CHAPTER 700: MEGA RAYQUAZA! THE GRAND METEOR SHOWER!

The sky was clear and blue, without a cloud in sight.

Hoenn League, Emergency Response Department.

A large display screen was showing a live feed from Verdanturf City Space Center.

Rayquaza was shrouded in a dazzling golden barrier, streaking straight toward the sky, the airflow around its light orb blazing!

The camera zoomed in. A figure in a spacesuit stood atop Rayquaza’s head, holding the two sharp horns at the sides of the “Dragon God’s” forehead!

The staff fell into a brief daze. In an instant, the golden patterns on Rayquaza’s body radiated brilliant light, it broke through the troposphere, heading for the ozone layer!

The satellite feed couldn’t keep up with Rayquaza’s speed and switched to a stratosphere camera. A green giant dragon charged through the frame, its body filling the entire view, still advancing!

Instruments beeped. Researchers pressed keys like mad.

“Rayquaza has reached the stratosphere and is still climbing!”

“Estimated speed has reached 8 km/s—breaking first cosmic velocity!”

The Hoenn Director pressed his hands together and stared at the figure on the screen, his expression grave.

Violent bumps and tremors seemed to transmit through the video.

Cold sweat appeared on everyone’s brows without them noticing!

“Report: Rayquaza’s energy readings are rising sharply!”

“Rayquaza is continuously accelerating!!”

Researchers looked up at the screen. They watched Rayquaza’s atmosphere veil envelop its body, its long tail swaying up and down, mysterious golden patterns surging across its body, claws splayed, jaws bellowing!!

Beep, beep, beep!

The readings fluctuated wildly;

everyone’s eyes trembled. A staffer from Dragon’s Home widened his eyes:

“Dragon Dance, Dragon Dance!”

No one paid attention to the flustered staffer. The researchers fixed their gaze on the interface, a faint glimmer appearing in their eyes!

“Report: Rayquaza’s speed has reached 12 km/s!”

“Breaking second cosmic velocity!”

“Rayquaza and the successor are leaving Earth!!”

Outside the atmosphere, spacecraft circled the planet in calm orbital motion.

The world suddenly fell silent.

The satellite camera reflected a clear, blue Earth—its broad clouds, separate continental plates, boundless oceans—

A single streak of light flashed from the atmosphere, silently blazing, and Rayquaza leaped out of the atmosphere!!

The lanky astronaut standing atop Rayquaza’s head caught sight of a satellite and paused slightly.

Then, the astronaut nodded gently toward it.

In that instant.

Verdanturf City Space Center, Devon Energy Department, and the Hoenn Emergency Response Department erupted in shock!

“Rayquaza has successfully left Earth!”

“This time, Teacher Lu is in the atmosphere!!”

Researchers’ hearts surged—perhaps recalling rocket programs, perhaps remembering space heroes.

And right now, humans were riding Rayquaza into space to solve a crisis and defend their home.

Countless people were shocked;

countless others cheered with joy!

Steven, hand on his suit, wearing a neat blue vest, looked up and said softly:

“To be honest…sometimes I envy Teacher Lu.”

Wallace, wearing a white artist’s cap with a long green cape draped to his waist, looked up: “Why’s that?”

“Because he always gets these show-stealing champion moments.” Steven joked.

“You lost your number-one title, huh.” Wallace chuckled. “At least in the field of space.”

Steven shrugged lightly and glanced at his phone.

As expected, the group chat was flooded.

A-Jin: “Holy crap, Teacher Lu went to space!”

Old Man Ironspin exclaimed: “My word, he’s already in outer space!”

Lance said hoarsely: “This isn’t a champion trainer…this is a cosmic trainer!”

“Did I see Ruby and Sapphire?” The girl asked.

“Yes.” Qianli said. “They were entrusted with the successor’s mission.”

Lorelei: “Isn’t this too dangerous?”

“Ahem…with Teacher Lu taking care of them, let them be. Haven’t they already met each other’s parents?” Qianli said.

