Chapter 323: Beginning of the End (4)
~Third POV~
[Hoenn Region, Next Day, Route 123]
Time quickly passed, soon to the next day, as the Gym Leaders, Ruby, Sapphire, and Azure, were doing everything possible to halt the Legendary Pokémon's advances. The sky over Route 123 was a bruised purple, a canvas of fury painted by an unnatural storm.
The sea, once a placid turquoise, churned in a violent froth, mirroring the chaos above. On the back of Lorry, Winona's Altaria, the air crackled with a tension that had little to do with the weather.
Winona said, her voice sharp as a shard of ice, "It's madness."
The Fortree City Gym Leader, usually the picture of grace, had her arms crossed tightly, her gaze fixed on the two younger trainers before her as she muttered, "We know they're in the Seafloor Cavern. We know Maxie and Archie are the true threats. But knowing and reaching are two very different things. We have no means of getting to the ocean floor!"
Sapphire Birch, her wild spirit undimmed by the apocalyptic scene, simply patted the stony, mottled flank of the Pokémon beside her as she said bluntly in a determined voice, "We have Relly."
Ruby, ever the composed counterpoint to Sapphire's fire, adjusted his white cap as he briefly explained, "Azure explained it to her. Relly isn't just any Relicanth. It's a key we have to follow after them."
Winona's frustration boiled over. She gritted her teeth as she vented her frustration, "Azure! Always Azure! I respect the boy's accomplishments—but this is beyond belief! A single Pokémon, ferrying trainers to the deepest trenches of the ocean? It defies all logic! Our Pokédexes themselves state their known depth limits!"
Wallace interjected, his voice a calm, melodic current in the storm of their debate, "Logic has been out the window since the sky split open."
The Sootopolis Gym Leader stood with an artist's poise, as he added calmly, "Faith, however, is a powerful tool."
Sapphire's eyes, burning with fierce determination, met Winona's as she countered, "Azure doesn't deal in myths. He deals in facts we haven't discovered yet. He told me Relly could do it. That's all I need to know."
Ruby backed her instantly as he explained in a determined voice, "Mr. Briney told me stories. Legends of an ancient Pokémon that could create a path to the bottom of the sea for a chosen few. A bubble of air, a pocket of safety. He described a Relicanth of unusual size and marking. He described Relly."
His words hung in the air, a small island of hope in a sea of despair. Winona's skepticism, born from years of experience and leadership, warred with the undeniable conviction of the two young prodigies.
She saw the trust they placed in Azure—a trust so absolute it bordered on telepathic. Ruby pulled out his Rotom Phone, the device crackling with static.
He managed to get a brief, choppy call through to Mr. Briney, shouting Relly's dimensions over the howling wind. The call ended abruptly, but Ruby's expression was set as he announced, "It's as we thought. Relly's unique size and energy signature allow it to generate the field Mr. Briney spoke of. But it's a tremendous strain. It can only maintain it for a small area... enough for itself and two children."
The implication was immediate and stark. Winona's eyes widened as she muttered, "Two… children?"
Wallace nodded slowly, a knowing look on his face. His gaze was one of profound encouragement as he said calmly, "Ruby has already volunteered. He intends to accompany Sapphire. Hoenn's fate may very well rest on your shoulders."
Winona started, but the words died in her throat, "But they're just—"
They weren't just children anymore. They were trainers forged in the crucible of this crisis, their resolve hardened to steel.
Wallace said proudly, his voice resonating with authority, "I place my trust in you. As Azure has. Go. End this at the Seafloor Cavern. We will hold the line here."
With no more words needed, Ruby and Sapphire shared a determined glance. They clambered onto Relly's broad back. Sapphire commanded, "Let's go, Relly! Use Dive to reach the Seafloor!"
*SPLASH*
The ancient Pokémon slipped from Relly's back into the tumultuous water with barely a splash. For a moment, they were bobbing in the violent waves. Then, a faint, silvery light enveloped the three of them.
