At Sootopolis City, everyone feels astonished when Emerald says that there must still be something they can do. The boy turns to Zinnia, and wants to know why only the Draconids are allowed to bond with Rayquaza. He points out that Rayquaza has allowed both Ruby and Sapphire to ride on its back, and even acquired the move 'Dragon Ascent'. Although this may not be what Zinnia envisioned, they have technically fulfilled what is said in the lore. Moreover, he fails to understand why 'lore' and 'science' must be mutually exclusive when it comes to protecting their planet. He believes that there are things that only the Draconids know since their lore regarding the asteroid dates back to thousands of years ago. If they all share their knowledge and supplement each other's inadequacies, he sees no reason why they wouldn't be able to work something out.

Joseph Stone and Zinnia remain silent at Emerald's words, and steal a look at one another. Emerald understands that they need time to sort out their emotions, but if Joseph Stone really wishes to apologize to the Draconids and Zinnia really wants to prove the scope of her imagination, they should really work together for the sake of their planet.

Steven shares Emerald's sentiments and turns to his father, but the Devon President still feels hesitant. Zinnia decides to speak up first, and reveals that the Lorekeeper not only needs to bond with the dragon lord but must also go into space, where the dragon lord would Mega Evolve and destroy the asteroid with Dragon Ascent. The word 'space' startles everyone, and Zinnia explains that Rayquaza can Mega Evolve even without a Mega Stone because it has an organ in its body which turns meteoroids, its main source of food, into energy that is equivalent to that in Mega Evolution. In order to bond with the dragon lord, one must have a large number of Keystones, and the 5 she currently holds, 3 from Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, and 2 belonging to Aster and herself, are certainly not enough.

Joseph Stone suddenly realizes that Rayquaza envelops its body with ozone constantly because this enables it to move freely in space. However, Steven is bewildered by what this means for the Lorekeeper since ozone is a toxic gas despite containing oxygen needed for survival in space. Zinnia states that the Lorekeeper's duty is simply to Mega Evolve the dragon lord and let it execute its move. There is no consideration of what happens after and how the Lorekeeper would return from space. This perhaps, is the reason why only Draconids are supposed to shoulder this mission. At that moment, a radical hits Joseph Stone, and he believes that there is something they can help with this part of the mission. He quickly turns to Steven, and recalls having heard that there are former Devon researchers among the Team Aqua and Magma members seized by the Frontier Brains. He thinks their talent may play a role and wants Steven to bring them to him as soon as possible.

Just then, a voice interrupts the group, and everyone turns around in surprise to see an unusual combination consisting of the Kanto Dex Holders Red and Blue, the leader of Team Rocket Giovanni, as well as the former Team Aqua and Magma admins Amber and Blaise. Red and Blue find it hard to explain how things came about, but Giovanni cuts them short, and wants to know what kind of being is the giant asteroid. He questions Zinnia if it is really just a mere asteroid, and the young Draconid fails to understand what he means. Giovanni states that Mega Evolution can only be activated in battles, but they seem to have an interesting phenomenon at hand. With that, he motions his Beedrill to face the asteroid, and manages to Mega Evolve it with the Keystone sewn on his jacket's front pocket. Red and Blue prove that it isn't only Giovanni's Pokemon by Mega Evolving Saur and Blasty, while Amber and Blaise do the same to Sharpedo and Camerupt, which they inherited from their deceased leaders along with their Mega Anchor and Mega Glasses.

Stunned by what this implies, Steven remembers Prof. Cozmo also once mentioned that the asteroid suddenly changed course as if it had its own will. Coupled with the fact that Rayquaza must undergo Mega Evolution to tackle the asteroid, evidence seems to suggest that this object from space could be a Pokemon. Red turns to Giovanni at the thought of a Pokemon from space, and the man's frown deepens despite remaining silent. Blue gathers the Hoenn Dex Holders, and reminds them how Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre and Rayquaza managed to destroy the smaller asteroid earlier with their combined powers. She believes that if they have enough Pokemon firing off attacks together from the ground, they may just be able to slow down the incoming asteroid. Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald realize that they are mixing 'lore', 'science' and 'nature' in their current strategy, and are thrilled that there are indeed still things that they can do.

