Chapter 646: Hoenn Rayquaza: I'm on my way!

A city corner almost devoid of people.

A petite figure moved nimbly through the shadows, occasionally darting out from the darkness like a dolphin leaping from the water to strike the enemy.

Strong winds blew its cute doll-like exterior, yet the pair of small eyes on its doll abdomen were filled with determination.

Had anyone been standing nearby, they would likely have sighed that Mimikyu was simply too adorable.

In comparison, the creature currently locked in combat with Mimikyu did not look so friendly.

Though its appearance wasn't some terrifying, sanity-draining horror, Deoxys, resembling an alien, still gave off a first impression of mystery and fear.

However, no one knew just how irritable Deoxys's mood was at this moment.

The aurora blooming atop its head shifted colors and spectra at an extremely high frequency, somewhat like an agitated young person cursing in the street.

There was a specific reason why Deoxys, usually emotionally calm with few desires and placing great importance on kinship and camaraderie, was so agitated.

Even four years ago on the Great Ice Field, when its entire body was decomposed by a single "Hyper Beam" from the Hoenn Rayquaza, forcing it to separate from its companion, its emotions had not fluctuated this violently.

Deoxys could guarantee that this was the first time it had truly felt how wicked the Pokémon of this planet could be.

—The schemes were just too deep.

It directly made this ignorant alien look like a brainless fool.

In truth, Mimikyu didn't want to fight this way either; if possible, it would have preferred testing strength against its opponent, as that would bring it satisfaction.

But Luo Mu's order was to "hold off" Deoxys; neither side needed to determine a winner or loser, and they were even to avoid injuring each other as much as possible while ensuring their own safety.

This caused Mimikyu to abandon its idea of using "Swords Dance" three times before jumping out to relentlessly slash Deoxys with Shadow Claw.

Instead, it started playing dirty.

Moves like Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp were merely appetizers; any variation technique it knew that could handle the current situation or cause trouble for Deoxys...

... Mimikyu threw at Deoxys as if they cost nothing.

This style of fighting, which could easily get one's entire family killed, unsurprisingly disgusted Deoxys to the point of nausea.

But Deoxys could only let Mimikyu disgust it.

Because it had already seen the aurora released by its long-lost companion—the "language" of their kind.

It was precisely because of that aurora that Deoxys willingly endured Mimikyu's disgust-inducing tactics, all to reach the location of its companion.

When they had traveled halfway through their entanglement, a dull boom suddenly rang out ahead, and the earth trembled incessantly as if bearing some immense force.

Deoxys even heard, from beneath that very aurora, the agonized roar of the Hoenn Rayquaza.

It did not know how to distinguish emotions in sounds; that single shout from the Hoenn Rayquaza made Deoxys realize only one thing.

—That Hoenn Rayquaza, which had attacked it indiscriminately, was now staying right beside its companion, who was clearly attempting to regenerate.

This couldn't continue!

Deoxys, having already shifted into its Speed Forme, tried to extract more energy from within its body to maintain and accelerate its flight speed.

It had to reach its companion's side!

Strangely, after that loud noise, the persistently haunting Mimikyu seemed to have received some instruction; not only did it stop hindering its movement, but it directly dove into its own shadow to hitch a "free ride."

Deoxys was very puzzled, but for it, this was actually better.

Now it could fly at full speed toward that direction without worrying about further interference.

Without Mimikyu's interference, traveling at the super-high speed of Deoxys's Speed Forme, it took only a short while to arrive near the ecological garden where the aurora was blooming.

—What met its eyes was a crater resembling a meteor impact on a planet, along with the figure of the Hoenn Rayquaza, which had just regained its ability to move.

At this moment, the fully recovered Hoenn Rayquaza hovered in midair, issuing merciless mockery toward the Mega Swampert, which was struggling to stand and fight again.

Hahaha! This Dragon just wanted to see that expression on your face!

That expression of helplessly watching this Dragon regain mobility first!

On the other side, Pokémon like Moltres were on high alert, already prepared to sacrifice their ability to battle just to block the Hoenn Rayquaza's path.

Moltres considered its own stamina bar and recovery speed to be quite impressive.

But from the Hoenn Rayquaza, its understanding was completely refreshed.

Without any external power interference, in less than three minutes since that loud boom, the opponent was already able to soar freely in the sky once more.

By now, excuses like "hesitating for a moment," or "worrying that Rayquaza was lying in wait within the smoke and dust," thus choosing to remain stationary, were nothing but pretexts.

They should have rushed into that rolling thick smoke earlier to prevent the Hoenn Rayquaza from recovering so quickly.