A shimmering bubble, impervious to the raging sea. Relly's fins glowed, and with a powerful thrust of its tail, it executed a perfect Dive. The world of wind and rain vanished, replaced by the crushing, silent, beautiful blue of the deep. The journey had begun.
/////
[Hoenn Region, Meanwhile, Fortree's City Outskirts]
Miles away, the land itself was dying. Near Fortree, the vibrant greens of the forest had been baked into a desiccated, cracked brown.
*RMBL*
The air wasn't filled with rain; it was thick with a heat so intense it warped the view, shimmering like a malevolent spirit. In the center of this wasteland stood Groudon. It wasn't rampaging.
It was merely existing, and its existence was rewriting the world. Groudon, a primordial mountain of rage, was not actively fighting, "GRAOOO!!!"
It was merely toying with them. Brawly grunted, wiping sweat from his brow as he roared, sweat slicking his powerful arms, "Machoke, use Dynamic Punch!"
*Wooosh*
His Machoke, muscles bulging, surged forward, connecting a powerful fist to Groudon's leg—a leg the size of a small building. The Legendary creature merely blinked, then casually swung its massive tail.
*SWOOOOSH*
The attack was less a blow and more a gesture of dismissal. Machoke was swatted backward like a fly, crashing through three solid granite formations Roxanne's Pokémon had painstakingly erected.
*THUD*
His Machoke, a paragon of fighting prowess, lay in a heap dozens of feet away, swatted aside by a casual flick of Groudon's colossal tail. Brawly recalled his partner, his expression grim as he muttered hopelessly at the task they're dealing with, "It's toying with us… It's fruitless. My Pokémon aren't weak… but this thing… Machoke is not weak, but Groudon… It's too strong. We can't even chip its hide… It's a force of nature."
Roxanne, sheltering behind an Aggron that was rapidly losing its metallic sheen to the heat, shook her head as she said, her voice strained, "It's not just the strength, Brawly. It's the sheer reach! We can't get close enough to land a meaningful strike on its vulnerable points without being crushed instantly."
She stood behind her own Pokémon, her mind racing, calculating angles and weaknesses that simply didn't exist as she added, "It's about reach. We can't land a significant blow. It's like trying to punch a mountain."
She looked at her companion, the Dewford Gym Leader, whose fighting spirit was being eroded by sheer futility. They were ants trying to halt a tectonic plate. Their only real purpose was to distract, to keep the Continent Pokémon's attention focused here, away from the coast, buying precious time for the others.
She looked up at the fiery sky, praying for a sign as she uttered strongly, "We need speed, power, anything that can keep us in the air, away from its sheer bulk. I can only hope that Azure and Norman deal with Kyogre quickly, because we cannot maintain this defensive line for long."
Brawly spat, wiping caked dust from his eyes, with determined eyes, uttered, "We must buy them time. If those two can stop Kyogre's weather advantage, maybe Groudon will lose some steam."
They both exchanged a look of grim resolve. They were not fighting to win; they were fighting to survive the next few minutes.
Roxanne stated, more to bolster her own courage than anything, "Norman and Azure have to be dealing with Kyogre by now. We just have to hold out."
Brawly slammed a fist into his palm of his hand with an eager grin, "Then we stop holding back!"
Roxanne nodded, her expression grim, replying, "Agreed."
Roxanne reached for the cuff of her jacket, pulling out a keystone embedded in a sleek Mega Ring. A familiar surge of light erupted from the device as she activated it, connecting with the Aerodactyl hovering precariously above the fray as she declared, "Aerodactyl, Mega Evolve! Shatter the limits of your ancient power! Focus on aerial harassment—keep its attention high!"
At the same time, Brawly followed suit, activating his own Mega Ring. His key stone pulsed, connecting to the Medicham that stood ready beside him as he roared, "Medicham, Mega Evolve! Let your mind and body become one! Use High Jump Kick on its foreleg! We hit hard, we retreat! We just need to give the others a window!"
