Let's Go

After bombarding each other with Draco Meteors, the special attack power of the two Rayquazas decreased significantly, so they began to fight in close combat, using moves like Dragon Dance, Dragon Claw, Dragon Tail...even Dragon Ascent.

Yuga stood by the seaside, watching from afar as the two Rayquazas battled, creating a scene of swirling winds and changing skies.

After Yuga and Mr. Brandon subdued the remaining Draconid People with joint effort, Mega Rayquaza finally returned, battered and bruised, still in its Mega Evolution form, clutching the unconscious Rayquaza's clone in its claws.

By the time the old lady, who had been knocked unconscious by Yuga, woke up, she found herself tied up with ropes and her Pokémon confiscated, leaving her sitting helplessly on the ground.

Seeing the defeated Rayquaza's clone, the old lady's expression turned extremely frantic, incessantly muttering "impossible."

At that moment, she truly looked like a pitiful old woman, rather than the ambitious elder of the Draconid People.

Mega Rayquaza threw the defeated Rayquaza's clone to the ground, then reverted to its regular form. Yuga stood nearby, watching it, then widened his eyes in surprise.

Seeing Yuga staring at it, Mega Rayquaza became quite displeased: What are you looking at?

Yuga pointed at it, puzzled: "What happened to you?"

"Why are my paws tuned black?" said Mega Rayquaza, terrified, as it scratched the ground with its claws.

"It hasn't changed color, it's still black, it's not dirt," replied Yuga.

Mega Rayquaza panicked and twisted its body, only to find that its handsome green scales were gone, and now it was replaced by black scales—on its tail, waist, chest...everywhere!

I knew that thing wasn't something you could just use casually. Now look, I'm turned black!

Mega Rayquaza lamented inwardly in misery.

Yuga, watching Mega Rayquaza's expression change several times, was equally puzzled. How did Mega Rayquaza suddenly become shiny? Did it paint its original green scales to hide its appearance?

Though puzzled, Yuga didn't approach it, knowing that Mega Rayquaza didn't like him.

After a while, Rayquaza's clone slowly opened its eyes. It looked at Mega Rayquaza that was reaching out its claw towards its forehead, knowing that Mega Rayquaza was about to take away the Jade Orb that didn't originally belong to it from its body.

It didn't struggle, only sadness filled its eyes. Without the Jade Orb, it would die immediately.

Since its birth, it had known it wouldn't live long, but that didn't stop it from yearning for life. It dreamed of living painlessly like a normal Pokémon, living a long and happy life.

So when the old lady gave it the Jade Orb, and allowing it to become a normal Pokémon, it felt grateful toward the old lady.

Now it was finally going to die! The fear of death that had haunted it all along would finally come to an end today.

After bombarding each other with Draco Meteors, the real Rayquaza indeed intended to retrieve the Jade Orb from the clone's body. But when it saw those eyes, its actions suddenly halted.

At that moment, it changed its mind, and abandoning the idea of reclaiming the Jade Orb.

Yuga, who had been watching the two Rayquazas attentively, saw the real Rayquaza saying something to the clone, who nodded continuously. Then the real Rayquaza extended its claw towards Yuga and beckoned him over.

"Call me over?" Yuga asked uncertainly, pointing to himself.

"Roar!"

Hurry up!

Rayquaza growled impatiently.

After Yuga approaching them, he heard the real Rayquaza pointing at the clone and saying, "Treat it."

Yuga hesitated. "Is it okay? What if it starts fighting you again?"

Rayquaza stamped its foot: Just do it! Stop with the nonsense.

Still so temperamental! Yuga silently commented. "Alright, I'll treat it. But if anything goes wrong, it's on you."

Under the joint healing of Florges's wishes and the Heal Pulse of Chimecho, the wounds on Rayquaza's clone's body quickly disappeared. Yuga also tended to the real Rayquaza's injuries while he was at it.

Seeing Yuga being so cooperative, Rayquaza's expression finally improved quite a bit, and finding Yuga much more pleasing to eye.

After the treatment, Rayquaza said, "Alright, I'm leaving, and I'm taking it with me," after saying that both of them soared into the sky.

"Just like that?" Yuga stood there for a moment, feeling a bit puzzled.

Rayquaza not only took Rayquaza's clone with it but also took the mysterious giant stone at the top of the Sky Pillar, which left Yuga feeling somewhat regretful. He had wanted to take that mysterious giant stone back for research!

After Rayquaza left, the only thing left to deal with was the issue of the Draconid People. Whether they had connections with the Sky Pillar or Rayquaza, they couldn't just walk away scot-free.

