Steven and Daigo finally reached their destination.
It was not hard to find. A large crater sat at the top of the mountain, and thin smoke was still rising from it. It looked like a meteorite had crashed there.
Steven let out a small sigh of relief. Did this mean his battle with Daigo could continue after all?
Daigo started walking toward the crater to take a closer look, but he stopped suddenly at its edge.
"Something feels wrong," Daigo said, his voice low.
Steven walked over when he heard this and looked down at the meteorite resting in the crater. Its burnt outer shell kept breaking away in small pieces, and underneath it, a patch of dark red material was showing through.
"Deoxys," Daigo said, frowning as he studied the deep red color.
Deoxys had appeared in the Hoenn region once before, and because Daigo had always been fascinated by unusual stones, it made sense that he would recognize it right away.
"Deoxys is a Pokémon that forms when the DNA of a space virus, one that clung to a meteorite, is changed by a beam of light," Daigo explained to Steven.
Steven glanced up at the sky. Deoxys usually appeared near auroras, but it was daytime now, and even if an aurora were present, it would be nearly impossible to see. Still, he wondered — if Deoxys had shown up, wouldn't Rayquaza come looking for it too?
Crack, crack—
While they had been talking, the meteorite's outer shell had already crumbled away completely, revealing a dark red, triangular shape underneath.
There was no turning back now.
The triangular object rose into the air and began moving in a strange, steady pattern, almost as if it were drawing a symbol. When it finished, it stopped in midair and let out a glow of orange-red light. Slowly, its shape began to change, forming a head, a body, and limbs.
Deoxys's body was mostly orange-red, with a blue-green face and three blue-green markings on its back. A purple line crossed its face, and a crystal-like structure sat in its chest, like a throat. Its eyes were round and white, set inside black, rectangular sockets.
Then, in an instant, those white eyes flashed red.
"Deoxys..." Daigo took a step forward, hoping to communicate with it.
But Deoxys's body shifted again — its hand-like limbs opened wide, and the horn on its head grew sharper. All four of its arms came together at its chest, gathering a glowing blue Energy Ball, which shot straight at Daigo.
Psyshock!
"Metagross!" Steven called out at once.
The X-shaped marks on both Metagross's faces lit up blue in the same moment. Two Psychic-type barriers rose to meet the attack — and shattered, but not before stopping Deoxys's Psyshock completely.
"It seems this one isn't willing to listen to you, Daigo," Steven said with a tired smile.
This Deoxys's strength was clearly beyond what a normal Champion-level Pokémon could reach. Perhaps, much like Ayaka's Lucario, it was a Battle Legend Pokémon.
"A Battle Legend?" Daigo's frown deepened.
In this particular timeline, there had been no Red or Green. The only known Battle Legend was Mustard, who had won the Pokémon League Championship eighteen times in a row, long before Dynamax battles even existed. He was remembered as the strongest Champion in history, though age had since worn down his once-great strength. His most promising student, the current Galar Champion Leon, was seen as his likely successor — but even Leon still needed to rely on the power of Dynamax to briefly reach that same level.
"Steven, I could use your help," Daigo said, turning to look at him.
"Already ready," Steven answered with a grin. Teaming up with Daigo for a battle didn't sound bad at all.
"Metagross, Mega Evolve!"
Both trainers reached for their Key Stones at the same moment — Daigo pulled his from the pocket over his chest, while Steven took his from his pants pocket. In just a moment, both Metagross completed their Mega Evolution.
(Here, Daigo's Metagross will be called Shiny Metagross, to tell the two apart.)
Deoxys watched the two Pokémon below with a cold, distant stare.
Daigo glanced over at Steven's Metagross, something flickering behind his eyes. This version of himself, from another timeline, didn't seem any weaker than he was now. A faint smile touched Daigo's lips. In the most recent World Championship, Steven had only placed third among the Masters Eight. Perhaps this other version of himself really could rise to the very top of that ranking — and take the title of "Strongest Champion in History" away from Mustard.
"Let's go, Steven!" Daigo called out, smiling.
"Right!"
"Comet Punch!"
Metagross and Shiny Metagross rushed forward together toward Deoxys, their four arms drawn in like a pair of missiles.
Deoxys watched the two Metagross close in, and its form shifted once more — instantly. It changed from its sharp, angular Attack Forme into a rounder shape, one built for defense. It crossed its arms, and a faint shield of energy formed around its body.
Bang—
Metagross's Comet Punch landed on both sides of Deoxys at once, but the attack couldn't break through its Defense Forme. Deoxys spread its arms wide, and the shield expanded suddenly, throwing both Metagross backward. Then its shape shifted again, this time into a slim, narrow form. In a flash, Deoxys darted forward and knocked both Metagross clean out of the sky.
"Attack, Defense, Speed..." Steven and Daigo said together, almost at the same time.
Drawing on what he remembered about Deoxys, Steven quickly recalled the traits of its three battle formes. Fortunately, the strengths and weaknesses of each were fairly easy to tell apart.
"Its defenses are weak while it's attacking, its attack is weak while it's defending, and when it switches to its Speed Forme, both its power and defense fall behind the other two," Daigo explained.
After just one exchange, they had already figured out how each of Deoxys's formes worked.
Steven and Daigo shared a look — they had a plan now. If this had been a one-on-one battle, Deoxys's near Extreme Speed movement in its Speed Forme would have made most attacks almost impossible to land. But with two trainers working together, as long as their timing lined up, they had a real chance.
The key was Deoxys's Attack Forme. That was the moment its defenses dropped the lowest. But getting the timing exactly right would not be easy at all.
Deoxys shifted into its Attack Forme, and a beam of golden energy burst from its chest.
Hyper Beam!
"Dodge!"
The word was meant for their Metagross, but also for themselves. Steven and Daigo threw themselves apart, diving to opposite sides. The golden beam tore into the ground, carving a deep groove across the mountainside.
Steven realized the Hyper Beam had been aimed at the two of them the whole time. If they had reacted even a moment slower, they might have been burned to ash along with a piece of the mountain.
Steven's hand tightened around a Poké Ball, his eyes narrowing with focus.
"Metagross, Flash Cannon!"