The eternal, soundless night stretched on. Without the atmosphere's protection, the high-energy radiation released by the fierce sunlight, together with that blinding glare, almost burned Zinnia's eyes.
Or perhaps the light was so painful because several other sources of light were still locked in battle.
The stars had vanished. Every meteor was gone.
Of course they had.
Gas and dust scattered starlight, giving the sky its blue color—or other colors. Without an atmosphere, the sky would be pitch-black.
Perhaps the starship connected to Near Shore had not arrived yet. After all, Rayquaza was faster than any starship.
Mysterious Communication: ["Bzzzt—"]
["Gathered wishes shall become a newborn shining star, forming a radiant path of light."]
Zinnia: ["Who… are you?"]
Hikaru : ["Zinnia. No—Far Shore. You've already reached the heavens, haven't you? How is the battle going in that space suit? We saw Mega Rayquaza appear. The second Rayquaza has been obtained too, hasn't it? Born from the people's wishes, before this sixth long night arrives."]
["The people's wishes reacted with the Key Stone. During the prayer ritual at Sky Pillar, that intense desire gave birth to something new. That something is—"]
["The mikado organ!"]
["Born from the chaos of the world, it is also called Delta. By combining the people's prayers with the bond of stone, it will quell the calamity disturbing this world!"]
["The Star Child is heading toward the comet. I need you to report the situation in space. The Dragon God's condition, Steven's condition, and the condition of that special Deoxys."]
The people from Devon and Hikaru Space Center did not know she had put on a space suit.
That was what Zinnia thought.
Because her plan had been to fulfill the duties of a Lorekeeper and the Draconid people, then reach the boundary between life and death and reunite with Near Shore, the one she loved.
This was her first time communicating with this mysterious man from the People of the Divine Gate.
He knew every possible situation that might arise, and he understood all kinds of inherited lore—not just one isolated piece of information.
Sometimes, you had to assemble information from several sides to reach the best possible ending. Thinking about it now, what she had wanted to do before had been terribly lacking in imagination.
Human imagination was like the boundless universe, and the only Pokémon capable of surviving in such an endless world were Pokémon like Rayquaza.
Whether it was Groudon or Kyogre, land or sea, neither could compare to the vastness of the sky.
["Before that, I want to thank you."]
Zinnia did not answer Hikaru 's question. Instead, she sincerely expressed the joy and gratitude in her heart.
["I once doubted you. I doubted the myths of other regions."]
["Even the elder of the Draconid people thought my actions were extreme."]
["Ever since I was little, I would often look up at the sky. Once, there was someone I loved very, very much. She was the most important person in my life. Because I loved her, I came to love the universe and the stars she described too."]
["And now, I have my own Rayquaza. So… thank you."]
["The responsibility of the Draconid people, Hoenn's survival, the mission of inheritance, and… the things I inherited—all of them have come true."]
["The more I understand, the more I know that you are different from the other ancient peoples."]
["So, can you answer me? When I saw that starship rise into the sky and become an emerald star, I heard the voice of the person I loved."]
A tremor entered Zinnia's voice over the communicator as she asked the question that had haunted her dreams.
["Near Shore… are you there? Are you watching me?"]
No certain answer came through the communicator. Instead, little by little, a humming voice emerged.
It was the same song she had heard when she looked up at the sky as a child.
That gentle, clear girl's voice could carry to the ends of heaven and earth, could reach the very limits of the universe. Whenever that song sounded, the stars and destiny would begin to turn.
The Meteor Lament.
["The song of the stars… I want to see you again. Near Shore… Near Shore!"]
Zinnia clasped her hands together in prayer, already sobbing too hard to speak.
[Don't cry. If you cry in space, your tears will lose their original shape. If too many tears gather inside your space suit, they could cause discomfort, or even trigger something dangerous like vomiting.]
[Don't cry, Far Shore. There's a cleaning sponge inside your helmet. Tilt your head up and wipe the tears away.]
[If your eyes are damaged, you won't be able to see the stars anymore.]
[The Dragon God, and the new Rayquaza, both need you to save them. You must complete the mission of the Draconid people in my place.]
[After everything returns to the way it should be… let's go watch a meteor shower together.]
The woman's voice in the communicator soothed Zinnia's collapsing emotions. Zinnia did not hesitate for long. She immediately tilted her head back.
