Chapter 146: Rayquaza, Can You Become My Partner?

As he spoke, Mamon also activated the Power of Nature, and green light particles drifted toward the Black Rayquaza, healing its wounds.

The healing effect of the Power of Nature was quite good; in just a short while, the Black Rayquaza felt it had regained a great deal of strength.

"You human..."

The Black Rayquaza rose into the air, its dragon eyes narrowing slightly as it gazed at this special human.

As for Deoxys, it actually didn't care much anymore; for something like Deoxys, it could eliminate it at any time, and it was not a difficult task at all.

But this human...

"It was you who commanded them, wasn't it?"

The Black Rayquaza swept its gaze over Primal Groudon and the others; if fighting individually, without exaggeration, it could easily defeat any one of them.

Including Primal Groudon.

Even if fighting them all at once, the Black Rayquaza had absolute confidence in itself, because its power was simply that strong!

Yet in the end, it was defeated; even if it used the excuse that it hadn't taken these opponents seriously at the start, it was still defeated.

This was an inescapable fact.

"Indeed," Mamon replied with a smile.

"For a human, you are quite capable, but if we fight again, I will not be defeated by you."

The Black Rayquaza's low telepathic voice clearly showed it was not very satisfied with this battle.

Now, reviewing the battle in its mind, it felt it was completely capable of winning!

This human merely used tactics like burns and buffs, but if it had gone all-out from the start, defeated Primal Groudon, and prevented it from fully buffing up, wouldn't that have been enough?

Or, if Groudon and the others could buff up, couldn't it buff up too?

Mamon smiled without speaking; it was clear the Black Rayquaza was very proud in its heart.

Primal Groudon felt somewhat annoyed; this black-coal flying green caterpillar was truly stubborn!

"Enough, a loss is a loss; since you won this time, I'll leave this alien bug to you to deal with."

The Black Rayquaza glanced at Deoxys with its dragon eyes; since this human said so, it didn't mind giving him a favor.

Regardless of the means, this human had indeed defeated it.

Although the Black Rayquaza was arrogant, it was not entirely unreasonable.

"Interesting human; if we meet again next time, I will not underestimate you."

The Black Rayquaza coldly glanced at Primal Groudon, then finally redirected its gaze back to Mamon.

"I like you too; I hope to see you again," Mamon did not hide his affection for the Black Rayquaza.

The Black Rayquaza could sense the warmth in Mamon's words toward itself, and its mood was quite good.

That's right!

It was the invincible Rayquaza, a shiny Rayquaza with such unique coloring; it was only natural for humans to admire and worship it.

"I wonder if I have the honor to invite you to travel with me and witness this beautiful world together, Rayquaza?"

Mamon took the opportunity to directly invite the Black Rayquaza, his eyes burning with passion.

Hearing this, Deoxys and Dark Mewtwo showed no reaction; Ho-Oh tilted its head, looking at this human in amazement; he truly dared to dream big!

As for Primal Groudon, it stared at Mamon in shock; you actually invited Rayquaza first???

Clearly, this fish was here first!!

Even though I entered your ball and followed your commands, it doesn't mean I'm already your Pokémon, okay!

You haven't even formally invited me yet!! Damn it!

The Pufferfish felt very unhappy inside; what's so good about that black-coal Rayquaza? Is it prettier than this fish... ahem, well, Rayquaza is different from that smelly lizard; its looks certainly aren't inferior to its own.

But clearly, I was here first!

And that ordinary Rayquaza was now looking at this human with a shocked expression.

Good heavens! Where did this courage come from? Inviting its own father to be its partner??

Awesome!

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the Black Rayquaza was also stunned, then glanced at the annoyed Primal Groudon glaring at it, and glared right back.

This fish's courage has really grown; it actually dares to glare at me?

Seeing this, Primal Groudon quietly retreated a little; the Black Rayquaza's gaze was still very intimidating.

"Human, are you serious?"

The Black Rayquaza asked Mamon via telepathy with great interest.

How long had it lived? It was too long, probably hundreds of millions of years.

This was the first time a human had invited it to become a companion; the feeling was quite fresh.

"Of course," Mamon replied without hesitation.

"Rayquaza, I don't know what the 'world' looks like in your eyes, but I want to share the 'world' in my eyes with you: the journey, adventure, ideals, reality, and the 'connections' between us humans; these various 'sceneries'."

Mamon raised his head and looked directly into the Black Rayquaza's eyes.

"I want to ask you to go and witness it with me!"

The boy's words were not heavy, but they clearly reached the depths of the Black Rayquaza's heart.

The Black Rayquaza narrowed its dragon eyes slightly, gazing at this special human.

To be honest, it was not interested in most of what Mamon mentioned; it was Rayquaza, and it had already witnessed too much history and splendor in this world.

It had seen far too many nations and civilizations rot and vanish with time, disappearing beneath the rolling wheels of history.

Even if a certain region's 'King of Legends' ruled a kingdom that once reached its peak, didn't it eventually perish in the end?

Yet, while it wasn't very interested in what Mamon said, it was interested in the person himself.

Because... he commanded the Primal Groudon and others to defeat himself!

If this human hadn't invited himself, but instead invited his own child, the Black Rayquaza felt he could truly entrust Rayquaza to this human for proper cultivation.

But it seems...

