"It is the Legendary Pokémon, Rayquaza. In ancient legends of the Hoenn region, it is revered as the Sky High Pokémon," Infi reported dispassionately.
"Zoom in on Rayquaza's head!" Zero barked suddenly, spotting a tiny figure atop the dragon.
"Understood."
Infi quickly zoomed the camera in.
The next moment, the image sharpened—and Zero saw it clearly.
Standing boldly atop Rayquaza's head was a human, clad in a mask and a flowing red cape.
Beside him floated a mysterious Pokémon with sleek pink fur and a large curled tail, humanoid in appearance, exuding an extraordinary presence.
Infi automatically scanned the individuals and reported:
"Analysis complete. The human is identified as the Cyclizar Mask. He previously helped resolve the disaster caused by the Legendary Pokémon in the Hoenn region."
"As for the Pokémon accompanying him, its data is unknown. It appears to be an undiscovered species."
'Cyclizar Mask!'
Zero gritted his teeth in fury, his hands trembling.
But the sight of Giratina breaking free snapped him back to reality. A flood of rage surged through his body.
"How dare you...!" Zero roared.
"How dare you destroy my plan and shatter the device I worked so hard to build! Unforgivable!"
Slamming his fist onto the control panel, he gave the order.
"Magneton Corps, deploy! I don't care if it's the God of the Sky or whatever! In the end, it's just a Pokémon!"
The next moment, panels along the side of the spaceship slid open automatically. From within, a swarm of Magnemite and Magneton, shining with cold metallic light, poured out.
The dense cloud of Pokémon darkened the sky like a thundercloud as they flew straight toward Rayquaza.
On the ground, Ash and the others stared up, stunned.
"That whole group of Magnemite is going after Rayquaza!" Brock said nervously, his eyes locked on the scene.
"What on earth is happening today..." Dawn murmured, worry filling her eyes.
So much had happened, Shaymin, the Reverse World, Giratina, and now even Rayquaza had appeared.
Ash clenched his fists tightly, watching the sky with determined focus.
But what happened next surprised everyone.
Even faced with a massive army of Magnemite, Rayquaza didn't move at all.
Just as the group was beginning to wonder why, they saw a figure leap off Rayquaza's head.
A soft blue aura shimmered around the figure as it floated alone in front of the incoming army, calmly facing the dark mass of Magnemite.
There was an old legend: A single Magnemite might be weak, but when gathered in great numbers, their synchronized discharge of electricity could destroy an entire city.
High above, brilliant currents of electricity began to spark across the Magnemite swarm.
The energy rapidly gathered, forming a massive bolt of lightning.
With a deafening roar, they fired a colossal electric beam straight at the lone figure.
"Who is that Pokémon?!" Ash's eyes widened in shock. The familiar silhouette triggered a memory deep in his mind of a day at Clear Cliff years ago.
A name surfaced clearly.
'Mewtwo! That's Mewtwo!'
In the blink of an eye, the monstrous beam engulfed Mewtwo.
"What terrifying power..." Dawn gasped, covering her mouth in fear.
But the next second, a massive invisible force erupted from within the beam. The electric current scattered and disappeared instantly, and an invisible shockwave smashed into the Magnemite army.
Caught off guard, the Magnemite panicked.
Realizing the overwhelming strength of their opponent, they shrieked in fear and scattered in all directions, fleeing the battlefield.
"S-So strong..." Dawn whispered in awe.
"Yeah! That's Mewtwo for you!" Ash said, a smile spreading across his face as he watched.
"Huh?" Dawn turned to him in surprise. "Ash, you know that Pokémon?"
Ash nodded firmly. "Yeah. That's Mewtwo, a very special Pokémon."
...
Meanwhile, aboard the spaceship, Zero stared in disbelief at the screen.
'What... What just happened?!'
'What is that Pokémon? Why is it so powerful?!'
But before he could recover, Infi's voice sounded again.
"Warning! Warning! Giratina is preparing to attack the spacecraft!"
'Damn it! I was so focused on Rayquaza and that human that I completely forgot about Giratina escaping!'
Zero's face twisted in horror.
Sure enough, the next second, Giratina's massive form filled the entire monitor.
Its huge body blocked out the view from all cameras as it launched a furious assault on the spaceship.
With a deafening boom, the spaceship immediately lost balance as Giratina's attack obliterated the engine. The entire ship spun out of control, plummeting toward the ground like a kite with a snapped string.
But Giratina's rage wasn't satisfied yet.
Hovering above the ship, it opened its gaping maw and unleashed a devastating Shadow Force. The dark, oppressive energy swallowed the falling vessel in an instant.
Moments later, a massive explosion echoed through the forest below, shaking the earth and startling countless wild Pokémon.
The spaceship crashed into the trees, and flames quickly spread across the forest.
"Oh no! The forest is on fire!" Dawn cried out in alarm.
Without hesitation, she grabbed her Poké Balls, ready to summon her Pokémon and have them douse the flames with Water Gun.
But before she could act, Mewtwo moved.
Its figure blurred, vanishing in a flash, and reappeared above the burning forest.
A soft blue light radiated outward in rippling waves.
Immediately, the water from the nearby lake surged upward as if being commanded, pouring over the fire.
