Chapter 278: The Disliked Groudon and Kyogre
Mega Rayquaza, its body surrounded by the raging currents of Delta Stream, let out a sinister grin.
Didn't they just have so much fun teaming up?
And now they wanted to back out?
Too late!
More importantly, after Mega Evolution, Rayquaza had formed an even deeper connection with Asahi, clearly sensing his foul mood.
He had originally planned to just sit back, enjoy the show, and clean up afterward. But instead, he had become the prime target of their attacks.
Rayquaza carried out Asahi's will. Its sharp gaze locked onto Groudon and Kyogre, sending a chill down their spines.
Realizing there was no avoiding this battle, the two ancient Pokémon made a decisive choice.
Even if their instincts told them they couldn't win, fleeing without even trying would be far too humiliating. They had to at least put up a fight.
Kyogre opened its mouth and fired a freezing Ice Beam.
Since Groudon's Ground-type moves were ineffective against Rayquaza, it once again launched a Fire Blast to provide support.
High above, Mega Rayquaza observed their attacks, feeling only a slight threat from Kyogre's Ice Beam.
But only slight.
Asahi gripped the two horns on Rayquaza's head as it twisted its body. A brilliant green light flared around it as it shot upward, easily evading both attacks.
Groudon and Kyogre prepared to launch another assault—
But then, Mega Rayquaza suddenly roared.
A green energy enveloped its entire body.
With a sharp twist, it dove straight down from the sky, carrying Asahi with it!
Dragon Ascent!
Like a bolt of emerald lightning, it plummeted in an instant. From hundreds—no, thousands—of meters above, Rayquaza closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
Groudon and Kyogre barely managed to sidestep the impact zone.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave erupted, sending Groudon and Kyogre tumbling.
The sheer force of the impact blasted a ring-shaped tsunami outward, spreading across the ocean.
The Gym Leaders who had been watching could no longer sit still. They hurriedly released their Pokémon to try and mitigate the force of the attack, protecting Sootopolis City.
Even so, the residual shockwaves were terrifying.
Despite their combined efforts, the Elite Four and Gym Leaders could only block part of it.
The rest had to be stopped by Mewtwo.
At that moment, they all gazed at the figure in the city center—Mega Rayquaza.
And the overwhelming gap between themselves and the legendary Pokémon.
—
Meanwhile, atop Rayquaza's head, Asahi wasn't feeling great either.
Dragon Ascent's impact is way too strong…
Even with Mew protecting him in advance, the sheer force of crashing into the sea had sent shockwaves through his body, making his head spin.
And against multiple targets, Rayquaza struggled to maintain pinpoint accuracy in high-speed dives.
Shaking off the dizziness, Asahi looked down at Groudon and Kyogre. Though they had been hit by the residual force, they were still battle-ready.
He immediately abandoned the risky "both sides suffer" strategy.
New plan—use Draco Meteor!
Understanding Asahi's command, Mega Rayquaza swiftly acted.
It clawed down on Groudon's head to stop a sneak attack, then slammed Kyogre in the face with its tail, sending it tumbling away.
Lifting its head, it unleashed a golden energy beam straight into the sky!
The beam shot thousands of meters upward before bursting into countless radiant stars.
Those stars, shifting from energy into solid matter, then came hurtling down under the pull of gravity—
Draco Meteor!
A celestial barrage rained down, engulfing nearly every escape route Groudon and Kyogre could have taken.
Their instinct was to dig underground or dive into the sea—
But Rayquaza had them firmly pinned down!
BOOM!
The meteors struck true.
Groudon was blasted deep into the earth.
Kyogre was smashed into the ocean depths.
Any meteors that had been heading toward Rayquaza were instantly destroyed by its Dragon Pulse, while the few that slipped through were intercepted by Mew.
Rayquaza remained nearly unscathed.
—
Beyond Dragon Ascent, Draco Meteor's power after Mega Evolution had also exceeded Asahi's expectations.
Visibly, the attack was at least twice as strong as what Rayquaza had unleashed atop Sky Pillar.
