According to Aoki's understanding, the members of Team Aqua did not truly comprehend Archie's ultimate objective. They simply worshipped the ocean and its deity, Kyogre, which was the primary reason they followed Archie in his relentless pursuit of the Legendary Pokemon. Or rather, Archie had effectively "made" them worship Kyogre through his leadership and ideology. In any case, there was no internal conflict within the team regarding their stated goals. However, Archie's personal, hidden ambition was far more drastic: to submerge the entire world under the sea. This cataclysmic outcome would be a disaster for all humans, including the loyal members of Team Aqua themselves. They may operate primarily in the ocean, but that did not mean they had no need to ever return to land. Izumi was the only high-ranking member within Team Aqua who possessed the standing to object and question Archie's judgment. This would become critically important when he finally succeeded in awakening Kyogre and triggered its transformation into Primal Kyogre. It was a profound pity, however, that Archie did not heed Izumi's cautious advice and instead forcibly awakened Kyogre, allowing it to revive in its immensely powerful Primal form. The first location consumed by the ensuing, uncontrollable oceanic fury was their own base of operations. Primal Kyogre could not be controlled by the Blue Orb. Or rather, the Blue Orb was merely a tool to awaken and facilitate communication with Kyogre; when combined with certain unique elemental energies, it could catalyze Kyogre's reversion to its Primal state, but it never possessed the ability to restrain or command the beast. This was because both the Blue Orb and the Red Orb were actually shed from the bodies of Kyogre and Groudon respectively; they were keys to awakening, not shackles for control.
"Archie's true goal is to replace all land with ocean. I wonder if the general membership of Team Aqua is operating with that devastating objective in mind?" Aoki asked with a knowing smile.
"Replace all land with ocean?" Izumi was visibly stunned when she heard Aoki's words. Then she sneered dismissively, "How is that even possible? The boss's goal is to awaken Kyogre, the god of the ocean, and thereby establish our Team Aqua as the rightful masters of the sea. Nothing more."
Aoki simply shook his head and said nothing more on the subject. Just as he had suspected. Archie was not a fool. He knew full well that his radical ideology was anathema to the beliefs of most people, even his own followers, so he had never revealed his true, world-ending intentions. However, Aoki did not intend to press the argument further with Izumi at this moment. They were still adversaries locked in a tense standoff, so how could a single sentence from him possibly change her deeply held convictions? But by voicing the idea before events reached their climax, he could plant a seed of doubt, and perhaps that seed would have a chance to sprout when the time was right. Ultimately, however, the outcome would be decided by raw strength.
Gengar emerged smoothly from Aoki's shadow, its mischievous grin belying its power. Even though his opponent only had three Pokémon at her disposal, their collective strength was still slightly superior to his own at a glance. Aoki did not concern himself with the six-Pokémon limit stipulated by the League for formal battles. His philosophy was far more pragmatic. "What do you care how many Pokémon I command? Isn't it enough if I achieve victory?" Having more Pokémon was a legitimate strategic advantage! In this regard, Aoki greatly admired the ruthless, ends-justify-the-means attitudes of leaders like Maxie and Archie. Everything was viewed from the singular perspective of winning; as long as one could secure victory, it did not matter what methods were employed. If you lost, you would have nothing left...
Slowking, Gengar, Drapion, Florges, Tyranitar, Aggron, Blaziken, Swampert! A total of eight Pokémon now stood arrayed before Aoki, a formidable lineup. Izumi's expression grew profoundly solemn as she scrutinized Aoki's assembled team. "I severely underestimated you. You've been concealing your true strength all this time, and I didn't expect you to be waiting for me here with a full force."
"I haven't concealed any strength," Aoki replied calmly. "It's just that the opponents before you simply weren't worth me going all out." As he spoke, he placed his hand gently on Slowking's cool, smooth shell. His own latent psychic power surged forth, completely merging and synchronizing with Slowking's vast psychic energy. Slowking's aura intensified and became even more solid; the esoteric techniques he had learned were indeed proving their effectiveness. Slowking's eyes glowed with a deep, mesmerizing blue psychic light, and its body slowly floated into the air, hovering just above the ground. It extended its psychic power, covering all of Aoki's other Pokémon with a protective and supportive psychic field, which could help them sense and dodge some particularly difficult-to-avoid moves. In its current enhanced state, Slowking's greatest strength was not in single combat, but in large-scale crowd control and battlefield manipulation. It was capable of controlling not only its own actions but also influencing the movements of its opponents. Dense, visible waves of psychic energy spread out from it, rippling through the air like disturbances on the surface of a pond. As long as it willed it, the psychic energy saturating any corner of the cavern could be instantly manipulated by it. This was the pinnacle of strategic crowd control!
