"Steven‑sensei, even though I'm Team Rocket, I still have human rights, right?"
Damian's smile was sunny, his tone innocent.
"Even if you're Hoenn's Champion, Steven‑sensei, you can't slander me, can you? I've been here with you the whole time—what have I done?"
"You you!!"
Even Steven's composure couldn't stop him from wanting to rush over and duel this guy in real life.
mainly because he was really anxious.
"Chill out, Champion Steven, don't act on impulse."
Leon and Giovanni pulled Steven back.
And Zinnia had already ridden over on Mega Salamence. Seeing Steven like this, the contempt in her eyes faded, replaced by genuine interest as she watched the show.
"Champion Steven, what happened?" Cynthia spoke softly, puzzled.
Steven's chest rose and fell rapidly; clearly he was forcing himself to calm down quickly.
"The rain—almost the entire Hoenn Region has been inundated, and the downpour is still spreading. It'll be covering Hoenn in about ten minutes."
Steven's voice was heavy.
Hearing that, Giovanni and the others stiffened.
"The rain is enormous. Sootopolis City is already flooding, Lilycove City… the coastline is rising quickly; if this keeps up, the sea will swallow the cities."
"And Fortree City…"
Silence!
Hearing this, Leon and Cynthia's pupils shrank.
This… no wonder Steven can't stay calm. This concerns the safety of several cities, no, the residents haven't even pulled back yet!
If this continues, the losses won't just be a few cities.
"Damian, did you do this?!"
Giovanni's voice carried heavy anger.
"How could you involve innocent people!!"
"Hey, no need to be so loud. And what are you yelling about? I can't understand you."
Damian sneered, not caring about Giovanni's glare at him.
"Primordial Sea! That's the Primordial Sea you spoke of, right? This rain is brought by Primal Kyogre!" Leon said flatly.
"Indeed it's Primordial Sea—so what?"
Damian's smile was bright and healthy, but that smile sent goosebumps up Steven and the others.
"You're still able to smile? Damian, do you even know what you're doing?"
Giovanni trembled with anger.
"How could you become so cold? Don't you have any empathy?"
"Sorry, my morality is rather low; I don't care much about unrelated people." Damian raised an eyebrow at that.
Morality? That word doesn't even apply here. I don't even have morality, and you're trying to moralize me.
"You…," Steven gritted out.
How can there be people this evil and cold in the world?
"Besides, you guys seem to have misunderstood something."
Damian cut in with a nonchalant, almost amused look, staring at Steven.
"Aren't you the ones who came to challenge me?"
Silence!
The rain pattered and the island was filled with the sound of downpour, with distant crashing waves.
Glub glub glub glub—
That flying‑stupid lizard is so full its stomach swelled two sizes, that damned fish—ahhh!
I can't take it anymore, get me up there!
On the island, everyone fell silent, Steven pale.
"Bottom line: if you hadn't come to fight me, Kyogre wouldn't have Primal Reversion, and Primordial Sea wouldn't be running like this."
Damian's half‑amused, half‑mocking smile looked at them with easy confidence.
The rain kept falling, and until now Steven hadn't reacted much, but now he felt a chill down his spine.
"You seem to think Primal Kyogre is just about raw power, but you haven't thought about why the Legendary Kyogre is called 'origin of the seas'."
The black‑haired boy's voice was cool and distant through the rain.
"LaRousse City—back then, Shiny Rayquaza triggered Delta Stream, right? You all barely remember that scene."
And this line instantly reminded Cynthia and the others of the sky winds that roared like the end of the world.
That was Mega Rayquaza's Ability?!
But thinking of the current storm above, Cynthia pressed her lips together, brows tightly knit.
"I just praised you, you know, for the smart idea of bringing Groudon to deal with Kyogre, but I must also praise you: you're really stupid, haha."
Damian's taunt was unbearably sharp, but the four of them couldn't rebut.
How to rebut? The battle had only just begun, and the Hoenn Region was already taking on water.
Not to mention, even if they beat Damian, Hoenn would be flooded—what would be the point?
No, the following part would be what they truly couldn't endure.
"Now you should understand, right? Guess how long it would take for Primordial Sea to drown Hoenn?"
Damian kept taunting.
"And here's a bit of good news for you: you should be grateful I took the Red Orb."
"If Groudon goes Primal Reversion, its Ability will become Desolate Land, a top weather phenomenon that could dry Hoenn,"
"How long would it take for Desolate Land and Primordial Sea to overwhelm Hoenn in a battle?"
Hearing this, Leon and the others stiffened, glancing toward the water not far away.
On the water, a large mass of red floated up and down.
Honestly this scene was a bit ridiculous, but at this moment Leon couldn't smile.
According to Damian, if Groudon went Primal Reversion, Desolate Land shining Hoenn, in the Extremely Harsh Sunlight that could dry Hoenn, wasn't a joke.
