A Deal with the Master of Shadows

"Good morning, great Giratina, Dragon God of Destruction and Shadows!"

This time, Naoki decided to change his approach.

It was a lesson learned from the Calyrex missionary incident—pretend to admire and praise Giratina.

This might lessen its hostility and prevent another attack.

However, Giratina didn't respond to the greeting. It simply stared at Naoki with its blood-red eyes, remaining silent.

But the good news was that Giratina didn't attack this time, either.

Seeing the lack of response, Naoki couldn't help but wonder, 'Wait… does Giratina not have telepathy? Or maybe it just refuses to talk to humans?'

Just then, a cold, hostile voice resonated in Naoki's mind, carrying a sharp, aggressive tone.

"You seek to destroy the world too?"

It reminded Giratina of the human it had encountered long ago—someone who had sought its power to drive the twin gods of time and space into madness, using their abilities to tear a rift in reality.

But Giratina found it strange. This human didn't seem to share the same reckless ambition.

This human lacked the kind of hunger for the destruction that Giratina was used to sense. Such motivations didn't match the dragon's nature—it wasn't interested in helping others.

Naoki: "?"

He immediately picked up on Giratina's choice of words.

'Too?' Naoki thought. 'Wait, does that mean someone else tried to approach Giratina before?'

And then it clicked.

"Volo?" Naoki blurted out, recognizing the figure Giratina was referring to.

Volo—a merchant who had once roamed the ancient Hisui region! He had allied himself with Giratina and used the legendary dragon's power to drive Dialga and Palkia into chaos, causing a rupture in space and time.

Volo had attempted to harness the time-space distortion created by the two gods to enter the realm of Arceus—the Pokémon known as the God of Creation.

Naoki asked, "Is it Volo you're talking about?"

Giratina responded coldly, "You know him."

"Not exactly," Naoki replied honestly, "I just didn't expect..." He didn't expect the world he was now in had such deep ties to the Hisui region's history.

Giratina didn't dwell on the subject. Its blood-red eyes fixated on Naoki as it spoke with anger:

"Although I don't know how you managed to enter my domain, I don't like it. Leave my territory now!"

Naoki: "..."

Naoki decided to be honest: "Well, the reason I came here is because I wanted to get some water from that lake." 

As he spoke, he pointed toward a lake on a floating island nearby.

Giratina turned its gaze toward the lake.

"But I don't want it for free," Naoki added sincerely. "I can offer something in exchange."

"You?" Giratina's voice dripped with disdain.

Naoki pretended not to notice the tone: "I promise I won't bother you again once I have it. In return, I can provide you with all sorts of food."

Giratina was about to refuse—human food held no interest for it. However, the thought of no longer having to see this persistent nuisance, who it couldn't even hit, made it reconsider.

It nodded firmly: "Fine."

Naoki's eyes lit up. "How do I get the water?"

Giratina stared at him, confused. "Aren't you already here? Just take it."

Naoki sighed. "To be honest, in my current state, I can't physically touch anything in this world."

Giratina fell silent.

This was exactly what puzzled it about Naoki.

"Where are you, then?" Giratina asked. "I can open a portal and let you in."

Naoki, wary of Giratina's intentions, grew suspicious: "You won't use that chance to attack me, right?"

Hearing this, Giratina's temper flared. "Do you think I'm that kind of Pokémon?!"

Naoki thought to himself, 'Well, you did chase Dialga halfway across the world just because it accidentally affected your Reverse World.'

Giratina, noticing Naoki's skeptical expression, shifted uncomfortably, glancing left and right as if caught off guard by the truth.

Naoki smirked. "So, that is what you were planning, huh?"

Giratina glared at him fiercely. "How dare you! You're the first human to ever speak to me like that!"

"God knows!" Naoki shook his head and said, "I never wanted to argue with you from the beginning. I just came here to admire the legendary Giratina and say hello. It was you who attacked me first."

"You were the one who started the trouble!" Giratina retorted, clearly not feeling any guilt. It thought it had been quite patient.

