"Shanra, counter that thing's Hyper Beam with your own," I said quickly, eyes locked on our alien company. "Minako, Niko, go for an Ice Beam, see if we can't get a freeze."
Deoxys didn't care one way or another. A giant beam of blinding energy shot off at us that Shanra returned with his own, but it was blatantly obvious that the advantage in raw firepower lied with our extraterrestrial company. Minako leaped in front of us all to keep us out of harm's way, and a grunt of discomfort escaped her at taking the residual energy while her breath turned icy. Niko wasn't far behind, the air around his mouth likewise seeming to condense into snowy particles, and while Deoxys was paused in a resting position on the ground from the last attack, two Ice Beams connected with it. It didn't make a move, but again, its form started to change- its body bulked out considerably and its tentacles flattened into a much broader shape. Maybe it took the hits, but it didn't seem to care in the slightest.
With the speed and ease that it was changing forms, I almost wondered if it was a very antsy, standoffish Ditto in disguise, but even if that were the case, those forms had to come from somewhere. This creature was throwing me for a loop at every possible moment.
"Silva, Dig!" I instructed my Dugtrio while Deoxys was grounded.
"Dug!" she cried, vanishing under the ground.
"Heracles, Megahorn!"
"Cross!"
Heracles rushed out, ready to knock the extraterrestrial flying with his horn, and the ground broke open from Silva getting close to strike, but Deoxys' eyes fell on me again as if in silent taunting. Before either of my Pokémon could strike, a shield of energy went up around it, and Deoxys had Protected itself from both of them. A disgruntled cry escaped Silva and Heracles pouted, but when Deoxys' body started changing again, the two of them easily knew to get away from it. Yet another form revealed itself- a mostly black, very sleek and streamlined one with only a single tentacle on either side.
"What are you?!" I cried in stupor, completely unsure what to make of its many guises. "Minako, if you can Skull Bash it into the water, see if you can beat it in your own terrain! Niko, you take care of things from above! The rest of you, do your thing!"
They all gave me cries of affirmation. Shanra bared his fangs and darted after our company, but with speed that an Electrode with an endless supply of X Speeds would still be jealous of, Deoxys flew off into the sky while shooting off psychic bursts of energy at whichever of my companions it laid eyes on. Niko trailed after it, dropping Thunderbolts and spitting Flamethrowers, but my dragon just couldn't keep up. Shanra and Silva had to flee out of the way of its Psychic, though my Flareon wasn't shy about breathing his own Flamethrower while Minako sent an Ice Beam into the fray. Every single one of our attacks was for naught when they all collided with another energy shield, but yet again its form was changing back into the first one it shifted into while the beginnings of a Hyper Beam formed between its tentacles.
"Well, this one has its bases covered with those moves, I'll give it that," I remarked.
Zuma's ball wiggled just a bit on my belt, and I gave it a glance, but my Zapdos didn't come out.
A Hyper Beam went flying at Niko the second the shield dropped, but thankfully he was able to avoid it, and the clouds in the surrounding vicinity found themselves with a gaping hole torn in them. For once, I was glad that this island was secluded and abandoned, for had there been any unfortunate avians or anything else in the attack's path, I couldn't help but think they would've gotten incinerated by the sheer energy. Still, Deoxys was paused to rest in the aftermath, and Niko rushed it with a red-glowing set of claws. The bulky form replaced the powerful one as it fell back towards the ground, but a Dragon Claw still slashed at it.
Niko was just as surprised as I was to see Deoxys' form rip apart so easily, for the alien's body may as well have been butter while Niko's claws were a hot knife. A chunk of its body's surface was ripped out where my Dragonite's claws swiped, the edges of the wound looking like paper that had been put through a shredder as opposed to torn flesh.
Silva vanished beneath the ground again, and the moment Deoxys touched the ground, she erupted underneath it with another cry of 'Dug!' as she slammed it from below. Heracles and Shanra weren't far behind, the two of them charging at it with horn pointed and fangs bared, but still, Deoxys didn't seem too upset. The rips in its body reformed like nothing had ever been amiss, the creature Recovering from any damage it had taken, then promptly went switching forms to the powerful one. I was surprised to see it heal up and go right back to normal so fast- Niko's claws evidently hadn't even fazed it. It could attack, it could defend, it could heal… There weren't very many Pokémon that could pull off every single one of those functions at the same time, and definitely not while being so good at every single one.