*SHIII*
Rainbow-hued tendrils of energy erupted from their Key Stones, lashing out to connect with the [Medichamite] around Medicham's neck and the [Aerodactylite] held by Aerodactyl. The air ripped with the power of transformation.
*CRACK*
Breaking out of the rainbow shell of Mega Evolution emerged they're new forms. Brawly's Medicham grew, four spectral arms materializing behind it, its focus intensifying to a razor's edge.
Roxanne's Aerodactyl was encased in jagged black stone, its wings growing sharper, its jaw more menacing, a primal predator reborn. The two Gym Leaders, knowing they were initiating an engagement they couldn't possibly win, threw caution to the wind, betting their safety and their Pokémon's strength on the hope that Azure was simultaneously delivering a decisive blow miles away.
Against the god-like being of the land, two mortals and their partners prepared to make their final, desperate stand.
/////
[Hoenn Region, Meanwhile, Route 108]
On Route 108, there was no land left to stand on. Only the raging, violent rainfall is dominated by Kyogre, the primordial ruler of the seas. Its Drizzle ability ensured the downpour never ceased, empowering its Water-type attacks.
Wattson, the ever-jovial leader of Mauville City, had a grim set to his usually smiling face. He and Flannery stood on a small, hastily-erected platform, battling the relentless deluge facing the cause of the storm...
*SPLASH*
Before them, Kyogre breached the waves, its immense form dwarfing everything, its cry a sound of pure, primordial power. Wattson, the electric Gym Leader, and Flannery, the fire Gym Leader, were struggling against the behemoth.
Wattson bellowed, "Manectric! Full power Thunder!"
*KA-BOOOM*
His loyal partner, crackling with stored electricity, unleashed a colossal bolt of lightning that tore through the rain-soaked air. It struck Kyogre dead-on. For a fleeting second, the titan was illuminated in a flash of brilliant gold…
Then, nothing. The attack dissipated against an invisible barrier.
Kyogre merely shifted its bulk slightly. Moments before the attack, it had instinctively raised its psychic defenses, using Calm Mind.
The smug, knowing expression on its massive face told the Gym Leaders that the Legendary understood their strategy perfectly. Flannery shouted over the din, her fiery red hair plastered to her face, "It used Calm Mind! It's raising its special defense instinctively! We're not even scratching it!"
Kyogre didn't even spare them a glance. Flannery yelled in frustration, shielding her face from a wave of seawater churned up by Kyogre's tail, "Blast it all! We can't even scratch it! Its defense is too high, and the rain makes my strongest Fire moves useless!"
Wattson grimaced. His electrical attacks were nullified, and Flannery's power was halved thanks to its Drizzle ability.
They had only one option left. Wattson declared, reaching for the Mega Ring on his wrist, "Flannery, we go all out! If we can't stop it with strategy, we stop it with sheer, volatile power!"
Flannery nodded, her hand already moving toward her own keystone, prepared to Mega Evolve her prized Charizard. Kyogre let out a low, rumbling sound that might have been a laugh, "KYRAAAA!!! (Puny mortals!)"
It regarded them with an ancient, cold intelligence, a predator utterly confident in its domain. Wattson gritted his teeth as he declared, "Then we'll have to break through! Flannery, are you ready?"
Flannery's eyes blazed with the fire of her Lavaridge home as she argued determinedly, "Born ready, old man!"
They, too, reached for their Mega Rings. Wattson's Manectric began to bristle, ready to absorb the energy. Flannery's Charizard, a beacon of warmth in the cold storm, roared its readiness.
But then…
*WOOOOSH*
… something changed.
But before either Gym Leader could initiate the transformation, Kyogre's smug expression stiffened. The torrential downpour, the pervasive mist, and the sound of the churning water—all of it seemed to suddenly mute.
Kyogre's Drizzle Ability, which controlled the very weather of the battlefield, was absolutely, undeniably silenced. The air above them rumbled, a strange, profound dissonance that was neither thunder nor earthquake.
*RMBL*
It wasn't a sound, but a cessation of it. The drumming tattoo of Kyogre's Drizzle, the constant, oppressive rainfall that had defined the battle… stopped.
