Meanwhile, at the Sky Pillar.
A red figure streaked across the sea surface, stopping at the entrance of the Sky Pillar.
A girl with black hair and black eyes, whose cape spread out in the wind to form a dragon pattern, landed lightly. She looked up at the Sky Pillar, which seemed to pierce straight into the clouds.
"This is the habitat of the Dragon Lord, the legendary Sky Pillar closest to the atmosphere."
Zinnia murmured to herself, subconsciously gripping the other Poké Ball in her hand.
"Aster, the mission you couldn't complete, I will carry on for you."
"I hope you can always be happy in the other world—"
After recalling the Salamence standing quietly beside her, Zinnia's eyes were filled with unprecedented determination as she walked straight into the Sky Pillar.
According to the records passed down by the Draconid, the Dragon Lord was the master of the sky; therefore, descending from the sky to face it was an act of great disrespect.
Not only would it anger the Dragon Lord, but it might even be seen as a provocation, resulting in an attack from the Dragon Lord.
Therefore, one must pass through this Sky Pillar, which was hundreds of meters high and had severely damaged paths, to be qualified for an audience with Rayquaza.
Only with enough devotion would the Dragon Lord point the way forward!
Thus, Zinnia began her "pilgrimage."
No one had visited for nearly a thousand years, and no one knew the exact number of floors in the Sky Pillar anymore, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and press forward.
At first, the path was relatively flat, but about half an hour later, the situation suddenly changed.
The originally safe floor structure quietly shifted; sometimes, a single moment of carelessness could lead to stepping into thin air and falling heavily back to the previous floor.
Of course, for humans in the Pokémon world, falling damage from a mere three to five meters was almost negligible.
But the problem was—
Sometimes, stepping into thin air could cause a chain reaction, crashing through floors that were already on the verge of collapsing, falling several stories in a row before finally finding a foothold.
And the obstacles weren't just the terrain; the many ancient Pokémon encountered along the way and various puzzle mechanisms gave Zinnia an even bigger headache.
Even though she was extremely careful, by the time she reached the floors near the top, she inevitably looked battered and exhausted, with minor scrapes on her limbs and back.
"These are just the Dragon Lord's tests for the successor, I absolutely cannot give up halfway!"
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Zinnia, who was already panting heavily, looked up at the top that didn't seem too far away, her heart filled with determination.
"To fulfill my final promise to Aster, I cannot stop my footsteps!"
It wasn't until dusk that Zinnia finally completed the pilgrimage to see the Dragon Lord.
After seeing the sky dyed crimson once more, she suddenly lost all her strength and collapsed heavily onto the flat floor at the top.
Aster, I did it!
The figure of another smiling girl appeared in the young girl's mind, and an unconscious smile formed on her face.
She turned her gaze forward. Past a not-too-long ancient staircase at the peak, she could already vaguely see the figure of the Dragon Lord.
That emerald green figure and the faint golden patterns—no Pokémon other than Rayquaza could possess such majesty.
And the overwhelming invisible aura it exuded further proved that its power stood above all else.
——Just a little more!
Zinnia took a deep breath, found the strength to stand up again, and step by step, arduously continued towards the summit.
However—
The closer she got to the Dragon Lord, the heavier each step became.
Because her heart actually began to waver.
In reality, her best friend Aster was the true "successor" of this generation of the Draconid. She was merely a "fake" who unilaterally inherited Aster's will, taking it upon herself to fulfill the duty of guarding Hoenn—
She didn't possess Aster's ability to communicate with dragons and calm them down, but at this moment, there was no other way.
Aster had already gone to another world.
If even she failed, the Dragon Lord would likely find it very difficult to restore its peak power!
Thinking of this, Zinnia gripped the Poké Ball in her hand tightly once more.
"Aster, lend me your strength!"
To fulfill our mission, I wouldn't hesitate even if it costs my life!
Zinnia crossed the stairs step by step, finally arriving at the very top of the Sky Pillar, and saw the legendary Dragon Lord.
"Roar—!"
The moment she reached the top, the giant green dragon coiled at the summit suddenly opened its bloody maw, letting out a majestic dragon's roar at this uninvited guest.
