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Rumble—!!!
"What?! Damn it!! Fall back!!"
Because the Machine had to fire directly into the center of the volcano, it had been placed extremely close to the edge of the cliff.
At this moment, the Shadow Ball attacks from Crobat and Misdreavus slammed into the very front of the cliff—blasting it apart! The fractured edge began to collapse and slide downward!
Startled, Tabitha quickly leapt away from the crumbling edge along with his assistant. His Camerupt, which had remained on stable ground, grabbed his clothes with its mouth and pulled him back to safety. Meanwhile, the assistant was carried back to solid ground with the help of a Swellow.
Both of them were unharmed.
But the massive Machine… was beyond saving.
Tabitha could only watch helplessly as the machine, still firing an orange-red beam, spun as it fell into the magma below!
Whoosh!!
As the machine tumbled along with shattered rock into the lava, it spun continuously in midair. When it finally plunged in, the end containing the meteorite fragment happened to face upward!
Thus, the orange-red beam generated by the meteorite shot straight upward like a pillar of light—piercing through Mt. Chimney's crater and shooting directly into the sky!
BOOM!!
But only a few seconds later, the machine exploded violently within the magma!
Its entire structure shattered into pieces, blown apart by the force of the explosion! Every component—including the meteorite fragment—sank into the molten lava!
With the destruction of the machine, the beam of light shooting into the sky abruptly vanished.
"You! You bastard! My life's work—how dare you destroy it! Unforgivable! Camerupt!! Use Flamethrower!!"
"Roar!!"
Back on the cliff, Tabitha's face twisted in rage as he watched his machine destroyed. Turning toward Iga in the sky, he immediately ordered an attack!
"Hahaha! That's because you were too stupid! Don't blame us!"
Iga didn't engage. He easily dodged the attack and laughed as he flew back toward Archie.
"Hmph!"
Seeing Iga retreat, Tabitha snorted coldly. But with things already like this, he could only grit his teeth and return to Maxie's side.
"Boss, the task you assigned me… is complete."
Back beside Archie, Iga reported with a smile.
"Haha! I saw it—well done! Let's see what tricks these guys can pull now!"
Archie laughed loudly, then turned to glance at Maxie, who was listening to Tabitha's report, a playful smile forming on his lips.
"…So it failed, huh? Hmph. After investing so much time and resources, we still ended up failing. But since Mt. Chimney has already been activated, it's not a total loss. That's enough for now. Notify all members—prepare to withdraw!"
"Yes, Boss!!"
Maxie frowned slightly but didn't dwell on it. Knowing this place was no longer safe, he immediately issued the retreat order.
"Haha, what's this? Planning to retreat already, Maxie? So you admit defeat this time?"
Seeing Team Magma preparing to withdraw, Archie stepped forward arrogantly and called out.
Team Magma and Team Aqua had always been rivals. Their leaders, Maxie and Archie, were evenly matched in both strength and influence.
So now that Archie had the upper hand, he was clearly in high spirits.
"Hmph. Admitting defeat isn't shameful. This time, you got lucky. We'll settle this another day."
Maxie replied coldly.
By now, Team Magma members had regrouped. After recalling his Camerupt and Houndoom, Maxie took out another PokeBall and sneered.
"Oh right—I believe I told you earlier. The entire Mt. Chimney is already surrounded by the League. You may have interfered successfully this time—but you'd better not celebrate too early. Next, you'll have to worry about escaping the League. Farewell, Archie! Come out—Flygon!"
With that, Maxie released Flygon and leapt onto its back.
At the same time, the rest of Team Magma released their flying Pokémon.
"Go, Swellow!"
"Go, Vibrava!"
In an instant, dozens of flying Pokémon filled the air. They grabbed their trainers and lifted them off the ground!
"Until next time, Archie!"
With a powerful flap of its wings, Flygon soared upward. Maxie, standing on its back, spoke coldly before leading his forces toward the volcano's crater.
"Hmph! Trying to run?! Crobat—use—"
"Enough!"
Iga was about to give chase, unwilling to let them escape—but Archie stopped him before he could finish.
"No need to pursue. We've already gained the advantage. Right now, the priority is figuring out how to leave Mt. Chimney. There may be a tough battle ahead—tell everyone to conserve their strength."
"…Understood."
Iga paused briefly, then nodded.
"Alright. Good work, everyone. But stay alert. Send people to gather the scattered members across the mountain. We'll break out soon."
Unlike Team Magma, Team Aqua hadn't prepared many flying Pokémon.
So they would have to escape on foot.
Members of Team Aqua began preparing. A few were dispatched to gather the others stationed around the mountain.
But just as they had taken a few steps—
"ROOOOAAAR!!!"
A thunderous dragon's roar suddenly echoed across the sky!!
"What?!"
Archie's expression changed instantly. He looked up—
—and saw something shocking.
Team Magma, who had just flown away, were now returning in utter disarray!
Their numbers had clearly decreased. And just as the remaining members rushed back into the volcano—
BOOM!!
A golden beam shot down from the sky!
Splash!!
It struck directly into the molten lava, sending waves of magma surging upward! The violent disturbance forced Team Aqua members to retreat repeatedly in alarm.
"What is going on?! Maxie! What have you done this time?!"
Archie shouted angrily, glaring at the rising lava.
As for Maxie—
He remained standing atop Flygon in midair, his gaze fixed intently on the crater above.
Hearing Archie's accusation, he only glanced sideways and replied calmly:
"Be careful… something incredible is about to arrive."
"What?! What are you even talking abou—"
Archie couldn't fully hear him due to the distance. Already irritated, he was about to press further—
When suddenly—
"ROOOOAAAR!!!"
The same deafening dragon's roar echoed again throughout the volcano!
And this time…. descending from the crater… was a long, majestic dragon-like Pokémon, its body sleek and black, gleaming with a metallic sheen, with sharp claws beneath it.. slowly descending into view.
"ROOOOAAAR!!!"
Rayquaza.