"Pawmo!"
Pawmot swung its sparking fists, dodging Sharpedo's bite by a hair's breadth. A perfectly timed Thunder Punch exploded across the Mega Shark's body.
Blinding lightning lit up Sharpedo as it was blasted backward.
At this point, Archie was ready to start cursing out loud.
What the hell is wrong with that little girl!?
Archie knew he wasn't on the same level as the dazzling champions like Steven or Wallace. If he were, he would have challenged the Hoenn League instead of playing villain boss. But with the full resources of Team Aqua behind him, reaching Elite Four level was no problem.
Even so, his strongest Sharpedo was currently being suppressed by the Pawmot sent out by Nemona!
As if that wasn't enough, she had also sent out two more Pokémon in succession, blocking the attacks from his admins Shelly and Matt's Crawdaunt and Walrein.
Are you kidding me!? Is she actually Champion-level?
Despite his frustration, Archie gripped the red Orb tightly and forced himself to calm down.
Nemona was strong, but not strong enough to instantly crush their aces, let alone snatch the crucial red Orb that could control the ancient Pokémon Kyogre.
His subordinates, noticing the commotion, gathered around. Archie exchanged glances with Shelly and Matt, signaling them to focus on stalling Nemona.
You always pick the softest persimmon. Nemona was alone, and even counting all her Pokémon, she only had five at most. They would eventually find an opening through the weak points named Paul and Shizuka.
Of course, that was assuming Maxie didn't backstab them. Aside from that decent red Gyarados, Team Magma posed little threat.
That scheming four-eyes is getting off too easy!
On the other side.
After emerging from its Poké Ball, Dragonite quickly knocked the blue Orb out of Maxie's hand and bent down to grab it—only to be immediately body-checked several meters away by the reacting Camerupt.
Dragonite tried to use its Extreme Speed to slip past, but Camerupt used its bulk to shield both Maxie and the blue Orb.
With Dragonite's large size, there was no gap to exploit.
Maxie seized the chance to snatch the blue Orb back.
"Tch."
Lance blocked a punch from a Magma grunt with one arm and flipped him over his shoulder.
Several Mightyena bared their fangs at him, only to be swept away by Dragonite's tail as it flew back to protect its trainer.
"Let's go!"
Lance jumped onto Dragonite's back and pointed toward Brock's group and the red Gyarados, issuing commands.
His arrival brought visible relief to the heavily pressured Brock.
"Sir Lance!"
Brock shouted excitedly as Lance rode Dragonite over the swarm of Magma grunts and landed before them.
"Mhm. Don't be afraid. Leave everything to me!"
Lance nodded slightly to the trio. His champion cape fluttered behind him like a guardian.
To reassure them, he added, "By the way, Ash is safe too."
"Great!"
May and Max exchanged glances and smiled. The heavy weight in their hearts finally lifted.
"Sorry I couldn't get the Orb."
Lance apologized to the three while keeping his eyes fixed on the slowly encircling Magma members.
He refused to blame his failure on only being able to bring two Pokémon due to his undercover mission. The fact remained—he had missed a golden opportunity.
"How could that be? You clearly—"
May started anxiously, but Maxie cut in.
"Dragon Master Lance, Kanto's Elite Four and Johto Champion. What brings you meddling in Hoenn affairs?"
Maxie's expression darkened as he stared at the red-haired youth.
The man was still wearing a Team Magma uniform. Even an idiot could tell he had been infiltrating them for a long time.
And Maxie had never suspected a thing!!
"Justice knows no borders," Lance replied righteously, gesturing for May not to defend him.
"Your justice is espionage and infiltration?" Maxie sneered coldly. "Team Magma! Take them all down!"
Dozens, even hundreds of eyes locked onto the four.
The next instant, dazzling move lights shot toward them.
Lance crossed his arms and gave a deep command.
"Dragonite, Gyarados—Hyper Beam!"
…
"…They're really going at it."