It let a Psychic go, and it would've hit Heracles, but I anticipated such would happen and grabbed his ball, recalling him inside to safety. However, I wasn't fast enough to recall Shanra next, and my Flareon was shortly on the receiving end of another Psychic.
"Flare!" he yelped.
"Shanra!" I cried in dismay.
It only took one hit to down him. My Flareon's eyes went huge, then closed, and he fell limp on the ground. I recalled him back into his ball, letting out a shallow breath.
Heracles, on the other hand, came out of his, giving me an awkward grin. "Cross," he piped up, confident but hesitant at the same time.
I patted his head. "Don't you worry- I wasn't gonna let you take that if it can be helped," I said, getting a little nod in return. I looked to Shanra's ball. "You're still a trooper, Shanra," I said, giving the ball a pat too.
Deoxys, however, was putting up another energy shield, seeing as Minako was on the offensive and would've Skull Bashed it right over the edge had her attack made contact. A Thunderbolt from Niko and a Sludge Bomb from Silva smashed into the shield as well, and within it, Deoxys changed back to its speedy form. Deoxys shot up into the sky again the moment its Protect wore off, launching a Psychic at Minako and dodging another Dig from Silva as it did so. Minako didn't have the speed to evade like most of the others, but luckily, she did have a sturdy shell to protect herself, even if a disgruntled growl escaped her.
Two Ice Beams from my Blastoise and Dragonite sailed at the alien, but it avoided them with ease as fast as it could move, and another glowing sphere of energy took form between its tentacles. It darted up higher into the sky, dodging a lightning bolt dropping down courtesy of Niko.
"Trio," came Silva's cry next to me as her heads popped up from the ground.
"I know, this isn't the sort of foe you match up well against," I said, kneeling down and petting her too. "You just be ready to go when that thing comes falling down again."
"Trio!" she said back, all three sets of her eyes furrowing before she vanished underground again.
However, I was shortly recalling Niko back into his ball and releasing him again as Deoxys fired another Hyper Beam, splitting the clouds in two. It wasn't too hard to figure out Deoxys' maneuver- it had flown higher up so as not to hit the ground while immobilized after a Hyper Beam, effectively putting it out of the way of my Dugtrio. It shifted back to the bulky form, falling limply back towards the island, and Minako got ready to Skull Bash it once it got close enough for her to hit.
I would've told Silva to stay put, as Deoxys was clearly trying to avoid her, but the second my mouth opened, I felt pressure on my throat again that stifled my words. My face contorted in discomfort and only a slight gasping sound came out.
My Dugtrio would've slammed the alien from below when she Dug up from the ground, but Deoxys was just high enough off the ground that she missed by a few centimeters. Instead, Deoxys shifted forms again to the powerful one as soon as it could with a pinkish sphere of energy glowing between its hands. I reached for her ball, but the telekinetic strangling grip that I still felt made my movements slow and jerky.
"Dug!" Silva cried, eyes going wide.
She went to burrow back beneath the surface, but Deoxys was faster. A Psychic knocked her out too, and her three heads ceased to move.
For just a moment, those unearthly eyes floating in black sockets fell on me again, and though I was free to breathe normally again, I could still feel Deoxys taunting me for the way my senses tingled for that small second. For a creature that had threatened to destroy us, it definitely wasn't kidding around. I had to wonder if it was getting some sort of enjoyment out of thrashing my team members, or if the 'coldness of space' had naturally made it that standoffish.
Either way, I recalled Silva, and Deoxys went throwing up another energy shield to Protect itself when Heracles charged at it with his horn. Yet again, its body went shifting, taking on its more defensive form within the protective bubble, but even with a barrier in place, Minako went rushing at it. Heracles' move might've been nullified, but the shield dropped as Minako charged up close, and the alien couldn't dodge her in time. She Skull Bashed it hard enough that its body seemed to deform slightly under her force, and soon enough, both of them went toppling off the island's edge into the messy waters below. A burst of pinkish light illuminated the surface for a moment, but aside from that, I couldn't see either one of them.