And so, the group starts working to get all the help they need. A few hours later, preparatory work to stop the asteroid commences at Sootopolis City following the arrival the Frontier Brains, the Elite 4, the Gymleaders, as well as top scientists in the Hoenn region. Inside a tent, Joseph Stone, the Trick Master, Shelly and Tabitha discuss on the technology required to safeguard the Lorekeeper. The Trick Master proposes connecting the Lorekeeper to Sootopolis City with the Link Cable, and Tabitha thinks vitals can be monitored remotely by the suit's life support system. Shelly worries that the amount of Infinity Energy required for warping is inadequate, but Joseph believes that after taking into account the target's mass and distance, the energy created during the asteroid's destruction should suffice. Meanwhile, Emerald contacts Gold, Silver and Crystal via telecom, and wants them to get the involvement of the Gymleaders and Elite 4 of the Kanto and Johto region. Gold mentions that they also have fashion boy's father with them, and tells Emerald to 'worry no less', although Silver quickly corrects him and says it should be 'worry no more'.

Outside, Ruby introduces Sapphire to Grannie, and the old lady thanks the group for helping the Draconids redeem themselves in a way. She acknowledges that Ruby and Sapphire own a pair of closely-bonded Gardevoir and Gallade and offers them their respective Mega Stones, but Sapphire squeals with embarrassment upon hearing phrase 'closely-bonded' and gives a friendly slap on Grannie's back, causing Renza, Jinga and Tomatoma to go wide-eyed. Steven takes out a large glass jar which he wishes to return to the Draconids, and everyone is shocked to see that it contains many Keystones. Steven explains that they were all retrieved at the Embedded Tower nine years ago after Devon captured Rayquaza, and believes that they belonged to Aster who used them to bond with the dragon lord.

Zinnia wonders if Steven's Keystone and those he gave to the Hoenn Dex Holders came from the same batch, but Steven quickly comes clean and reveals that his Keystones were given to him by a Mega Evolution Guru whom he met in the Kalos region while he was collecting stones. Ruby is intrigued by this Mega Evolution Guru, and Steven explains this Guru passed on the skill of Mega Evolution to him and also gave him the privilege to teach it to others. In fact, before he left Kalos, an overseas student from another region also arrived to learn about the heritage.

Grannie recalls that there were Draconids who migrated to other regions, and believes that this Guru may be one of their descendents. Zinnia wears a big smile as she takes the jar from Steven, and is overjoyed that they finally have enough Keystones to bond with the dragon lord. However, in the next instant, she passes out without warning, and shatters the jar as she collapses onto the ground. Renza, Jinga and Tomatoma rush over to help her while everyone else gasps in astonishment, but Sapphire catches a glimpse of Ruby's contemplative face, and knows that he must be up to something again.

After settling Zinnia down, Ruby walks the streets of Sootopolis, and remarks to Sapphire that the young woman must have exhausted herself in a dire attempt to fulfill her duty as a Lorekeeper. He recalls the hard blow she received from Rayquaza, and thinks it is clearly impossible for her to go into space with her current physical condition. With their Mega Bracelets back, he thinks they should return Emerald's as soon as possible, but Sapphire stops him, and demands to know if he is contemplating something bad again.

Ruby quickly gets defensive and wonders what she means, and Sapphire states that he must be planning on becoming the Lorekeeper himself and going into space with Rayquaza on his own. Ruby says she is thinking too much, and Sapphire reminds him that she has said she would never forgive him if he abandons her again. Ruby assures her that he remembers well, which is why he isn't planning on that, but Sapphire still isn't convinced and says he always comes up with stupid ideas when he puts on the contemplative look like he did when Zinnia collapsed.

Suddenly, someone calls out to Ruby, and the sound of a car engine can be heard from above. The two look up to see that it is Wallace's air-car, with not only Wallace but also Lisia, Juan, Tate and Liza on board. Ruby hurries over to Lisia as she disembarks, and cries that he has been expecting her. Lisia remarks that she is really terrified and says she didn't expect things to become so dreadful. Ruby tells her not to worry as everyone is working to solve the crisis, and promises to take part in her live Contest broadcasts again when everything is over. As Ruby and Lisia chat away, Wallace, Juan, Tate and Liza walk over to greet Sapphire, but are quickly startled by the apparent anger brewing in the girl.

Lisia hands over a package to Ruby, and he quickly thanks her as he decides to introduce her to Sapphire. However, as he turns around, Sapphire is nowhere to be seen. Wallace, Juan, Tate and Liza gesture to their right with uncanny faces, and Ruby is astonished that Sapphire has walked off. He hurriedly runs after her with the package, but Sapphire sends out her Gallade, Kirry, to chase him off. Somewhat reluctant, Kirry swings its blade-like arms at Ruby absentmindedly, and the boy doesn't understand what is going on. He quickly gets his Gardevoir to block off Kirry's strikes, and Rara lets out a sigh as it fights.

