His "future" daughter… actually got noticed by the "present" Dialga?
Damian really hadn't expected that.
Still, it was good news.
Today's haul was already massive; just catching Giratina alone was a surprise jackpot.
Finding out he'd have a very "special" daughter someday naturally put Damian in an even better mood.
Caitlin purses her lips.
Her clear eyes, though, are flickering.
Damian having a daughter doesn't bother her at all.
Daughter or son, either is fine.
As long as it's her and Damian's child.
But the "future daughter" Dialga mentioned—was that the crystallization of her love with Damian?
Why did Dialga say it "didn't know"?
No.
It had to be her.
There's no way she's wrong.
Only her and Damian's daughter could be that exceptional.
Caitlin doesn't think there's anything wrong with her logic.
She's an incredibly powerful ability‑user, and Damian is also an ability‑user blessed by nature.
Their offspring would obviously be the finest.
The atmosphere goes quiet for a bit.
Palkia glances at Damian.
A spatial vortex opens; it's getting ready to head back to its own time‑space.
It really doesn't understand why Dialga would value some girl who doesn't even exist yet.
Must just mean that future girl's pretty extraordinary.
But that has nothing to do with Palkia.
"Hold up, Palkia."
Right then, Damian calls out to it.
"…?"
Palkia stops and looks down at Damian, eyes puzzled.
Its feelings toward Damian are… subtle.
Damian seems to have known Dialga from before.
And because it's pissed at Dialga, it has zero interest in getting close to Damian either.
Still, Damian did technically "save" it.
Otherwise Palkia's attitude toward Damian would be a lot nastier.
"You look way more beat up than Dialga. Can't beat it, huh?"
Damian looks Palkia over from head to toe, teasing.
Palkia's aura drops a few dozen degrees on the spot.
It stares coldly at Damian.
"Don't look at me like that. Did I say anything that's not true?"
Even feeling Palkia's anger, Damian just keeps smiling.
"Human, don't try my patience!"
Palkia's deep Telepathy growls in Damian's ear.
It's got a temper too.
"Don't get mad. I'm not trying to humiliate you. I just wanna ask something."
Damian lifts a hand in a placating gesture, speaking slowly to Palkia.
"Do you want to beat Dialga?"
"…?"
Palkia's eyes shift.
Cynthia and Caitlin both stare at Damian in shock.
"What do you mean?"
Palkia's voice drops lower.
"Nothing much. I just happened to pick up a certain treasure a while back. Should be pretty useful to you."
Damian pulls the Lustrous Globe out of his bag and smiles at Palkia.
The moment it sees Lustrous Globe, Palkia's eyes light up.
That's its Orb.
Palkia knows that perfectly well.
And as if sensing Palkia's presence, the Lustrous Globe begins to glow with a pearly radiance, stunningly beautiful.
"The Lustrous Globe—why do you have that, Damian?"
Mesprit is shocked.
Of course the Lake Guardians recognize it; it's the key Item for Palkia's Origin Forme.
"Got lucky. So? With this Orb back, you should be able to put Dialga under your hoof for once, yeah?"
Damian gives the Lustrous Globe a shake in front of Palkia.
"Human, what do you want?"
Palkia forces down the urge to just snatch Lustrous Globe right away—especially with Kyogre and Shadow Mewtwo still standing guard in front of Damian.
And stealing from a human like that is beneath it.
"When I need help, you show up and lend a hand."
"Fine."
Palkia agrees without the slightest hesitation.
Helping out now and then isn't a big deal.
And what does it get?
With Lustrous Globe back where it belongs, it can metaphorically ride on Dialga's head and crap all over it for losing its own Orb.
"Nice and straightforward."
Damian tosses Lustrous Globe toward Palkia.
Palkia immediately takes control, holding the Lustrous Globe floating in the air, then slowly fusing it into its body.
A surge of immense power spills from Palkia.
Pearlescent light shines brilliantly.
After a short while, the light slowly fades.
A completely new Pokémon stands tall in the sky.
Stunning.
"What is that…?"
Cynthia stares in awe at the Pokémon above.
It's completely different from the Palkia from just now.
The original Palkia's shape had theropod‑like beast traits.
Now, though, Palkia looks more like a centaur: its tail is horse‑like, its head shaped like a knight's helm, its waist ringed with deep‑purple wave‑patterned loops, and the disc‑like shoulder parts link to the twin wings at its back.
Its presence feels even more overwhelming than before.
No question—Palkia has gotten stronger.
"Origin Forme Palkia."
Light flickers in Damian's eyes.
"This is Palkia's true form—the form most like Arceus."
Mesprit explains, unable to hide a bit of envy as it looks at Origin Forme Palkia.
Even though they're all Arceus's creations, Palkia and the others really are in a different league.
The form most like Arceus?
So Arceus looks like this too, like some sort of centaur?
"As expected, my power's back~"
Origin Forme Palkia's Telepathy is full of satisfaction.
"This is the complete me."
Origin Forme Palkia lifts its head and looks into the distance, as if it can see its nemesis Dialga.
Dialga.
Now, I've surpassed you.
Of course it has.