Within moments, the roaring flames were completely extinguished, leaving only thick clouds of white smoke rising into the air.
"Awesome!" Ash grinned in relief.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu chimed in happily.
High above, Mewtwo drifted back to Naoki's side. Naoki gave Mewtwo a small nod, and together with Rayquaza, they turned their gaze toward Giratina, who had finally landed.
Giratina, who was usually so cocky and boastful in their chat group, now flushed with embarrassment and anger under the stares of his companions.
He wanted to roar out in frustration and snap, 'What are you all staring at?!'
But deep down, he knew: if Naoki hadn't arrived in time, he might have really been captured by that vile human today.
Naoki crossed his arms and gave a pointed look.
"I already told you to be more careful and not charge in recklessly," he said calmly.
Giratina, feeling a mixture of shame and pent-up fury, swirled with frustration. But his anger wasn't aimed at Naoki. No, it was squarely targeted at those two troublemakers, Dialga and Palkia.
'Those two! It's all their fault!'
Giratina thought furiously, his hatred for Dialga and Palkia growing even deeper.
"Arrogant, rude, willful..."
Naoki read the words aloud one by one.
The moment Giratina heard this, it immediately realized Naoki was talking about it.
A flicker of panic crossed Giratina's heart.
'Was this it? Would Naoki dislike me now? Would he stop being friends with it because of these flaws?'
The thought alone made Giratina feel miserable.
Its life had once been dull, a gray, endless cycle of solitude. But ever since Naoki appeared, everything had changed.
Naoki would chat with it, help plant fruit trees and flowers, create a fake sun in the Reverse World, massage it with Dragon-type energy, teach it how to use the Rotom Phone for entertainment, and even send over food and drinks now and then.
Over time, Giratina had grown used to these little moments. It had grown used to Naoki.
Now, it couldn't imagine what life would be like without him.
A deep sadness welled up inside Giratina. At that moment, it completely forgot its grudge against Dialga and Palkia. All it could think about was the terrifying possibility that Naoki might abandon it.
But Giratina, proud as it was, didn't dare show weakness in front of Rayquaza and Mewtwo.
It tried to act indifferent, pretending everything was normal.
At first glance, it looked no different from usual.
Staaaaare.
Both Mewtwo and Rayquaza watched it silently, seeing through its act completely.
Feeling overwhelmed, Giratina couldn't stay any longer. It twisted its massive body and turned to leave, preparing to return to the Reverse World, maybe never coming out again.
Seeing Giratina suddenly act like this, Naoki was momentarily stunned and quickly called out:
"Where are you going?"
Giratina grumbled back in a low voice, "Home."
Naoki paused for a second, then smiled and said, "Then let's go together."
Giratina froze mid-flight and looked back, confused.
Seeing that expression, Naoki instantly realized:
'It misunderstood what I said earlier!'
"I haven't finished what I wanted to say," Naoki said, helpless yet gentle.
"Sure, those words sound bad. But maybe... that's just who you are, Giratina."
Giratina blinked, unsure what to think.
He took a deep breath, then glanced down at Ash and the others, who were still gathered below.
But he didn't go down to meet them. Instead, he turned his attention back to Giratina and said,
"Alright, everything's settled here. Time to head back."
Giratina didn't completely understand Naoki's words. But it could feel it, Naoki wasn't mad at him.
A surge of warmth bloomed in Giratina's chest.
The "sunflower" blooming in Giratina's heart instantly blossomed into full bloom.
Without hesitation, it opened its massive mouth and unleashed a tornado toward the sky, tearing open a portal to the Reverse World.
"Rayquaza, thank you so much for today," Naoki said as he jumped onto Giratina's back, turning to the dragon soaring beside them.
Rayquaza, who had been acting as Naoki's personal ride for a while, gave a short, low bark, as if to say, "It's nothing."
Satisfied that Naoki was safe, Rayquaza twisted its massive body and shot up into the sky, disappearing into the ozone layer to search for its favorite snack.
Naoki, along with Mewtwo and Giratina, slipped through the portal and returned to the Reverse World.
...
Later that evening, around four o'clock.
When Naoki drove the pickup truck toward sthe ranch, he heard Professor Oak's loud exclamation from inside the house:
"What?! Giratina was captured?! And then Cyclizar Mask appeared with Rayquaza and a mysterious Pokémon named Mewtwo to save it?!"
Startled, Naoki stepped inside.
"Doctor? What's going on?" Naoki asked, feigning innocence.
Professor Oak turned toward him, his face beaming with excitement.
"What a groundbreaking discovery!" Professor Oak said. "Ash and his friends called earlier. They said they actually saw the legendary Pokémon Giratina and Rayquaza today, and an unknown Pokémon called Mewtwo!"
He shook his head in amazement. "Oh my goodness! It's incredible. And that Cyclizar Mask… to think he's connected with so many legendary Pokémon!"
The old professor sighed wistfully. "It would be wonderful if I could meet Cyclizar Mask in person someday."
Hearing this, Naoki and Koraidon exchanged a knowing look.
Koraidon: "Gaah~"
Naoki smiled and replied warmly, "Maybe you'll get the chance one day."
...
Read upto 60 chapters ahead @patreon.com/Keepsmiling818