There’s radio silence on the Arc Phone for the better portion of two days. Its ability to track itself across Hisui reveals that it moves from Lake Verity to Jubilife Village, and then books it to the Coronet Highlands.

The camera feature is enabled on what’s recognizably Heavenward Lookout, and, surprisingly, the device is instructed to take to the air instead of being manually operated, as its owner seems to prefer.

“Help Gliscor. If you see any of the Security Corpsmen or Kamado himself, alert me at once. We’ll reconvene at the mouth of Wayward Cave.”

Rotom wobbles in agreement and takes off, but all it finds are Yanma and Luxio. The sounds of battle can be heard a little ways off, the electric attacks and cries making it clear that the local bonded pair of Luxray have made themselves an obstacle, but Rotom doesn’t pay it any mind. Probopass is able to chase them off without issue, and the phone swoops in just in time to catch Irida’s Glaceon hissing at one of the pair as it flees.

A shadow on the ground indicates that Gliscor is circling above, similarly empty-pincered.

Ingo calls it back to ground level, but doesn’t recall it entirely. He affords the cave a single look, head cocked as he listens, and, hushed, says to Irida, “I’m afraid I didn’t have time to reinstall the torches before heading out on our previous endeavor. I know the route and can conduct us without issue, but it sounds like there may be other people lingering inside. Stay at the ready, and…”

He hesitates, attention dropping so he can dig through his satchel. As he does so, the Arc Phone gets a long shot of something red snaking its way up his right arm, a stark contrast against the dark, faded cloth. While it doesn’t seem to be exerting any active pressure, the edges of each faceted link dig into the sleeve, creating strange folds as he rummages through his possessions. No one seems surprised or at all bothered by its presence, and focus instead on the linking cord that he eventually locates; one end is immediately wrapped around his left hand, the other offered to the young woman.

“I know it’s not ideal, but please try not to come uncoupled from me.”

Irida looks at the end she’s been given, and then to its counterpart. Eyes moving to her clanmate’s face instead, she forgoes the cord entirely and takes his hand.

“This will be safer.” She says when he tries to object on her behalf. “We won’t risk an end getting dropped or it becoming severed. There’s still a vast distance for us to cross, so we should begin now.”

As they move, Irida’s face cracks into a tiny, amused smile and she adds, “At least try to be quiet, please.”

There’s something like a defeated sigh from Ingo’s direction.

The humans can’t see through it as they move through the cave, but the Arc Phone immediately adapts to the darkness and highlights the lost bodies trying to feel their way to freedom. Some call out and are answered by others, only to get hopelessly turned around as they attempt to reunite with their colleagues. Gliscor’s swiveling head makes it clear that he, at least, is aware of each individual they pass.

At one point, the Arc Phone tilts in a way that captures the group from the front, if only for a second. Somewhere in the cave’s depths, one of the Security Corpsmen calls, “A-are you there? Can you hear me?”

With his free hand, Ingo tilts the brim of his hat down, hiding his eyes. It would be a dangerous lapse under different circumstances, but given that he wasn’t relying on sight to navigate, it doesn’t impede their progress. He only lifts it as they emerge into the tainted daylight.

The Highlands are winding, but as one of the territory’s wardens, Ingo is able to guide them through undocumented crevices to cut the commute down. Their single attempt to contact Sneasler goes unanswered, and he doesn’t try a second time, as that likely indicates her attention is needed elsewhere.

Members of Galaxy Team dot the way clear up to the Cloudcap Pass, and while they bypass many entirely, those who do see them don’t attempt to intervene. They have no say in this territory-- not when pitted against the warden who minds it and a Clan Leader.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Commander Kamado, who they find just outside of the Cloudcap Pass, his way barred by the combined efforts of Sneasler, Lord Electrode and the Highlands’ remaining warden.

It’s easy to miss, but there’s a relieved, “Thank Sinnoh, the brute can chase them off now.”

“Commander Kamado!” Irida all but roars, and next to her, Ingo startles, “How dare you! We agreed to work as a unified force to solve this matter, and I find you here while our backs are turned? My clan took up the brunt the work, and you repay us by storming sacred ground while its warden is preoccupied?”

Kamado’s proud stance has changed only enough to accommodate the full plate mail he wears, and in it, he makes an even greater wall of himself than ever before. “There wasn’t time to waste on errands. It’s fortunate you haven’t been forced to learn this lesson, but once you lose a home, you’ll do whatever it takes to keep it from occurring a second time.”