Aunt Lorelei: “……”

Darn…that stung!

Lucian said in bewilderment: “I’ve been offline for half a month—how did Teacher Lu get to space?”

Ash: “Because Teacher Lu smashed Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, now he’s going to smash the colossal meteor!”

Lucian: ???

Steven laughed: “Well…that phrasing is a bit off, but the gist is right.”

Wallace sighed: “About Kyogre…we still owe Teacher Lu one.”

Cynthia suggested with a smile: “Hoenn League could repay him with Z-Crystals or Mega Stones—he’s been collecting those lately.”

“Oh!”

Wallace glanced at Steven and saw him flash an OK sign.

When it came to stone collections, Steven prided himself that he was second to none!

“No problem!” Wallace said with a smile.

Alice gaped: “Even Rayquaza listens to Teacher Lu’s commands…my Dragon Heart still needs more training.”

A-Jin raised an eyebrow: “@Lance.”

Yu Long Du: ?

Xiao Yin translated with a poker face: “He means, ‘Doduo, learn from Teacher Lu.’”

A-Jin: !?

You could tell that!?

Yu Long Du: “……”

[Group member ‘A-Jin’ muted by admin ‘Yu Long Du’ for 72 hours!]

Lucian silently wiped his forehead.

Riding Rayquaza to space to smash a meteor?

This world had gone completely insane.

I’ll just keep working overtime…

The shock of Rayquaza and the successor leaving Earth continued to spread.

Two days earlier, after Steven bowed and apologized to Zinnia of the Meteor People, Zinnia felt a strange obsession stirring.

It wasn’t the thrill of revenge or hatred toward Steven, but a melancholic sense of life’s impermanence.

Now, her cloak billowed as she tilted her head to stare at the blue sky.

In the space she could not see, someone was shouldering a mission for her, just like she once bore the mission of the “Zinnia” succession.

Verdanturf City, Space Center.

Meowth, James, and Musashi were invited as honored guests.

“Pardon my asking…how do you know so much about rockets?” a researcher asked.

“Simple!” Meowth extended a finger. “Building hot-air balloons requires deep knowledge of fluid mechanics, materials science, and aerospace engineering—skills that can definitely extend to rockets, meow!” ṛ𝖆Ŋo͍𝐁Еṧ

“I grew up in a family with a rocket launch center, so I studied them for a while as a kid.” James added.

Researchers: ???

How presumptuous of me!

According to Verdanturf City Space Center estimates, the colossal meteor would strike Earth in five days.

Even if Teacher Lu and Rayquaza’s mission failed, the backup plan—“dimensional transfer”—could still be initiated.

After ten minutes of flight, the satellite feed showed the colossal meteor floating in space.

Just appearing on screen, this colossal meteor gave an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Researchers held their breath and stared up at the screen.

They saw Teacher Lu riding atop Rayquaza, almost within arm’s reach of the colossal meteor!

**

Outer space.

The quiet that reached to the edge of the world.

Lu Ye wore a specialized spacesuit and gazed at Earth from atop Rayquaza’s head.

The Poké Ball at his waist trembled slightly;

the little ones inside the Balls sent out strong emotions.

It was a blue planet inhabited by Pokémon and humans—beautiful, pure, home…

Lu Ye suddenly understood the philosophy of many villains.

Create an ideal world, fight for a white hole, a white tomorrow.

A sliver of bright light on the horizon came from a distant blazing flare, its sheen casting a golden glaze across vast stretches of Earth.

“We’re just here to smash the meteor;

no need to provoke that one.” Rayquaza’s telepathic voice sounded.

Thanks to Rayquaza’s abilities, thoughts could be exchanged between them.

“That one?” Sapphire asked.

“You don’t need to know.” Rayquaza said.

“Necrozma, the Blinding One?” Lu Ye asked.

“???”

“I’ve read about the Aether Foundation.” Lu Ye said casually.

Earth is home to Pokémon, while the Pokémon of the cosmos are Ultra Beasts.

