This Jade Orb was found in Unova.
In theory, in the games, Unova only has one distributed Rayquaza that knows V-create, as well as another black Rayquaza that came from the "Ran-Shi Region."
But Orbs like these are crystallizations of natural energy. Even without super-ancient Pokémon, they can still naturally form—it's just that the probability is rather low.
So this Jade Orb should not be controlled by the consciousness of any particular Pokémon.
People with weak minds will be controlled by the Orbs. These Orbs are connected to the consciousness of super-ancient Pokémon. If you forcefully try to control them, the super-ancient Pokémon will control you in turn, and can even fuse with your body.
In Pokémon Adventures, Maxie, Archie, Ruby, and Sapphire all fused with Orbs.
In the anime, Pikachu fused with an Orb.
However, the Jade Orb is different from the other two. Put simply, it's too weak.
"Are you… Rayquaza?"
Hikaru was quite surprised.
Being able to speak with Rayquaza should be something only an inheritor—or someone chosen by Rayquaza—can do.
She had nothing to do with Rayquaza at all.
"That voice just now—did you send it through the Jade Orb?"
"But something's strange. This Jade Orb… shouldn't be yours, right?"
The consciousness within the Orb transformed into a distinct "voice," which Hikaru interpreted.
One of the Jade Orb's functions was to understand Rayquaza's thoughts.
[The Orb no longer has an owner. By relying on the residual energy inside it, I can cross a great distance and speak with you.]
[Although you obtained the Orb by accident… the Orb chooses the one who will issue its commands.]
[If you want me to fight again, you must bring not only a large number of Key Stones, but also meteors that emit seven-colored light. And one is not enough.]
Meteors that radiated seven-colored light had, in fact, already begun to show markings approaching those of Mega Stones.
Zinnia believed that seven-colored meteors had properties similar to Mega Stones.
"If it's just meteors, that's easy enough. As long as I use Draco Meteor, which Unova taught me, I can open a spatial rift and pull a whole batch out from space. But seven-colored meteors aren't that easy to find."
If any random meteor could control Mt. Chimney's volcanic activity, then Team Magma wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths to steal it from Dr. Cozmo. Meteor Falls is full of rocks—if it were that simple, they could just pick up a basketful. Why bother robbing anyone?
Only that seven-colored meteor—also known as the Grand Meteorite—held that kind of power.
Hikaru: "A thousand years ago… didn't the people of Hoenn pray to a huge seven-colored stone? Was that the 'Legendary Stone'? Does it still exist?"
Rayquaza: [I've never heard that name. The stone ran out of power. I ate it.]
Hikaru: "…"
So, in this game-adjacent world, the anime's "Legendary Stone" didn't exist as a separate entity. Or rather, it was the seven-colored giant stone that ancient Hoenn's people prayed to a thousand years ago.
"People prayed, and prayed—praying for the miracle of a thousand years ago to return, praying for the descent of the legendary Pokémon that shone with grass-green light."
"At that time, the massive meteor at the center of Sootopolis City released a brilliant radiance, like an enormous Key Stone. Then Rayquaza descended from the sky once again."
"Faced with Rayquaza's return, people offered even more sincere prayers. And so, Rayquaza's form changed."
"That posture, wrapped in dazzling light, was completely different from the Rayquaza people knew in the past. Rayquaza was overflowing with sacred, overwhelming vitality. Rayquaza changed through people's prayers and the seven-colored stone…"
"Which makes sense. If that giant stone still existed, it should have been in Sootopolis City or Sky Pillar. Since it's in neither place, then the answer is that you ate it—or it exhausted its power and disappeared."
The anime's "Legendary Stone" was essentially a plot expansion spun from that missing seven-colored meteor.
A gigantic ancient stone containing vast primal energy was treated as a possible origin point for Mega Evolution.
The stone could emit light energy with a waveform identical to Mega Stones, but with far greater heat. Its fluctuations could Mega Evolve Rayquaza, and also awaken Groudon and Kyogre.
But since this was the game route, that stone was naturally gone.
Still, it was worth mentioning: in the anime, the two altars used to call the stone—square and blocky—felt oddly familiar, like she had seen them somewhere before.
"Let me think… what other 'settings' about you are there?"
"The origin of Mega Evolution. A special organ inside your body. It possesses the same evolutionary power as the Mega Stone corresponding to you—some kind of tissue structure. Because you have this organ, you can Mega Evolve without carrying a Mega Stone…"
"…?!"
Hikaru suddenly realized something.
"Don't tell me you…?"
[Help me relay this.]