Now, all they could do was sacrifice themselves for the only one capable of contending with the Hoenn Rayquaza—the Mega Swampert—to buy it time to recover.

Below, Ash and the others also realized the Hoenn Rayquaza's predatory gaze fixed on the laboratory behind them; gritting their teeth, they stepped forward with the same resolve.

Looking at this group of fervent individuals, the Hoenn Rayquaza narrowed its eyes.

Then, it made another choice.

—It turned around, aiming its mouth, which began emitting a purplish-black light, directly at the Mega Swampert, which was still unable to move.

Just when everyone thought the Hoenn Rayquaza was brainless and only knew how to charge recklessly, it was as if that earth-shattering punch from the Mega Swampert had opened its meridians and unlocked its potential.

This time, it chose to turn its guns around, completely eliminating the Mega Swampert, which was not just a potential threat but one that had already posed a danger to it.

At this moment, the immobilized Mega Swampert wore a somewhat helpless expression.

Originally, nearly knocking the Hoenn Rayquaza unconscious with a single punch should have been a cause for joy.

But to seize this one opportunity, it had jumped straight down from a hundred-meter-high building; in pursuit of that punch's power, it hadn't even used the air sacs on its body to create airflow to cushion the force of the fall.

If not for its constitution far exceeding that of its kind, the Hoenn Rayquaza might or might not have been knocked unconscious, but it itself would definitely have fainted.

In fact, it was still weak all over; its originally solid muscles and bones felt as if they had fallen apart, let alone standing up to resist, even maintaining its Mega Evolution state required its utmost effort.

Facing the Hoenn Rayquaza's monstrous recovery speed, the Mega Swampert, which had already performed one miracle, was at a loss.

However, even now, it still believed that the order given by Luo Mu was correct.

The time it had fought to gain must have meaning.

The purplish-black energy particles in the Hoenn Rayquaza's mouth grew increasingly turbulent; even without instruments to observe, one could sense how terrifyingly it was compressing that energy.

—But at this moment, an unexpected figure suddenly burst into the battlefield.

Rushing out from the side, Deoxys clamped its tentacle-like arms together, launching a massive spherical psychic orb that crackled with mental electricity from within.

Signature Move: "Psycho Boost"!

Its target was none other than the Hoenn Rayquaza, whose attention was currently fixed on Mega Swampert!

The psychic orb spread out like a force field, instantly delivering a heavy blow to the Hoenn Rayquaza!

It was once again knocked down, plunging into the deep crater.

As for what would happen to Mega Swampert, Deoxys actually didn't care.

But it couldn't rest easy regarding the Hoenn Rayquaza; this fellow always attacked on a whim, and who knew if, after dealing with Mega Swampert, it wouldn't turn its sights on its companions, who were currently at the critical stage of regenerating their bodies.

Thus, Deoxys unhesitatingly chose to intervene.

Drive the Hoenn Rayquaza away first!

Once again staring wide-eyed at the Hoenn Rayquaza, which had crashed into the pit with a painful roar, Mega Swampert this time paused for a moment, then, abandoning its usual honest and simple demeanor, mimicked the Hoenn Rayquaza's earlier behavior and gave a mocking smile.

It had said so all along; Luo Mu couldn't possibly have considered the Hoenn Rayquaza's recovery speed.

This "arrangement," which resembled coincidence even more than coincidence itself, looked to Mega Swampert exactly like Luo Mu's backup plan.

Not to mention that Mimikyu had now darted out from Deoxys's shadow; having secretly stacked three layers of "Swords Dance" while hidden in the shadows, it immediately charged forward with a "Play Rough."

The Hoenn Rayquaza's waist, which had just straightened, bent down again.

Mega Swampert continued to smile mockingly.

—Even though it was immediately whipped by the infuriated Hoenn Rayquaza's tail, sending it crashing into a nearby wall.

Wincing in pain, Mega Swampert still laughed at the Hoenn Rayquaza's foolishness, completely unaware that it had been calculated and trapped from start to finish.

Deoxys was also surprised that Mimikyu was no finding it disgusting, but had instead turned its spear to aim at the Hoenn Rayquaza.

But for the simple alien, since Mimikyu was indirectly helping it, it would temporarily refrain from attacking Mimikyu.

The two Pokémon began to tangle with the Hoenn Rayquaza, whose eyes seemed ready to spew fire.

And at this very moment.

Inside Professor Lundo's laboratory, the awakening experiment had reached its most critical step.

The laser emitted by the awakening device, which had reached unforeseen performance levels thanks to Victini's blessing, struck the green crystal; the intense light nearly filled the entire space.