Lu Ye floated amid the vast outer space and glanced toward an orbiting satellite, momentarily startled.

He then turned toward the satellite camera and nodded gently.

This would be an unforgettable journey for Lu Ye and the little ones.

“Let’s go. Get closer to that meteor.” Lu Ye said.

Rayquaza agreed without objection. The long green body flew through space, passing small meteoroids floating nearby.

Lu Ye examined one of the small meteoroids with curiosity.

It had a hard gray shell drifting in space;

sensing Rayquaza’s presence, it hurriedly floated away.

Rayquaza glanced at it and had no intention of wasting time on such minor snacks.

After all, a big feast awaited.

The small meteoroids’ shells were plain, but their cores were colorful. Lu Ye felt opening one was like cracking a surprise egg.

Sometimes the core would be green, sometimes blue, sometimes gold…

Sometimes you’d pull out an SSR, a Jirachi.

Lu Ye sat cross-legged on Rayquaza’s head, savoring the silent majesty of space and recalling the previous year’s Qixi Festival.

Exactly a year ago.

A year ago he was watching meteors;

a year later he came to smash a meteor himself.

Lu Ye felt moved.

This wasn’t a backstab anymore—it was charging straight into the blade!

“Teacher Lu, look!” Ruby’s telepathic alert reached him, and Lu Ye slowly looked up.

He froze.

A super-massive meteor loomed—its surface rugged, small rocks constantly flaking off, occupying most of the sky and striking with visual force!

This was the target!

The colossal meteor floated before them!

“Lu Ye, you three stand on that.” Rayquaza’s gaze landed on a nearby space station. Its solar panels protruded like wings—big enough for trainers to stand on.

Lu Ye nodded lightly, carefully undid the ankle restraint, and motioned to Ruby and Sapphire.

The three drifted to the solar panels and anchored themselves with the suction devices.

Lu Ye glanced back at the vast universe beyond the panels and nodded inwardly.

I’ve exited the capsule;

I feel fine!

The colossal meteor drifted closer. Lu Ye soothed the dark ball at his side.

“That one is inedible…it can get infected with Pokémon viruses.”

Although Pokémon viruses can rapidly increase effort values and benefit breeding, there was no need to take that risk.

Rayquaza hovered in the sky before the colossal meteor, its gaze fierce, jaws opening.

“Ready, Rayquaza!” Lu Ye signaled telepathically.

A powerful aura suddenly dispersed from Rayquaza.

The aura covered the entire battlefield. Lu Ye felt the airflow vibrate again as Rayquaza erupted in a thunderous roar!

“ROAR!!”

Golden light orbs flashed around Rayquaza as it charged the colossal meteor, roiling with wild orbs of light;

a white beam burst forth!

Boom!!

The beam struck the colossal meteor. Rayquaza slammed into it at incredible speed, then darted around its side, flinging countless stone fragments into space.

The small meteoroids fled in panic. The meteor trembled and boomed, space illuminated with brilliant fires!

However, the meteor’s sheer size was too great—Rayquaza in its current state could not disintegrate it alone.

“Teacher Lu!” Ruby cried, “Try the one Mr. Steven gave you!”

Lu Ye inclined his head slightly and looked at his right hand beneath his spacesuit.

He still wore fingerless gloves. He removed the Keystone from its socket and replaced it with a prism meteor energy core!

“Rayquaza!”

Lu Ye’s Power of Transcendence sounded in Rayquaza’s mind. He spoke with a steady voice:

“Trust me once!”

Gold and white flecks of light materialized and surged between Lu Ye and Rayquaza;

an invisible bond linked them.

Rayquaza stared at Lu Ye in surprise.

Then Rayquaza fell silent, straightening its body to climb and charge directly into the sky!

The next moment.

Rayquaza shot like an arrow loosed from a bow, diving straight down!!

“Rayquaza—”

Brilliant light blossomed across the cosmos. Lu Ye’s Power of Transcendence detonated in Rayquaza’s heart across time and space.

