
To you…
"Take him down," Char ordered. "Scythe, Prince… go."
Scythe gave a nod, and zipped forward to the prone dragon, striking at its weakened leg again with what was left of his blades. The dragon wavered in pain, but it still could not fight back…
And Prince, using the power of his blaze, performed a masterful running leap by somehow using his fiery aura to help him jump higher, leaping onto the wall of the chamber, then onto a pillar, and then straight for the dragon's head…
Seconds later, there was a bright white explosion as the full force of Prince's fist collided with the side of the dragon's face.
The last of the wind was knocked from the great beast's lungs. Its glowing-red eyes fluttered closed.
The powerful force of the vines caused the limp dragon's body to slump to the side, shifting nearly all of its forward weight onto a limb which could not hope to support it. And so, it continued to fall…
And by the mighty tug of the vines, the great god of time came crashing down onto its side. Its impact seemed to shake Temporal Tower to the foundation, and the spikes upon its body body dug feet-long craters into the once-beautiful floors.
The dust settled, and Dialga lay still on the floor, motionless. Defeated.