Deep in the opposite forest, still wearing a Team Aqua uniform, Zinnia leaned against a tree and watched the battle with a complicated expression.
Although the current situation had exceeded her expectations, it was undeniably extremely favorable for her plan.
The high-end combatants of both Team Aqua and Team Magma were completely tied down by the people who were presumably sent by the Pokémon League.
One side had superior strength, the other had superior numbers. Neither could overwhelm the other for now.
It was clear the stalemate would last for a while.
And that window of time—was more than enough for her to achieve her goal.
After a brief pause, Zinnia's agile figure vanished into the woods.
…
On the heavily guarded Team Magma submarine, a massive cargo container was securely fastened on the deck.
Team Aqua grunts patrolled in shifts around it, leaving almost no openings.
—Yet a man and woman in white uniforms, along with a talking Meowth, still managed to sneak up to the container.
Inside was the ancient legendary Pokémon—Kyogre.
Team Magma had discovered the sleeping Kyogre in an underwater cavern, used technology to keep it asleep, and "relocated" it.
"It's sleeping so soundly~"
James rubbed his hands together while looking at the monitor showing Kyogre's peaceful face.
"Let's steal it and offer it to Boss Giovanni! Then we'll get promoted and become Executives, meow!"
Meowth drooled, already lost in fantasy.
"Come on, little Kyogre-chan, time to move houses."
Jessie had already started fiddling wildly with the control panel for the container.
At that moment—
Accompanied by the angry shouts of alerted Magma grunts, a powerful gust of wind descended from the sky, nearly blowing the trio away.
"What the—meow? Who's ambushing us, meow?"
Meowth instinctively cursed, but when it looked up and saw the blood-red dragon wings against the strangely clear sky and the head of the Salamence turning toward them, it instantly shut up.
Jessie and James, who had been about to join in the cursing, also shrank back in fear.
They were terrified the giant would swallow them whole.
From Salamence's back came a cool, heroic female voice.
"Why are Team Rocket people here?"
"Well, it doesn't really matter."
Having already changed out of the Aqua uniform and back into her original clothes, Zinnia jumped down from Salamence's back and smiled at the trio.
"I suggest you run. Reason being… I've already released Groudon on the Aqua side. Kyogre is next."
"What the—meow?! Are you crazy, meow?!"
Meowth's eyes widened, fur standing on end. It nearly used its wild Meowth Pay Day out of shock.
Jessie and James stared at the crazy woman in disbelief.
Even they only planned to steal the peacefully sleeping Kyogre, take it back to Kanto, and offer it to Giovanni for a promotion. They had never considered waking these dangerous beings.
How could this short-haired girl dare release them!?
"You wouldn't understand. This is all for a world not being destroyed, to protect the peace of the world."
Zinnia shook her head and had Salamence blast a Flamethrower to block the charging Magma grunts.
"Hey! That's our line!"
James weakly protested while Jessie tried to lunge forward—only to be slapped away by Salamence's tail, crashing into James.
Without looking up, Zinnia began operating the control panel and added, "Since you don't seem completely rotten to the core, I'll remind you one last time—run."
"Soon, this island—no, the entire Hoenn region—will become a battlefield where two prematurely awakened ancient Pokémon fight over the scarce natural energy."
"At this moment of crisis, the 'Sky Dragon' will descend from the heavens and quell the great disaster they bring."
"Then, I will ask the Dragon God to save Hoenn…"
The last sentence was murmured so softly that only Zinnia could hear it.
Under the incredulous gazes of Meowth, Jessie, and James, she pressed the "Unlock" button without hesitation.
With a loud mechanical roar and rising steam, all of Team Magma's safety locks on Kyogre failed. The restraints were released.
Inside the cramped pool in the container, a pair of emotionless, primal golden beast eyes suddenly opened!
Accompanied by a resounding whale cry, the clear sky instantly gathered dark clouds. Heavy raindrops fell faster and faster, turning into a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye.