“Dragon Ascent!!!”

In an instant.

Countless golden particles drifted from Rayquaza’s internal “Celestial Organ,” forming ribbon-like golden strips that streamed from its body.

Its body patterns flared with dazzling gold;

whiskers trailed golden bands;

its skin shone like armored green gems. On its forehead pulsed not the rainbow mark of Mega Evolution but a unique Mega emblem—the Delta symbol, Δ!!

Delta currents radiated outward from Rayquaza.

Mega Rayquaza became a golden beam, concentrating all its force onto one point of the meteor and smashing straight into it!

Dragon Ascent!!

A streak of gold ripped the heavens, piercing directly through the meteor!

Outer space fell silent.

On Earth, the shock was deafening.

Countless people’s pupils shrank;

they fell into stunned disbelief!!

“What is that!?”

“Mega Rayquaza’s form!?”

“The meteor looks like it’s going to explode!!”

Rumblrrr!

A thunderous vibration.

Inside the meteor, as if a nuclear fissure occurred, white light splintered everywhere.

Boom!!!

The colossal meteor began to fragment, shattering into countless pieces floating in space.

Silence returned to the cosmos. Lu Ye stood on the solar panel of the space station, facing Mega Rayquaza.

It was a magnificent green dragon streaming golden ribbons—armored skin glittering like emeralds, black-and-yellow eyes cold and majestic.

After a long moment, Mega Rayquaza said in a deep voice:

“You win, Arceus’s envoy.”

In that moment, Rayquaza truly felt the bond with Lu Ye!

“Later,” Lu Ye said, “first take care of that thing…”

He looked at the core of the colossal meteor.

Among the drifting rock fragments, a purple triangular crystal slowly rose and began to change.

Mega Rayquaza narrowed its eyes, staring at a meteor core that made it wary.

The core emitted white light, unfurling like an opening flower.

An orange-red body with helical arms like DNA, sinister eyes, and a purple crystal in the center of its chest manifested.

Beep, beep, beep!

Verdanturf City Space Center instruments went wild.

The true body of the colossal meteor was a Pokémon!

The situation was unexpected;

people were caught off-guard.

“What Pokémon is that?”

“Professor Oak’s Pokédex data matched—”

“Cosmic virus Pokémon, Deoxys!!”

In outer space.

Deoxys floated aloof and cold, locked in a tense standoff with Mega Rayquaza.

“Do we engage it?” Rayquaza asked.

Before Lu Ye could answer, the crystal on Deoxys’ chest flared and it lunged at incredible speed!

Boom!!

Its speed was blinding—only a streak of shadow visible as it leapt and fired purple beams.

In an instant, Rayquaza’s body erupted with multiple explosions!

“ROAR!!”

Mega Rayquaza coiled and charged toward the shadow, roaring with rage.

“What kind of monster is that?” Sapphire stared in shock.

“Its speed…is even surpassing Mega Rayquaza!” Ruby gritted his teeth.

Mega Rayquaza opened its mouth and fired a dazzling white beam toward Deoxys, which evaded it with ease.

Then Mega Rayquaza unfurled its massive form and dove at Deoxys!

The Sky Deity’s proud move—Extreme Speed!!

Deoxys shifted its body;

its head grew sharp horns and its arms elongated into blade-like forms, the whole body resembling a lethal sword.

Deoxys in Speed Form also used Extreme Speed, matching Mega Rayquaza blow for blow!!

The two Pokémon flew side by side in space, setting off a chain of explosions.

Seizing the moment when Mega Rayquaza’s speed waned,

Deoxys flashed before Mega Rayquaza, changing into Attack Form;

its tentacle-like arms placed over the purple crystal on its chest—

BOOM!!

A dazzling Psycho Blast volleyed forth!

“ROAR!!”

Mega Rayquaza opened its jaws;

Hyper Beam instantly swallowed the Psycho Blast. Deoxys’ gaze shifted;

it immediately leapt away!

