Rayquaza's figure loomed vast and overwhelming.
Its form was that of a celestial dragon—its entire body primarily black, with crimson edging along its shoulders and underside, while ancient golden ring-like markings spiraled from the tip of its tail all the way to its head.
Like most Legendary Pokémon, Rayquaza possessed the ability to alter its size at will.
This time, however, the Rayquaza before them was no different in size from the last time Hayato had seen it—roughly twenty meters in length. Clearly, this was the standard form Rayquaza usually maintained.
Around them, the icy winds of the stratosphere howled past, and above, curtains of aurora shimmered magnificently across the sky.
Hayato sat astride the head of the ancient dragon Pokémon, glancing at the two massive horns jutting out beside him, and explained:
"That one isn't here to invade your territory. It's not here to attack this planet. The reason it came… is to find its partner, who was turned into this crystal."
"Once they reunite, they'll leave this world together. Which means… this battle was never necessary in the first place."
After all, in the movie, those two Deoxys had even protected Rayquaza in the end.
But at his words, Rayquaza gave no visible response. It was as though it hadn't heard him at all.
Hayato frowned. "Don't tell me… you can't communicate with humans through telepathy like the others?"
Surely not? Suicune and Entei could both do it—how could Rayquaza, the Sky High Pokémon, not have that ability?That would be… far too awkward.
Rayquaza: "..."
At that moment, their destination came into view.
Rayquaza hovered in midair and let out a thundering roar in the direction of Deoxys.
Hayato stopped trying to reason with it and instead raised his gaze to the alien Pokémon ahead.
Swooping down to his side came Cramorant, turning its body midair and settling near its Trainer.
During the battle just now, since Hayato had never once intended to strike Deoxys down and shatter it into a crystal core, Cramorant had held back, never unleashing its full strength.
Hayato reached out, stroking its feathery head. "Good work."
Cramorant squinted happily, looking silly but content. "Gaaah."
Withdrawing his hand, Hayato turned alongside Cramorant and Rayquaza to face Deoxys, which had now assumed its Attack Forme.
At this moment, Earth's trio stood united.
Calmly, Hayato tried once more to appeal to reason: "Deoxys, please—stop fighting!"
Floating just ahead, Deoxys neither replied nor attacked. Instead, its gaze fixed on the pale green crystal core resting in Hayato's hand.
Fearing it might mistake him for trying to threaten it, Hayato quickly said:
"We mean no harm—this is all just a misunderstanding. I know you came here searching for this. Rayquaza only thought you were an invader to our planet, and so it attacked you."
"Wuuunnn…"
A strange hum emanated from Deoxys. Slowly, it tore its gaze from the crystal, black eyes now locked onto the human before it. Other than that, it gave no reaction.
Hayato: "..."
Could it be… a language barrier?
After all, Deoxys wasn't even from this world.
Turning, Hayato nudged Rayquaza. "Why don't you try?"
Maybe there was no such barrier between Pokémon themselves.
"..."
Rayquaza remained silent for a time, but as it stared at the alien Pokémon before it, motionless in its ceasefire, it realized the human on its back had been speaking the truth. It had made a mistake.
And true strength meant daring to face one's errors head-on.
At last, Rayquaza gave a low, ancient call.
"Wuuunnnn…"
Deoxys shifted its gaze to the Sky High Pokémon.
A moment later, a white glow radiated from its body. Within that light, its form shifted rapidly—shedding its combat-oriented Attack Forme, and reverting to its balanced Normal Forme.
Hayato let out a long breath.
That meant the LaRousse City incident four years from now would never come to pass.
Deoxys floated closer, and Hayato extended the crystal core in his hand.
Its four tendrils twisted and reshaped into arms, reaching out to take it.
At such close range, Hayato could see clearly what the real Deoxys looked like.
Its body bore a vaguely humanoid shape, orange-red in color. Its face was turquoise, split vertically by a purple stripe.
Its eye sockets were rectangular, housing small white circular eyes, with only pinprick pupils at the center.
But what drew the most attention was the crystal-like organ embedded in its chest—its energy core.
For this Deoxys, that core shone violet.
It lowered its gaze, carefully examining its partner's recovered green core.
Just when Hayato thought the ordeal was over, Deoxys's eyes suddenly flared with blue light.
And then—an unbelievable scene unfolded.
The green core itself resonated, releasing the same blue glow.
Hayato stared, stunned.
Bathed in the radiance, a spectral form began to emerge slowly from the crystal…
Another Deoxys.
Though its figure was faint, incomplete—as though not yet fully revived.
The two Deoxys faced one another, and immediately their bodies shone with aurora-like brilliance.
Above them, the aurora across the sky blazed brighter still.
Hayato looked up.
Yes… just like in the movie—the Deoxys communicated through the aurora itself.
When he lowered his gaze again, the two were now engulfed in the shimmering lights, conversing silently within.
Before long, the exchange ended.
The green-cored Deoxys's spectral form slowly turned toward Hayato.
In that instant, a blurry, fragmented voice echoed faintly in his mind.
"#@&… tha%*nk… you…"
Hayato froze, then realized—this was its way of expressing gratitude!
"You're welcome," he muttered, grinning broadly with relief.
He had witnessed with his own eyes the legendary clash between Deoxys and Rayquaza. He had collected precious data on Deoxys's combat abilities. And, best of all—the outcome was a heartwarming reconciliation.
He couldn't have asked for more.
While that Deoxys communicated with him, the other hovered nearby, watching silently.
