At this moment, as the two Legendary Pokémon stood facing each other—one swimming through the sea, the other standing atop the land it had just created—their auras clashed across the battlefield, each radiating open hostility toward the other.
Archie and Maxie suddenly appeared. In their hands, two brilliant orbs erupted with dazzling light.
Kyogre, the Blue Orb, Archie, Team Aqua.
Groudon, the Red Orb, Maxie, Team Magma.
"Ahahaha! Kyogre, you are mine! Submit to me, submit to Team Aqua, and turn the entire world into an endless ocean!"
"Groudon! Infinite land is the true faith! Turn all these cursed seas into continents and wipe out Kyogre and Team Aqua!"
The two orbs in their hands exploded with blinding radiance.
A mere human body attempting to control a god would inevitably suffer divine backlash.
The next instant, driven by their twisted desires, the Red Orb and Blue Orb fused directly into Maxie's and Archie's bodies.
The power contained within the orbs—ancient, slumbering for countless years, belonging to the two primal Legendary Pokémon—flooded into them. No ordinary human could possibly endure such force.
Archie's body glowed blue as strange symbols appeared around him, as if Kyogre itself had possessed him. Blue light burst from his eyes as his whole body trembled violently. Then he slowly floated upward and landed directly on Kyogre's back.
Maxie was no different. Crimson light and runes enveloped him as he stood atop Groudon's head, his face twisted in manic ecstasy.
Seeing this, Lance tried to have his Dragonite fire Hyper Beam to stop the orbs' fusion—but it was already too late.
The next moment, a terrifying torrent erupted from beneath the sea. It was a casual strike from Kyogre, carrying overwhelming force as it surged toward Lance and Dragonite, threatening to swallow them whole.
"Dragonite, Dragon Rage—break it!"
A massive beam of energy blasted forward, but the power of a single dragon was nowhere near enough to withstand Kyogre's attack.
At that critical instant, voices rang out together.
Reinforcements had arrived.
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Salamence, Hyper Beam!"
"Milotic, Hyper Beam!"
"Metagross, Flash Cannon!"
"Swellow, Hyper Beam!"
"Slaking, Hyper Beam!"
Countless attacks streaked in from the distance, joining Dragonite's strike and shattering the incoming tidal wave.
Lance breathed a sigh of relief and turned around—only to see the full might of the Hoenn League standing behind him.
At the front were Hoenn Champion Wallace and the former Champion Steven.
Behind them stood the Hoenn Elite Four: Drake, Phoebe, Glacia, and Sidney.
And behind them were the Gym Leaders—Norman, Juan, Winona, Wattson, and the rest.
Even Ash and his group, riding Lance's red Gyarados, had contributed to that combined strike.
"Mr. Lance, are you okay?" Ash asked.
Lance smiled. "I'm fine. But how did all of you get here?"
Drake laughed heartily. "If something in Hoenn is serious enough to bring the new Champion of Kanto, how could we old guys stay away?"
Wallace added with a smile, "Hoenn thanks you for your help, Lance. But now, let's resolve this together."
Everyone moved forward, preparing to seize Archie and Maxie and reclaim the two orbs. Only by doing so could they hope to stop the clash between the two Legendary Pokémon.
After all, the orbs had merged with their bodies, carrying their twisted ambitions and influencing Kyogre and Groudon's will. These two were already sworn enemies—now fueled by human desire, their urge to fight had only grown stronger.
Norman glanced nervously at his children in the battlefield, worry flickering across his face. But even he knew that in a place like this, there was no guarantee he could protect May and Max.
He wanted them to retreat—but neither of them would move.
"All of you… be careful."
With that, everyone turned their attention back to Kyogre and Groudon.
Even surrounded by Hoenn's greatest powers, the two titans ignored them completely and launched themselves at each other.
Another colossal tsunami surged toward Groudon.
Groudon roared and unleashed Precipice Blades, cleaving the massive wave in half. Without momentum, the water collapsed back into the sea.
In truth, Kyogre and Groudon were nearly evenly matched. Even though Kyogre had a type advantage, it couldn't easily overpower Groudon.
After Primal Reversion, Groudon gained the Fire type, making it four-times weak to Water—but even then, victory was far from guaranteed.
Wallace immediately commanded, "Gym Leaders, with the Elite Four as leaders, spread out to the four directions! Block the tsunamis and arrest Team Aqua and Team Magma!"
"Yes!"
The Hoenn League forces rapidly repositioned, each Elite Four member leading two Gym Leaders to guard the east, south, west, and north, minimizing the damage to Hoenn.
Meanwhile, the three Champion-level fighters—Wallace, Steven, and Lance—moved in to deal with Archie and Maxie while the two gods were locked in battle.
Seeing this, Tabitha and Courtney rushed to protect their respective leaders, and a massive melee erupted across the battlefield.
At that moment, Wallace suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"If this can't be resolved… should we call Aiden Flint?"
Steven froze for a moment, then sighed and patted his Metagross.
"We might as well. Right now, only he can face those two head-on."
Phoebe, Glacia, and Sidney looked confused, but Drake burst out laughing.
"It should've been done long ago!"
Among the Gym Leaders, Norman and Winona were the most excited.
"Yes—get Aiden Flint!"
Even Ash and the others exchanged helpless smiles.
"Right now… only Aiden Flint can stop them."
Just as Wallace was about to give the order, a thunderous dragon's roar echoed across the sky.
A calm voice followed.
"Heh… looks like I didn't come too late, did I?"
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