"Is the President's Pokémon injured?" Cain asked.
Upon hearing the question, Juan seemed relieved. "Yes. When it was young, it was badly hurt while trying to protect me. Those wounds have affected it all these years. Fortunately, your teacher Takashi helped it; if not for him, it probably wouldn't even be able to fight today."
Although Juan spoke lightly, Cain could see from Drake's complicated expression that the matter wasn't that simple.
But since it involved matters of past generations, Cain didn't press further.
"If possible... President, may I examine it closely once this is all over? There might still be a chance to save it," Cain said.
Upon hearing that, Juan's and Drake's eyes lit up.
Cain was no longer a child—he was one of Hoenn's Elite Four and, moreover, the youngest certified advanced breeder in the League's history. Perhaps there truly was hope.
The last time Drake was poisoned and Matsuda Takashi couldn't do anything, wasn't it Cain who managed to save him?
"Good! Hahaha! I almost forgot: in Hoenn, we have one of the greatest geniuses in Pokémon breeding history." Juan laughed heartily—one could tell that, in his youth, he had been a confident and strong-willed Trainer.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have held the title of Hoenn Champion for so long.
To be President of the League required administrative skill; to be Champion, the first requirement was strength.
Juan turned again to look at Drake's Salamence. "Your old partner... it looks like he's not far from his breakthrough."
A smile appeared on Drake's face. "He should be close. After fighting Kyogre for so long, he's found his path. When all this ends, I think I'll take some time off. Cain, get ready—you'll have a lot of work coming your way."
With that, he patted Cain's shoulder in satisfaction.
Cain's expression turned resigned—why did he feel like they were treating him like the rookie?
Did Drake already know his partner was about to advance, and that's why he accepted the tasks Juan handed out, so everything would end up falling on him?
Would he have to run the entire Research Department? Wasn't that the Champion's job?
If there was no Champion, they could just let veterans like Sidney or Glacia handle those duties. Why did he, the newcomer, have to shoulder so much?
Rookie abuse, perhaps?
...
Soon, their conversation was interrupted by the roars of Groudon and Kyogre.
Cain, Drake, and Juan dismounted from their Pokémon and boarded the League's military aircraft; from the side door, they could see the full view below them.
If the Pokémon were about to fight, staying on their backs would only be a hindrance.
Sss—
The sound of melting ice rose beneath Groudon's feet. The black lines across its body began to glow, and its red form seemed to turn into boiling lava.
The ice melted rapidly, but Groudon did not sink into the sea: under its control, a patch of land slowly rose from the ocean floor, giving it firm ground to stand upon.
The title of "God of the Land" suited it perfectly.
However, creating land in the middle of the ocean depended on Kyogre's will.
Kyogre glanced sidelong at Groudon and dove again, gathering energy.
In less than a second, Kyogre beat its massive fins powerfully, dragging a tremendous mass of water, raising a colossal wave, and leaping into the air.
The surge of water it controlled roared toward Groudon with immense force.
Expressionless, Groudon suddenly moved its eyes and roared. It stomped hard on the freshly formed ground.
The earth shook; a massive wall rose before it.
Kyogre's wave crashed into Groudon's barrier with a thunderous boom. The splashes and shockwave made several small helicopters hovering nearby wobble in the air.
A strike of catastrophic proportions!
And that was only their first clash.
On Slateport City's beach, the people who had come to witness the battle couldn't even see it—the waves caused by the collision forced them to retreat again and again until they had to abandon the shore entirely.
"The battle has begun," Drake said from the plane, narrowing his eyes.
Juan nodded. "Yes. But this still isn't their full power. As terrifying as they are, they've yet to reach the level one would expect from ancient legends."
Cain remained silent.
While Drake and Juan focused on Kyogre and Groudon, Cain's gaze turned toward Archie and Maxie.
Those two men, who had devoted their lives to summoning those Pokémon, were now a pitiful sight.
But what worried Cain most were the orbs in their hands: the Blue Orb and the Red Orb, shining ever brighter.
They were the key to unleashing Kyogre's and Groudon's full power.
Unfortunately, there was no way to take them away now.
After another exchange, Kyogre and Groudon realized they couldn't inflict decisive damage on each other.
Their eyes gleamed almost simultaneously: from black irises with yellow pupils, they shifted to golden irises with golden pupils; aside from the color change, their transformations were nearly identical.
Cain frowned.
Here it comes!
Archie—his eyes now completely blue—and Maxie—with crimson eyes—were seen holding up their orbs and hurling them at Kyogre and Groudon at the same time.
The difference was that Archie, when throwing the Blue Orb, also tossed a blue energy crystal; Maxie, however, only threw the Red Orb.
His red crystal had already been taken by Cain earlier.
Seeing this, for the first time Groudon's expression changed: Kyogre would receive not only the Blue Orb but also a stored energy crystal, meaning its available power would be far greater in the short term.
Given time, both could recover and reach equilibrium—but that advantage was crucial now.
Furious and humiliated, Groudon swallowed the Red Orb whole; with a sweep of its tail, it flung Maxie into the lava it had created.
Thus perished the leader of a great regional faction: although he had already been little more than a puppet, if he had been separated from the Red Orb for a while, he might have recovered; but exposed like that, he perished.
Kyogre, after consuming the Blue Orb and the energy crystal, hurled Archie into the sea.
If he was lucky, he might still have a chance to survive.
(End of Chapter)