Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

Sigh, if only Hug Dragon were here...

"Woo~", "Roar!"

"Hmm... what is that?" Just as Ash was at a loss, he suddenly heard two dragon roars coming from the distance!

A light orange figure flew over first, tearing through the sky at a speed that absolutely broke the sound barrier, accurately catching Rayquaza's trajectory, and crashing headfirst into its opponent!

Speedy!

Immediately following, the dragon beast with blood wings on its back also unleashed all its energy, crashing down on Rayquaza like a meteorite!

A massive shock!

"Dragonite? And... Salamence?!" Ash was overjoyed at the sight.

Dragon Island was unexpectedly aided by reinforcements at this time, and they were the main combat force of flight that they had not seen for a long time... and the Bloodwing Dragon that had emerged from its cocoon!

"Everyone, move Rayquaza this way and shoo it away! Dragonite, find a way to put me on its back!"

Without time for reminiscing, Ash immediately issued his final command.

The companions in mid-air unleashed different energies, forcing Rayquaza to flee towards Ash's direction.

Dragonite once again demonstrated its amazing speed. It quickly flew away from Rayquaza, picked up Ash, and then relentlessly chased after Rayquaza, soon catching up with it!

Finally, it flew over Rayquaza and, in a nearly stationary position, placed Ash and Unown G steadily on Rayquaza's head!

"here you go!"

"install!"

While Ash was overjoyed, Unown also used its power to send Ash's consciousness into Rayquaza's heart!

"Raikkon, calm down, I'm here to help you!!"

"Roar..." As Ash's voice echoed in Rayquaza's heart, the dragon, which had been dominated by anger, finally let out a painful whimper.

"Rayquaza, believe me, I really mean no harm." In the mind's eye, Ash opened his arms to Rayquaza without any suspicion.

"Roar!" The raging dragon roared, but Ash remained unfazed and slowly approached Rayquaza.

He reached out a hand and finally touched the tip of Liekongzuo's nose.

"It's really all over now..."

Through direct emotional communication, Ash finally gained Rayquaza's trust after some words of comfort.

It turned around in pain, revealing a hideous scar on the back of its neck to Ash.

The device of rage was there, buried deep within the flesh after the dragon's scales were forcibly ripped open!

"Don't worry, I'll take it out for you right away!" Back in the outside world, Ash used his psychic powers like a scalpel to precisely wrap around the machine beneath the skin and flesh, and then retrieved it remotely!

"Roar... Roar!!" After the excruciating pain, an immense sense of relief followed.

Rayquaza, who had been tormented by anger, finally let out a triumphant roar!

Chapter 558 The Trial of Rebirth, the Joy of Return

"Phew...it's finally resolved."

Sitting atop Rayquaza's head, Ash casually crushed the wicked Rage Device, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

We were really fortunate that Huggy Dragon and Salamence returned in time; otherwise, with Rayquaza's berserk state, none of our team would have been able to keep up with its speed.

Thinking of this, Ash gave Dragonite a thumbs up in admiration.

"Woo~" The Dragonite flying to the side immediately grinned upon seeing this.

After months of separation, he trained day and night on Dragonite Island, and was guided by an ancient senior to develop the Dragon Factor... Wasn't all that hard work just so that he could help Ash at the crucial moment?

"Roar!" The Salamence also came over and kept rubbing its big head against Ash's chest.

"Okay, okay~" Ash encouraged with a smile, "Shellion has finally evolved, and that Giga Impact was really powerful."

Sending the Armored Dragon to Dragon Island to evolve was absolutely the right decision.

The little AI could tell that it had accumulated enough power to break free from its constraints and complete its evolution. In terms of size, strength, and speed, it had reached the highest level of its current stage!

"Roar!" Upon hearing Ash's words, Toxapex immediately patted its chest happily.

Seeing its high spirits, Ash naturally made a promise: "We're going to challenge the Blacksmith Gym later, and we'll need you to lead the charge, Salamence!"

"Roar!!" The salamander let out a furious roar.

"Rayquaza, it's all right now...Rayquaza?" After catching up with his reunited companion, Ash patted Rayquaza's head, but the latter didn't react at all, as if its consciousness had frozen.

"What's wrong with it? Is there something wrong with its consciousness?"

(Its consciousness is fine; it's just that the main body is currently in control.) The management spirit secretly reminded, (After Rayquaza's main body descends, all your interactions with this current clone will ultimately be fed back to the main body... and the other party clearly doesn't intend to pay attention to you.)

After a slight pause, the management sprite continued: (It might even feel a little nauseous~)

Depend on!

