(In the KIP meeting room)

Dragon Emperor subtly nods as everyone goes silent following Ash and Serena's answer.

"After the Shadow Pokemon finished training Algrim's army they violated the peace treaty and crossed over to the realm of the Pokemon. They had declared war and broken the peace treaty, so Arceus sent half of his army to battle against Drakus and Algrim's combined army," Dragon Emperor continues.

"Half? Why half?" Diantha asks.

"Do you remember what I told you regarding why Arceus and the other legendaries were able to force the Shadow Pokemon to sign their treaty without so much as a whiff of a protest?" Dragon Emperor asks back.

"Because the Pokemon far outnumbered the Shadow Pokemon?" Diantha answers in an unsure manner.

"Correct. Almost six to one when it came to the numeric strength of the army," Dragon Emperor replies.

"So even if he sent half of his army, they still had a three to one numeric advantage over the Shadow Pokemon," Serena remarks.

"But what about the human army? I mean, didn't Arceus take them into account?" Oak asks.

"No, he didn't. Firstly, because he was unaware of the involvement of the human army and secondly because he deemed the humans as insignificant beings. Why should he bother with the like of us? Weak, inferior and incapable of performing Pokemon moves. Surely they were no threat to his army and so after a while both armies clashed with each other and a battle took place," Dragon Emperor says.

"And the Pokemon lost?" Ash asks, unable to contain his inquisitiveness.

"No Ash," Dragon Emperor replies.

"They won?" Ash says in a confused manner.

"No, they were annihilated," Dragon Emperor replies.

"Oh! That's a very... subtle way to put it," Grace replies with a hint of sarcasm underlined in her voice.

"An army with hundreds of thousands of Pokemon was completely routed. Only a few thousand Pokemon and the legendaries who were leading the army managed to escape their fate. When the survivors returned a tidal wave of shocked engulfed the remaining Pokemon, Arceus in particular. The survivors told Arceus everything. Everything from the involvement of the humans of the northern kingdom in the battle to the manner in which the army of the Shadow Pokemon annihilated the Pokemon army, the way fire consumes a field of dry grass," Dragon Emperor says.

"Yeah, that's when Arceus realized he shit the bed," Gary says with Dragon Emperor nodding.

"Yes. This is when Arceus realized his folly. He realized how wrong he had been in the understanding of the human species. How wrong he was to literally exile the humans in the first place because now a huge problem was in front of him. The Shadow Pokemon were coming and he had lost half of his army. Time was running out and with each second wasted the Shadow Pokemon were inching closer. Arceus realized that if a second battle were to take place then the result would most likely be the same as the first one. Something needed to be done and something needed to be done quickly. And so... in a decisive moment, Arceus realized he had to do the one thing which he thought he would never have to do in his wildest dreams," Dragon Emperor says before turning to Ash and Serena.

"Turn to the humans for help," Ash says as Dragon Emperor nods.

"Correct my boy. Arceus realized that the humans had tipped the scale massively in favour of the Shadow Pokemon. If there was any chance to change the otherwise inevitable outcome of the next battle, then the scales needed to be balanced again. So, Arceus ordered Ho-Oh to immediately fly to the southern kings and pledge them for support in this desperate dark hour. Furthermore, Arceus ordered all the Pokemon to retreat so as to buy the southern armies enough time to come to their aid against the armies of the northern kingdom and the Shadow Pokemon," Dragon Emperor says.

"What happened next?" Brandon asks as eagerness radiates from his face.

"As the Pokemon armies were fleeing, Ho-Oh took off to the south-western kingdom where both kings were present, on account of them attending a wedding where the son of the south-eastern king was marrying the niece of the south-western king," Dragon Emperor says before taking a swig of water.

"Time must have been running out. I mean at one end the Shadow Pokemon were after the remaining Pokemon, hot on their heels. On the other hand, Ho-Oh must have been flying like there was no second to waste for he needed to not only convince Anthony and Marcus to let bygones be bygones and come to help Arceus in his war against Drakus and the Shadow Pokemon army. Furthermore, time must've also been needed to muster the armies should Anthony and Marcus agree to come to Arceus' aid," Dawn says much to everyone's agreement.

