Under the relentless assault of Origin Pulse, Groudon was driven deep into the seabed. The ocean floor continued to shatter as its massive body was forced further and farther down.
One hundred meters. Five hundred meters. One thousand. Three thousand...
The depth kept increasing.
The sea itself had been torn open by the Origin Pulse. From above, one could see a vast crater nearly ten kilometers wide, with the exposed seafloor continuously cracking apart.
Enormous volumes of seawater was displaced, spreading outward and forming towering waves that surged in all directions.
Only after a full minute did the Origin Pulse finally subside. The displaced water rushed back in, and the monstrous waves began to collapse and fade away.
The massive wave heading toward Victoria also lost momentum, steadily decreasing in size. It was estimated that after advancing another dozen kilometers or so, it would vanish completely, posing no threat to the city.
Kyogre, floating on the sea surface, let out a heavy breath. Sustaining such a high-intensity Origin Pulse had consumed a huge amount of energy.
Julian returned to stand atop its head again—something Kyogre no longer seemed to mind.
"How's Groudon?" Julian asked.
"It'll be nursing its wounds for a while," Kyogre said smugly.
Since the dawn of their existence, this was the first time it had so thoroughly dominated Groudon in a fight. The feeling was utterly satisfying.
No wonder that oversized green caterpie always enjoyed beating up both of them—turns out, dishing out punishment feels this good.
---
> Did Groudon die?
> Don't be ridiculous. First-class Legendaries can't die.
> But it's been several minutes already. Why hasn't Groudon resurfaced?
> Probably just got knocked silly.
> My husband is the strongest in the world!
---
A full five minutes later, the sea surface churned once more as Groudon rose atop a pillar of rock extending from the seabed, stopping before Kyogre and Julian.
Groudon was indeed in a sorry state: several of its claws were broken, and a massive wound on its arm oozed thick, magma-like blood.
The blood seemed incredibly viscous, coagulating rather than dripping.
The injury was inflicted by Kyogre, a fellow First-class Legendary, and carried residual energy from the attack—it would take time to heal.
"Do you yield?" Kyogre looked down triumphantly at Groudon.
Though it had no neck to speak of, it raised its head as high as it could, nearly sending Julian tumbling off.
"Yield your ass!" Groudon snapped, furious.
It was obvious that this big-headed fish had only gained the upper hand by borrowing power from that human.
"Then let's go again!" Kyogre retorted, brimming with confidence.
Julian: 'Nope. If you want to fight again, I'm leaving.'
The Unown's Protection's duration had ended. If he continued to command Kyogre, the cost would be his own lifespan.
"Hmph!"
Groudon snorted coldly.
'Fight again, my ass,' it cursed inwardly. 'I already know I can't beat you. Why would I keep fighting? Do I look sick to you? Besides, the Red Orb isn't even with me anymore.'
Groudon glanced at Julian. Truthfully, most of its anger toward this human had already subsided.
First-class Legendaries were inherently proud beyond measure, yet Julian had not only commanded Kyogre but also enhanced its power, leading to its own defeat.
Groudon couldn't help but feel a certain degree of respect for Julian.
In fact, it even felt a bit envious. 'If I could get along with this human… maybe next time we could team up and beat that big-headed fish together.'
'And if I return to my Primal form again, with this human's help… even that big green caterpie might not be my opponent.'
"Human, take this."
With a slight flick of its injured arm, Groudon sent a drop of its coagulated, magma-like blood flying toward Julian. It wasn't moving fast, but the terrifying high temperature radiating from it made Julian hesitant to catch it with his bare hands.
He quickly used his psychic powers to hold it midair.
The instant his psychic energy made contact, he felt the blood's immense weight—nearly a thousand kilograms for that single drop.
That was the power of a First-class Legendary.
[Groudon's Blood: The blood of the First-class Legendary Groudon, with its inherent will erased by Groudon itself. When consumed, it permanently increases the power of Fire-type and Ground-type moves by 20%.]
If the will within the blood had not been purged, a Pokémon who consumed it would at best lose sanity—and at worst, die instantly.
"Hmph, do you think Julian would accept anything from you?" Kyogre sneered.
Julian: 'Why wouldn't I?'
And before Kyogre could even finish sneering, it saw Julian calmly store the drop of blood in a container—its expression darkened instantly.
'Aren't we on the same side?! How could you accept something from Groudon?'
"Big-head, we'll fight again next time!"
After giving Kyogre and Julian one last look, Groudon's massive body began to descend, soon returning to the subterranean magma.
It needed to rest and heal properly, then seek revenge to wipe away this humiliation.
"Kyogre, are you angry?"
Julian found Kyogre's reaction somewhat amusing.
"No."
Kyogre turned its face away.
"Even if I took something from Groudon, you're still my favorite. How could Groudon ever compare to you? We're comrades fighting on the same front," Julian said.
"So... you're just freeloading off Groudon?"
"Exactly." Julian nodded matter-of-factly.
"You're really something, but that's exactly how it should be. Serves that idiot right!"
Hearing Julian's words, Kyogre's mood instantly improved. Its eyes curved into happy slits, and its tail began slapping the sea surface unconsciously.
Standing atop Kyogre's head, Julian felt the creature beneath him radiating pure, childlike joy. He smiled faintly as the violet-gold Champion's cape on his back fluttered lightly in the wind.
"Julian, this is for you."
A blue scale appeared before him.
[Kyogre's Scale: Can be used to summon Kyogre.]
"If you ever run into someone you can't handle, I'll come help you."
"What if it's the giant green caterpie?" Julian asked.
Kyogre froze for a moment, then declared firmly, "Even if it's the giant green caterpie, I'll help you fight it. Together, we can take it down!"
That was actually quite loyal of it.
Julian didn't doubt Kyogre's words. As a First-class Legendary, going back on its word was simply not in its nature.
If Julian ever somehow managed to provoke Rayquaza in the future, Kyogre would definitely come to his aid.
"Alright then. If you ever need anything, come find me. I assume this scale can also be used to contact you?"
"Mmhmm," Kyogre nodded.
And so, Julian and the big-headed fish formed their alliance right then and there.
"Here, this is for you."
As he spoke, Julian handed Kyogre ten boxes of its exclusive Pokéblocks.
"Wasn't it supposed to be five boxes?"
"Aren't we friends now? We Drakorians have always been generous to our friends."
"So… do you also have a hundred boxes?"
"I really don't!" Julian quickly shook his head.
"Really?"
"Really, Kyogre, you have to believe me."
"Then… can I ask for more after I finish these?"
"Y-yeah… sure," Julian said with a strained nod.
*****
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