Lucius sat on the deck, watching the astonishment and heated discussions among the people on the ship.
The disbandment of Team Rocket was a major event, undoubtedly the hottest topic for discussion in the short term.
Many people argued fiercely over whether it was true and why the organization had chosen to dissolve.
"Houou~"
"Awooo~"
At that moment, Lucius heard two long, melodious cries from across the sea. The sounds carried anger, sorrow, and a murderous intent.
At the same time, one of the Poké Balls on his waist suddenly trembled. With a flash of white light, Raikou's majestic form emerged on the deck without Lucius even summoning it.
"Holy—Raikou?!"
"No way! Did that guy just release Raikou from his Poké Ball?!"
"Dad, come quick! It's Raikou!"
The moment Raikou appeared, the surrounding crowd erupted in exclamations.
However, Raikou paid them no attention. Instead, it let out a powerful roar toward the sky.
"Houou~"
Its roar resonated with the two cries coming from the sea.
The sky above began to shift, clouds swirling rapidly. High in the atmosphere, a radiant, multi-colored rainbow suddenly formed.
"Gyarados, use Water Sport!" Lucius threw a Poké Ball.
A massive Gyarados coiled onto the deck, opened its mouth, and spewed out a burst of water droplets the size of ping pong balls, drenching everyone aboard the ship.
At the same time, the rainbow in the sky became more vivid, gradually glowing with an ethereal radiance.
"What are you doing?!"
"Are you insane? Using moves recklessly in public?!"
The passengers, now soaking wet, turned their fury toward Lucius, who had released Gyarados.
Raikou ignored Gyarados entirely, continuing its sorrowful howls.
The rainbow in the sky grew ever more dazzling. When the brilliance reached its peak, it suddenly began to distort, transforming from a simple arch into a swirling, mesmerizing vortex.
Then, a cry echoed from beyond the heavens, and within the prismatic vortex, a luminous golden figure emerged. Its form seemed to be the embodiment of all colors, the very source of fire and warmth in the world.
"Ho-Oh… It's Ho-Oh…"
"Oh my god… It's really Ho-Oh…"
"Ho-Oh has appeared!"
The moment the legendary Pokémon materialized, everyone on the ship raised their phones to record the moment, some even shedding tears of excitement.
Ho-Oh's gaze fell upon them. With a powerful beat of its wings, it gracefully descended toward the ship.
"It's coming this way! Mom, look! It's flying toward us!" A young boy, drenched from head to toe, shouted excitedly, no longer caring about his wet clothes.
Not just him—every person on the ship, even those inside the cabin, rushed out to witness the spectacle.
"Houou~" Raikou let out another anguished roar, its voice filled with pain and sorrow.
Ho-Oh spread its massive wings, its body stretching nearly a hundred meters, casting a shadow over the ship. As its radiant feathers glowed, it exuded the presence of a divine entity descending upon the mortal world.
Just its mere presence made every living being tremble.
Its golden-red eyes surveyed the ship, lingering on Raikou, who stood frozen in grief on the deck. Then, with a flap of its wings, a surge of brilliant white flames erupted from Raikou's body, engulfing the entire vessel.
In mere moments, the massive ship carrying hundreds of passengers was completely consumed by the sacred white fire, reduced to nothingness.
Just like the Cerulean City Police Headquarters before it, not even a trace of ash remained.
But it didn't stop there. After incinerating the ship, the sacred white flames did not dissipate; instead, they continued to burn fiercely on the surface of the sea. Spreading outward from the ship's remains in a perfect circle, the flames consumed the ocean itself.
The instant the fire touched the seawater, the water vaporized. The entire surface of the ocean collapsed, as if a giant foot had stomped down on wet cement.
The white flames spread like wildfire on gasoline, devouring everything within a hundred miles in mere breaths.
And so, a bizarre phenomenon appeared—the vast ocean now bore a massive white crater, spanning several hundred miles in diameter.
If viewed from space, it would resemble a small crater on the face of a planet. But those monitoring the scene from the League's satellite control center were paralyzed with terror.
What kind of divine power was this? What unfathomable might? What incomprehensible force…?
At that moment, Lucius was locked in a race against the sacred flames.
Clearly, this had been a trap.
The moment that rainbow appeared in the sky, he knew something was wrong, for within that rainbow, he could sense an overwhelming will—an unstoppable force.
This will was vastly different from Raikou's or even Azelf's, whom he had encountered in the Crystal Cave. If their wills were akin to towering mountains, then this force was an entire planet.
There was no possibility of resistance.
Lucius immediately had Gyarados use Water Sport, dousing the passengers with virus-laden water while Gardevoir teleported him into the depths of the ocean.
Underwater, he used consecutive Teleports, covering dozens of kilometers at a time thanks to Gardevoir's royal-tier strength.
But he hadn't expected that terrifying white fire to pursue him relentlessly, evaporating every drop of seawater in its wake.
Strangely, there were no wild Pokémon in the water—clearly, Suicune and Entei had driven them away in advance.
Every time Lucius emerged from subspace, he could feel the searing, overwhelming energy closing in behind him. Only by re-entering subspace did he find a momentary sense of relief.
Even more terrifying, the raging sacred flames seemed unending. Despite teleporting hundreds of miles away, the fire remained on his heels, as if determined to follow him to the ends of the earth.
Damn it…
Am I really going to die here…?
I should have evolved into the Tyrant Virus instead…
Lucius clenched his teeth in frustration. Choosing the Veronica evolution had its advantages, but also a fatal flaw—he needed to keep the Emperor Strain alive. If it perished, he would die instantly.
The Tyrant Virus, on the other hand, had no hierarchical structure. As long as a single virus cell remained, he would survive.
But it was too late for regrets now…
Suddenly, as Gardevoir pulled him into another subspace Teleport, a small green hand reached out and pressed against him.
The moment the hand made contact, the flickering light of subspace around them instantly froze within their immediate vicinity. Beyond this small zone, subspace continued shimmering as usual.
It was as if time had stopped in this isolated space, trapping both Lucius and Gardevoir within.
How is this possible? Subspace repels physical matter! Normally, one can only pass through for an instant while teleporting, yet here they remained, tangible.
Next to him, the one who had stopped him—a petite Celebi.
Like him, the Celebi was motionless, like a statue.
Its eyes locked onto his.
Though he couldn't sense emotions through pheromones in subspace, he could tell from her gaze—
This was Anabel, not an ordinary Celebi.
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