The downpour ceased mid-drop. The air, heavy and saturated with moisture, suddenly felt lighter, clearer.
Kyogre's smug expression vanished, replaced by one of genuine shock, then alarm. Its connection to the atmosphere had been severed. The air above them rumbled, not with thunder, but with a pressure shift so profound it made their ears pop.
*RMBL*
Wattson and Flannery paused, their hands hovering over their Key Stones as they turned they're eyes to the sky. It was a sound of immense displacement. A shadow fell across the churning water…
*Wooosh*
Then, three objects streaked down from the clearing sky. They weren't meteorites. They were Ultra Balls. They landed in the churning water in a perfect triangle around Kyogre, popping open with synchronized hisses.
*Pop*
From the first emerged a being of crystalline, unyielding ice: Regice. Its seven-dotted face was impassive as it slammed its frozen limbs into the water. Its mere presence created an icefield as it arrived.
*Pop*
From the second came a golem of jagged, primordial rock: Regirock. It struck the sea with the force of a landslide.
*Pop*
From the third materialized a titan of alien, indestructible metal: Registeel. Its movements were impossibly fluid as it took its position.
Then a new voice commanded from the heavens, calm and utterly authoritative, "You three use Block!"
*DING*
The three Legendary Titans glowed in unison. A dome of shimmering, prismatic energy erupted from their formation, caging Kyogre. The Sea Basin Pokémon roared in fury, slamming against the barrier, but it held firm, "KRAAAAYY!!! (WHAT! No, this feeling... IT CAN'T BE AWAKE ALREADY?!!)"
Yet, Kyogre's attention wasn't on its prison. Its massive eye was tilted upward, staring into the heavens with something that looked like fear. It recoiled as a cry echoed from the clouds above—a cry that was ancient, powerful, and absolute, "RrrRAAAAWWGH! (Knock, knock, Poke Fucker!!)"
The immense creature recoiled, not in fear, but in cold, ancient recognition, as it heard a cry that transcended the storm and the ocean itself. Parting the last vestiges of the storm clouds like a curtain, it descended.
*WOOOSH*
A serpentine dragon of brilliant emerald green, its body lined with golden, glowing rings. Its crimson streamers flowed behind it like regal banners. It was a living myth, the arbiter of the sky…
Rayquaza.
Emerging from the shattered cloud cover, dropping like a star-green streak of pure speed, was Rayquaza, the Sky High Pokémon, the destroyer of meteorites and the peacemaker of ancient rivalries. Kyogre saw its expression, and it was…
… very pissed off.
Riding atop its massive, serpentine head, perched confidently between its emerald horns, was Azure Sky, his expression focused and serious. Pikachu was settled securely on his shoulder, his cheeks already sparking, while Eevee clutched tightly to the back of Azure's neck, its ears pinned back against the rush of the air.
*Fwp*
Paired next to the soaring Dragon was Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg City and the father of Ruby, his face mask of grim determination. He flew steadily on the back of his powerful Flygon, their combined focused gaze fixed on the trapped Legendary below.
They had arrived for battle.
Rayquaza let out a second, deafening cry, and the silence it had imposed became absolute, "RAAAAAAGO!! (I've come to fuck your shit up, Kyogre!!)"
Its presence activated its unique meteorological ability: Air Lock. The power not only shut down Kyogre's Drizzle but neutralized the oppressive conditions Groudon was simultaneously maintaining across the region.
The battlefield was now fair, the advantage nullified, and the Indigo Champion was ready to finish the job. The playing field had not been leveled; it had been tilted completely in the hero's favor.
Azure looked down from his incredible vantage point at the trapped, furious Legendary, then glanced at the stunned Gym Leaders below.
He offered them a small, confident nod. Azure called down, his voice cutting through the wind, "The weather's cleared up. Sorry, we're late. Now, let's get to work."
/////
A/N: Reach the goal of 100 PS to get a Bonus Chapter!