CIATB Chapter 173 "Drive, Rayquaza, this way!"
Chapter 173 "Drive, Rayquaza, this way!"
Chapter 173 "Drive, Rayquaza, this way!"
Amidst the churning clouds and thick fog, glimpses of green figures could be faintly seen.
The biting wind that used to blow constantly from the top of the Sky Pillar gradually disappeared without anyone noticing.
"...Isn't meeting Rayquaza your wish and ideal? Now that you're about to meet him, are you chickening out?" Zeki said, looking at the uneasy Shigana.
Normally, I'm anxiously waiting to see Rayquaza.
Now Rayquaza has arrived.
But she chickened out...
Higanbana: "Hmm..."
Ze Shu glanced at the clouds before saying, "You don't have much time left, because your Dragon God... has probably already arrived."
As the whistling sound of the dragon flying past grew clearer, they could finally see part of its form from the Pillar of the Sky—its emerald green body was covered with regular yellow ring patterns, which, as they streaked past like shooting stars, also emitted a faint glow.
Soon, it hovered above the top of the Sky Pillar, where ozone repeatedly gathered, forming a protective shield that enveloped and obscured it, leaving only a glimpse of Huang Tong's eyes through the black sclera, peering at them through the ozone.
"Lord Dragon God..."
Higanbana's eyes widened at the sight, and she couldn't help but take a few steps forward, wanting to get closer to Rayquaza, and shouted with all her might:
"I am the successor of the Meteor Dwellers of this generation! Higana!"
"I want to gain your approval, Lord Dragon God, and become a partner who can fight alongside you, just like my sister!"
"If you'd like, please...please..."
Soon, Higana couldn't keep shouting anymore.
Because no matter how she shouts.
Those golden eyes belonging to Rayquaza showed no fluctuation whatsoever.
Even the unique talent of the Meteor Dwellers told her that the more she called out like that, the colder Rayquaza's emotions became, and it subtly rejected her.
Realizing this, Higana's pupils shrank sharply, and she was somewhat at a loss, standing there stunned.
She didn't understand what she had done wrong, or even that Rayquaza was rejecting her.
"I, I...why..."
"Look where your Dragon God is staring?" Ze Shu suddenly asked.
"Um..." Higana snapped out of her daze.
Following Rayquaza's gaze, she looked in the direction it had been staring at when it hovered above the Sky Pillar. There, in the center of the Dragon Summoning Altar, were several objects—the summoned creatures that Sigana had placed there after summoning Rayquaza.
Several keystones, and... a rainbow-patterned meteorite.
What Yi Lie Kong Zuo was staring at was the rainbow-patterned meteorite?!
Higana realized this.
But at this moment, Rayquaza, which had been hovering in the sky, suddenly moved. The ozone layer around it was as solid as a light shield, but it could not hide its emerald green body. Like a shooting star, it rushed toward the center of the Dragon Summoning Altar!
If this attack were to hit, the entire top of the Sky Pillar would likely be shattered and collapse.
Zeki and the others among them would probably fall from this height of tens of millions of miles. They wouldn't die, and they wouldn't even be injured—but that's on the condition that Rayquaza's impact didn't glide over them.
As it stands, Rayquaza doesn't seem to care about where they are. Any chance of a collision depends on luck.
"Frozen Beam".
"Buee!!"
From the moment Rayquaza charged forward, a sharp and piercing icy light suddenly shot upwards.
Facing Rayquaza's ozone layer shield, which was falling like a meteor, the Frozen Beam pierced straight ahead without hesitation. This tiny Frozen Beam, in dealing with Rayquaza's fierce charge, looked like a needle against a hammer; the needle would be bent and broken by the hammer.
However, precisely...
Accompanied by a ferocious roar.
The needle tip suddenly pierced the hammer's fragile iron shell.
The ozone layer surrounding Rayquaza suddenly cleared, causing Rayquaza to pause in mid-air, as if unwilling to withstand the arrival of this freezing beam. Its trajectory changed, barely avoiding the cold light.
And by avoiding it, its forward momentum was naturally lost.
Rayquaza hovered above the Sky Pillar once more, but this time at a lower altitude. The ozone layer surrounding it was gone, leaving its body completely exposed to the air, and its eyes became wary and fierce.
This was the first time Zeki had ever seen Rayquaza's complete body.
It was far larger than he had anticipated based on comics or animation.
Its enormous dragon body also brings an extreme sense of oppression, coiled in the sky, like a sky god who is majestic without being angry.
but.
"How could Rayquaza, which looks so powerful, be so scared by an Ice Beam?" Ze Shu looked at Glaceon at his feet, and Glaceon was also staring at him blankly.
