Luo Yuan wasn't aware that Sird and Orm were currently facing Lance on Three Island.
But even if he did, he wouldn't have the time to care.
Right now, he and Sabrina were deep within Birth Island.
They moved swiftly through the dense jungle, unbothered by branches or obstacles. With their psychic abilities, the forest's complex terrain was no hindrance, almost as easy to traverse as open ground.
However, Luo Yuan's Gyarados and Dragonair, due to their massive size, struggled to move forward and had to be returned to their Poké Balls.
"Luo Yuan, have you noticed it?"
"Yeah, I've noticed." Luo Yuan nodded.
Sky, land, sea… the Pokémon world was teeming with creatures everywhere.
When they first arrived, Luo Yuan had seen Kingler scuttling along the beach, and a few wild Pokémon outside the forest.
But once they entered the forest, an eerie silence had fallen.
They'd been inside for a while now, yet not a single Bug-type Pokémon had appeared.
It was unnatural.
"Something strong enough to drive all the Pokémon from this forest…" Sabrina's face grew even more alert.
Luo Yuan shared her assessment.
The outskirts of the forest were home to Pokémon like Nidoqueen and Tyranitar—powerful, high-level creatures.
Yet, none of them dared to enter the forest itself.
But Luo Yuan had his own theory about why these Pokémon had fled.
"I think it actively drove out the other Pokémon here."
He pointed to a large tree nearby. "Look at this."
Sabrina examined the tree and saw that about a third of the way up, a clean, deep cut had split it, as if sliced by some invisible force. Half of the tree was severed, leaving only a stump holding it upright.
"Try sensing it with your psychic power," Luo Yuan suggested.
Sabrina extended her psychic senses, then blinked in surprise. "This is…"
There was a lingering psychic energy around the cut—strong and fresh.
And the energy felt familiar, matching the aura she'd sensed earlier.
"This mark is recent," Luo Yuan explained. "I've studied the traces left by different moves. The shape here indicates this cut was made by Psycho Cut, meaning there was a battle here."
"But why would it attack wild Pokémon?" Sabrina was puzzled.
"Two possibilities." Luo Yuan held up two fingers as they walked.
"The first is territoriality."
"Once it took over this forest, it might have started driving away the wild Pokémon to protect its domain."
"And the second?"
"The second…" Luo Yuan said thoughtfully. "It might have sustained an injury and drove away the Pokémon here to protect itself."
Both emotionally and logically, he leaned toward the second explanation.
After all, Deoxys was a Pokémon from beyond this world.
Birth Island was merely a stopover, so it was unlikely it would develop territorial instincts strong enough to start attacking wild Pokémon.
But an injury… that was a different story.
This wasn't a random guess; it was based on evidence.
Ever since Giovanni had assigned him the mission to investigate Deoxys, Team Rocket's Sevii base had been sending over regular reports.
According to the data from their observation records, Deoxys used to patrol the Sevii Islands every three days, as if searching for something.
But two weeks ago, it had disappeared for a time.
When it reappeared, its patrol frequency had dropped to once a week.
A change like that couldn't be without cause.
Something must have happened to Deoxys during that time.
A mystery.
But seeing the battle scars here made things clearer.
Deoxys had been injured during an excursion.
Luo Yuan recalled that, in nearly every version, Rayquaza—who viewed the ozone layer as its territory—had always seen "outsider" Deoxys as an intruder.
It was plausible, then, that Deoxys might have fought Rayquaza during its travels.
Sabrina frowned. "But Carr encountered it before, and it wasn't injured then."
"But even Carr couldn't confirm its condition. Its speed was too great for him to see more than a blur before he was knocked out."
"And considering Carr's skill level, even if it were injured, he wouldn't have stood a chance."
Luo Yuan made no attempt to hide his low opinion of Carr's strength.
Sabrina had to admit he made a fair point.
"In any case, we're about to find out," Luo Yuan said, sensing a strong psychic presence up ahead.
Sabrina could feel it too, and nodded as they moved forward, following the source of the psychic energy.
Pushing through the brush, they emerged into a clearing.
In the middle of the open space stood a large, semi-transparent black tetrahedron.
A faint but ominous pressure emanated from the strange structure.
"That's…" Sabrina's eyes widened.
"We've finally found you."
Luo Yuan stared intently at Deoxys, who was hovering in its Speed Form within the tetrahedron. A spark of excitement lit his eyes.
Sensing Luo Yuan's gaze, Deoxys lifted its head, meeting his eyes.
Man and Pokémon locked gazes.
Two waves of psychic intent collided in the air.
Luo Yuan's message was clear: "Hello. Let's be friends."
And Deoxys's response was equally clear: "Leave this place, human!"
"Not exactly the friendliest reception…" Luo Yuan raised an eyebrow.
He felt his Psychic Affinity was getting him nowhere.
Or perhaps, the fact that Deoxys was even willing to communicate with him at all could be seen as a positive.
But Luo Yuan didn't dwell on Deoxys's hostility for long.
He'd noticed something else.
Deoxys's purple crystal core—its life source—had a visible crack running through it.
For Deoxys, the core was the essence of its life.
While any other injuries would heal quickly through its natural regeneration, damage to the core was a different story.
Core repair was a slow process.
This meant his theory was correct—Deoxys was indeed injured!
Luo Yuan immediately realized this was his best opportunity to capture Deoxys.
"Luo Yuan, what do we do now?"
Sabrina had sensed Deoxys's hostility and looked to Luo Yuan for guidance.
This Pokémon didn't seem like it would be easy to handle.
"We've come this far—no way we're leaving empty-handed."
Giving up wasn't an option.
They'd come all the way to the Sevii Islands and managed to find a wounded Deoxys. Who knew when they'd have such an opportunity again?
Luo Yuan was determined.
Capturing Deoxys was now his ultimate goal.
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Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!
Posture and water check! Remember this is a fan translation!
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