Niko dropped out of the sky next to me and Heracles darted over too. We shared a glance or two.
"Nite," Niko piped up.
"I know, this one's strong," I said, giving my dragon a pat. "But I know you are too. And you too, Heracles."
I gave Heracles another pat, and his fists clenched up for a second with a cry of 'Hera!' following. Niko merely eyed the water, half in concern and half in borderline frustration.
"In all our years of battling and filling the 'Dex, I don't think we have ever seen anything like this," I remarked.
Two simultaneous cries of 'Nite!' and 'Cross!' concurred with me, my Dragonite shaking his head.
I reached into my bag and took out a max potion, thinking that if Minako went crawling back onto solid ground that she'd surely need one. A few more pinkish flashes came from under the water's surface, and I'll admit I was worried about her- she was completely fine with the sea and Deoxys likely wasn't, but even so, I didn't want her taking too many hits while out of my reach to heal her. However, when the surface of the water started to violently ripple followed by two geysers shooting up with Deoxys' bulky form on the receiving end, I knew she was fine. One set of its flattened tentacles and a large chunk of its shoulder had apparently been obliterated by her cannons, but just as before, it Recovered as if nothing had ever been wrong. Minako jumped out of the water and back onto the island, snarling with a disgruntled expression but still kicking.
"C'mere, Minako!" I called to her.
As she darted over to me, Deoxys' eyes fell on me again and that awful strangling pressure returned for just a second. Still, it left as quickly as it came, and shortly thereafter Deoxys was shifting forms to its speedy one as Niko shot off an Ice Beam at it. My Dragonite flew after it, dodging more bursts of psychic energy as he spit Ice Beams and rained Thunderbolts while still trying to get close enough to strike with his claws again. My Blastoise was definitely thankful to feel the effects of the potion when I sprayed her with it, and she gave me a wink along with a mischievous little snicker.
"I'm almost wondering if we'll have to destroy this thing's body to make it stop," I mused, shaking my head. "It's just shrugging everything off."
"Blast," Minako said, giving me a playful nudge on my back.
Still, in its speedy form, Deoxys was outmaneuvering everything Niko could possibly throw at it- Ice Beams, Thunderbolts, even a wider-reaching Flamethrower. My dragon could dodge, but the alien's Psychics were always cutting it fairly close, and I kept my eyes peeled for any signs that Niko needed help. However, just after another Psychic, there came the white glow of a Hyper Beam, and though I reached for his ball to recall him out of the way, I just wasn't fast enough.
"Nite!" Niko cried in pain.
"Stoise!" Minako too exclaimed, looking caught off guard even if she wasn't the one getting hit.
I too let out a cry of dismay as my Dragonite went crashing to the ground, quickly reaching into my bag for another max potion. His eyes were still open, so he was still hanging on, but judging from his expression, it hadn't been pleasant. Deoxys followed suit shortly thereafter, starting its usual drift downwards as it changed forms to the defensive one again. I could tell the speedy form wasn't as hard of a hitter, but still, a Hyper Beam wasn't anything that could be brushed off easily.
"D-drago…" Niko choked out as I knelt down next to him. His eyes looked up at me, one of them more squinted than the other.
"Hey, it's alright," I said gently, giving his back a pat as I sprayed him with the medicine. "We're gonna get through this. I've got plenty of potions and that creature can't blast at us forever."
He nodded.
Of course, I said that- it was true that I had at least six more potions in my bag, but when Deoxys would eventually tire and ease up was something I couldn't gauge in the slightest. Yet, I had to figure that escaping on the ferry if things truly went bad wasn't a very feasible option, seeing as this creature outright wanted to destroy us, and if it had stalked us on our way over, it would probably follow us back too.
Minako's cannons shot off another watery burst as the alien, and Heracles wasn't too far behind her with a Megahorn. Perhaps it was pained, perhaps it was annoyed, but regardless, even if Minako's Hydro Pump punched a hole through its body and Heracles' horn rammed straight through it, from the way it rattled my senses, I could tell even that hadn't done it in. My mouth fell open just a bit- Minako's cannons were no joke and Heracles' strength wasn't anything to be trifled with (especially considering his move was a super effective one). In any other battle, that would've been enough to net us a KO- but not here, apparently. My two Pokémon went retreating further away when it Recovered from the damage and its form went changing to the powerful one.