"This is…."
Leon's face looked sour; they had really been wrong.
They had only considered Primal Kyogre's battle power, but hadn't thought about the damage it would cause when they fought it.
But could they blame them? This was their first time facing such Legendary Pokémon.
Yet Leon still blamed himself—if they had investigated Primal Kyogre more carefully, analyzed more, maybe they could have avoided this.
"All my fault… "
Steven clenched his fists, head bowed, his tone dry.
Cold rain ran down his hair, but his heart was even colder.
His one thought was to Expel Team Rocket from Hoenn as soon as possible, find Groudon, and use Groudon to fight Kyogre.
And now the situation had turned like this; he couldn't dodge the blame.
Yes, he'd prepared to make a sacrifice—the destruction of LaRousse City might be acceptable if it expelled Team Rocket.
But that was just LaRousse City; Primordial Sea already overspread Hoenn.
If it continued, Hoenn might be flooded entirely.
This outcome was something Steven could not accept, and he could not bear this.
"Champion Steven… "
Leon and Cynthia looked at the bruised Steven with complicated expressions; though Steven ultimately decided, they also agreed and had thought this plan feasible.
"Zinnia, you go ahead."
Damian's mood was bright; he even had time to snap a few photos of Steven and the others in this moment.
"Alright."
Zinnia seemed a little disappointed she couldn't watch more of the show, but duty came first.
She patted Mega Salamence's back, and Mega Salamence shot off into the distance, quickly disappearing into the endless rain.
Giovanni and the others also noticed Zinnia's movement, but now they had more important things to deal with.
Giovanni drew a deep breath and spoke more slowly.
"Damian, no matter what, this is a matter between us. Please don't involve innocent people."
Undoubtedly, this was effectively a surrender.
But Leon and Cynthia were silent; they could only seek a truce, or else what?
Letting Primordial Sea continue would ruin Hoenn.
"Oh?" Damian looked at them with genuine interest.
"My understanding isn't very good, Steven-sensei. Could you translate for me? This Gym Leader Giovanni—what does he mean?"
Damian grinned, a nasty smile that looked like a demon in the rain.
He bore no guilt; after all, wasn't Steven the one who started this trouble with him?
He, Damian, just wanted to grow Team Rocket by staying careful.
And these guys kept shouting "wipe out Evil Team Rocket" and "for the League and justice," rushing in—there was nothing they could do to stop them!
What could he do? He was just defending himself.
"Damian, I mean—" Giovanni tried to speak again.
"Hush—" Damian cut him off with a silent gesture.
"I didn't ask you, darling father. I want Steven-sensei to translate for me." Damian's smile grew more dangerous.
"Damian! Don't push it… " Giovanni's tone dropped to a low, heavy register.
But before he could finish, Steven stepped between them.
"I'll handle this, Gym Leader Giovanni. This is a responsibility I must bear."
Steven took a deep breath, steadied himself, and faced Damian.
"Damian, I'm so sorry. This is my fault; please forgive me." Steven bowed toward Damian.
Giovanni and the three of them watched in silence.
"Tsk— As expected, it's Steven-sensei—able to bend but not break."
Damian clicked his tongue, Steven really doesn't even hesitate.
"I'll have Officer Jenny pull back right away. All Team Rocket members who have been captured will be released. Damian, please make Kyogre stop the rain."
Steven's face was pale; he'd never expected to beg an enemy for mercy.
"If Champion Steven is sincere, it's not impossible."
Damian nodded with satisfaction; he hadn't planned to keep Primordial Sea running forever anyway.
Though he didn't mind flooding Hoenn, he's not looking to destroy the world.
This was mainly to let Steven and the others suffer a bit and to show them the power of Primal Kyogre.
What losses the heavy rain caused, that's none of Damian's business.
After all, they aren't the ones to fight, are they?
"Thank you." Steven breathed a sigh of relief.
Though Damian was truly evil, he did what he said—one of Damian's few good traits.
At least in the initial few moments this had been the case.
But Steven's mood remained heavy; this operation had been a disaster.
Not only was there no benefit, it caused a lot of losses. Steven felt he'd let Hoenn down; he even considered resigning.
"Kyogre, hmm?"
Damian shifted toward Primal Kyogre; the fat-headed fish has probably had enough fun, hasn't it?
But as soon as his gaze moved, he froze.
Because on the water, a large red thing was floating—the Groudon.
Even more ridiculous, Groudon's belly was puffed up—like it was ten months pregnant.
Groudon truly looked pregnant, not fake!
It was even floating on the sea—this… how much water had Kyogre pumped into its belly?
And if you looked closely, Groudon's eyes rolled back, a trickle of water running from the corners of its mouth—a swollen sea being pushed out.
"Grrr… really… can't fit it in anymore…"
~~~
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