Just as she had often done when she was a child.
The cleaning sponge inside the space helmet had been prepared precisely to prevent situations like this. The suit also contained memory foam to soften impacts. Even though the Magma Suit and Aqua Suit were products of absurdly advanced technology, they still included something as simple as sponge.
After wiping away her tears and receiving a definite response, Zinnia knew that the most important person who had once left her had brought her soul into space.
Far Shore and Near Shore would reunite in the end.
Zinnia made her decision.
["Near Shore… my wish came true. The wish that began with the Draconid people brought forth the most incredible People of the Divine Gate and returned you to my side. Just like the thousand-year legend says, during the seven nights when the Millennium Comet appears, any wish you make will surely come true!"]
["For your sake, I absolutely cannot die here!"]
["Then let's promise. Together, we'll return to Meteor Falls!"]
Zinnia adjusted the communication device.
["Report… That is the word I should use, right?"]
["I saw the Dragon God and Steven. They were pushed away by Deoxys and are moving farther and farther toward the silver comet!"]
["They're leaving our planet at top speed!"]
Zinnia also saw scattered fragments drifting through space. If her vision had not been exceptional, she would never have noticed them.
They looked like pieces of a Poké Ball. On one of the larger fragments, there was a pattern that read [DNA].
["…I saw something that looked like a Poké Ball. It was shattered. It had DNA written on it."]
["Steven… drifted into space together with the Dragon God."]
Zinnia's expression turned grim.
Although she did not like Devon Corporation's former Champion, he had indeed done what he had once promised. For Hoenn's sake, he had gone into space first as the reserve candidate, and he had offered up his life.
Of course, it was impossible to simply declare Steven dead so rashly. But right now, there was no way to confirm his condition.
He and the Dragon God were drifting together into the depths of the universe, heading toward that shining silver celestial body. Still, there was something wrong with the light from that body.
[How clever of him. He actually tried to capture me with a special Poké Ball. I have already figured out how that thing works too.]
[That human has fainted. Controlling Rayquaza must have consumed too much of his mental strength. How could a mere human possibly withstand my psychic attack?]
[That said, I will admit that the ball caused me a little trouble. Only a little, of course!]
A powerful telepathic voice came from ahead. Zinnia saw the Deoxys turn its head while pushing the Dragon God away. It took a charging stance and actually used the same ultimate move as the Dragon God.
["That… that's! Rayquaza, use Dragon Ascent!"]
Zinnia also had an inheritance scroll. In order for the second Rayquaza to serve successfully as the backup Dragon God, she had to teach it the secret of Dragon Ascent as well. Both Lorekeeper girls had their corresponding sky dragons, and Fiore's Rayquaza let out a fierce roar.
They had already come this far. Talking about retreat or escape was meaningless now.
The Deoxys before them had the code name Belial.
Its meaning was—devil.
Without question, this creature was a monster from space. If the original Dragon God had fought it under normal conditions, defeating it should have been effortless. But after their enemy gained the power of the comet, everything changed.
Still, Zinnia had obtained the same Mega Evolution.
Fiore's Rayquaza felt such overwhelming power for the first time.
If it had possessed this ability four years ago on the ice plains, it never would have fallen into such a hard battle. And that Deoxys back then had only just been born.
You aliens… all of you are monsters. You're far too dangerous!
Fiore's Rayquaza straightened its body and shot into the black universe like a green blade. It collided head-on with the cosmic monster wreathed in a pale aura, both sides using the same ultimate move.
["Deoxys's Attack Forme should be extremely fragile. But after taking a collision from Rayquaza with that much force… it wasn't shaken at all?!"]
["What Forme is that? Its shape has become more aggressive, and both its head and tentacles are extremely sharp. Is this the 'Forme Change' mentioned in the reports… Rayquaza? Rayquaza?!"]
Zinnia commanded Fiore's Rayquaza, but the gap in strength and level was magnified without limit in that instant. The enemy Deoxys released a mocking telepathic cry, using intense psychic power to attack Zinnia.
At the same time, it slammed Rayquaza violently toward the far side of the stars.
Deoxys Belial: [Too weak! You are nowhere near that "Dragon God"! You have no right to use Dragon Ascent like that!]
