"ROOOAR!!!"
A black dragon spiraled down into the crater of Mt. Chimney. Its pale golden eyes swept coldly over every member of Team Magma and Team Aqua present. From its crimson maw came a thunderous dragon's roar!
"T-this—this is Rayquaza?! Maxie! What the hell did you do?! Why did you attract something like this here?!"
Archie immediately recognized the Pokémon before him—it was the legendary being of Hoenn, the ruler of the skies—Rayquaza!
A creature on the same level as Team Aqua's deity, Kyogre!
Knowing full well how terrifying such a Pokémon was, Archie could only roar at Maxie in frustration, demanding an explanation.
"Hmph! You're asking me? Who should I ask?! We were attacked by this thing the moment we came out of the crater! Quite a few of my subordinates were knocked out of the sky! We had no choice but to retreat back here—but it clearly has no intention of letting us go! It chased us all the way here! How the hell should I know why it's attacking us?!"
Maxie was just as furious. His carefully planned retreat had been completely ruined by this black monster out of nowhere. He had a stomach full of grievances and nowhere to vent them.
"Hmph! Enough arguing! Think about how we're going to deal with this thing! Are we cooperating or not?!"
Archie's face darkened as he glared at Rayquaza, whose gaze was growing sharper by the second.
"Fine! Then today we'll cooperate with you! Together, we'll drive this thing away! Everyone!!"
"YES!!"
"Prepare for battle!"
"YES!!"
"Hmph! Forget our grudges for now! Deal with this monster first! Team Aqua!"
"YES!!"
"Show this thing the power of the sea!!"
"YES!!"
In just a few moments—the two factions that had been fighting to the death seconds ago… began working together!
Team Magma and Team Aqua quickly formed battle formations across both ground and air, surrounding Rayquaza completely!
Rayquaza narrowed its eyes slightly at their movements—
"ROOOAR!!!"
It let out a sky-shaking roar, shockwaves rippling outward!
"Attack!"
"Move!"
Both commands rang out at the same instant!
Following Archie and Maxie's orders, countless Pokémon launched their attacks simultaneously….
A barrage of moves filled the sky, crashing down and engulfing Rayquaza in an instant!!
....
Behind them, hidden behind a massive boulder.. Liam and Lorelei had been silently observing the entire battle.
From the moment Tabitha activated the magma awakening machine, they had been hiding here, watching Team Magma and Team Aqua tear each other apart.
They had planned to wait quietly and reap the benefits afterward…
But then the machine fell into the lava due to Iga's interference, Team Magma began retreating, got forced back—and then this happened.
And at the exact moment Rayquaza appeared—
[Ding!]
[Emergency Mission Issued!]
[The Overlord of the Endless Sky!!]
[Mission Objective: Above the unreachable ozone layer lives a powerful being that dominates the skies. The heavens are its territory—any who dare trespass will face its endless fury. Discover its true form. Obtain a reference sample—blood, fur, or scales will suffice]
[Reward: 2000 Exchange Points + 1 Super Mystery Gift Pack]
[Note: This mission has no penalty. The host may ignore it without consequence.]
.....
To be honest, Rayquaza's appearance completely exceeded Liam's expectations.
This was a Pokémon that lived high in the ozone layer, surviving by absorbing cosmic particles and energy drifting in space.
He had never planned to encounter something like this.
And to make things worse… this one was black.
A shiny Rayquaza.
"Master! Master! Zorua is scared! That big guy says a familiar energy entered its territory earlier! It came here to find the source of that energy! It wants those people to tell it where it is! Wuuu~!"
After Rayquaza's roars, Zorua hid behind Liam in fear and translated its meaning out loud—completely forgetting that Lorelei was right beside them, staring in shock.
Rayquaza's terrifying aura had clearly frightened the little one badly.
Liam, meanwhile, felt a headache coming on.
One reason: Lorelei's eyes were practically glowing beside him.
The other: Team Aqua and Team Magma had already begun attacking.
These idiots who attacked without thinking… were about to pay the price.
"ROOOAR!!!"
Just as Liam expected—
After being hit by multiple attacks, Rayquaza suddenly unleashed a furious roar!
A powerful shockwave blasted away the smoke surrounding it, and several nearby Team Magma members were sent flying instantly!
Then—
"ROAR!!"
A golden light rapidly gathered in Rayquaza's mouth—
BOOOOM!!!
A massive golden Hyper Beam swept across the battlefield from bottom to top!!
In just one strike, more than half of Team Aqua and Team Magma were wiped out!!
"Cough—cough!! Damn it! Monster!! Retreat! Retreat! Fall back into the tunnel!!"
Archie struggled to his feet from the smoke, coughing violently. Seeing his forces completely shattered, his expression twisted as he shouted the retreat order.
"Retreat! Move, now!!"
Maxie, seeing Team Aqua already fleeing, immediately ordered his remaining men to withdraw as well.
Just like that—
both organizations lost all will to fight after a single attack… and fled.
"…No choice. We should retreat too. Staying here is too dangerous."
Watching both factions disappear into the tunnel, Liam quickly made his decision. Grabbing Lorelei, he ran toward the exit as well.
But… just as they reached the tunnel entrance—
BOOOOM!!!
A flash of red light burst from within the tunnel!
A violent explosion followed!
Before Liam's stunned eyes, the entire tunnel entrance collapsed!
Countless rocks crashed down, completely sealing it off!
"…What the hell?!"
Liam stared wide-eyed at the now-blocked exit.
For some reason…
He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"ROOOAR!!!"