Author's Note: To those of you from the Mass Effect fandom who read my works, I'm sorry for this, I really am, but I love Pokémon as much as I love Mass Effect, and I needed a break from my Mass Effect stories for at least a little while. I'll get back to Song of the Rachni eventually, don't worry, I just needed a different change of pace so I chose to write something in a fandom I know more about in order to keep my writing muse from dying on me...

I know this may not ever get a single review, but I don't care. Also, some of you may be thinking I'm more than just a little odd to pair Dialga and a Lucario, but this pairing is my PokéPoké OTP, which I call TimeAurashipping, and I wanted to share it and to add something new to the Pokémon section on FFNet. This contains major spoilers for the Diamond and Pearl games, so if you haven't played either and don't like spoilers, please hit the back button on your browser, otherwise, enjoy. Also, even though Dialga is classed as being 'genderless' since he's a Legendary, I see him as being male. This is based off the battle against Dialga from my Diamond game (which is what made me start pairing these two in the first place), and is a complete revamp of the horribly shoddy original write up I did since the battle inspired me that much to write something like this. Also, this takes place a short while after the events in The Rise of Darkrai (with some spoilers from the movie as well), hence references made to the movie in places even though this story is based mostly off the games, and I apologize for Cyrus, Lucus, and Rowan's dialogue not being exactly perfect.

This mostly centers around the Lucario, Shan, but also around Dialga in some parts, and if people end up actually liking this, I'll turn it into a full story. Also, I wrote that Shan had been born before she had been given away by Riley, hence why she knew and remembers him. I just wanted to point that out beforehand because I'm not very fond of the egg thing concerning mammalian Pokémon like Lucario, it's just a bit rediculous. I'm also not very good at writing fight scenes, so I don't blame you if you don't like this. Anyway, Shan and her trainer are mine, but the Lucario species along with Dialga, Pokémon, and other characters in this story are all © to that wonderful mastermind Satoshi Tajiri.

A note for your concideration: This story was started before the release of the eleventh Pokémon movie, so any events parallel to those in the movie or in the upcoming 12th movie are not intentional on my part and are purely a coincidence.

Special thanks go out to my best friend, Ayaluki, the best beta-reader I could ever ask for.

Well, here we go...

Pokémon

Timeless

Shan stood, her entire form trembling as she fought to make even the tiniest mite of sense out of the unbelievably huge turn this situation had taken. The she-Lucario glared at the pale blue-haired man, wine-red eyes narrowed as she watched him recall his Weavile. Shan sighed and shook her head before her eyes shifted to rest upon the huge dragon who stood at the center of the pillar -- Dialga, the Lord of Time. She knew of Dialga from stories her first trainer, a man named Riley, would tell her back when she was but a tiny Riolu pup, but she had never once thought that she would one day be seeing the dragon with her own eyes...

The poor dragon had unwillingly been dragged into this world by that madman Cyrus with the help of a red chain he had crafted when the three lake spirits had been captured. Cyrus had ordered Dialga to destroy this world, but Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit had intervened, breaking the chain and returning Dialga's free will to him before the three little Pokémon had once again disappeared, though not without Mesprit reappearing in front of Shera for a brief moment before fading once more. Then Cyrus had lost it, sending out his Gyarados to destroy the red-headed girl who had been a thorn in his side for so damned long. Shera's Luxray had easily dealt with Cyrus's Gyarados and Crobat, and Shan had dealt with his Weavile. Now the madman had only one Pokémon left...

"Honchkrow, front and center..."

'Wait... Honchkrow?' Shan blinked, brow furrowing as it took a moment for what she had just heard to sink in. 'When did Cyrus evolve his--'

"Will you be all right, Shan?" came her trainer's voice, interrupting her thoughts. The Lucario glanced back over her shoulder at the girl, giving a single nod before returning her attention to her new opponent as the dark bird materialized before her, hovering above the ground.

