"Human! Put me back in the ball! Right now! Immediately!"
Groudon urged Giovanni via Telepathy. It could already feel it—Primal Kyogre was about to move.
There was a saying: running away might be shameful, but it's useful.
Besides, was this really "running away"?
This was called a strategic retreat. Once it got its Red Orb back, it was absolutely going to beat that stupid fish until it spat seawater.
For now… it could let the stupid fish have its moment.
What could it do? Arceus above—
That fish had already gone Primal, and it was stuck in its normal forme.
How were they supposed to fight like that?
It couldn't win. There was just no way. Pushing it any further would just be plain stupid.
Groudon prided itself on being pretty clever. Retreat now, wait for the right timing.
It would get its payback sooner or later.
Giovanni's face twitched, but feeling Groudon's sheer urgency through their link, he still raised the Ultra Ball to recall it.
"Trying to run? It's not that easy."
Damian's grin widened.
"Kyogre, Block."
Primal Kyogre's low cry shook the sky as it spread its fins wide and slammed them downward.
A giant translucent "X" snapped into place over Groudon, locking it in. The red beam from Giovanni's Ultra Ball hit Groudon's back—
And bounced off.
Normal‑type Block.
Just like Mean Look, it prevented the opponent from fleeing—or being recalled at all.
Silence.
Feeling the strange restriction clamp down on it, Groudon froze for two full seconds. Then it finally processed what just happened.
"Rooar!! (You shameless fish! Have you no pride?!)"
It glared up at Primal Kyogre. Mother of—
It had already decided to make a strategic retreat, and this damn fish still wouldn't let it go?
Primal Kyogre's huge mouth curled into a disturbingly human grin as it lazily waved its fins.
"You're already here, no need to rush off. Keep Kyogre company for a bit."
Damian's tone was almost wholesome.
"So… what do we do now?"
Nemona could tell things were going sideways. Groudon clearly wasn't Kyogre's match like this.
"The Red Orb's on Damian. Without Primal Reversion, Groudon's way outclassed by Kyogre…" Leon frowned, thinking quickly.
But after pulling together this kind of lineup, were they just going to run now?
No way. And with Groudon now Blocked by Primal Kyogre, it couldn't even run if they wanted it to.
"We can only fight." Giovanni said quietly.
"Groudon, no matter what—can you hold Primal Kyogre back?"
His voice wasn't loud, but through Telepathy, Groudon heard every word.
Groudon: "…"
It really wanted to start swearing. Its temper was never that good to begin with.
"As long as you can pin Kyogre down, we can go after its Trainer. Your Red Orb's most likely on him."
"Or, if we beat Damian and capture him, Kyogre might hesitate to act—
Then we're not completely without a shot."
Leon laid it out. He knew this was the rosiest possible scenario…
But at least it wasn't zero chance.
"Kyogre's Trainer?"
Groudon froze and glanced up at the two humans on Primal Kyogre's head.
It'd just woken up to discover that stupid fish had actually picked a human as its Trainer.
Since when did that idiot fish trust humans?
Worse yet—its own Red Orb was in that Trainer's hands?
For fuck's sake.
Born‑evil stupid fish with a born‑evil stupid fish Trainer.
Cheap. Absolutely cheap.
Stealing its Red Orb so it couldn't go Primal? Filthy, shameless behavior.
"Yes. As long as you can stall Primal Kyogre, Groudon—can you do it?" Leon pressed.
"…I don't have the Red Orb. This is… kinda rough…"
Groudon wasn't exactly brimming with confidence.
"If I could go Primal, I could stomp this stupid fish. But like this…
I'd say it's more like 2:8 in its favor."
Just meeting Primal Kyogre's gaze made its scales crawl.
"That's enough. As long as you can stall Primal Kyogre, we'll take Damian down as fast as possible."
Giovanni's tone was low but steady.
"If you can get my Red Orb back, I'll give you your precious sunshine."
Groudon really leaned on that last part. This rain was killing it. In all the millennia it'd been alive, when had it ever been this humiliated in front of that fat‑headed fish?
"Deal. We'll do everything we can."
Leon agreed without hesitation—but he knew the truth. If they didn't beat Damian, how were they supposed to get Groudon's Orb off him?
"You guys done talking yet?"
Damian asked, very considerately.
"If you need more time, I can wait, you know."
"Not that the outcome's gonna change."
He tilted his head, smiling. He really wasn't in any hurry.
"Damian! You're way too arrogant!"
Giovanni finally snapped a little. Where had this kid learned all this? It certainly wasn't from him.
"Oh? Not really. The arrogant ones are you. Four people, and you think that's enough to stand in front of me?"
Damian's smile never faded.
"I honestly don't know what you're relying on. This Groudon that can't even go Primal?"
He tossed a Ultra Ball. Armored Mewtwo appeared at his back.
"In that case—Kyogre, go."
Armored Mewtwo's psychic power lifted Damian and Caitlin smoothly into the air as the sea tyrant of the super‑ancient legends let out a low, resonant call.
Primal Kyogre flexed its massive fins once and shot straight toward Groudon.
"Ooo～! (Stupid lizard of a stupid lizard, I'm gonna fill you so full of water you'll be spraying from every orifice today! I'll show you who the real boss is!)"
Primal Kyogre's eyes gleamed with pure excitement.
Beat Rayquaza, and now it got to beat up Groudon—life was good.
"Rooar!!"
