"Looks like it's done struggling."
After waiting a few minutes and seeing that Rayquaza still wasn't getting back up, Damian was pretty sure.
This Rayquaza might fight like a total bruiser, but its brain clearly wasn't 100% muscle.
At least after getting its head smashed in, it still knew enough to recognize the situation for now.
Seeing that Rayquaza had no intention of continuing the battle, Deoxys shifted back into Normal Forme and slowly descended in front of Damian.
Worth mentioning: Damian was currently standing on a rooftop.
After all, the higher you stand, the better your view of the field.
"Th… thank you, hu… man."
A mechanical, hollow Telepathy echoed in Damian's ears—Deoxys's Telepathy?
It clearly wasn't used to communicating; its Telepathy kept stuttering. It probably wasn't that practiced yet.
"No need to thank me. But I also hope you won't blame Rayquaza. This is its duty too."
Damian shook his head at Deoxys.
In Damian's eyes, the conflict between Rayquaza and Deoxys really couldn't be pinned entirely on Rayquaza.
When it came down to it, with cosmic Pokémon like Deoxys, who could guarantee they wouldn't become a threat to the planet?
Sure, thanks to the movie, Damian knew these two particular Deoxys were decent at heart.
But from Rayquaza's perspective, the simplest solution for terrifyingly powerful visitors from space like Deoxys… was to wipe them out.
Whether it was out of intolerance for any trespass on its own territory, or for the sake of protecting the planet itself—better to kill by mistake than let a threat slip by.
It was actually a very understandable decision.
If Deoxys had been an evil Pokémon, the damage it could've done to this land would've been immeasurable.
You could ignore the ordinary "space Pokémon" like Solrock and Lunatone—they weren't that strong.
But Deoxys was way too powerful compared to normal Pokémon.
There was even a real example in Galar, wasn't there?
The disaster that fell from the sky—Eternatus!
Twenty thousand years ago, it had plummeted to the Galar Region along with a Meteorite and remained in slumber. But lacking energy, three thousand years ago it naturally awoke and began absorbing Galar's energy.
That directly triggered the catastrophe known as the "Darkest Day" across the entire Galar Region, nearly pushing Galar to extinction.
If Zacian and Zamazenta hadn't appeared and taken Eternatus down, Galar would've been done for.
And that was the kind of catastrophe a powerful Legendary Pokémon could cause.
So Rayquaza's "no mercy" attitude toward powerful visitors from space wasn't exactly wrong.
In the end, space invaders were just space invaders. For the sake of the planet's safety, erasing them was the best outcome. Brutal, domineering, extreme—but that was just how Rayquaza dealt with things.
"It's… fine. I'm go… ing to find… my teammates now."
Deoxys made it clear it didn't blame Rayquaza. It really was a very gentle‑natured Pokémon.
It still wanted to find its teammates more than anything. It was worried.
"I see. Alright then. Just be careful. Rayquaza isn't the only one of its kind out there. From here on, you'd better hide your aura."
Damian hesitated for a moment as he watched Deoxys's longing to find its teammates. He couldn't quite bring himself to stop it.
"Mm. Thank you."
Deoxys's body slowly rose higher as its vast Psychic spread out again. It had started locking onto the location of the other Deoxys once more.
"Wonder if I can catch this Rayquaza."
Damian narrowed his eyes, looking at the badly injured Rayquaza on the ground, thoughts racing.
Between Deoxys and Rayquaza, of course Rayquaza was better.
That wasn't even a question. Did Rayquaza's strength really need any explanation? As long as it learned Dragon Ascent, Rayquaza could Mega Evolve directly.
Out of all Mega Evolutions, Rayquaza was the only one that didn't need a Mega Stone, because the "mikado organ" in its body could replace the Mega Stone's role.
Of course, if Rayquaza hadn't learned Dragon Ascent, you could still force a Mega Evolution by using a large quantity of Key Stones.
That was what Aster had done back then.
There was also the method using Grand Meteor Delta plus natural energy—but in practice, that was similar to using Key Stones.
"But it looks pretty wild and arrogant." Damian felt a headache coming on.
Compared to Deoxys, he was actually more tempted by this Rayquaza's body.
But like he'd said before, high‑tier legends like Rayquaza weren't the kind you could just catch and be done with.
You also had to earn their recognition.
Otherwise, a Poké Ball wouldn't be able to truly restrain them. Forcing one to stay would just be planting a time bomb.
The Rayquaza line did not have good tempers.
Damian mulled over ways he might be able to win Rayquaza's approval.
Down below.
"It's over."
Cynthia finally let out a breath of relief.
Even though this whole area had been torn to shreds, the good news was that the battle between legends was finally over.
Rayquaza was already seriously injured, and definitely in no shape to keep fighting.
"Never thought a Team Rocket guy would be the one to resolve this. That Damian's just way too strong."
Nemona stood with hands on hips, mulling it over.
A Team Rocket member that strong honestly made her feel sorry for the Hoenn League.
How were they supposed to catch someone like that? In a straight fight, they'd be completely outclassed.
"Mm. If he could leave Team Rocket behind, this world would definitely be better off." Cynthia let out a soft sigh.
"Yeah～ but it feels like that'd be really hard." Nemona tilted her head. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes lit up.
"But Senior Cynthia, you're super charming. If you could 'tame' him, that'd be something worth celebrating."
