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Temporal collapse wasn’t the only disaster the Dark Future faced. All that frozen negativity had to go somewhere.

The Bittercold grew.

It began with small, floating pebbles. Then larger rocks started to rise. The landscape was marred as boulders began to levitate. Entire sections of land split apart as they rose up. The whole planet shattered.

Some unfortunate Pokemon that managed to defy time’s stagnant flow were carried away by levitating bits of land, never to be seen again. Others fell into the crevasses and cracks, disappearing into the darkness below.

And all the while, the Bittercold continued to grow.

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It was a strange material, but a fascinating one. It could bend and twist without breaking, yet it was as hard as rock, and light as a Caterpie.

It even smelled delicious!

What could have caused this thing's creation, though? Nobody had ever seen it before, so it couldn't have been made by a mundane Pokemon, unless this was what made up the underside of a Diglett. Could it be from the humans of legend?

Either way, he should tell the others what he found.

The Garbodor turned around to face his colleagues. "Guys, I think I found something amazing!"

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CRUNCH!

Delcatty watched in horror as Accelgor's crumpled body slid down the wall she had been thrown into. She couldn't have survived that.

There wasn't any time to waste. Delcatty sprinted through the monster house towards Accelgor, weaving between dungeon Pokemon as he crossed the room.

Finally, he reached Accelgor. Hurriedly, he dug out the reviver seed from his bag, and shoved it in Accelgor's oral cavity.

He waited. And waited.

Accelgor didn't get back up again.

Delcatty was too late.

Sobbing, he pressed up against his partner's body one last time, waiting for the monster house to finish him off.

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Every world had a Voice of Life. A being that was the embodiment of life as much as Xerneas, a soul made from bits of every other soul, the planet itself given a voice.

In one world, the world of only Pokemon, the Voice was a Hydreigon, summoning humans to combat the Bittercold. But what of the world of humans?

Some say that the Voice was Zygarde, the embodiment of balance. Some say it was the young green-haired man who could understand Pokemon.

One Magma grunt, with a Whismur she summoned herself, knew otherwise.

The Voice departed, to find Rayquaza.

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Tick, tock.

Pillars crumbled, the rubble freezing in midair as it fell. A Treecko and a Piplup ran past, determined to reach the summit in time.

Tick, tock.

A pure seed was consumed, warping the duo to the stairs. There was no time to waste.

Tick, tock.

Even with their determination, their movements began to slow. The blue gears in their bag were beginning to lose their glow.

Tick, tock.

At the top, a pedestal fell off the tower.

Tick, tock.

The Treecko and Piplup suddenly, froze, movement of any sort becoming an impossibility.

Tick.

Tick.

Temporal Tower had collapsed.

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An expeditioneer returned home after a dungeon trip, setting their bag down next to a bucket of water, in which a transparent sphere soaked.

They took out a bottle from their bag, filled to the brim with rainbow dust. Emera powder, the lifeblood of a mystery dungeon, and a powerful resource.

They dumped the bottle in, and then with their tail, stirred the water until all the emera powder was dissolved.

Already they could begin to see small emera crystals on the sphere, and a light became visible within the sphere.

Soon, the escape orb would be ready for use.

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An Abra, a Charmander, and a Larvitar were lost in Oddity Cave, stuck on the fifth floor.

"I-is anyone there?" the Charmander asked. "I'm starving..."

"Come! Over here!" an unknown voice shouted.

The three, hesitant, but out of options, followed the voice, coming to a Lucario with an escape orb in paw.

He shattered the orb, and the group appeared outside the cave, safe and sound.

"Stay safe out there," the Lucario said, before running off before the trio could thank him.

Years later, following in the footsteps of the Lucario who saved them, the three formed Rescue Team ACT.

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Back, and forth. Back, and forth.

A day home in the human world, a day home in the Pokemon world.

One day you spend with your human family, the next spent with your Pokemon friends.

Sometimes you wonder what it'd be like if you couldn't do this. If you had to pick one world or the other to spend the rest of your life in, and never see anyone from the other again.

You're glad you don't have to choose. You didn't think you could choose.

Your partner gave you this freedom, and you couldn't be happier.

Back, and forth.

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There's only one true Tree of Life in the world. A tree whose roots reached deep into the planet, almost touching its core. A tree that stablizied the planet's orbit, keeping it from falling into the sun. A tree that imbued the planet with life, allowing plants and Pokemon to flourish all across the world.

In some ways, the Tree of Life is the planet. It keeps the planet alive.

And during times of great crisis, when the very planet itself is in jeapordy...

The Tree of Life begins to wither, the planet bleeds, and mystery dungeons begin to multiply.

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Skwovet glanced over at Yanma, clutching the Connection Orb in their paws. "Ready?" the squirrel Pokemon said, tail swishing in excitement.

"Yeppers!" Yanma said, gaze fixated on Kirlia. "Let's see if she really does want to be friends with me!"

Skwovet threw the orb onto the ground, and it shattered. He began to see a line connecting Yanma and Kirlia...a yellowish green, the color of a budding friendship!

"Yeah! She does!" Skowvet said. Yanma began doing loops in excitement, before the connection line turned orange. Annoyance.

"And just what are you two doing?" Kirlia asked as she approached the two.

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Zacian trekked through Eternal Meadow, gazing upon her work. A vast meadow of flowers as far as the eye could see, the beauty of nature in floral form.

Looking at one of the Eternal Blooms, she saw a Petrify Bush choking it, the massive flower's petals wilting to feed the purple vines. Unfortunate, but fixable with a quick cut.

It was a simple matter of removing a weed. Zacian slashed her sword precisely, severing the parasitic vine without harming the Eternal Bloom. 

She had put down her sword long ago, but even now, sometimes, she still found use for it.