If it were any other intruder, Giratina would have chased them to the ends of the earth to teach them a lesson.

"Alright, it's my fault, my fault. I shouldn't have disturbed you," Naoki said, trying to soothe Giratina's temper. 

Giratina, despite its ferocious demeanor, was clearly soft-hearted. 

As expected, Giratina's aggressive attitude began to ease.

Seeing this, Naoki smiled and said, "Giratina, let's make a deal. I want the water from here, and in exchange, I'll provide you with human food and reveal something even more interesting—your future."

Giratina narrowed its eyes, intrigued. "My future?"

Naoki nodded. "Yes. I can tell you about yourself, the God of Time—Dialga, the God of Space—Palkia, and even the God who created everything. Wouldn't you want to hear about it?"

At first, Giratina didn't seem too interested. But after hearing that Naoki knew about such important figures, its curiosity was piqued.

"Speak!" Giratina commanded.

Naoki glanced at the waterfall nearby. Giratina grew impatient. "I promise you!"

Naoki chuckled to himself, 'This dragon really has a temper!' But he could tell Giratina was no longer going to attack him.

Relieved, Naoki began speaking:

"In the future, a man named Cyrus will gather the red chains from the lake guardians—Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie. He will use them to control Dialga and Palkia, threatening to destroy the world."

Giratina interrupted, "Cyrus?" It liked the sound of this plan already.

Naoki continued, "But at the critical moment, you will emerge from the shadows and drag him into the Reverse World."

Giratina looked surprised. "Why would I do that?"

It never allowed anyone into its territory willingly!

Naoki shrugged. "Who knows? After that, he's never seen again. Some people believe he vanished deep within the Reverse World, while others say... you ate him."

Giratina was furious: "Nonsense! I don't eat humans! I don't need to eat like you humans do!"

Giratina was extremely angry, looking as though it wanted to find whoever said that and attack them for ten days and nights using its ultimate move.

Naoki: "It's not important."

But Giratina wasn't having it. "It is important!"

"Yes, the person who said that should definitely be skinned and torn to pieces!" Naoki agreed, trying to soothe the tension by stroking Giratina's fur. 

Hearing this, Giratina looked at him in surprise.

Naoki: "…"

Ignoring Giratina's surprise, Naoki continued, "Before that event, a few other things will happen."

"The territories of Dialga and Palkia will collide in the future, and a fierce battle will ensue between the two of them."

"Their energy is too powerful, disrupting time and space, which affects your Reverse World. Angry, you'll chase Dialga and drag it here."

At this point, Naoki glanced at Giratina and added cryptically, "At that time, a human will try to live in the Reverse World. He'll take advantage of the situation and try to catch you with a machine, intending to copy your abilities to open a passage here, and then..."

This time, Giratina interrupted him with a roar before he could finish.

"That's absolutely impossible!"

Naoki smiled slightly. "Exactly, with your strength, there's no way something like that could happen. That human must have used some despicable trick."

Giratina glanced at Naoki. Why did it suddenly feel that this human was becoming more tolerable?

Naoki continued, "After that, you follow Dialga to a place called Michina, where the god who created everything, Arceus, awakens from his slumber. For some reason, Arceus is furious and wants to destroy the entire world."

"At that time, you'll join forces with Dialga and Palkia to stop the enraged Arceus."

Hearing this, Giratina fell silent, which was very unusual.

It knew of the One who slept.

But it also knew it would not be a match for Arceus.

"Does the world end?" Giratina asked.

Naoki smiled and shook his head. "No, you succeed. Not only you, but some humans also work hard. You hold off Arceus, giving those humans the chance to change everything."

After hearing this, Giratina couldn't help but re-evaluate the human in front of it.

'This human was no ordinary person!'

'He knew too much about their secrets!'

At first, Giratina didn't fully believe in these so-called predictions, but now.

Seeing the irritable dragon fall silent, Naoki couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Don't you want to say something?" Naoki asked.

Giratina tilted its head and stared at him for a while before finally saying, "I promise you."

Naoki, now fully serious, replied, "Thank you so much! You really are a kind god, the friendliest Pokémon in the world!"

The "friendly" Giratina couldn't help but feel a little guilty as it recalled how it had bombarded Naoki for over ten minutes just the day before.

Luckily for Giratina, Naoki didn't bring up the past and instead asked, "So, how do I go about getting it?"

Giratina responded, "Tell me where you are, and I will open the passage to the Reverse World."

Naoki nodded and gave Giratina the location of his ranch.

Giratina peered into the real world from the Reverse World and, sure enough, saw Naoki's ranch. 

It frowned in confusion: "How did you get in here? No, Your current state is strange. I don't understand."

Naoki shook his head and smiled. "That's my secret. But I can't tell you yet because we're not close enough friends. Let's wait until our relationship improves!"

Giratina was perplexed by the idea of their relationship "improving."

After thinking for a moment, Naoki asked, "What about the tribute I want to offer you?"

Giratina, snapping back to attention, said, "I see there's a lake on your ranch. Just place the offerings there."

"Alright."

By this time, the effect of the poisonous mushroom soup had worn off.

As everything before him became blurry, Naoki's vision shifted back to the real world.

After eating a Pecha Berry to fully recover, Naoki returned to the living room and with the help of sister Indeedee, Naoki packed up all the treats, including lucky pudding, honey buns, secret sandwiches, juice, and milk. They brought everything to the lake where the Dragonairs basked in the sun.

The moment Naoki and Sister Indeedee arrived, the previously calm surface of the lake began to ripple, as if Giratina was spying on the real world from the Reverse World.

The Dragonairs, who had been lazily enjoying the sunshine, became startled by the sudden disturbance. They fled the lake one after another, hiding behind Naoki and poking their heads out to cautiously observe the situation.

"Don't be afraid, it's alright!" Naoki reassured them with a soothing voice.

Naoki looked toward the lake.

In a glowing purple light, a vortex of time and space slowly emerged, scooping up the pile of food and making it disappear into the air above the lake.

Immediately afterward, a stream of water gushed from the vortex, turning into a shimmering fountain.

Seeing this, Naoki quickly shouted, "Bring a bucket!" 

Half a minute later, Brother Indeedee, using his telekinetic powers, floated over with a bucket.

Naoki placed the bucket under the fountain, but even when the bucket was full, the fountain didn't stop.

"Wow, Giratina is so generous!" Naoki thought excitedly. He then quickly called to Koraidon, asking him to bring over the big milk bucket.

The fountain didn't stop until both of the large milk buckets were filled to the brim.

As the purple vortex gradually faded away, everything around the lake returned to calm.

Looking at the three buckets now full of this legendary ingredient, Naoki felt a rush of joy, the same kind of happiness that comes from a bountiful harvest.

The water of the Reverse World: A mythical ingredient. When used in cooking, it can imbue dishes with the power to "reverse the universe." It originates from the Reverse World, where it is protected by Giratina, the Master of Shadows. It is exceptionally rare and precious.

All those poisonous mushrooms were worth it—he had finally gotten something truly incredible!

Naoki couldn't wait to see the effects of this "World-Reversing" power.

Pushing thoughts of Giratina aside, he happily carried the three buckets of water back home with Brother Indeedee and Koraidon, eager to use them to cook something and test it out.

---

Meanwhile, in the Reverse World, silence and stillness filled the space.

Giratina quietly watched everything that had just unfolded in the real world.

At that moment, it felt an unexpected curiosity about the human.

Its intuition told it that this human was far from ordinary.

Watching Naoki and his Pokémon return to the house, Giratina turned its gaze to the floating objects near it—things that clearly didn't belong in the Reverse World.

'Is this what those tiny creatures eat every day?' Giratina gazed at the floating food, its disdain apparent.

Its huge body moved through the void like a great predator, and in the blink of an eye, all the floating food disappeared into its maw.

Giratina's pupils suddenly contracted.

'This is…?'

A strange power surged through its body!

'What just happened?'

Giratina was momentarily stunned but quickly realized.

It was from the human food it had just eaten!