"Hmph!!"
Faced with Deoxys's Psychic attack, Mewtwo merely extended one arm in front of itself despite being forced backward. A blue psychic barrier instantly appeared before it, and Deoxys's mental assault slammed directly into the shield. Although Mewtwo continued sliding backward, the attack was completely blocked and failed to touch it.
At that very moment—
Boom!
"GRAAAH!!"
The ground behind Mewtwo suddenly exploded apart. Garchomp burst from beneath the earth with an enraged roar!
"What?!"
Bang!!
Mewtwo only had time to cry out in surprise before Garchomp's Shadow Claw struck its side. The powerful blow sent Mewtwo flying sideways, crashing straight into a pile of ruins.
"GRAAAH!!"
Having finally landed a successful hit, Garchomp had no intention of wasting the opportunity. It leaped high into the air, transforming into a soaring energy dragon that roared as it charged toward the spot where Mewtwo had fallen.
But just as Garchomp was about to connect—
"HAH!"
A shout suddenly erupted from within the rubble.
An enormous burst of psychic energy exploded outward. The expanding psychic barrier instantly pulverized every piece of debris surrounding Mewtwo before colliding head-on with Garchomp's energy-dragon form. In the next instant, the dragon-shaped energy shattered apart, and Garchomp, crossing its fin-like arms in defense, was blasted backward.
"DEOXYS!!"
Seeing Garchomp thrown away, Deoxys flashed forward and appeared directly in its flight path. Its four tentacles twisted together into a net, catching and stopping Garchomp's momentum.
Meanwhile, after unleashing that burst of power, Mewtwo slowly rose from the ruins and hovered in the air once more.
One hand pressed against its waist wound, Mewtwo first glanced toward the rescued Garchomp, then turned its gaze toward the still-spinning sandstorm tornado nearby.
Then—
"Disappear."
The telepathic command carried psychic force with it. The sandstorm that had been under Mewtwo's control instantly collapsed, and countless grains of sand fell back to the ground, revealing a deep hole at the center of where the tornado had stood.
"To sneak attack someone while they're fighting another opponent... what a despicable thing to do."
Mewtwo's mood was clearly foul. Its angry telepathic voice was directed squarely at Garchomp.
"GRAAAH!!!"
Garchomp was equally furious. It pointed one fin toward Liam, who was still sitting nearby, and roared indignantly.
"Oh? You're criticizing me for attacking that human? Hmph. To me, you're all just enemies. Since you're enemies, I'll attack whichever one I want. Human or Pokémon—it makes no difference. If you chose to chase me, then you should have been prepared to be attacked. HAH!"
Mewtwo clearly didn't care about Liam's life or death.
The instant that thought was transmitted, Mewtwo raised its left hand toward Liam and launched another psychic energy sphere.
"DEOXYS!!"
But Deoxys blocked the attack once again.
Appearing in front of Liam in an instant, Deoxys swung its tentacles and batted the psychic sphere high into the air. Mewtwo's repeated attempts to attack Liam were beginning to genuinely anger it.
"Hmph. Fast."
Even Mewtwo had become wary of Deoxys's displayed speed.
At the same time, green light began emerging from the hand pressed against Mewtwo's wounded waist. The glow spread across its entire body, and the injury beneath the light rapidly started healing.
"That's... Recover! Deoxys, stop it! Use Night Shade!"
The moment the green light appeared, Liam immediately recognized it. Forcing himself to stand despite his injuries, he quickly shouted the command.
"Got it! EUUS!!"
After a low roar, Deoxys violently swung its tentacles.
A massive black shadow erupted from its body and transformed into wave after wave of dark shockwaves. Since Mewtwo was immobilized while using Recover, the attack engulfed it completely.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
A series of explosions rang out as thick black smoke swept across the battlefield.
But just as Deoxys's attack ended—
"HAH!"
A low shout emerged from within the smoke.
The next moment, a heavily wounded Mewtwo burst out through the darkness at high speed.
And it wasn't alone.
Countless pieces of ruined buildings—large and small—floated beside it, all under psychic control.
"HAH!"
Mewtwo shouted again.
Instantly, every chunk of floating debris shot forward like a torrential rainstorm, hurtling toward Liam and Deoxys.
"GRAAAH!!"
"DEOXYS!!"
Faced with the overwhelming barrage, Deoxys immediately shifted into its Defense Forme. Its broad tentacles rapidly wrapped around Liam to shield him.
At the same time, Garchomp charged forward and deployed a green Protect barrier.
RUMBLE!!
CRASH!! BOOM!!
A moment later, the storm of debris came crashing down.
Garchomp and Deoxys were buried beneath the wreckage.
About ten seconds later—
BOOM!!
"GRAAAH!!"
Garchomp suddenly burst through the rubble.
Right behind it emerged Deoxys, still carrying Liam safely in its tentacles.
Cough... cough...
After Deoxys set him down, Liam glanced around and realized Mewtwo was nowhere to be seen.
"Mewtwo? Did it escape?"
Deoxys nodded.
"Yes. It's already gone. Garchomp, stay here and take care of our friend. I'll go after it."
After speaking to Garchomp, Deoxys's body rapidly transformed. In the blink of an eye, it shrank into its compact Speed Forme.
"Be careful, Deoxys."
"I will."
The moment the words left its mouth, Speed Forme Deoxys vanished from sight.
"Graaah... graaah..."
After watching Deoxys leave, Garchomp moved over beside Liam. It gently pressed its body against his back, letting him lean comfortably against it. Its large head drooped onto the ground, looking thoroughly dejected.
"Heh. What is it? Feeling discouraged?"
A smile appeared on Liam's face.
He shifted around until he found a comfortable position against Garchomp's stomach, then reached up and gently rubbed the fin atop its head.
"Graaah... graaah..."
Garchomp closed its eyes and enjoyed the affection, though its voice still sounded listless.
"It's alright, Garchomp. There are countless powerful Pokémon in this world. Running into a few opponents you can't beat is perfectly normal. Don't lose heart. Just keep working hard and getting stronger."
Liam patted its head encouragingly.
"Graaah?!"
"Hm? Evolution? You're asking why I didn't let you evolve?"
Liam smiled and wrapped an arm around Garchomp's neck.
"Garchomp, you should know better than anyone what your evolved form is like. Yes, your speed would increase after evolution, but not by very much. More importantly, those huge sand wings would reduce your agility. If you evolved now, you probably wouldn't even be able to touch Mewtwo's shadow. That's why I didn't let you evolve.
"In the end, evolution is only a temporary method of becoming stronger. True strength comes from yourself. Garchomp, your potential is unmatched. Don't rush things. We'll take it one step at a time.
"Trust me—and trust yourself. You will become even stronger."
"GRAAAH!!"
Garchomp let out a powerful roar, its spirits finally lifted.