Edward propped his chin with one hand as he studied the script in front of him. After all, a movie like Coming Soon admittedly fell somewhat short in terms of pure horror.
Still, Edward planned to squeeze as much fear points out of it as possible. That was why he intended to take his time and thoroughly research how to revise this script—adjust it until it aligned perfectly with his expectations. Yet just as he was fully absorbed in rewriting the scenes, a strange sensation washed over him.
He lowered his head, pressing a hand against his chest. His heartbeat was accelerating uncontrollably, a rapid thumping that made him feel vaguely uncomfortable. Edward wasn't sure whether something was wrong with his body, but the likelihood was low. He knew himself well—if the cause were internal, things wouldn't have manifested like this.
But the moment Edward turned his head, he immediately understood what the problem was. Because the instant he looked over, he saw a familiar head peeking in from outside the window. Edward's mouth twitched slightly. He never imagined he would actually see Rayquaza again. But this also left him a bit dumbfounded—he had absolutely no idea why Rayquaza had come all this way to find him.
"Rayquaza? What's wrong?" Edward asked suspiciously as he opened the office window. Yet when he spotted the screaming crowd gathered below—and the group of trainers eagerly attempting to approach—he instantly understood just how much trouble this incident would cause.
Once word spread, the League would inevitably learn that Rayquaza had taken an interest in him.
"Roooaar!" Rayquaza bellowed, lowering its head with practiced ease. Edward immediately understood what Rayquaza wanted him to do… although he still had no idea why. Wasn't this only going to draw even more attention?
Just thinking about the consequences made his stomach ache. But he had no better option. For now, all he could do was play along and see how things unfolded.
With a helpless sigh, Edward climbed onto Rayquaza's back and sat near the back of its neck. Rayquaza immediately shot upward, soaring into the sky in a steep ascension. Edward was already used to this. Rayquaza's speed had always been ridiculous—fast, agile, and flying at dizzying altitudes.
"Rayquaza, what on earth are you doing?" Edward muttered, unable to understand. Until today, he had thought he might never encounter Rayquaza again. But unexpectedly, it had returned—and not just returned, but come directly to him.
He was completely baffled. Rayquaza didn't explain anything either; it only let out another cry. Edward couldn't understand the meaning behind it, so all he could do was hold on tightly. It seemed Rayquaza really did have something important to convey.
Without a word, Edward simply watched. Soon, Rayquaza carried him to a remote island. After gliding over the sandy shore, Rayquaza descended and hovered above the ground, flapping its long serpentine body. Letting out another roar, it gestured toward the island. Edward scratched his head—so Rayquaza did want him to come down here.
"Well, I'll trouble you then," Edward said as he spread his arms wide. With a motion resembling a leap of faith, he jumped straight down. The wind blasted past him, whipping his hair upward as he plummeted toward the island below. Edward squinted slightly against the intense airflow, his heart surprisingly calm. Freefalling without a parachute… was actually quite exhilarating.
Just before he hit the ground, Rayquaza grabbed him, softening the fall. Edward landed gently. He looked around. The island was barren, with nothing particularly notable about it. But what truly caught his attention was the utter lack of Pokémon.
That was extremely unusual. This was a world filled with Pokémon—there should have been bird Pokémon, amphibious species, maybe even small land-dwelling ones. But this island was silent. Too silent.
"Roar!" Rayquaza called again. Edward scratched his head and followed. Soon enough, Rayquaza brought him to a peculiar location: a strange stone emitting an ominous aura. It was large and distinctly triangular in shape. Edward blinked. Was this why Rayquaza brought him? The triangular stone? Thinking about it carefully… that actually seemed very possible.
"A triangular stone… Rayquaza… and an island?" Edward muttered. Something about this setup felt familiar. Like it was referencing a plotline from some game—or maybe an anime. But the exact details... he could no longer recall clearly. After finishing a game, most players only remembered particularly iconic storylines. The rest faded over time. If Edward had a handheld console right now, he might've remembered instantly.
With lingering confusion, he approached the stone—only to find it moving on its own, deliberately avoiding him.
No. It wasn't avoiding him randomly—it was moving in a straight line. After several attempts to corner it, Edward finally realized the stone was tracing paths within an invisible, larger triangular boundary. That discovery instantly triggered his memory.
Deoxys.
A Psychic-type Pokémon once believed to be a mythical legendary. Later research revealed a base stat total of 600—strong, but only at pseudo-legendary level, not the 680 tier typical of true legendary Pokémon.
And because it only had a single Psychic typing, it gradually became somewhat niche. Subsequent games also offered very few opportunities to obtain it. Unless someone was a dedicated Pokédex completionist, very few players would bother collecting one.
"So, it's that guy…" Edward groaned, rubbing his head. Deoxys, a triangular stone, a puzzle—yes, to release Deoxys, a specific sequence was required. He couldn't remember the exact steps, but he vaguely recalled it involved analyzing movement clues.
So, Edward searched around. After studying the stone's movement for an entire afternoon, he finally solved the puzzle and released Deoxys.
"Rooar!" No sooner had Deoxys emerged than Rayquaza roared and lunged at it. Deoxys shifted into a different form midair and caught Rayquaza's Dragon Breath head-on.