Groudon roared back at Primal Kyogre, anger surging even through its lack of confidence.
In this position, it had no choice but to grit its teeth and charge.
Besides… nothing pissed it off more than someone mocking it for not being able to fly right to its face.
Even without Primal Reversion, Groudon refused to cower before that fat‑headed fish.
Blue light surged along Primal Kyogre's body, Water‑type energy gathering—Liquidation.
Red light shone fiercely over Groudon's armor‑like hide as it slammed its claw into the ground again.
Ground‑type Precipice Blades.
Blades of molten rock erupted from the land and lunged toward the onrushing Primal Kyogre.
Boom!
Primal Kyogre smashed straight into the magma blades. With a deafening crack, Precipice Blades shattered under the impact.
Then, bursting through the shockwave, Primal Kyogre barreled into Groudon head‑on.
Groudon roared, crossing both arms in front of itself to block.
Thud!!
The sheer force behind the hit drove its entire body back. It couldn't stop the momentum at all.
Groudon was giving it everything it had. It refused to lose to that damned fish at what it was best at—raw power.
But it didn't matter. After Primal Reversion, Primal Kyogre's strength had been buffed just as much. Groudon could not hold.
Liquidation tore straight through its guard. With a bone‑deep thud, Groudon was sent flying backward, smashing into the sea and throwing up a titanic wall of water.
"Ooo～! (Hahaha～ I'm Kyogre—the one who beat Rayquaza! What exactly do you think you've got on me?)"
Primal Kyogre cried out in pure satisfaction, then dove straight into the ocean after Groudon.
It didn't even bother using its overwhelming Special Attack.
It had finally gotten a chance to pummel Groudon up close. Today, it was absolutely going to enjoy itself.
"Looks like Kyogre's having a blast."
Damian chuckled softly. Let Primal Kyogre blow off some steam.
With Primal Reversion versus a base‑form Groudon, there was no universe where that fight flipped. On top of that, Groudon was at a type disadvantage.
This was more like a father beating on his son.
"As for you guys… tsk. You still wanna take a swing at me?"
Floating in the air under Armored Mewtwo's psychic control, Damian looked at Giovanni and the others, brow quirking.
The three men said nothing. They simply raised their Key Stones.
Mega Evolution.
Beedrill, Charizard, and Garchomp all flared with seven‑colored evolutionary light.
Moments later, Mega Beedrill, Mega Charizard X, and Mega Garchomp stood revealed, radiating power.
"Damian—how about a battle."
Rain streamed down Leon's face. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
He'd never seen rain like this before. The downpour was so heavy it was almost unreal—and it went on forever. As far as his eye could see, the sky was a single black sheet with no end.
"Not bad." Damian arched a brow.
"Caitlin, go check on the base." he said over his shoulder.
Caitlin nodded, sent out Metagross, and flew toward the base island.
"Nemona."
"I got it."
Nemona immediately mounted her own Altaria and took off in pursuit of Caitlin. Damian didn't bother stopping her.
"Then let's shift the stage a bit. While Kyogre's having its fun, I'll play with you guys for a while too."
Damian flexed his fingers and glanced toward where Primal Kyogre and Groudon were.
Glub glub glub～
Under the surface, Groudon was being absolutely hosed down. It clawed frantically at the seabed, trying to drag itself up, but Primal Kyogre had its jaws locked on one leg, hauling it back down with relish.
Yeah. Primal Kyogre had already decided. It wasn't leaving until it'd filled Groudon up like a "pregnant" mon.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
"What the hell is going on?!"
At the Weather Institute—a lab west of Fortree City specializing in Hoenn's climate patterns—
The director's face was dark as he rounded on his staff.
"I'm sorry, we still haven't figured out the cause."
The subordinate was sweating bullets, hands flying over the controls as he read the incoming data.
"This storm came in way too fast, and it's completely abnormal—like it just… popped into existence."
By their forecasts, today was supposed to be clear and sunny.
Yet ten minutes ago, the sky had suddenly filled with thick storm clouds.
In the literal blink of an eye, a torrential downpour had swallowed every nearby region.
"I didn't ask for a weather report, I asked for the cause. We need to pin this down now. Look at that!"
The director jabbed a finger at the map on the central screen.
"It's still expanding! It's about to hit Mauville City!"
Mauville was the center of Hoenn, and this bizarre downpour was spreading outward from Lilycove's direction. Which meant…
Half of Hoenn was already under this storm.
And there was no sign of it stopping. At this rate, the entire region would be swallowed by this unnatural rain.
"Whatever it takes, we have to find a way to shut this thing down!"
The director's voice was like iron.
"Yes, sir!"
The staff were dying inside, but they still scrambled faster, doing everything they could to work out why this storm had suddenly descended.
The director walked over to the window. Outside, flocks of Flying‑types and herds of land Pokémon were all fleeing westward, wings beating, feet pounding.
It looked like a full‑on evacuation.
What in the world was happening to the east?
His chest felt tight.
And worst of all—
Right after the storm hit, he'd already had one of his subordinates try using a Torkoal's Drought to push the rain back.
It had done nothing.
In fact, the poor Torkoal had almost caught a cold from the downpour. The rain was icy—and far too heavy.
Drought couldn't disperse the storm clouds at all. It made no sense.
Where had this rain come from, and how long would it last?
With rainfall this intense, if it just kept going…
The director felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature.
This was terrifying.
~~~
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