Irida winds up to argue, and while he doesn’t mean to interrupt her, Ingo stops her in her tracks as he murmurs, “He’s scared.”

She affords him a short look before turning back to the matter at hand. “I understand that you’re bound to defend your new home and its inhabitants, but doubting us like this… you’re not the only one desperate to protect their people!”

Kamado’s expression twitches, and he seems to be considering her words, but ultimately that very desperation wins out. With a grimace, he declares, “Then show me the aid I’m spurning. What strength can the Pearl Clan lend to protect Hisui’s populace?”

The challenge is clear. With a sideways look to Irida for her go-ahead, Ingo steps forward to act as her proxy. While Gliscor is still alight on-- or, more specifically, hanging from-- his shoulder, in traditional Unovan fashion, he defaults to the last Pokemon he’d used in battle and the first pokeball under his hand. Probopass. He sends her out as the commander winds up to toss out his own combatant.

One would think the Golem a suitable offensive match for Probopass’s typing, but the orders to use Rock Slide and Take Down don’t do it any favors, and it can’t hold out forever against the likes of Earth Power and Flash Cannon.

Probopass gets a second Flash Cannon off against the Snorlax that takes Golem’s place, but between the damage it had taken earlier and the surprise High Horsepower, falls not long after. Ingo gives the Snorlax a once-over before reaching for his own substitution-- and while his hand twitches for one particular pokeball at first, he forgoes it and reaches for a different one.

Wyrdeer lands neatly on its hooves, prancing a bit to prepare itself for the energy of battle, and while it’s not the speediest Pokemon in the region, it still gets the drop on Snorlax. Perhaps trying to hobble the signature ability to Rest and regain health, Ingo calls for an immediate agile Hypnosis and, as had been his go-to for some time, has his Pokemon follow it with Psyshield Bash.

Snorlax is able to work through its drowsiness to attack with a devastating Giga Impact. The defensive shimmer leftover from Wyrdeer’s attack pulls it through, and as Snorlax is forced to recover from such a draining move at 110%, it’s able to use Bulldoze to whittle down its foe’s defenses, doing more damage every time.

In some ways, it comes as no surprise that Snorlax simply falls limp after the mutual barrage, finally falling victim to its weariness. Though it’s not knocked out by an Iron Tail that’s sure to hit home, Kamado doesn’t wait for it to officially fall unconscious before calling it back.

Though Wyrdeer is still up, Ingo matches the decision, nodding it back to his side.

The Commander hesitates over his two remaining Pokemon before defaulting to a Hisuian Braviary, swiftly met with Magnezone. His face twitches, and, while Ingo is difficult to read at the best of times, his eyes light up as he catches the tell.

It’s not technically a rain storm, but the energy gathering in the air makes it clear why Electabuzz and its ilk congregate here, and it helps to guide Thunder true to its target.

The Clefairy that caps off the opposing team spells out exactly why Magnezone had garnered such a negative reaction. It’s unable to do much more than stitch together an agile Calm Mind and Psychic before being knocked down.

For a second, it seems Kamado might throw himself into the fight, but, instead, he takes a knee, bowing his head in defeat.

Irida spares a look for her warden-- who has instinctively fallen into a defensive stance, as if to catch an oncoming charge-- and then steps forward. “Commander Kamado…”

“I know I have no right to ask it any longer, but please use that strength for the sake of the Galaxy Expedition Team-- no. For the sake of the Celestica people and the Pokemon living in Hisui.” Kamado braces a fist against the ground, dipping his head even deeper with the plea.

“We intend to put an end to this.” Irida says. “If it puts your heart at ease, you can share this sacred space as well, to assure your friends and family that they’re finally safe.”

“And who are you to dictate who can and can’t attend this gathering?” Asks a new voice-- though, as the two spoke, it had been easy to notice Adaman’s approach. While his words are challenging, there’s no barb in his voice.

The comment clearly gets to Irida, but she bites down on it. “It’s been my warden doing all the work so far.”

“And what’s Melli over there? Ground bugwort?”

There’s an offended scoff, and the man in question tosses his head. “I don’t know how you can acknowledge my tremendous contributions and still make them sound so insignificant. If you want to make amends, I can be found at Moonview Arena.”