Nemona said with a grin.
She really didn't think it was impossible. Damian's interest in Cynthia was practically written all over his face.
"That's not going to happen."
Cynthia's brows drew together as she shook her head right away.
Nemona was still young, but Cynthia understood perfectly well.
Damian probably did like her, but that wasn't sincere "love."
It was closer to a burning hunger and possessiveness.
Would Damian leave Team Rocket for her?
Cynthia thought that was impossible. Damian definitely had his own plans, and his sense of belonging to Team Rocket was strong.
"I actually don't think Damian's all that bad as a person."
Nemona, on the other hand, thought Cynthia was saying she would never give in to Damian.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what—?"
Cynthia let out a faint laugh—but then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something. Her expression shifted.
Far off at the edge of the sky, a straight line of green motes of light was streaking in like a blade—like a bolt of lightning.
Its speed was unbelievable.
"Deoxys!"
Damian noticed the green "arrowhead" as well and immediately called out to Deoxys.
Hearing that, Deoxys reacted at once.
A deep chill rushed through its entire body—a cold like death.
It spun around, body rapidly transforming, now into its heavy Defense Forme.
"Mewtwo! Stop it!"
Damian's eyes sharpened. That green arrow—was Dragon Ascent!
So a stronger Rayquaza had arrived. And if it knew Dragon Ascent, that meant it could definitely Mega Evolve.
Shadow Mewtwo's dark purple flames burst in its eyes as it spread its arms wide, a tsunami of Psychic surging outward.
Binding Psychic!
Shadow Mewtwo locked its gaze on the incoming Dragon Ascent, pouring its terrifying Psychic power into it, trying to wrap it and clamp it down.
But the second Psychic got close, it was ripped apart. Even with Psychic surging forward in wave after wave, the result was the same.
All it could do was slow that charging attack down just a tiny bit.
So strong.
Deoxys had already shifted into Defense Forme, vast Psychic weaving into a mental barrier. It didn't even have time to use Protect—this was all it could manage.
The next moment—
Boom!!!
Dragon Ascent accelerated again, a razor‑sharp spear of green light carving a brilliant trail across the sky as it slammed into Deoxys's psychic barrier.
A dull, earth‑shaking impact boomed through the heavens.
Deoxys felt an unimaginable force crash into it.
The barrier shuddered on the verge of collapse, hairline cracks spidering across it like breaking glass.
"Roar!!"
A deep, imperious draconic bellow roared through the air. Dragon Ascent's green light flared again, and Deoxys's psychic barrier finally gave out.
Crack!
The green light instantly sliced through Deoxys's body.
Agony flooded through it from head to toe, and it lost control, tumbling earthward.
A black shadow streaked in at high speed. Shadow Mewtwo flew over, grabbed Deoxys with Psychic, and dragged it back, eyes locked warily on the dragon that had stopped in midair ahead.
"Shiny Rayquaza!"
An indescribable heat lit Damian's eyes as he stared at the tyrannically gorgeous form of Shiny Rayquaza in the sky.
And not just any Rayquaza—Shiny Rayquaza.
"That's… Shiny Rayquaza? And that form…?"
Nemona's eyes were round as saucers, utterly shaken as she stared up at the dragon in the sky.
Gorgeous streams of golden light trailed from the sides of its jaw, nearly as long as its body.
Its pitch‑black serpentine body was darker than night itself—slender, powerful, radiating lethal grace.
On its forehead was a Δ‑shaped crest, while ∞‑shaped markings traced across its body.
Overwhelming, majestic, absolute.
The crushing pressure it exuded filled the heavens and earth, a weight that made it hard to even breathe.
Shiny Rayquaza slowly lifted its head.
Its regal, heavy gaze swept across the world like a god looking down on all living things.
This was Rayquaza? It was way too cool.
Even Shadow Mewtwo felt the weight bearing down on its body as it faced this pitch‑black dragon.
Every cell in its body was screaming the same warning.
The Pokémon before it was a monster of terrifying power.
Shadow Mewtwo glanced at Deoxys.
That last hit had clearly done serious damage—its body was still trembling, and everything below the left side of its waist was simply gone, shattered clean away by the attack.
"Tsk～ Shiny Rayquaza!!"
Damian's gaze only burned hotter.
He'd expected a stronger Rayquaza might show up, but he hadn't imagined it would be Shiny Rayquaza.
Why the hell did it have to look this cool?!
For the first time in a long while, Damian actually felt excitement—and a flutter in his chest.
He really wanted to catch this Shiny Rayquaza.
On top of that…
This almost tangible, crushing Dragon aura was the strongest he'd ever felt.
Mairin's Mega Evolution sketchbook had once praised Mega Rayquaza like this:
"Ruling the skies as it does, its presence is enough to rival the gods."
And Damian had to say something now—
To the Pokémon below, this Mega Rayquaza with its overwhelming might was a god.
No wonder the Draconid people of old revered Mega Rayquaza like a deity, even calling it "Lord Dragon God."
With a dragon this overwhelmingly powerful—and one that had saved them—how could the Draconid people not worship it as a god?
And as if in response to a certain strangely familiar aura, one of the Ultra Balls on Damian's belt began to tremble restlessly.
That aura…
~~~
Get early access to 80+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
patreon.com/PokemonStoryWeaver
~~~
Every 100 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter