Chapter 644: I Will Shoot You Down Right Here!

"Alarm! Alarm!"

Inside the laboratory, instruments connected to LaRousse City's urban management system emitted incessant, piercing alarm sounds.

But at this moment, Professor Lund and the others could not attend to such things; one after another, they turned their gazes toward the meteorite situated at the center of the laboratory.

Only just now had they discovered that their team's efforts over the past four years had not been in vain.

Even though the physical regeneration function had not yet been activated, miraculously, Deoxys's consciousness had awakened first and even become friends with Professor Lund's son, Chao!

This also meant that the direction of their research was correct; next, they only needed to carry out the practical implementation.

"Bimi?"

Placing its small hand on the exposed part of a device resembling an interface, Victini tilted its head, as if asking whether they only needed to release energy there.

"That's right; once we give the signal, you channel energy into that spot!"

Professor Lund nodded quickly, his eyes becoming several degrees more focused.

Some time had passed since the external quarantine of LaRousse City was lifted; naturally, the wind had once again favored this city, and the external wind-power generation equipment had already accumulated enough electricity to start the awakening device at maximum load.

Through calculation and estimation, performing laser irradiation twice at full load should be sufficient to activate Deoxys's regeneration function.

—But the current situation was a race against time; the continuous explosions from outside made it clear in their hearts that a fierce battle was underway.

Luo Mu was, by his own strength, delaying two Rayquaza bearing the title of Sky Dragons, as well as the footsteps of another Deoxys, an alien Pokémon that had descended from outer space.

To break the deadlock, they had to do exactly as Luo Mu had said: awaken the second Deoxys.

—Whether Fou Cheng Gong could succeed hinged on whether the energy shared by Victini was truly as Satoshi had claimed.

Taking a deep breath, Professor Lund without hesitation pushed the switch up to its maximum limit.

"Laser irradiation!"

Four streams of pure blue laser shot out from the device, striking the green core crystal.

The intense light nearly covered the entire laboratory; Haruka and the others instinctively used their arms to block the glare, their eyes half-open and half-squinted.

The twin sisters held hands, their faces tense as they whispered softly, "... Did it succeed?"

"No; we are still nearly fifty percent short of the output peak required for awakening; with only the current output, we are still far from enough."

Gazing at the screen before her, Yuko watched the rapidly scrolling data reflected in her eyes and murmured in a low voice.

"Victini, I'm counting on you!"

Without hesitation, she turned her head and shouted toward the rear.

"Yoshi, let's go!"

Crouched beside Victini, Satoshi roared loudly.

Victini nodded, and a golden aura surged upward, flowing entirely into the interface.

In an instant, the laser's output power immediately surpassed its former peak!

"Ohhhhh—!"

"The wavelength is synchronizing!"

Professor Lund's eyes instantly widened.

He had never expected that such an all-purpose energy actually existed in this world!

It was not merely supplementing energy; Victini could even, defying all logic, cause the awakening device's power output to far exceed the limits established during its design!

If that were the case, it would work!

As if sensing its own imminent awakening, the aggregate of light bearing Deoxys's consciousness, which stayed beside Chao, became excited.

Waves beyond its control began to diffuse outward as the awakening experiment continued.

With the entire laboratory as the focal point, a brilliant aurora instantly bloomed in the sky above.

Even though it was still daytime, and even for those staying in the sea areas far from LaRousse City, that aurora was clearly visible.

Naturally, the three Legendary and Mythical Pokémon currently engaged in combat with the Pokémon sent out by Luo Mu all noticed the existence of the aurora.

Catching Mimikyu's Shadow Claw with its tentacle-like arms, Deoxys, whose body had sunk into the ground under the influence of the powerful force, paused slightly; then, without hesitation, it erupted with psychic power to break free from Mimikyu's suppression, transformed into its Speed Forme, and made as if to rush toward that direction.

The Hoenn Rayquaza, which now bore numerous wounds and was no longer as composed as before, also remembered its original purpose at this moment.

Eliminate the intruders who had invaded its territory!

Moreover, this time the auras of both had appeared together; it could not let this opportunity slip away.

"Sssraaaww—!"

Letting out a roar toward the sky, the Rayquaza, possessing an advantage in aerial combat, ceased struggling against Mega Swampert and flew directly toward the direction of the aurora.

"Oh no, that direction is—!"

Ignoring her dripping wet uniform, Miss Miss Junsha's expression changed, and she instinctively piloted her boat to chase after the departing Hoenn Rayquaza.

Luo Mu's voice also rang out from the loudspeaker.

"Swampert, follow it! Do not let it interfere with Deoxys's regeneration!"

"Lagu!"

Mega Swampert nodded slightly, riding the waves as it gave chase directly.

Soon, it reached the shore.

Although Mega Swampert was an amphibious Pokémon, its speed on land was indeed inferior to its speed in water.

It would have to expend some effort to catch up.

A trace of determination flashed in Mega Swampert's eyes; its leg muscles tensed, and then it suddenly stomped the ground!

Accompanied by the cracking and depression of the ground, Mega Swampert's figure instantly shot high into the air, and one could faintly hear the sharp whistling sound of air being drawn in and then expelled.

That was Mega Swampert utilizing air currents as thrust to propel itself forward at an even faster speed.

Leaving behind a string of afterimages, relying on its terrifying explosive power, Mega Swampert directly chose a method that would consume a large amount of stamina to pursue the figure of the Hoenn Rayquaza.

"... So fast!"

Miss Miss Junsha, who had also landed at Port Number 3, narrowed her pupils slightly, marveling at the speed brought about by the Mega Swampert's unparalleled explosive power.

But she did not forget her duty and immediately threw out a Poké Ball.

"Feng Su Gou, take me over there!"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Luo Mu and Luxray were facing off against the Shiny Rayquaza.

Compared to the fierce battle over by the Mega Swampert, in truth, from the moment he arrived here, Luxray and the Shiny Rayquaza had barely exchanged a few blows.

The opponent's gaze shifted left and right, as if waiting for something.

Luo Mu understood clearly; the Shiny Rayquaza was searching for the figures of Lei Guan Wang and Ice Rider.

It possessed such an arrogant nature by default that it remained largely uninterested in an opponent it had once crushed, its mind entirely focused on seeking revenge against Lei Guan Wang.

Facing such a Shiny Rayquaza, Luo Mu chuckled.

"Give it up, Lei Guan Wang will not come; your only opponents are us."

The Shiny Rayquaza's pair of bright golden dragon eyes turned toward Luo Mu; it had a very deep impression of this human.

Whether it was commanding the Mega Swampert to land a punch on it at the very beginning, or later speaking up to let Lei Guan Wang find Xie Fa to restrict its speed, everything had been driven by him behind the scenes.

Therefore, the moment it perceived the other's aura, it immediately set out to seek revenge.

It just happened to encounter that junior, who was also flying in this direction and not too bright in the head, along the way, wasting quite a bit of time due to their skirmish.

But regardless, now it was here, and the other party was still standing before its eyes; that was enough.

The Shiny Rayquaza had no interest in anything else.

It merely curled the corners of its mouth, responding to Luo Mu's declaration with action.

—As long as I beat you all down, that fellow will surely appear!

Brilliant dragon flames erupted from the Shiny Rayquaza's gaping maw, sounding the horn to restart the conflict.

"Luxray—Thunder Fang!"

Luo Mu gripped the throttle tightly, his heart beginning to beat rapidly, his blood seeming as if it were burning up.

Compared to the remote control used over by the Mega Swampert, from this moment on, he clearly realized and perceived the fact that he was now directly confronting one of the world's most powerful Legendary Pokémon!

It was truly exhilarating!

"Meow-ao—"

Luxray planted its front paws on the cracked ground, dazzling electric light dancing between its sharp fangs, then transforming into a pair of massive lightning fangs to bite down on the Dragon Pulse!

With a shake of its head from Luxray, the Dragon Pulse was directly torn apart, turning into a sky full of flames.

At the same time, Luxray did not stop its feet and began to accelerate.

"Roar-ang!" Rayquaza swung its dragon tail, easily slicing a massive shipping container in half at the waist, while simultaneously diving low in flight toward Luxray.

For an opponent it had already defeated, there was no possibility of avoidance!

Simultaneously, the Shiny Rayquaza's mouth began to churn once again with its most frequently used move.

"Hyper Beam"!

The purple-black Hyper Beam pierced through every building and obstacle in its path, melting a passage wide enough for the Shiny Rayquaza to pass through, and continued its momentum unabated as it shot fiercely toward Luxray.

"Wild Charge!"

Luxray's entire body flashed with violent electric currents, like Lei Ting rushing forth, crashing boldly into the Hyper Beam blasting toward it.

Boom!

Amidst the violent explosion, the raging air waves ruthlessly destroyed everything around them.

Only to see the shining golden-yellow electric currents withstand the pillar of light floating with dark particles, pushing hard against the surge of energy, step by step advancing until the Hyper Beam ran out of follow-up strength.

Under the slightly surprised gaze of the Shiny Rayquaza, Luxray charged to its front and once again collided violently with its dragon body!

Without using any move, the Shiny Rayquaza, confident that its physical quality could crush Luxray, was caught off guard for a moment and was once again knocked flying,

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three consecutive loud booms rose from the smoke, the ground trembling endlessly.