After Gengar emerged from Aoki's shadow, it immediately melted back into the deep, shifting shadows that were ubiquitous in the dimly lit tunnel. Its eyes flashed with a strange light, first mimicking Drapion's Battle Armor ability through its own Mimic move, then using Skill Swap in a rapid sequence to replace the abilities of Slowking, Florges, Tyranitar, and Swampert with more tactically advantageous ones. Now was not the time for a dedicated sandstorm team or a rain team to be deployed. After all, those specialized team compositions were not yet fully formed or optimized and could not display their full synergistic strength. Moreover, in the current confined environment, a team centered around the dual supports of Slowking's psychic control and Gengar's shadowy harassment would be able to display their true combat power far more effectively. Subsequently, with Florges at the center of the formation, vibrant patches of lush green grass and colorful flowers spread rapidly from beneath her feet, covering the rocky ground. This was the maximum extent of the Grassy Terrain that Florges could currently generate, providing sustained healing and empowering Grass-type moves.
Seeing Aoki efficiently directing his Pokémon to form a complex and well-supported battle formation, Izumi's expression grew even more grim. "This Aoki has a surprisingly deep understanding of full-team battle tactics and field control..." Unfortunately, she only had three Pokémon at her immediate command, so many sophisticated tactical formations were impossible for her to achieve. Therefore, the best she could do was to have her Pokémon create and manipulate more water sources while Aoki was busy setting up his formation. Even if they couldn't create a full pond, leaving small puddles in many of the natural depressions and uneven spots throughout the tunnel would be beneficial. Pokémon like Tyranitar and Blaziken were clearly weak to Water-type energy, and any additional water would amplify her team's offensive potential.
"Chamo!" Blaziken's entire body erupted in intense flames, its powerful legs alternately leaving the ground in a practiced motion. It raised one arm, and a special, rhythmic dance began, the Flamethrower move building in its beak. It was not alone; different Pokémon across Aoki's team also began their own stat-boosting routines. Tyranitar roared as it focused on raising its Attack, while Aggron hardened its metallic body to increase its Defense.
"Triple Surf!" Izumi shouted sharply, realizing she could wait no longer. Aoki had more Pokémon, and his synergistic formation was already fully set up. Allowing his Pokémon to continue boosting their stats unchecked would clearly put her at an even greater disadvantage. Upon hearing the command, water instantly materialized and swelled beneath Sharpedo, Crawdaunt, and Walrein. The three powerful streams of water merged together the moment they appeared, their combined force transforming into a single, massive, and terrifying wave that surged forward with immense force, threatening to wash away everything in its path.
"Ban!!!" Tyranitar roared in defiance, slamming its massive palms onto the ground with tremendous force. A huge, jagged rock was ripped directly from the tunnel floor and thrown up as a barrier. It was not alone; Aggron and Swampert immediately followed its lead, using their own strength to unearth and position more boulders. Rapidly, a thick rock wall was formed. Not only that, as Tyranitar and the others poured their Ground and Rock-type energy into the assembled stones, the rock wall frantically thickened and solidified. The three large rocks merged and interlocked, forming a sturdy, triangular rock wall that resembled the prow of a massive ship, designed to split the oncoming wave and reduce the force impacting any single point.
"Ya-dong—" Simultaneously, Slowking's eyes flashed with brilliant blue light, and its vast psychic energy surged into the very substance of the oncoming water flow. Instantly, the crest of the originally towering and surging wave significantly diminished in height and power, its energy being subtly dispersed by the psychic interference.
"Hua—" Florges waved her delicate hands gracefully, and from within the wave itself, giant, thorny vines emerged, striking directly at Sharpedo, Crawdaunt, and Walrein as they rode the Surf. This was her Grass Knot move, exploiting the aqueous environment.
Drapion, meanwhile, used its massive, powerful pincers to target the ground, drilling beneath the surface with startling speed to launch a surprise attack from below.
Gengar merely chuckled, a low, haunting sound, and disappeared completely into the deep shadows cast by the rock wall and the flickering terrain, lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike.