"Gardevoir, release everyone!" Aven then turned to Gardevoir beside him.
With a solemn nod, Gardevoir opened a spatial rift before her. Countless Poké Balls tumbled down from the air, and as bursts of white light flashed, Pokémon such as Vileplume, Bellossom, Gloom, and many other Grass-types appeared one after another.
Standing upon the fertile land, they all radiated intense green light as Grass-type energy surged continuously, swiftly converging toward Lilligant.
"Lilli—gant!"
Lilligant floated gracefully in midair, having entered a state of Natural Reversion while activating the Grassy Terrain. She absorbed the power of all the Grass-type Pokémon present, her strength rapidly rising.
"Lilligant, join the battle, use Solar Beam!"
"Lilli—gant!"
Lilligant nodded firmly as the golden flower atop her head began gathering all available energy.
With Groudon's presence, two blazing suns now hung high in the sky, pushing the ambient solar energy to its absolute limit.
Almost instantly, Lilligant successfully condensed an immense amount of solar power. As sunlight fused with Grass-type energy, it shimmered with brilliant golden radiance.
"Odd!"
"Plume!"
"Gloo!"
"Bell!"
"Cheer!"
All the Grass-type Pokémon roared in unison, their bodies glowing as solar and Grass energy surged forth.
In the end, all that power was channeled by Lilligant into a colossal beam of sunlight. Golden flames burned around it as it became a true Solar Beam of overwhelming intensity.
BOOM!
The golden beam tore through space itself and slammed directly into Groudon.
In an instant, Groudon's massive body was blasted backward by the beam, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Relying on the Natural Reversion and the combined strength of countless Grass-type Pokémon, Lilligant, despite being an ordinary Pokémon, once again forced a Legendary Pokémon into retreat.
After all, Groudon was a Ground-type Pokémon, making it highly vulnerable to Grass-type moves. Moreover, with Lilligant merged with nature itself, she drew upon the power of the land to shake Groudon to its core.
Of course, a single strike was far from enough. Groudon soon rose angrily to its feet, fixing its gaze on Lilligant and the gathered Pokémon before unleashing Flamethrower once more.
Blazing flames scorched the ground, leaving charred earth in their wake as they surged toward Lilligant and the Grass-types, rapidly withering the surrounding vegetation.
At the critical moment, Darkrai stepped forward, positioning itself before the flames. Dark energy condensed rapidly, forming a black hole that swallowed the fire entirely, blocking the terrifying attack.
At the same time, Naganadel, while carrying Aven on its back—aimed its tail stinger at Groudon. A stream of multicolored venom shot forth, striking toward Groudon's eyes, forcing it to halt its Flamethrower and dodge instead.
Seeing this opportunity, the three Regi Titans, the Forces of Nature, and the rest of the Pokémon surged forward once again. Drawing upon the combined might of multiple Guardian-level beings, they continued their relentless assault on Groudon, energy waves sweeping violently across the battlefield.
"Damn it! Even with so many Guardian Deity-level Pokémon working together, what of it?!" the sorcerer leader snorted coldly, once again activating the Capture Ring to tighten his control over Groudon.
His figure now stood within Groudon's massive palm, shielded by its power as he resisted the attacks from Froslass and the Forces of Nature, while simultaneously directing Groudon's movements.
First, he turned his attention to the three Regis, Heatran, and Rhyperior at Groudon's feet. With a massive sweep of Groudon's tail, the surrounding area was dragged into its range of attack, the tail scything across the land.
In response, Regirock, Regice, and Registeel all spread their arms and braced themselves, gripping Groudon's tail firmly. Like colossal pillars driven into the earth, they held their ground and successfully blocked the attack.
At the same time, Rhyperior and Heatran regrouped, unleashing relentless full-power attacks against Groudon's right leg. Its massive body began to sway violently from the instability.
"Get out of my way! Groudon—use Rock Slide!"
As the command was issued, the Capture Ring in the sorcerer leader's hand emitted an eerie glow, mirrored by a flash of dark light in Groudon's eyes.
Groudon raised its arm, Rock-type energy condensing rapidly before slamming the power of Rock Slide downward toward the three Regis!
BOOM!
The entire ground convulsed violently as the three Regis were sent flying!
Groudon then continued channeling energy, causing countless stones to erupt from the earth and crash down upon the three Regis. The rocks sealed them within, slowly sinking them into the ground under the oppressive power of the earth's seal.
After finishing this, Groudon turned its gaze toward Rhyperior and Heatran. Flames burst forth once more, suppressing Heatran's Magma Storm. Immediately afterward, countless sharp spikes erupted from the ground, relentlessly attacking the dodging Heatran and Rhyperior.
"RHYYY!"
Rhyperior roared in fury as its muscles bulged violently. The power of the volcanic keystone surged forth completely, intense heat scorching the land and transforming it into molten lava, while crushing pressure forced the ground downward as magma churned violently.
At this moment, the powers of ground, rock, and fire were perfectly fused within Rhyperior's body. The force of Rock Wrecker became its propulsion, and its figure vanished in an instant.
When it reappeared, Rhyperior was already beside Groudon. Molten lava surged along its arms as rock, earth, fire, extreme heat, crushing pressure, and its own honed physical might all converged into a single devastating strike—one that it swung forward with everything it had.