Only after smashing through three more large shipping containers did the Shiny Rayquaza halt its momentum of flying backward.

But at this moment, more than the physical pain, the Shiny Rayquaza cared about another matter.

Being knocked flying before could be considered a coincidence, resulting from being ambushed while it was condensing a move.

—But now, that little kitten actually pushed through my Hyper Beam and knocked me flying?

Even if it relied solely on physical strength rather than using a move, this was something the Shiny Rayquaza psychologically could not accept at all.

"Roar-ang—!"

If before the Shiny Rayquaza had approached with the attitude of a dragon toying with a cat, now it had truly ignited its fury.

Soaring up from the ruins, the Shiny Rayquaza, eyes filled with angry fire, whipped up air currents, instantly transforming into a white rainbow, like a straight white line, charging at high speed toward Luxray.

"Extreme Speed"!

Luxray's pupils contracted; even though its consciousness had reacted, even with electric currents frantically stimulating its flesh, it was incapable of dodging such an ultra-fast strike.

But at this moment, the role of the Trainer became prominent.

"Protect!"

At the critical moment, Luo Mu, whose mind remained perfectly clear, provided the best Xie Fa.

Since the Shiny Rayquaza's Extreme Speed was so fast that there was absolutely no time to dodge.

Then simply do not dodge!

A faint green barrier rose, bearing most of the impact force generated by the Shiny Rayquaza sweeping past for Luxray!

Not getting the desired result, the fury in the Shiny Rayquaza's eyes burned even hotter; it actually performed an inconceivable maneuver, twisting its body mid-high-speed-flight, and spat a Dragon Pulse aimed directly at Luxray's unguarded back!

"Protect!"

Luo Mu's voice rang out once more, and that hateful green barrier rose again, helping Luxray withstand the Shiny Rayquaza's hasty strike.

A clear look of shock flashed in the Shiny Rayquaza's eyes; the gaze it fixed on Luo Mu was deep and terrifying.

This human had ruined his plans yet again—!

Double protection successful!

At this moment, even Luo Mu marveled at how invincible his luck had been in this wave.

While commanding the other side's Mega Swampert to pursue the Hoenn Rayquaza, he continued to multitask, directing Luxray to engage the Shiny Rayquaza in a fierce battle.

The Shiny Rayquaza was not an AI in a game that only stood still to deal damage, nor an opponent confined to a single arena with flight-height restrictions in an official League battle.

Its movements were varied; one second it might be grappling with you, and the next it would soar to the top of a high-rise building to unleash its Dragon Breath.

The figures of both sides moved constantly within Sootopolis City; Luxray would sometimes crash through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of office buildings, leap dozens of meters between floors, and release lightning to counter the Shiny Rayquaza's moves.

Luo Mu, riding the motorcycle beneath him with its surprisingly excellent performance, chased after their figures, issuing commands at the right moments.

Crossing the skybridge, then leaping over several high-rise buildings, they soon arrived directly beneath the Battle Tower!

The Shiny Rayquaza circled the tower's body, its gaze shifting from initial contempt to the current Solemnity.

In its perception, only a very short time had passed, yet now Luxray, under that human's commands, could fight it so fiercely for so long without falling behind.

With this growth rate, it now felt that unless it acquired further power and form, it might not be able to defeat them in the short term.

The Shiny Rayquaza began to take its opponent seriously.

"Next is the second round; this time, we will bring you down!"

Luo Mu, arriving in his vehicle, issued his declaration to the once seemingly unreachable powerful enemy that had made him and Luxray feel so distant.

"—ROAR!!!"

After a brief silence, the Shiny Rayquaza raised its dragon head, and a majestic dragon roar echoed throughout Sootopolis City; the shockwaves shattered glass continuously, and the falling shards reflected the blazing sun, mirroring the Shiny Rayquaza's domineering dragon body.

If you can do it, then come and try!

"Luxray—Terastallize!"

Amidst the brilliant Terastal radiance, Luxray's body became as sparkling as crystals, and the Electric-type Terastal Wang Guan atop its head shone brightly.

Whether because Terapagos was nearby or not, this Terastallization was far more perfect than any previous one.

"Electric Terrain!"

From the very beginning, Luo Mu had not intended to use this move; activating a terrain move during a chase was merely a waste of effort.

But in this spot he had chosen as the Shiny Rayquaza's landing place, the release of Electric Terrain carried no further reservations.

Under the Shiny Rayquaza's cold gaze, wild electric currents surged from Luxray's body into the ground.

Amidst the field where electricity crackled and flew, one human and one cat launched a challenge against the proud ruler of the skies!

(End of this chapter)