"You can really help me?"
Although Rayquaza had already guessed who had sent this human here, it still couldn't help feeling skeptical.
To be fair, the human in front of it did seem rather unusual.
Victini and Jirachi were both willing to stay by his side.
But in the end, he was still just a human.
Asking Rayquaza to fully believe that an ordinary human could solve a problem even Legendary Pokémon couldn't handle was... difficult.
Chen Shi understood Rayquaza's concerns and smiled.
"I'm not lying to you."
"The power inside my body is very special. You could say it's the natural enemy of the darkness."
"Otherwise, that great being wouldn't have sent me here, right?"
"A natural counter to the darkness..."
Rayquaza fell silent for two seconds before finally agreeing.
"Fine."
"I'll trust you once."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Do I need to cooperate?"
Chen Shi waved a hand.
"No. It'll be quick."
"You don't need to do anything."
"Just don't resist when the power inside me touches you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Shi stopped suppressing his psychic power.
It immediately surged toward Rayquaza.
Rayquaza's body stiffened.
Its first instinct was to dodge.
But remembering what Chen Shi had just said, it forcibly stopped itself and allowed the strange psychic power to spread across its body.
Then—
Rayquaza was stunned.
The dark aura hidden deep within its body, clinging to it like parasites embedded in bone, began disappearing the instant Chen Shi's psychic power touched it.
It was like a raging fire suddenly being drowned beneath a torrential downpour.
The darkness rapidly extinguished.
Then vanished completely.
"How is this possible?"
Rayquaza couldn't suppress its shock.
This human...
He really could remove the darkness that countless Legendary Pokémon had once been powerless against!
Perhaps because Rayquaza itself was so powerful, or perhaps because it had only been lightly contaminated, Chen Shi's purification went smoothly.
Before long, it was finished.
"Alright."
"You're completely fine now."
Rayquaza immediately examined every part of its body in detail.
Only after confirming that not a trace of darkness remained did it finally relax.
After thinking for a moment, Rayquaza said,
"I owe you a favor."
"If you need anything in the future, you may come to me."
Chen Shi grinned.
That was exactly what he had been waiting to hear.
"As a matter of fact, there really is something I need your help with!"
"What?"
Rayquaza asked calmly.
It disliked owing favors.
As long as this human's request wasn't unreasonable, Rayquaza had already decided it would agree.
"It's like this."
"Remember how I said my psychic power is unusual?"
"It can do more than just remove the darkness from your body."
"It can also help you Mega Evolve."
Chen Shi held Jirachi in his arms and spoke with a cheerful smile.
The Shiny Gardevoir had given him two tasks.
He had only completed the first one.
The second was to make a grand appearance in Hoenn and ensure that all the Legendary Pokémon noticed him.
Naturally, Chen Shi's attention immediately settled on Rayquaza.
Groudon and Kyogre were going to fight sooner or later.
When that happened, plenty of Legendary Pokémon would undoubtedly be watching.
And if, at that moment, a human suddenly stepped forward and helped Rayquaza Mega Evolve before defeating Groudon and Kyogre...
That should count as making a big enough entrance, right?
Surely that would be enough to catch the attention of the Legendary Pokémon.
Rayquaza fell silent for two seconds.
It neither said whether it believed him nor rejected the claim.
Instead, it asked,
"Does this have something to do with the favor you want from me?"
Chen Shi nodded.
"Yes."
"That great being also told me that Groudon and Kyogre should awaken before long."
"When that happens, I want to ask you to intervene."
"And I'll help you Mega Evolve."
"What do you think?"
"Would that work?"
Rayquaza said nothing.
It simply studied the human in front of it.
If Groudon and Kyogre awakened, a battle between them was inevitable.
Stopping them was already Rayquaza's responsibility.
Even if Chen Shi said nothing, it would still go.
And if Chen Shi could truly help it Mega Evolve, that would only benefit Rayquaza.
So rather than Chen Shi asking it for a favor...
It almost seemed as though Rayquaza was the one benefiting.
That was what confused it.
What exactly was this human trying to accomplish?
What did he gain from any of this?
Rayquaza couldn't figure it out.
Seeing Rayquaza remain silent, Chen Shi assumed it was hesitant or still suspicious.
"Don't worry."
"Everything I said is true."
"If Groudon and Kyogre never awaken, then just keep sleeping peacefully."
"But if it really does happen, I hope you'll help."
"Fine."
Since it couldn't figure out Chen Shi's motives, Rayquaza simply stopped trying.
There was no disadvantage to agreeing anyway.
Why refuse?
Chen Shi immediately smiled.
At this point, both tasks Arceus had given him through Cogita should be achievable.
Once everything was over and he finished arranging a few things, he should finally be able to leave Hoenn.
Then another question occurred to him.
"When you were infected by the darkness... did you feel anything unusual?"
Rayquaza thought for a moment.
"No."
"When I fought that Dark Pokémon from space, I was already being extremely careful."
"I also checked myself repeatedly after returning."
"But I didn't discover the contamination until today."
Chen Shi wasn't surprised by the answer.
He already knew just how troublesome the darkness was.
He was only hoping to gather more information from Rayquaza so he could understand it better.
There was another question bothering him as well.
Back then, Xerneas had realized it was being corrupted before completely falling to the darkness.
Rayquaza had also noticed the problem and managed to resist it for some time.
But that Lugia?
It hadn't even understood what was happening before it had already fallen completely into darkness.
Could the difference depend on strength?
Were more powerful Pokémon able to notice the corruption earlier and resist it longer?
Since Rayquaza was right in front of him, Chen Shi immediately voiced the question.
"You seem unusually concerned about this darkness."
Rayquaza sounded mildly interested.
"I don't really have a choice."
Chen Shi spread his hands helplessly.
"You've seen how terrifying it is."
"I encountered another Pokémon before that had already been completely consumed by the darkness."
"It became incredibly violent."
"It was almost as though its entire personality had been replaced."
"After I purified the darkness from its body, it didn't even know when it had been infected."
"It couldn't remember anything that happened afterward either."
"All it remembered was that it had originally been asleep."
Rayquaza asked,
"How strong was that Pokémon?"
Chen Shi scratched his head.
That question genuinely stumped him.
The system hadn't been able to properly measure that Lugia either.
Still, it definitely wasn't as powerful as Mew and the others.
It was probably around the level of a second-tier Legendary.
"I don't know exactly how strength is divided beyond the Legendary rank."
"But that Pokémon definitely wasn't weak."
"It was probably around Jirachi's level."
Rayquaza suddenly fell silent.
Around Jirachi's level...
And it hadn't even known what had happened?
...
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