High up in the skies, the three mysterious men who soar on Flygons call forward Slowbro, Mawile and Sableye to attack, and Mega Latios quickly breathes out a barrage of energy to ward them off. To Ruby's shock, the three Pokemon land in mid-air as if they are standing on solid ground, and the boy exclaims that it is unbelievable. The men once again demand to know what Ruby was doing at the Sky Pillar, but Ruby wouldn't give his answer until the men divulge their identity. The chubby bald guy introduces himself as Renza, the bearded guy Jinga, the guy with hair covering his eyes Tomatoma, and the three reveal themselves to be Draconids.

Without another word, Jinga activates the Keystone on his wrist, and Mega Evolves his Slowbro. He promptly commands a Yawn, and Ruby gets worried as it hits Latios directly. Latios assures Ruby that it is fine, and struggles to stay awake as it voices out its bewilderment that their opponents can also Mega Evolve. Ruby thinks it is not unexpected since they are also Draconids, and believes them to be comrades of Zinnia. However, his comment immediately draws protest from the men, who firmly deny the fact, much to Ruby's surprise.

Mega Slowbro follows up with a Focus Blast, and Mega Latios raises its wing to shield itself. Jinga wagers that Ruby must be an affiliate of Zinnia, and Tomatoma demands to know what he has discussed with Zinnia and what they intend to do. Ruby cries that he has genuinely no idea what they are talking about, and clings tight onto Mega Latios as it hovers around to dodge the attacks of its opponents, who are apparently moving at ease despite not being flying types. Ruby is curious to know why the three Pokemon can walk on air, and Latios explains that they are standing on cloud lines. It turns out that when dragon types fly, they leave behind things called cloud lines which are normally invisible to the human eye. However, for Draconids who have lived alongside dragon Pokemon for a long time, their kind are able to see them. Tomatoma explains that when cloud lines intersect, it forms a solid platform, and it is the reason why their Pokemon can stand in mid-air. The man plans to elaborate more, but Ruby has lost interest in the topic and cuts him short, much to Tomatoma's irritation.

Ruby wants to know why the men call themselves Draconids when they deny to be affiliated with Zinnia, and says he thought they attacked him because he works with Devon and is an obstacle to their scheme. Both Jinga and Tomatoma gasp in bewilderment upon hearing his words, and Renza quickly calls for a time-out. The three men gather among themselves to discuss on the issue, leaving Ruby aside, and when they finally reach an agreement, they decide to halt their battle and clarify with the boy what exactly Zinnia told him. Ruby states that Zinnia said the Draconids have been aware of the planet's crisis since 1000 years ago, and also know of a method to prevent it which has been passed down through generations of Successors. He says Zinnia also called herself the current authentic Successor, and regarded Devon as her enemy.

The three men frown and wear troubled looks as Ruby speaks, and the boy wonders if the information isn't true after all. Jinga relents that it is indeed the whole village's decision to make Zinnia the Successor, but Tomatoma cries that the three of them will never recognize and accept it. Renza states that their one true Successor is Aster and no other, and Ruby is flabbergasted to hear that the authentic Successor is actually the woman's Whismur. His remark makes the three men cringe with pain, and they quickly deny it. They could understand why Ruby got the wrong impression however, and blame Zinnia for making things unnecessarily complicated.

Renza reveals that in truth, the proper Successor chosen by their clan is a girl named Aster, who was highly talented and possessed special powers. Unfortunately, Aster is no longer around, and a replacement had to be sought, which was eventually decided by their people to be Zinnia. Yet, Zinnia does not possess any special powers, and her battling skills are far from adequate either. Jinga sighs that there were people like them who opposed to Zinnia's succession to the role, but their opinion were ruled over by the majority. Ruby gasps in realization that Zinnia actually doesn't have the power required to avert the planet's crisis, and his speculation is confirmed by the three men. Renza asks if Zinnia was carrying around some kind of scroll when they met, but upon thinking, Ruby doesn't recall seeing any.

At that moment, Tomatoma senses something coming from above, and calls out for Ruby to dodge sideways. Before Ruby could figure out what is going on, a giant burning rock plummets from the sky, and narrowly misses him before crashing into the sea. Ruby bolts with horror, and wonders what it was. The three men explain that it is a meteorite, which is one of the many smaller asteroids that accompany the gigantic one. They explain that smaller particles often land before the core one, but that implies that it won't be too long before the giant asteroid arrives. Renza sighs that Zinnia will not be able to save their planet, because she doesn't have any bonds with the dragon lord. He thinks that perhaps if the dragon lord has allowed her to ride on its back and soar the skies with it, they wouldn't have opposed to her being the next Successor.

Renza's words strike a chord in Ruby's mind, and he suddenly recalls the time when he rode on Rayquaza with his father to quell the fight between Groudon and Kyogre at Sootopolis. Just then, Tomatoma senses more incoming meteors from above, and tells everyone to pay heed. In the next instant, a shower of meteorites plunge from the skies, and the three men decide to make their departure after apologizing to Ruby for taking up his time. As for Ruby, he remains engrossed in his thoughts, and Mega Latios warns that they should immediately leave the scene as well. However, Ruby suddenly loses balance and falls off the back of Latios. The psychic dragon quickly catches him by the wrist, but unfortunately gets hit by a falling meteor on its back during the process. Shrieking in pain, Mega Latios begins to fall, and plummets into the sea along with Ruby.