She gave a soft growl, gritting her teeth as she raised a paw to rub her right shoulder, which still ached from where Cyrus's Weavile had struck her with a Brick Break attack. The Honchkrow's expression was solemn as he hovered, awaiting commands, and Shan felt sympathy for him. Most Dark-types were misunderstood - and mistrusted - by both humans and fellow 'mon alike, while a few individuals were good-hearted despite their darkness typing, like Shera's own Honchkrow, Isto. Still a few others, like Weavile, were at the other end of the spectrum altogether, and the Lucario shuddered as she recalled the fierce glee that had shone within the Sharp Claw Pokémon's eyes every time he had managed to score a hit upon her and see her wince in pain. Weavile was what one could classify as evil; Honchkrow, however, was a victim.

Dark-types - heck, all Pokémon - who could be classed as either good or evil shared one thing in common -- they were owned and influenced by humans.

"Steel Wing..." Cyrus commanded, pointing towards the she-Lucario, his face showing next to no expression as the dark bird flapped his wings to gain altitude, before his wings began glowing a light gray color. Shan braced herself, sinking into the half-crouch she had adopted as her battle stance ever since she was little, as she awaited a command from her own trainer.

"Jump, then use Metal Claw," Shera's command came to the Aura Pokémon's ears before Shan leapt straight up into the air, the spike growths upon the backs of her paws beginning to take on the same light gray glow which had enveloped the diving Honchkrow's wings. The light surrounding the Lucario's forepaw spikes then began to change, becoming long, sharp claws before the Lucario slashed upwards at her opponent, growling in frustration when her attack met his own in a deadlock...

Behind the battlers, Dialga drew a slow breath, trying to ignore the pounding headache this whole damned ordeal had given him, and trying to keep his already dangerously high anger from taking him over completely. Ruby-red eyes narrowed and fell upon the human girl and the blue-haired one who had dared to pull him to this world. Oh, how Dialga so badly wanted to rend his claws through that human male's flesh for trying to control him! There were four other humans present, though they were standing farther back away from the fighting: another male who appeared to be about the same age as the girl, if not a bit younger, and yet a third male whose stark white hair told Dialga that that man was nearing venerable age -- if he wasn't there already. The other two were both female, one with red hair while the other had purple, and both had battled the red-haired girl, and at one point, a blonde-haired boy who had up and left afterwards... for some reason or another.

The Temporal Pokémon's gaze then moved to rest upon the two fighting creatures, knowing that the Honchkrow had the advantage against the Lucario when it came to leverage, and he was proven right when the bird's attack broke through, sending the Lucario falling back towards the ground below. The canid flipped, righting herself and landing on all four paws, weight balanced to better absorb the shock of a landing from falling such a distance...

"Dark Pulse," Cyrus commanded. "Make her fear you."

"Honchkrow, stop! This isn't right..." Shan barked as she rose to her feet, wine-red eyes focused intently upon the hovering avian.

"It is the will of my Master," Honchkrow replied, his voice solemn. "So, I must obey." The dark bird gave a single, powerful flap of his wings, sending a wave of dark energy careening towards his opponent. Shan tensed her legs, readying herself to dodge to one side at the last possible second, only to give a yelp of surprise when the wave washed over her sooner than she had expected. She felt as if she were rooted to the spot - frozen - and she felt her entire body trembling uncontrollably. This was the rare, added effect of Dark Pulse -- the cause of fear.

It seemed like eternity before the cold feeling finally left her, and Shan suddenly felt lighter, faster, as she felt her Steadfast ability beginning to kick in. The jackal 'mon shook her head to clear away the cobwebs, not hearing the commands issued by Cyrus nor by her own trainer. Shan's eyes widened when she saw Honchkrow dive toward her again, the Big Boss Pokémon's entire form beginning to spin rapidly in a Drill Peck attack. Shan tensed, ears twitching when she heard Shera call for her to dodge to the right, and the Lucario hadn't even begun to obey when she felt the Drill Peck strike her full force in the chest.

'He's just too fast...!' she realized, hearing herself give a cry of pain, feeling something shatter as her legs collapsed out from underneath her, a wave of white-hot pain washing over her. It hurt to draw breath, and Shan raised a trembling forepaw to her chest, feeling blood where the bone-like spike on her chest had been merely a few moments earlier. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to make herself stand, the pain in her chest too great and causing her to collapse to the ground yet again...

