The sea breeze gradually grew warmer. Ace sat on Lapras' back, looking up at the Sky Pillar, which was now visible. He recalled Lapras and sent out Aerodactyl.
Aerodactyl took Ace soaring into the sky, flying towards the top of Sky Pillar.
Sky Pillar had a total of 50 floors, but Rayquaza was not in the tower itself. It was sleeping at the very top. Aerodactyl quickly brought Ace near the summit, but the chaotic air currents in the surrounding area prevented any Flying-type Pokémon from getting close.
"Even without Mega Evolution, this ability to control air currents is an instinct for Rayquaza," Ace remarked. He ignored the turbulence and extended his arm.
A strong gust of wind hit him, but Ace's arm was emitting a faint emerald green light. This was the blessing given to Ace by many Dragon-type Pokémon, and it was now helping him withstand Rayquaza's chaotic currents.
"Aerodactyl, go!" Ace shouted to Aerodactyl, and it immediately plunged into the turbulence without hesitation.
At this moment, Ace took out a special respirator he had purchased from the system's store. It was designed to block ozone. If he got too close to Rayquaza without it, the intense ozone would be enough to poison him.
The turbulence rushed toward them, but the Dragon-type energy spreading from Ace soon coated Aerodactyl's body. Aerodactyl instantly felt the surrounding air currents stabilize. It landed on the very top of Sky Pillar with ease.
The summit was shrouded in a hazy ozone. It was certain that Rayquaza was sleeping somewhere in here.
Ace took out the Green Orb from his pouch, placed it on his forehead, and used his consciousness to shout at Rayquaza: "Wake up!"
As his message was sent out, a green dragon claw emerged from the dense fog and slammed down fiercely in Ace's direction!
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, Chansey appeared in front of Ace, blocking Rayquaza's slap.
"Are you that aggressive?" Ace used his consciousness to speak to Rayquaza. "I'm here to heal you, so you'd better hurry up and master Dragon Ascent, understand?"
With that, Ace placed his hand on Rayquaza's claw, and the power of the Viridian Forest surged, quickly flowing into Rayquaza's body.
Then... Ace felt that his healing ability only restored less than a thousandth of Rayquaza's condition.
"What the heck?" Ace was a little bewildered. He then said to the system, "System, please scan Rayquaza's status."
"Scanning..."
"Scan complete. Diagnosis: Rayquaza's body has lost a significant amount of life force and is in urgent need of replenishment."
"Can Perfect-grade Body Repair fix it?"
"Yes, but the cost is staggering. It requires 1,000 mission points."
"Isn't it a standard 5 points?"
"Life force is different from chronic injuries. Replenishing life force is extremely costly. Estimated time for Rayquaza to fully recover its strength is 10 years of slumber."
Ace's scalp tingled. He now realized just how powerful that device developed by Mr. Stone was. An injury that would take Rayquaza 10 years to recover from showed how effective that device was against it.
"Is there a way to quickly restore Rayquaza?"
"Searching... Found. You can use Xerneas's life energy to charge Rayquaza. It would take a maximum of 10 minutes to completely heal the internal injuries."
Ace: ...
Ace felt helpless and now understood what Mr. Stone's device was. This device was similar to the ultimate weapon in the Kalos region—a terrifying weapon that could absorb a Pokémon's life energy. A massive amount of life energy had allowed that Floette to achieve its Eternal Flower form and granted AZ a near-immortal lifespan. However, in return, the device had drained the life energy of numerous Pokémon, killing them.
Rayquaza's current state was also due to the loss of a large amount of life force, leaving it in a weakened condition. This was why the Pokémon League was able to take advantage and successfully capture it.
Pokémon: Rayquaza (Weakened)
Gender: None
Level: 39 (80)
Ability: Air Lock
Nature: Adamant
Potential: Low-grade (Top-grade)
Egg Moves: None
Moves: Twister, Scary Face, Crunch, Rest...
...
From Rayquaza's stats, it was clear that with its life force stripped away, its stats were forcibly weakened, and its level and potential had been reduced. In its prime, Rayquaza would have undoubtedly foiled the Pokémon League's capture plan. But with the technological support provided by the Devon Corporation, the problem of Rayquaza being too strong was fundamentally solved, and they successfully captured it.
No, wait! Ace quickly thought of the most fundamental question. Where did all the life force that was stripped from Rayquaza go?! He knew that the Devon Corporation's "Flower" device wasn't the same as the ultimate weapon from 3,000 years ago, which could grant people and Pokémon eternal life.
"So... that life force is either still stored in the machine or has been used by the Devon Corporation for other purposes," Ace muttered to himself. If the life force was still there, Ace felt he could try to steal it. Using Rayquaza's own life force to nourish it would surely allow it to recover quickly! This was worth a try!
"Side Quest (Life Force): Rayquaza's life force has been used in experiments by the Devon Corporation. Find the remaining life force and return it to Rayquaza. Mission reward: 10,000 gold coins, mission points based on performance."
"Side Quest (Seize Key Stones): The Key Stones left by Shīgànà have been confiscated by the Devon Corporation. Find their location and return them to their rightful owner. Mission reward: 70,000 gold coins, mission points based on performance."
Two side quests appeared. Looking at the quests and combining them with the plot information Ace already knew, he quickly pinpointed the target.
"The safest place is often the most dangerous. A reward of 70,000 gold coins, besides him, there's probably no one else, right?" Ace sneered, quickly thinking of that person: Steven Stone, the son of Mr. Stone and the soon-to-be-retired Hoenn League Champion! Given Steven's love for stones, Mr. Stone entrusting the Key Stones to his son was undoubtedly the safest option. After all, Steven had the power of a Champion, and trying to snatch the Key Stones from him would be incredibly difficult.
However, Ace didn't feel anything about this. After all, he just needed to seize the Key Stones. As for how to seize them, or whether he would have to face Steven, Ace said it simply didn't matter!