The week Alex spent preparing for his departure to Lumiose City, Clarissa spent catching up with the girls. Before long, the conversation turned to the incident six years ago between Alex and Sabrina. They told her about his true origin, his previous life, his time as a wandering soul, and the black hole he had witnessed while Arceus and the other Legendary Pokémon fought to contain it.

So when she finally stood within the Distortion World and saw that same black hole in the distance, relentlessly bombarded by the three Legendary Pokémon with her own eyes, she was left speechless.

“This is the responsibility of every Master ranked trainer,” Lorelei said from beside her. “To find a way to destroy... whatever this thing is. Otherwise, our world, along with every other world, will eventually be destroyed.”

“What do you mean, destroyed?” Clarissa asked. “Can't we just... leave it alone here?”

“It's growing,” Lorelei said grimly. “Slowly, but it is. Its influence over reality has been expanding little by little. One day, it'll become large enough to consume the Distortion World. And when that happens, our reality, resting on top of it, will be next. Everything we know will eventually be consumed.”

“Can't we help them?” Clarissa asked. “What if we gathered everyone and attacked it all at once? Wouldn't that do anything?”

“We've tried everything,” Lorelei replied with a resigned sigh, shaking her head. “The latest technology and everything our science has to offer, alien weapons recovered from the ruins of ancient civilizations and the Moon, a simultaneous assault by over a thousand Master ranked trainers alongside every Legendary and Mythical Pokémon we could gather, even Kalos's superweapon recovered from another dimension. In the end, the best humanity could achieve was buying a little more time.”

“What am I supposed to do about it?”

“You'll take my place as Champion of Kanto while your father and I continue searching for a solution in Lumiose City, where we'll have access to other realities. Hopefully, we'll find something that can put a stop to this.”

“But... I heard there's a chance...” Clarissa muttered, her voice wavering. “And you won't stop until you either find it... or you both disappear forever?”

“That's the plan,” Lorelei replied with the gentle smile only a mother could give. “As long as there's another world to explore, we'll keep searching. It's our job as parents to make sure our children inherit a better tomorrow, even if we aren't around to see it.”

-----

“I see,” Alex said after hearing Clarissa's explanation. “That certainly sounds like a problem.”

“That's your reaction?” Clarissa asked, her voice growing more irritated. “The world's ending, and all you have to say is that it sounds like a problem?”

Alex shrugged. “There's nothing I can do about it. No point getting worked up over something I can't change.”

“What do you mean, no point? There are plenty of points! And you were literally brought here to do something about it!”

“And yet I don't have a solution,” Alex replied. “Which means it isn't time for it to be solved yet.”

“How can you be so uncaring?” Clarissa asked, bewildered.

“Did the girls tell you about the conversation I had with Celebi?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Celebi told me the world was saved. That means that, at some point, a solution will appear and everything will work out. Until then, worrying about it serves no purpose. It's neither my responsibility nor Celebi's to force the issue because the outcome is already guaranteed.”

Clarissa stared at Alex as though he were an idiot.

Alex stared right back.

“You really don't care, do you? You don't care about this world. You don't care about us. You just don't care,” Clarissa asked, her voice breaking as disbelief gave way to despair.

“What do you want me to do?” Alex asked with a sigh. “March over there as I am now and sacrifice myself for the greater good? I'm sure it'll all work out since that's the scientifically confirmed purpose of my coming here.”

“What? No, I—” Clarissa stammered.

“Just an arm, then? Want me to punch the black hole and see what happens? It's only an arm. I can afford to lose that. Though my head would probably work better, since that's where the volatile memories exist.”

“Stop! I get it!” Clarissa burst out.

“Do you?” Alex asked evenly. “There are a lot of smart people in the League. I'm sure one of them can figure out a way to make me do something about it. I just need to be their lab rat until they pull it off. What does my life matter in a situation like this, right? What does my life matter compared to the Pokémon world as we know it?”