Dialga remained silent, watching the battle. The Lucario was nearing the limits her physical form could put her through, and from the way she was laying sprawled upon the ground, the avian's last attack had done some major damage to her. Apparently, the canid was inexperienced when it came to fighting birds, and Dialga knew that such inexperience could lead to her downfall if she didn't force herself to act soon. The dragon felt a pang of guilt, which he quickly crushed, as there was no reason to waste such an emotion on someone mortal, even though he knew that this entire series of events had been his fault -- with that Cyrus human acting as the catalyst...

Shan's eyes fluttered open, and she forced herself to take a deep breath, more tears crawling down her face from the pain. She snarled at the stinging feel of the super potion Shera was administering to her wounds, and, while the spray was usually gentle, this time it felt like it was doing more harm than good. She remembered that they had been unable to return to civilization for supplies, and that Shera was low on medicine, but anything was better than no treatment at all, no matter how meager the dose. It would keep her going... for at least a short while longer.

"Don't... hurts..." the jackal 'mon snapped, reaching up to smack the girl's hand away as she felt the potion beginning to take effect. She growled, climbing to her feet before she turned her head to glance back over her shoulder at her trainer. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Shera reach down to unclip her Pokéball from her belt, and when the human enlarged it, the jackal 'mon moved, quickly smacking the red and white sphere out of Shera's hand. There was no damn way she was going to let herself appear weak in front of everyone else anymore - Dialga especially - and she was bound and determined to finish her battle with Honchkrow... no matter what the outcome.

"Shan!" she heard the redhead cry, and saw her move to retrieve the Pokéball from where it now lay on the ground where the Lucario had knocked it from her hand. "What's the matter with you?! You're badly hurt!"

"Don't interfere any more," the canid said before she turned away.

"But--"

"I said don't interfere any more!" Shan snapped, ears slicking back to point towards her trainer, showing that she was still paying attention in case the girl had anything else to say. "This is my fight, and I plan to finish it..."

The only reply was a sigh, and Shan glanced about, searching for her opponent, spotting him once again hovering in front of his own trainer. Well, at least that madman was civil enough to allow a trainer to tend to her wounded Pokémon...

"Now, we can't allow that to happen again, can we? Honchkrow, use Embargo."

... or not.

'Oh, no, you don't...' Shan thought, dodging hard to her right to see the black mist hit where she had been standing merely a moment ago. Now wasn't the time to make anymore mistakes.

"Use Aura Sphere," came Shera's command, but Shan could sense the half-hearted tone in her voice, and the jackal 'mon felt terrible for snapping at her when the girl had only been watching out for her own welfare.

Remaining silent, the she-Lucario held her paws close together in front of her chest, her eyes falling closed as she concentrated upon gathering aura for the attack her trainer had issued. She had never been able to conjure an Aura Sphere without having to use both paws, and for some odd reason, there was a stab of pain which accompanied the formation of the attack, one that felt different than the pain of her injuries... as if it were deep inside her. Ignoring it, Shan waited, keeping her eyes closed as she twitched her ears, trying to sense Honchkrow's position by ear.

There was a whoosh of air from above, and the Aura Pokémon's eyes snapped open before she sent the Aura Sphere hurtling upwards towards the diving Honchkrow, whose wings were once again enveloped within that glowing gray light of a Steel Wing attack. She heard the dark bird squawk in surprise at seeing the attack hurtling towards him, and he flapped his wings quickly, the Steel Wing's light fading as he tried to cancel his dive to no avail, a cry of pain leaving him when the sphere struck its mark, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Shan winced when she saw the bird falling through the air, but he managed to recover himself with a few quick flaps of his wings. The last thing she wanted was for Honchkrow to end up seriously injured; it wasn't his fault that he ended up with such a madman for a trainer...

"Drill Peck. Finish her off."

"Rock Climb."

