Four Paws and One Last Tale

Chapter 22:

Lunala was flying rapidly through the sky. On her back sat a human boy, a pregnant Vulpix, an unconscious Darkrai, an angry Emolga, a sore Meloetta and a very confused Gligar.

"I'm very confused!" Complained Glair.

"When are you not?" Ace teased.

Glair glared at him. "What is happening?" (Any readers as clueless as Glair? Don't worry, me too. I lost the plot a while ago)

Meloetta sighed, knowing she'd have to explain.

"Cresselia was very proud of her plan. She'd boast about it whenever she got the chance. Arceus has eighteen plates; one for each type. These plates are special objects that protect Arceus from being damaged by the Pokémon type that the plate corresponds with. When sending Arceus to the human world Palkia stole these plates. Now Dialga, Palkia and Giratina won't know what's happened to Cresselia. Which means they'll be waiting to go ahead with the plan, but of course to do that they'll have to kill Arceus. So, we have to get Arceus' plates. Once Giratina sees me safe he should join Arceus in fighting against Dialga and Palkia. The other two are dumb and will probably still try to go through with their plan."

"Where are the plates?" asked Ace.

"Cresselia said they were locked away in Palkia's dimension," Meloetta answered.

"Palkia's dimension coming up!" Bellowed Debby.

A ring of pink light opened in the sky. Lunala flew through the wormhole into the indescribable realm of weirdness beyond.

"First stop!" Lunala called.

Meloetta talked fast. "We need someone to stay here and look for the plates. The rest of us need to stop Dialga and Palkia."

"Jacob, Pixie, Ace, Glair, find the plates."

"Darkrai!" Pixie shouted excitedly. (Bout time he woke up)

Darkrai smiled weakly at the four. "Meloetta, Lunala, let's go save the world. No excuses."

Landing beside what looked like a solid pink cloud, Lunala allowed Jacob, Pixie, Ace and Glair to get off. Debby abruptly departed and left the four standing with a momentous task before them.

"I'll come back for you!" Shouted Debby.

Reaching out with her psychic powers Lunala detected Arceus' energy signal. Opening an Ultra Wormhole, she flew through. Darkrai watched as their four hopes disappeared from view. 'Funny to think that all this would come down to them,' he thought.

Darkrai hadn't liked them at first but over time they'd grown on him. He was sorry for them. They'd lost a lot and all because they tried to do the right thing. Peace; Darkrai couldn't know how much more it would cost those four friends.

A tremendous roar snapped Darkrai from his thoughts. Turning, he noticed a wounded Arceus fighting Dialga, Palkia and a reluctant Origin Form Giratina. A massive swirling thunderstorm coiled and writhed, illuminating the vast void in which the four Legendries clashed. Palkia threw an Aura Sphere at Arceus. Debby intercepted the attack with her Moongeist beam. Meloetta waved her tiny arms.

"Giratina! It's me! It's me, Giratina, I'm okay!"

Giratina's eyes were immediately drawn to the tiny Pokémon riding Lunala's back. The sight of her brought a smile to the old dragon's face. Now he could do something he'd been wanting to do for a while. As Dialga readied an attack, Giratina charged. His Dragon Claw shredded the ruler of time and Dialga roared in pain. The fight was now two on two, and it was far from over.

Arceus struggled to his feet and roared defiantly. Shooting a beacon into the sky Arceus' Draco Meteor exploded in a powerful onslaught of draconic meteors. Dialga roared, reversing time so that the attack never reached its intended target. Warping space, Palkia redirected the attack, causing it to launch at Giratina. Giratina couldn't dodge fast enough. The attack hit hard, and it roared in pain. Arceus grunted as Dialga fast-forwarded time and struck him with a Metal Claw.

Arceus groaned; why did he have to make them so powerful? Arceus allowed his battle instincts to take over. He fought on autopilot while his mind focussed on cancelling Palkia and Dialga's control over time and space.

Giratina fired a Dragon Pulse at Palkia. Palkia tried to tear through space and redirect the attack but failed. The Dragon Pulse hit Palkia square in the chest. Dialga's Roar of Time normally allowed it to jump through time and strike mercilessly but now, the attack failed. Arceus struck quickly with Extreme Speed.

Realising what Arceus was doing Dialga and Palkia roared their rage and doubled their efforts. This time all their attacks where aimed at Arceus. Arceus' Hyper Beam narrowly blocked their combined Hydro Pump and Flash Cannon.

Arceus needed a moment to rest. Giratina struck Palkia and Dialga from behind with Shadow Force but got caught in their counter-attack. Seeing Giratina's need for help, Arceus used his signature move; Judgment. The powerful onslaught rained upon his foes, and the battle may have appeared close, but inwardly Arceus was silently pleading for help.