Team Magma's massive submarine slowly ascended, breaking the surface in less than thirty seconds.
The hatch had barely opened before Maxie rushed out, followed by Tabitha and the remaining elite grunts. But the moment they stepped onto the deck, before they could even jump onto the island, they saw it: a giant red figure in the center of the island, roaring toward the sky amidst a surging tide of lava.
Because they had studied it for so long, they recognized the figure instantly. It was the being they had spent their lives pursuing: Groudon.
But the shock came right after.
"What!?" Tabitha cried out, his voice filled with disbelief. "Groudon!? But... isn't it supposed to be deep underground? Why is it already on the surface?"
Maxie's face darkened. He found the situation equally incredible. He couldn't understand why Groudon, who should have been in a deep slumber, had awakened now for no apparent reason.
They had been monitoring it with instruments for a while and knew its energy levels were stable and dormant. Under normal circumstances, without external interference, it shouldn't have awakened for months—perhaps even years.
But now...
Why was it awake?
And why at such a critical moment?
Controlling a sleeping Groudon was an entirely different task than trying to subdue one that was already active and enraged. The difficulty level had just skyrocketed.
Maxie narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings. Aside from Groudon, he saw no sign of any humans or other Pokémon.
"Leader, what do we do?" Tabitha turned to him, his tone hesitating. Even he knew that this sudden turn of events had thrown their entire plan into chaos.
Maxie realized he had to make a choice immediately—either push forward and try to control Groudon now, or retreat and wait for a better opportunity.
It took him less than two seconds to make up his mind.
"We can't delay! We must control Groudon before that man catches up to us!"
Tabitha looked at him in surprise. "Are you saying... Courtney couldn't stop him?"
"Obviously," Maxie said with absolute certainty. "Our previous encounters have shown that even a large force couldn't stop him. What could Courtney do alone?"
"But..." Tabitha remained skeptical. "You gave her the detonator. With her personality, she definitely would have used it. The entire base would have turned to ash in an instant. He couldn't have escaped that, right?"
"Do not underestimate him," Maxie said, sounding as if he had seen through everything. "Even if the base exploded, so what? I don't believe an explosion like that would kill him so easily. If he were that easy to handle, he wouldn't be such a nightmare for both us and Team Aqua."
Tabitha blinked. "Then why leave Courtney there? Why sacrifice the whole base?"
"Don't you get it?" Maxie looked at Tabitha with cold indifference. "Since the base was discovered, its value was gone. Better for us to blow it up ourselves than to let the authorities dismantle it. Besides, doing that at least bought us some time and hid our tracks—or so I hoped."
Tabitha nodded. Despite his stocky appearance, he was quite a cruel man. Both of them tacitly ignored the hundreds of subordinates left behind at the base, as if their lives were entirely insignificant.
While they spoke, they cautiously stepped onto the island, slowly closing in on Groudon.
Every eye was fixed on the ancient Legendary Pokémon. Even those who knew nothing about Groudon would have felt a sense of awe the moment they saw it.
Groudon stood over three meters tall. It looked as if it were wearing a heavy helmet, its back and tail covered in thick, red, armor-like plates. Its grey underside seemed slightly softer by comparison, but its body was covered in sharp spikes. With its cold gaze, razor-sharp teeth, and a powerful, spiked tail that looked like a piece of heavy machinery, it radiated sheer brutality.
It was said that Groudon's design was inspired by the Behemoth of ancient legend—an invincible master of the primordial land. In Hoenn myth, it was the embodiment of the earth itself, credited with creating the ground and expanding the continents.
It possessed the power to scatter rain clouds and evaporate water with intense light and heat. Long ago, it had appeared as a savior to people suffering from floods. Legends also told of its endless battles with Kyogre for natural energy, conflicts that were only resolved by Rayquaza. After its final battle with Kyogre, it had fallen into a deep sleep within the underground magma to regain its strength. It was said that its mere awakening was enough to trigger volcanic eruptions.
No matter how many times one saw it, Groudon's aura was suffocating.
And right now, Groudon was in a state of absolute fury. Lava erupted from the hole it had created when it broke through the surface, flowing around its feet and making it look even more majestic and terrifying.
Hidden behind a pile of volcanic rocks in the distance, Courtney held her breath, her eyes wide as she watched. Her heart was racing.
Having seen this scene in her visions more than once, she knew exactly what was about to happen. This was the moment of truth: were those images just hallucinations, or did she truly have the power to see the future?
As Maxie and his team followed the exact path she had seen, her heart jumped into her throat. Though the vision had only been a flash, she remembered every reaction and movement perfectly. What was happening right now matched her premonition to the letter.
She was now certain. She had seen the future.
Leader...
Courtney instinctively clenched her fists.
Just then, Groudon noticed the uninvited guests.
It didn't hesitate. Energy gathered in its mouth, and a second later, a Hyper Beam erupted. It tore a terrifying rift across the island and the sea before Groudon swiveled its head, sweeping the beam toward the Magma members.
Danger!