'Wait... what?!' Shan blinked, wondering if she had pebbles in her ears from when she had been sprawled out on the ground earlier. Did Shera just command her to use... Rock Climb? There was no more time for her to wonder when she saw the 'krow dive at her again, and she leapt hard to her left a second time, feeling the whoosh of air from the bird sailing past her.

"Again," she heard Cyrus command, and, wordlessly, the dark bird obeyed, wings flapping as he banked about, setting himself up for another dive. Shan took a moment to quickly glance about, her gaze falling upon one of the broken pillars... Of course! Now she knew what Shera was wanting her to do! Wasting no time, Shan took off for the fallen pillar which was laying propped up upon the remnants of another pillar which had been long eroded by wind and rain by now. She glanced back, seeing that Honchkrow had taken the bait and was flying after her... and closing the distance between them. Damn Flying-types...

Dialga arched a brow underneath the steel he wore, wondering just what that Lucario was up to and why she was running from her opponent, until he saw her slide underneath the half-fallen pillar. He twitched the tip of his tail in faint amusement at hearing the bird cry out in surprise, wings flapping madly to keep himself from careening into the object. The Honchkrow hovered, glancing about for his opponent, and Dialga heard the sound of paws scrabbling against a hard surface before he saw the jackal 'mon suddenly spring up from the other side of the pillar and launch herself into the air towards the thrice-startled Honchkrow before she delivered her attack in the form of a kick to the bird's side, the force of the blow - and the momentum that had been put behind it - enough to send the 'krow falling to the ground.

'Why stand there? Lunge! Finish him off!' he thought, seeing her making no move to attack and finish off the dark avian as he struggled back to his feet, shaking dust from his feathers. It was only when the bird was once again airborne did the jackal 'mon finally make any move, and only then did Dialga remember... 'Hrmph... typical of her kind to show honor even when their opponent does not...'

"Now, Shan, Force Palm," came Shera's command, and Shan tensed, keeping her attention focused upon Honchkrow as she saw the bird launch himself into yet another dive when Cyrus ordered him to use a Steel Wing attack. She began to concentrate upon gathering aura around her right paw for her Force Palm attack, and again she felt that same stab of pain she had experienced when she had used Aura Sphere, and again she chose to ignore it.

She waited, legs tensing as she kept her attention focused upon the diving avian, and, when he was close enough, she leapt aside, feeling a whoosh of air through her short fur when the bird went sailing past. Wasting no time, Shan pivoted upon one foot, giving Honchkrow no time to react as she lunged, her strike hitting him between the wings and causing him to once again go sprawling across the ground. This time, however, the Big Boss Pokémon didn't rise. Frowning, the jackal 'mon began to go to him, only to stop in her tracks when Cyrus recalled the unconscious bird, a slight frown etching its way onto his pale features... the first time Shan had ever seen that man show any degree of emotion.

"Don't you even begin to think that you have seen the last of me..." the blue-haired man said, hatred apparent in his voice which made Shan growl softly as she kept her gaze upon him when he began to move towards the exit which led back into the bowels of Mt. Coronet. "I will create another Red Chain. I will become a deity..."

'And Grumpigs will fly,' Shan thought bitterly as she watched Cyrus rather rudely push his way past Lucas and Professor Rowan, Mars and Jupiter on his heels as the three Galactic members left the Pillar. They were gone, for now at least, and the world was safe from being destroyed; however, there was one more thing to worry about...

A very upset time dragon.

Groaning, Shan fell to her knees, her wounds causing a wave of pain to wash over her, the worst being the wound on her chest. She took a moment to examine the severity of the wound, her jaw clenching when she saw that the bone-like growth was no longer there, her sandy-yellow shirt ripped where it had once been, some of the torn fabric stained pink from her blood. Shan forced herself to look away, and her ears twitched when she heard someone kneeling next to her, but only when she felt a gentle hand upon her shoulder did the jackal 'mon raise her head to see Shera watching her, a worried expression on the girl's face.

"I'll be fine, it's just a scratch..."

"That does not look like 'just a scratch', Shan," the red-headed human replied before she held a bottle of something against the she-Lucario's muzzle. "Here, drink. It's another super potion, but it's all I've got... I'm sorry…"

Wordlessly, Shan accepted the offered potion before she raised it to her lips, forcing herself to quickly drain the nasty-tasting contents before she unceremoniously allowed the now empty bottle to fall to the ground in front of her. She was about to say her thanks when she felt the medicine beginning to take effect, her eyes squeezing shut involuntarily. Though it wouldn't heal her more severe wounds completely, it would help to dull the pain for at least a short while longer.

"From what I've gathered from his body language, Dialga wishes to challenge you, Shera," said Professor Rowan as he and his assistant Lucas approached, both stopping to stand near the girl and her wounded Lucario. "He is in pain from being dragged into our world and wishes for you to help ease his suffering."

"We'll take care of your Lucario, don't worry," Lucas added, moving to kneel beside the Aura Pokémon as he unshouldered his pack. The canid's eyes followed his movements as she watched the boy remove a fresh roll of bandages. She set her jaw when Lucas began to dress her chest wound, a small grunt of pain leaving her from the slight amount of pressure caused by the wrappings. "There, good as new.. though that'll probably scar when it heals," he said when he was done, and Shan gave a single nod of thanks when she felt him give the steel ring which covered part of her left shoulder a gentle pat.

Gritting her teeth, the she-Lucario rose to her feet before she moved to sit down close to one of the pillars that were still standing, resting her back against it as she watched the red-headed girl approach the god of time. Shan flattened her ears when the dragon threw his head back, a screeching roar leaving him as he lashed his tail back and forth. She saw her trainer unclip a silvery premier ball from her belt before Shera tossed it into the air, calling out "River!" before the red beam materialized into a large green and blue Gastrodon.

"Ice Beam."

Shan clenched her jaw, knowing that River wasn't exactly the quickest of Shera's Pokémon, but she knew that the sea slug was able to take a beating. Even so, Shan couldn't help but wonder if stamina would be of any help in this situation. Her eyes widened when she saw the sail-like structure on Dialga's back increase in size, the blue diamond embedded within his chest plate beginning to glow before the draconic beast suddenly exhaled a beam of energy towards the Eastern Gastrodon, who had in turn exhaled a thin beam of ice. Despite its appearance, Ice Beam was a powerful attack, but against the lapis lazuli beam of whatever attack Dialga had unleashed, it stood absolutely no chance of getting through...

Dialga stood, remaining quiet as his Roar of Time easily overtook the Ice Beam attack that the sea slug had fired at him, shattering it as if it were nothing more than a fragile strand of crystal. The Gastrodon gave no cry of pain when the lapis lazuli beam struck her, merely losing her balance and falling to her side, unconscious. He heard the girl cry what must have been the Gastrodon's name before she used that same silvery sphere of hers to recall the creature. Was this the best she could do? He saw movement from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to see that Lucario climb to her feet before she rushed forward, reaching out with a paw to stop the human from calling whatever Pokémon resided within the red and white sphere she had unclipped from her belt...

"Shan, seriously, what has gotten into you?"

"Do you honestly think Zaratan can withstand Dialga's attacks, Shera?" Shan asked, her wine-red gaze boring into her trainer's own green eyes. "River couldn't, and she's usually able to withstand anything thrown at her. I want to face Dialga. I don't care that I'm hurt. I just don't want him hurting Zaratan or any of the others like how he hurt River."

The girl sighed, but remained silent before she slowly and hesitantly clipped her Torterra's Pokéball back onto her belt.

"Shera, please. I'm sorry I snapped at you when you tried to help me during my fight against Honchkrow, but this is something I want to do."

"... Fine. I really don't want you fighting him, but if you absolutely have to... go ahead," the girl said with a sigh. "Just... just be careful, all right?"

Shan nodded once before she turned her head to rest her gaze upon the time dragon, keeping her head held high as she strode forward. Her eyes swept over him, taking in every detail. He was quite pleasing to look at; then again, Shan had always had a soft spot for dragons -- a secret she would never admit to another living soul. She swallowed hard when their eyes met, wine-red upon glowing ruby, and she couldn't help but feel so terribly humbled next to this creature... this god-like Pokémon...