"Correct, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The wedding ceremony was going in full swing with dancing and feasting when suddenly Ho-Oh flew in, startling everyone present. All the guards immediately drew their swords as Ho-Oh landed on the floor, panting from the extremely strenuous journey it had to make. Both kings, immediately restored the calmness and peace as they asked everyone to settle down. Anthony then turned to Ho-Oh and demanded why Ho-Oh had barged in uninvited at this most auspicious moment for both royal families and the southern royal kingdoms. Ho-Oh apologised and told the kings everything. All the members in the wedding hall listened to Ho-Oh with shock and surprise as Ho-Oh told them everything. By the time Ho-Oh finished and delivered Arceus' call for aid to the kings, the entire court erupted with angry rebukes. All the guests invited at the wedding began admonishing Arceus in front of Ho-Oh claiming that it was Arceus who in the first place had treated the humans as if they were nothing. And now that he was in trouble it was almost as if he could call upon the humans as and when he pleased, like the humans were his servants in the first place," Dragon Emperor says.

"Must've been quite the spectacle. I mean, you can't blame the guests. Being mistreated for so long, anyone would get angry," Delia says much to Mr Mime's agreement.

"True. By this point of time the bonds between humans and Pokemon must have been at the lowest point possible," Oak says with his finger pressed under his chin.

"Yes. Ho-Oh tried to pacify all the angry spectators to the best of his ability. After many a good number of hours, the angry outbursts settled down as Ho-Oh also breathed a sigh of relief. He went to kings who had been quiet throughout the entire row of accusations and angry outbursts. Ho-Oh once again petitioned the kings for support. The kings replied that they couldn't ignore the way Arceus and the others had mistreated the human race in the past. As kings, it was their duty to take action in keeping with the sentiments of the public," Dragon Emperor answered.

"Fuck," Gary breathes under his breath.

"Bummer," Barry remarks.

"What did Ho-Oh do then?" Serena enquires.

"What could he have done. Everyone was clearly upset and they were not without reason to be upset. Ho-Oh reminded the kings of the urgency of time, apologized for one last time on behalf of Arceus and the others and then left," Dragon Emperor replies.

"Why Ho-Oh? I mean wouldn't a Psychic-type Pokemon who could teleport would reach the kings faster and come back sooner?" Serena asks.

"Good question. The answer to this question lies in the aftermath of the first battle. Remember, I told you that the Shadow Pokemon consumed Pokemon as their food source?" Dragon Emperor asks to which Ash and Serena nod.

"That being said, what do you think the Shadow Pokemon did with all those dead Pokemon lying in the battlefield?" Dragon Emperor says causing everyone to develop a scowl of disgust.

"Ugghh. They ate the Pokemon's bodies?" Serena says, disgusted to her core.

"Yes, the Shadow Pokemon consumed the essence of the dead Pokemon bodies and this filled them to the brim with energy," Dragon Emperor says.

"But what's that got to do with being unable to teleport?" Sabrina asks.

"Using that massive burst in energy, the Shadow Pokemon cast a spell which blocked the access to the Psychic dimension from the plane of existence in the Pokemon world for a limited period of time," Dragon Emperor says.

"That makes sense," Serena says.

"Yeah, it's a stroke of brilliance on the Shadow Pokemon's behalf," Ash concurs.

"How?" Max and May ask, confused by Ash and Serena's statements.

"Well, when you block access to the Psychic dimension you basically can't use moves like Teleportation or Future Sight. And this essentially ensured that Arceus couldn't transport his Pokemon army through the Psychic dimension to retreat or to launch a surprise counter-attack," Serena explains as everyone's heads nod in agreement.

"Also another unintended side benefit was that a Psychic-type Pokemon couldn't reach the Southern kingdoms fast. With the Psychic route blocked, Arceus had to choose an emissary who could fly fast and was a good diplomat. And this is why Ho-Oh was chosen," Dragon Emperor says as everyone's heads shake in agreement.

https://youtu.be/lHUGXu4ziWY

(In the Ritual Room in Team Rocket Headquarters)

Giovanni is standing in a dimly lit, dark room with a table in front of him with a big bowl placed on top of it. He mutters words in a tongue long forgotten in the Pokemon world as he holds a knife in his right hand. After muttering a few spells, he uses the knife to bleed his free hand, allowing the dripping blood to collect in the bowl in front of him. After the required amount of blood has been collected, he tosses his knife away and begins to mutter dark incantations, spells from an age of the past, full of hate, misery and sleepless malice. Finally, he utters the final incantation and then showers jet black electricity from his fingertips onto the blood in the bowl.