Endless magma condensed and took the shape of a colossal fist, surging forward with terrifying force.
Rhyperior gathered all of its power into this single strike!
Amid a deafening roar, the gigantic magma fist slammed heavily into Groudon's chest, actually forcing its massive body to slide backward dozens of meters!
When the molten lava finally dispersed, Groudon's chest was already scorched black. A huge fist imprint was clearly burned into its chest, unmistakably visible.
Seeing this scene, the sorcerer leader's pupils shrank violently. He stared at Rhyperior in disbelief—was this really something an ordinary Pokémon could achieve?
Why could a mere ordinary Pokémon grow this powerful? Enduring attacks from Guardian Deity-level beings was one thing, but now it had even managed to shake Groudon itself!
At that thought, his gaze locked firmly onto Aven in the distance. He could clearly sense that if he failed to kill this man here today, the existence of the Pokémon League would inevitably become a massive obstacle to the sorcerer organization's advance. Perhaps years—no, even decades later, the Pokémon League might one day set foot upon the Kalos Region itself!
"ROOOAAAAAR!"
On the battlefield, Groudon let out furious roars.
Although Rhyperior's attack was incredibly powerful, it still failed to deal critical damage to Groudon. After roaring repeatedly, Groudon fixed its gaze on Rhyperior and unleashed a torrent of flames, completely engulfing its body.
When the flames slowly faded, Rhyperior's pitch-black silhouette emerged. It remained standing firmly in place, unmoving, as molten lava continued to flow around its feet.
"Come back, Rhyperior."
High in the air, Naganadel streaked past. Aven took out a Poké Ball and recalled Rhyperior, a look of satisfaction and relief on his face.
After such a long journey of effort and struggle, Rhyperior had grown from a cart-pulling Rhyhorn into a truly independent and formidable Pokémon. When its Champion-tier power erupted, it could even stand toe-to-toe with Guardian Deity-level beings.
TN: At this point I just think Champion level and Guardian Deity level is the same.
"Rest well, Rhyperior."
"I will definitely defeat Groudon—and make you even stronger."
Aven whispered softly to the Poké Ball before placing it into the backpack behind him. In truth, from a certain perspective, Groudon could be considered the ultimate endpoint of Ground-type power. If Rhyperior could one day obtain Groudon's strength, it would surely breakthrough even further—just like Froslass after obtaining Giratina's power.
"Lass!"
Seeing Rhyperior fall back, anger flashed in Froslass's eyes. She raised her hand, condensing gray mist into a Shadow Ball that blasted forward, colliding head-on with the power of the Capture Ring.
"ROAAAAAR!"
At the same time, Groudon launched an attack toward Naganadel in the sky. However, relying on its astonishing speed, Naganadel carried Aven rapidly upward, escaping Groudon's attack range.
"Lilligant, use Energy Ball!" On the other side, Lilligant and the numerous Grass-type Pokémon had already finished gathering their power. All of it was compressed into Energy Balls that were launched forward, slamming heavily into Groudon's chest and forcing it to stagger backward again!
Rumble—rumble—rumble!
In an instant, thunder roared across the heavens.
Thundurus and Tornadus jointly summoned rain clouds. In the blink of an eye, dark clouds blanketed the sky, with bolts of lightning crashing down relentlessly, all striking toward the sorcerer leader standing in Groudon's palm!
At the same time, Tornadus unleashed a devastating Hurricane. Under rainy conditions, its power was greatly amplified—a towering tornado rose from the ground, carrying sand and debris as it swept violently toward Groudon.
Seeing this, Groudon suddenly lowered its body, using itself to forcibly withstand the lightning strikes. Then, with a thunderous roar, earth energy surged outward, instantly crushing the oncoming hurricane.
"ROOOAAAAAR!"
Groudon lifted its head and gazed at the cloud-filled sky.
Suddenly, its entire body began to glow with a crimson light. Fire-type energy rapidly condensed, and in an instant, the dark clouds were dispersed. Two blazing suns reappeared in the sky, transforming the battlefield once more into harsh, clear sunlight!
"Still no way to seriously injure Groudon…?"
Aven's brows furrowed deeply. Groudon was even stronger than he had imagined. Despite being unable to fly, it could withstand all incoming attacks as a living target without suffering significant damage. Compared to the Yveltal that had once been forcibly awakened from the Cocoon of Destruction, Groudon was on a completely different level!
BOOM!
At this moment, Lilligant unleashed another Solar Beam.
However, compared to before, the Grass-type Pokémon had already expended much of their energy. Their strength had weakened significantly, and the power of the Natural Reversion was also beginning to fade, greatly reducing the power of the Solar Beam.
At the same time, Groudon countered with Flamethrower once again. The Solar Beam and flames collided violently in midair, and the flames quickly overwhelmed the beam, surging straight toward the Grass-type Pokémon!
"Frenzy Plant!"
Facing the overwhelming inferno, countless plants burst forth from the ground, forming a terrifying forest of trees that blocked the attack. Flames swept across the vegetation, rapidly burning it away.
Although Frenzy Plant successfully blocked the flames, the Grass-type Pokémon collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, the green glow on their bodies dimming drastically.
(End of Chapter)