Sky Pillar.
Zinnia, kneeling in prayer, suddenly saw her Key Stone emit a dazzling green light.
Joy instantly filled her face.
Rayquaza had noticed the disaster's expansion and was about to descend to stop Groudon and Kyogre's conflict!
"…"
At this moment, Zinnia's excitement was beyond words.
She gazed hopefully at the starry sky unaffected by rain and sun, waiting for that divine emerald dragon shadow to descend upon the Sky Pillar.
Meanwhile, in the endless starry sky filled with countless shining stars.
Hoenn's Rayquaza was enjoying Star Tip Delicacies.
But it suddenly sensed continuous calls coming from the planet below.
Normally, Rayquaza would have ignored it and kept sleeping.
But this time—perhaps on a whim, or remembering the not-so-pleasant experience not long ago—it lowered its gaze.
One look and it immediately noticed the chaotic natural energy in Hoenn and the familiar auras of those two idiots.
Rayquaza instantly understood.
Though it didn't know why the two idiots were fighting outside the natural energy eruption period, it didn't matter. It could beat them up to vent its frustration.
Rayquaza simply responded to the summons.
Just as it was about to head toward the Sky Pillar, it caught a familiar scent—one it would never forget in this lifetime.
It was that human's scent.
In the starry sky, Hoenn's Rayquaza narrowed its eyes.
That guy got involved too?
It had no interest in performing a savior act in front of him right now.
As for its reputation in Hoenn?
Please, was it the kind of dragon that cared about reputation?
Besides, with that human there, those two idiots couldn't cause any real trouble. It wasn't the eruption period anyway—they would obediently go back to sleep after being beaten awake.
Thinking this, Rayquaza casually flicked its tail, cut off its response to the Sky Pillar's summons, and continued searching for meteors.
Don't call me. I'm too lazy to come!
…
At the Sky Pillar at this time.
Zinnia, who had been expecting recognition from the Dragon God, stared in disbelief as the Key Stone dimmed again. She froze in place.
"Eh?"
After a murmur filled with endless bewilderment.
The moment she realized the Rayquaza summon had failed, Zinnia's face turned deathly pale.
She didn't understand.
She had done everything to the limit—why wouldn't the Dragon God respond?
It didn't even seem to care about Groudon and Kyogre's conflict.
Had she displeased it somehow?
Where exactly had she gone wrong? Was the battle intensity between Groudon and Kyogre not strong enough?
Then what about LaRousse City?
Or was a single Key Stone in her hand simply not enough to call it down?
At this moment, Zinnia fell into confusion.
She collapsed to her knees as if all strength had left her, sinking into painful self-doubt.
How long it would take her to recover from this state was unknown for now.
…
Meanwhile.
Hoenn region, near Monsu Island waters.
Accompanied by a melodious, ethereal whale song, the ones rushing to the chaotic battlefield were—
The Legendary Pokémon Lugia, known as the Sea God and Season Wind God.
And—
"Teacher Lucas!"
Nemona looked at the black-haired man on Lugia's back, her face full of excitement.
The heavy stones in Paul's and Shizuka's hearts finally settled.
Since Teacher Lucas had arrived, the current crisis was no longer a crisis.
"That's… Lugia!?"
Lance, supported by Dragonite, immediately recognized the giant white bird carrying Lucas.
As a native of Johto, no one didn't know Lugia's name—the deity that once stood with Ho-Oh atop the two towers in Ecruteak City, receiving human offerings!
Could it be that the Orange Archipelago incident had allowed Lucas to form a connection with Lugia, enabling him to call for its help?
Regardless, the seemingly hopeless situation was about to see daylight.
Lucas, who could already down Rayquaza, combined with the power of the Sea God Lugia… Lance didn't even dare imagine what would happen!
It was settled. This time it was truly settled!
But facts proved Lance was still happy too early.
—At the far end of the sea horizon, two massive figures ignored the spinning whirlpools and the winds strong enough to blow away most things. They advanced steadily toward this direction.
A giant Dragonite and a giant Tentacruel!
When their hundred-meter-tall figures passed by Wailord, Nemona's excitement reached new heights.
Especially the giant Dragonite shrouded in thick mist—it was the same giant she had seen on Paldea's coast.
Simply reliable to the naked eye!
Lucas did not stop to chat with Nemona and the others. His gaze was fixed on the distance.
