The Pokémon World is a gorgeous, fantastical place.
By the modern era, humans and Pokémon have become inseparable; walk into any city at random and you'll see a fully modern snapshot of human–Pokémon coexistence everywhere you look.
They help each other, live alongside each other, and with Pokémon lending their strength, humans are able to handle many kinds of work with ease.
Trainers are the most mainstream profession in this world.
When you get down to it, the sheer variety of Pokémon abilities, the thousands of bizarre Moves, the whole rock–paper–scissors of typings—it all practically exists for Pokémon battles.
And as long as there's competitive battling, there will always be a pecking order.
Pokémon are no exception.
Which is why Legendary Pokémon stand at the very top of all Pokémon.
They're like the gods from the myths and legends of Damian's previous life, wielding terrifying power and overwhelming might, looking down on the world below.
But even among Legendary Pokémon, a good number of them have very particular attitudes toward humans.
Some Legendary Pokémon choose humans as partners.
Ho‑Oh chooses a Rainbow Hero.
Rayquaza chooses a Lorekeeper.
Reshiram and Zekrom each choose a hero.
Zacian and Zamazenta have their own hero too.
That ancient king of old didn't mind walking alongside humans either and was willing to give them a chance to catch him.
Then there are the Guardian deities of Aether Paradise—summoned from ancient times or from the future via a time machine—who still follow humans and protect that so‑called "paradise."
These Legendary Pokémon all have wildly different reasons for choosing humans as partners.
Some do it for their own ideology.
Some to wipe out "evil."
Some simply for the sake of their partner.
And Giratina—
It also chooses humans as partners.
Strange, isn't it?
Giratina is very different from most other Legendary Pokémon.
As one of the Six Spirits that exist as concepts themselves, it's called Arceus's "berserk avatar."
At the dawn of the world, Arceus cast it to the backside of the world; Giratina is the only master of that Distortion World.
In rank and in raw strength, Giratina stands right at the peak of this world.
But even so, Giratina still has its own obsessions.
Because of that, it too will choose a human to be its partner, in a certain sense.
"When you say 'help'… you're not asking me to help you fight Arceus, are you?"
Damian looks at Giratina, probing.
"Is that not allowed?"
Giratina's raspy Telepathy throws the question right back.
So that really is it.
Damian isn't surprised.
A Giratina that's spent ages dwelling in the Reverse World doesn't really need his help with anything else.
Kyogre: ???
"Let's just keep fighting. I've still got cards I haven't shown. I'm pretty sure I can beat you and snap Dialga and Palkia out of it."
Damian doesn't hesitate at all.
Fight Arceus?
Him?
He figures Giratina must be deep in its rebellious phase.
With just the three of them and their measly numbers, they really think they can challenge Arceus?
What are they thinking?
You don't think Arceus would kill them?
Well—maybe not kill them outright.
Arceus is kind; it might leave them alive and send them home to rest up.
But who wants to go looking for a beating?
Just to "see their own limits"?
"Arceus is missing five Plates. It's not undefeatable."
Giratina's tone stays flat.
"Even so, His power is still unmatched."
Damian tilts his head.
So Giratina isn't completely stupid.
It actually knows Arceus is missing the Plates that make up the Jewel of Life.
Then again, it makes sense.
Even in Pokémon Legends, Arceus's Plates were left scattered all across Hisui.
Giratina even found one itself and handed it to Volo.
The air goes still.
Giratina's dragon eyes flicker hot and cold, that brutal, vicious gleam flashing over and over.
The three little ones—Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf—don't seem surprised by Giratina's behavior at all.
They're perfectly calm.
Cynthia and Caitlin, on the other hand, are both quietly tense.
After a minute of standoff, Giratina's patience runs out.
If this human won't do it, then it'll just go on its own.
Dialga and Palkia are still locked in their berserk slugfest.
Over Mount Coronet, time and space in that whole region have already started to warp.
Seeing it, Damian's eyes gleam.
He suddenly thinks of a pretty good idea.
"At the very least, with our current combat power, we don't have even the slightest chance of winning."
He changes tack and says it flatly.
"?"
A question mark might as well pop up over Giratina's hideous head.
"And if you want me to help you with something this insane, what do I get out of it?"
