8. Ash's Torren Story

Chapter 49: Walking in the Dream World

Ash and the group are wandering around until they reach the town, they see the name of the town as Prion Town. Ash says, "Prion, as in one type of protein that hinders the brain..."

"I am surprised that you know about this..." Gladion says as their voices gain the townspeople's attention.

"Is that Ash Ketchum?" "No way...he has come to save us!" The townspeople suddenly rush towards them, which causes them to get surprised.

"Um...what's going on here? And you know all of them, Ash?" Nora asks.

"I don't know." Ash replies.

"Ash? Nora?" But suddenly, the crowd then leaves a room, and then two adults appear in front of them, Ash and Nora are shocked. "Mom? Dad?" Ash and Nora start to tear up and they rush towards their parents, giving a family hug that they have missed a lot.

"Mom, Dad, I finally found you..." Ash says. "I thought...you were...you were..."

Adam says, "I am sorry. Look at you, you have grown so well... it has been a while since I last meet you..."

Delia says, "The same goes for you, Nora. You have also grown into a fine woman..."

"Thank you, Mom..." Nora says. Zachary also walks forward and asks, "Mom...Dad...do you remember me?"

Delia smiles and says, "Of course, we know about you and Zenith. Though I was surprised that Zenith would be the leader of the Infernal Cult and he would lie to you that he sacrificed me for Groudon."

Adam says, "And we are sorry for leaving you two alone, we had missions to do and we just didn't want you to get in danger."

After meeting one another, Ash asks, "But Dad, Mom, how are you two here in this Dream Realm?"

Adam and Delia frown and Adam says, "Follow me, it will be better if we talk inside our living place."

As they get to Cortisol Road, Nora says, "This place is named after a hormone? Wow..."

Ash notices a Hidden Grotto and asks, "Dad, before we continue forward, can we see what is inside this Hidden Grotto?"

Adam smiles and says, "Of course, you can."

As they enter the grotto, they see that a Lanturn is sitting there, but much to their surprise is that it looks different.

"A Delta Pokemon in the Dream Realm? I guess more surprises are happening every day." Nora says.

"And I think it will be better if I capture it." Ash says as he battles the Pokemon with Torterra. In the end, it is defeated and Ash manages to capture it.

Delta Lanturn: The Ghost Light Pokemon: Ghost and Fire Type. The flames it produces are extraordinarily hot. Due to its reclusive nature, lost travelers that stumble upon it may mistake its presence for the gateway to hell.

After getting out of the grotto, they continue their road until they are stopped by Malde and Lillie.

"Stop right there." Malde says as they are having a staredown, Adam and Delia are also surprised to see Lillie being affected by the virus in person.

"...we were doing so well, too. Persephone is insufferable. We tried to help her, bring her into our fold. It's a shame, really. Every person we fail to convert just makes our plan take longer to finish. And you see... I don't think we can exactly follow through with our mission of helping the world from down here. The Dream Realm is a desolate place. There's no easy way out, aside from using Darkrai's ability..."

"What are you going to talk about, Grandfather?" Taen asks.

"...I have a feeling that you should know where this is going here. This world can't survive without the person in which it resides. And if it's your dream realm, Ash...It's a risky move, but it's the only one we see. Let's get this over with."