Want to read ahead. You know where
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"It's… It's Fearow!"
Sabrina stared at the fallen Pokémon, her eyes wide with disbelief.
What had once looked like the majestic Moltres now lay crumpled on the floor, the illusion shattered.
Its feathers were no longer on fire.
The vibrant orange and burning gold had given way to dull brown plumage.
Its long beak twitched slightly as it lay on its side, chest rising shallowly.
More air was leaving its lungs than coming in.
The 'Moltres' was dying.
Sam stepped forward slowly, his voice calm but distant.
"Team Rocket must've captured the real Moltres."
He crouched beside the fading bird, eyes sharp with quiet analysis.
"They extracted its genes… and forcefully grafted them into this Fearow using aggressive gene-editing techniques."
He glanced at Sabrina.
"Once inside, Moltres's DNA began to override Fearow's; its cells tried to imitate the legendary genes. That's how it took on Moltres's appearance temporarily."
He stood again, arms crossed.
"But a regular Fearow... it just can't handle that level of power. Not physically. Not biologically."
"There's a limit," he said flatly.
"And this one hit it."
Sabrina's brow furrowed as the explanation settled in.
"So…" she murmured, voice low, "from the moment they injected it with Moltres' genes…"
"This bird was already doomed?"
Sam didn't reply with words; he nodded once, solemnly.
As if on cue, the Fearow's body began to convulse.
Its limbs twitched erratically.
The unnatural power surging through its cells reached a critical point.
Its form expanded suddenly, as if bloated from the inside, then collapsed just as fast.
"SKREEEEE!!"
A sharp, strangled screech ripped through the air.
And then silence.
The light faded from its eyes.
Its body, twisted and scorched from internal mutation, lay still.
Sabrina looked away, biting her lip.
"Monsters," she whispered, trembling with anger.
"They treat living beings like throwaway experiments!"
Her pink-gloved fist clenched, and she punched the air with a snap.
Sam exhaled, gaze still locked on the body.
"To them," he muttered, "this was just another failed prototype."
A simple tool.
No different from a broken machine to discard.
That was how Team Rocket saw it.
How Giovanni saw all Pokémon.
He didn't even need to say it.
Sabrina already knew.
Behind this single Fearow… there had probably been dozens more-maybe hundreds.
All sacrificed for Rocket's so-called Artificial Legendary Project.
While Team Rocket's "Artificial Legendary Project" raged through Kanto, other criminal organizations across the regions were far from idle.
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Far south, in the Hoenn Region, disasters were quietly being set in motion.
Mt. Chimney – Team Magma Base
The normally dormant volcano trembled.
Mt. Chimney, usually a peaceful summit wreathed in steam and mist, now roared with life.
Magma surged violently from cracks near the crater, sending glowing embers into the sky.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
A wild laugh echoed across the mountaintop.
"Great Earth God Groudon!" a voice bellowed, full of fervor.
"Rise from your slumber!"
"Unleash your divine power!"
"Let the seas shrink, and create more land!"
Maxie, the sharp-eyed leader of Team Magma, stood tall amidst the chaos.
His red coat fluttered violently in the hot winds, his glasses fogged by volcanic steam.
Around him, rows of grunts, Team Magma's loyal followers, watched with unblinking anticipation.
They were deep into the activation phase now.
The mountain groaned louder, and lava erupted from the peak in violent bursts.
Then, ROOOOOOAR!!!
The sky seemed to crack.
A primal roar split the air, louder than thunder.
Even the clouds above scattered like ash in a storm.
The sun blazed hotter.
The air itself shimmered with rising heat.
From the heart of the lava, something stirred.
A massive crimson claw burst forth from the molten earth.
It slammed down with brutal force, instantly shattering the rocky summit.
Solid stone tore like paper.
More magma surged up through the newly ripped chasm, gushing across the mountaintop like blood from an open wound.
And then,
A titan emerged.
Fifty meters tall, burning with the power of the land itself.
Groudon.
The Continent Pokémon had awakened.
Its glowing red eyes opened slowly, scanning the world, searching, feeling.
Deep within its core, it sensed something.
Kyogre.
It's an ancient rival.
Without a word, without a pause, Groudon began to move, each step shaking the mountain beneath it.
The earth trembled as the god of land returned to Hoenn.
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Route 127 – Deep Sea Trench
Beneath the waves, a sleek submarine glided silently through the abyss..
Inside the cockpit, the command center was alive with activity.
This vessel belonged to Team Aqua, and they were deep beneath Route 127 in search of their god.
Archie, leader of the water-loving extremists, stood at the observation window, eyes locked on the endless dark.
Suddenly, "Commander!" a grunt called out.
"Massive lifeform detected, five hundred meters ahead!"
Archie straightened, pulse surging.
"Bring us in closer! Full lights, now!"
"Yes, sir!"
The crew scrambled into action.
Power surged through the ship, and dozens of floodlights lit up the deep.
The water ahead glowed, at first empty.
Then something moved.
Something huge.
A dark blue behemoth, almost fifty meters long, drifted through the ocean trench with slow, powerful grace.
Its massive pectoral fins stretched wide, each ending in four glowing, squared digits.
Red bio-lines pulsed along its body, glowing faintly on its fins, eyes, and the arc of its mouth.
The crew gasped audibly.
They all took a step back, instinctively.
Archie, however, stepped forward.
His heart thundered in his chest as he pressed both palms against the window, breath fogging the glass.
"It's…"
His voice was reverent.
Shaky. Overcome.
"Kyogre… God of the Sea…"
"I finally found you…"
"You're… magnificent."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
Eyes wide with awe, he stared at the slumbering titan on the other side of the glass.
His fingertips curled, as if he could touch Kyogre through the steel and pressure.
"Begin the wake-up protocol!" he barked suddenly.
"Immediately!"
"Yes, sir!" the grunts shouted in unison, rushing to the control panels.
The console came alive with lights and timers.
Archie stepped back, fists clenched, eyes shining with madness and devotion.
"Bring the storms!" he declared.
"Let the sea swallow the land!"
As power flowed through the submarine, pulses of activation energy began transmitting toward the resting deity.
On land, Groudon marched forward.
In the sea, Kyogre stirred.
Hoenn was about to change.