After some time, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, drinking in the unusual environment that surrounded Dragonite and I. The ground we were stood on felt weak, as if it would crumble away at any moment.
We were stood on a small barren rocky island, nothing in sight. We were surrounded by a deep, endless void. It had a faint dark blue hue but there was no familiarity in it. My eyes scanned the area, searching for anything but there was nothing in sight.
I took a step forward, feeling the weight of the rocky island shift. Before I could react, the island began floating through the empty space, moving forward as if attracted to something in the distance. There wasn't anything Dragonite or I could do so we stayed put for now.
After a while, more small rocky islands came into view. The floating rock we were stood on appeared to be one of many, more islands similar to this surrounding us.
I was uncertain at first but I stepped forward, moving onto the island directly in front of us. Dragonite followed and the moment she landed beside me, the first rocky island moved backwards, returning to where it came from.
"We should find Cyrus, he must know what's going on here."
Before we took another step forward, there was a bright flash of light from my side, a certain dark type releasing itself from its pokeball.
Darkrai hovered in front of Dragonite and I, a knowing look on its face. I didn't need to say anything, seeing that the nightmare pokemon knew where we were and I assumed it would be able to take us to Cyrus. Without saying another word, Darkrai turned around to lead the way.
As we ventured through the endless void, all sorts of indescribable sights were passed. There were dead trees that stood in our way one moment but the next they disappeared. A lot of the islands were floating on their sides, the three of us rotating in mid air to adjust to the unusual gravity of this new dimension. When I thought deeper, it was clear that there was no gravitational field in this void, each island being the centre of its own existence, unrelated to the next.
We continued on, passing horizontal bodies of water, disappearing rocks and even an upside down waterfall. The journey was long but seeing these unusual sights sped up the process. Darkrai seemed to know where to go next and for that I was thankful that I had a pokemon who could help us out, even here.
Eventually, we arrived at a clearing, numerous smaller rotated islands surrounding the larger island we were stood on. Just ahead of the three of us, a tall blue haired man was stood, facing away from us, looking out to the void.
"So you followed me here. I should have expected that and yet here were are, stood in the void, surrounded by nothing but emptiness."
Cyrus turned around to face us, his face as serious as ever. His cheeks were sullen and his eyes darkened by the lack of emotion in them.
"Tell me, could you imagine what it's like being trapped here for years? With nothing but these floating islands, these disappearing trees, these reversed waterfalls, these fake rocks and mountains?"
As he spoke, the picture was painted in my mind. The reason why Team Galactic had fallen by the wayside for years was because their leader had become of a fate unknown to them. This wasn't the first time Cyrus had been in this mysterious dimension, that much was clear.
"Hmph, your silence tells me all I need to know. You could never know what that was like, just exactly how you could never understand why I am stood here." He paused, taking another step forward before continuing, "In the same way, I will never understand why you are here and why you chased me through that portal. That is the reality of humanity."
"Aaron, we will never understand each other and this is why there is only conflict wherever you look. You've seen it yourself, I know all about the fall of Team Flare at the hands of the seventeen year old prodigy. This destruction of the world we live in is assured as long as humans walk the planet."
"Is all of this an excuse for what you've done to all those innocent families and children?"
Cyrus only smiled in response, lowering his gaze before looking back into my eyes, "Even if you lived your life through me, would you understand? The truth is that no matter what we do, there is no right, no wrong and no in between. Only actions and their consequences."
"You and Lysandre aren't any different. And I'm sure Giovanni is just the same. This reality you choose to believe in has blinded you to the truth."
"Hmph, the truth? Do you believe yourself to be the hero of this story? To be the Chosen One who will succeed us all, destined to be the greatest the world has to offer?"
I shuffled my feet, standing up straight. Neither Dragonite or Darkrai had moved, their eyes fixed on Cyrus and I could tell they were thinking over what he was saying. As I thought over his words, there was truth in them.
I thought back to five years ago, when I stood opposite Lysandre at the top of the Kalos League. A wave of familiarity washed over me but at the same time, I knew this was different.