With Monsu Island as the boundary, one side had rivers pouring from the sky while the other had a blazing sun. Although he had felt it on the way, seeing the two approaching figures made it match exactly the scene he had imagined when first playing Hoenn games.
After observing the environment, Lucas's attention shifted to the focus of this operation.
Groudon and Kyogre!
"Damn fat-headed fish and the one that can't fly…"
Lucas gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly.
The two super-ancient Legendaries were the cause of Hoenn's abnormal climate and the culprits that had forced him to rush back from the Kanto seas.
They couldn't hear him anyway—what was wrong with cursing once? He had even lost his vacation!
Lugia: "…"
Never mind, I'll pretend I didn't hear that →_→.
But why did it feel the nickname was strangely fitting?
It had to hold back—it absolutely could not laugh. It needed to maintain the dignity of the Sea God and not lose composure under so many eyes.
Inside Lucas's chest bag, Terapagos was curious about what Lucas was saying, but sensing some frightening yet familiar auras, it wisely stayed retracted.
At this moment, among Groudon and Kyogre—who had coincidentally stopped fighting—Kyogre, with half its head above water, made a move.
"ROAR—!"
Kyogre's angry eyes glared at Lugia's figure. It ignored not only Wallace but even Groudon and its own Blue Orb, roaring threateningly at Lugia.
The giant Dragonite and giant Tentacruel that had come to assist were completely ignored by Kyogre.
"You two don't get along?" Lucas asked Lugia in surprise.
Looking at Kyogre's posture, it was already charging a move—on the verge of primal reverting and throwing punches at Lugia.
"…It's probably because I entered its territory."
Lugia sounded somewhat helpless.
Besides "Creator of the Seas," Kyogre also held a Sea God title similar to Lugia's.
There were complicated ancient reasons behind it. In short, other seas were fine, but if Lugia entered Hoenn waters, Kyogre would inevitably pick a fight.
This was also why it had only lingered nearby without entering Hoenn seas before.
Helpless as it was, Lugia was not afraid.
—Even if Kyogre primal reverted, Lugia could still escape while being chased. This guy clearly hadn't eaten enough yet!
"Anyway, follow what we discussed earlier. As long as we don't let them touch the orbs matching their colors, once they realize the cost outweighs the benefit, they'll run home and sleep on their own!"
Lugia let out a low cry. Its wide white wings flapped, taking complete Psychic control of the raging winds above the sea.
It also activated a solid barrier—and charged straight into the battlefield against the headwind, tanking Kyogre's hastily released Hydro Pump in its rage!
Kyogre no longer cared about Wallace. It dove straight into the sea and chased after Lugia!
It was as if Lugia had used some "Look at me!" move.
…
"Cough, cough…"
The somewhat disheveled Wallace coughed out seawater mixed with blood. Lying on Mantine's back with Milotic, he stared at Lucas's figure on Lugia.
After the initial surprise, he could now only hope Lucas could end the conflict between Groudon and Kyogre like he had in LaRousse.
"…I'll leave it to you."
Muttering this, Wallace's head tilted from blood loss and exhaustion. He fainted on Mantine's back amid Milotic's worried cry.
…
Meanwhile, on Monsu Island.
After Groudon's attention was drawn away by Lugia and Lucas, Steven could finally breathe.
He had noticed Wallace fainting, but Mantine and Milotic were there—they would take care of him.
Even when he had taken advantage of Groudon being distracted to attack, he and Metagross and Claydol still couldn't get close enough to strike Maxie and remove the orb.
He still had some fighting strength left. He didn't know how much Lucas understood about Groudon and Kyogre, so he had to relay the information!
Countless blue-white beams swept across the sky, frantically chasing the white figure.
Lance, who had not rashly entered the battlefield, had to admit that if Kyogre had treated him and Dragonite with the same attitude it showed Lugia, they probably wouldn't have lasted even twenty minutes.
That was Kyogre's signature Water move Origin Pulse. Even if it was weaker than Hydro Pump in games, its real effect was completely crushing.
Lugia's flight technique was pure art. In Lucas's memory of the movie, it had used flight skills and positioning to obtain all the treasures while being besieged by the three legendary birds along with Ash.
If not for that collector's sneak attack, Lugia's Explosive Birth would have ended much earlier.
Now, Lugia once again displayed similar flight skills—wing flaps, ascents, dives, spins to dodge…
When beams were truly unavoidable, Lugia's always-active omnidirectional Psychic barrier came into play.
Unless hit consecutively, a single Origin Pulse beam could not penetrate Lugia's defense.
