Boom!!!
Deoxys slammed two heavy chops into Mewtwo in quick succession. Dark-type energy tore through Mewtwo's entire body, releasing a dull, thunderous impact.
Mewtwo staggered several steps, then raised a hand and hurled two Psycho Cuts behind it.
Whoosh!
But Deoxys once again turned into an afterimage and dodged. It stomped hard against the ground, using the rebound to launch itself high into the air, then released the same kind of ring-shaped, interlocking energy wave.
A Dark-type Dark Pulse!
"Wait... That way of using a move... Isn't that mine?!"
Mewtwo was shocked.
It stared at Deoxys's posture as it unleashed Dark Pulse. That familiar flow of energy made Mewtwo's heart jolt.
That was clearly exactly how Mewtwo itself used the move.
It had never expected Deoxys to perfectly copy even that.
Before Mewtwo could think any further, the dark-purple Dark Pulse tore through the air toward it.
The energy wave struck Mewtwo squarely in the chest, and the violent force sent it sliding several meters backward. Its feet scraped two scorched marks across the rocky ground.
"Hah..."
Mewtwo panted heavily, only to see Deoxys change Forme again.
Its streamlined body shifted. Its arms transformed into thin, ribbon-like appendages of orange and blue, the ears on both sides of its head extended like elven ears, and its pointed head no longer looked quite as long and sharp.
Attack Forme!
Deoxys suddenly rushed forward. Psychic energy surged violently, and its tentacles wrapped around Mewtwo like iron chains, binding it in place.
As the restraints tightened, Mewtwo was startled to realize that the energy inside its body had been obstructed. Several of its moves were actually being suppressed by the pressure and could no longer be used.
The Psychic-type move, Imprison!
"Damn it..."
With its moves sealed away, Mewtwo struggled to mobilize the energy it still had left.
Deoxys seized that opening and launched a relentless barrage. Dense, heavy blows from its tentacles battered Mewtwo until it finally could not hold on any longer and dropped to one knee, its gasping breaths especially clear across the empty battlefield.
Grey slowly stepped forward and raised a hand, signaling for them to stop. "That's enough."
"It's not over yet. I can still fight..."
Mewtwo's eyes still carried unwillingness, and its arm trembled faintly.
"The outcome has already been decided." Grey looked at it calmly. "Your road of training is still very long."
From this battle, Grey could tell that Mewtwo had made some progress.
But still.
If it wanted to truly become a "Legendary Pokémon," besides overpowering everything through brute force, there was one more thing it needed, wisdom.
Having super intelligence meant knowing when to use overwhelming power, and the prerequisite was being sure that the opponent would be wiped out on the spot.
Not swinging around wildly for half the battle, only to get completely played by the opponent afterward.
Wasn't that just asking to be laughed at?
"...I'm leaving first."
Mewtwo knew its strength was still lacking, so it used Teleport and left the scene.
Grey watched Mewtwo leave and said nothing more.
"Why... does it... want to battle Pokémon so badly?"
"I... sensed many unknowns... from it."
"Does it... need guidance?"
Deoxys scratched its head in confusion and met Grey's gaze.
"No need." Grey spoke gently. "It needs some time alone to let things settle."
"Fine."
Since Grey had already said so, Deoxys did not think too much about it. It only felt that Mewtwo was probably going through a rebellious phase.
After a while, it would probably be fine.
After tidying up the battlefield a little, Grey said, "Time to go."
Grey signaled little Riolu to use Teleport and bring everyone back to the Hoenn region.
After Grey left, Sabrina slowly walked out from the shadow of a nearby tree.
Sabrina quietly gazed at the fading afterimage Grey had left behind, feeling the psychic waves that brushed past her. Then she lightly typed a line on her phone screen and sent it.
[Sabrina: I'll wait for you to come back.]
Two days later.
Today was the third day since Jirachi had awakened, and also the day Jirachi would grant its first wish.
At this moment, streaks of meteors once again crossed the night sky.
They were not as dense as before, but they still wove silver trails across the darkness, decorating the night like a dream.
Jirachi looked up at the starry sky. Its tiny arms lifted slightly, then it turned back around amid the flowing light.
It gently tugged on Grey's clothes, its body glowing with a soft starlight. "Human, please say your wish now."
