Chapter 75: Peaceful Times: Land, Sea, and Sky Clans
"Thunderbolt!" Ryan shouted through a makeshift megaphone.
Groudon roared in response, sending a powerful electric current surging toward the massive creature in the ocean. This beast was none other than Kyogre, the legendary Sea Basin Pokémon. Kyogre calmly whipped up towering waves and unleashed its own Thunderbolt attack, the two electrical assaults colliding in a spectacular display of sparks.
The Groudon clan on land and the Kyogre pod in the sea cheered for their respective champions, while several young Rayquaza in the sky watched the clash between the two clans with curious interest.
It had been almost two weeks since Ryan arrived in this ancient era, and he had gradually adapted to life here. The elder Celebi that had been captured had departed to seek help from their tribe, leaving Ryan alone with his partner Celebi.
Watching the friendly battle between Groudon and Kyogre, Ryan understood this was merely a sparring match between the two clans. Actually, looking up at the young Rayquaza observing from above, it was more accurate to say there were three clans: the Land, Sea, and Sky tribes.
In this primordial time, Ryan had encountered primitive humans, but the language barrier made communication impossible, so he had chosen to remain in Groudon's territory. Later, he discovered entire communities of Groudon and Kyogre, with the Rayquaza clan occasionally making aerial observations.
There was no record of the great Groudon-Kyogre war here, and it wasn't just individual legendary Pokémon as described in modern myths. Instead, these were thriving clans—entire groups of ancient Groudon and Kyogre living together.
As for why only one of each species remained in his era, and why they no longer appeared in their original forms, Ryan had no idea.
During his time here, Ryan had also encountered other Pokémon, all of them incredibly large with strange markings on their bodies, similar to the giant Gengar and Alakazam that Ash and his friends had discovered fossilized in the Kanto region.
Ryan had initially considered catching a few—it would have been amazing to bring them back to his time. However, his Ultra Balls and Heavy Balls simply shattered on impact, making capture impossible. Eventually, he abandoned the idea.
Out of boredom, Ryan began using his TM collection to teach the Groudon new moves. In return, Groudon provided Ryan with rare medicinal herbs, leading to a comfortable and peaceful existence. His only regret was not bringing Greninja along—after all, direct training from Kyogre would undoubtedly be incredibly beneficial for a Water-type Pokémon.
After the friendly match between a young Groudon and Kyogre concluded, Ryan leaped from the rocky outcrop onto his Groudon companion and said, "Let's head back."
The alpha Groudon nodded and led the clan toward the volcanic region. Upon arrival, Ryan jumped down from Groudon, marveling at his incredible strength—he could now leap over fifteen feet with ease, no longer needing to worry about landing impact.
He looked up at the Groudon before him. Groudon was essentially a massive dinosaur-like Pokémon covered in red, segmented, armor-like skin. Its underside was gray, with large spikes protruding from its head, torso, and tail. Each of Groudon's arms had four claws, and four bulldozer-like blades jutted from its tail. Each foot had three claws, with gray markings on the soles. Blue spikes also grew from the seams of Groudon's armor plating, becoming visible when it gathered energy.
The ancient Groudon bore an "Ω" symbol on the circular segments of their arms—a pattern that would later appear on the Red Orb in Ryan's time.
Ryan found his makeshift shelter and lay down on the soft grass. Currently, the three clans coexisted peacefully, but with territorial instincts this strong, who knew when a conflict might erupt.
As night fell, the intermittent glow from the volcano illuminated Ryan's small camp. He gazed at the three Pokémon eggs in his collection—they were enormous, more than three times larger than normal Pokémon eggs. These were gifts from the three clans: Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza.
Ryan had convinced the three clans to entrust him with these eggs by explaining that in the future timeline, only one member of each species remained—the others had either perished or vanished completely.
So Ryan decided to attempt bringing the three Pokémon eggs back to his original timeline. The three clans were somewhat skeptical, so while they agreed to give Ryan their precious eggs, they sealed them with their primordial energy, requiring corresponding legendary power to unlock them.
Simply put, Ryan would need to find the Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza from his own era and request their help in unsealing the eggs. If Ryan's claims were true, then bringing additional clan members to the future would benefit everyone. But if Ryan had lied, he would face the combined wrath of all three legendary clans when the Celebi eventually brought him and the eggs back.
Ryan accepted these terms without hesitation. After all, he had only omitted details about the future conflict between Groudon and Kyogre—everything else he'd told them was completely true.
Ryan had also consulted with the local Celebi during this period, but they explained they couldn't pinpoint his exact temporal coordinates and would need a Celebi from his original timeline to retrieve him safely. If they attempted the rescue alone, they might accidentally strand Ryan in yet another random era.
The next morning, after absorbing the herbal enhancement provided by his Groudon friends, Ryan checked his stats—both Constitution and Strength had reached 100. Satisfied, he decided to test his new abilities against Pheromosa in a friendly sparring match.
Pheromosa was completely overwhelmed. Rubbing his aching muscles afterward, Ryan grinned and said, "Not bad! I've finally reached Ash's level—able to withstand a full-power Thunderbolt attack!"
Looking at his 100+ stats, Ryan nearly wept with joy. He had barely reached Ash Ketchum's physical level with Constitution and Strength at 100. That guy was absolutely incredible! And Professor Oak, who constantly handled powerful Pokémon in his research, must have abnormally high stats to still be active at his age.
During Ryan's intensive training, another two weeks passed. Finally, a swirling time portal opened before him.
Watching nearly sixty or seventy Celebi emerge from the temporal gateway, Ryan couldn't help but marvel at the might of the Celebi tribe. After all, no other legendary Pokémon clan could field such impressive numbers.
His young Celebi finally reunited with its parents. Although Ryan was curious about how Celebi reproduced given their ambiguous gender, and how they could distinguish parents from offspring, he decided not to inquire for the sake of his continued well-being.
Carefully placing the three sealed Pokémon eggs in his backpack, Ryan bid farewell to the three legendary clans that had gathered to see him off, then stepped back into the time tunnel.
Every few steps through the temporal corridor, a different Celebi would guide Ryan and his companion. Following their lead, Ryan and his Celebi finally returned to their original timeline.
The rescue Celebi looked at Ryan one final time, then returned to the time tunnel and disappeared. Ryan glanced at his partner Celebi on his shoulder and asked, "So, we made it back?"
Celebi gave Ryan an exasperated look, patted his cheek, and chirped a few times. The message was clear: Hurry up and find civilization to determine how much time has passed since we left.
Ryan chuckled and quickly made his way out of Ilex Forest. With Pryce's forces and equipment gone, it must have been quite some time since their departure.
(End of Chapter)
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