A fierce gale immediately swept towards Zinnia, almost making her lose her footing. She staggered backward several steps before barely managing to stabilize herself, looking forward with lingering fear.
So this was the overwhelming presence of the super-ancient Pokémon, Hoenn's legendary God of the Sky, the Dragon Lord Rayquaza—
Zinnia forcefully suppressed her nervousness and immediately stepped forward, speaking respectfully, "Dragon Lord, Zinnia, the successor of the Draconid, has come for an audience!"
The ancestors of the Draconid had fought alongside Lord Rayquaza; even for the sake of their past bond, the Dragon Lord shouldn't make things difficult for her.
Wiping a few drops of sweat from her cheek, Zinnia could only pray thus in her heart, while tightly clutching the two important tokens in her hands.
Sure enough, shortly after she spoke, the roaring that served as a warning quietly disappeared.
Only Rayquaza's scrutinizing gaze remained, falling coldly upon Zinnia.
It seemed her identity as a successor had won her a precious opportunity to communicate.
Zinnia immediately took a step forward. Enduring the suffocating pressure that could make one faint, she knelt on one knee and spoke loudly, "Dragon Lord, I have brought the Key Stone and the scroll to assist you in your evolution. Please form a temporary contract with me and avert the crisis from space!"
After speaking, she immediately took out the pre-prepared seven-colored meteorite and golden scroll, displaying them before Rayquaza.
However, Rayquaza didn't make any move for a long time. It didn't even glance at the items in her hands, maintaining its scrutinizing gaze and staring straight at Zinnia.
It wasn't until a chill ran down her spine that Rayquaza's majestic and cold voice suddenly resonated in her mind.
[You are lying to me.]
[You do not possess the aura of a successor, so I cannot form a contract with you.]
[Before I lose my temper, I will give you a chance to leave.]
Upon hearing this, Zinnia's heart skipped a beat—
The problem she had always been most unwilling to face and never dared to think about was finally laid bare at this moment.
And her years of effort became completely meaningless with Rayquaza's words.
"Dragon Lord!"
In her desperation, Zinnia immediately spoke up, completely ignoring the near-freezing gaze of the other party.
"Please give me a chance, I can definitely do it!"
[Such insolence, retreat at once!]
Accompanying the telepathy was Rayquaza opening its bloody maw once again.
This time, it held nothing back. Its fully released aura instantly drained the color from Zinnia's face, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
She was terrified that she had actually angered a legendary deity, while simultaneously breaking down over the fact that she had ruined Aster's mission.
Zinnia's legs could barely support her anymore; she could only rely on her kneeling posture to prop up her body, gritting her teeth to keep herself from fainting.
But her unresponsive behavior itself was already close to provocation in Rayquaza's eyes.
It had a fiery temper to begin with, and now it was being forcefully detained on its own territory by a human—she was practically asking for death!
"Roar—!"
Fortunately, Rayquaza still retained its sanity. The purplish-blue beam it spat out barely grazed Zinnia's body, shooting off into the distance, only tearing off a large chunk of her cape, which quickly burned into a few wisps of ash in the air.
Its warning had transcended verbal communication, making it easy for anyone to understand.
If she didn't leave now, it certainly wouldn't hold back again!
Zinnia's eyes had already grown blurry. Under Rayquaza's oppressive aura, she could only force herself to stand up, then closed her eyes in despair.
Since she couldn't do it—
Then the promise to Aster was destined to go unfulfilled as well.
What face did she have to return to Meteor Falls and tell the truth to her clansmen who were waiting for good news?
Rather than disappointing everyone again, it would be better to just die right here, die at the hands of the Dragon Lord.
Perhaps many years ago, on the night Aster departed, she should have left this world with her—
Thinking of this, Zinnia suddenly spread her arms, seemingly welcoming Rayquaza's next attack.
Wait for me a little longer, Aster.
We will definitely reunite in the other world—
Rayquaza: ?
The human before it suddenly giving up on her life truly left Rayquaza at a loss.
No, wait—
Is there something wrong with this person? Can't she tell I'm just scaring her?
It wasn't that it was unwilling to step in and resolve the crisis to save the Hoenn region, but the problem was the process was wrong!
