In the Hoenn region, there existed two major underground organizations—
Team Magma and Team Aqua.
At this point in the timeline, it was still four years before Ash would set out on his journey. The story of the Pokémon world had yet to begin.
Neither Team Magma nor Team Aqua had become as extreme as they would be four years later.
They hadn't yet reached the point of wanting to destroy the world.
At present, these two underground groups—
one promoted the recruitment of Fire-type trainers, claiming Fire-type Pokémon were the strongest.
The other promoted the recruitment of Water-type trainers, insisting Water-types were invincible.
At most, they were simply clubs for single-type Pokémon enthusiasts.
The leader of Team Magma was Maxie.
Team Aqua, also known as the Ocean Team, was led by Archie.
Because their ideologies were completely opposed,
the two organizations were sworn enemies in the Hoenn region.
…
Staring at the ID name "Palkia"—
Maxie's pupils shrank rapidly, his mouth opening into a huge "O," big enough to fit a fist.
User IDs had been bound from the very beginning—tied to one's true identity. They couldn't be changed.
"Maybe… maybe it's just the same name? What if someone just happens to also be called Palkia?"
Maxie took a deep breath, clinging to a shred of hope.
He looked again at the ID.
And then noticed something different—
behind the name was a golden tag, like a small trailing frame.
—[Top 10 Strongest Divine Beasts: TOP 7]
It looked like a title, shimmering with golden light, surrounded by a radiant, multicolored glow.
In the chat area, that title was dazzling.
No one else had anything like it.
This was official verification!
In an instant—
Maxie's heart turned ice-cold.
The last trace of hope vanished completely.
It… it really was the God of Space—Palkia!!!
Recalling the overwhelming power Palkia displayed in the ranking video—
Maxie panicked.
The one time he tried to act tough—
and he ended up doing it in front of a divine beast.
What should he do?! Urgent!!
On Archie's side, he was equally terrified.
He wished he could slap himself.
Why did he have to chime in and agree with Maxie?!
"Seems you've awakened as well. I must say, the creator of this ranking video has quite the eye—time does indeed rank above space." —Dialga
Hiss!!
Behind the name "Dialga" was also a golden title—
—[Top 10 Strongest Divine Beasts: TOP 6]
The God of Time had appeared as well!!
The entire chat exploded.
Divine beasts had actually entered the chat!!!
"I hope that in the future, the two of you will not drag Alamos Town into your battle again." —Darkrai
Everyone: "…"
Darkrai—the Nightmare of Alamos Town—had also appeared.
Divine beasts had been lurking in the chat all along…
"Since we now know what happens in the future, we will not allow it to occur." —Palkia
"Knowing the future allows it to be avoided." —Dialga
After that, the three divine beasts fell silent.
The people in the chat also became cautious.
Damn it—if divine beasts were watching, who would dare speak carelessly?
Maxie and Archie both let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Palkia hadn't come after them.
A blessing in misfortune.
Seems like they couldn't talk nonsense anymore in the future.
[Ding! You have been removed from the chat by privileged user "Palkia"! (Note: Privileged users have one kick function per week.)]
[Ding! You have been removed from the chat by privileged user "Dialga"! (Note: Privileged users have one kick function per week.)]
Maxie: "…"
Archie: "…"
…
The video continued.
Everyone watched as countless translucent bubbles appeared within that bizarre world.
According to Palkia, this wasn't another world—
it was their own.
So where exactly was this place?
They had never heard of such a location.
As the camera zoomed in—
they saw that inside each transparent bubble, there were images.
"Isn't that the Indigo Plateau?!"
Lance was stunned.
Inside one of the bubbles, like a television screen, was a clear image of the Indigo Plateau.
Soon—
they began to recognize more and more familiar places within the bubbles.
"W-What is going on here?"
[Everything has two sides—including the world itself]
[This space is the other side of the world. It supports the main world and exists as an antimatter dimension, also known as the Reverse World]
[All rules are meaningless here. Gravity and even laws themselves are distorted]
[The Reverse World corresponds to the material world]
[Within it exist countless bubbles—these bubbles reflect reality. If disturbed, the real-world locations they represent will also be affected]
[The purpose of the Reverse World is to absorb the negative energy produced by the main world]
[To maintain the operation of the main world]
[If Palkia and Dialga's subspaces rest at both ends of the main world, then the Reverse World supports it from beneath—it is the shadow of the main world, absorbing all negative energy it produces]
[Because it exists to absorb negative energy, it is unsuitable for life]
On the screen—
everyone saw a blue world.
At its two ends were Palkia's and Dialga's subspaces.
And behind that blue world—
there was a dark, shadowy space.
Professor Oak and the others were stunned.
They finally understood—
the meaning behind the title:
TOP 5: The Other Side of the World
It wasn't the literal opposite side.
It was another layer of space—
a hidden dimension behind their world, maintaining its balance.
[However… the Reverse World is not entirely devoid of life]
[There exists one Pokémon that rules over the entire Reverse World]
[For countless years, it has silently observed the development of the main world, absorbing negative energy and converting it into antimatter power]
The camera slowly shifted—
focusing on a massive floating island at the center of the Reverse World.
A figure lay upon it.
The moment they saw that figure—
even Palkia and Dialga, who had been silently watching, felt a chill in their hearts.
As expected—
it was that one.
The ruler of the Reverse World.
—Giratina.
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