"Already caught!?"
Sid nearly blew his top. He shouted in raw disbelief, voice cracking as it echoed across the riverbank.
"How is that even possible!? Who could take down a monster like that!?"
He had felt Deoxys's power up close. The gap between them wasn't merely "large"—it was suffocating, the kind of difference that made you doubt your own common sense. Aside from Rayquaza itself, Sid couldn't picture any Pokémon that could stand toe-to-toe with it. And a human catching something like that?
He couldn't even imagine the process. So rather than accept Rafe's conclusion, Sid clung to the only explanation that didn't crush his worldview.
"It has to be the Poké Ball," he muttered, half convincing himself. "It has to be defective…"
For some reason, the instant Ash heard Rafe say it had a master, Natsui's face surfaced in his mind.
In Ash's limited experience, a top-tier figure like Lance might be able to defeat such a Pokémon—maybe. But if he had to name someone who could actually catch it, the first person he thought of was Natsui.
It had to be Natsui-nii.
Natsui's Pokémon were all absurdly strong, and the number of legendaries he carried made him feel almost unfathomable. If anyone could tame a creature like Deoxys, it would be him.
So… could this one be his?
Ash hesitated. He looked at his own team scattered across the ground, then glanced back at the river where trainers were still being harassed by those "splits."
Natsui-nii… wouldn't order his Pokémon to attack us, right?
While Ash and Sid were still frozen in place, Rafe had already recalled his Pokémon and sprinted toward the riverbank. Sid snapped out of it, quickly returning his own team as well. Then, seeing Ash standing there like he'd forgotten how to move, Sid turned as he ran and shouted—almost kindly, despite the panic.
"Hey! What are you waiting for!? Move!"
"Huh? Oh—right!"
Ash finally jolted awake. He recalled what he could, scooped up the unconscious Pikachu, and raced for the water.
Splash!
The river's icy bite cleared the fog from his head in an instant. Pikachu stirred weakly in his arms, blinking its eyes open just a sliver.
"Pika…"
Ash's chest loosened with relief. He paddled with one hand while holding Pikachu above the surface with the other.
"You're awake… thank goodness."
"Pi…"
Pikachu answered faintly, then sagged again. Ash's expression twisted.
"You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that."
Pikachu didn't even have the strength to respond. Its eyes fluttered shut.
"Hang on. Just a little longer. I'm getting you to a Pokémon Center."
Clutching Pikachu tightly, Ash followed Sid and Rafe as they swam back toward the city side.
They made it—but none of them felt "safe" in any meaningful sense. A heavy gloom hung over the three of them. They'd been on the shore for only a few minutes before being driven into a humiliating retreat. When they had rushed in earlier, they'd felt confident—riding their Water-types, watching other challengers flounder, imagining themselves as the lucky few.
Now their Pokémon were down, their clothes were soaked, and they were swimming back like fugitives. It was as miserable as it was sobering.
The Unstoppable Sweep
After crushing the trio, Deoxys shot back toward the river in a blur. It streaked past Ash and the others at terrifying speed—and completely ignored them.
No finishing blow. No lingering threat. It didn't even glance their way.
Ash flinched when it passed overhead, bracing for the worst, but it flew on as if they were nothing more than debris in its flight path. The realization stung almost as much as the defeat itself.
It never even considered us worth the effort…
Out in the river, the remaining trainers didn't realize what was coming. While Ash's group had been pinned on the shore by the main body, the others were too busy fighting off the "splits" to notice what had happened.
By the time Deoxys appeared above them—silent, looming—some finally looked up.
And for a split second, their first emotion wasn't fear.
It was excitement.
To them, it looked like fortune had finally turned. They'd been bogged down by the fragments and worried they wouldn't reach Rayquaza in time. Now one of the targets they wanted most had practically delivered itself to them.
But they didn't get the chance to act.
Deoxys struck first.
It released a short, distorted sound—more like a signal than a voice—then crossed its arms over the core at its chest. A sweeping wave of force erupted outward in a wide arc, an indiscriminate blast that tore through the air and across the water.
Any Pokémon caught in it dropped instantly—knocked unconscious mid-flight or driven into the river with a heavy splash. In a single pass, more than half of the remaining challengers were neutralized.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to hold its breath. Some trainers didn't even understand what had happened until they saw their partners vanish beneath the surface.
Then a woman's scream cut through the stunned silence.
"PELIPPER!"
Her Pelipper had been erased from the sky before it could even flap once, swallowed by the wave and sent plunging into the river. That cry snapped the battlefield back into motion.
"What is that thing!?"
"How can it be this strong!?"