"Man, you really have no idea how it is to be me." I paused for a moment, thinking over my next words, "Just like I have no clue what it's like to be you. So I'm not going to say your truth is inferior to mine or that my ideals surpass yours. But we both know that this only ends one way."
Cyrus smiled, a real smile on his lips as he looked to me, "Now you understand. What I've worked so hard for, the new world he showed me, I will not lose here, to you!"
With that, the Galactic leader reached for a pokeball, releasing his first pokemon. There was a flash of light and out emerged an orange skinned pokemon. Rad patches were dotted around his body, clouds surrounding his four legs. A long brown tail snaked behind it, two deep yellow eyes fixated on me. The abundance pokemon was calm, his attention fixed on the pokeballs at my side. Landorus stood tall, its therian form providing it with more strength than usual.
"I was afraid I came all this way for nothing. Aegislash, I choose you!"
The royal sword pokemon emerged from his pokeball, quietly keeping his eye on his opponent. A tense air of silence settled between the two pokemon, a real battle shaping up.
"Start with stone edge."
"Use shadow sneak!"
In a flash, the steel type vanished into the air. A flurry of jagged rocks flew past where Aegislash once was, narrowly missing the target.
Then just as quickly as he disappeared, Aegislash reappeared behind Landorus, ready to strike. He bought his off hand down with power but the ground type swung his tail to block, the two pokemon immediately locked in an intense stalemate.
Landorus shifted his position, shunting Aegislash from underneath him, knocking him up into the air. The steel type was momentarily stunned but regained his balance mid air, his focus on his opponent who was closing the distance between the two quickly.
"Now, outrage!"
"Close combat to counter!"
Within a split second, both pokemon were embroiled in a flurry of attacks. With every dominating swing, Landorus forced Aegislash further into the air, not letting up as the steel type fought tirelessly to maintain their distance. Landorus' overwhelming strength was visible with every swing, Aegislash able to keep the battle even with his superior agility.
The ground type was overcome by a draconic rage, repeatedly swinging around his tail and front limbs, Aegislash using his shield and quickfire counters to hold his opponent off.
Then just as Landorus scored a direct hit, sending Aegislash plummeting down toward the battlefield, he was overwhelmed by a state of confusion. The royal sword returned to the fight as Landorus shook off the drawbacks of such a powerful attack, both pokemon staring each other down.
"Stone edge again!"
"King's shield, Aegislash!"
The flurry of jagged rocks collided with the glowing blue shield, Aegislash able to stave off the onslaught for now. A cloud of dust kicked up as the powerful rock attack drew to a stop, Landorus using this as cover as he advanced forward.
"Now, Landorus, earthquake!"
In a flash, the ground type reappeared above the dust cloud, summoning his innate power. The island began to rumble violently, crashing into some of the smaller islands surrounding us. I struggled to keep my balance, unable to make a call to my partner among the ensuing chaos.
Then just as the attack came to an end, Aegislash was on the floor. He returned to the battle, clanging his offhand against his buckler, showing that he wasn't going to lose so easily.
"Alright, it's time we took control. Use shadow sneak!"
Landorus descended toward the steel type, trying to stop him from disappearing but he wasn't quick enough. The royal sword vanished into the air just as his opponent ripped through his afterimage.
The ground type kept his eyes on the field, wary of anything that would give away Aegislash's position. A tense silence settled on the island before a shadowy portal opened up in front of Landorus.
On Cyrus' call, Landorus rushed forward to intercept Aegislash as he emerged from the shadows. But instead, the ground type was hit over the head with a glowing steel shield, the portal closing before Landorus could react.
Once again, a portal opened up behind the ground type, Aegislash emerging for just a second but entering another portal the moment before he made contact with his opponent. Landorus was stunned for a moment but now he was right where we wanted him, cornered in the open.
"Hmph, he's still here. Landorus use earthquake!"
"Now Aegislash!"
The moment Landorus summoned his innate power, Aegislash emerged from the shadows, striking his opponent over the head. The ground type fell to the ground but the royal sword wasn't done there. He intercepted Landorus' descent, swinging him into one of the rotated side islands.
A smoke cloud covered the island, a deafening roar piercing through the empty void. Now the real battle was starting.