Boom!!

Hyper Beam slammed into a drifting satellite.

One satellite’s feed instantly turned to static!

Deoxys’ base speed stat is high at 150 in its Attack form, and in Speed Form it reaches up to 180!

Among all Pokémon, only one species has a base speed higher than Deoxys’ Speed Form!

And in the vacuum of space, Deoxys was unstoppable.

This was genuine Extreme Speed!!

Mega Rayquaza was briefly locked in rigidity;

its yellow-black eyes flashed irritation.

“I’ll teach you how to fight—”

Lu Ye’s eyes hardened. He took out a shrunk Poké Ball, pressed the button to enlarge it, and hurled it forcefully:

“Haunter, Trick Room!!”

Haunter carried some Reversal Power;

even in space, it still had a chance to hamper Deoxys!

And Trick Room was precisely the best choice to limit high-speed fighters!!

“Gengarrr~ (⁎˃ꌂ˂⁎)”

Haunter floated out of the Ball like a balloon in space, baring its teeth in a grin.

Its expression suddenly changed—Haunter flailed its legs in the weightless environment as if drowning, one hand covering its nose, the other fluttering fingers!

Deoxys abruptly turned toward Lu Ye’s direction.

Centered on Haunter, a deep purple space spread across the battlefield!

On Earth, trainers watching the satellite feed froze.

Trick Room!?

Slow Pokémon now move before fast ones!?

Damn, tactical genius!!

Deoxys’ legs seemed bound by gravity, scanning the Trick Room covering the field with a dazed look.

Speed was negated?

What was happening!

“Mega Rayquaza.”

Lu Ye’s voice was cold: “Dragon Ascent!!”

Deoxys: ?

Earthling, are you polite?

“ROAR!!”

Mega Rayquaza arced like a dragon in the sky, then became a golden streak that plunged down through the heavens!!

Deoxys looked up in confusion.

Boom!!!

Dust and debris vanished.

Silence returned.

Deoxys transformed into a compact Defense Form.

Blackened and battered, its chest crystal flickered. Deoxys clutched its chest and barely hung onto a breath.

“Wait, Rayquaza!”

Lu Ye stopped Rayquaza’s intended finishing blow using his Power of Transcendence to communicate:

[Please cease attacking, Deoxys. We promise we will not be the first to use Dragon Ascent.]

Deoxys paused and shifted into its normal form, nodding at Lu Ye in puzzlement.

[I understand your intent—to avenge and to find your companions.]

Lu Ye hesitated.

Deoxys, like a DNA helix, was actually twins.

Long ago, Giovanni abandoned “Form 1” to experiment with “Form 2” in order to use Deoxys to find Xiao Yin.

This Deoxys was “Form 1,” sent from space to avenge Giovanni and search for “Form 2.”

[Please leave the meteor and search for Giovanni yourself. I will not stop you, but even if revenge fails, you must continue to survive.]

Lu Ye said: [Earth might not be a suitable habitat for you, but I believe you will find a home that fits you.]

Like the red world-destroying worm, like the comeback of Mewtwo…

Deoxys’ eyes flickered.

It sensed the trainer’s sincerity.

Even if this Earthling was a bit underhanded…he understood his purpose.

Deoxys looked long at Mega Rayquaza, then gave Lu Ye a slight nod.

It then hoisted its damaged body and, passing the destroyed satellite fragments, continued toward Earth.

“Aren’t you going to stop it, Teacher Lu?” Ruby asked softly.

“No… it’s also searching for its companions.”

Lu Ye watched Deoxys’ departing direction.

If this was Giovanni’s doing, he would let Giovanni bear the consequences and solve it himself.

A fair Pokémon battle.

For any ideology—revenge, ambition, love, or duty—it was the truest demonstration.

Space was silent again.

The shattered meteor remnants, drawn by gravity, floated together toward Earth.

Lu Ye felt the fatigue after the battle and sat atop Rayquaza’s head.

“I wonder how Earth looks right now.” Ruby said.