"Are you indestructible?!" I exclaimed in shock, eyeing it in sheer disbelief.
It didn't give me an answer, but the way it looked at me while forming another burst of psychic energy between its tentacles told me all I needed to know. That strangling telekinetic grip returning to my throat kept me from withdrawing Heracles into his ball, and though Minako tried to jump in front of him to take the Psychic instead, she just didn't have the speed. A cry of dismay started to come from my Heracross, but he fell unconscious before much of a sound could leave him.
I recalled him, eyes going slightly wide as I studied Deoxys. Both Minako and Niko growled in displeasure, shooting the alien some very dirty looks. Half my team, done in by a single hit. We'd faced tough foes before, we'd been backed into corners before, but even so, I couldn't help but to deem this creature's power utterly monstrous.
Nonetheless, it was shortly having to shield itself again when a Thunderbolt struck down from above and another burst came from Minako's cannons. I knew it probably couldn't muster up many more Hyper Beams so those would probably fall by the wayside in favor of Psychic, but the only time we seemed to be getting any damage in whatsoever was in the aftermath of those tiring blasts. Something had to give.
"Niko, stick to Thunderbolt, and Minako, stick to Ice Beam," I called.
"Nite!"
"Blast!"
Deoxys gave me another look, probably picking up on my idea. If the only time we could chip away at its health was when it was immobile, I'd just have to hope we could sway things in our favor that way- Thunderbolt for a hopeful paralysis, and Ice Beam for hopeful freezing. Its attacking form could still move very fast, even if not as fast as the speedy one, so when its shield went down, it was dodging. Two more Psychics flew at Minako and Niko in quick succession, my Dragonite sailing out of the way and Minako ducking into her shell for a second.
It'd taken me 3 fast KOs, but I finally started to figure this creature out- the speedy form moved quickly but couldn't strike as hard, the powerful one dished out a ridiculous amount of damage while still moving fast, but seeing as how it always switched to the bulky form to take a hit while never attacking from it, that one was likely only good for defending while the others were far more frail. If I had needed to wager, I would've said that its powerful form's aptitude for attacking probably meant that was the frailest of the bunch. It hadn't reverted back to the form I'd originally seen it in at all, which could've meant that form was either outclassed by the other three… or its trump card, but of course, I had no way of knowing. This creature certainly wasn't going to tell me. In any case, I always knew I could depend on Minako, and Niko still had fight left.
Deoxys darted out of the way of a lightning bolt dropping down from above and an Ice Beam sailing past, that white glow again forming between its tentacles. I smiled just a bit, thinking that was our opportunity to hopefully throw it off with a clear hit and give it a status condition, but I wasn't going to get too ahead of myself. It pointed at Minako, thus I reached for her ball, since Deoxys apparently didn't see fit to telekinetically strangle me to keep me from doing so. I was sure she could take it, but even so, I didn't want to leave room for uncertainty.
The beam was ready to fire the second I took her ball in my hand, but right before it did, Deoxys both dodged another Thunderbolt and redirected the attack up at Niko.
"No-!" I cried.
My smile dropped as fast as it had come. I reached for Niko's ball instead, but of course, the alien was faster than all of us. Niko tried to fly out of the way, but it wasn't much use- he got hit by it too and was shortly going limp. I sighed in exasperation… Whatever fight Niko had had left was gone in moments. I recalled him too.
Minako, however, wasn't wasting time in shooting off an Ice Beam, which, even if Deoxys went switching back to the defensive form, it couldn't avoid. Its body distorted just a bit, and a few little ice crystals clung to it, but if a silent creature with no mouth could laugh just by giving someone a look, Deoxys was doing just that. My Blastoise shot off another, and the ice crystals spread out to coat the alien's body.
I wanted to smile again, but with this foe, it only seemed to be a jinx every time I thought something was going right. "Give it everything you've got, Minako!" I called quickly, wanting to get this over with.
"Blast!"