When its partner finished, it conjured a fist-sized stone with psychic power and offered it forward.
Instinctively, Hayato's attention was drawn to it.
And in the next second, knowledge surged into his mind.
[Fragment of an Annihilated Star: A rare treasure beloved by astronomers, of immeasurable value. Proof of friendship with Deoxys.]
"This… is for me?" Hayato asked, dazed.
"Wunnn…"
Deoxys pressed the fragment into his hands, locking eyes with him for a moment.
Then, cradling its partner's crystal, it turned away and soared into space.
Now that they had found each other, it was time to leave this world.
Unlike other Pokémon, Deoxys—the spacefaring virus—had no true home.
No past, no future. Only endless drifting through the cold void of space, until their long lives finally ended.
And so, to them, a companion was more precious than even their own existence.
Hayato and Rayquaza stood watching, gazes following the twin figures until they disappeared from sight.
Only then did Rayquaza loose one final, low roar, twisting its enormous body to carry Hayato safely back to the ground.
It cast one last complicated look at the human, then spiraled skyward, vanishing into the heavens.
Hayato: "..."
Well, fine. Let it go. There was nothing left unresolved anyway.
Humming to himself, he carefully tucked away the fragment Deoxys had given him.
A piece of a dead star—it sounded far rarer than any ordinary meteorite he'd ever found.
Valuable, yes. But he would never sell it. Its meaning was priceless.
"Proof of friendship with Deoxys," he murmured. "What a treasure."
And if fate held true, today's farewell meant they might never meet again.
A touch of regret, but… in every world, such partings were a way of life.
Hayato sighed. He was about to go deal with the swarm of Clefairy that had migrated here with their families—only to turn and find himself face-to-face with Dr. Lund and his group.
Tory and Brendan wore wide-eyed expressions of awe and excitement.
But the researchers? Their faces were far more complicated.
They opened their mouths as if to speak, only to glance at the Cramorant by Hayato's side. Their eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and something close to reverence.
Hayato: "..."
Fine. No point pretending anymore. Time to drop the act.
An hour later, at the icy campgrounds.
The rescued Clefairy were bundled in blankets around the fire, cups of steaming tea cradled in their tiny hands, smiling with satisfaction.
Charmeleon, who had nearly suffocated under their affectionate dogpile earlier, stood off to the side, wiping nonexistent sweat from its brow, breathing a sigh of relief.
It turned its head toward the room where a round table had been set.
Inside, Dr. Lund and the LaRousse Institute researchers sat around it.
On the other side sat the Trainer it adored most.
"Char-haaa…" Charmeleon exhaled wearily. Turning to leave, it found a Clefairy tugging on its tail for cuddles.
Charmeleon's face twisted in despair.
"Char… haaa…"
All it wanted now was to retreat into its Poké Ball like Gengar and the others, and sleep the day away.
Leaning back in his chair, Hayato wore a casual expression, as though every question was nothing more than small talk.
Over these days, he had learned the researchers' passion for Pokémon was genuine, their hearts kind. Revealing a little information to them wasn't dangerous.
Besides, he could always fall back on his fabricated identity—"the reclusive scholar, researcher, and Breeder parents" who didn't actually exist in this world.
After some hesitation, Ann, who had once shown him around the institute, asked a question Hayato hadn't expected:
"Are you… really Hayato?"
"..." Hayato gave a wordless look, then answered, "Yes. I'm Hayato."
Compared to Ann, Yuko was more composed. She asked evenly: "You seem to know a great deal about that Pokémon from space. The one that came to this planet. Don't you?"
Hayato nodded. "Their name is Deoxys. They're a Psychic-type Pokémon."
Ann couldn't help but blurt, "Then what about Rayquaza?"
"I met it by chance during my travels," Hayato replied. "I didn't expect it to actually remember me."
At that, Dr. Lund nodded gravely. "Such things are recorded in history. Humans recognized by Legendary Pokémon can indeed earn their aid."
He thought for a moment, then added: "But your Cramorant seems different from the rest."
Hayato smiled. "Yes. It's a Shiny."
"No—I mean its strength," Dr. Lund clarified, leaning forward with interest. "Every species has a natural limit. Take Bug-type Pokémon: once they grow to a certain point, their abilities are capped by their species. It's difficult for them to ever surpass Flying-types raised with the same care and resources."
"Yet your Cramorant… defies this theory entirely."
The memory of that battle replayed in his mind, leaving Dr. Lund deeply unsettled.
If species limits could truly be broken… entire pillars of research might collapse.
But Hayato only shook his head. "I don't know either. It was already like this when I met it. Ever since that day, it's been protecting me."
Dr. Lund opened his mouth again, but in the end, only said, "I see."
Hayato almost told him—sometimes bonds and emotions with humans could allow a Pokémon to evolve beyond its limits.
But on second thought, Dr. Lund wasn't wrong either. A Caterpie raised identically to a Pidgeotto… could never win.
He wasn't a specialist. Better not to flaunt the shallow "knowledge" he had as a transmigrant, especially if he risked being wrong. That would be far too embarrassing.
At that moment, Yuko fixed her gaze seriously on him. "If it's not too much trouble… could you tell us where you learned all this about Deoxys?"
Hayato blinked innocently. "From my parents. They were fascinated by Legendary Pokémon and researched them."
At once, Ann's eyes lit up. "Then can we meet them?"
Hayato shook his head. "They're no longer in this world."
The room fell silent. Ann bit her lip, lowering her gaze. "I'm sorry… I didn't know."