BOOM—!!!
High in the sky, two powerful energies hit each other. The shockwave immediately pushed away the clouds around the Sky Pillar. It made a clear area for many kilometers around the fight.
The Sky Pillar shook from the hit. At the top of the tower, the shaking was very strong and clear. The sky became clear, and the ancient tower was visible for the first time. All its secrets were shown to the world.
Maybe the Sky Pillar had never faced such a hard test since the day it was built.
Thousands of years ago, the Draconids built this tower. They made it very strong and gave it a special power to protect it. They wanted it to stay safe during hard battles. They expected difficult fights in the future, but they did not expect a Pokémon as strong as Rayquaza to fight here.
Under the power of the two Pokémon, the Sky Pillar was like a lighthouse in the middle of a big ocean. During the thunder and lightning, it stayed strong against the storm. People wondered if the tower would finally break.
The tower could not take much more!
Luckily, the main fight was not on the Dragon Altar itself. This kept the tower from taking the worst damage. Even so, Misty felt the floor shake. She held a stone pillar and moved closer to Dragonite.
She felt better when she was close to him. If the Sky Pillar fell, he could save her right away. Dragonite saw that she was worried. He looked at her and smiled. He gave her a thumbs-up to show everything was okay.
Natsui and Zinnia were different. They did not worry about the tower or the shaking floor. They only looked at the battle in the sky. They both knew the fight was at a very important moment.
The fast, strong fight made both Pokémon tired. They had taken many hits, and their condition was bad. They were still attacking hard, but they did not look as powerful as they did at the start.
Natsui thought quickly and decided to change his plan.
He used their mental link to tell Deoxys to change. It went from Attack Forme to Speed Forme. They would not fight the Black Rayquaza directly anymore. Instead, they would use fast, small attacks to tire it out.
The change worked immediately.
The Black Rayquaza was used to big attacks. It was surprised by the new form. Deoxys moved very fast, and Rayquaza could not see where it was.
In this form, Deoxys had less power than before, but it was still strong for a legendary Pokémon. Its attacks were still dangerous. Rayquaza has high attack but low defense, so it was hard to take the hits. Also, Rayquaza was too tired to move fast enough.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Deoxys moved so quickly it looked like a shadow.
Because of these fast attacks, the Black Rayquaza could not stay in its spot. It roared loudly. Its long body moved around. It tried to make Deoxys fight it directly again.
A wild Pokémon might have tried to fight back without thinking. But Natsui would not lose his advantage.
He planned this victory step by step. First, he used Attack Forme to fight equally. Then, when they were tired, he used the speed advantage. The Black Rayquaza could not keep up and had to take the hits.
It might sound simple, but it is hard. The Trainer needs a lot of mental energy to do this when both Pokémon are strong. The Trainer leads the target into a trap.
But that is what a Trainer does!
They help their Pokémon do better. They turn a tie into a win. They make impossible things happen. This is the biggest difference between a wild Pokémon and one with a human.
And now, it was time to finish the job!
Deoxys used Double Team to get past the Black Rayquaza. The real Deoxys appeared behind the dragon and hit it again. A strong Energy Ball hit Rayquaza in the back.
After the explosion, Rayquaza moved weakly. It looked like it was in pain. Zinnia's heart beat very fast. She was very excited. She shouted:
"NOW IS THE TIME!!!"
Natsui already knew that.
He knew this was the best moment to catch Rayquaza. He took out an Ultra Ball. He threw it hard into the sky.
The three people watched the Ultra Ball go up. It opened, and a red light hit the Black Rayquaza. It pulled the Pokémon inside the ball.
Natsui was very nervous. He had caught legendaries before, but this one was very powerful. Also, this was a Black Rayquaza, which was a Shiny Pokémon he always wanted.
The Ultra Ball caught the Black Rayquaza and fell to the Dragon Altar.
Clack.
It made a sound when it hit the ground. It rolled a little. Then, the Ultra Ball started to shake a lot. The Black Rayquaza was trying to get out.
But it could not escape. Even if it got out, Deoxys would attack it, and Natsui would throw another Ultra Ball. It had no choice.
Some people say Ultra Balls have a bad catch rate, but that is usually just bad luck. The ball is actually very good.
Like now—
After shaking hard a few times, it slowed down. The movements became smaller. Success was near!
Natsui was calm, but his eyes were bright. Misty held her hands tight. She looked like she wanted to give her own strength to the ball.
"Go for it!!!"
She knew she was not very experienced, but she never heard of anyone catching a Rayquaza. This was the guardian of the Hoenn region. Was Natsui really going to do it? Would she see history happen?
