Looking around, the surroundings were already covered in craters of various sizes. The rock piles that had stood a bit higher had long been pulverized by the bombardment, making the already barren island look even more miserable and desolate.
In the middle of this flattened wasteland, Natsui finally found Courtney's figure.
At that moment, Courtney was crouching in a nearby crater. Her Camerupt had been released at some point and was shielding her closely. Judging by the scorch marks and smoke still rising from the Camerupt's body, it was clear that the Pokémon had protected its trainer during the recent barrage of fire.
Her orange Team Magma uniform made her stand out sharply against the dark-brown ground of the island. Seeing that although she looked disheveled, she was physically unharmed, Natsui breathed a sigh of relief.
"Courtney, are you okay?"
Hearing Natsui's voice, Courtney stood up and shook her head.
Seeing that she was fine, Natsui turned his focus back to the front. There was no time for distractions now, especially since Archie had already charged toward him and Shelly with his team.
When enemies meet, there is no need for words. The fight began instantly. Moves flew through the air, and Pokémon collided with one another.
Natsui noticed that while Shelly still felt conflicted about being a traitor to Team Aqua, she didn't hesitate for a second once the fighting started. She struck her former teammates without even blinking.
She really was a smart woman. She clearly knew that this was not the time for mercy, and she showed her toughest side.
Team Aqua, in turn, showed no pity for a traitor. Archie charged directly at Natsui, while the other Admin, Matt, stepped forward to intercept Shelly.
"Traitor! You're finished!!"
The two Admins, who had once served in the same organization, were now locked in an all-out struggle.
Suddenly, another change occurred.
The relatively calm surface of the sea exploded with spray as a massive figure appeared. Almost at the same time, Groudon turned to look, as if sensing something.
A giant, whale-like blue Pokémon with fin-like arms leaped out of the water. It performed a slow rotation in mid-air before crashing back into the sea with a heavy thud.
Splash!
A massive wave erupted, and the sound of the impact immediately drew everyone's attention. Because the image was so iconic, everyone recognized it instantly.
It was Kyogre!
Nobody expected the two ancient Legendary Pokémon to meet here.
But why is it here?
Natsui, Shelly, and even Maxie inside his submarine were all surprised by Kyogre's appearance. Only the Team Aqua members didn't look too shocked.
In fact, Archie hadn't been tracking Shelly to this location. He had been following Kyogre's wake to find the beast, and it had led him to these waters. When he neared the island, he lost Kyogre's trail but detected Shelly hiding underwater. Discovering the battle on the island was a pleasant surprise, and Archie had made the immediate decision to target them.
He hadn't expected Kyogre to show up on its own.
Kyogre's arrival wasn't a coincidence. It and Groudon had been rivals since ancient times. Aside from sleeping and eating, most of their time was spent fighting each other. After being awakened, Kyogre had been searching for Groudon. It had sensed the beast was in this area but couldn't pinpoint its location until the recent battle drew it to the island.
Kyogre's arrival changed the situation once again. As arch-enemies, Groudon completely ignored Team Magma and stomped toward Kyogre. Kyogre rose from the sea, floating toward Groudon. Their eyes were fixed on each other, and the will to fight burned fiercely between them.
Natsui, Team Aqua, and Team Magma suddenly became secondary characters, forced to clear the battlefield for the two titans.
ROAR!!! WOOO!!!
Groudon and Kyogre collided. In that instant, not only did the island shake, but even the sky changed color.
Thick black clouds began to shroud the entire area. Visibility dropped sharply. The wind howled, lightning flashed, and thunder rolled across the sky. Even the sea became violent.
The environment turned hostile within moments. Under these conditions, the battle became even more difficult for Natsui and the others.
Worst of all, while fighting Team Aqua and Team Magma, they had to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the two legendary beasts. Even though neither Pokémon had undergone Primal Reversion yet and hadn't reached a world-ending level of power, every move they made had a massive impact on the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Maxie and Archie's minds were racing. This was the best opportunity they could have asked for. The Orbs were on Natsui; they just had to defeat him to get them. And while the two legends were busy fighting each other, they would eventually exhaust themselves.
Their ultimate dream felt like it was right within reach.
Archie grew even more aggressive, leading his grunts in a fierce attempt to surround Natsui.
Maxie, however, was more calculating. Since he had arrived in a hurry, he didn't have many men, and Groudon had already taken out most of them. He didn't have the strength for a direct assault, so he chose to use his wits. This was his usual style, and he felt no shame in it.
But how could he get the Orb from Natsui?
As he pondered, he looked through the submarine's massive screen at Courtney on the island. A thought occurred to him, and his expression softened into a cold smile.
That's it.
...
"Tyranitar, Scizor, Dragonite—hold the line! Don't take a single step back! Metang, Milotic, Eevee, Blaziken—don't hold anything back! Use your strongest moves and attack at full power!"