The effect of the freezing beam was truly beyond his expectations.
A single freezing beam was enough to make Rayquaza unable to dodge? I doubt anyone would believe that.
But it seems... that's just how it is.
Could it be that his Glaceon has been trained into Arceus, which can ride Rayquaza and Groudon?
Ze Shu wasn't that arrogant.
Despite having four times the strength of ice.
But the one in front of us is not some shameful black Rayquaza that was subdued by an ancient hero.
Rather, it is Rayquaza, the "Dragon God," who was the most praised and left behind the most legends in Hoenn, for stopping the battle between Origin Groudon and Origin Kyogre a thousand years ago.
If Rayquaza had a race, this one would undoubtedly be the leader.
"Ze Shu—" Xi Jiana, regaining her senses, urged in a hesitant voice, "The Dragon God needs this Seven-Colored Meteorite, the source of its power."
"Should we...should we give it to them?"
"Shut up, you simp," Ze Shu said.
Higanbana: "Hmm."
Seeing Rayquaza perched in the sky, looking wary, Ze Shu slowly walked to the center of the Dragon Summoning Altar, bent down, picked up the rainbow-patterned meteorite, and said, "Didn't you notice something was wrong with Rayquaza?"
Higanbana: "?"
Ze Shu ignored her, looked up at Rayquaza, and suddenly shouted, "So weak, that's why you really want this Rainbow Meteorite? If you want it, take it from me! What, you don't have the strength?"
Following closely at Ze Shu's feet, Glaceon made a "bueee" sound, trying its best to look fierce.
Even with such provocation, Rayquaza roared but did not take any action.
"Huh???"
Higana glared at the provocative Ze Shu, then at the Dragon God.
She was stunned.
She didn't understand why Ze Shu suddenly provoked the powerful Dragon God, nor did she understand why the Dragon God was so timid and didn't punish Ze Shu.
and also.
What does Zeqi mean by "weak"?
Just as Higanbana was bewildered, Rayquaza, seemingly having thought it over and decided that its imposing presence was not to be challenged, roared again. Its coiled body surged, and a ball of energy condensed in its open maw, launching an attack towards Zeju.
"Is this Sky Pillar your home? Do you really want to destroy it?"
Ze Shu twitched the corner of his mouth.
A flash of white light, and Articuno, with its proud, icy-blue plumage, appeared beside him, taking flight with Zeshu. Facing the attack of the Sky Dragon, it showed no fear, meeting it head-on, as a chilling blizzard quietly gathered.
Glaceon stood atop Articuno, its Icicle Slab already activated, ready for battle.
and also.
What are you doing out here?
Zeshu looked at the six-tailed fox that had suddenly appeared in his arms.
The six tails, facing forward, vigorously flapped their six fluffy, upright tails, trying to evoke the "snow scene".
But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't summon anything.
"Oh my god..." This made Liuwei a little disgusted.
"This is none of your business." Ze Shu chuckled and put it back into its Poké Ball.
Rayquaza's "Airlock" is here; can you summon a "snowy scene" there?
I just put Vulpix into a Poké Ball.
Zeshu saw Rayquaza's yellow energy ball, which had been gathering power in its mouth, suddenly burst forth and spewed straight at Articuno!
Unfortunately, Articuno only cried out once before a "light screen," a psychic beam of light, suddenly appeared, blocking its attack, and it managed to dodge it.
"Why use such ineffective tricks? Where's your 'finishing touch'? Aren't you going to show it to me?" Ze Shu provocatively asked.
Rayquaza's eyes turned cold.
This is the first time someone has dared to provoke it so brazenly. Even during its "capture operation" a few years ago, the group was fully prepared and used every trick in the book, which is why it suffered such a humiliating capture.
And now...
Rayquaza doesn't want to experience that humiliation again.
With a turn of its body, countless rocks suddenly appeared around it and shot straight toward the Articuno.
All that could be heard was a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound as the air was being pierced.
The primal force swept through the air, but much of it was blocked by Articuno's "Reflect".
"That's it—" Ze Shu said again, "Why are they all ranged attacks? They don't even have the finishing touches. Surely they should at least know something like 'Reverse Scale Speed' to crush a dragon's claw?"
"With this kind of power and this kind of audacity, you dare to try and snatch a meteorite from me?"
"Roar roar roar—!!!"
Rayquaza's anger flared up in his mind.
The Articuno, which had been cautiously maintaining its distance from Zeshu, no longer did so. With a tremor, its three-fingered dragon claws, imbued with deep purple dragon-type energy, fiercely pounced towards Zeshu!