Confirmed by her own eyes, Courtney couldn't hold back anymore. She couldn't stand by and watch Maxie and the others be wiped out exactly as she had foreseen. Without a second thought, she stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Leader! Look out!!"
Hearing Courtney's voice, Maxie and his officers momentarily thought they were hallucinating.
Courtney!?
They couldn't understand why she was here. She was supposed to be at the base, stalling the intruder. Why was she on this island?
However, thanks to her warning, Maxie and Tabitha were on guard. When the Hyper Beam swept toward them, they managed to dive out of the way at the last possible second.
While they escaped, the grunts behind them weren't so lucky. Just as in Courtney's "future," they were struck instantly.
BOOM!!
The shockwave from the explosion threw Maxie and Tabitha quite a distance, but because they had dodged, they escaped serious injury.
Once they recovered from the blast and looked back at the center of the explosion, they saw only a massive crater where they had just been standing. Not a single one of the Team Magma grunts was still standing.
Such overwhelming power.
Maxie's expression shifted rapidly between pale and red. A second later, and he would have ended up just like them—dead before he could even react.
That was too close!!
Before he could demand why Courtney was here or what was going on, Maxie felt a strange sensation beside him. He whipped his head around only to see a Gengar floating next to him, a wide, mocking grin on its face.
Perhaps it was the succession of shocks, but Maxie's reaction was half a beat too slow.
While he was still processing the sight of the ghost, Gengar reached out and snatched the bag hanging from his waist.
Damn it!
The bag looked ordinary, but it contained the Red Orb. He had thought it was safest on his person, but he had lost it in an instant.
Maxie's face twisted. He reached out to grab it back, but it was too late. Gengar soared into the air with a cackling laugh and drifted away.
To Maxie's absolute shock, a man stepped out from behind a volcanic rock in the distance and caught the bag perfectly in his hand.
It was Natsui!!
Maxie realized the truth instantly. Gritting his teeth, he looked back and forth between Courtney and Natsui with eyes full of disbelief.
"Courtney... you dare betray me!? You've betrayed all of Team Magma!!!"
His distorted expression made it clear just how furious he was. He was practically burning with rage.
Courtney froze, unable to find the words to defend herself. Betrayal hadn't been her intention—she had been forced by circumstance—but who would believe her now?
Natsui stood there, pulled the Red Orb out of the bag to confirm it was the real deal, then tucked it back in and secured it to his waist. He looked up and met Maxie's eyes with a slight smile.
"Maxie, Courtney is my prisoner now. She's the one who led me here. What do you think? Surprised? Not only did I escape your base, but I beat you to the finish line. Now that the Red Orb is in my hands, your plan is finished."
This sent Maxie into a fit of rage.
Prisoner?
Does that look like a prisoner?
Looking at Courtney—who wasn't being restrained and was moving freely—Maxie naturally didn't believe a word of that "prisoner" nonsense.
In fact, the more Natsui spoke, the more Maxie was convinced of her guilt. Everything made sense now. Courtney must have leaked the information to this man. This man must have been the one who woke Groudon.
That cursed traitor!!
He was about to scream another accusation, but Groudon didn't give him the chance. Groudon's attacks were aimless; anything that moved in its sight was a target for its Hyper Beam.
Natsui, having revealed himself, was now a target too.
Groudon began gathering energy again, aiming at Natsui, Courtney, and Maxie. However, before the beam could travel halfway, another Hyper Beam shot in from the side and struck Groudon.
The two beams collided in a violent explosion, drawing Groudon's attention to a new direction.
Natsui's Tyranitar stepped out from behind a rock, staring down Groudon with a cold, fearless gaze. It didn't flinch despite the legendary Pokémon's height and aura.
Its appearance caught Groudon's full attention. The two Pokémon began to move toward each other, and a major battle was about to break out.
Tabitha, dragging an injured leg, hobbled over to Maxie's side. In the previous explosion, his knee had been sliced by a flying rock. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it severely limited his movement.
"Leader... what now?"
What could they do? Maxie was at a total loss.
His men were down, his Admin had betrayed him, the Red Orb was lost, and his target was in a mindless rage. Could things get any worse?
He had arrived with total confidence, yet the operation had ended before it even truly began. It was a pathetic defeat.
Maxie took a deep breath, trying to force himself to stay calm.
"We retreat for now."
"Retreat!?" Tabitha looked at the fallen grunts behind them, his mouth hanging open. He didn't know what to say, but leaving like this felt like a bitter pill to swallow.
Maxie nodded, his eyes fixed on Natsui. "He won this round, but this isn't over! Our priority now is to regroup and find an opportunity to steal the Red Orb back!"
Natsui couldn't hear their conversation, but he sensed Maxie's intent. He wasn't about to let them just walk away.
This operation had been incredibly smooth. He hadn't even broken a sweat, and Shelly's plan hadn't even reached its main phase before it was over. Compared to his previous struggles, this was almost too easy.
He was just about to order Gengar to pursue and capture the two men when something flashed before his eyes.
A split second later, his Tyranitar was sent crashing into a volcanic rock!
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