In a violent explosion, the ancient Pokémon known as Kyogre spread its wide finned palms and leaped into the suddenly turbulent sea.
Ignoring the fleeing Team Rocket trio, Zinnia let the rain beat against her as she mounted Salamence again.
Her part here was temporarily finished.
Once Groudon and Kyogre were released, the two beings driven by instinct would only engage in fierce conflict.
Without the Orbs to immediately impose their will while the legends were still groggy from waking up, the ancient Pokémon's wills could not be shaken.
The Orbs in Archie's and Maxie's hands were nothing more than bait to draw their attacks.
After all, both ancient Pokémon wanted to claim all the natural energy stored in both Orbs. That was why Archie and Maxie could mistakenly believe they could project their will onto Kyogre/Groudon using the wrong-colored Orbs.
…
While Dragonite and Gyarados held back Team Magma's pressure, Lance looked toward the three people surrounded by Team Aqua and asked Brock's group without turning his head:
"Who are they?"
He had already prepared to retreat under the pincer attack and rescue Brock's group first.
But the addition of those three had directly relieved more than half the pressure on him.
He had no recollection of the other two, but the slightly older pink-haired girl with the ponytail—her facial features looked very familiar to Lance.
"They are Nemona, Paul, and Shizuka! They're all students of Mr. Lucas!"
Brock answered immediately while commanding his Mudkip to counter an incoming Flamethrower with Water Gun.
"His students!?"
Lance's eyes widened in shock. He nearly got bitten on the leg by a fearless Mightyena because of it.
Max, hiding behind May, added, "Big Sis Nemona is also the youngest Champion-level Trainer in Paldea!"
Lance: "?"
No way. How much time had passed? When did his students become this strong?
What exactly had he missed while undercover in Team Magma!?
Watching Nemona, who was still able to counterattack using type advantages despite being surrounded by Aqua members, Lance concluded that the girl had already reached the strength of a typical regional Champion.
How old was she?
Eleven? Twelve?
Any younger and she would be a copy of those two kids who shook up Kanto a few years ago.
While surprised, Lance continued commanding Dragonite to land heavy blows on Maxie's Camerupt.
Even though they were outnumbered, only Maxie and his two admins could withstand Dragonite's attacks among Magma.
When the sky suddenly cleared, the Fire-type Pokémon's firepower seemed to increase.
Who used Sunny Day?
No matter how strong Dragonite was, its stamina was being worn down by the endless waves of enemies.
Frowning, Lance was already considering calling Nemona over, retreating with Max's group, rescuing Ash, and immediately requesting backup from the Hoenn League.
Whether it was Steven, Wallace, or any Elite Four member—another person would change the tide.
Maxie guessed Lance's plan and ordered his men to stick to them and not let them escape.
—But at that moment, an alert came from the Magma submarine.
The Aqua side also seemed to have suffered a similar attack not long ago.
Before Maxie could order them to defend the submarine and the Kyogre cargo, the once-clear sky suddenly darkened.
The instant the downpour began, Maxie's expression twisted as if he understood something.
—Besides the two groups in front of them, someone else was scheming in the shadows!
Who? That boy and Pikachu?
No, they shouldn't have the ability…
Before Maxie could think further, a loud whale cry and a heavy beast roar suddenly echoed from both ends of Monsu Island.
Archie received a report from his subordinates: Groudon had been released by a traitor wearing an Aqua uniform!
Both he and Maxie tried to control the legends with their Orbs, but no matter how hard they tried, the Orbs remained dark.
It was as if they couldn't impose their will on the ancient Pokémon at all.
Gritting their teeth, Archie and Maxie roared: "Everyone, prepare to retreat!"
Had they given up on controlling Groudon and Kyogre?
Of course not.
In their view, it was simply because they were too far away. Once they got closer, their will would surely connect.
The two stopped bothering to block the others. While ordering their subordinates to retreat and cover them, they abandoned the encirclement of Nemona and Lance and rushed straight toward the ancient Pokémon they had planned for so long.
…