Chapter 419: Reverse World

"Thank you so much for your help, Sato. To be honest, my darling little princess has always taken great pride in her talent as a Trainer. Now she finally knows there's always someone stronger out there."

"I did not!" Trish buried her head in her father's chest and lightly pounded on him with her little fists.

"Hahaha. I remember Jona mentioning once that you came this time for info about the Relic Vase?"

'At last, the real topic emerged!' Sato straightened slightly, dropping his smile and nodding slowly at Zillion.

Now more than ever, Sato was convinced… these Ancient Relics held secrets.

If The Riches were truly obsessed with collecting Ancient Relics, he should've asked about it right away.

Even if he was trying to be a good host, the fact that he hadn't brought it up during the meal and only now mentioned it in passing -after the match- felt far too deliberate.

"Then allow me to show you my collection. I have quite a few Ancient Relics in there."

Zillion set Trish down and strode into the mansion with confident steps. Sato and the others quickly followed.

Clang!

A heavy alloy door slowly opened. It was clear that the security here was top-notch.

Zillion nodded to Sato and the others, then led them inside. Trish didn't show much interest in the collection, so the butler took her back to rest.

Before them were rows of transparent glass cases, each containing objects that looked undeniably old.

"This one was acquired from an old farmer in Opelucid City. The patterns on it originate from […]"

Zillion explained with great enthusiasm, but Sato and the others didn't really understand. They could only nod occasionally and pretend to be engaged.

'They're all different,' Sato thought to himself, shaking his head.

The first Ancient Relic he obtained was the Relic Crown, and it radiated a distinct energy.

The others -the Bracelet, Statue, and Vase- each carried a similar type of energy.

But the objects displayed here gave off no such feeling. Nothing at all.

At that thought, Sato started to feel like this trip might have been a waste. Maybe Zillion really was just a collector, and all that theatrics earlier was just haggling strategy?

"Actually, these items are all fairly ordinary. What I've been searching for are Ancient Relics that still possess 'spiritual essence'," Zillion suddenly shifted the conversation, sighing wistfully.

"Spiritual essence?" Sato couldn't help repeating the phrase.

"Yes. It may sound mystical, but some Ancient Relics really do retain faint traces of it. Scientifically speaking, it's like they still contain a kind of special energy."

"And what does this special energy do?" Sato asked immediately.

"Well…" Zillion hesitated. He didn't seem eager to explain. Seeing this, Sato understood and simply took out the Relic Vase.

"Mr. Riches? Zillion, I happened to acquire this Relic Vase during the Trial Tournament. Could you tell me if it has the… spiritual essence you mentioned?"

"Yes, yes!"

Zillion finally started to look more like a true collector. He pulled out a pair of gloves, put them on, and carefully accepted the Relic Vase.

Though he didn't say it aloud, Sato had previously tested the durability of his Ancient Relics and found that they couldn't be damaged without applying extreme force.

Zillion placed the Relic Vase on a workbench, then began examining it carefully with various tools. After a round of tinkering, he turned to Sato and the others and said, "I need to examine it with a machine."

"...Okay."

Zillion had entered a sort of focused trance. He didn't wait for a response and turned back to the console, beginning to operate it.

Soon, a massive mechanical arm emerged from the tool station, piecing itself together with a series of ka-ka clicks. It carefully picked up the Relic Vase, and a set of sensors automatically attached to its surface.

A virtual model of the Relic Vase quickly appeared on the display. A strange energy layer could be seen swirling around it in an unnatural motion.

"THERE REALLY IS SOMETHING!" Zillion suddenly shouted, startling Mark into a shudder.

"What does this special energy do?" Sato asked again, his eyes fixed firmly on Zillion.

Sato keenly noticed a flicker of hesitation and cold intensity flash across Zillion' face, but it vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Heh, no rush. Since the Relic Vase is yours, of course I'll tell you what the energy does." Zillion looked up with the same warm smile he'd had when welcoming them.

"Please do." Sato feigned excitement, leaning forward slightly and subtly signaling with his left hand as it dropped to his side.

"If you want to understand what this energy does, you first need to hear a legend… a legend about the origin and essence of the Pokémon world." Zillion didn't seem to be in a hurry anymore. As he ran more tests on the Relic Vase, he began speaking slowly and deliberately.

In Unova, mythology focused on the dragons of Truth and Ideals: Zekrom and Reshiram. But Zillion instead told a story from Sinnoh, one about Giratina.

"The reason the Pokémon world can maintain balance is because there's a Reverse World hidden from view. Like the two sides of a scale, only when both sides are equal can balance be maintained.

So, everything that exists in the Pokémon world also exists identically in the Reverse World. But since the Pokémon world is the primary world, the Reverse World can only change in response to it.

As for these Ancient Relics…" Zillion suddenly stopped his actions and turned to Sato and the others. He continued, "They're keys to the Reverse World!"

"Beeheyem!"

Suddenly, a Beheeyem appeared beside Zillion. Before Sato could react, it grabbed both Zillion and the Relic Vase and vanished!

A second later, Sato's Gengar appeared by the Relic Vase, visibly frustrated. It had failed to intercept Beheeyem.

BOOM!

The ground began shaking violently. Pieces of the ceiling started to fall. The Ancient Relics in the exhibit room were instantly subjected to catastrophic destruction.

"Ralts!" "Gallade!"

In that moment of crisis, Sato and Joseph simultaneously sent out their Pokémon capable of using Teleport. A flash of white light, and the three of them barely moved half a meter, only to collapse onto the floor.

"This place is restricting the use of Teleport, Sharpedo, get us out of here!" Sato shouted, sending out Sharpedo.

"Gogoat!" "Arbok!"

"Hmph, now I'm mad!" Ralts transmitted its anger via Telepathy.

A flash of blue light, and the Psychic queen Gardevoir appeared. A surge of tangible blue psychic energy erupted, forcefully stabilizing the entire shaking mansion.