After receiving Victini's energy replenishment, Rayquaza's condition rapidly recovered.
It shot Mew a vicious glare, its eyes filled with obvious anger and blame, before immediately turning around and charging back into battle without hesitation.
"It looked like Rayquaza was staring at your Eevee just now," Cynthia said softly, her brows slightly furrowed. Her tone sounded rather strange, filled with curiosity and confusion.
Hearing that, Chen Shi turned to look—
Only to realize that at some point, Mew was suddenly hugging a crimson-red fragment in its arms.
The moment Chen Shi saw that fragment, he froze.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind instantly.
Why does this fragment look so familiar?
It feels like I've seen it somewhere before…
Mew looked exactly like a child caught red-handed doing something bad. Hugging the fragment tightly, it guiltily turned its head away, not daring to meet Chen Shi's eyes.
After a while, Chen Shi finally remembered where he had seen it.
Holy crap.
Isn't that fragment from Groudon's body?!
Looking at Mew's guilty expression, Chen Shi's anger instantly exploded upward.
His face turned red, veins bulging on his forehead as he roared:
"DAMN IT! So Groudon attacked us because of YOU?!"
"You stupid black-hearted cat! I'm going to strangle you today!"
Flames practically shot out of Chen Shi's eyes as he lunged forward recklessly, trying to grab Mew and teach it a lesson.
Mew hurriedly flew upward and dodged him.
This time, Chen Shi was genuinely furious.
No matter how mischievous or troublesome Mew usually was, he could tolerate it.
After all, Mew had never truly caused any major trouble and had even helped him countless times.
But this time?
This wasn't just about causing Groudon to attack them.
Deep down, Chen Shi strongly suspected that Rayquaza's sudden berserk state had something to do with Mew too.
Otherwise, why would Rayquaza glare at it like that earlier?
"Get over here, you black-hearted cat! Do you even realize how much trouble you caused?!" Chen Shi shouted angrily.
Mew shook its head wildly while stubbornly clutching the fragment tightly in its paws.
Honestly, Mew truly hadn't expected Groudon to suddenly attack it.
Nor had it expected Rayquaza to suddenly go berserk afterward.
Back when those three fought before, it had also secretly picked things up from the battlefield, and none of them had cared.
So why was this time different?
"Alright, alright, calm down first. What exactly happened?" Cynthia hurriedly grabbed Chen Shi, worried he might accidentally fall off in his agitation.
After being pulled back by Cynthia, Chen Shi calmed down slightly, though he was still furious.
Grinding his teeth, he said:
"That fragment it's holding fell off Groudon's body!"
Everyone present was intelligent.
The moment they heard those words, they immediately understood what had happened and simultaneously turned strange looks toward Mew.
So the reason Groudon attacked them…
…was because this "Eevee" ran over to pick up fragments that fell off during someone else's fight?
"…Uh…"
Everyone exchanged awkward looks, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
No wonder Chen Shi called it a black-hearted cat.
Even though they still weren't entirely sure what this "Eevee" actually was, running over to collect body fragments while another Pokémon was in the middle of an intense battle…
That really was something a normal Pokémon probably wouldn't do.
"Enough. What's done is done. What's the point of getting angry now?" Cynthia said, trying not to laugh as she persuaded him gently.
Chen Shi shot Mew a cold glance.
"No more ice cream for you in the future."
Mew's eyes widened in disbelief.
Wait, what?!
I'm being banished just like that?!
No, absolutely not! I can agree to anything else, but losing ice cream is completely unacceptable!
Chen Shi fell silent for two seconds.
Then his gaze slowly drifted toward the fragment Mew was clutching.
One eyebrow lifted.
Mew: "..."
After a brief internal struggle, Mew ultimately chose ice cream over the fragment.
After all, it had already collected several fragments before. Missing one wasn't a huge deal.
But if there was no more ice cream…
Then there would truly be no more ice cream.
Still, Mew couldn't help feeling miserable.
It had risked getting targeted by both Groudon and Rayquaza, got yelled at afterward…
…and in the end, Chen Shi was the one benefiting.
Mew sighed internally before reluctantly handing over the fragment.
Chen Shi happily stuffed it into his backpack.
"Excellent work. Keep it up in the future, alright?"
Everyone: "..."
That attitude change was way too fast.
...
With Victini continuously replenishing its energy, Rayquaza once again suppressed both Groudon and Kyogre after returning to battle.
After fighting for nearly another hour, Kyogre was the first to stop.
It opened its mouth and spat out a blue orb before diving into the ocean depths, never emerging again.
Clearly, it no longer wanted to continue fighting.
After leaving behind the orb, it retreated.
Once Kyogre left, Groudon also realized it was no match for Rayquaza.
It stopped attacking, spat out a crimson-red orb of its own, then slowly walked away into the distance with heavy, exhausted footsteps.
Under the glow of the setting sun, its back looked indescribably lonely.
Rayquaza soared high into the sky and unleashed a thunderous roar, proclaiming its victory.
At long last, the terrifying battle had finally come to an end.
Just as everyone was celebrating, something suddenly happened to Victini in Chen Shi's arms.
Its level began rising rapidly.
One level after another.
In the blink of an eye, it had already reached Elite Four pinnacle.
"Bi… Bimii~~"
Victini wore a completely intoxicated expression.
Such rich… such pure victory energy!
However, only Chen Shi and Cynthia, who were closest to it, noticed the change.
No one else realized what had happened.
Steven excitedly said:
"Old Chen, Rayquaza won! It's finally over!"
"Yeah," Chen Shi said with a smile. "It's all over now."
Then he loosened his grip on the Keystone in his left hand.
In the distance, Rayquaza reverted from Mega Evolution and casually collected the two orbs.
Those were the prices Groudon and Kyogre had to pay as the defeated side.
If they had refused to surrender the orbs, Rayquaza absolutely would've sealed them away in some hidden realm for another thousand years.
That was also why Rayquaza had silently allowed them to leave without saying a single word.
Afterward, Rayquaza flew directly toward Chen Shi's group.
Diantha immediately grew nervous.
"Why is Rayquaza coming toward us again?"
The others also looked extremely tense.
Rayquaza was simply too powerful.
Even though they all guessed it probably wouldn't attack them—
They still couldn't help feeling nervous.
Rayquaza ignored everyone else completely and fixed its gaze on Chen Shi.
"Kid, I've already fulfilled the thing you asked me to do."
"Now, I also have something I want to ask of you."
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