Rayquaza transmitted its will through the Orb:
[The Jade Orb must finally be put to use. We will use it for Mega Evolution. To do that, it must be charged!]
[Listen. Go search for ritual sites connected to me. Such structures exist in several regions. There will definitely be remnants of ancient meteors there. Bring them to me.]
[Then, make the Jade Orb release natural energy that can rival the Blue Orb and the Red Orb! Enough to fill the sum total of all energy lost over these thousand years!]
[I must eat vast quantities of meteors—meteors that carry a faint glow, meteors that radiate energy. Use ancient meteors as the reference, not ordinary meteors! Add four or five Key Stones. Then use the Jade Orb to summon me!]
[But right now, do not bring the Jade Orb here. In the Embedded Tower—within the space that belongs to me—everything is ozone. I use ozone to repair my body, and I must also drain the natural energy stored in this tower…]
"Oh, so the Embedded Tower really is a hidden backup energy reserve. In that case, its structure is similar to the Cave of Origin in Sootopolis City."
[...I've never been to the Cave of Origin.]
"Haha. The most energy-rich place that Groudon and Kyogre fought over—doesn't its endpoint lead to Sootopolis City?"
"All right, I know why you can't Mega Evolve. Don't tell me… your Tenno Organ is damaged?"
[...Correct. My battle with Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre dealt catastrophic damage to my body. When I realized the organ of evolution was damaged and failing, I immediately came to the Embedded Tower.]
This really was different from the original plot.
In its normal form, Rayquaza actually has the power to defeat the Primal pair. Three thousand years ago and two thousand years ago, it did exactly that.
It wasn't until the battle a thousand years ago that Rayquaza fought what could be called a truly one-sided "perfect match," grasped the power of Mega Evolution, and shattered Groudon and Kyogre outright.
After that, as Hoenn's abundant natural energy declined, the Primal pair entered an energy-saving mode and could no longer undergo Primal Reversion. At that point, even a normal Rayquaza could handle them with ease.
"According to… Hoenn's earliest setting. The ORAS content about Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion…"
Hikaru started recalling it.
"It involves Hoenn's original incident."
"In the distant past, powerful Pokémon appeared in the Hoenn region."
"These two Pokémon later came to be known as Groudon and Kyogre."
"After absorbing the abundant energy that filled the natural world, they transformed into forms with even greater power."
"They continuously sought stronger energy sources, triggering conflict again and again."
"Groudon's roar split and lifted the land. Water sources dried up. The blazing sun hung overhead, and all around was engulfed in scorching heat."
"Kyogre's roar made waters overflow. Floods drowned the land. Dark clouds covered the skies, and torrential rain poured down."
"The clash of these two Pokémon severely affected the lives of Hoenn's people and Pokémon."
"One Pokémon watched the conflict from the sky. It was the Pokémon that lived in the heavens—Rayquaza."
"Rayquaza was regarded as a god by the people of Hoenn and was revered."
"The battle between Groudon and Kyogre lasted twenty days and nights. The world lost its balance and began to waver."
"With nowhere left to turn, the people climbed Sky Pillar and begged the god Rayquaza for salvation. They focused their prayers upon the divine body—a gigantic rainbow-colored stone (the primal stone from which Key Stones are derived)."
"At that moment, the Rayquaza dancing in the sky underwent an anomaly."
"Rayquaza's body was wrapped in blinding light. Its form began to change."
"The transformed Rayquaza descended before Groudon and Kyogre."
"Golden radiance extended from Rayquaza's body, and violent winds swirled within the dark red sky."
"The winds that illuminated the world altered Groudon and Kyogre's forms, causing them to gradually return to their original shapes."
"Groudon and Kyogre sank into the deep seafloor, and the world returned to order."
"Rayquaza was wrapped in light once more, returned to its original form, and flew toward the heavens."
"In that earliest setting, the one point worth mocking is that Groudon got 'sunk into the sea.'"
"And now that you've lost the Tenno Organ, Rayquaza's mood must be both anxious and terrified."
Facing the super-enormous meteor, it had no chance of victory.
All it could do was wrap its body in ozone within the Embedded Tower, borrowing the ultra-space energy source left behind by ancient people, trying to restore the function of the organ.
The "one month" it demanded likely meant that within this month, the organ had to regain at least enough function to activate one more time.
"Thinking about it… the so-called Tenno Organ—also known as the triangular organ—might not be something Rayquaza originally had. It may have 'evolved.'"
"Rayquaza's energy source is the sun. That massive star releases a special kind of high-energy radiation."
"That high-energy radiation is similar to the radiation of Mega Stones."
"Meteor + a Pokémon's life energy = Mega Stone."