He was so beautiful...

"You are injured." Shan jerked when she heard him speak, the suddenness of hearing his voice taking her by complete surprise. "But do not even begin to think that I will show you any mercy, little Lucario. Do you honestly believe that you will be able to right the wrong which I have been forced into?"

"I don't believe that I can, no," Shan replied, her voice trembling in spite of her best efforts to control it, "but I'm going to try my best." 'Without hurting you... hopefully...' she added silently to herself.

'Your 'best' will not be good enough, especially with such an injury..' Dialga thought to himself, eyes narrowing when he saw the she-Lucario dip her head in a slight bow. 'And save your honor for someone who actually cares.'

"Then your test begins," the Temporal Pokémon said, eyes flashing ruby as several large boulders coalesced into existence around him in an attack known as Ancientpower. He jerked his head towards the little Pokémon, sending the boulders hurtling through the air towards her, giving her no time to think without having to react first. "Now."...

Gripping the Quick Claw she wore around her neck, Shan raced forward, nimbly dodging around two of the boulders before she was smacked by one that had come at her beyond the range of her peripheral vision, giving a yelp of pain as she felt herself knocked off her feet and backwards through the air. She flipped, righting herself and recovering her balance, barely able to hold back a second yelp of pain as she landed in a half-crouch, one forepaw on the ground to help her maintain her balance, grateful for the second super potion that Shera had given her after her battle with Honchkrow. Wasting no time, she forced herself to act, kicking up dust and pebbles as she leapt into the air towards the time dragon.

"Shan," Shera's voice came to the canid's ears. "Use Aura Sphere!"

Again, Shan felt a stab of pain as she focused upon channeling aura between the palms of her paws, waiting until she was at the height of her jump before she sent the orb hurtling towards Dialga, aiming for his right shoulder just behind the protective plate upon his chest. She wrinkled her nose, seeing that this Aura Sphere was a bit faint in appearance, but she dismissed it, thinking that it was because of her tiredness. The Aura Pokémon grunted when she landed, her injuries from her earlier battles and from the Ancientpower attack causing her to falter and fall to one knee as she raised a forepaw to rub her right shoulder...

Dialga snarled when the Aura Sphere struck him in the shoulder, a stinging blow that hurt no worse than his own sibling's version of the attack. It was going to take much more than one measly Aura Sphere to even come close to hurting him. Seeing that she was close to him, Dialga reared back onto his hind legs before he slashed down with a taloned forepaw in a Metal Claw attack, a smirk appearing when he felt his claws connecting with their target; however, said smirk quickly faded when he felt that they were raking against what felt like metal, and he saw that she had taken the brunt of the attack against the ring that encircled most of her left shoulder. The dragon gritted his teeth, angry at himself for forgetting that Lucarios were dual Fighting/Steel types, even though they hardly looked like it. She was putting up quite a fight for having been in two battles before this one, but Dialga couldn't help but wonder just what in Arceus's name this Lucario was thinking challenging him with hardly any rest. Not that he cared or anything, but it was pretty crazy...

Shan drew a deep breath through clenched teeth before she slowly exhaled, moving slowly to gather her legs underneath herself in preparation to spring away more quickly and easily if Dialga dared to try to swipe at her again. The effects of the super potions were beginning to wear off, the fiery pain of her injuries beginning to return. The canid forced herself to stand, her form swaying dangerously to one side before she managed to regain her balance. Giving a soft whimper of pain, the she-Lucario raised a paw to briefly touch her bandaged chest, checking to see if the wound had begun bleeding again or not, but she couldn't tell for certain... not yet, at least.

'Always look before you leap, Shan,' Riley's words echoed within her mind, 'and never go rushing headlong into a fight without first pausing to think of the consequences.'