Grey pressed his hands together and made his wish softly beneath the drifting starlight. "My wish is that Jirachi never again has to endure the loneliness of sleeping for a thousand years..."
Boom!!!
In an instant, radiant starlight erupted.
A stream of light like the Milky Way surged around Jirachi's body.
"This..."
Jirachi blinked, completely unable to imagine that Grey would actually make that wish.
For a moment, Jirachi did not even know what to say.
They had only known each other for three days, yet Grey's first wish was to free it from the effects of its long slumber.
Jirachi was deeply moved.
Feeling the never-ending energy surging inside its body, Jirachi instinctively wanted to grant Grey another wish.
But at the same time, Jirachi realized that it could no longer activate the energy inside its body to grant a wish in return.
In other words, it had lost the ability to grant wishes for others.
It was now no different from an ordinary Pokémon.
"Just as I guessed. Though making this wish means you can no longer grant other people's wishes, it's also because of that that you no longer need to fall asleep. You can live in this world like an ordinary Pokémon now."
Grey nodded softly and said to Jirachi, "From now on, you are no longer a Jirachi born to grant other people's wishes. You are a Jirachi who will live on in this world as an ordinary Pokémon."
"Jirachi, you're free."
Those words echoed again and again in Jirachi's mind.
"I'm... free?"
"I don't have to keep sleeping anymore? Just like that, I don't have to feel the weight of a thousand-year slumber anymore?"
Jirachi's eyes lit up. It hugged Grey and burst into tears. "Waaah... Human, you're so good to me! You're the first human in history to ever make a wish like this! I'll never forget this debt for as long as I live! From now on, your business is my business!"
Jirachi said a long string of grateful words.
Grey waved a hand and said, "How about this? In a few days, I need to do a job. When the time comes, how about you come help?"
"Mm! Okay!"
Jirachi agreed at once.
Right now, its life belonged to Grey.
Whatever Grey said, that was how things would be.
If he said to go east, it would absolutely never go west.
Loyal! And devoted!
"Hmm... In that case, the number of Pokémon should be enough."
Grey rubbed his brow and looked toward the starry sky, as if he could already see the meteorite hurtling toward them.
"Deoxys... I will stop you from destroying the Hoenn region..."
Grey let out a breath, then released all the Pokémon he was carrying.
"Groudon, Kyogre, when the time comes, you two don't need to go into space. One of you will stay on land, and the other will stay in the ocean. Only that way can you bring out your full strength."
Grey spoke to Groudon and Kyogre, that pair of bickering enemies.
Actually, at first, Grey had only wanted to leave Groudon on the planet.
But he was afraid Groudon would make a fuss afterward. On top of that, they already had plenty of combat power, so he left Kyogre behind as well.
"No problem."
Groudon and Kyogre agreed.
But they had one condition.
Rather than calling it a condition, it was more like something meant to help them better protect the Hoenn region.
"Grey, before you all leave, remember to let us enter Primal Reversion first. Otherwise, I'm afraid our current forms alone might not have enough power."
Perhaps it had been too long since it had entered Primal Reversion.
Ever since the last time it entered Primal Reversion, Kyogre had felt that the power of Primal Reversion was very subtle.
That power drew it in so deeply that it could not pull itself away. It felt as if the entire world's oceans were under its control, ready to be called upon at any moment.
In its current normal state, it could generally control only the ocean of one region.
If it wanted to control the oceans of other regions, it would still need to slowly move over there.
But after entering Primal Reversion, things were different. That feeling was what made it feel like the true creator of the sea.
Hmm...
It really was addictive.
Even Groudon had that thought.
In its Primal Reversion state, with just a thought, it could make a volcano somewhere in the world erupt.
Just now, it had even tampered a little with the volcano on a certain island in the Kanto region.
Ahem, it had not caused a disaster.
If it had caused a disaster, Groudon felt that Grey really would cut it down before the battle even started.
At a critical time like this, even Groudon did not dare mess around.
Protecting Hoenn's safety is my duty!
With that thought in mind, Groudon stood especially straight.
Rayquaza: ...
It had a feeling Groudon was not thinking anything good.
Rayquaza glanced sideways at Groudon, who was lost in its own fantasy, and felt like it could not bear to watch.
Then it heard Grey speak to it.