"Meteor + a human's life energy = Key Stone."
"Mega Stones that arrive with meteors are very fragile. The larger the volume, the more likely they are to shatter in the atmosphere before landing."
"The huge pink crystal in Anistar City is an exception."
"Therefore, Rayquaza flies high in the sky, absorbing the radiation scattered near the surface of the Earth."
"The captured radiation recrystallizes inside Rayquaza, forming energy equivalent to a Mega Stone."
And although the origin of Mega Evolution was a gigantic meteor, in truth it still required the power of Xerneas and Yveltal as irradiation—meaning the "ultimate weapon's" bombardment.
In essence, it used powerful life energy to "re-evolve" certain special meteors and evolution stones. This was Professor Sycamore's viewpoint.
In parallel Hoenn timelines—
Natural energy was not so abundant.
The Primal pair didn't even know they could transform, and the same applied to Rayquaza. So Rayquaza in that world likely did not possess this organ.
Rayquaza: [...You've studied this deeply. No wonder the Jade Orb chose you. It has nothing to do with my will.]
[The original owner of this Orb left something good behind.]
[Only someone who knows all the legends, and understands the essence of Mega Evolution, can grasp how severe the current situation is.]
[But fortunately, this planet has gained an additional layer of protection, so that gigantic meteor does not dare approach.]
[If I've lost that organ, then no matter how much energy I accumulate, no matter how much solar power I absorb, I cannot evolve any further.]
[Therefore I need the Jade Orb. But now is not the time to use it! I will use it to replace that organ!]
[However, you must also make other preparations.]
[If I fail, then find another Rayquaza as a substitute. They are younger and weaker, but as long as the Jade Orb's power is sufficient... The nearest one is—]
[Four years ago, a Rayquaza appeared on the northern icefields and fought a cosmic life-form. That one is now at...]
[...Fiore Temple! In the Sekra Range of the Fiore region, once every ten years, a Rayquaza goes to that temple to draw upon the power of ancient meteors. The holy altar there is carved from meteors. When you go to recover ancient meteors this time, if you see it, capture it as well!]
[This is for our world, and for your world. I'm counting on you to relay my will! You are the second person—after Zinnia—who can communicate with me, even though it was only by accident.]
"Fiore region? Ah… there really is that postgame task."
Hikaru thought.
So the Rayquaza from that movie had been rewritten as the one residing in Fiore Temple?
That actually lined up. It explained why, after fighting the "alien," that Rayquaza disappeared. And the Fiore region was indeed very far from Hoenn, which also neatly echoed the "icefields" appearance.
Hoenn's Rayquaza had lived for at least 3,000 years—possibly far longer. Some even claimed it existed hundreds of millions of years ago.
So compared with other Rayquaza, it was far older, and its power was correspondingly on another level. That was only natural. After all, it had been "eating" for many more years.
Come to think of it, both Rayquaza and Kyogre have appeared in the anime as more than one individual—big and small, even shiny variants.
But Groudon seemingly hasn't.
Old Groudon has always been a single individual. Miserable, really. The species is practically "critically understaffed." To find a second old Groudon, you'd have to ride Solgaleo or Lunala, cross time and space, and go into Ultra Space's Zero Zone to locate it.
No wonder that former Team Magma member, in Pokémon: Jirachi—Wish Maker, still tried to find a way to obtain an "earth monster."
It couldn't be helped.
Kyogre, maybe you can fish one up from the sea.
But Groudon really is nowhere to be found.
"By the way, according to ancient Hoenn legends, didn't old Groudon get sunk into the sea? How did it crawl back to Hoenn?"
"And charging the Jade Orb…"
"Wait, isn't there a perfect place for that?!"
Hikaru's gaze turned into the distance, toward the massive pit-cliff that towered at the center of the Paldea region.
"Modern times don't have that much natural energy."
"So we can just use the time machine to draw from the ancient past!"
"Jade Orb—whether you can beat the other two Orbs and reclaim the status you lost to history depends on whether you're up to it!"
After finishing her communication with Rayquaza, Hikaru looked at the barrage of questions Steven had sent and quickly replied:
"Sorry. I was just interrupted by a certain great existence."
"What I want to say is: the Jade Orb is in my hands!"
"Hard to believe, but yes—Rayquaza really was speaking with me just now. It was an accident."
"But I know you're in a hurry. Don't be in a hurry, because Rayquaza says not to be in a hurry. Now is not the time to use it yet! First, gather Hoenn's Dragon Tamers!"
"You should first learn the Dragon-type ultimate move Draco Meteor!"
(End of Chapter)
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