Maybe the extra 100 base stats from Mega Evolution were scaling exponentially?
Asahi looked down at the rolling ocean and the crater-filled battlefield.
If Rayquaza had used this level of power back then, he would have fled as far as possible.
—
Meanwhile, Zinnia had completely lost herself in the sight of Lord Rayquaza's overwhelming might.
Its power validated everything she had ever believed in.
Rayquaza alone could save Hoenn from disaster!
She was just about to consider pleading with Asahi to let her touch Rayquaza after the battle when—
The sea began to churn.
Crack…
Battered and bruised, Groudon and Kyogre rose once more.
Seeing them still standing, the gathered trainers were shocked.
Even after sustaining such heavy injuries, they still wanted to fight?
Their determination was inspiring!
But then—
Groudon and Kyogre lowered their heads.
Then, they turned sideways, respectfully bowing to Rayquaza, their mighty overlord.
"…"
Watching this, the trainers felt their illusions shatter.
So, legendary Pokémon were this pragmatic?
—
Groudon and Kyogre had admitted defeat.
Rayquaza had vented its earlier frustration over being rejected.
Hoenn was saved.
A seemingly perfect ending.
But standing atop Rayquaza's head, Asahi felt like something was missing.
Something… just wasn't quite right.
Rubbing his chin, he pulled out the Red and Blue Orbs.
Sabrina looked at him, puzzled.
Why bring those out now?
The battle was already won.
Rayquaza alone could settle this—what was the point of the Orbs now?
A sudden thought struck her.
Wait…
No way…
The next second, Asahi raised the two Orbs high above his head.
Looking down at Groudon and Kyogre, he declared:
"Groudon! Kyogre! Let's settle this once and for all!"
Today, Asahi would bring an end to the conflict that had lasted tens of thousands of years.
"…"
Of course…
Of course, it's you, Asahi.
—
In the end, Steven managed to stop him.
Though the citizens of Sootopolis had been evacuated, and the city was already in ruins, some buildings were still intact.
If Groudon and Kyogre fought again, they might have to rebuild the entire city.
Better to just let it go.
"Sigh… what a shame."
Asahi looked disappointed. "If you hadn't stopped me, I could have permanently settled the Groudon and Kyogre problem."
Steven: "…"
So now it was his fault?
Fine. Considering Asahi had just saved Hoenn, he'd let it slide…
"Then what do you plan to do with Groudon and Kyogre?" Steven asked, glancing at the two legendary Pokémon now behaving like schoolchildren in front of Rayquaza.
"Send them back," Asahi replied, giving an unexpected answer.
Steven blinked. "You're not going to capture them?"
He had already prepared himself to handle the fallout from the League if Asahi took control of Groudon and Kyogre.
And yet… Asahi wasn't planning to capture them?
"Too expensive to keep," Asahi said bluntly.
Rayquaza could sustain itself by eating meteorites and could be left to roam the atmosphere.
But Groudon and Kyogre?
They seemed very high-maintenance.
Not to mention, they needed suitable habitats to recover.
Deep sea? Volcanoes?
Hoenn was their best bet.
Steven had considered every possibility… except Asahi dismissing them purely for financial reasons.
It was… too realistic.
Groudon & Kyogre: "…"
Good news: They wouldn't be captured.
Bad news: They'd just been rejected.
Their eyes glistened with betrayal.
Of course, Asahi had another reason.
"I don't need to capture them," he said, shaking the Orbs. "With these, if I call, they have to come."
Groudon and Kyogre exchanged defeated looks.
What else could they do?
They weren't strong enough to resist.
"…"
Steven glanced at the two legendary Pokémon, obediently standing under Mega Rayquaza's gaze.
…Honestly, this wasn't much different from capturing them.
At this moment, after flaunting its dominance in front of Groudon and Kyogre, Mega Rayquaza had finally vented all its frustration. With Asahi's signal, it let out one final roar at the two ancient Pokémon.