“Stop! Please, Alex, just... stop. I get it.” Clarissa begged, slumping to the floor as tears streamed down her face. “My parents... they're planning to jump to different dimensions to find a way to stop it, and they won't stop until they find a solution. I just... I might never see them again.”

Alex knelt beside her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“I don't mean to be uncaring, Clarissa,” Alex said quietly. “There's just nothing I can do about it. At the very least, I'd need to see this thing face to face, and even then, I already know I wouldn't have any way to deal with it besides trying stupid shit until something sticks. The best plan I'd have would probably be to feed myself to it. If you want me to do that for your parents' sake, I'll do it. But if you want an actual solution, all I can ask is that you wait.”

Clarissa cried quietly against his shoulder until her sobs gradually subsided into uneven breaths.

“I'm sorry, Alex,” she said at last, reluctantly pulling away as she wiped the tears from her face. “I... I just don’t know what to do. I don't want to lose my parents.”

“I know.”

Clarissa lowered her gaze, silent for a long moment as she tried to steady herself.

“Thinking about it now,” she said quietly, unable to meet his eyes, “I know throwing you at it won't work. If sacrificing you were the answer, Arceus would've thrown your soul at it the moment it found you. Instead... it let you live while it kept holding that thing back all this time. I'm sorry for being unreasonable.”

“You're going to do something stupid, aren't you?” Alex asked with a quiet chuckle. “You always avoid looking at me whenever you think you've come up with a brilliant idea.”

“I... I'm planning to head into Prism Tower and jump to another dimension. I want to experience it at least once before I take my place as a Regional Champion.”

“And you think you're ready for that?” Alex asked. “I'm not going to stop you. You seem convinced you know what you're doing. All I'm asking is that you think it through before you rush into a dangerous situation.”

“Like you're one to talk,” Clarissa said with a laugh. “But yeah, I want to see what it'll be like.”

Alex smiled faintly. “You know it'll be different for everyone, right? That's the whole point of dimension jumping. There's no telling where you'll end up or what you'll find. That's why your parents believe it's the only way to solve our black hole problem. Also, your parents are going to kill me.”

“You're strong enough to survive them,” Clarissa said before leaning in to kiss Alex. “I'll talk to Nyx and Rhea so they can prepare me for it. I'll also attend the orientation beforehand. You... won't stop me, right?”

“Do what you need to do,” Alex said, holding her gaze. “Whatever gives you peace of mind.”

“Thanks, Alex. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They spent the night making love, replacing their usual brutal fucking with attention, care, and tenderness. The next morning, Clarissa began preparing for her trip behind her parents' backs, a process that occupied her for the rest of the week.

She teleported back to Kanto and sought out Nyx and Rhea, who helped her assemble a loadout capable of surviving almost any disaster. At its core was the Deep Suit forged from Master ranked materials, purchased with every resource she had access to. A matching backpack carried months' worth of supplies alongside every survival tool and gadget they could think of. Even her Pokémon would remain stored inside the backpack until the moment she needed them, maximizing their chances of survival no matter what reality she found herself in.

Once everything was ready, Alex saw her off at Prism Tower. The entrance hall was unusually quiet, filled with families sharing tearful farewells with loved ones who had made the same decision. When the pulse came, the crystal at the tower's heart erupted with light, swallowing Clarissa and a handful of other Master ranked trainers before hurling them into realities unknown. If all went well, they would return within a year. If not...

Predictably, Alex received a harsh scolding from Lorelei and more than a few death threats from Lance. In response, he merely shrugged and reminded them they should have expected it, given their daughter's personality. Telling Clarissa they were prepared to disappear forever if that's what it took to save the world was never going to end well. In the end, they could only concede that they bore as much responsibility for her decision as Alex did for letting her go before ending the call.

With nothing else left to do, Alex returned to training. Two weeks passed in a blur of battles, sparring sessions, and relentless drills. Every day, his Pokémon grew stronger, their teamwork sharper, until even Alex could tell they had reached the limits of their newfound potential.

Which meant it was time to stop preparing.

It was time to begin the hunt in Kalos.