As he walks away-- Electrode wheeling after-- Sneasler rolls her eyes, then makes grabby paws in her own warden’s direction, beckoning him over. Ingo calls his active Pokemon back before obliging her, with only a look from the two Clan Leaders; neither try to interfere when they see who he’s responding to.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to assist you in defending the Highlands.” He says, and she wrinkles her nose in dismissal.

She uses the back of her paw to rustle his hat, and then her eyes drop to his arm. Carefully, she hooks a claw where two of the links meet and, before her human can dissuade her, tries to pull them away; it earns her a hiss of protest and she hastily drops it, bumping her nose against the side of his face in apology.

“It’s alright, you didn’t know.” Ingo says, though he gives the chain an unhappy once-over, “If it truly is the key to solving all of this, I can tolerate its presence until we’ve seen the matter through.”

Sneasler doesn’t move her head, but her eyes flick down, staring into the faceted gems with something approaching contempt.

It’s not long after that they’re joined by the faction leaders, and the lot of them begin the increasingly-heavy ascent.

The Arc Phone pans around as the others creep through the Temple of Sinnoh. While the pavilion’s roof blocks out the most direct view of the rift, the cracks peek out, stretching farther and farther across the broken sky. The group stops on the far side, just beyond the structure’s protection, and while human voices murmur to one another, the Arc Phone isn’t near enough to catch their words.

Rotom has zipped up to record the rift as the cracks contort. The streak that once reached across the sky in front of them bends unnaturally, and as it reaches directly in front of them, those voices go silent. Mostly.

“YOU HOLD THE RED CHAIN… SHOW ME… HELP ME.”

The crack in reality is wrenched open from within, and a Pokemon lumbers out into the peak of Hisui, hunched in on itself. Behind it, the crack leeches out the same black-green-purple that taints the sky. It’s of little consequence, though, when the white and pink behemoth lifts its head and flares its wings, arms spread as it roars.

Its shout produces a seismic wave that ripples through the temple, making it stretch for miles and then collapse in on itself. The immaculate stone floor contorts as though caught in an earthquake before laying perfectly still and flat once more. Again and again, space distorts the temple and caught in its maelstrom, each of the humans below stumbles, inevitably falling to the ground in a futile attempt to tether themselves to their unstable reality.

Sneasler isn’t affected quite so completely and seems to take a knee under her own power. It’s not a gesture of submission to what might be Almighty Sinnoh, but one of assistance-- she bumps her head against her warden’s and pries one of his hands up to rest on her arm, sure and steady. Encouraging him to grab on, to use her as an anchor against the temple’s churning waves, she helps him back to his feet.

Together, they press forward, nearing the Pokemon.

Somewhere behind, Irida’s voice bellows inhumanely for a second time:

“PALKIA.”

As they near the dais, just before the first of the stairs up, Sneasler’s forward momentum stops. Seemingly unable to go any farther, she doesn’t step forward, but to the side, backing her human. Both of her paws brace against his shoulder blades and, with her support, Ingo is able to take that first step. He wavers on the next, but fights through the rippling space surrounding him, and every hard won pace brings him that much closer to the dragon at the distortion’s heart. It watches, deep red irises fixed on his approach, but short of the chaos its mere presence has caused, does nothing to interfere.

He stumbles forward just before it and very nearly falls, only for it to extend one arm-- all claws and armored plating-- for him to right himself with.

The world’s bucking ceases.

Almost as soon as this contact is made-- as if the contortion of space was somehow holding it at bay-- another thunderous roar sounds, and the air itself quivers. It’s all the warning Rotom gets before a shockwave blasts the Arc Phone clear out of the sky. It careens down to the tiled floors with a velocity that would handily shatter a man-made device, and then lies still.

Its operating Pokemon knocked out cold, it continues to record the raging rift above, and captures the exact moment one final bolt of lightning crashes down from the heavens.

A light with intensity surpassing a point-blank Hyper Beam tears across the sky, or maybe just the temple. It’s hard to tell from prone on the ground. Time itself roars in protest, and something great and terrible gallops nearer. Palkia charges from the dais to meet it, and when-- and where-- the two forces meet, reality implodes.

The pavilion, partially in frame the way the Arc Phone fell, cracks and breaks apart under an unseen force, swaths of masonry soaring into the air like they weigh no more than a Hoppip. As the stonework finally begins to adhere to gravity, human voices scream out, and it catches one final pronouncement from the being borrowing Irida’s lungs.

“EARTH POWER.

AQUA TAIL.

HYDRO PUMP.

SPACIAL REND.

GUIDE ME.”