[Against someone like you, all I need to do is let my clones surround and kill you. Didn't you see them? My divided bodies are scattered all across space!]
Fiore's Rayquaza steadied itself, then turned its head in shock to look around. The divided bodies hidden against the darkness of space were closing in.
[Now take this one too—Nature Power: Draco Meteor!]
Deoxys Belial raised both hands toward the universe. The shattered meteorites suddenly trembled, moving like celestial bodies in orbit, releasing an unbelievably massive amount of energy.
That energy came from space. And in this world created by Arceus, meteorites were always connected to all kinds of strange powers.
When Nature Power was used in space, it became the strongest Dragon-type move: Draco Meteor.
Across all battle scenes in the entire series, aside from the battle where the player rides Rayquaza into space, only using Nature Power at Spear Pillar can produce the same heavenly draconic meteors.
These are the only two battle locations in the entire series where Draco Meteor can be used freely. They are also the only areas where the Pokémon known as Serperior can legally use Contrary Draco Meteor.
Fiore's Rayquaza watched the countless meteors descend from space, and the strongest Dragon-type move struck it in a single devastating blow, leaving it gravely injured. The fierce meteors battered its forehead, claws, tail, and body. Even Zinnia was affected.
Deoxys Belial:
[The human body cannot operate in outer space. You can only command Rayquaza in battle because you are wearing special clothing.]
[However, that also means if I attack you and make you die in space, then Rayquaza, robbed of its commander, can only fight on instinct.]
[Instinct?]
[True. For beings with the same abilities, the thing required to gain greater strength is the merciless desire to crush and tear apart the enemy. An absolute hunger for battle.]
[Peel away our skin, carve out our flesh, shatter our bones—engraved into our birth and origin is a keen killing response.]
[However, this world is governed by type matchups. If you use moves that are ineffective or useless, you will never defeat your enemy!]
[Using moves at random and fighting on instinct makes you an inferior life-form!]
This was not some sudden whim from Deoxys. It was simply how it operated.
In the Pokémon Generations short, this Deoxys not only attacked a Trainer, but also shattered an artificial satellite.
Hikaru kept the line open with Zinnia through the communicator.
["After changing Forme, Deoxys's stats undergo enormous shifts. Its HP is the only thing that normally does not change… but this one's vitality is different. Each Forme also has its own specific moves."]
Zinnia: ["Then what is the light covering its body? Those things that look like an aura?!"]
Hikaru : ["Did you say… aura?!"]
["So that's it. Light can indeed transform into aura. That aura is called a Totem Aura. Of course, there is also something called an Ultra Aura."]
["Beyond those, there are five other kinds of aura."]
Fairy Aura, Dark Aura, Aura Break.
The shining aura that appears after eating Herba Mystica.
And the "Dark Weather" of the Orre region.
Hikaru : ["An aura covers a Pokémon's entire body and greatly increases its abilities. The enhancement method varies, but it makes them extremely powerful."]
["Aura is difficult to remove. Only the passage of time can gradually fade an external aura. But if the Pokémon itself can release aura, then there is nothing to be done."]
It felt like a Super Saiyan transformation, but at most, its stats would rise to +6 across the board. That fact would not change.
A Totem Aura raised a stat by one stage, the same as a normal 1.5-times boost—a 50% increase. But that could not be treated like a fiftyfold increase in battle power.
Fairy Aura, Dark Aura, and similar effects raised power by 1.33 times, or 33%.
"Damn it. Aura can't be removed?"
Zinnia commanded Rayquaza to regain its footing. That last blow had dealt severe damage, but her Rayquaza's fighting spirit was still burning high. If anything, it had been enraged, and it had begun to think.
Think.
When Fiore's Rayquaza had fought on the ice plains, it had used electromagnetic interference from local equipment to keep the alien from locking onto its target. Then, in the frozen lake, it had played dead and used a vicious trick to eliminate the enemy.
But in space, there was nowhere to hide. Did it have to use the playing-dead tactic again?
What kind of move was playing dead? It was not a move. It was just… pretending to be on the verge of fainting.
Fiore's Rayquaza panted heavily and began its act. At the instant the enemy laughed and charged, the scheming sky dragon suddenly closed its eyes.
Feigning death, it took another head-on blow from the enemy's copied Dragon Ascent. Deoxys flew through space in Attack Forme. Seeing that Fiore's Rayquaza had not dodged, that it had been hit directly and seemed to be losing strength, Deoxys mocked it again.
[So this is the end, low-level creature?]
[…Then the next blow will finish you.]
Deoxys dove straight down, turning into a pale, shrieking death ray that tore through outer space. Its sharp tentacles formed a spear, and it aimed to pierce Rayquaza's skull in a single strike.
It would run through the Trainer along with it.
But at that moment, the trickster sky dragon's eyes snapped open.
Powerful energy had already gathered around it. It drew in the high-energy particles of space, combining those particles with its own strength to unleash something in this place with power far beyond imagination—
High-altitude electrical discharge. A gigantic jet.
From the tops of thunderclouds, such discharges could extend hundreds of kilometers into the upper atmosphere, forming an "electric bridge" that connected to the ionosphere. What Rayquaza was using now was something even stronger.
After Mega Evolution, it could alter the composition of particles in the atmosphere through its tendrils, allowing it to control the weather. The high-energy particles in space were also weapons for Rayquaza.
The move it had just used was Thunder, with a base power of 110. But now…
Its power had reached at least 185.
Rather than calling it Thunder, it was closer to Gigavolt Havoc.
Normally, a Z-Crystal could not coexist with Mega Rayquaza. But this time, that did not matter, because this was not a true Z-Move. Its power had simply been increased.
A shining flood of lightning struck Deoxys.
["It worked! Lightning of that magnitude actually erupted here! That high-energy particle impact—I don't really understand it, but it must have caused—"]
Zinnia's delighted voice cut off through the communicator.
The lightning exploded outward. Deoxys had crossed its tentacles in front of its chest. From the crystal in its chest, it could fire an immensely powerful laser, and that beam was—
A powerful rainbow-colored beam, accompanied by a fierce high-energy flash, struck Fiore's Rayquaza.
[You looked like you were fainting, but in reality, you used Rest. Did you think I wouldn't see through that?]
[Mirror Coat.]
Damage received from an opponent's special attack was returned to that same opponent with twice the power.
Deoxys Belial's telepathy dropped into a low growl.
[You restored your HP to full while making me lower my guard. But didn't I already say the next move would kill you?]
[What a pity. Unfortunately, this counterattack move cannot land a critical hit. So—Ice Beam!]
A transparent beam of ice and snow seemed to whip up an unimaginably cold whirlwind in space. Rayquaza's body began to freeze, and Zinnia's body froze with it.
In the end, they were completely encased in ice.
In outer space, at a great distance from the planet, it was indeed possible to see sixteen sunrises and sunsets in a single day. Every one and a half hours, the sun would sink again.
And now, sunset had arrived.
The sun gradually fell, changing from a dazzling white orb into something dimmer as it was blocked by the planet, leaving only a blue arc at the edge of the world.
The universe gradually sank into pitch darkness.
Rayquaza died beneath the setting sun.
[Whether you are alive or merely fainted, I have no time to care anymore!]
Deoxys Belial looked toward the atmosphere on the other side.
[The starship carrying the Star Child has arrived!]
[The time for wishes has come, and every one of those wishes shall be fulfilled for me!]
Deoxys was ecstatic.
After intercepting Jirachi and the Millennium Comet's energy, the greed in its heart had begun to swell.
It would shatter this planet, plunder its natural energy, and take away the Mythical Pokémon that could grant wishes.
If that happened, no Pokémon anywhere in the universe could possibly be its match.
[The strongest Pokémon in the universe—that will be me. Yes. I shall call myself the Cosmic Emperor!]
Deoxys Belial changed its Forme, entering its ultra-high-speed Speed Forme.
Extreme Speed!
The alien devil rushed toward the starship at an unbelievable velocity. But from another side of outer space, a third dragon roar made its eyes shift slightly.
The third one.
It was the third power it had sensed before. Another Rayquaza.
This world truly had a lot of cosmic sky dragons. That jet-black light appearing at the edge of the sky charged toward it with an unmatched presence.
[Black. Different from the first two!]
[Grass-green, emerald-green, jet-black… Don't tell me you also received those humans' wishes and can Mega Evolve!]