Not to mention Lugia was a bulky special wall to begin with.
While Lugia and Kyogre played their game of cat and mouse, streaks of sunlight forcefully broke through the gloomy black clouds overhead!
"ROAR—!"
At the other edge of Monsu Island, Groudon declared its presence with a roar.
Groudon itself had no conflict with Lugia.
Though the fancy flying Lugia annoyed it, as long as it could make Kyogre suffer and get angry, Groudon would happily join in without hesitation.
With Maxie's frenzied laughter of "Expand the land!" as background music, Groudon stomped its right foot heavily.
The newborn bare land formed from lava and seawater cracked open. Red-hot blades like swords piercing the clouds tore upward as seawater was pushed from the seabed.
Precipice Blades slammed ruthlessly into Kyogre's white belly!
In the violent explosion, Kyogre's painful cry made Lucas's back go cold.
Holy crap! Groudon looked like an honest, simple Pokémon, but it actually backstabbed!
Perfect chance to—
Just as the thought of having Lugia kick Kyogre while it was down flashed in Lucas's mind, Lugia showed no intention of stopping its high-speed flight. Instead, it began climbing altitude.
The next second.
Even more Precipice Blades than the ones that hit Kyogre pierced the exact spot Lugia had been a second earlier, glistening with moisture.
Lucas immediately understood what was happening.
Unlike Rayquaza's straightforward, prideful personality that disdained sneak attacks,
Groudon, whose brain mostly ran on instinct, usually didn't understand the concept of teamwork.
Its attacks were indiscriminate against everything in range. It had backstabbed Kyogre while trying to instantly solve Lucas and Lugia to become the final winner.
Man, this Groudon is so dirty!
Having evaded Groudon's indiscriminate attack through experience, Lugia flew at a height Precipice Blades could not reach, expression unchanged.
Living long really had its advantages.
Lugia had never even considered the concept of teaming up with Groudon.
A long, long time ago, it had often watched these two idiots fight in the Kanto seas. It knew their patterns very well.
The green Rayquaza back then had often been sneak-attacked by them out of nowhere.
On Monsu Island.
Even though it failed to hit two birds with one stone, Groudon's expression did not change at all.
To it, missed moves were common. In battles that could last months or even years, moves couldn't achieve their purpose every single time.
Otherwise, forget Kyogre—even that flying green caterpillar would have long been stepped on by Groudon.
"ROAR—!"
Groudon's low roar echoed across sea and sky. Its golden beast eyes reflected two figures—
Kyogre, which had clearly been hit by Precipice Blades, floated up leisurely as if nothing had happened. Its deep-blue scales reflected the light falling near Monsu Island.
Lugia hovered high in the sky, its pure white wings spread.
Scorching sunlight poured down, dancing across Groudon's rugged back before being devoured by the surging energy inside it. It gathered into a blinding emerald light in its ferocious maw, forming a miniature sun.
The air distorted from the heat. Even the rain curtain evaporated into white mist.
Solar Beam!
At the same time, Kyogre slowly opened its toothy maw. White cold air condensed in its throat, ice crystals scattering like stardust. The sea surface froze at a visible speed, emitting a tooth-aching "crack" sound.
Ice Beam!
"They're coming—!" Lugia's telepathy exploded like an alarm in Lucas's mind.
It flapped its wings fiercely. Air currents formed vortices between its feathers. A deep-blue water mass in its mouth was compressed to near-solid by Psychic power.
The next instant, a thick water column tore through the rain curtain like an angry dragon and shot downward with unstoppable force!
Hydro Pump!
Groudon's emerald light pillar was like a sword of heavenly punishment. The air boomed wherever it passed. The sun-like heat of the Solar Beam instantly vaporized rain.
Kyogre's ice-blue lightning was like a polar storm. Freezing icicles spread madly across the sea. The spreading frost fog was bone-chilling.
Lugia's Hydro Pump collided head-on with both at that instant. The erupting energy instantly created a vacuum zone!
BOOM—!!!
In the deafening roar, three-colored energies intertwined into a vortex of destruction. Hundred-meter waves surged from the sea. Rain and dark clouds were torn to shreds. Even sunlight dimmed.
Lucas remained safe under Lugia's protection, but he still clicked his tongue at the power of Legendaries.
Moves completely unrelated to their own attributes could still easily create such massive disturbances in the mouths of Lugia, Kyogre, and Groudon.
…