'You're an idiot, Shan. A damn idiot...' she scolded herself silently, having failed to remember and heed both of those warnings, and now here she was, badly injured and in battle with a freaking deity, and for a fleeting moment, she wished that Dialga would just get it over with and kill her for making such a stupid, stupid choice. Her ears twitched, hearing the dragon moving to attack her again, and the Aura Pokémon forced herself to dodge hard to one side, hearing the dragon give a snarl of frustration. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the orangish glow surrounding Dialga's claws beginning to fade... Dragon Claw... He had tried to hit her with Dragon Claw, and, though her Steel sub-typing made her strong against such an attack, Shan knew that she wasn't in any condition to allow another of his attacks to hit her.

She groaned in spite of herself, eyes squeezing shut as she fell to one knee, her breath beginning to come in quick, ragged gasps... and Dialga hardly had a scratch on him. Shan raised her head at the sound of her trainer's voice coming to her ears, commanding her to use a Force Palm attack. Gritting her teeth, the canid forced herself to stand before she leapt into the air towards the temporal dragon, ignoring the pain as she focused upon gathering aura energy around her right paw before she felt herself land upon the same shoulder that her Aura Sphere had struck earlier. Wasting no time, she delivered her Force Palm attack to the same area before she leapt away, hearing Dialga's jaws snapping together just seconds after and knowing that had she been even one second too late, the dragon would have caught her...

Dialga hissed when he felt his teeth meet nothing but empty air, hearing that human girl scream her Lucario's name. A snack would have been nice after having been dragged out of his own dimension and into this one; then again, Lucarios probably didn't taste that good anyway. Holding back a roar of frustration, he concentrated, preparing to unleash his Roar of Time. Enough was enough, he was through playing around with this jackal 'mon... until he felt a jolt of pain lance through him, causing him to snarl and grit his teeth. The time dragon shook his head, once again preparing his attack, only to be stopped when he realized that he wasn't able to move. Wait... what?! How could this have happened to him?! Then he realized... that Lucario's last attack.

"What did you do to me, you little..." he snarled, his sentence cut off when another stab of pain caused him to clench his teeth and growl.

"Force Palm..." she replied, remaining still as she watched him, despite the fact that her entire body was trembling from lack of much-needed rest. "It has a chance to paralyze an opponent when it hits..."

'Bah!' he thought angrily, not noticing that the girl had tossed something in his direction until he felt something tap him lightly on the side of the neck. There was a red light before Dialga felt himself being pulled into blackness. Red... no... NO... he would not allow himself to be controlled again...! He struggled against the pull, giving a screech of rage as he felt the... thing... free him. He glanced down, seeing that it was one of those damned spheres, but this one was black and yellow in coloration. Curling his upper lip, Dialga raised a clawed forepaw before he brought it down hard, the sound of the sphere crunching underneath his forepaw music to his ears.

He had been too preoccupied in destroying the thing to notice that the girl had tossed yet another one at him until he felt a second light tap, this time against his chest plate, along with a more purplish-black beam of light, before he was once again pulled into darkness. Again, Dialga tried to struggle and fight the pull, but he felt a wave of pain from that damn, damn, damn paralysis wash over him, keeping his body from obeying his mind's commands. With a sigh, the draconic Pokémon closed his eyes, giving in to the hold. If this was punishment for him fighting with his sister and nearly destroying that human dwelling place in the process, then... so be it. Before he slipped into unconsciousness, Dialga allowed himself one final thought:

'You win... ... ... Shan.'...

The Lucario shook her head, trying to keep her vision from blurring again as she kept her attention focused upon the Dusk Ball which was now on the ground, rocking back and forth until the center flashed green, and the sphere fell still, signaling that the catch was a success. Ignoring the pain of her injured, tired body, Shan moved to crouch before the sphere which now contained the beautiful dragon, before she moved to grasp it firmly within a paw.

"I'm sorry, Lord Dialga. I hope that someday you'll find it in your heart to forgive us for doing this," she whispered, holding the Dusk Ball against her chest for a long moment, her eyes closing. With a long, drawn-out sigh, Shan slowly rose to her feet, the sphere containing Dialga still grasped firmly in her paw, before she moved to rejoin her trainer and the other two humans near the Spear Pillar's exit.