It's got Lustrous Lustrous Globe and Dialga doesn't have Adamant Crystal anymore.
Next time it sees Dialga, it'll stomp that four‑legged dinosaur into the ground.
Origin Forme Palkia's confident that in its current state, it can beat Dialga down.
"As long as you're happy."
Damian nods.
"Human, I'm in your debt."
Origin Forme Palkia looks down at Damian.
An Orb gleaming with light floats down and lands in front of him.
It's the Lustrous Orb.
Originally, Origin Forme Palkia wasn't planning to give Damian this Orb.
Lustrous Orb is also part of its power.
Dialga gave Adamant Orb to Damian; Palkia had planned to keep Lustrous Orb as its extra edge.
But now that the true treasure's back within it, it's confident it can beat Dialga without needing Lustrous Orb.
"In the future, if you need something, you can use Lustrous Orb to contact me."
Origin Forme Palkia adds.
"Got it."
Damian accepts Lustrous Orb.
"Farewell."
Origin Forme Palkia slips into a spatial vortex and vanishes.
Too bad Dialga left first; Palkia can't find it right now.
Otherwise, Origin Forme Palkia would absolutely drag Dialga out for a "spar"—and give it the beating of its life.
With Dialga and Palkia both gone, Spear Pillar falls quiet again.
"Nice. Everything wrapped up perfectly."
Damian gives a big stretch, loosening his muscles.
Charon's done.
Team Galactic's leader and all Admins are gone.
The organization's not fully disbanded yet, but it already basically only exists in name.
They're no longer any real threat.
Sooner or later, Team Rocket will unify Sinnoh's underworld.
It's just a matter of time.
"I'll notify the League and officially recognize the enterprises under your name. As long as your companies don't use underhanded black‑ops methods, there won't be any problem."
Cynthia presses her lips together, speaking seriously to Damian.
Now that Team Galactic's been mostly swallowed by Team Rocket, Cynthia's not planning to keep fighting Damian.
She's just… dropping resistance entirely.
With just the Sinnoh League, there's no way to deal with Damian.
"Smart move. There was never any real need for us to be enemies, was there? Team Rocket's a proper business organization."
Damian laughs.
He's not surprised Cynthia "gave up struggling" like this.
She made her choice early on—she never called for backup from other regions.
That alone said plenty.
If she wanted, she could've done what Hoenn and Unova did: ask other regions for help.
"Let's hope so."
Cynthia sighs inwardly.
After following Damian this long, she's come to understand Team Rocket a lot better.
Yeah, their methods are heavy‑handed.
But evil?
They're really not that evil.
"So, Uxie, what about you three?"
Damian turns to the Lake Guardians.
"I'm going back to Lake Acuity to rest."
Uxie answers calmly.
"Emmm… if it's all over, it's time to go sleep~"
Mesprit's emotions are always rich.
Damian has every reason to believe this little one would be absolutely killer at acting spoiled and playing cute.
As the god of "Emotion," it really knows how to leave a good impression on humans.
Azelf nods beside it, agreeing with its "sibling."
"If you get bored sitting around in the lake, you could come travel with us. The outside world's pretty lively."
Damian suggests.
"I don't really want to go out. I like quiet."
Uxie thinks it over and sticks to its reclusive lifestyle.
"I don't like crowded places either."
Azelf tilts its head.
Mesprit, though, is clearly torn.
"Can I go with you, Damian? I'm still really curious about the world outside. I want to see what people's 'Emotion' is like now."
Mesprit decides to follow Damian out and have a look around.
"Of course you can. You're more than welcome, Mesprit."
Damian smiles and ruffles Mesprit's little head.
The Lake Guardians are all fairly small Pokémon; just like Mesprit, whose height is only 0.3 meters.
You can imagine how tiny that is.
Mesprit breaks into a wide grin, delighted.
Uxie and Azelf trade a glance and say nothing.
Following Damian on a journey is Mesprit's own choice—and Damian's a very exceptional human.
"When I go challenge Arceus, do you three want to come watch?"
Damian figures he should start lining up an audience.
Especially Legendary Pokémon like the Lake Guardians.
"We can. But Damian, you shouldn't get your hopes too high. Arceus's strength… goes way beyond what you can imagine."
Uxie warns him.
"And when Arceus has all His Plates on Him, He's literally invincible. If you're gonna challenge Arceus, it's best if you grab those five Plates He left in the real world and don't give them back."
Mesprit starts coming up with schemes for the partner she's picked.
Uxie gives Mesprit a look; that's a pretty bad idea.
"Relax. I know that much. But the Jewel of Life's off‑limits; that's something Arceus left to Sheena's clan. Still, I do have an idea—when I challenge Arceus, I'll lay down three rules with Him first."
Damian's grin turns wicked.
Arceus—
You're hot stuff with those Plates, huh?
Let's see you go without them.
Yeah.
Poke Him a little and maybe He really won't use the Plates.
"Oh? And what rules are you planning to lay down?"
A warm, ancient voice suddenly rings in everyone's ears.
"Obviously I'm gonna—huh?"
Damian starts to answer on reflex.
Then he turns around—and the second he sees the Pokémon that's appeared behind them, he freezes.
~~
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