Damian smiles as he looks at Giratina.
"I can calm those two down. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"Nope. Dialga and Palkia's safety has nothing to do with me. If they weren't wrecking things so hard that it threatens this world, I wouldn't give a damn."
Damian sounds casual.
"And you can't use that as a bargaining chip, Giratina. I'm confident I can beat you. If I beat you, they'll still snap out of it."
At that, Giratina lowers its head and gives Damian a sidelong stare.
Beat it?
Giratina doesn't believe Damian can do that with just those two Pokémon.
But Damian did say he has more cards in hand.
There's no point arguing it.
"Arceus is indeed a very tempting target to challenge. I can agree to help you. But…"
Damian grins, looking straight at Giratina.
"What do you want?"
Giratina's raspy Telepathy still sounds like a distorted growl.
Yeah—definitely has that final‑boss vibe.
"First, you become my wielded partner. That part's not hard, right? If we're going to work together to challenge Arceus, obviously you have to fight alongside me."
"I cannot leave the Reverse World for long."
Giratina answers in that deep, grinding voice.
This condition isn't hard.
Damian is the strongest human it's seen so far.
Since it's chosen him, becoming his partner is already a given.
The key is that it really can't stay away from the Reverse World too long.
If it does, issues will crop up in the Reverse World.
And the instant the Reverse World runs into trouble, the real world feels it too.
That's exactly why it was set as the Reverse World's guardian.
"Of course. I know that. But when I need your help, you'd better show up."
Damian understands that part very well.
Giratina, Dialga, and Palkia all have very clear "jobs."
And they're critical ones.
"Fine."
Giratina's dreadful dragon eyes rest on Damian.
After a moment's thought, it agrees.
A golden‑shimmering Orb flies out of Giratina's body and lands before Damian.
Damian reaches up and catches it.
This is Giratina's Platinum Orb.
"When you need my help, use that Orb to summon me."
Giratina says coolly.
The Platinum Orb is one of its treasures.
It's not like Dialga and Palkia, those two clowns, who managed to lose their own treasures.
"Deal."
Damian tucks away the Platinum Orb.
Giratina has both the Platinum Orb and the large Origin Orb as treasures.
The Platinum Orb boosts Giratina's power.
The Origin Orb not only strengthens it further, it also lets it take on Origin Forme in the real world.
(P.S.: In Gen IX they removed Platinum Orb's ability to change Giratina's form.)
"And second—challenging Arceus takes real preparation, Giratina. With the strength we've got now, going to pick a fight with Arceus is flat‑out suicide."
"You want to wait for the right moment?"
Giratina's eyes narrow.
This moment is one it's waited a long time for.
"Human. The realm Arceus currently inhabits is shrouded in mystery. Without these two's time‑space power to open a rift, we don't even have a chance to see Arceus."
Giratina's Telepathy grows heavier.
That's exactly why it drove Dialga and Palkia mad.
It wants to use the space‑time rifts torn open by their clash to find Arceus.
Same as the plan it had with Volo in the games.
"If we lose this timing, getting another shot like this will be even harder."
"Opportunities will come, sooner or later. And there are better ways to reach Arceus. I can figure that part out."
Damian answers without the slightest hesitation.
If you really want to meet Arceus, the best method is actually using a divine Item: the Azure Flute.
Once you get the Azure Flute, play it atop Spear Pillar and it opens the path to the Hall of Origin—the "beginning between."
"What we need to do is build up our strength and prepare thoroughly for challenging Arceus, right? Not just charge in blind right now and get punted out with one kick."
Giratina falls silent, that vicious gleam in its eyes flaring and dimming.
Yeah.
It doesn't want to give up this shot.
Dialga and Palkia appearing together like this doesn't happen often.
But it also doesn't want things to go exactly the way Damian just described—
Finally getting its chance to rebel against Arceus, only for Arceus to casually stomp everything flat with one move.
"Give me time and I can become much stronger, Giratina. As long as you back me up properly, trust me—one day we'll stand before Arceus."
Damian gives Giratina a full‑on confident promise.
He has confidence about "standing in front of Arceus."
Whether he can beat Arceus… that's another question.
But just like he said himself—
Challenging Arceus is a massive undertaking.
"When that day comes, we'll let Arceus see our limits."
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