A while later, Ruby wakes up to find himself inside a cave. He is alarmed to see that his clothes are completely soiled with mud, and gets even more upset when he discovers that he didn't bring any spares. He quickly checks on his team, Kiki the Delcatty, Nana the Mightyena, Feefee the Milotic, and Fofo the Castform, and is glad that they are alright. He wonders where Latios has gone, and soon hears the psychic dragon's telepathic reply from behind. He turns around, and sees that Latios is accompanied by a humanoid Pokemon whose body is made up of shimmering pink diamonds. Latios explains that the Pokemon rescued them from the sea, and believes that it resides in the cave.

Upon a closer look, Ruby finds himself completely floored by the beauty and cuteness of the Pokemon, and immediately reaches out to grasp its hands. He invites it to take part in the Cuteness category of Contests with him, and says it will certainly astonish and fascinate everyone. However, just as quickly as he got excited, Ruby suddenly becomes withdrawn, and his smile vanishes as he lets go and silently slumps against the floor. Latios wonders if he is alright, and Ruby sighs that it simply feels different after seeing the truth with his own eyes. Latios doesn't understand what he is talking about, and Ruby explains that after he saw the shower of meteorites, he was forced to face the reality that a giant asteroid is really coming, which sent him into despair.

Ruby grins bitterly that he never expected to feel so much agony when thinking about the future, and wonders what he has been doing for the past two days. In less than 10 days, the world is coming to an end. Instead of being consumed by despair and insecurity, he thought it is perhaps better not to know the truth and just continue life without any worries. It may also not be a bad thing if all humans and Pokemon simply turn into dust without pain in an instant, which is why he kept the crisis a secret to the ones around him and ventured off on his own. However, he is mistaken. The image of Sapphire flashes across his mind, and he admits to be hiding his insecurity because he thought he could stop fearing it if he doesn't acknowledge it. He mocks himself for being no different from 4 years ago when he tried to protect Sapphire by keeping her out, and scorns himself for always trying to play cool and locking up his true feelings.

With his hands trembling, tears well up in Ruby's eyes and he cries out that he wishes to live on and enjoy life. He states that there are still many things he hopes to do and have yet to achieve, just like showing the world the beauty and cuteness of the pink jewel Pokemon, which is almost like a walking gem. He yearns to hear the audience's excitement upon seeing the Pokemon, and thinks they can even incorporate Mega Evolution into Contest, which would surely escalate everyone's exhilaration to new heights. He recalls that the Cosplay Pikachus have yet to see the public, and says he also made matching clothes for trainers based on himself and Sapphire, since the girl has agreed to partake in Contests with him after he accompanied her on the wild Pokemon habitat study trip. Unfortunately, their world is coming to an end.

Ruby falls onto all fours as he breaks down in tears, and Latios could only show its support in silence while the pink diamond Pokemon wonders what to do. A moment later, Ruby lets out a sigh of relief, and is glad that he aired everything out. Latios wants to know if he is alright, and the boy acknowledges with a grin. He wipes the tears off his eyes, and gets back onto his feet, thinking on what to do next. After learning so much new information, it is clear that he should make a change to what he has been doing, and Latios suggests checking on what the others are doing with its Sight Sharing. Ruby recalls that Latios has used the same ability at the Battle Frontier, and the psychic dragon explains that it can share visions in the form of memories with its sister, Latias, who has gone after Emerald. Ruby wagers that they must still be at Dewford, and Latios reveals that they have apparently changed locations.

Closing its eyes, Latios projects the vision of Latias to Ruby, and the boy finds himself standing in what appears to be some kind of boiler room in a ship. Sapphire's Blaziken Chic and Emerald's Sceptile stand on two large circular platforms sit in the middle of the room, which have tubes that connect to some suction devices on top. On the side rails, Joseph Stone motions Sapphire and Emerald to proceed, and the two Dex Holders activate their Keystones to Mega Evolve Chic and Sceptile. Joseph then wants them to get the Pokemon into the mode of using the ultimate attacks, but not actually firing them off. He explains that by building up the voltage to unleash the ultimate attacks, their bioenergy can be greatly heightened. Sapphire and Emerald do as they are told so, and both Sceptile and Chic charge themselves up with the energy of Frenzy Plant and Blast Burn, while holding it within their bodies.

Soon, the entire Sea Mauville begins to rumble, and Steven presses on the command panel to activate the Absorber. In the next instant, the suction devices above the platforms start to draw the bioenergy of Mega Blaziken and Mega Sceptile, and fill it into the Dimensional Shifter after conversion. However, the painful looks on the Pokemon's faces alarm Sapphire, Emerald and Ultima, and Latias, who has been watching the scene in secrecy, trembles with fear and closes it eyes as it turns its head away.

The vision projected to Ruby disappears the moment Latias closes its eyes, and Ruby wonders what is going on. Latios explains that the sight seems too painful for Latias to bear, and Ruby questions what exactly Devon is trying to do. He then wears a determined look, and tells Latios that they must go and talk to Steven. He climbs onto Latios's back together with the pink diamond Pokemon, and the psychic dragon wants to know if he plans to tell Devon to back off and leave things to Zinnia. However, to its surprise, Ruby replies that it is no longer what he intends to do, and recalls what the Draconids say about one can only be a true Successor if Rayquaza allows him to ride on its back and soar the skies with it. Grasping his Mega Bracelet, Ruby states that neither Zinnia nor Devon will be the ones to stop the asteroid. Rather, it would be him…

Countdown to the asteroid's impact: 7 days!