In the Pokémon world, Poké Balls can only be used to capture Pokémon—they can't capture anything else, like people, rocks, or buildings. If you throw one at anything else, it'll just hit the target and fall to the ground.
Only when facing a Pokémon do they activate their capture function, drawing the Pokémon inside before the ball begins to shake. The Pokémon can still break free, but if it only shakes once before confirming a capture, that's called a "critical capture."
However, the odds of that happening are quite low—it depends on luck and the trainer's throwing technique, among other factors.
Edward had only thrown the Poké Ball for fun, thinking he might later turn it into a short video to prank his father or pull off a joke. He hadn't expected that it would actually succeed—and not only that, it really captured something.
Now the question was: What exactly did that Poké Ball capture?
Edward silently picked up the Poké Ball. It had some weight to it.
That confirmed it—he had definitely captured something. A Poké Ball that's caught a Pokémon is heavier than an empty one.
"Kyu!" Q leapt down and curiously poked the Poké Ball with its tail. The ball didn't react.
Off to the side, Fortune glanced over, then went back to reading. It had an exam tomorrow, and time was tight. Fortunately, being a Ghost-type Pokémon, Fortune didn't need sleep and could spend all night cramming from textbooks.
"If I throw it out, I'll know." Edward held the Poké Ball in his hand. The outer shell of the Luxury Ball looked quite different from a standard Poké Ball, and the texture was noticeably smoother.
In the real world, capturing a Pokémon would prompt the Pokédex to update—provided you'd already scanned that species before. But the issue here was that Edward hadn't scanned anything. After all, it had just been a rock. What was there to scan?
So, he had no idea what he'd captured.
A rock didn't look like a Ground-type Pokémon, and there weren't any known Pokémon that were Rock + Ghost types either. So, what exactly was it?
Baffled, Edward tossed the Luxury Ball.
With a flash of light, the Poké Ball opened—and in an instant, Edward stood frozen, wide-eyed, as an enormous red Pokémon with black markings emerged. It grew rapidly, smashing through the ceiling and towering before him.
"Groudon?!"
At that very moment, the Hoenn Pokémon League's chairwoman stood in stunned silence before the now-empty lava pit.
After a recent earthquake had shaken the region, she had rushed to the site. The tremor matched exactly with a previous one, raising serious concerns. By the time she arrived, she had already received a call from a lab researcher—Groudon had moved again.
So, it was certain: Groudon had stirred. And every time Groudon moved, the result was an earthquake.
Even if she didn't fully understand the situation yet, the chairwoman now knew for sure that Groudon and the recent seismic activity were directly connected.
But when she arrived at the site to check on Groudon for herself… she found the ancient Pokémon gone.
A researcher nearby was nervously wiping the sweat from his brow. Groudon had vanished, and everyone present would likely be under immediate scrutiny.
"Could someone have tried to capture Groudon?" the chairwoman asked coldly.
"That shouldn't be possible. We've tested this. Any Poké Ball thrown in Groudon's direction gets melted by the intense heat before it can even make contact," the lab director explained as he worked to pull up the security footage.
Groudon was far too important. Multiple cameras had been installed to constantly monitor its resting place.
"Oh?" The chairwoman narrowed her eyes, clearly deep in thought. The lab director was feeling more pressure by the second. He knew that this woman hadn't risen to the top of the Pokémon League through family connections—her position was earned through sheer strength and decisiveness.
If they couldn't come up with a satisfactory explanation today, things could get very unpleasant.
Fortunately, the footage was quickly retrieved—and once they saw it, both the chairwoman's and the director's expressions changed drastically.
Because they saw Groudon vanish from the camera feed. One frame showed it clearly; in the next, it was gone.
"…" The chairwoman said nothing. She took out her phone and dialed Officer Jenny Isolde. This incident wasn't going to be brushed aside. Everyone at the scene would be subjected to investigation.
But just as she was about to call, her phone rang. When she answered—
"What? Groudon?!"
Officer Jenny Isolde stood staring, bewildered, at Edward in front of her. Then she looked behind him, at the construction team still repairing the mansion, and at Edward again, who was holding a Luxury Ball in his hand.
"…Yeah, Groudon," Edward replied calmly. The old butler beside him beamed with joy.
Just moments ago, many residents of Rustboro had glimpsed a massive Pokémon looming above the mansion—a giant silhouette. Most didn't get a clear look, but some local Officer Jenny personnel, who were already nearby managing public safety after the quake, had seen it plainly:
It was Groudon.
The slumbering Groudon.
Edward had already called the police. He knew there was no way to hide something like this from the League. The earlier earthquake had brought people into the streets—tons of civilians, and a lot of Officer Jenny personnel too.
One Officer Jenny had even come to check on the mansion's residents, asking if anyone was injured—and she had personally witnessed Groudon's appearance.
Although Edward had returned Groudon to the ball very quickly, others had still seen it.
"You… captured Groudon? And it's here?" Officer Jenny Isolde struggled to believe it. If she hadn't received the same report from her own officers, she'd think Edward was joking.
"I was surprised too," Edward said with a shrug. He really hadn't expected it. He had thrown a Luxury Ball at a rock, and somehow ended up capturing Groudon.
Even though the Groudon was still slumbering, it was still Groudon, after all.
Edward had been completely stunned in the moment—if he hadn't reacted fast enough, things could've spiraled out of control very quickly.
(End of Chapter)