However, Primal Kyogre did not show its full power to the other. It was not afraid. Instead, Primal Kyogre saw itself as an elder. Bullying a young Rayquaza was not right for its status.
"Yo~ Zinnia. We haven't seen each other for just a little while. How did you end up like this?"
Primal Kyogre lowered its body a little. Someone jumped down from its back. Zinnia heard a teasing voice.
Zinnia slowly raised her head. Her eyes were red and wet. She saw the boy in front of her.
"Damian..."
Zinnia could not see clearly, but she knew him.
"You look like you're in a bad spot. Do you need help?"
Damian looked at the girl. Her eyes were dark and lifeless. They were not bright and happy like they were before.
He was sure she had failed.
Damian was certain. Rayquaza probably still did not recognize Zinnia. But he expected this.
"Damian... I can't do it... I can't make Rayquaza Mega Evolve... I..."
Zinnia bit her lip and looked down again. Her voice was very sad and painful. It was heartbreaking.
For the first time, the proud and strong Zinnia was gone. It made sense. She spent her life looking for Rayquaza, but she did not get its respect. For Zinnia, this was a very big blow.
She carried a heavy weight. She had her people, the prophecy, her sister, and her faith. She had to succeed for all of them. But she failed.
"I..."
Zinnia began to cry as she thought about this. How was she supposed to face her people now?
Damian's smile went away a little. He looked at Rayquaza. The young Rayquaza was watching them, and it suddenly felt a shiver.
It remembered this human very well. This was the person who told Primal Kyogre and the others to beat its father, the Shiny Rayquaza.
This event left a shadow in the heart of this Rayquaza. Its father seemed to like this human. Maybe he would be its father's trainer.
Rayquaza thought about it. If this human became its father's partner, what should it call him?
"Rayquaza..." Damian sighed. This Rayquaza caused a lot of trouble. It had made Zinnia feel very bad.
But...
"Boss! I'm here!"
Rayquaza was thinking and answered when it heard its name.
"???"
Damian looked at Rayquaza with shock. Primal Kyogre was shocked too.
Wait, kid? Who are you calling Boss?
Rayquaza was stunned too. It immediately raised its head and acted cold. It acted like nothing happened. But its face was very red.
"Zinnia, don't worry. I told you before, right? We are part of the same organization now; our fates are linked."
Damian looked at Rayquaza strangely. Then he sat down and touched Zinnia's shoulder. He smiled as he spoke.
"No matter what happens, don't be afraid, don't be lost, and don't worry. Just trust me and leave everything to me. I can take responsibility for your life."
Damian's voice was gentle and firm. Zinnia stopped crying. She raised her head and looked at him. Her heart shook.
"Damian..."
She saw the boy in her eyes.
"Zinnia, you can always trust me."
Damian smiled. He turned to look at Rayquaza.
"Even if you fail, I can take the consequences for you. So, don't lower your head. I will get back what you lost."
Primal Kyogre's eyes became cold. It was hard to breathe. The pressure was on Rayquaza.
"Wait..."
Rayquaza felt something was wrong. Why did it feel like a bad person?
"Bo— wait, human! I didn't bully this Lorekeeper!!"
Rayquaza explained through telepathy. It felt a bit sad. It had a conscience. This Lorekeeper was Aster's sister. It wanted to give her another chance.
But Primal Kyogre and Damian arrived before it could finish.
"Even though she doesn't quite meet my requirements right now, I was already prepared to keep observing her for a while. She still has a chance!"
Rayquaza did not want to be hurt for no reason. It could call its parents for help, but that would be very embarrassing.
Zinnia's face changed immediately.
"Is that true?"
Damian raised his eyebrow.
"It's absolutely true!" Rayquaza nodded quickly.
It felt strange about Damian. This human had beaten its strong dragon father.
"What do you think?" Damian asked Zinnia.
"I will work hard to make Rayquaza recognize me!" Zinnia wiped the tears from her face. Her eyes showed she was determined. She could not be weak.
"Alright then. Actually, it doesn't matter. I can help you deal with the meteor from your clan's prophecy. Don't feel pressured." Damian touched her shoulder.
"Mm~!" Zinnia looked at Damian's face and smiled brightly.
She did not know how to describe her feelings. She just felt very safe. She remembered Damian saying this before. But after feeling sad, her mind had changed a little.
"So... since you want to observe her, you need to observe Zinnia from up close, right?" Damian thought for a moment and looked at Rayquaza.
"?" Rayquaza tilted its head.
