"You really have a way to take Rayquaza down?"
Nemona was stunned. That was Rayquaza—a Legendary Pokémon supposedly alive for hundreds of millions of years.
She'd seen it with her own eyes: those Dragon Pulses Rayquaza spat out like nothing could casually annihilate a high‑rise. That kind of firepower was no joke.
"Please don't doubt my professionalism."
Damian felt Nemona really hadn't seen enough of the world yet.
"What do you want this time?"
Cynthia naturally understood there was no way Damian would help them for free. Who knew what condition he'd tack on this time.
"You'll find out later, Miss Cynthia. Relax, it won't go against your principles." Damian's lips curved up.
"...Fine."
Cynthia's dark brows were tightly drawn, but for the sake of this city's survival, she still agreed.
Senior!!!
Nemona looked at Cynthia with boundless admiration. Senior Cynthia was incredible!
This was Hoenn's turf, and yet Senior Cynthia was still willing to bow her head to Evil Team Rocket for this city's sake.
So moving.
"It's a deal."
Damian's gaze on Cynthia burned hotter. As expected of Cynthia.
So long as it was for her ideals and the responsibility she bore, she really was willing to give a lot—and fight for it.
Next up was dealing with this Rayquaza.
Damian lifted his head, staring into the sky.
"Roar!!"
Rayquaza's draconic bellow thundered overhead as another Dragon Pulse blasted toward Deoxys.
But to Rayquaza's irritation, its attack missed again.
Why wouldn't this damned space bug just sit there and let itself get killed already?
Rayquaza's serpentine body twisted as it lunged for Deoxys once more. Weird—hadn't it just wiped out one of these a few years back? Now another one was crawling out of the woodwork.
Didn't matter. It would just handle this one too.
The process was annoying, but Rayquaza was sure it would win in the end.
Because it was Rayquaza.
Rayquaza didn't give a second thought to the human city below getting caught in the blast radius of its attacks. Aside from the fact it was busy wiping out this interstellar bug, there was also…
Something it suddenly remembered, making its gaze turn even colder and more vicious.
Humans… weren't all worth protecting either.
"Roar!"
Rayquaza spat another Dragon Pulse at Deoxys. Deoxys dodged nimbly, then dove in.
A Psychic‑type Zen Headbutt!
Deoxys's Zen Headbutt smashed hard into Rayquaza's chin, making Rayquaza roar in pain.
But since Deoxys was currently in Speed Forme, that Zen Headbutt didn't hit all that hard. It hurt, sure—just not much more than that.
Which only made Rayquaza even more vicious.
It roared, razor claws glowing with teal light as they slashed at Deoxys.
At the same time, Dragon Pulse was building in its mouth again.
Experience told it Dragon Claw probably wouldn't land on Deoxys. Whatever—if Deoxys slipped the claw, it would just blast a Dragon Pulse right in its face.
Did Deoxys really think it could just kite it around like a dog on a leash?
Right then—
A savage beam of ice suddenly shot in from behind Rayquaza.
Rayquaza sensed it at once. The icy chill made its scales prickle upright.
It jerked its head around, letting the Dragon Pulse in its mouth fire straight back.
Dragon Pulse and Ice Beam crashed together in mid‑air, locked for an instant, then exploded with a boom.
"Rooar!! (Who is it? You've got some guts! You actually ambushed me?!)"
Rayquaza bellowed in fury. Did they not know it was Rayquaza? Hitting it with Ice Beam from behind—did they have a death wish?!
As the smoke slowly dissipated, two deep purple eyes emerged clearly from within. Shadow Mewtwo, free of its limiter armor now, stared back coldly, expression flat as still water.
What the hell?
Rayquaza gave the black Pokémon with the powerful aura a puzzled look. It didn't recognize it.
Then it tossed that thought aside.
This thing had just ambushed it.
That was all it needed to know—enemy.
Rayquaza's eyes narrowed slightly as it pondered the best angle to attack from, so this pitch‑black thing could properly taste the full power of the Rayquaza line.
Deoxys Individual Two's eyes flickered as it watched Shadow Mewtwo. It remembered—
that human actually chose to help it?
What a good person.
"Can you use Ice Beam?"
A man's voice suddenly rang in Deoxys's mind, making it freeze.
It was Damian, using Shadow Mewtwo's help to build a Telepathy link with Deoxys.
Deoxys nodded slightly to show it could. It had already recognized that this was the same human.
"Then hit it with Ice Beam. Switch to Attack Forme now." The male voice in its head spoke again.
After a moment's hesitation, Deoxys decided to follow the human's instructions.
Its form began to change. Its arms reverted to two again, while the top of its head and the spots where its ears were lengthened.
Attack Forme!
Deoxys brought its hands together, ice‑blue energy condensing between them—an Ice‑type Ice Beam.
The next second, a sinuous Ice Beam shot toward Rayquaza.
Rayquaza's sensing ability really was sharp. It picked up on the danger at once, turned, and fired another Dragon Pulse to meet it.
Dragon Pulse and Ice Beam slammed together.
But this was Deoxys in Attack Forme.
