Upon hearing this, Shelly's heart trembled slightly.
What did this mean?
Had the God of the Sea, Kyogre, already been found?
And from the Leader's words, it seemed like she was the one who found it?
Shelly was momentarily unable to react, her mind somewhat hazy, unsure of what was happening to her, always feeling as if she had forgotten many things.
But soon, she was captivated by what Archie held in his hand.
A Blue Orb emitting a light blue glow, with a special symbol, "α", reflected on it!
This Orb was precisely what Team Aqua had been searching for in Meteor Falls.
Other Team Aqua members might not have been privy to this information, but as a top executive of Team Aqua, Shelly was aware of it.
This was the only tool to awaken the God of the Sea, Kyogre!
So that means...
That pool emitting a blue glow, was that where Kyogre slumbered?
The Leader was about to awaken Kyogre?!
Shelly's heart surged with ecstasy, just like Matt and Courtney behind her, their joy evident on their faces.
But suddenly, a voice appeared in Shelly's mind.
A voice that was both familiar and strange.
"Archie's goal is to destroy all land..."
It echoed in her mind again and again.
Suddenly, Shelly's expression froze, the smile on her face vanished, and she looked at Archie, who had his back to her, holding the Blue Orb in his hands, and asked as if possessed, "Le-Leader, what is your purpose in awakening Kyogre?"
Hearing Shelly's question, Archie turned and glanced at her.
At this moment, Shelly saw the boundless desire and greed in Archie's eyes, as if the entire world was prostrate at his feet!
This was the most primal desire, erupting from the heart of someone just one step away from their dream, unable to suppress their ideals.
Archie spoke, "Of course, it's to conquer the ocean! As people who live in the great sea, and Team Aqua, who sail freely on the sea, our goal is naturally to conquer the ocean!!"
Hearing Archie's words, Shelly's expression relaxed.
Thankfully, the Leader did not intend to destroy all land and turn the entire world into an ocean world, as the voice in her mind had suggested.
But just as Shelly's expression relaxed, Archie's entire face suddenly became distorted.
"As the future masters of the great sea, the owners of all resources, any person or Pokémon who pollutes the sea or arbitrarily plunders its resources shall receive their just punishment! They are not worthy of the right to live!!
I shall act on behalf of the great sea, to exercise power!!
With all land, all land submerged as a lesson, to warn them!
The great sea should be the master of this world, and all living beings only have the right to live when in water!
And I!! I am the arbiter who exercises power on behalf of the great sea!!!"
The wild and arrogant voice echoed throughout the entire cave.
However, upon hearing these words this time, Shelly's originally relaxed expression instantly tensed up again.
Not just her!
Even Matt, behind her, frowned.
If all land disappeared, then what would be the point of them conquering the world?
To look at the boundless sea, and then have no living person to share the joy? All lives at Archie's whim?
"No! Leader! You can't do this! If you do, not only others, but even we ourselves, will not be able to survive!" Shelly suddenly cried out, somewhat agitated and hysterical.
Matt, beside her, also shouted, "That's right! Leader! If you do this, we'll all be finished too."
Archie turned to look at the two of them.
It was then that Shelly noticed Archie's eyes had completely turned blue, with an "α" symbol within them!
From beginning to end, Archie had been under Kyogre's control!!!
Shelly's heart trembled. So it wasn't about controlling Kyogre with the Blue Orb.
The Blue Orb was merely a tool to awaken Kyogre. From the moment one came into contact with the Blue Orb, they would be unconsciously controlled and deceived by it!
Archie smiled strangely, not replying to them, but instead raised the Blue Orb in his hand high and shouted loudly, "Awaken! Kyogre!!"
Bang—Bang—Bang—
Pieces of rubble fell from the top of the mountain wall, crashing into the pool, and the water in the entire pool instantly became turbulent.
A stone statue emerged from the pool.
From the appearance of this statue, it resembled Kyogre.
The Blue Orb seemed to sense something, suddenly emitting a blue ray that shone on the statue's body.
Then, the rocky outer shell of the statue began to peel off, revealing the blue body beneath, with red patterns on it.
Roar—
All the rocky outer shell fell off, its eyes slowly opened, and it let out a long roar towards the sky with its mouth wide open.
The entire cave trembled.
Kyogre! A Pokémon similar to a whale, with two huge pectoral fins, each fin tip having four white square structures, with red patterns on its body, and a huge red "α" mark on the back of its two pectoral fins!
The God of the Sea, Kyogre!
After awakening, Kyogre fell into a state of calm, its two eyes staring directly at Archie.
Then, a blue light flashed in Kyogre's eyes, and in response, a blue light also flashed in Archie's eyes, and he nodded.
He took out a metal box from his embrace. When opened, it contained a blue and yellow energy crystal.
Archie then directly grabbed it and threw it towards Kyogre, which Kyogre swallowed in one gulp.
After throwing the energy crystal, Archie laughed maniacally, "Destroy the world! Kyogre! Turn the entire world into an ocean!!!"
Saying this, he strode towards Kyogre.
Upon hearing this, Kyogre nodded humanely. Its body erupted with yellow light, and its form began to change, but the speed was somewhat slow.
Until Archie walked in front of Kyogre, holding the Blue Orb in both hands.
To Shelly's horror, Kyogre flipped over and swallowed Archie whole, along with the Blue Orb.
A look of amusement appeared in its eyes as it looked at the three of them.
Then, it flapped its fins, and a large amount of water surged out of the pool, instantly filling the entire cave.
Ignoring the three, it shot up into the sky and plunged into the great sea.
Shelly was very lucky not to be buried underwater. With the help of her Water-type Pokémon, she barely managed to return to the surface of the sea.
Then she saw a scene like the end of the world.
Boundless dark clouds, bright lightning everywhere, and raindrops as big as beans pouring down as if for free.
The sea level rose wildly, and huge tides emerged.
The largest of these tides was taller than Mt. Chimney, and Kyogre, whose color and appearance had changed somewhat, was at the very top of the tide.
Surging towards the Hoenn region, all the Pokémon that came out to block it had no effect whatsoever.
In an instant, the Hoenn continent disappeared.
Shelly, staring blankly at all this, felt the coming of the end, but didn't know what to do.
Regret emerged boundlessly from her heart.
Various hypothetical scenarios also appeared.
What if—Kyogre had not been awakened!
What if—Kyogre had not been found!
What if—the Blue Orb had not been found!
What if—she had not joined Team Aqua...
Would all of this still have happened?