[But you are actually charging at me in your normal form. How reckless and foolish!]
[It is only Dragon Ascent. I have seen it and copied it already. There is nothing surprising about it. I am tired of watching it!]
Deoxys's challenge was quickly answered.
The jet-black Rayquaza charged into space with a savage grin and began to use Dragon Dance.
[Dragon Ascent… That was something taught to me five hundred years ago. Don't talk as if I just learned it! Though this is my first time using it!]
The black Rayquaza's roar shook the heavens. Then its body began to twist. As it flew and danced, its Speed and Attack rose to their maximum values, and the same green high-altitude energy surged around it.
Though Deoxys did not know why this jet-black Rayquaza could also use that move, thinking about it carefully, humans did seem to communicate with one another. Deoxys had long understood that through observation. So it was not strange that, in ancient times, someone from one region had traveled to another to teach a move.
This jet-black Rayquaza had come from the far side of the planet, meaning it had been very distant from Hoenn.
Deoxys Belial changed into Defense Forme.
Then—
A mixed impact of black and green light thundered into it, driving it up into space.
[Oooooh?! What is happening? How can this Dragon Ascent have so much power—]
Deoxys was violently forced back into the universe, and the power of this jet-black Rayquaza's move was anything but ordinary.
No. Compared to the one called the Dragon God, it was not inferior at all. It might even surpass it.
However, in terms of [level], this creature should not be as powerful as that Dragon God.
[There is a reason I did not evolve. My current Ability is not Air Lock!]
The jet-black Rayquaza shoved Deoxys back to the outer-space battlefield. That telepathic roar could not reach Brendan's heart, but the sharp-minded boy could still sense that the black Rayquaza he had exhausted himself awakening at the urging of the locals was different from the green Rayquaza.
Brendan: ["I made it, Lord Hikaru ! Zinnia!"]
["I'm Brendan. It took me a long time, but I finally brought the thing back from the Kingdom of Dragnor! But it looks like I was too late, so I brought this black Rayquaza with me!"]
["According to the local legend, five hundred years ago, that region once had countless warlords with special powers. They fought and conquered one another in endless wars, and among the Pokémon that finally ended the chaos was this black Rayquaza."]
["They say there were two heroes who ended the age of war. I'll explain the details later."]
["I have a question. When this jet-black Rayquaza appeared, it felt different from Rayquaza in the past. I can't really explain it. It feels like its Ability is different—but that shouldn't be possible. And its moves are extremely powerful too!"]
["I help Professor Birch with Pokédex surveys, but this is beyond anything I understand. I want to know more about this Rayquaza, so… I figured you would definitely know something!"]
Hikaru : ["Hello, Brendan. You are very late… but heroes always arrive at the critical moment, so there is no need to worry about that."]
["My Celesteela is about to carry the Star Child into space and continue moving toward the silver comet. When the True Eye opens, you must keep Deoxys occupied. I will help as well."]
["Rayquaza's Ability is Air Lock. There is no doubt about that. But the jet-black Rayquaza from the Ransei region can also use another Ability at the same time. If you say its moves have grown stronger, then I suspect that other Ability is the cause."]
["Its name is Nomad!"]
The black Rayquaza of Ransei had been given a very unique exclusive Ability in Pokémon Conquest.
Perhaps in a tactical RPG, that Ability was hard to evaluate. But if placed into actual combat, the boost from that Ability would be absurd.
Nomad could also be described as high-altitude energy or sky energy.
The farther Rayquaza moved, the higher its Attack would become. For every step it moved in the tactical grid, its damage would increase by one-eighth.
If converted to main-series battles, it would mean that every time the black Rayquaza took action, its damage would increase by 12.5%, up to a maximum of 100%.
Of course, Nobunaga's Rayquaza had also been formally distributed.
Its Ability was still Air Lock, not the new Nomad. After all, that Ability only existed in Pokémon Conquest, not in the main series.
If this were viewed as a real world, then perhaps it was influenced by the "land and climate" of the region and the Infinite Tower.
The llama had once appeared in the Ransei region, and would only appear at the mysterious ruins in the Kingdom of Aurora and the Infinite Tower in the Kingdom of Dragnor. The black Rayquaza was basically a roommate living together with Hisui's llama, so gaining a little special power was normal enough.