Professor Lundo's assistant, Yuko, half-closed her eyes, watching the data fluctuations on the screen, her expression gradually turning joyful.

"The wavelengths are perfectly synchronized; this time it will definitely succeed!"

Within that intense light, the entire extraterrestrial meteor, like shattered glass, instantly became covered in dense cracks; accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, it broke into countless scattering fragments.

An invisible wave swept outward, directly shattering the entire glass wall that isolated the meteor from the outside world.

The only remaining core crystal floated up into the air, enveloped by a glow shaped exactly like Patrick Star.

Immediately, the light began to stretch, and Deoxys No. 2 autonomously began reconstructing its body.

The reconstruction speed was so fast that it ended before the three people present could even react.

Roughly resembling the Deoxys outside, except for the green core crystal embedded in its chest, this Deoxys now hovered silently above the experimental table, its gaze falling sequentially on Professor Lundo, Young Lady Yuko, and finally, Xiao Chao.

From its chest, an active aggregate of light floated out once more, transforming into a sheet of aurora.

This made Xiao Chao realize that regardless of its appearance, it was still the "secret friend" from the ecological park.

"Deoxys! Go to your companion's side!"

Deoxys nodded gently, turned, and flew toward the outside where intense battle waves were emanating.

Compared to its other kin, it had "lived" in this city for four years and understood certain things that the other did not.

For instance, in the current situation, rather than catching up on old times, it was better to first join forces with the companion outside to drive away the Hoenn Rayquaza; there would be plenty of time later.

At the same time, it also wanted to eliminate, as much as possible, the danger its own existence had brought upon these kind people.

—Deoxys rushed out of the laboratory and, under the relieved expressions of the Pokémon and Ash and the others, joined the battle.

Originally, the Hoenn Rayquaza's condition wasn't very good; no matter how monstrous its recovery ability was, it was impossible for it to return to its peak state in just three minutes.

After all, if that were the case, how would those alien giants, who could only fight at full strength for three minutes, feel?

Its condition was better than Mega Swampert's, but that didn't mean it could remain composed under the siege of two Deoxys and a Mimikyu that retained most of its combat power.

The more it fought, the more depressed and aggrieved the Hoenn Rayquaza felt; oh, how it hated this!

If only it had swallowed more meteors beforehand to prepare for such emergencies.

If only it didn't currently lack the extra special reserve energy needed to activate the "Emperor Organ" and complete a Mega Evolution similar to that detestable Mega Swampert.

Under those circumstances, no matter how many of these fellows came, they would all be one-hit kills!

Just as the Hoenn Rayquaza was retreating step by step.

On the other side of LaRousse City, a earth-shaking explosion suddenly roared out.

The two Deoxys, who were engaged in fierce battle—or rather, chasing the Hoenn Rayquaza—as well as Mimikyu, all stopped their movements in unison and subconsciously looked in that direction.

The visual impact of the rising mushroom cloud left Ash and the others, along with Professor Lundo and his two companions who had just exited the laboratory, stunned in place.

Especially Professor Lundo; his first reaction was to assume someone had deployed a large-scale weapon of war, long banned by the League, within LaRousse City!

The few people, immersed in shock, failed to notice that the one most shocked at this moment was actually the Hoenn Rayquaza.

Even within the ozone layer or in outer space.

It possessed an ultra-strong perception ability capable of locking onto a specific aura.

Precisely because of this, the Hoenn Rayquaza was now nearly going mad.

It was somewhat aware that that location was the battlefield of the Shiny Rayquaza, along with another human and a Luxray.

—But could someone please tell it why the aura belonging to the Shiny Rayquaza was declining so rapidly, its condition even worse than when it had taken a punch from Mega Swampert, while the auras of that human and the Luxray, though past their peak, still maintained a considerable level!?

The Hoenn Rayquaza even momentarily suspected it had mixed up the auras.

But after confirming repeatedly, it painfully arrived at a conclusion.

—That unfathomable black old geezer has truly crashed and burned!

This truth instantly struck the Hoenn Rayquaza, which had been fighting in a frenzy, like a club to the head.

Calming down, it assessed its own physical condition, comparing itself to the two Deoxys, whose states were still relatively intact, as well as Mimikyu.

If this fighting continued, it feared it would sooner or later end up dead just like that black old geezer.

After a moment of silence.

The Hoenn Rayquaza swept its dragon tail and, without hesitation, flew toward the other end of the sky.

By the time Deoxys and the others realized the Hoenn Rayquaza was fleeing, the latter had already vanished beyond the clouds.

(End of Chapter)