She was blasting something, alright- water out of her cannons and an Ice Beam out of her mouth at the same time. Deoxys' midsection was practically obliterated and its upper half covered in another layer of ice, though oddly enough, the crystalline orb in the middle of its chest wasn't scathed and still floated in place like nothing had ever touched it. I eyed that for moment.
"Minako, aim at that crystal!" I instructed.
My senses tingled again- Deoxys wasn't happy. I supposed I'd deduced something it didn't want me to, and I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me up.
Nonetheless, my Blastoise was happy to follow along. She snickered a bit, launching another icy ray at the crystal, then ducking her head down and charging at it. Our alien company's body wasn't regenerating, but the parts that were still intact were writhing around in the frozen shell, and I could tell it was mad. The crystal was slammed with ice first, then slammed by Minako Skull Bashing it. The frozen pieces writhed even more- maybe we were finally getting somewhere. She stuck her cannons point-blank to the creature's head, then fired them once more.
"Come on, that has to count for something," I mused under my breath, watching expectantly.
Deoxys' form had been reduced to little more than frozen fragments of its legs and tentacles with the crystal still floating where it had been before, and surely, even if it could reform, that couldn't have been pleasant. It wasn't writhing so much after those hits, perhaps feeling weak… but when I felt that wordless prodding on my senses again, I knew it was still kicking.
"Don't let up!" I cried, a bit frantic.
Minako wasn't going to. She pointed her cannons straight at the crystal next, but before she could fire them, another protective shield went up and the frozen shell broke apart. She scurried back, looking stunned that our company was still making a fuss. Its body Recovered back to normal, and as soon as it had eyes with which to look at me, it did just that- it couldn't frown or glare, but it didn't need to. I got the memo fine.
"Stoise!" my Blastoise exclaimed, shaking her head.
The powerful form was greeting us yet again, and Minako shortly had a psychic burst smashing into her shell. She growled, but she could take it- something that relieved me. Still, I didn't want her to take more than was necessary and grabbed her ball to get her closer to me faster, but apparently, Deoxys had other ideas. That same pinkish glow formed between its tentacles again, but it aimed for… me.
My eyes went wide. I was but an ordinary human, not anywhere near as naturally durable as my team that had already been mostly done in by this creature's attacks, and my methods of defending myself alone were practically non-existent against this thing. Minako's expression quickly turned frantic and she dashed as fast as she could to jump in front of me, but Deoxys was faster. My Blastoise dove towards me, but Deoxys' attack smashed into both of us, and into the air over the stormy waters we both went flying. Her pained expression and her outreached arm both told me that she was trying to hang on to the last shred of consciousness she had, but the closing of her fluttering eyelids told me that it was to no avail. I wasn't far behind, instantly feeling like my entire body had been beaten by a sledgehammer, but I reached out to her too.
"Mina-…"
The only thought crossing my mind was that we were all done for. This creature was just too strong, and I was going to drown in those stormy waters before anyone could even hope to save me. Minako sure couldn't, and I doubted the captain could either with Deoxys lurking right there and the waters as treacherous as they were. With my other hand, I grabbed her ball from my belt and recalled her into it, that way she'd at least be in a more stable environment to recover once the waves swallowed us up.
However, before that could happen, one ball on my belt burst open and a shower of sparks accompanied it, revealing none other than Zuma. One of their feet reached out and took hold of my weak form, my hand with Minako's ball brushing the surface of the messy waters for just a moment. I was tired as could be, but the biggest sigh of relief I'd ever made escaped my mouth at that point and my eyes closed in solace rather than panic. They flapped their wings, and shortly I felt something else below me- the grass. My eyes were still on the sky behind us, but Zuma nudged me into a sitting position and I could see our vicinity again. Deoxys was looking more at the sparking bird beside me than at me, and even with its relative lack of facial features, it looked surprised. Perhaps it hadn't expected Zuma to come out at all, perhaps it had indeed expected that blow to do both me and Minako in, or perhaps it was the simple sight of a legendary. If there were any words it wanted to say, it wasn't possessing me to say them, though getting sounds out of my throat probably would've been much harder than it had been before in my state of fatigue.
"Thanks, Zuma…" I said faintly, a little smile spreading across my face.
