Pokemon: Skybound

Just then, his phone rang.

He took it out and saw that it was Kennedy, the Devon Corporation secretary he had once saved.

Hmm?

Kai couldn't help but feel puzzled. Why would Kennedy be calling him out of the blue? The two of them weren't likely to have much contact in the future unless something serious had happened.

With that thought, Kai answered immediately.

"Hello? Mr. Kai, are you still in Hoenn?"

"Of course. I'm near Petalburg City. Is something wrong?"

Hearing that Kai was still in Hoenn and not far from Devon Corporation's headquarters Kennedy clearly let out a sigh of relief. He went straight to the point.

"That's wonderful. If it's convenient for you, could you please come to Rustboro City? President Stone has an extremely important matter he'd like to ask of you."

----

On a stretch of flat grassland outside Petalburg City, Kai and Misty sat quietly on a large rock, waiting.

After receiving Kennedy's call and seeing Petalburg City so close at hand, Kai ultimately chose to postpone challenging the Gym.

The Gym and Norman weren't going anywhere. He could come back anytime. Whatever Steven Stone needed clearly couldn't wait.

Still, he had no idea what could be serious enough to warrant such urgency.

Kennedy hadn't revealed anything over the phone only that someone would be sent to pick them up immediately. The secrecy only made both Kai and Misty more curious.

A low rumble echoed through the sky.

Less than half an hour later, the sound of spinning rotors reached them. Looking up, they saw a medium-sized helicopter slowly descending toward them.

A helicopter?

Kai had assumed a car would come for them he hadn't expected Devon Corporation to dispatch a helicopter outright.

While marveling at Devon's resources, Kai's curiosity about Stone's request only grew stronger.

…

Rustboro City, Devon Corporation Headquarters.

When Kai and Misty stepped off the helicopter onto the rooftop helipad, the first person they saw was Kennedy, waiting for them.

After all this time, he looked exactly the same—neatly dressed in a suit, unchanged in every way.

"Mr. Kai." Kennedy's gaze briefly swept over Misty before he gestured politely. "President Stone is waiting for you. Please follow me."

Kai nodded without asking questions and followed him straight toward the elevator.

Misty lingered a step behind, taking in the high-altitude view one last time before hurrying after them, her heart full of amazement.

As expected of Kai…

Being personally invited by the president of such a massive corporation—and by helicopter, no less.

Traveling with him really felt completely different from traveling with Ash.

The elevator went straight down to the fifteenth floor. Kai recognized it immediately—Stone's office wasn't here. This was Devon's most heavily guarded research sector.

Compared to his last visit, security had clearly been upgraded. Armed patrols accompanied by Pokémon moved through the corridors, surveillance cameras were everywhere, and reinforced blast doors lined the walls. As Kennedy led an unfamiliar man and a young girl through the area, several guards couldn't help but glance at them curiously.

"Looks solid," Kai said with a smile. "Now this actually feels like a high-security zone."

Kennedy gave a wry smile. "That's thanks to you. If you hadn't been there last time, Team Aqua might've succeeded. Afterward, President Stone was furious and ordered a complete overhaul of our security."

As they spoke, Kennedy brought them into a massive central control room.

The room was filled with computer terminals and large screens. Among more than a dozen researchers, Kai immediately spotted Steven Stone.

Seeing Kai enter, Stone smiled and stepped forward.

"Mr. Kai, we meet again."

"President Stone." Kai nodded and went straight to the point. "What's so important that you needed to see me?"

Stone didn't answer immediately. Instead, his gaze shifted to Misty. "And this young lady is…?"

"Hello," Misty said calmly. "I'm Misty. I'm Kai's traveling partner."

Seeing that only Misty was with him and that Erika was absent, Stone asked, "And Miss Erika?"

Erika?

Kai felt a flicker of confusion but replied, "She's already returned to Kanto."

Stone frowned slightly. Noticing his hesitation, Kai pressed, "Is there a problem? Were you looking for Erika?"

Stone shook his head, a hint of regret crossing his face. "No. It's not her specifically. I was hoping to rely on the strength of both of you."

Both of us?

Kai immediately understood that "strength" referred to battle power. Whatever this was, it had been serious enough for Stone to consider involving both him and Erika at once.

Smiling, Kai said, "Don't underestimate Misty just because she's young. She's the younger sister of the Cerulean Gym Leaders in Kanto and will inherit the Gym after her journey. She specializes in Water-type Pokémon and is incredibly strong—my most reliable partner."

Hearing this, something stirred in Misty's chest.

His most reliable partner…

So that's how Kai sees me?

Stone looked surprised and took another careful look at Misty. "I see. Then I must apologize for my poor judgment. Anyone traveling with you is clearly far from ordinary."

He truly hadn't expected a girl who looked barely in her teens to be so formidable—much less someone preparing to take over a Gym.

But Stone trusted Kai's words. Kai's strength and character were beyond question; he wouldn't exaggerate just to flatter a companion.

If Kai said she was strong, then she truly was.

At ease now, Stone turned back to Kai.