Yuga handed over the captured members of the Draconid People to Mr. Brandon for transport.

Mr. Brandon's pyramid-shaped aircraft was nearby, making it convenient to transport these people.

Meanwhile, Yuga himself headed back to Mr. Genzo's house.

At this moment, Mr. Genzo's house had become a ruin due to the battle between Salamence. Mr. Genzo and Taro were standing anxiously at the door, waiting for Yuga to return.

"How did it go? Did you retrieve the items?" Mr. Genzo asked him as soon as he saw Yuga dismounting from Dragonite.

Yuga felt guilty at Mr. Genzo's question, "I'm sorry, I couldn't retrieve the Jade orb."

"Oh... What should we do then?" Mr. Genzo took two steps back, his expression bitter. He couldn't even protect the belongings left to him by his son and daughter-in-law.

"But the Jadde Orb didn't fall into the hands of the Draconid People; it was taken away by Rayquaza,"

So Yuga explained to Mr. Genzo about Rayquaza and Rayquaza's clone.

"I see, that explains it!" Taro murmured softly. They had noticed the unusual sky in the direction of the Sky Pillar earlier—the ominous dark clouds were quite unsettling.

"It's good that Rayquaza took it away..." After a moment of silence, Mr. Genzo sighed, relieved that he wouldn't have to worry about holding onto it himself.

"Gym Leader Shimizu, may I ask why the Draconid People would act this way?" Taro couldn't resist asking about the Draconid People's situation.

Yuga replied, "Not only did they attempt to fulfill their ambitions using Rayquaza's clone, but they also had some secret connections with the Heaven Organization. The League won't let them off easily."

Taro remained silent for a while, without saying anything.

"I'll go bring back Starla first. After that, we can discuss what to do next," Yuga said to the still-dazed Mr. Genzo.

But before Yuga could set off to find Starla, she arrived riding on Yuga's Sawsbuck. She had been too worried about her grandfather and had persuaded Sawsbuck to bring her back to check on him.

"Grandpa, Grandpa! Are you okay?" Starla cried as she threw herself into Mr. Genzo's arms.

Mr. Genzo gently stroked Starla's head. "I'm fine, dear, don't worry."

After crying for a while and seeing her home reduced to ruins, Starla said sadly, "Grandpa, our home is gone."

Mr. Genzo shook his head. "It's okay, as long as everyone is safe."

The matter of the Draconid People was quickly reported by Yuga and Mr. Brandon to the League.

The Hoenn League responded to them at the same day, and classifying the Draconid People as a dark organization, and their headquarters, Meteor Falls, would be subjected to the League's cleanup operation.

The Pokémon League has never been fond of groups like the Draconid People: unregistered and possessing a certain level of power. Being unregistered implies being uncontrollable, and some organizations tend to cause trouble if it was left unchecked.

So the League has always operated under the principle of turning a blind eye as long as they don't cause trouble. But if they do, the consequences are severe.

That's why the League's response to the Draconid People was so harsh this time, especially since they were all involved in the incident with the Rayquaza's clone.

As expected, the task of wiping out the Meteor Falls fell to Yuga and Mr. Brandon.

This incident was able to be resolved succesfully without affecting Pacifidlog Town, made Yuga and Mr. Brandon received big credit. If they were to hand over the task to someone else midway, there would inevitably be suspicions of trying to steal their credit.

With the main members of the Draconid People already apprehended, wiping out the Meteor Falls can be considered an easy task—it took them no effort at all.

It's evident that the League has no intention of keeping the Draconid People around. Despite their claims of seclusion over the years, their covert activities have been a source of annoyance for the League.

Meanwhile, Mr. Genzo and Starla have decided on their future plans. Following Mr. Brandon's suggestion, they've decided to accompany him back to Kanto region after wiping out Meteor Falls.

Although Mr. Brandon enjoys traveling in his pyramid-shaped aircraft, his jurisdiction as a Battle Frontier Brain falls under the Kanto and Johto Leagues. His home was originally in the Johto region, but he moved to Kanto region due to work reasons.

As for the issue of Decidueye's archery skills, Mr. Genzo proposed that Decidueye accompany him for a while. Once he settles in Kanto region, where there are Pokémon transfer devices, it will be convenient for Decidueye to either continue learning archery with Mr. Genzo or return home.

Continuing with the task of wiping out Meteor Falls.

The location of the Meteor Village has always been a mystery. Everyone only knows it's near the Meteor Falls, but the exact location is unclear. However, now that the Draconid People is in the League's hands, so it was easy to find the Meteor Village location.

A day and a half after the Rayquaza's clone incident, Yuga and Mr. Brandon received the League's interrogation results and confirmed the location of Meteor Village.