Zuma didn't say anything, but rather knelt down in a position to let me crawl on their back. A Shock Wave sent at Deoxys made it take the defensive and surround itself in an energy field again, which was enough time for me wrench myself up and climb on. I might not have had much strength left, but I had just enough to stow away Minako's ball and nestle down on my Zapdos' back. Their buzzing feathers helped to keep me fully alert in spite of the weakness gnawing away at my mind.
Once Deoxys' shield dropped, it went changing forms again to its speedy one, and Zuma squawked. There was no doubting it- this extraterrestrial creature had to be a legendary too, and a strong one at that.
I didn't say a word, but only clung to Zuma's feathers as they took to the skies.
"Zap," they said.
"Don't let this thing hit you," I said.
Deoxys was certainly trying to. Another psychic burst flew at us, but Zuma practically tumbled aside through the air- first they swerved aside to get us out of the way, then kept turning all 360 degrees when I couldn't keep hold all that well while sideways. The attack cut it close but still sailed past us, and when Zuma loosed another Shock Wave, our extraterrestrial company was taking the defensive again. It Protected itself, saving itself an electrical barrage when Zuma's bolts met its shield instead. That move wasn't the strongest, but it was unavoidable- and that was at least an improvement over waiting for post-Hyper Beam fatigue or relying on status conditions.
Though the Thunder Wave that followed made Deoxys change forms to the bulky one again when its shield fell, that wasn't much use- the only damage being done was inflicting paralysis, and that couldn't be shrugged off with bulk. If ever there was a time I felt where I was being told to go to hell without words, that was it. I didn't know how fast the bulky form normally moved, but apparently it wasn't nearly as fast as the others I'd seen, for Deoxys started to move at a glacial pace. I judged it must've wanted to simply stall us out since it didn't go changing forms again, and the Psychic that followed next was easily outmaneuvered.
"We can do this, Zuma," I said softly, not wanting to get too far ahead of myself.
"Zap," my Zapdos replied, giving a flap of their wings.
Another Shock Wave blitzed Deoxys, and Zuma darted towards it with something of a squawk. Whatever strike they were going for still didn't make contact, for Deoxys apparently turned to playing it safe and threw up a Protect, but that didn't stop Zuma from perching right on top of the shield for a second with claws digging into it and beak pecking away as if trying to rip through. I couldn't see Deoxys from my position, but its wrath was practically palpable.
Still, when the shield fell, the alien had another Psychic burst ready to go, and Zuma jerked aside to let it sail past. Either way, I was shortly grunting in pain again when Zuma tossed me off of their back and onto the ground, delivering a swift Drill Peck around the crystalline piece in Deoxys' chest that detached it again. I only watched as they took that crystal piece in one foot, though shortly, it became blatantly clear why they'd thrown me off- they started to resemble more of a tempestuous cloud than a bird for all the sparks that coursed down their body. Even more, with the orb firmly grasped, they started pounding it against the ground and Drill Pecking it several times over.
Deoxys' body halted any of its movements, almost as if it had been frozen a second time, and even without direct contact, started to distort just like it had when it had been ripped apart by claws or rammed with a horn or blasted with cannons. Every bit of its form looked like it might rip apart right there, and it could protect its body all it wanted to- that didn't get the orb out of Zuma's grasp. Its paralysis slowed it too much to try combatting my Zapdos in any effective manner, but still, another Psychic, then another, shot off in an attempt to make them let go. It Recovered some health, and Zuma's foot took a psychic glow for a second as if the creature was trying to halt the smashing, but neither of those things seemed to be helping that much.
That orb… That had to be important to its being. It'd gotten angry when we started going after that crystalline piece, and now that Zuma had it grasped in their claws, they were going nuts trying to get it back.
It started clicking into place. That orb couldn't have been its heart- the placement was about where I would expect one to be on any humanoid creature I was familiar with, but this alien's body seemed to be the same composition throughout (save for the crystal). Therefore, that had to be its brain. Of course, getting a brain ripped from one's body should've been a death sentence (never mind having it zapped by lightning, pecked, and smashed against the ground), but seeing as this one was a Psychic-type, it wasn't a huge leap to make. Its body was still moving through telekinesis, like a puppet on invisible strings.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, it looked at me again, and all I could feel from it was… disbelief. I found myself staring down another Psychic, but Zuma's other foot went digging into its chest and pinned it to the ground, making the burst fly off into the sky instead of at me.