Ze Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief:
"Unleash the blizzard!"
Rayquaza charged forward with its three-toed claws raised. Although there were many dragons in its path, Rayquaza's body was simply too big, making it easy for Zeshu and the others to hit it.
What's more... it's a large-scale AOE blizzard.
Rayquaza, who was initially wary and kept its distance, was still able to dodge quite a few attacks.
Now, however, he has been provoked by Ze Shu...
Rayquaza can eat its fill!
With a crisp "whoosh," the icy stone slabs radiating light suddenly lit up, and with Articuno flapping its wings, a blizzard of frost suddenly surged forth, sweeping away Rayquaza as it charged forward!
The sky was dyed a vast expanse of white.
Rayquaza, which is four times weaker than Ice, was not afraid. In fact, its speed suddenly increased, and its massive dragon body, along with its claws, plunged straight into the blizzard!
At this point, anyone who backs down is a fool!
"Roar!!!"
Its vision was completely submerged in the white light, and the massive dragon body deeply felt the harshness of the cold. But Rayquaza was suddenly fearless, its eyes cold and determined, and it reached out to grab Articuno, which it remembered.
but.
But all they could catch was a wisp of icy blue feather fluttering about.
These feathers looked beautiful in the sudden, frigid blizzard. But in Rayquaza's heart, they weren't so beautiful.
It got tricked?!
This is the "Feather Dance". Rayquaza felt something unusual in the feathers in its claws, which suddenly depleted its already scarce internal energy, making it even weaker and its claws even more powerless.
Suddenly, Rayquaza felt a touch from above its head.
These are footprints?
Human footprints?
"Hello, Rayquaza."
The voice of the human who kept provoking it came from its head?
Was that human standing on it?!
"roar--!!"
"Don't shout, don't shout." Ze Shu steadied himself on Rayquaza's head.
Surprisingly, Rayquaza's head is actually quite easy to step on; it's stable and not slippery, allowing you to stand firmly on it. And... it even thoughtfully provides handles for the 'rider' to point to Rayquaza's "X"-shaped horns.
"Roar!!!"
Zeshu said, "Don't shout."
Rayquaza roared even louder.
It shook its body vigorously, but it couldn't shake the tree down—Articuno's "Feather Dance" made Rayquaza's strength even less.
The fact that the Zephyr tree even "steadied" Rayquaza's horn further enraged it.
"Don't rush, you're so weak, save your energy."
"I heard that during the Rayquaza capture operation a few years ago, the capture team used a device called 'Flower' to 'nullify' Rayquaza's physical strength, rendering it unable to resist and allowing it to be 'obediently' captured."
"Could it be that this nullification is still present within you?"
"You're so pitiful..."
As he spoke, he steadied himself on Rayquaza's head, which was struggling wildly. Ze Shu reached into his pouch and quickly pulled out two items: the White Jade Orb and the Vajra Orb.
"Huh... I touched the wrong one." Ze Shu blinked.
These were the "items" that Zeki had originally prepared for his battle with Rayquaza. He placed them in the most convenient spot in his spatial backpack, which was also the source of his confidence to challenge Rayquaza.
When in doubt, you can call for help.
Anyway, Palucci is known as the "God of Space," and he says he can descend at any time.
However, it seems that these two precious pearls are no longer needed.
After putting the two jewels back in, Ze Shu continued to search, and soon found another item: a red chain with beaded rings.
—【Red Chains】
This is an item brought from the Sinnoh region; it's an item that allows you to control and manipulate the two spacetime gods, Dialga and Palkia.
At that time, on Tianguan Mountain, he and Chi Ri were smashing real and fake red chains at each other.
The crimson chains of the blazing sun shattered.
Ze Shu's crimson chains were not broken.
"Hmm, you can control both 'Water Dragon' and 'Steel Dragon'—" Zeju looked down at Rayquaza, "There's no reason you can't control your 'Flying Dragon', right?"
"roar--!!!"
Rayquaza roared angrily.
But along with it came red chains that wrapped around its body. Rayquaza's "X"-shaped dragon horns were indeed a good place to wrap things around; wrapping them around twice would secure them firmly, and Rayquaza couldn't break them no matter how hard it struggled.
Soon, Rayquaza's entire dragon head was completely bound by red chains.
"Oh ho—"
"It actually works!"
Ze Shu was surprised for a moment, then manipulated the red chains to forcibly twist Rayquaza's head in a certain direction.
"You Rayquaza, you were bullied a few years ago and you didn't even get revenge. Now people are treating you like a pushover, and they're even trying to take advantage of you."
"Come on, let's go!"
"This way!"
"I'm taking you to do something big."