“It’s probably already in an uproar.” Sapphire replied.

Verdanturf City Space Center.

Many staffers were left speechless by the shock.

Steven and Wallace swallowed hard.

Among Pokédex holders, “tactics” could stand shoulder to shoulder with “battle”!

Commanding Mega Rayquaza to shatter the colossal meteor,

Facing a powerful cosmic creature, even using Haunter’s tactic to defeat it…

This champion guarded Hoenn, guarded Earth!

The threat of the colossal meteor had been successfully neutralized!!

After the tension broke, cheers erupted;

everyone released their passion.

These distant joyous cries had nothing to do with Teacher Lu.

At this moment, he held the two horns at Rayquaza’s sides, the breath on his visor fogging in white, and watched the Earth’s sunset.

Silent and unmoved, Lu Ye was a little absent-minded.

Neither the colossal meteor, Mega Rayquaza, nor Deoxys…

could match the shock brought by the scene before him.

A great sun set beneath the horizon, light spreading across, casting a golden glow on the blue Earth.

“So beautiful…” Sapphire said dazedly.

“Yeah.” Ruby murmured.

“No matter what.”

Lu Ye looked back at the descending sun and smiled softly:

“Tomorrow, the sun will still rise as usual.”

“Let’s go.” Lu Ye placed his hands on both their shoulders and smiled: “Back to Earth!”

“Too bad we’ll miss tonight’s ‘Little Luxio Constellation’ meteor shower.” Sapphire pouted.

She had been looking forward to it for a whole month!

Ruby smiled and gently patted Sapphire’s shoulder, signaling her to look up.

In an instant, light lit her eyes.

The sun sank to the planet’s far side;

space around them grew dark. Broken meteor fragments slashed through the atmosphere, burning fiercely like countless radiant meteors.

A sky full of falling meteors, fireworks, and shining streaks. Endless fragments burned up in the atmosphere and vanished.

A lifetime’s worth of romance—an overwhelmingly gorgeous meteor shower.

Lu Ye watched Ruby and Sapphire clasp hands and stare upward, then quietly asked:

“Little Rotom, how much longer until sunset in Celestic Town?”

“Beep beep… Celestic Town’s sunset already occurred, Rotom!”

“Can that latitude and longitude see it?”

“Absolutely—no problem, Roto~!”

“Edit message, send to Bamboo Lan…”

Lu Ye paused.

He suddenly remembered the Qixi Festival gift Bamboo Lan had given him a year ago: Garchomp’s Dragon Pulse.

Burning meteor shower, silent outer space, countless people gazing up to protect their homes.

Lu Ye chose to sit cross-legged on Rayquaza’s forehead and typed personally.

**

Sinnoh region, Celestic Town.

Bamboo Lan stepped out from the museum.

The golden-haired beauty wore an elegant black coat, her hair veiling her high cheekbone as she looked thoughtful.

She walked to a high slope outside town and gazed up at the vast starry sky.

Garchomp materialized from its Ball and stood behind her.

“Remember when we watched the stars like this as kids.”

Bamboo Lan said softly: “Last year it was Lu Ye and Eevee…in a blink, a year has gone by.”

Garchomp lay with its head in Bamboo Lan’s lap as she sat on the cool green stone, gently stroking it.

Beep.

A message vibrated.

Bamboo Lan was slightly surprised;

the message was unusually special and might have been sent from deep space.

Its content was extremely brief, only the short first half of a sentence.

[If you can look up and see it…]

Bamboo Lan stood and raised her beautiful pale face. A strange glint passed through her gray eyes under her golden hair.

First one shooting star streaked past, then more and more—an uncountable number of meteors lit up the night sky, magnificent and splendid.

Bamboo Lan placed one hand on her hip, her long hair falling to her lower back, and gazed up under the radiant sky;

the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

Behind her, the meteor shower continued. The screen of the phone she held in her slender hand lit up again.

[One unread message.]

[Lu Ye: For you.]

…