Cyclizar had an incredibly long, long dream—so long that even Cyclizar itself forgot the very concept of time.
Silas, Big Sister Kangaskhan, little sister Minccino, the three Mudbray brothers… all of them disappeared.
No matter how Cyclizar searched, it could never find them again.
Because of this, Cyclizar fell silent for a long time, living alone in the world as a solitary dragon.
It crossed towering mountains, traversed desolate deserts, and flew above forests of steel.
That's right—it suddenly learned how to fly.
It also became incredibly, unbelievably powerful, able to unleash terrifying lightning that reduced the land to ashes. Many, many powerful Pokémon were no match for it.
As time passed, some Pokémon began calling it the "Iron Serpent."
Later on, certain Pokémon chose to follow the Iron Serpent, accepting its power and undergoing transformations.
These Pokémon underwent strange mutations as well.
Cyclizar, using its new name as inspiration, gave them fitting nicknames.
The spike-covered, green Iron Thorns; the Iron Moth that looked like a massive fluttering insect; the long-necked Iron Neck… and the hard-headed Iron Shell.
After taking in countless followers, "Cyclizar" instead felt even lonelier, longing more and more for the days it spent with Silas.
They were family!
And so, "Cyclizar" once again set out on a journey to find its family.
This time, "Cyclizar" leapt across oceans and traveled through continent after continent.
From a human, "Cyclizar" learned that it was now in the future world, and that the person it was searching for was a Trainer from the past.
Oh, right—this human said his name was Heath, and he even called Cyclizar the "God of the Future."
After that, "Cyclizar" scoured the entire world in search of a way to return to the past, eventually arriving at a mysterious and wondrous place.
There, it encountered another "Iron Serpent," and the two clashed.
During their battle, an accident occurred—a multicolored Pokémon appeared, and "Cyclizar" was sucked into a wormhole.
And then…
"Cyclizar" woke up.
Cyclizar shook its groggy head and looked around, shock flooding its eyes.
It had returned to the timeline before it was separated from Silas.
It had succeeded—it had come back to the past.
"Cyc~!"
Cyclizar instinctively jumped up, wanting to take flight and search for Silas.
Only to realize… it had merely jumped.
Oh—oh! Almost forgot. Right now, it was still just Cyclizar.
The commotion Cyclizar caused caught the attention of the Mudbrays, and the three of them quickly gathered around.
"Mud! Mud! Mud!" Cyclizar, you're finally awake. We were all so worried about you.
The Mudbray moved closer, rubbing against it with their bodies, expressing both affection and concern.
Seeing the three Mudbray brothers again filled Cyclizar with joy, its eyes glistening as if with tears.
"Cyc?" I searched for you for such a long, long time—where did you all go?
"Mud?"
The Mudbray tilted their heads in confusion, indicating that they had always been right by its side and had never left.
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar was confused at first, then suddenly understood.
It had returned to the past—to a time before Silas and the others disappeared. Then… where was Silas?
Cyclizar asked the Mudbrays.
The Mudbray pointed toward the stall, and Cyclizar saw the human it had searched for endlessly, the one from whom it had never again felt the warmth of family.
Almost purely on instinct, Cyclizar burst into a sprint, charging straight toward Silas.
Silas was still chatting with someone when he suddenly sensed movement—only to see a dark shadow slam into him, knocking him flat.
Claws pressed tightly against Silas's body, afraid he might disappear again. A massive head shoved insistently into his arms, and Cyclizar joyfully began licking his face, expressing longing and affection.
This time, it would never let Silas leave it again.
As for Silas—
He only felt like he had been run over by a heavy truck, followed immediately by an overenthusiastic Cyclizar and a face completely smeared with saliva.
And there were people watching!
With helpless resignation, Silas pushed the Cyclizar off him. This guy was being way too enthusiastic.
Cyclizar wasn't upset at all. It sat there foolishly, tail swishing back and forth, clearly in a fantastic mood.
"You—waking up and already causing this much trouble."
Patting Cyclizar, Silas wiped the saliva from his face and pointed to the side. "There's food saved for you over there. I'll take you all out again later."
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar nudged Silas with its big head, signaling that it wasn't hungry at all and only wanted to stay by Silas's side.
Not understanding why Cyclizar had suddenly become so clingy after one nap, Silas simply let it be.
From Silas's perspective, only a few hours had passed, and Cyclizar had always been by his side.
But for Cyclizar, it didn't know how many days and nights it had gone without seeing Silas—until searching for Silas became an obsession engraved deep in its heart.
"And this one here is also one of the Pokémon on my ranch," Silas said as he introduced Cyclizar to the girl in front of him. "Like Smoliv, it's a Pokémon from the Paldea region."
Holding Minccino in her arms, Diantha crouched down to greet it. "Hello there, Cyclizar!"
"Garde~ Garde!"
The Gardevoir beside her waved gracefully and politely.
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar responded casually, its eyes spinning as it stared at Silas's pant leg—then opened its big mouth and bit down.
Silas: "..."
His face darkened immediately as Silas shoved a couple of times. "Cyclizar, why are you acting like a dog? Let go, right now."
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar grinned foolishly. It was a moving Silas!
This wasn't a dream.
Because of its previous experiences, Cyclizar hadn't dared to be sure—hence this action.
"Hahaha!" Diantha covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Silas, the way you get along with your Pokémon is really interesting!"
Minccino nodded in agreement. Cyclizar had always had a very dog-like personality.
"Min!"
Even Kangaskhan, who had been watching Gardevoir warily from the side, couldn't help but cast a strange look over.
This kid… why does it look kind of silly?
After shooing the troublemaking Cyclizar aside, Silas said, "I didn't expect the celebrity invited to this beach festival to be you, Diantha. Does that mean your movie is about to be released?"
When it came to her film career, Diantha grew more serious. "The premiere is on the 12th of next month."
"Next month, huh?" Silas thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "I'll bring my Pokémon to the theater to cheer you on."
How could he not support a good friend's first film?
She smiled sweetly, her fingers gently brushing over the petal-shaped ornament on Gardevoir's head. "I definitely won't let you down, Silas. This is the beginning of a brand-new story for Gardevoir and me."
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar shifted forms and stood upright, signaling for Silas to pet it.
Faced with such an overly enthusiastic Cyclizar, Silas felt both unaccustomed and helpless.
Placing his hand on Cyclizar's head, he gently stroked it a couple of times, causing Cyclizar to squint its eyes in bliss.
"Now that you say that, I'm actually starting to look forward to it. I can't wait to see the movie starring you and Gardevoir."
The two of them stood in front of the stall, chatting and sharing bits of their recent daily lives.
Before long, however, a girl came running toward them from the other side.
Silas raised his hand. "What's wrong, Korrina?"
"Big brother, pretty big sister!" Panting heavily, Korrina said, "The final event of the festival is about to start! Grandpa asked me to come and get you."
"Then let's go!"
"We can talk while we walk."
(End of Chapter)