"Then stay by my side for a while. You can observe Zinnia and also train yourself properly."
Damian took out an Ultra Ball and smiled at Rayquaza.
"Huh?" Rayquaza was stunned.
"Look at you. Your dad is so powerful, but how are you so weak? I'll give you some good training."
Damian tried to explain. But it was clear he just wanted a free worker.
"This... isn't very appropriate, is it?"
Rayquaza tried to say no politely. But it wanted to agree. Damian was honest. Rayquaza knew its parents were much stronger. It did not want to be like that. It had a lot of pressure, but it could not learn Dragon Ascent.
"Inappropriate? It's very appropriate. Rayquaza, don't you have a clue how weak you are? Do you really think your 'weakness' is only because you can't Mega Evolve? The main reason is that your fighting skills are too poor."
Damian was very honest about this.
"If I didn't care about your dad, I wouldn't even bother with you. Look at how bad you are. You might not even be able to beat a Deoxys. Do you still dare to say you aren't weak?"
Rayquaza felt strange.
"I understand. Please teach me, Boss!" Rayquaza felt Damian's words made sense. It did not want to make its name look bad. It was under a lot of pressure.
"Get in first. When I have time, I'll teach you how to fight properly."
Zinnia was confused. Damian put Rayquaza in a Poke Ball easily. Also, Rayquaza called Damian "Boss." Was that how they talk?
But it was a good result. Rayquaza would give her a chance. Damian would help with the meteor.
Zinnia felt very peaceful. But after she looked at Damian for a while, her heart beat fast. She was very confused.
Lilycove City Hospital
"..."
Steven slowly woke up. He saw a plain white ceiling. It was a strange ceiling. He wondered where he was.
Steven tried to sit up, but he was very weak. His head hurt and his throat was dry and hot.
"Steven! Steven, you're finally awake!"
A voice spoke with surprise. Wallace's face appeared. Steven was surprised.
"Steven, are you okay? You suddenly fainted; I was scared to death." Wallace looked at Steven with worry.
"Cough cough... water... give me water..." Steven's voice was very raspy.
"Oh, right."
Wallace gave him warm water. Steven felt better after drinking. Wallace helped Steven sit up.
"What happened to me?"
Steven looked at the IV drip. He saw Leon and the others were there.
"The doctor said you had a mental shock. You were tired and caught a fever from the rain," Cynthia said.
"Steven, you're in very poor shape right now. You need to rest in the hospital for a few days," Leon added.
Steven was silent. He remembered everything. He said he was sorry for the trouble.
"It's nothing. Champion Steven, you need to pay more attention to your health. We understand," Giovanni said.
They saw the pressure Steven was under. It was normal for him to fall. Wallace helped too. Damian did not break him, but Wallace did.
"What about Team Rocket?"
"Team Rocket has retreated. Don't worry for now," Leon said. "The most important thing for you right now is to get your health back."
"That's right, Senior Steven! Your health is the most important thing!" Nemona said.
His fainting scared them. His body reached its limit. He used too much energy. The result was bad. Wallace was the final problem.
"Alright. Thank you for your concern, everyone." Steven tried to smile.
"Steven, you should rest. We'll head out for now."
Giovanni told the others to leave. Only Wallace stayed.
"Wallace, I have failed the Hoenn League," Steven said. He was very tired and felt it was his fault.
"Steven, what are you saying?" Wallace looked serious. "I won't let you say that about yourself. In my heart, you are Hoenn's most outstanding trainer! You are the guardian deity of the Hoenn region!" Wallace said with a firm voice.
Steven was moved. Wallace was a good friend.
"Wallace, I have one thing I need you to help me with. I hope you can agree."
"Steven, just say it. There's no need for such talk between brothers." Wallace nodded.
"After this incident, I feel that as the Hoenn Champion, I am truly reaching my limit." Steven rubbed his head. He felt like he had white hair now. "And I can't just ignore the results of this incident. It's because of me that things turned out this way," Steven said. "So Wallace, I hope you can take the position of Hoenn Champion back—"
"Steven." Wallace interrupted him.
"?" Steven was confused.
"What was your previous sentence again?" Wallace asked.
"Wallace, I have one thing I need you to help me with..."
"I won't help."
Wallace said no immediately.
It was a joke. They were brothers, but he would not be Champion again. Never.
Steven looked at Wallace. He felt like he was fuming.
"Cough cough cough... cough..."
"Steven! Steven, what's wrong?! Doctor! Doctor, come quickly! Steven looks like he's not going to make it!!"
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