After capturing Absol, Aiden Flint continued his journey toward Lilycove City.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed Skyfall executive J departed with her subordinates, beginning to search for traces of Legendary Pokémon on Aiden's behalf.
Whenever they discovered any clues, J would report directly to Aiden so he could personally go and capture them.
With Skyfall operating in the shadows, Aiden would soon have access to far more information about Legendary Pokémon than any ordinary Trainer ever could.
By the normal flow of events, Team Magma and Team Aqua were also about to make their next big move.
After all, the Red Orb and Blue Orb were already in their hands.
By the original timeline, this should happen shortly before Ash reached Lilycove. Given how often that group got lost, the timing was about right.
Sure enough, Ash and his friends—thanks to Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth—accidentally caused a massive explosion while chasing Pikachu and ended up falling straight into Team Magma's clutches.
Although Team Magma worshipped Groudon, they also possessed submarines and airships. Their leader, Maxie, had already learned of Kyogre's location and planned to seize it first, cutting off Team Aqua's ambitions at the source.
A massive Magma fleet set sail toward Kyogre's resting place.
Deep beneath the sea, the colossal blue-and-white body of Kyogre lay dormant.
Seeing it, Maxie's eyes burned with fanatic excitement.
"We must not let Team Aqua get Kyogre! Deploy our strongest submarine and capture it immediately!"
On his command, Tabitha led a team of operatives down into the depths.
One Magma grunt watching the scene clenched his fists in agitation.
Although both Groudon and Kyogre were terrifyingly powerful, when first discovered they were still sealed by their respective Orbs. Until fully awakened, they remained in a dormant, inert state.
Using Magma's specialized equipment, the seabed was torn open, and Kyogre—slumbering there for countless years—was fully exposed.
Under Tabitha's direction, their devices activated, successfully restraining the whale-like Legendary and pulling it into the submarine.
When the operation succeeded, Maxie nearly lost himself in exhilaration, already imagining Team Aqua's defeat and his own dream of a land-only world realized under Groudon's power.
"Leader! Kyogre hasn't awakened. It's been successfully secured inside the submarine!"
Maxie was ecstatic and immediately ordered a return to headquarters.
Team Magma's base was a gigantic warship, just like Team Aqua's. Both organizations lived on the open sea, allowing them to evade Pokémon League surveillance.
But while Team Magma had captured Kyogre, Team Aqua was far from idle.
In a twist of fate, each organization discovered the other's Legendary first.
As Magma seized Kyogre, Team Aqua located Groudon's lair.
Following Archie's command, Groudon—slumbering deep within magma—was captured as well, sealed inside a massive machine that simulated its dormant state to prevent it from awakening.
Archie then prepared to go after Kyogre.
But at that very moment, both sides received reports from their spies.
Their own revered Legendary had been captured… by the enemy.
To make matters worse, although Magma possessed the Red Orb and Aqua held the Blue Orb, they now had the wrong Legendaries.
Team Aqua had Groudon, but only the Blue Orb—which could only control Kyogre.
Team Magma had Kyogre, but only the Red Orb—which could only awaken Groudon.
Neither could use the Legendary they had captured.
Thus, a "friendly negotiation" was arranged.
Maxie and Archie began talks, trying to resolve one crucial question:
How to obtain the Legendary each of them truly worshipped.
Team Magma and Team Aqua were natural enemies.
Maxie believed the world should be all land, guided by Groudon, the god of the earth.
Archie believed the world should be all ocean, ruled by Kyogre, the god of the sea.
In the end, they agreed to a Legendary exchange.
The chosen location: an island that served as Team Aqua's base.
Meanwhile, a red-haired man within Team Magma secretly passed this information to the Pokémon League.
At the same time, Ash and his group were being held aboard Magma's warship.
Drunk on confidence, Maxie even lectured them, proclaiming that the world should belong solely to land and that the oceans had no right to exist.
Ash fiercely rebuked him.
Just then, as the Magma fleet approached the designated island, a beautiful woman hidden among their ranks made her move.
She was Courtney, a high-ranking operative of Team Aqua.
Her mission was simple: release Kyogre and ruin Team Magma's plan.
If Kyogre escaped, Magma would lose everything—while Aqua, still holding the Blue Orb, would gain the ultimate advantage.
The world, in the end, would belong to the sea.
…
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