They all watched with hope or complicated feelings. After a few seconds, there was a small sound. The light on the Ultra Ball went out.
"YES!" Seeing the capture worked, Misty was the first one to shout.
She ran to Natsui and hugged him. Natsui felt the girl's soft chest against him. He moved his face so he could breathe. Then he looked at the Ultra Ball. He smiled.
He did not expect to catch it with just one ball. I guess expensive items are worth the money!
He remembered his early days. He had to use his whole team to fight Zapdos. Now, he defeated a Rayquaza alone.
Rayquaza! He was very excited that he caught it. This usually only happened in games, but he did it in real life.
Natsui breathed deeply to stay calm. He moved away from Misty and walked to the Ultra Ball. Zinnia watched him. She held her hands tight and then relaxed.
The battle showed her how strong a top Pokémon is. It was a level she could not reach. She was not sure if her whole team could win a fight like that.
But this man won by himself.
He and his Pokémon were like monsters.
Natsui did not know what Zinnia was thinking. He felt peaceful when he picked up the Ultra Ball. He thought the ball felt heavy. It was like he could feel the strong life of the Black Rayquaza inside.
He did not let Rayquaza out. He put the Ultra Ball on his belt. Then, the Meteorite Key Stone he had became normal again. Natsui had a new idea, but he would wait to try it.
Zinnia walked over to him.
"The guardian Rayquaza chose you, and you successfully captured it. Congratulations."
The falling stars in the sky were gone. Under the moon and green fire, Natsui looked at the girl. Her face did not show any feelings.
"Thanks," he nodded to her. "Before the fight, didn't you have something to say to me? You can say it now."
"It doesn't matter anymore." Zinnia looked at Natsui's belt. She wanted to see the Rayquaza inside, but she could not. "I just wanted to tell you some of Rayquaza's weaknesses, but clearly, you didn't need them at all."
Weaknesses?
Natsui stopped for a second but then shook his head. Maybe the Draconids knew special things about its body. But Rayquaza's biggest problem was being four times weak to Ice. He thought that was what she wanted to say. Most people did not know much about legendary Pokémon types or how to fight them.
He thought the woman was not as difficult as before. She knew she could not catch it, so she tried to help him instead. Natsui liked her more now. Even though he stopped her from talking earlier, he was happy she tried.
Also, the Draconids were sad people. They had a long history but never reached their goal. Many of them died with regrets.
"I can understand your feelings," Natsui said after thinking. "Well, since I'm in a good mood today, that deal I mentioned earlier still stands. When it's convenient for me, I will do my best to help you capture a Rayquaza to fulfill your clan's prayer of thousands of years."
Zinnia was very surprised. Her eyes were wide. She did not speak for a long time. Then she asked, "Why?"
"Didn't I just say? Because I'm happy today, and you didn't cause any trouble, which leaves me satisfied." Natsui changed his tone. "Though perhaps you don't even need my help? You already did it just now, didn't you? Without the Rainbow Meteorite, you used your own power to successfully summon Rayquaza."
Zinnia looked at the Key Stones on the ground. They were not glowing anymore. She sighed.
"It's not that easy. These aren't ordinary Key Stones; they were special stones collected by my people over many years that were confirmed to react to Rayquaza. Each one took an immense amount of effort, and now they are drained and useless. And as it turns out, even if sacrificing them summons Rayquaza, that's all it does. It doesn't mean you will be 'chosen'..."
"If you ask me, you people are just too rigid," Natsui said.
"What does 'chosen' even mean? If you defeat it with strength and throw a Poké Ball, that's it! That is being chosen—and you're the one choosing it!"
"You don't understand..." Zinnia replied sadly. "This is our heritage. The heritage cannot be changed."
"And that's why, to this day, you haven't been able to capture a single Rayquaza."
Natsui was very direct. He looked at her one last time and signaled to Misty. They both got on Dragonite. He looked down at Zinnia from the sky. Rayquaza had looked at them like that before.
"I never follow tradition, which is why I've captured so many legendaries in such a short time traveling. Anyway, I won't say more. I have things to do. Think it over, and when you're ready, contact me—when I have time, of course!"
Dragonite flew into the sky without being told. Natsui was gone, but Zinnia kept thinking about what he said.
'And that's why, to this day, you haven't been able to capture a single Rayquaza.'
That sentence was like a heavy hit to her heart. Was it true? Did they follow tradition too much? Did they need a Rainbow Meteorite to summon it? Did they have to be "chosen"? Was everything they believed wrong?
Her heart was confused, but no one could answer her. Zinnia stood there and watched the man fly away. Her heart beat fast as she heard his voice in her head.
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