"Rayquaza, when the time comes, you'll take the lead. When we go into outer space, if you sense that Deoxys's presence, tell me immediately.
"At that point, we'll enter Mega Evolution and directly use Dragon Ascent on Deoxys's hiding place."
Negotiation was definitely necessary, but the meteorite where Deoxys was hiding had to be destroyed.
Otherwise, what if they were halfway through talking and Deoxys suddenly turned hostile, then hurled the meteorite at this planet?
Grey felt that everything needed preparation.
Besides Rayquaza, there would also be Deoxys, Reshiram, Kyurem, Lugia, Mewtwo, little Riolu, and Jirachi entering outer space with him.
This group of Pokémon's role was to destroy the meteorite.
And after smashing most of the meteorite into dust, they would stand behind Grey while he negotiated with Deoxys.
It was all about presence!
They had numbers and momentum. What was there to fear from the other Deoxys?
Then there was N.
As for N, his role was to patrol near the ozone layer.
If he detected any meteorite fragments falling, he would have Zekrom launch a fierce attack immediately.
Other than that, there was nothing else.
After finalizing the plan, Grey went to Mossdeep City and told Steven Stone about it.
Steven supported it with both hands.
"Grey, my friend, I really don't know how to thank you for this... I never expected you to put together such a perfect plan in such a short time... I truly don't even know what to say..."
Steven was endlessly grateful. He held Grey's hands with both of his own, then seemed to think of something and said, "How about this? I also have some diamonds in my collection. Although they aren't flawless pink diamonds like the mythical Pokémon Diancie's, they're still rare treasures."
"Once this matter is over, I'll have someone cut those diamonds into shapes suitable for wedding rings and give them to you."
"Good move. I like it."
Grey accepted Steven's proposal.
"Ahem, then you might need to prepare quite a few sets."
"No problem. Besides Sabrina and Caitlin, who else are you planning to marry?"
Steven knew that, as far as Grey was concerned, there seemed to be those two.
Other than that, he really did not know who else there was.
"The more, the better."
Grey said it subconsciously.
Then he saw Steven looking at his kidneys and giving him a thumbs-up. "My friend, forget holding up walls, the only thing I respect is you."
"That joke is ancient..."
Hearing that rather dated meme come out of Steven's mouth, Grey did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Steven, let's focus on preparing to go into outer space first. When the time comes, how exactly do we get up there? Do I sit on Rayquaza, or do you send me up?"
"Our idea is to send you into outer space by launching a rocket. But since you haven't gone through professional training, we're afraid you might feel dizzy and experience other symptoms. So... how about riding on my Metagross's back? Once you're close to outer space, you can switch over to Rayquaza."
Steven was still worried that Rayquaza would take off too fast all at once, so Grey needed a process to adapt.
It was like riding a plane.
The first time most people rode one, their chest would feel tight.
But starting from the second time, that tightness would lessen quite a bit, because the body had already adapted and would regulate itself.
"That works. We'll do as you say, Steven."
Grey nodded softly and decided to act according to Steven's plan.
At the same time, in the Kanto region, Viridian City.
Inside Team Rocket's base, Giovanni had already begun preparing to head to the Alola region.
"Mewtwo, you've seemed worried lately. Did something happen?"
"Mm... I was thinking. Since you've already found traces of your son, why are you still reaching your hand into other regions?"
Over the past two days, Mewtwo had sensed that something was off.
Giovanni had always said he wanted to find his son.
Now his son had been found. He was working as an apprentice in Grey's Gym.
So why did Giovanni still want to move against other regions?
Mewtwo could not get past that point. The more it thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
"Hmm... I can only say that human desire is never satisfied. I've found my son, but right now, my son is working for someone else. I think that once Team Rocket develops and I can ensure that he truly never has to worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life, I'll bring him back."
Giovanni tapped the office desk, then slowly stood, revealing the rainbow-colored R symbol on his chest.
"After this job is done, from now on, there will be no Team Rocket."
"In its place will be Team Rainbow Rocket!"
"Brilliant."
Mewtwo did not say much. It only raised both arms to shoulder height, revealing its six round fingers.
Brilliant, in every sense.
"Heh."
Giovanni tossed his coat over his shoulder and spread his arms. "Mewtwo, just watch closely as Team Rainbow Rocket is born!"
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