Back to the Roots

"Back to the Roots" (stylized as BΔck to the Roots) is the 27th episode of Tears of the Fallen.

Synopsis
Still in Eterna City, Alain guides the others to look for Kowamote where they are. Nearby, they see two statues of the Legendary Pokémon, Dialga and Palkia. Dawn goes to Ash, extremely worried about him. She asks if he's okay, which he confirms. She expresses doubt on if it's right for Ash to become a Manipulator, but Ash assures her it's fine and that they'll all survive this mission.

Barry then finally expresses to Alain that he wants to become a Dark Manipulator. This confuses and angers others, mainly Zoey and Kenny, the latter of whom thought Barry wouldn't return to these thoughts after the talk they had. Barry mentions the voice is still tempting him; Alain remarks that the voice is Barry's conscience, which has become corrupted somehow. He then sheds light that Barry cannot become another Manipulator since he's already Electric, not to mention that if anyone tried to become a Dark Manipulator these days, they would die.

Unexpectedly, Dawn comes up and talks to Barry. She assures him that he doesn't need a powerful Manipulation and that he can bring Paul back on his own. More words from her cheer him up. Suddenly, the Dark Plate then appears and falls into Dawn's hands, alarming everyone!

Dawn reveals that she planned this just now. When she saw Barry struggling with darkness, she figured that if she "healed" him of those evil feelings, the Plate would appear in this location, since Alain tracked the Plate to be somewhere in this area. Alain then realizes the reason it appeared close to the statues is because Dialga and Palkia created the world with Arceus long ago. The former two became enemies of Arceus, though, creating darkness in the world, stating the statues are symbolic of that darkness. Everyone is glad that the Dark Plate has been retrieved.

Ursula then says she has to leave from the group and get back to her family. She confirms she'll return later to officially join the Mokusetsu and become a Manipulator. Before leaving, she whispers to Dawn that she'll let Misty and Iris know Dawn is with the Mokusetsu and that she better pay those taxes or things will get worse. Dawn stammers nervously.

Now that we're back to 6 people, Ash begins his meditation to become an Electric Manipulator, as Dawn worriedly watches. Around 8 minutes into the meditation, however, Ash thinks in his mind about how worried Dawn was earlier. Alain quickly yanks Ash up and ends the meditation, feeling that Ash was not focused enough and saving him from death from the Plate, had it continued longer. The meditation ends, as everyone else is worried.

Alain says that Ash can try meditating again after the last Plate in Sinnoh, which he reveals to be Fushigi, the Psychic Plate, located in Floaroma Town. This is the second and last Plate he already knows the location of because of it being the second one Arceus had to know the location of, the other one from earlier being Shizuku. For now, Alain trains Barry with his Electric Manipulation.

During this, most of what happens next is Ash and Dawn having a deep, peaceful, heart-to-heart conversation about life and how things are in the world. A lot is discussed, including Ash's contrasting personality during his childhood, him wishing he was there on the night the Tekiyoku ruined Dawn's life on her birthday, Dawn's poetry hobby, and more.

What sticks out is that Dawn starts speaking to confess her feelings to Ash. Nothing interrupts her. She's about to say it, but then she turns away and starts crying. She just tells him it's because she's still shaken up by all that happened to her. More conversation continues as the two are prepared for the upcoming battle over the Psychic Plate in Floaroma Town.

Debuts

 * None

Trivia

 * This is the longest conversation (shown at once in the series) between Ash and Dawn up to this point.
 * More was planned to be included in this episode, such as another Tekiyoku-planning session as they prepare for the upcoming battle for the Psychic Plate, but it had to be cut for time.

Music

 * Tears of the Fallen Theme Song -- composed by Nocturnal Jay

Other Music By:

 * Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com)
 * Bensound
 * Purple Planet