And as the first Shiny Pokémon ever distributed, the jet-black Rayquaza was probably the one that appeared in Hoopa and the Clash of Ages. However, because its first distribution was during Generation V, it could not possibly have Dragon Ascent. That move was added later.
If it had Nomad, then it would explain why the black Rayquaza was so strong. Dragon Dance plus a fully stacked high-altitude power boost, followed by Mega Evolution into Delta Stream—its battle sense was fully optimized.
For the first time, Deoxys Belial felt that things had become troublesome.
Although it had suppressed the Dragon God earlier and crushed the second Mega Rayquaza, this third one…
It was very different from the first two.
Although it was currently in its normal form, its stats were wrong.
[Wishes… So you can definitely Mega Evolve too!]
[What are you waiting for?]
The jet-black Rayquaza grinned fiercely.
What was it waiting for?
Obviously, it was waiting for Nomad to fully stack.
All of its move damage would increase by 100%.
[Third turn… Hmph. It seems I underestimated you creatures!]
The Millennium Comet's power was not without limit. Deoxys Belial shifted its gaze to the rising starship.
It only needed to obtain the Millennium Comet's energy one more time.
Its body began to grow enormous. It released all the energy it still retained, and an intense pale light caused its body to keep swelling.
Totem Aura, Ultra Aura, or Z-Power—whatever it was called, all of it was power that came from light. A Pokémon capable of controlling light was something it had only heard of in the distant universe. It did not exist here.
Probably.
Even the jet-black Rayquaza had not expected the creature before it to grow larger through the light aura around its body. That too surpassed its understanding.
What kind of thing could release light, create airflow, and grow huge?
Deoxys Belial:
[Aliens growing larger and smaller is basic common sense, is it not?]
[Let this Forme be named 100% Full Power Forme!]
It would consume a tremendous amount of stamina during battle, so it needed to end this quickly.
It suddenly landed on a nearby meteorite and touched [the ground].
The jet-black Rayquaza did not understand what it was doing. But immediately afterward, it sensed a terrifying presence.
Deoxys Belial:
[Then my next blow will be a same-type attack bonus move. You jet-black sky dragon, vanish beneath this strike of light!]
[Blinded Light! Move: Psycho Boost!]
The user attacked the target with all its power. After using the move, the recoil would sharply lower its own Special Attack. If the attack was ineffective or missed, the effect would not occur.
Attack Forme Deoxys raised both hands, creating a giant sphere of energy between them. It drew that energy into the crystal on its chest, and from there produced an even larger spherical radiance.
With a powerful halo surrounding it, it fired the attack at its opponent.
With same-type attack bonus, its base power would reach 210. Calculating by the usual critical-hit boost, normally 1.5 times, its expected power was 315.
However, with aura covering its whole body and all of its stats at +6, all of its base stats had risen by 400%, increasing from the original base 180 to 720.
The resulting damage was as high as 1,278.
At that moment, Deoxys was also overflowing with a Psychic-type halo, forming a strange terrain. This was power obtained from the giant meteorite. With the effects of those meteorites, each meteorite could be treated as a gem that boosted all attributes.
And this was the ancient gem version—a Psychic Gem. It would increase the power of this Psychic-type move by 50%. Normally, it would vanish after one use, but with the move Recycle, it could be used infinitely.
On top of that… Psychic Terrain.
It protected the user from priority moves and raised the power of Psychic-type moves used by [grounded Pokémon] by 30%.
The power of Psycho Boost rose from an expected [315] to [614]!
And with its level at ???...
Its battle power was eighteen thousand!
[My Psycho Boost is unmatched! You will become dust in the universe!]
That intense light pierced even time and space, stabbing into a distant alien universe.
——————
The silver comet.
Inside his space suit, Steven slowly opened his eyes through the visor.
His mental exhaustion had driven him to his limit. He was drifting alone into space, sinking into the comet's energy. And together with him was Hoenn's legendary Dragon God…
The Galaxy Ball had exploded too. Although it had caused the enemy trouble, it had ultimately been forced open by sheer energy. Just as Hikaru had said, the enemy's energy had already exceeded the upper limit that a special ball could withstand. If even the Galaxy Ball could not do it, throwing a Master Ball would also be pointless.
Bang!
Mega Rayquaza suddenly opened its eyes.
