"Stop them!"
Archie's voice rang out as Mega Sharpedo and Mega Swampert struck out separately, rushing toward Drake and Glacia respectively. At the same time, Archie released a Psychic-type Claydol. This Claydol possessed the strength of the Champion Rank.
To obtain this Claydol and ensure it obeyed his commands, Archie had invested countless efforts and resources, all for it to have a miraculous effect at the critical moment. Almost the instant Mega Sharpedo and Mega Swampert launched their attack, Claydol used Teleport to vanish from the spot with Archie.
At this moment, the Hoenn League's Psychics were all tied up by Team Aqua's Psychics, leaving them with no time to stop Archie's movements. Only Gu Yuan had anticipated this. The moment Claydol rushed next to the blue crystal with Archie, Gu Yuan appeared right behind them.
"Charizard, Alakazam, Mega Evolve!"
Without hesitation, Gu Yuan had Charizard and Alakazam Mega Evolve while releasing all his other Pokémon at once. The reason Gu Yuan dared to give chase was that Archie had used all his Pokémon, except for Claydol, to resist the attacks of Elite Four Drake and Elite Four Glacia. This made Gu Yuan feel that with the power of Mega Charizard Y and the others, he might be able to slightly tie up Claydol and buy time for Drake and his team.
"Deal with him, Claydol!"
Without hesitating, Archie directly commanded Claydol to launch an attack on Gu Yuan. Psychic energy coalesced, transforming into a massive dragon that surged forward, only to collide with Mega Charizard Y's Flare Blitz in the next second.
The result was self-explanatory. Due to the gap in strength, Mega Charizard Y's offensive was instantly dismantled, and it was sent flying back. Meanwhile, Moltres and Roaring Moon launched attacks on Claydol from the left and right.
Mega Alakazam silently copied the Shadow Tag Ability, waiting for an opportunity to restrict Claydol. At the same time, the watchful Mega Alakazam also kept Claydol's attention occupied, fearing that Mega Alakazam might suddenly use Ally Switch on Archie.
The moment Moltres and Roaring Moon's attacks arrived, Annihilape also burst out from the alternate dimension. Not only that, the Future Sight used by Mega Alakazam and the Ditto transformed into Alakazam activated simultaneously. Under the five-way pincer attack, Claydol displayed its Beginner Champion strength to the fullest, forcefully crushing their offensive.
Seizing this opportunity, Mega Charizard Y used Flare Blitz once more to strike at Claydol.
"Endure all the coming attacks. Use your psychic power to send me closer to the blue crystal."
Seeing that he could not easily take Gu Yuan down, Archie promptly changed his tactics, wanting only to reach the blue crystal as quickly as possible. From Gu Yuan's perspective, it wasn't hard to see that Archie was gripping something tightly that emitted a blue light; there was no doubt it was related to Kyogre.
"Strike together! Stop Claydol's charge!"
At this moment, except for Haxorus and the others who were still at the quasi-Ace Rank, all of Gu Yuan's other Pokémon participated in the battle. A massive number of moves shot out one after another, but most were blocked by the shield Claydol coalesced from psychic energy.
Fortunately, Annihilape and the others used Phantom Force to rush to Claydol's side first, slightly hindering its steps. Immediately following, Mega Charizard Y, transformed into a fire dragon, rushed in with Moltres and Roaring Moon trailing behind.
Psychic energy coalesced, but Claydol did not choose to counterattack immediately. Instead, it threw Archie forward with great force. The moment it threw Archie, Claydol spun around violently, turning into a solid wall that blocked all of Mega Charizard Y and the others' attacks.
Unfortunately, Claydol still made an oversight: Gu Yuan himself was a Psychic. Using Teleport, Gu Yuan approached Archie at an even faster speed. Claydol wanted to attack, but was blocked by Mega Charizard Y and the others. Even its Teleport was suppressed by the Shadow Tag Ability copied by Mega Alakazam, making it unusable.
After a few blinks, Gu Yuan appeared behind Archie. A Poké Ball opened, and Hatterene appeared by Gu Yuan's side. At this point, Archie had no other Pokémon on him; a quasi-Ace Hatterene was enough to easily deal with him.
Noticing the movement behind him, a flash of determination crossed Archie's eyes, and he directly threw the blue gem in his hand with all his might. At this moment, both Elite Four Drake and Elite Four Glacia couldn't help but look over, desperate to know if this operation would end in success or failure.
"Hatterene, take care of Archie!"
After giving Hatterene the command via Telepathy, Gu Yuan appeared next to the blue gem using Teleport. What Gu Yuan didn't notice was that the blue gem he had bought long ago and never used was now emitting a dazzling light, though it was currently blocked by his Spatial Backpack.
Abruptly, within the great ocean, a pair of giant eyes snapped open. Twisting its body, the owner of those giant eyes looked toward the battlefield where Gu Yuan and the others were, a hint of confusion flashing in its gaze. After a moment of hesitation, the owner of the giant eyes—the legendary Pokémon, Kyogre—ultimately chose not to move, continuing its slumber within the massive trench.
"I'm sorry, but your hopes have been dashed."
Holding the blue gem and looking at Archie, who had already been subdued by Hatterene, Gu Yuan said with a smile.
"Do you have any idea what you've done!?"
"You've destroyed the hope for this world to move toward a bright future!!"
Archie's roar rang out, but Gu Yuan chose to ignore it. With Archie captured, the morale on Team Aqua's side suffered a fatal blow. Especially with the current encirclement, Team Aqua had no chance to retreat.
"Everyone, strike together! We must ensure all of Team Aqua's elites remain here!"
After seeing Archie captured, Drake's roar followed immediately, and a large number of black dots rushed out from the direction of the forest. Within the encirclement, no matter how the members of Team Aqua charged, they could not break through the Hoenn League's defensive line. Bavi also arrived at maximum speed, commanding his Pokémon to take over the battle against the still-fighting Claydol.
"I truly thank you this time. On behalf of the Hoenn League, I express my gratitude."
Bowing slightly, Bavi's tone was full of appreciation.
"It's nothing. This is what I should have done."
Having Mega Charizard Y and the others return to his side, Gu Yuan prepared to join the battle to earn more points. Instinctively, Gu Yuan reached out to return the blue crystal to Bavi.
However, the moment Gu Yuan took down the blue crystal and prepared to hand it to Bavi, the blue light suddenly became even more dazzling, enveloping Gu Yuan and the Pokémon by his side. When the blue light dissipated, only Bavi remained, his hand still outstretched to receive the crystal.
Although he didn't know what had happened, Bavi was clear on one point: this was bad!