Jet black smog arises as he continues to fire his torrent of electricity into the bowl as the smog cloud becomes bigger and bigger. Suddenly, the smog cloud rises in height and towers over Giovanni who immediately stops firing the electricity and gets down on his knees. Within moments of his kneeling, a pair of huge blazing red eyes appear in the smog cloud.

"Master," Giovanni says as he bows his head.

"You summoned me, my child?" a cruel, crackling, sinister voice answers from within the cloud.

"Yes, master," Giovanni replies.

"What news of the attack. Did it go as planned? Are the leaders of the Pokemon world dead?" the voice asks.

"Yes, master. Most of the leadership is dead. The whole Pokemon world now knows our strength and already reports of restlessness, fear and chaos are flooding in from different parts of the Pokemon world," Giovanni replies.

"This pleases me, my child. With the governments of the Pokemon world destabilized and the Pokemon world in a state of chaos, we can begin with the next phase of our plan," the voice says in a raspy manner.

"Yes, master," Giovanni answers in an obedient fashion.

"But this is not why you have summoned me, have you? There is something else, isn't there, Prince of Darkness?" the voice enquires.

"Yes, my lord," Giovanni replies.

"More to say, you have?" the voice crackles.

"We couldn't kill the champions. The Emperor interfered," Giovanni says.

"Hmm. Yet, I sense, something more to say, you have," the voice replies.

"His students," Giovanni quietly answered.

"The ones you failed to kill in the past?" the voice inquires.

"Yes," Giovanni answers with his head hung in shame.

"What about them?" the voice asks.

"They," Giovanni says before coming to a stop.

"What?" the voice asks back.

"They displayed abilities which they shouldn't have been able to display," Giovanni says.

"Go on," the voice commands in a firmer and harsher tone.

Giovanni breathes in a breath of air to reinforce himself and then gulps. He looks up at the shining red eyes, a part of him not wanting to tell what happened with Ash and Serena.

https://youtu.be/PFGaUi62Y_8

(In the KIP Meeting Hall)

"So Ho-Oh left with the situation not looking too promising," Serena asks to which the Dragon Emperor nods.

"Indeed. Ho-Oh left to return to Arceus' side having delivered Arceus' message and done the best he could've to improve the chances of the humans to come to the aid of the Pokemon," Dragon Emperor says.

"That doesn't look good for the Pokemon," Bonnie says.

"Yes. Anyways, continuing with the story, Ho-Oh was flying back and reached Arceus' camp in half the time he had taken to fly to the southern kingdom," Dragon Emperor says when suddenly he see Lillie raise her hand.

"Yes, my dear?" Dragon Emperor asks.

"Why half time?" Lillie asks.

"Because Arceus had ordered a retreat, knowing that the Shadow Pokemon were coming for him and his army. So it made sense that Arceus would move his remaining army as close as possible to the southern kingdoms so that the humans could reach as fast as possible, should they decide to come to the aid of the Pokemon army," Dragon Emperor answers as Lillie gives him a thumbs up.

"Very well, continuing with the story while Ho-Oh had reached Arceus' camp, the two southern kings had convened an emergency session in court to take action on the request made by Ho-Oh on Arceus' behalf. Both kings heard both sides of the argument. The against side fiercely rejected the idea to go to the aid of the Pokemon army, citing the way the Pokemon had mistreated their ancestors in the past. Why should the southern kingdoms send the soldiers into battle, that too for someone who has always shunned them and denigrated their significance given the chance? The for side, on the other hand, argued on the fact that should Arceus and the Pokemon lose, the southern human kingdoms would be the next target. Algrim would have the chance to be the ruler of the entire human realm in the Pokemon earth with the Shadow Pokemon as his allies. Not going to the aid of the Pokemon would result in the inevitable destruction of the southern kingdoms as well. To put it in a nutshell, a fierce debate raged on for several hours with both kings listening to the arguments in complete silence," Dragon Emperor says.

"Must have been quite a nightmare for the kings," Clemont remarks.

"Touche," Korrina replies as the Dragon Emperor shakes his head in agreement.