Ruby asks Sapphire to hear him out, but Sapphire refuses, and barks that his behavior is always so irritating, not only his touchiness with the idol girl but also words like 'has been expecting her' and 'being in live broadcasts together again'. Ruby realizes that Sapphire must be getting wrong ideas about him and Lisia and tells her to calm down. However, Sapphire hollers that she cannot and proceeds to Mega Evolve Kirry into Mega Gallade. Left with no choice, Ruby Mega Evolves Rara into Mega Gardevoir as well, and knocks Kirry back with a pulse of energy.

Ruby explains that Lisia is the niece of his teacher Wallace, and he has asked her to deliver his Contest outfits. Sapphire is furious that his mind is still on Contests at such critical times, and Ruby reveals that they are outfits he made specifically for Sapphire and himself, which instantly stuns Sapphire. Ruby states that it is indeed not a time for Contests or outfits, but he would really want to see Sapphire wear them and has thus requested Lisia to bring them over. Wearing a serious look, the boy speaks from his heart and hopes that Sapphire could put on the outfit and become a Lorekeeper along with him. He admits that as Sapphire expected, he initially had plans to go alone as a Lorekeeper. However, when Zinnia said that the Lorekeeper may not be able to return from space, he became scared. When Zinnia collapsed, he wondered how he should react if Sapphire volunteered to be the one to enter space with Rayquaza. Earlier, Sapphire vanished into Hoopa's golden ring, and the next thing he knew, she was battling Zinnia and falling from the rocket. Afterwards, they finally met, but Sapphire lost her voice and couldn't speak. Through all this, he was unsettled and worried, and felt that he shouldn't have left her side. His thoughts were a mess, since he doesn't want to leave her, yet doesn't want her to be in harm's way either. On the other hand, he wishes to safeguard their planet, and safeguard this Hoenn region which she loves. That said, he has made up his mind, and asks that Sapphire come to space with him and stay by his side until the very end. Overwhelmed by Ruby's confession, Sapphire keeps her stare at Ruby for a moment and suddenly collapses, causing the boy to jump in shock.

Meanwhile, Prof. Cozmo and his Assistants have finished analyzing the components of the meteoroids that have fallen before the giant asteroid. To their shock, they are not only similar but actually identical to the meteorite Cozmo mined 4 years ago. The only difference is that the mass of the incoming asteroid has increased several ten thousands of times. The nonchalant Assistant thinks it would be confusing if they adopt the same naming, and decides to call the new asteroid the Grand Meteor Delta.

Later that night, Ruby and Sapphire visits Zinnia at the Sootopolis medical unit, and Zinnia is shocked that the two of them plan to bond with the dragon lord. She reminds them that they may turn into space dust and not be able to return afterwards, but Ruby gestures towards the many tents outside the window and grins that it is to prevent this that everyone has gathered. He states that it is idiotic to exchange one's own life to save the planet and he himself hates the notion of self sacrifice. That said, both he and Sapphire would succeed in destroying the giant asteroid and come back alive.

Zinnia wants to know if Sapphire is really up for it, and Sapphire assures her that she is. She giggles that Ruby even declared in tears that not even death can do them apart, and Ruby quickly objects that he wasn't in tears. Sapphire insists that he was crying like how Mumu always had snot under its nose, and Ruby is appalled to hear that. The two's bickering causes Zinnia to break out in laughter and hurt from her wound, and she truly wishes that she could have met them both under different circumstances. Ruby agrees with a whistle but is quickly elbowed by Sapphire. Sapphire then tells Zinnia that they wish to know her better and there is still much that they want to talk about, which is why she must wait for their return. Hearing that, the young Draconid feels a little warmth filling her heart, and responds with a nod after a moment of thought. Outside, Zinnia's Salamence and Sapphire's Rono watch on, and are glad that their trainers are no longer at odds with each other.

The next morning, Emerald and Trick Master head over to Ruby and Sapphire to inform them that modifications on the Aqua and Magma Suits have completed. However, they are most surprised to see that the two have changed into the Contest outfits that Ruby has made…

Countdown to the asteroid's impact: 1 day!