"Haha, that's right, old man — this is the one Ze took from your vault back then. So? Does it sting?"
Seeing that Mo An Guo had finally remembered, Lu Xing Guo couldn't help but burst out laughing as he spoke.
"Tch."
Mo An Guo shot Lu Xing Guo a dismissive look. "How old are you, acting like a child? He took it from my vault, he took it from my vault. I told him he could pick whatever he wanted, and I meant it."
"Besides, if Ze hadn't taken it, it might've just been gathering dust in my vault forever."
Mo An Guo said this, glancing rather sheepishly at Deoxys.
But Deoxys paid no attention to their conversation at all.
He was already focused on raising his battle power.
He could feel it — the black dragon resting in the arena ahead was going to be a formidable opponent.
So even though fighting wasn't really his nature, Rayquaza had sparked something in him. A desire to battle.
"想不到你个老小子心胸还这么宽广啊?"
"You thought everyone was like you?"
"Scram."
Watching the two old men bicker, Lu Ze couldn't help but苦笑了一下 — a wry smile crossing his face.
He'd been feeling guilty about taking Deoxys's energy core from Grandpa Mo. But after seeing that Grandpa Mo genuinely didn't seem to mind, Lu Ze finally let it go.
Still, he made a silent promise to himself: when Uncle Mo got married — his son could wait — Lu Ze would definitely send them a massive gift.
"Ze."
"Uncle Ziyu, thank you for arranging this battle with Rayquaza."
"Haha, don't mention it. Rayquaza was very eager to fight another Pokémon too."
Cyrus Zhuge waved his hand dismissively when he heard Lu Ze's thanks.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready. Anytime."
Mo An Guo stomped over with a furious scowl, clearly having lost the argument with Lu Xing Guo.
Needless to say what they'd been fighting about.
"Good — let's begin. So, Ze? You ready?"
Sure enough, a grinning Lu Xing Guo followed right behind Mo An Guo.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Lu Ze nodded. Deoxys gave him a nod as well. Only then did Lu Ze address the crowd.
"Alright, let's start. I'll go inform Rayquaza. You two, get ready."
"Got it."
After Lu Ze nodded, he walked toward the trainer's position in the battle arena.
The Masters' Showdown at the Bird's Nest had been a huge spectacle back in the day. Even though Lu Ze had never been here before, he knew exactly where he was supposed to stand.
He took his position. Rayquaza was ready on the opposite side.
One human and one Pokémon, standing across from a very excited-looking Rayquaza.
"Swish!"
Cyrus Zhuge served as referee. The flag dropped. The battle began.
"Attack Forme! Shadow Ball!"
Lu Ze struck first, though it was merely a probing attack.
Rayquaza watched Deoxys flick a string of Shadow Balls its way and couldn't help but grin.
Then its tail turned silvery-white and swatted directly at the Shadow Balls.
Iron Tail!
"Boom!"
A whole chain of Shadow Balls scattered as Rayquaza's tail batted them all away. Unlike Rayquaza's obvious excitement, however, Deoxys's expression had grown grim.
Rayquaza's power had exceeded his expectations.
He'd expected Rayquaza to handle his opening volley with ease.
But he hadn't expected it to be so casual — just sweeping its tail across and shattering every single Shadow Ball.
(He's strong!)
(How does he compare to you?)
Latios watched Latias looking at him with open curiosity. Though slightly exasperated, he explained dutifully.
(He should be stronger than me. At the very least, I couldn't have released that many moves so effortlessly.)
(So that means you can't beat him either, big brother?)
Latias's comment made Latios — currently in his small boy form — flush bright red.
(W-Who said that?! He's definitely strong, but your brother isn't weak either! You can't know whether I could beat him or not without actually fighting!)
(Hehe~)
Latias didn't argue with Latios's stubborn reply. She just giggled and kept watching the battle between the two Pokémon.
Latios and Latias had come with Cyrus Zhuge. They were in a separate viewing room from Wang Heping, but the two of them were alone in the room, so they sprawled across the sofa without a care, watching Deoxys and Rayquaza clash.
(Nice opponent!)
Rayquaza looked at Deoxys with unmistakable excitement.
"!"
(My turn now!)
Rayquaza let out an excited roar. In an instant, white light wrapped around its entire body as it surged forward toward Deoxys.
Extreme Speed!
At the same time, Rayquaza's claws glowed a soft green. As it barrelled toward Deoxys, it extended both claws outward.
"Ice Beam!"
"Hisss!"
Freezing energy came screaming in. Rayquaza didn't flinch — riding Extreme Speed's boost, it moved like a dragon swimming through clouds, weaving around the Ice Beam in spiraling circles. The cold energy passed through the center of its spinning body, all while Rayquaza's speed never wavered, closing in on Deoxys.
"Defense Forme!"
Too fast to dodge. But Deoxys switched forms in an instant.
Just before Rayquaza's Dragon Claw came down, Deoxys successfully shifted into Defense Forme. It caught Rayquaza's Dragon Claw with its newly broadened hands.
It blocked successfully — but Rayquaza's strength was overwhelming. Even airborne, Deoxys was pressed downward.
"Psychic!"
Crunch!
Deoxys was just preparing to use Psychic to push Rayquaza back when the dragon bit down on Deoxys with a Crunch, forcing Deoxys to abandon the move. Deoxys used Rayquaza's own momentum to quickly create distance.
But Rayquaza's strength wasn't so easy to borrow.
The moment Deoxys relaxed slightly, Rayquaza wrenched free — sending Deoxys crashing into the ground.
"!"
Rayquaza howled triumphantly skyward. Countless Air Slashes materialized in the air, and blade after blade shrieked toward Deoxys.
"Attack Forme, Hyper Beam!"
Dazzling white light roared. A wide blank zone opened up ahead of Deoxys.
"Ice Beam!"
Same trick again. Through the hole Hyper Beam had carved through the dense Air Slash field, freezing energy poured forth once more, aimed straight at Rayquaza.
———
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