"Gardevoir, move to the front too. Don't worry about me. As long as you can hold their offensive, no one can touch me!"
"Gengar, stop slacking! There are too many of them. This isn't the time to hide your strength. Let these people see what you can really do!"
"Raikou, Suicune—watch the flanks! Don't let a single Pokémon sneak through from the side!"
Under Natsui's direction, his Pokémon coordinated with Shelly and launched a methodical counterattack, firmly blocking Team Aqua's path. Currently, all of his Pokémon were in the fight, except for Deoxys, who was kept in reserve in case of an emergency.
To be honest, before arriving here, Natsui never imagined a simple tracking mission would involve so many twists. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have adjusted his lineup to be even stronger. But there was no time for that now; he had to work with what he had.
Fortunately, he still had Deoxys as his trump card. Deoxys was strong enough that even if it couldn't defeat Groudon or Kyogre, it gave Natsui enough of an edge to keep the initiative.
Beside him, Shelly moved closer to Natsui after ordering her Pokémon to block Matt's attack.
"Archie's attacks are getting stronger. Can we really hold them off?"
It wasn't that she lacked faith; she had simply never fought so many people at once. Team Aqua and Team Magma usually relied on superior numbers to bully their targets. Now that she was on the outnumbered side, she felt uneasy. If she hadn't been fighting alongside Natsui, whose strength she knew well, she would have run away long ago.
"We have to hold," Natsui said, shaking his head. "If we leave now, we might be safe, but Groudon and Kyogre will fall into their hands once they're exhausted. We cannot retreat."
"That's true..." Shelly hesitated. "I'm just worried..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Natsui knew what she meant. They were already pushed to their limits dealing with Team Aqua, and Maxie had yet to make a move. The fact that he was staying quiet made Shelly even more nervous. A hidden enemy was always the most dangerous.
"We don't have the energy to worry about him right now. Let's focus on Team Aqua."
Natsui tried to reassure Shelly, but he was also wondering why Courtney hadn't returned to the group yet. During a brief gap in his commands, he looked back and saw Maxie and Tabitha holding Courtney hostage, slowly walking toward him!
What happened!?
How did Courtney get caught?
And Maxie had been in the submarine just moments ago—how did he sneak onto the island unnoticed?
Under Natsui's gaze, Maxie held Courtney and stopped a short distance away. He shouted toward Natsui:
"If you want her safe, hand over the Red Orb immediately!"
Natsui didn't speak right away. He looked at Courtney first. She was perfectly calm, her gaze lowered and her eyes dull. She didn't look panicked about being a hostage, nor did she look hopeful that Natsui would trade the Orb for her. She looked as if none of this had anything to do with her, as if she had completely placed her fate in the hands of others.
It was obvious that Courtney hadn't even tried to resist before Maxie captured her. She had simply let him take her. This likely came from her guilt toward Team Magma; after all, she had leaked the information and led Natsui here. Even though she had already risked her life to stall him earlier, she still didn't want to be known as a traitor.
Natsui's expression didn't change. He simply asked, "Why do you think I would trade the Orb for her safety?"
Hearing Natsui's words, Courtney lowered her head even further, but her expression remained the same. Even Shelly glanced at Natsui in surprise, though she said nothing.
Maxie looked at him deeply. "That answer surprises me. I thought you were the type of guy with a strong sense of justice."
Natsui shrugged. He knew how to negotiate and wasn't about to show his true intentions so easily. Even if he wanted to save Courtney, he had to hide his thoughts.
"I believe the lives of others are just as important as hers. If I can prevent Groudon's Primal Reversion and stop people like you from using it, certain sacrifices are necessary."
What?
Maxie hadn't expected Natsui to think that way. However, he didn't rule out the possibility that Natsui was bluffing. He sneered, "You think I'll believe that? Don't think I don't know that you've been in league with her for a long time. I know you let her go on purpose during your previous encounters. Why else would she disobey my orders and lead you here?"
Maxie's words revealed that he didn't know Courtney had tried to blow up the base to take Natsui down with her, nor that Natsui had rescued her from the ruins. He assumed Courtney simply hadn't followed his orders and had defected.
Natsui didn't correct him. He suspected Maxie was saying this on purpose, looking for a flaw in Natsui's response to figure out the real relationship between him and Courtney.
In this verbal exchange, both men realized the other was a difficult opponent.
A massive explosion roared behind Natsui. Even without looking, he knew his Pokémon were in a fierce battle with Team Aqua. Time was running out. And the battle between Groudon and Kyogre was making the island shake so much it felt like it might collapse at any second.
Natsui wanted to keep pulling at Maxie's nerves, but he knew he didn't have the time. However, he wasn't going to just hand over the Orb that easily.
Holding the bag containing the Orb, Natsui squinted at Maxie. "I'm not saying I won't trade. But I want to know... after this, will Courtney still be a member of Team Magma?"
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