Groudon and Kyogre, carrying complicated emotions and dragging their battered bodies, turned and departed—one diving into the sea, the other burrowing into the earth to recover.
Soon, their presence completely vanished from Asahi's perception.
The Gym Leaders and Elite Four who had witnessed the entire scene were left utterly stunned.
Now that the Groudon and Kyogre crisis had been resolved, Zinnia seized the opportunity to approach Asahi, nudging him.
"Uh… so…"
"No."
Before Zinnia could even finish, Asahi cut her off.
Asahi didn't even need to guess—he already knew what she was thinking.
Seeing her gritting her teeth in frustration, he simply whistled and recalled Rayquaza, now reverted to its normal form, back into its Poké Ball.
Then, he signaled to Blue, Sabrina, and Gary—who had just put his phone away—before heading off to Hoenn's Pokémon Association to claim credit for their victory!
—
Hoenn TV News Report
"This is Hoenn TV. According to the latest update from the Pokémon League, the ancient Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre, which had caused extreme weather anomalies, have returned to their slumber."
"…Effective immediately, Hoenn's emergency alert level will be downgraded from Level 9 to Level 3. The Hoenn Pokémon Association, in collaboration with Devon Corporation, will officially commence post-disaster reconstruction efforts."
"…Champion Steven has called on all residents of Hoenn to work together in rebuilding their homeland!"
"For further details on this event, we now turn to an exclusive interview with the Indigo League Champion and International Police officer, Mr. Gary Oak, who was involved in stopping Groudon!"
As the screen switched to Gary, draped in his signature cape and speaking confidently, Giovanni let out a cold laugh, his face full of disdain.
"Not showing up himself and pushing his subordinate forward instead… It seems our Kanto Division Chief has finally learned what it means to keep a low profile."
Athena, standing beside him, remained silent, unsure how to respond.
She couldn't shake the feeling that their boss had been getting more and more influenced by Asahi lately.
This wasn't how Giovanni used to be…
That thought lingered in her mind until the interview ended.
After turning off the TV, she finally spoke up to report on the intelligence they had gathered regarding the Hoenn incident.
"Our drone was destroyed by Rayquaza, so we don't have any firsthand footage."
"However, we managed to obtain some video from the Hoenn League…"
Athena plugged a USB drive into the computer and opened a video file.
On the screen, Mega Rayquaza could be seen unleashing Draco Meteor.
Watching the footage, Giovanni felt a sharp pang in his chest. Their Rocket drone had been obliterated by that very attack.
The video was short, only a few seconds long, and had clearly been edited.
Giovanni strongly suspected that Asahi had deliberately allowed this footage to be leaked to the League—just to show off his power.
But he quickly dismissed the thought.
"What about Groudon and Kyogre?"
He had already learned that Asahi hadn't captured them.
Just as he had expected, Team Magma and Team Aqua had been utterly useless, getting wiped out by Asahi in one move. Groudon and Kyogre, despite being defeated by Rayquaza, still possessed considerable power as legendary Pokémon.
"Our operatives searched the Seafloor Cavern but found no trace of them."
"It seems that after being wounded, Groudon and Kyogre realized the Seafloor Cavern was no longer a safe place and chose different locations to recover."
Giovanni clicked his tongue in mild disappointment.
If he had been able to capture Groudon and Kyogre—along with the soon-to-be-born Deoxys—then he would have been 100% confident in taking down Asahi.
Too bad.
But he had already anticipated this outcome, so he wasn't too disappointed. As long as Deoxys was successfully created, he would still have a real chance against Asahi.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Giovanni refocused on his next objective.
"Did you deliver my message to Sird?"
"Yes. She has been notified and will meet us when we arrive in Kanto."
Taking down a senior executive who had been embedded in Team Rocket for years wouldn't be easy—especially someone as cautious as Sird.
If she sensed even the slightest danger, she would never go down without a fight.
So they needed a convincing excuse.
"Good."
Giovanni clenched a high-grade Poké Ball in his hand.
This time, he would finally eliminate the spy lurking within Team Rocket!
—