"Run—RUN!"
Panic spread instantly. A few dove into the water to save their Pokémon, but most did what instinct demanded: get as far away from Deoxys as possible.
On the bank, Misty and the others watched from a safer position. Aside from Ash—still in the water—everyone had regrouped. Brock's voice dropped to a whisper, as if speaking louder might attract the monster's attention.
"Is this… Deoxys's power? One attack took out that many at once."
For once, even Brock's perpetually narrowed eyes were open. Misty, however, looked far less shaken—like someone who'd already seen what true terror looked like and had recalibrated her sense of danger accordingly.
May leaned close, voice low. "Ash and the others… they'll be okay, right?"
"They will," Misty murmured back, checking that Brock and the twins weren't listening too closely. "Natsui-nii knows exactly where the line is. Deoxys had plenty of opportunities to hurt people, but it never crossed that line. It's driving them off—nothing more."
Deoxys swept again. The remaining trainers finally broke. Any fantasies of catching Rayquaza or Deoxys collapsed under the first real encounter. They fled toward the city side faster than they'd arrived, scrambling over one another in pure survival mode.
And even then, some lingered on the edge, unwilling to leave completely—desperate to see what happened next.
From within the forest, Natsui observed with a faint, irritated click of his tongue.
They back off, but they won't let go. Typical.
He didn't indulge them. Through the link, he issued another directive. Deoxys drifted closer to the city side.
That was enough.
The remaining spectators scattered like startled birds and finally ran deeper into LaRousse City. Even Misty's group retreated to a more secure position.
With the nuisance cleared out, Natsui could finally focus on the main problem: Rayquaza.
High above the river, the wild Deoxys and Rayquaza were still locked in a punishing stalemate. Both showed signs of injury, and neither was giving ground.
But the moment Natsui's Deoxys rejoined the engagement, the outcome stopped being a question.
Faced with two Deoxys coordinating flawlessly, Rayquaza eventually let out a furious roar, then abruptly climbed—banking hard, cutting into the sky, and vanishing into the thick cloud layer.
It was gone.
In the forest, Natsui let out a slow breath. He hadn't moved much, but maintaining that kind of sustained, high-intensity control through a mental link was draining in its own way.
Finally.
The Somber Gathering
That night, the LaRousse City Pokémon Center felt less like a sanctuary and more like a wake.
When Natsui pushed through the front doors, he was met by an eerie scene: a large group of trainers sat in the cafeteria, eating in silence. Heads bowed. Faces pale. Every so often, a heavy sigh rolled through the room like a wave.
So many people, and yet it was quiet enough to hear utensils scraping plates.
Behind the counter, Nurse Joy moved nonstop, shuttling between stations and healing machines, her pace brisk and unrelenting.
Natsui scanned the room and found Ash's group in a corner. Nearby, Rafe's team sat at the next table. Compared to the other shell-shocked trainers, their corner at least had occasional conversation—but even that was subdued.
Misty spotted him first and lifted a hand. Natsui walked over and sat beside her.
Max immediately leaned in, eyes wide. "Natsui-nii, where were you!? We couldn't find you anywhere!"
For whatever reason, Max had adopted the "Natsui-nii" habit from Ash and Misty. No one bothered correcting him.
"Where else?" Natsui shrugged, completely casual. "When the evacuation order went out, I went with the crowd to the nearest shelter. I just got back."
Ash blinked, visibly surprised. For all his instincts, he was still Ash—straightforward at heart. He took Natsui's answer at face value and accepted it almost immediately.
So Natsui-nii really was in a shelter… then that Deoxys—
Brock didn't look convinced. He studied Natsui for a flicker too long, as if searching for a crack in the story. But Natsui's expression didn't shift in the slightest. Misty and May wore equally neutral faces.
Brock's suspicion deepened.
Max, oblivious to the undercurrents, adjusted his glasses and launched into an excited explanation—tone full of regret and awe.
"Then you missed everything! You have no idea what we saw by the river! It was Rayquaza and two Pokémon we've never seen before! They were incredible! They beat Ash and—"
"Max," May cut in sharply, embarrassed. "Read the room."
Max finally looked around. The other trainers looked like they'd attended a funeral for their pride. He swallowed and shut up.
But Natsui, utterly unbothered, decided to twist the knife—just a little.
"Oh, that," he said with a grin. "Yeah, I heard. The city news did a live broadcast. We saw the whole thing on the shelter screens."
He turned to Ash and laughed, light and teasing.
"You got handled pretty badly. It looked rough. Too bad I wasn't there—if I'd been on the field, I'd have beaten that Pokémon for sure."
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