The next day, Yuga and Mr. Brandon arrived near Meteor Falls.

Meteor Falls is not a natural waterfall but a giant crater formed by Draconid People, with a unique environment and topography.

Yuga and Mr. Brandon rode their flying Pokémon along the waterfall and, after bypassing it, they saw a deep pit. According to the information obtained from the Pokémon League's interrogation, the Meteor Village was hidden beneath this deep pit.

After descending into the pit, Yuga and Mr. Brandon found a hidden tunnel according to the information provided by the League. The tunnel's entrance was well-concealed; if it wasn't known in advance, most people wouldn't discover the entrance.

At the entrance of the tunnel, there was a stone door disguised to look like a natural rock wall. Yuga and Mr. Brandon searched for a while before finding the switch to open the stone door.

As soon as the stone door opened, it alerted the guarding Pokémon on the other side. It was a massive Rhyperior, sleeping on the other side of the stone door.

After opening the stone door, the Rhyperior saw two strangers entering and immediately launched an attack on them without hesitation.

As the guarding Pokémon of the Meteor Village, this Rhyperior's strength was quite impressive—it was an Elite level Pokémon.

Dealing with a Ground and Rock-type Pokémon like Rhyperior was best suited for Yuga, a Grass-type Trainer. Sawsbuck, which had been released by Yuga earlier, leaped forward using its Horn Leech move to tackle Rhyperior.

Rhyperior roared angrily as its two rock arms tightly gripped Sawsbuck's horns, attempting to throw Sawsbuck away.

Sawsbuck couldn't match strength with a giant like Rhyperior. Before being thrown away, Sawsbuck lifted its right front leg and fiercely kicked Rhyperior's stomach with a Double Kick move.

Although Double Kick was a basic move, but Fighting-type moves is countered Rhyperior. Additionally, being kicked in the stomach, a vital spot, Rhyperior screamed in pain and flew backward, crashing into the wall of the tunnel.

This tunnel, specially constructed by the Draconid People, was not only spacious but also very sturdy. Despite being hit by a giant creature like Rhyperior, the tunnel only suffered a few small rock fragments falling off, with no signs of collapse.

As Rhyperior struggled to stand up, Sawsbuck's attack came again. Horn Leech struck fiercely at its stomach, while a green light flashed across Sawsbuck's body.

Horn Leech had the ability to convert half of the damage inflicted on the opponent into the user's HP. Since Sawsbuck didn't have other moves to restore HP, this move became one of its training priorities.

To adapt to this skill, Yuga specially prepared the held item Big Root for Sawsbuck, which enhancing the healing effect of its Horn Leech move.

Once again struck painfully, the enraged Rhyperior raised its arms and used Hammer Arm to strike Sawsbuck's waist. However, Sawsbuck reacted quickly. With its excellent jumping ability, it instantly moved out of Rhyperior's attack range.

Rhyperior's Hammer Arm missed, creating a large pit in the ground, while Sawsbuck, in the moment of jumping away, bombarded it with a series of Bullet Seeds.

Being quadruple weak to Grass-type moves, Rhyperior collapsed and couldn't get up.

After Rhyperior lost its ability to battle, Yuga captured it in a Poké Ball.

Although this Rhyperior wasn't suitable to bring back to Verdanturf Town, it could be handed over to the League. That would still be an achievement!

Including the previous encounter with Old lady's Salamence and Altaria, Yuga had handed them all over to the League. While these powerful Pokémon couldn't be used by the League, they could serve as breeding Pokémon.

The League dealt with the Pokémon of criminals this way. After all, they couldn't just keep these Pokémon without using them, nor could they release them to endanger the world. This method was the best solution.

The behavior and conduct of Pokémon are heavily influenced by Trainers. You can't expect the Pokémon of criminals to be kind-hearted, so the League couldn't just release them.

By handing over the Pokémon, Yuga would also receive corresponding compensation from the League. However, all of this would be settled uniformly after the eradication of Meteor Falls.

After recalling Rhyperior into its Poké Ball, Yuga and Mr. Brandon continued walking inward. It was dark inside the tunnel, and they didn't know how long they had walked until suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of them at the end of the tunnel.

Continuing forward, they saw a quaint village appear before them. The surrounding environment suddenly opened up, like a paradise.

This was the legendary Meteor Falls!

Yuga looked at this beautiful village and couldn't help but sigh.

The fields of the village were filled with crops, and occasionally, a flock of Swabblu and Altaria flew by in the sky. Sometimes, even a Salamence would pass by...

It was hard to imagine that such a beautiful village could nurture someone as ambitious as the Old lady.