"Finally, having heard all possible arguments, both kings decided to hold a ballot to see where did the courtiers stand numerically on the issue. A vote was held and counting of the votes commenced. After a few minutes, the results were declared. Would anyone like to guess the results of the vote?" Dragon Emperor asks as he walks around the room with all eyes trailing him, wherever he walks.

"Sixty to Forty ratio of against to for," Serena guesses.

"Seventy to Thirty is actually the answer, but your estimate was quite close," Dragon Emperor replies as Serena rolls her eyes.

Dragon Emperor chuckles at Serena's reaction then resumes with the story, "After the ballot results were revealed all eyes fell on the kings who had been silent so far. The prime ministers of both kings approached the kings and said, 'My kings. You now know the result of the vote. We await your decision on the matter.'. The till-now bustling court went silent as the grave as the kings announced that they needed to discuss this in private. So the kings along with their queens and children left to discuss matters in a private parlour."

"What happened on the front of the Pokemon?" Rowan asks as everyone starts murmuring once more.

"Ho-Oh arrived at Arceus' camp and gave his report in front of the council of legendaries," Dragon Emperor says.

"Arceus must've realized that the chances of the humans coming to his aid were quite slim, to say the least," Diantha remarks as all the champions and professors nod in agreement.

"Well, he didn't get to hear that part," Dragon Emperor says.

"Wait. What?" Cynthia shouts as she receives a jolt of a minor shock.

"Ho-Oh had just finished telling Arceus and the other legendaries about what he had done. He was about to tell them the way Arceus' petition for help had been received when suddenly a scout Aerodactyl flew in and informed everyone that the Shadow Pokemon army was ten kilometres away," Dragon Emperor says causing everyone to get worried.

"Oh no," Ash says.

"Oh yes," Dragon Emperor replies.

"What did the Pokemon do then?" Alder asks.

"Seriously? I mean, the enemy army is ten kilometres away and you're asking me what happened? What do you think happened?" Dragon Emperor asks, causing everyone else to sweatdrop at Alder's question.

"Ignoring Alder's stupid question, please resume with the story," Ash says.

"There was no time to waste. The enemy was about to engage them soon. Arceus ordered all his troops to be arranged in a defensive array with the legendaries located at key strategic defensive nodes. The army had just finished getting into battle formation when suddenly they were assaulted by the Shadow Pokemon army. A fierce fight broke out and for seven days the battle raged with no end in sight," Dragon Emperor tells.

"Hold on a minute. You said the first army was annihilated very quickly. But the battle with this army took so much more time? That doesn't make sense," Serena exclaims.

"You forget. In the first battle, only a few legendaries were present. This time, however, all the legendaries including the god Pokemon were fighting. This made it a whole new ballgame," Dragon Emperor says.

"But it didn't matter, did it? The Shadow Pokemon were still stronger. Weren't they?" Ash says in a grave tone.

"Yes. The Shadow Pokemon army was still stronger and after all that fighting, Arceus and the others were forced to retreat," Dragon Emperor says.

"How bad was it?" Serena asks.

"Well, Arceus lost almost a third of his remaining troop in the fight and was doing his best to ensure that the retreat doesn't turn into a rout with the Shadow Pokemon on their heels. After retreating for almost three days, the Shadow Pokemon managed to catch up to Arceus' forces in front of the mountain which you all know as Mount Coronet in the Sinnoh region," Dragon Emperor says as everyone goes silent as the grave.

"It was literally the end. With their backs pinned to Mount Coronet and surrounded from all remaining sides by the Shadow Pokemon army, the end had come. Arceus and the others prepared to make the final stand as they mentally prepared themselves for their impending doom. The Shadow Pokemon howled mercilessly taunting the Pokemon mercilessly. Finally, the Shadow Pokemon commenced their final assault. All the Pokemon huddled next to each other with the Shadow Pokemon, closing in on them from multiple fronts, one step at a time," Dragon Emperor says as his throat goes dry.

After finishing the remaining water in his glass the Dragon Emperor turned back to face the other, "All hope was lost. The end had come. The Pokemon had mentally prepared themselves for the end when suddenly horns blared in the distance. The Pokemon and the Shadow Pokemon turned around only to see a wall of dust in the distance." before taking a deep breath.

"That's right. The armies of the southern kings had arrived," Dragon Emperor says as relief surges through everyone present.