"Do Rayquaza and Deoxys have some kind of grudge?" Edward muttered, confused. He really couldn't recall the details—it had been too long since he played those games. His memory of the storyline was vague at best.
But based on how aggressively Rayquaza and Deoxys were fighting, Edward had no choice but to intervene. He remembered Deoxys was a pure Psychic-type. And Psychic-types… well, they didn't do too well against Ghost-types.
So, he brought out Q and Void. Thanks to the steady stream of Fear Candy Edward had been feeding them, the two were far stronger than normal Pokémon—so strong it bordered on absurd. With them joining the battle, Deoxys instantly fell into a disadvantage, eventually getting pinned down by Rayquaza in one decisive strike. Deoxys let out an unwilling cry.
Rayquaza roared again, then slithered off to the side, beginning to devour the surrounding meteorites. Deoxys seemed ready to stop it, but after glancing at Rayquaza—and then at Edward—it swallowed its frustration and obediently stayed put.
Edward hadn't expected all of this to be for such a simple reason.
So Rayquaza only wanted to release Deoxys, fight it, and then eat meteorites? That was… anticlimactic.
Resting his chin on one hand, Edward sighed. If he had known Rayquaza brought him just to free Deoxys for a brawl and a snack, he wouldn't have come.
Still, since he was here, he used his Pokédex to record data from Deoxys. Even without internet access, the information would upload once he returned to civilization. When that happened, the Pokémon researchers would undoubtedly go insane.
Pokémon Professors were famously obsessive. At this point in history, nearly all Pokémon research data had already been documented. Aside from extremely rare species, most Pokémon had multiple papers written about them. The field was so saturated that professors were forced into extreme competition. A brand-new Pokémon? That meant countless potential research topics. No wonder they would lose their minds.
"Deoxys… I remember there was a storyline in the anime about it searching for a companion or something?" Edward tried to recall. He couldn't. But he also had no intention of catching Deoxys. He already had a Groudon sealed at his waist—that alone was troublesome enough. Adding Deoxys on top of that would be asking for chaos.
He yawned. For some reason, ever since arriving here, he'd been feeling unusually drowsy. Rubbing his tear-filled eyes, he lay down on the grass. The sky above was a clear, brilliant blue. Rayquaza munched noisily on meteorites nearby. Listening to that oddly soothing sound, Edward gradually drifted into sleep.
When he woke up, it was already the next morning. Rayquaza was quietly watching him. Deoxys, on the other hand, was huddled tightly on the ground, too scared to move. Earlier, when it tried fleeing, Edward's three Pokémon had beaten it senseless. Now Deoxys had learned its lesson—the safest approach was to stay perfectly still.
"Morning, Rayquaza. Everything's settled now, right? Can you take me home?" Edward said with a lazy yawn. He didn't know why, but he had slept incredibly well—soundly, without a single dream. He hadn't had such high-quality rest in a long time. It actually made him a bit happy.
"Could it be something about this place?" Edward wondered aloud. Glancing around, he noticed a strange flower growing nearby. Leaning in, he smelled it. The fragrance was pleasant, nothing strange on the surface. But the unusual quality of his sleep made him suspicious. So, he gathered a handful of the flowers to take back for testing. If they really were the reason… then the Devon Corporation might be able to develop something extraordinary. That thought alone made Edward excited.
Rayquaza patiently waited until Edward finished collecting samples, then nodded and lifted him into the air. As for Deoxys—neither Rayquaza nor Edward bothered with it. Edward had thought about taking it along, but Deoxys clearly disliked him, so he abandoned the idea.
The moment Edward returned to Rustboro, the entire Hoenn Region erupted in chaos. On one hand, Edward had flown away in broad daylight riding Rayquaza. On the other, the Pokédex had automatically uploaded all the data he collected. The instant the information went public, every Pokémon Professor collectively lost their minds.
They all understood perfectly well what the appearance of a previously unknown Pokémon meant. Edward's phone blew up instantly. Fortunately, he had already anticipated this. After giving some simple explanations, he headed straight to Devon Corp. He wanted their research division to analyze the mysterious flower. If it truly had sleep-enhancing or hypnotic properties… then he could develop a groundbreaking product.
Edward understood very well: high-quality sleep was priceless. It could rejuvenate exhausted office workers, improve everyday life, and possibly offer far more unexpected benefits. The possibilities made his eyes sparkle.
"Hold it right there—why did Rayquaza come looking for you?" Steven arrived, face dark. He had originally been planning to head out mining, but because of Edward, he had been dragged back into the mess. Edward looked at his exasperated brother with equal helplessness and briefly summarized the events. Steven's irritation melted almost instantly. After all, a completely new Pokémon species was extremely exciting.
But when he learned Edward hadn't brought Deoxys back, Steven sighed dramatically. Edward's mouth twitched. A pure Psychic Pokémon wasn't even Steven's type—he preferred Steel types.
Future Champions wouldn't stick to a single attribute, but Steven was still limited by the game version he was born into. Single-type specialization was simple to develop but too easy to counter. Edward sincerely hoped his brother would diversify his lineup as it would help avoid countless problems in the fuure.
(End of Chapter)