The Black Rayquaza glanced at Rayquaza from the corner of its eye. Hmm, that human seems to look down on his own child...

Well, his taste is indeed spot-on.

Rayquaza felt his dragon father's gaze was very rude; how did it feel like he was despising him again?

Rayquaza felt a bit aggrieved; he hadn't done anything wrong right now!

The atmosphere suddenly grew quiet, and time ticked away second by second.

Mamon was not in a hurry; he could wait.

Finally, the Black Rayquaza's deep telepathic response came.

"If we meet again and you can still defeat me, I will accompany you on a journey across this world."

The Black Rayquaza's dragon eyes were sharp and majestic; this defeat had finally been etched into its heart.

But next time, it will never be defeated!

"It's a deal."

Mamon grinned; receiving such a response, not being directly rejected, made him quite satisfied.

"I look forward to our next meeting."

Roar~!!

After taking one last look at Mamon, the Black Rayquaza soared high, its magnificent, slender black dragon body swaying as it vanished into the horizon, with Rayquaza following closely behind.

"Finally over." Mamon sighed, then turned to look at the Primal Groudon and the other Legendaries.

"Thanks for your hard work; this cooperation was excellent, and we have won the victory."

Mamon said with a smile; although the process had a few twists and turns, everything had been within expectations.

Dark Mewtwo pondered silently, while Deoxys gazed into the distance, unknown what it was thinking.

Blue light flashed across the Primal Groudon's body as it reverted from its Primal Reversion form, but for some reason, Mamon felt the chubby fish's gaze toward him was a bit... resentful?

"How about it? I didn't deceive you, Ho-Oh." Mamon looked at Ho-Oh.

Ho-Oh used its rainbow flames to burn away the dust on its body, making its feathers clean and beautiful once more.

Hearing Mamon's voice, Ho-Oh glanced sideways at this human without responding, yet there was still a hint of self-satisfaction in the bird's eyes.

Truly worthy of being this bird! Even managing to take down the Shiny Rayquaza!

But... it really hurt!

Ho-Oh slowly spread its wings and took flight; having helped Mamon as promised, it now only wanted to return and soak in the magma 'hot spring' to relieve its fatigue.

"Human, next time you fight Rayquaza, please ignore me, thank you."

Ho-Oh circled once in the sky, its telepathy very solemn.

This time, defeating the Black Rayquaza together made it happy, but the excruciating pain throughout its body during the battle made it very unhappy.

It felt there was absolutely no need to suffer such torment.

Next time fighting the Black Rayquaza, it absolutely would not come!

"Rest assured, I will absolutely not call you to fight Rayquaza." Mamon agreed readily; not calling for the Black Rayquaza was fine, as long as he could call for others.

Ho-Oh nodded in satisfaction; as long as it wasn't fighting the Black Rayquaza, that was fine; there were still two matters left, after which it would be even with Mamon.

Chirp~!

Ho-Oh's high-pitched cry echoed through the sky as its figure gradually vanished into the horizon.

Mamon marveled at Ho-Oh's straightforwardness; he had to admit, asking Ho-Oh for three favors back then was truly worth it!

Pity, perhaps he should have been a bit more greedy at the time, like asking for ten promises; looking at it now, three seems a bit too few.

He wondered if asking Ho-Oh to exchange one of his requests for three more promises would be accepted.

Emmm... better not; even if the big turkey has a good temper, it would probably explode its feathers over something like that.

Mamon felt deeply regretful.

"And what about you, Deoxys?"

After watching Ho-Oh leave, Mamon turned his gaze to Deoxys.

"I want to find my companions."

Deoxys's telepathy remained mechanical, but the sentences were already quite coherent.

"And then, may I come to find you? Mamon." Deoxys's mechanical voice carried a hint of expectation.

"Of course, I will wait for your arrival." Mamon's smile was deep.

It seemed this harvest was great, and all his hard work fighting the Black Rayquaza was not in vain.

"Thank you, Mamon."

Deoxys expressed its gratitude, then rose higher, releasing its psychic powers again to locate the position of Individual One.

Mamon watched Deoxys for a moment, then turned his gaze to the last chubby fish.

Groudon pretended to shift its gaze elsewhere, but in reality, its attention had been fixed on Mamon all along.

My turn, my turn! Finally, it's my turn!

This human will surely invite me soon, right? After all, in this battle, I, Groudon, was the main carry!

Without me, Groudon, even this human could not have defeated that Black Rayquaza.

Moreover, he specifically brought me out from the Seafloor Cavern; what does that signify?

It signifies that this human must really like me!

Really, why didn't he wake me up earlier for this? Could I possibly refuse him?

But then again, he was Kyogre — perhaps he should still maintain some dignity. When this human invited him later, shouldn't he first pretend to consider it?

Kyogre thought about it very seriously.

Then…

"Kyogre, become my partner. I'll take you to fight Groudon, I guara—"

"I'm willing!"

The fat-head fish instantly tossed the dignity he'd been thinking about to the back of his mind — he hadn't even waited for Mamen to finish speaking!

PS: Black Rayquaza and little Rayquaza both have further plotlines later. Black Rayquaza is a must-capture later on, and little Rayquaza's second story arc is coming soon too. What I'm torn about is whether to capture little Rayquaza or not.

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(End of chapter)