[This is not the time to sleep, Steven.]
It had already eaten the grass-green orb to replace its mikado organ, so it could not convey its thoughts to its partner. But it had truly heard the wishes gathered from the planet, the wishes condensed at Sky Pillar.
Wishes could make incredible things happen. False wishes would not take effect, while true wishes would trigger certain phenomena.
It could feel its declining organ recovering. The grass-green orb had become like a second heart, and the high-energy radiation and meteorites in space were continuously charging it.
But that still was not enough.
Mega Rayquaza grabbed the exhausted Steven and flew toward the sun.
The Millennium Comet's power was indeed enormous, but the source of its Mega Evolution was not the comet. It was a star.
Therefore, just as it had said before ascending, it would fly toward the sun.
[O sun! If it was you and the wishes of humanity that together allowed my Mega Evolution to appear, if both your creator and you love this world…]
[Then please grant me the power to defeat the cosmic monster!]
Mega Rayquaza flew like an emerald star of grass-green light toward the ends of heaven and earth. At the far end of that blue arc, it surpassed the speed of the planet and saw the sun once more.
Then, again, it continued forward.
The wish of the emerald star!
Mysterious Voice: [Dragon God, you must not draw any closer to the sun.]
Mega Rayquaza: [Telepathy… Who is calling me? Who are you?]
Mysterious Voice: [Go back. If you enter the sun's gravity, both you and Steven will die. Go back.]
[The sun's surface temperature is as high as six thousand degrees. It burns and pierces through all things. Among Pokémon, there is said to be one such being, a Pokémon like the sun itself, one that once illuminated the universe. But you are not it.]
[The light it released fell upon the stars and the earth, becoming what are known as Z-Crystals, and those lights transformed into special auras.]
[However, the power of light cannot coexist with Mega Evolution. Therefore, no matter how much power you seek from the sun, you cannot obtain the corresponding aura.]
Mega Rayquaza stopped moving forward. It narrowed its eyes and looked toward the sun, vaguely seeing the indistinct afterimages of several Pokémon inside.
Something like a dragon. Something like a lion. Something like a bat.
They seemed to be things condensed from power, phantoms from the distant past, not real Pokémon.
And so Rayquaza turned back and looked toward a certain direction in space.
That was the direction of the planet.
A beam of light rose. It was not intense. It seemed to rise from the starship's position, then split into two.
Within the second beam of light appeared the transparent figure of an alien. It was Deoxys. The third Deoxys.
That one was the Deoxys carried by the person from the People of the Divine Gate.
The telepathy was not only speaking to Mega Rayquaza, but also transmitting information to the other two outsiders.
[Open your eyes, cosmic supermen.]
[Your crystals have been damaged, but I have brought… the Sacred Ash that gives life to all things.]
[It can restore your lives and help you rise again. The Star Child's True Eye is about to open, and all wishes shall come true!]
[Can you hear it? "The Pulse of the Stars"!]
The Deoxys from Birth Island and the Deoxys from the Fiore region opened their eyes at the same time.
Hikaru Deoxys Zoffy used the blue crystal in its chest to replenish their strength.
After they were bathed in that high-energy light, even though the Sacred Ash had not burned, its energy had been delivered.
Once the two outsiders recovered their energy, they immediately fired beams at the giant-meteorite Deoxys.
They launched a mysterious ray at the target. It could sometimes leave the target confused.
Psybeam!
Deoxys Zoffy: [Dragon God… the stars are calling out to you. The power from heaven has opened itself to you. At the beginning of this month, alongside the seven-night return of the Millennium Comet, a massive meteor shower will appear.]
[The Little Litleonid meteor shower—a return of meteors that occurs only once or twice every thousand years. The stars from the depths of the universe have traveled far to fulfill people's wishes.]
[The Star Child says… within the meteors is a new power. It, too, is praying for you. A power from a distant world beyond Mega Evolution, one that is not inferior to the aura of light!]
Mega Rayquaza looked toward the Millennium Comet.
It turned back from the sun, carrying the exhausted Steven, and returned once more to the battlefield.
It sent a telepathic voice toward Deoxys Zoffy.
[Lorekeeper! People of the Divine Gate and Near Shore… let them come with me toward the meteor shower!]
(End of Chapter)
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