Seeing this, Kai couldn't help asking, "President Stone, can you tell us now why you called me here?"

Stone stopped withholding information. He led them to a massive display wall and nodded to one of the researchers.

The researcher operated the console, and a video immediately appeared on the screen.

Kai and Misty looked up.

The footage was taken from a satellite's perspective endless black space dotted with stars, and one enormous planet dominating the view.

Oceans, continents, mountain ranges, and polar ice caps were all clearly visible.

Misty asked instinctively, "Is that Earth?"

By "Earth," she meant the world they lived on now a planet sharing the same name as Kai's former world.

Stone nodded. "Yes! This is our planet."

Misty nodded, still puzzled as to why they were being shown this.

Then she realized the planet wasn't the focus.

A massive object, resembling a meteor yet clearly something else, hurtled in from deep space. In an instant, it slammed into the satellite's solar panels, completely destroying them. The impact sent the satellite spinning wildly.

Within the chaos, the strange meteor continued its descent, plunging straight toward the planet and crashing into a continent below.

The video ended there.

Misty frowned but studied the terrain carefully. "That continent… it looks like Hoenn. Are you asking us to find this meteor?"

"Yes," Stone said. "In fact, we already have. The problem is that we've run into trouble trying to retrieve it."

"Trouble?" Misty asked. "Radiation? Some kind of unknown material?"

At this point, Kai had already guessed the truth.

In the Pokémon world, meteors weren't rare. Many research institutes studied them, searching for exotic elements or unknown forms of energy.

But there was one kind of meteor that was different.

One that often carried a Pokémon from deep space within it.

A meteor that was both its home and its vessel—allowing it to drift endlessly through the cosmos before crashing onto an unfamiliar world.

That Pokémon was the legendary Psychic-type Mythical Pokémon—

Deoxys.

As expected, after a brief pause, Stone asked, "Do you know what Deoxys is?"

Kai stayed silent. Misty glanced at him, then shook her head.

"Deoxys? Is it a Pokémon?"

"Yes," Stone said slowly. "I have a friend, a scientist named Dr. Lund, who encountered something extraordinary four years ago while conducting research in Antarctica. A meteor landed near his research station, and from within it emerged a Pokémon never seen before—Deoxys."

Kai knew this story well. It was an event from one of the movies.

And Deoxys wasn't unique. Across the anime and films, at least five had appeared—sometimes even two at once.

And that was only what humanity had discovered. Who knew how many more lay hidden in remote wilderness or the depths of the sea?

"An extraterrestrial Pokémon…" Misty nodded. "So that meteor contains a Deoxys. You want us to help you capture it?"

"Not at all." Stone sighed. "Pokémon themselves don't interest me. What you saw destroyed in the video was one of Devon's experimental satellites. Losing it is trivial. What truly interests me is the meteor's research value."

He continued, "Rare elements. Unknown energy. If properly studied, they could deepen humanity's understanding of space and drive technological advancement. But every retrieval team we've sent has been defeated by Deoxys."

"Why not ask the authorities for help?" Misty asked.

Stone looked at her. "This falls under corporate competition. We obtained the information first and located the meteor first. If we involve the authorities, word will spread—and then others will interfere."

Misty understood immediately.

She might not have dealt with such matters before, but she wasn't foolish.

"I see. That makes sense."

Stone turned to Kai with a smile. "Mr. Kai, you're interested in a Pokémon like this, aren't you? So this favor—"

Kai smiled back. "Of course I'll help."

Deoxys was far too rare to ignore—and Kai genuinely liked Pokémon like it. Staying indifferent was impossible.

Stone had clearly counted on this. A Trainer of Kai's caliber wouldn't be swayed by ordinary Pokémon.

Then Kai asked, "Why not send Steven himself? With his strength, he should be able to retrieve the meteor."

Stone's smile turned bitter, but he said nothing.

Kennedy stepped in to explain. "Young Master Steven has disappeared again. We can't reach him, and even satellite tracking has failed."

Gone again?

Kai shook his head helplessly.

Probably buried deep in some cave mining stones.

If he was underground that far, of course, no signal would get through.

Honestly, with how much Steven loved digging up rocks, he might as well have become a miner.

"All right," Kai said. "No time to waste. I'll head out immediately. But do you have a Poké Ball transfer system here?"

"Of course," Stone replied. "What do you need it for?"

"To call in reinforcements," Kai said with a grin. "Deoxys won't be easy. If I'm going to defeat it, I'll need some of my old team with me."

…

Time was critical. Every second increased the chance that someone else might intervene.

After accepting the mission and reorganizing his team, Kai departed Devon's headquarters with Misty by helicopter, heading straight for the meteor's location under Stone's watchful gaze.

For the operation, Stone also provided them with specialized equipment.

Deoxys could disrupt magnetic fields, rendering ordinary communication devices useless. Even many Electric-type Pokémon were affected to varying degrees.

The helicopter itself could only fly so far before being forced to land.

Without specialized gear, they wouldn't even find Deoxys—

They'd end up stranded, cut off from the modern world, long before that.

◉◉◉◉◉

~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter

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