Black clouds pressed down on the sea. Mad waves devoured the shore.
The advantage of large size showed itself here.
On the turbulent sea, Wailord stood firm. On its back, Shizuka had already reset Lance's dislocated arm and given him a small dose of pain-relieving medicine.
This restored some of Lance's mobility.
"…Thank you."
While thanking her, Lance used his less-injured right hand to brush back his now-unruly red hair and asked again, hesitantly, "Did Lucas really do that?"
"Yes. The whole of Hoenn already knows about it."
Even though this was Lance's fifth time asking, Shizuka still nodded patiently.
As a former medical professional, patience with patients was basic.
"…"
Lance stopped asking. His eyes somewhat unfocused, he stared through the rain curtain at the approaching figures of Dragonite and Red Gyarados.
It was no wonder he kept questioning Paul and Shizuka.
After actually facing Groudon and Kyogre, even the proud Lance had to admit that—even with his full main team and his Dragon army—he didn't know how long he could even resist, let alone defeat them.
Yet according to Paul and Shizuka, Lucas had soloed with two main Pokémon and knocked down the Rayquaza that could solo Groudon and Kyogre.
It was truly hard not to be shocked at how he did it.
Lance's impression of Lucas was still stuck on the time the other man visited the Dragon Clan's ancestral land to obtain the Extreme Speed secret manual.
Back then, even without saying it aloud, Lance believed his own Dragonite was far stronger than Lucas's.
How much time had passed since then for the other man to be capable of downing Rayquaza?
Was he secretly running a Pokémon training boot camp under the guise of a farm?
Lance couldn't understand it. This growth speed might already rival those two.
At that moment.
Dragonite and Red Gyarados arrived at the "relatively safe" waters where Wailord was.
After setting down Nemona and the others, they wanted to return to the battlefield with Lance, but Shizuka coldly insisted they treat their injuries first.
Otherwise they would only last a few rounds before needing rescue again. Better to recover a bit before heading out.
Besides, Wallace and Steven were holding the line.
Under the natural pressure of a medical professional, Dragonite and Red Gyarados obediently accepted treatment and recovered alongside Lance.
The sky was ink-black. Rain fell like arrows. The angry sea roared as if to devour everything.
Wallace stared at the man laughing wildly on the aircraft, his face unusually serious. "Archie, stop this now."
At this point, Wallace's main team had already surrounded Kyogre.
Leading the charge was his signature ace, the Pokémon praised as the most beautiful—Milotic.
Behind it were several powerful Water-type generals: Walrein, whose huge fangs could shatter icebergs; Swampert, Hoenn's iconic Pokémon; Ludicolo, playing a unique rhythm in the rain; Starmie, protecting its teammates; Sharpedo, conducting guerrilla warfare with unmatched underwater speed.
Plus Mantine, serving as both protector and mount for Wallace.
This was the strongest lineup Wallace had prepared in haste. Through flawless coordination, they successfully pinned the rampaging Kyogre in place.
As a "genius" who had reached the pinnacle in both Trainer and Coordinator fields, Wallace's training style was different from most single-minded Trainers.
All seven Pokémon shared the Water type, but their secondary types covered Ice, Ground, Grass, Psychic, Dark, and Flying—six different types in total.
He coordinated their potentially conflicting traits, move pools, and specialties into a seamless, complementary whole.
This was the power of "Coordination."
In this field, Wallace stood unrivaled.
Milotic's Ice Beam froze the surging waves along with Kyogre. Even when Kyogre burst out unharmed the next moment and swung its wide fin at Milotic, Walrein and Swampert immediately stepped forward to block. Starmie's Spotlight had already locked onto Kyogre's massive leaping body.
Attacks of various effects instantly bombarded the "center of attention," slamming it back into the sea.
On the other side.
Steven's Steel and Fossil Pokémon were methodically suppressing Groudon.
Leading the frontline and tanking Groudon's immense pressure was Steven's signature Pokémon—the shiny Metagross.
Aggron, Skarmory, Aerodactyl, Cradily, and Armaldo formed a solid defensive line that Groudon could not yet break.
Though he had learned much about coordination from his friend Wallace, Steven was a pure Trainer at heart.
Many of his Pokémon were Fossil types—powerful revived individuals funded by Devon Corporation, or ancient overlords that had survived in unknown regions.
Simply put, the Fossil Pokémon that had endured from ancient times to the present were all stat monsters.
Metagross had just knocked Groudon down with a Comet Punch, but the other party immediately recovered and was about to land a super-effective Fire Punch on Metagross.
At that moment, Armaldo—which had been "trimming" Groudon's feet—leaped high on Steven's command and used its sturdy armor to take the hit meant for Metagross.
"ROAR—!"
Blocked, Groudon roared in fury and switched to energy attacks. A dazzling fusion light gathered in its mouth—then ignited!
Blazing flames formed a giant "大" shaped explosion aimed at Metagross, who had pulled back.
Among all the Pokémon present, Metagross had hit it the hardest and most painfully. Naturally, Groudon saw it as its top enemy besides Kyogre and Rayquaza.
Groudon stepped forward. Following Maxie's frenzied suggestion to "expand the land," it prepared to use Precipice Blades to seal Metagross's escape route and finish it with Fire Blast.
Just as the deadly Fire Blast was about to erupt, two quietly grown vines wrapped around Groudon's legs on the bare red earth that should have been barren under lava.
Cradily's Grass Knot!
Given Groudon's weight after expanding from its original 3.5 meters, a successful hit would deal the heaviest super-effective damage it had taken today!
Steven's commanding style was always bold and confident yet calm.
Unfortunately, most schemes were meaningless before a walking natural disaster like Groudon.
