“Why haven’t the reinforcements arrived yet?”
“Something has also happened over in Mossdeep City, drawing most of the League’s attention. On top of that, the area around Lavaridge Town was previously enveloped by a special electromagnetic wave, so the signal we sent took a long time to get through. Hold on. News has already reached the rest of Hoenn, and Elite Four Terrance is also on his way here.”
Team Magma had obtained the same intelligence as the police. Team Magma’s main force had successfully halted the police advance, and Groudon was about to enter the sea. Tabitha no longer wished to waste time tangling with these small fry and the old Elite Four Moore.
“Damn it.”
Commanding Heracross, Troy gritted his teeth helplessly. Compared to the Team Magma members they had faced before, Tabitha was far too powerful. Just one of his Pokémon had managed to tie down Troy and most of the police officers.
A single Mightyena had left Heracross struggling for breath. After only a few exchanges, Heracross was already severely injured.
“We’re going all in! Use Megahorn!”
Troy and Heracross were both seeing red. After using its arms to withstand Mightyena’s Crunch, Heracross let out a pained cry and used Endure to cling to a sliver of consciousness. Immediately afterward, a Durant used Entrainment, passing its Swarm Ability to Heracross. In the next instant, Heracross unleashed its most brilliant strike. Swinging its arms, it rammed Mightyena with its massive horn and sent it flying, causing both Pokémon to lose their ability to battle at the same time.
Entrainment could pass the user’s Ability to another Pokémon. Durant’s Swarm Ability allowed an exhausted Bug-type Pokémon to once again unleash its Bug-type potential, strengthening the power of Bug-type moves. By combining the two, Troy had truly given everything he had.
“Beautifully done.”
Seeing Troy defeat one of Tabitha’s main Pokémon, most of the officers fighting alongside him looked astonished. However, no one could bring themselves to celebrate. On this battlefield, such a minor change could not alter the overall situation at all. Even with the officers’ assistance, Moore was still at a disadvantage. Tabitha had already begun thinking of retreat, and if he went all out to break through their formation, the people here would probably find it very difficult to keep him from escaping.
Meanwhile.
Near the sea, a massive crimson behemoth resembling a dinosaur slowly advanced. Groudon, the embodiment of land, had gray coloration across the darker parts of its body, while large spikes protruded from its head, torso, and tail. As the four claws on each of its hands moved, countless streams of magma sprayed through the air. Four bulldozer-like teeth curved upward from the tip of its tail, also dripping with magma. As Groudon walked, its three-clawed feet inflicted irreversible damage upon the ground.
Merely walking a short distance caused Groudon to affect a vast area, making the earth’s crust begin to tremble.
At this moment, Groudon was in a half-asleep state, its consciousness not yet fully clear. After awakening, Groudon had instinctively begun moving in search of a suitable place to sleep. The moment it stepped into the sea, Team Magma, which had been waiting there for a long time, immediately activated the technological weapons they had prepared to capture it.
Maxie raised the Red Orb high, excitement filling his face. As long as Groudon entered the sea, Team Magma could use their technological weapons to harness the power of the ocean and further weaken Groudon’s consciousness. Then he would no longer have to fear Groudon resisting too fiercely and preventing him from controlling it with the Red Orb.
“Come down. Hurry and come down…”
Once Groudon’s entire body had entered the ocean, the capture devices arranged around the area activated simultaneously, connecting across a vast stretch of sea and instantly transforming into blue shackles that tightly bound Groudon’s body.
The waves churned violently as blue spikes emerged from the seams in Groudon’s skin. When Groudon gathered strength to resist, its clouded consciousness caused the power to recoil against it, making it unleash an agonized roar.
“Hahahahaha! Groudon, you belong to me now!”
Seeing Groudon successfully subdued, Maxie laughed as he began approaching it. At the same time, he activated the Red Orb, his expression crazed as he waited for Groudon’s response.
He should be able to control Groudon now. Then, by making use of the volcano system, Team Magma would be able to fill the oceans with land and claim dominion over the land! Hahahahaha!
At Team Magma’s sole remaining massive base, countless Team Magma members gazed devoutly at Groudon, their faces filled with anticipation. Courtney, who was responsible for operating the machinery involved in the entire capture plan, was also smiling. However, what happened next caused the smiles on both Maxie’s and Courtney’s faces to abruptly freeze.
As Maxie approached Groudon while holding the Red Orb, a peculiar radiance began emanating from Groudon’s entire body. An “Ω”-shaped symbol on the circular sections at the base of its arms began flashing repeatedly. The same pattern also appeared on the Red Orb. Holding the Red Orb, Maxie suddenly felt an immense force pulling at it. This unexpected development made his expression shift repeatedly, leaving him completely at a loss.
What was going on?
Why was there no reaction at all? Why couldn’t he control Groudon? The legend couldn’t possibly be false!
“Arghhhhh!”
As the pulling force intensified, madness filled Maxie’s eyes, and he fiercely tried to wrench the Red Orb back. Suddenly, Groudon seemed to be completely awakened by something. Its consciousness gradually cleared, and the light radiating from its body grew increasingly intense.
In this state, Groudon merely struggled lightly and snapped the shackles binding its body. The next instant, the ocean shook violently, and Maxie was sent flying together with the Red Orb. Every member of Team Magma paled in shock.
…
…
“What happened?”
Having already retreated some distance, Tabitha was filled with confusion. The sudden emergency withdrawal order left him bewildered, because no information had been provided besides the command to retreat immediately. This did not match the original plan. This time, as Tabitha withdrew, Moore and the police officers did not desperately try to stop him.
Seeing that they were no longer obstructing him, Tabitha secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, just as he began feeling pleased with himself, a gigantic mirror domain suddenly appeared out of thin air. At the sight of this space resembling a starry sky, Tabitha’s expression grew dark, and his body began to tremble.
“It’s over, Team Magma,” Officer Jenny said coldly. They had just confirmed that Elite Four Terrance had arrived.
Trapped within Mega Diancie’s Fairy Domain, Tabitha had no means of escape. He had experienced Terrance’s Fairy Domain before and knew that even Lord Maxie himself would have great difficulty gaining any advantage against it. The Fairy Elite Four’s combat strength was far beyond that of the semi-retired Elite Four Moore. This time, his chances of survival were slim. However, if this could buy Team Magma enough time to evacuate, Tabitha had no regrets.
“Was I still one step too late… Lord Maxie, did the plan succeed or not…?”
Tabitha exhaled slowly and looked with a chill at Terrance, who had appeared before him with an equally grim expression: “You’re also one step too late.”
Terrance remained silent. When he received the news, he had not been in Fallarbor Town, but on his way toward the waters near Mossdeep City. Around an undersea cave in those waters, torrential rain had suddenly fallen from the sky. The ocean currents had fallen into chaos, while floods and tsunamis arose together. It was later discovered that Team Aqua had awakened Kyogre. On one side were Team Aqua and Kyogre, and on the other were Team Magma and Groudon. Considering the distance, Terrance had hurried here immediately.
But… it seemed he was still one step too late.
Gardevoir scouted the distant area on Terrance’s behalf. There was already no sign of Groudon over there…
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