Lacking the successor's ability meant she fundamentally didn't possess the power to trigger its Mega Evolution; even if she tried ten thousand times, it would be useless. Rayquaza suddenly felt that humans were so troublesome.
So, it simply let out another furious roar.
The momentum of its roar this time was much stronger than before, directly blowing the already frail Zinnia backward, to the point where she was about to fall off the edge of the Sky Pillar.
Since she was a Dragon Tamer, the Dragon Pokémon beside her should come out and save her when she fell.
But what if her bond with her Pokémon wasn't strong enough—
Rayquaza thought for a moment, and simply prepared itself to fly out of the Sky Pillar at any time to intercept her in mid-air.
What a mess this was; if they just had the real successor come over, there wouldn't be so many extra problems!
Zinnia, with her eyes closed, only felt herself being suppressed by a fierce gust of wind, her body uncontrollably retreating backward.
Finally, her feet suddenly lost their support, and her entire body immediately began falling downwards.
Leaving this world just like this, it's fine too—
However, just as she had already given up thinking in her heart.
The next moment—
The cry of a Salamence, sounding younger and more energetic, suddenly reached her ears. The originally free-falling Zinnia suddenly felt her body caught by something, and she subconsciously opened her eyes.
"Hello, Zinnia of the Draconid."
"Krah!"
A handsome face with black hair and black eyes appeared before her, smiling at her.
However, it wasn't this human who caught her, but—
"Behave, don't move around."
The purple Pokémon sitting behind the young man, its eyes glowing with a light blue hue, extended its right hand and pointed in Zinnia's direction.
At the same time, it waved its arm in a warning manner.
Following its movement, Zinnia suddenly felt her body starting to sway uncontrollably.
Looking down, she realized that she was floating in mid-air without any support, swaying along with the speed of the flying Salamence.
Was this— Psychic power?
Before Zinnia could recover from her bewilderment, the young man riding the Salamence leaped up, jumping straight from the sky and landing right in the center of the Sky Pillar—the spot where Rayquaza was.
Oh no!
Arriving at the top of the Sky Pillar by riding a Flying Pokémon was a great disrespect to Rayquaza!
Zinnia immediately reacted, just about to remind him, but instantly felt she had lost control of her body.
"Don't get in the way, just watch."
Mewtwo, who had landed as lightly as Aiden, spoke up, bringing Zinnia to a random corner and giving her another warning.
"What happens next might surprise you."
"So, take a deep breath."
Zinnia blinked in bewilderment.
At this time, Aiden also met the fierce gaze of Rayquaza for the first time.
Hmm, the emerald green shell and golden patterns didn't seem as radiant as those on the black Rayquaza, and the size difference was even larger.
Why did this guy look like a bootleg version no matter how he looked at it?
Aiden's gaze was rather subtle, which almost instantly ignited a fiery rage in Rayquaza, who was on the receiving end of it—how dare a human look at a deity with such a gaze? Were humans nowadays this impolite?
[Insolent fool!]
The short-tempered Rayquaza wasn't going to indulge him. It immediately prepared to let out a furious roar, secretly attaching a bit of powerful energy from its Mikado Organ to thoroughly intimidate this ill-mannered human.
However—
"Roar—!"
Before it could open its mouth, a clear dragon's cry rang out from the sky first.
The voice was eighty percent similar to the roar Rayquaza had just let out, but it seemed even more imposing and carried an even greater sense of oppression.
Rayquaza: ?
The green God of the Sky subconsciously raised its head, its gaze piercing through several layers of clouds before locking onto a slender, black-and-gold figure.
Almost instantly, its pupils shrank sharply, and the entire dragon showed a shocked expression as if it had seen a ghost.
What's going on—
Why did a second Rayquaza suddenly appear in the sky?
And its strength was even above its own?
The little bro is actually me?
Rayquaza was completely dumbfounded.
If even it was like this, let alone Zinnia, who was being restrained by Mewtwo.
When she saw the Mega Black Rayquaza, wreathed in black-and-gold patterns, tumbling and surging within the sea of clouds, Zinnia's brain crashed on the spot.
After a long while, she finally reacted—
"Could it be that it is the legendary Dragon Lord?"
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