The moment it felt the trip, rolling lava waves automatically burned through the fragile Grass Knot before Groudon even needed to break free.
"Clang—"
Seeing the danger, the waiting Aggron turned into a steel cannonball and smashed toward Groudon at the risk of its armor being melted!
Groudon's Fire Blast was forced off-angle. It skimmed the turbulent sea, evaporating countless seawater and rain before exploding in an empty area.
Feeling humiliated, Groudon's emotionless beast eyes flashed red—the precursor to Precipice Blades.
Having fought it for over ten minutes, Steven had already analyzed this. He immediately ordered his two aerial guerrillas to strike.
Aerodactyl's Rock Slide and Skarmory's Steel Wing perfectly interrupted Groudon's wind-up!
This only made Groudon angrier.
Massive flowing lava surged from underground, forcing Aggron to retreat and cool its armor.
The newly expanded land from Monsu Island shook violently. The intense tremors felt like an earth dragon turning over. Cradily, Aggron, and Armaldo took massive damage instantly.
Steven had to stop his Claydol's Psychic support and fly up to evade.
"Tch… It's taken so much damage and still shows no sign of fatigue."
Steven pressed his lips tightly. His usual composure had turned to solemnity.
Frankly, after such a long fight, he had a rough grasp of Groudon's strength.
Its attacks were powerful enough that even his carefully raised Pokémon could be heavily injured from a direct hit.
But its movement speed was quite slow and cumbersome due to its huge size.
Its defense was strong, but not to the point of being immune to all attacks.
In fact, Metagross's focused output had already accumulated considerable damage.
The only problem was that Groudon's stamina seemed limitless. No matter how much damage it took, unless it reached the level of losing mobility, it was basically wasted effort.
Even more cruelly, at least for now, his team could not instantly deal enough damage to incapacitate Groudon.
If they dragged it out, they would end up like Lance and Nemona earlier—only lasting longer because they had more forces.
Meanwhile, the natural disasters caused by the two super-ancient Pokémon would not stop, and Hoenn's suffering would only worsen.
"If only Metagross could be like Drake's Salamence…"
Even though Steven's desire to grow stronger surged to its peak, he forced himself to calm down and look for other opportunities.
Soon, he noticed a "blind spot" he had overlooked.
Although Maxie seemed to have become Groudon's complete puppet, during the encirclement, Groudon would deliberately protect Maxie if he risked being caught in attacks.
Steven remembered what Wallace had said on the way.
This was not the natural energy eruption period. Groudon and Kyogre should have been quietly sleeping until then.
Team Magma and Team Aqua had found them and awakened them.
—Did this mean that if they dealt with Maxie, removed the orb fused with him, Groudon and Kyogre—who had no real reason to fight—would likely stop and return to their habitats to sleep?
"…Regardless, this idea is worth trying."
Steven silently set his goal.
Coincidentally, on the other side, his friend Wallace—who was also beginning to feel strained—had the same thought.
They began coordinating to focus attacks on Archie and Maxie instead of the Legendaries.
Killing them was unnecessary. If possible, they still wanted to bring them back for League judgment.
By now, half an hour had passed since Steven and Wallace began fighting the two super-ancient Pokémon.
The disasters were gradually approaching Hoenn's inland.
Other reinforcements from across Hoenn would take time to arrive. To prevent the situation from worsening, they had to go all out.
There was only one thing they had miscalculated.
—The possessiveness Groudon and Kyogre felt toward the orbs inside Maxie and Archie.
If earlier the two Legendaries had treated the fight as a warm-up for bodies inactive for centuries,
The moment the Champions targeted the orbs, they became completely serious, showing the same attitude they held toward the other Hoenn Legendaries.
Lightning tore across the sky above the sea.
Kyogre leaped into the air, revealing its white lower jaw. Its toothy fish mouth opened. Behind its wide fins were countless dazzling blue-white orbs.
Under the continuous bombardment of Origin Pulse, even the most coordinated Water army was torn open by Kyogre's brute force.
Pokémon kept getting injured. Wallace himself was hit by sharp ice fragments when Milotic's defensive frozen waves were shattered by Kyogre. Blood soaked his shoulder and chest clothing.
Steven's side fared slightly better, but his defensive line collapsed almost instantly.
Precipice Blades bursting from the ground with the Earth God's fury completely scattered his formation.
Even Metagross, skilled at using Psychic to calculate dodges, was hit. Its condition plummeted rapidly.
The gradually brightening battlefield was once again shrouded in gloom.
Wallace and Steven gritted their teeth and persisted, but they could not withstand their Pokémon falling one by one. They had no choice but to recall them for their safety.
In less than five minutes, aside from their mount Pokémon, only their aces—Metagross and Milotic—remained before Groudon and Kyogre!
…
On Wailord's back in the distance.
Lance struggled to his feet. Ignoring Shizuka's attempts to stop him, he insisted on taking Dragonite and Red Gyarados back into the fight.
If the frontline really collapsed and nothing stopped Groudon and Kyogre, their unconscious expansion of rain and sun would become conscious. The speed and scale of the disasters would become vastly different!
"…We must go help share their burden!"
Lance said through gritted teeth.
"Please take me too, Mr. Lance!"
Nemona and Pawmot—who was receiving treatment from Chansey—also stood up.
At this moment, they were all prepared to fight to the death alongside Steven and Wallace.
Just then, above the pouring rain on the sea—
"Wuuu——"
A melodic, melodious whale song—different from Kyogre's ancient, abyssal call—echoed between heaven and earth.
A gentle seasonal wind suddenly blew from behind.
In the surprised expressions of Paul and Shizuka as they turned, the black-haired youth's figure appeared on the back of the rapidly approaching pure white Sea God!
…