For a very tense minute, Zuma kept thrashing away at the crystal and Deoxys kept Recovering. The sparks made it hard for the alien to move, much less attack, and whatever flailing its tentacles did at Zuma's legs hardly made them flinch, until finally, it switched forms back to the very first we'd seen it in and stopped moving entirely. At that, Zuma let up, ceasing to bash and peck the crystal and their sparks dying down. Slowly and cautiously, my Zapdos set the crystal down and backed away towards me instead.
I stared at it with a mix of hesitance and borderline disbelief. Zuma was breathing heavily next to me and eyeing it as well, and before I did anything else, I flipped open my bag and retrieved a max potion that I sprayed them with.
"… Thanks, Zuma…" I breathed, voice hardly above a whisper.
"… Zap," was the unfazed reply, the sparking avian giving me a small nudge with eyes still locked on the alien.
Gingerly, I reached in again and retrieved an Ultra Ball, my eyes drifting between it and Deoxys for a second. The alien figure wasn't moving at all and still bore sparks of paralysis, but I still didn't feel secure enough to relax even so. Its eyes stared aimlessly up at the sky, open but empty. Perhaps it couldn't close them properly, I figured.
"Stay on guard," I said in a low voice to my Zapdos. "A ball isn't gonna hold this one if it decides to break free. This might be a completely stupid idea, but I just wanna show it to Professor Oak before it wakes up, see if he can tell us something about it…"
"Zap."
I tossed the ball. It didn't even shake, but the three flashes from the button on the front told me everything I needed to know. I'd just caught that terrifying Pokémon, but I stalked over and picked up the ball as if Deoxys was still scrutinizing my every move from within the capsule. My grip was tight around it, as if somehow that might keep the alien contained, but of course, I knew that logically it would bust right out if it had the energy to do so.
"… Let's get out of here," I said tiredly to Zuma.
"… Zap."
We both crawled back towards the boat, me occasionally stumbling and wobbling with labored steps. One thing was certain- I'd never forget the sensation of getting slammed by a legendary's Psychic. Oh, how I longed for the comfort of my own bed and a mug of hot cocoa. I'd definitely be fixing my team's favorite treats too, one way or another.
The captain threw the door open and ran down to give me a hand, which I appreciated. "Lassie," he said, "are you alright?! I thought you were a goner for a second! That was crazy!"
"… It was," I said softly, taking another careful few steps. "I'm glad I've got my team, heh…~"
"Have you ever seen anything like that before?"
"Not even close," I replied heavily, a hapless smile spreading over my face. "Its name is Deoxys and it's from space… which it told me by possessing me and making me speak for it. I've seen a ton of Psychic-types, but one never did that."
"Deoxys," he repeated. "Deoxys from space. So that beast finally has a name and we know where it's from."
"Yep," I affirmed. "And I'm gonna ask Professor Oak if he knows anything else about it, because I sure don't."
"You do that, lassie. The next time you're on one of my boats, I'd love to hear about it, too."
"Don't worry; I'd be glad to tell you."
It took a bit of effort for me to get up the stairs and onto the deck, but between the captain's arm and Zuma's beak, I made it just fine. Zuma too perched on the deck, keeping one wing wrapped around me like a Pidgeot warming its little Pidgey chicks. I definitely didn't protest it- the heat from their electricity warmed me up while in my still-wet clothes.
Even if the storm clouds stayed overhead, our journey back to Vermilion was far more peaceful than it had been on the way coming. I kept Deoxys' ball clutched in one hand, and it didn't move in the slightest. Of course I'd heal it, as it had taken as much of a beating as the rest of my team had… but I'd definitely be waiting until I was in the confines of Professor Oak's lab and with a properly healed team before I did that, just to be safe.
Author's note: Alright, that took longer to finish than I was expecting (ya gurl just couldn't get those creative juices flowing even though I love writing fight scenes), but here we are with the fight scene fun, hehe. I've still got one more chapter planned after this, so expect that sometime in the near future.