Xiao Zhi cursed inwardly, thinking that even if it was the truth, there was no need to be so blunt.

but…

(What's going on with the real body and the clone?) Ash asked, puzzled. (Does this mean that Rayquaza, whom I saved, doesn't have its own consciousness?)

(Yes, and no.) The explanation given by the managing spirit was confusing: (The Rayquaza you encountered is not a truly independent entity, but rather a portion of the main body's power. It can act autonomously normally, but when the main body descends, it will be dominated by the main body's consciousness.)

Despite all the explanations given by the management sprite, the situation with Rayquaza can actually be summarized by the slugs of Wetbone Forest.

Born from the ozone layer, Rayquaza is naturally a unique sky god, but by harnessing the boundless power of the atmosphere, it can create many clones that are completely under its control throughout the world.

These clones usually act independently, but their power and consciousness are interconnected, which explains why Rayquaza appears so frequently in the anime.

Aside from the Dark History movie, it also appeared in special episodes for Alice and Fujita Arashi, and even made a cameo appearance in the Manaphy movie where it was captured…

And, in the Diamond & Pearl movie, it blew up Togepi's rocket, swallowed dust from a small meteorite in the Sun and Moon, and later fought Deoxys... It was only thanks to the Paper Sword that the meteorite was split open that it didn't affect the Alola below.

Not to mention, in the Hoopa movie, there was also a super-powerful, super-evolving black Rayquaza!

All of these different types of Liekongzuo can be seen as different clones.

(Because of past incidents, Rayquaza itself has always harbored hatred towards humans; trying to get close to it won't work.) The management spirit continued, (Instead of wasting time, you should take a good look at the surprises your companions brought back.)

"A...surprise from your partner?" Ash looked at Dragonite thoughtfully.

He had just been wondering why Hug Dragon had returned much faster than before.

Of course, that's not entirely true. After all, Dragonite can circle a planet in sixteen hours, and Ash's Shuffle could already exceed twice the speed of sound.

However, this speed can only be achieved after a long-distance raid and a long acceleration, and cannot be easily used in combat.

Ash just discovered that Dragonite has broken through this limitation!

Even when stationary in mid-air, Dragonite can use Extreme Speed ​​to instantly accelerate to its maximum speed over a very short distance, breaking the sound barrier to strike its opponent!

According to Dragonite, this enhancement was obtained by an ancient being who helped it activate the Dragon Factor, and it used most of the enhanced power to improve its speed and stamina.

It can now easily reach top speed and maintain it for a long time. It can now circle the planet in less than sixteen hours!

However, drawbacks also exist.

Repeatedly starting and stopping will consume a lot of Dragonite's stamina, and the speed will be too fast, making it impossible for Dragonite to hear Ash's commands.

If you try to use it in a formula-based battle, the effect will be greatly reduced.

"This is already very good," Xiao Zhi said with a reassuring smile.

He leaped down from Rayquaza's head, and Dragonite immediately understood and caught him steadily, a satisfied smile appearing on its face.

Besides taking care of its companions, Dragonite's favorite thing is to carry Ash in flight.

It will continue to do these things in the future, becoming Ash's most important flying combat force and his exclusive aerial vehicle!

"Dragonite, let's soar through the skies together again someday."

"Woo~" Upon hearing Ash's words, Dragonite let out a joyful cry.

Soon, it seemed to have thought of something, and after giving the salamander a wink, the two of them began to perform acrobatic flight in the air.

The two giant dragons continuously displayed their magnificent flying skills, weaving dazzling trajectories in the air...

"Wait... what's that?" Ash rubbed his eyes on the dragon's back. He noticed that there seemed to be some kind of special energy node where the flight paths of Dragonite and Salamence intersected.

However, before he could figure out what it was, Dragonite suddenly stopped near an energy node and gestured for Ash to stand on it.

"Standing... Could it be?" Ash tentatively reached out his foot, but the sensation he received surprised him greatly!

Even though there was nothing beneath his feet, it was as if he had stepped onto a solid foothold, strangely supporting his body in mid-air!

Looking around, Ash noticed that Dragonite and Salamence had created many such nodes, and his friends, including the flightless Pokémon and Lucario, were all standing in the sky with surprise and uncertainty!

Xiao Dai even jumped twice as if it were real, then rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming!

In an instant, Ash thought of a setting outside of the anime.

It seems that this is the biggest gain for Dragonite and Salamence from training in the Dragon Factor!

...

"What's happening?" Even Shigeru on the ground was astonished by the strange phenomenon in the sky. "Ash's Pokémon seem to be flying all of them?"