Its special attack was extremely high, and it quickly overpowered Rayquaza's Dragon Pulse, pushing it back inch by inch.
Rayquaza howled with rage—only to feel something else stoking its fury further: that pitch‑black thing behind it.
Ice Beam!
Shadow Mewtwo fired off another Ice Beam at Rayquaza.
Pinned between attacks from both front and back, Rayquaza couldn't handle both at once. It cursed inwardly at these two conniving bastards, but that didn't change the reality—
Shadow Mewtwo's Ice Beam slammed solidly into it.
And Ice Beam, being Ice‑type, was four times super effective against the Dragon/Flying Rayquaza.
Boom!
Rayquaza roared in agony as its massive body dropped helplessly out of the sky, crashing to the ground with a brutal impact, patches of rime forming across its green scales.
The sheer mass of its body made the entire ground shudder violently, dust geysering upward.
Shadow Mewtwo's Ice Beam had hit Rayquaza hard.
Even with this Rayquaza's monstrous physique, as long as it hadn't Mega Evolved, it couldn't change the fact that it was four‑times weak to Ice.
"Wild Pokémon really are like this—no idea how to go for the weak point. If it had been using Ice Beam from the start, this Rayquaza would've been face‑down ages ago."
Damian clicked his tongue.
He admitted this Rayquaza was a real HP sponge, but he didn't believe it could tank three Ice Beams from an Attack Forme Deoxys.
This wasn't a game. In the games, a Rayquaza eating an Attack Forme Deoxys Ice Beam might owe you several health bars after.
But this was reality. Rayquaza's physical durability was on a whole different level.
Still, Damian was confident—three hits.
If it took three direct Ice Beams from Attack Forme Deoxys, Rayquaza would be flat on the ground, eyes spinning.
That was the beauty of a four‑times weakness.
"Roooar!!!"
But in no time, Rayquaza's enraged roar echoed out again.
Still clinging with patches of frost, Rayquaza shot back into the sky, glaring murderously at Shadow Mewtwo.
Damn thing—ambushed it again.
Rayquaza was livid. It absolutely wasn't going to let this one go.
It spat a Dragon Pulse straight at Shadow Mewtwo, then twisted its body and charged it head‑on.
Shadow Mewtwo simply conjured a deep purple psychic wall, forcibly blocking the Dragon Pulse.
Compared to when it had fought Ho‑Oh, Shadow Mewtwo was much stronger now.
Rayquaza slammed into the barrier hard enough to knock it back a bit—but that was all. It still didn't break through.
"Ice Beam."
The next moment, Deoxys's silhouette flickered into view behind Rayquaza. Deoxys unleashed another Ice Beam, aiming right for Rayquaza's head.
Rayquaza sensed it immediately and twisted aside.
Its reflexes really were sharp, and it managed to slip Deoxys's Ice Beam.
It turned, glaring daggers at Deoxys. Damned space bug!
A split second later, a searing chill ripped across Rayquaza's back—Shadow Mewtwo's Ice Beam again.
Rayquaza let out a pained, low growl as its body plummeted once more, crashing into another building.
"That's how a gank works. You can't afford to daydream for even a second."
Damian chuckled. This Rayquaza was still too young—and just a bit too straight‑laced.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Down in the rubble, Rayquaza grit its teeth. It wanted nothing more than to haul itself back into the sky and teach those two cheap opponents a lesson for two‑on‑one‑ing it like that.
But the twin Ice Beams had hit it too hard.
Right now, everything hurt.
And it had to admit—it didn't seem able to take on those two conniving pests at once.
One‑on‑one, Rayquaza was sure it wouldn't lose.
Because it was Rayquaza.
In that case…
"Roooar!!"
Rayquaza let out a furious draconic roar, this one echoing far, far into the distance.
A summoning roar.
Rayquaza glared up through the dust at the two silhouettes in the sky.
They dared beat it down like this.
Did they not know it had backing? Just wait.
Once its dad got here, it'd see how long they stayed cocky.
"Hm?"
Damian immediately noticed that this roar was a bit different from Rayquaza's earlier bellows.
So that was a call for help?
He narrowed his eyes slightly and fished something out of his bag—something he'd never had a reason to use before. Looked like it was finally time.
Meanwhile—
"They actually beat Rayquaza…"
Nemona stared in disbelief at the spot where Rayquaza had crashed and still hadn't lifted off from.
That Mewtwo was seriously that strong?
"Damian… was hiding his strength this whole time?"
Cynthia pressed her lips together, gaze fixed on the Shadow Mewtwo high overhead.
She'd never seen this form before.
Where was its armor? Was this a Mega Evolution? A form change? That didn't quite fit either.
But one thing was undeniable—Damian hadn't been going all out when he fought them before.
This…
Cynthia felt a knot of conflicting emotions.
Even if they obtained the power of Mega Evolution, could they really beat Damian?
And far above, in the ozone layer where no one could see, a majestic, gorgeous silhouette was streaking at high speed toward the region known as Hoenn—two dazzling trails of light rippling behind it, so beautiful it stole the breath away.
~~~
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