Archie was reckless, but even he knew that sending ordinary grunts too close to Groudon and Kyogre was a hopeless mission. He ordered them to stay back and intercept Natsui, while he and Matt pushed forward with their own Pokémon to continue the pursuit.
In truth, Natsui shared the same sentiment. He knew that approaching two clashing ancient Legendary Pokémon was extremely dangerous. Consequently, he recalled all his Pokémon except for Gengar, Gardevoir, Dragonite, Raikou, and Suicune. Carrying only these high-end combatants, he charged into the enemy lines.
Unlike him, Shelly and Courtney didn't change their lineups. This was mainly because they had only deployed two or three Pokémon each to begin with, so there was no need for adjustments.
Courtney fought alongside her three Mightyena. In this battle against Team Aqua, she refrained from using her signature Camerupt, clearly aware that against a swarm of Water-types, Camerupt would only be a target for a beating.
These three Mightyena formed a tight-knit group. They were not only powerful but knew how to coordinate; while one attacked, the other two covered its defense. This seamless transition between offense and defense allowed them to exert far more pressure than three individual Pokémon fighting alone.
This was the nature of Mightyena—they thrived in packs, maintained a strict hierarchical structure, followed their leader's commands with absolute loyalty, and relied on methodical teamwork to hunt down and take down their prey.
It was evident that both Team Magma and Team Aqua admins favored this Pokémon for exactly that reason; they appreciated its tactical combat style.
Shelly's situation was somewhat similar. Although she didn't have to worry about type disadvantages, fighting on land prevented her from utilizing her full strength, and she couldn't deploy her underwater aces. She could only rely on two of her capable land-capable Pokémon: Walrein and Crawdaunt.
Fortunately, once the Team Aqua grunts made it onto the island, they were also unable to use their most trusted deep-sea Pokémon. They had to rely on amphibious species, which naturally diminished their combat effectiveness. From this perspective, while the terrain was unfavorable for both Shelly and Team Aqua, it leveled the playing field, ensuring neither side gained a clear advantage.
However, Archie's belief that these grunts could stop Natsui was far too optimistic. Even under the direct command of Archie and Matt, these members hadn't been able to break Natsui's line earlier—much less now that their leaders had left them behind.
Like a sharp blade, with Natsui's Pokémon acting as the tip, the trio easily pierced through the layers of Team Aqua's defense.
Among his team, Raikou was undoubtedly the one Team Aqua found most troublesome. As a legendary Electric-type, it possessed a natural advantage over their Water-type Pokémon. Almost anyone hit by its lightning was either knocked out or left unable to battle; very few could withstand a second strike.
Explosions and flashes of fire flickered through the crowd, only to be instantly smothered by the falling rain.
"Too strong... dammit! We're no match for them at all..."
One of Team Aqua's Pokémon was sent flying by Gardevoir's Psychic, crashing heavily into its trainer several meters away. Pinched underneath his Pokémon, the member looked up at the retreating figures of Natsui's group and sighed in helpless frustration.
"No kidding..." another injured teammate nearby grunted, clutching his arm. "And Admin Shelly is one of the opponents. How are we supposed to really go all out against her?"
"Idiot! What are you doing calling her 'Admin' at a time like this?"
"But... but I joined Team Aqua because I respected her..."
Even though Shelly had been struck from the roster by Archie and the news had spread throughout the organization, there were still members who had always respected her. For them, this whole situation was hard to believe and even harder to accept.
Was Admin Shelly being coerced? Or did she have some unavoidable hardship?
They had desperately hoped the news was false, but seeing her standing beside that man as they moved further away shattered their final illusions. Even so, many people found themselves unable to use their full power when facing Shelly.
Admin Shelly...
...
In the center of the battlefield, Kyogre and Groudon were unleashing their primal power without restraint. Under the weight of their influence, the entire island trembled continuously, threatening to crumble and collapse at any moment.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky above the island.
The torrential rain quickly soaked Maxie's clothes. He glanced back, seeing Archie drawing closer, and let out a string of silent curses! This man was like a rabid dog—relentless and impossible to shake off!
Coming here had been a move of desperation. Maxie had assumed Archie wouldn't dare follow him this far, but he had underestimated the man's sheer audacity and resolve. It seemed Archie's obsession with the Blue Orb had reached the point of madness! This wasn't just a pursuit; it was a "get the Orb at any cost" charge.
But then, Maxie reconsidered. If positions were reversed and he had a relatively easy chance to obtain the Red Orb, he might be just as insane.
But what now?
He turned his gaze back to the battling Kyogre. Maxie held his ground, gritting his teeth, wanting to move closer to attempt a capture. But it was no easy feat. He tried to charge forward several times, but each time he was either struck by flying volcanic debris or knocked back by shockwaves. No human body could withstand that kind of punishment.
Reaching this point was already his physical limit. He was destined not to take another step forward.
Dammit!
Anxiety gnawed at Maxie's heart. Even with the Orb in hand, he was completely unable to make a move in this chaos!
Just then, as if tired of failing to defeat one another, Groudon and Kyogre stopped holding back. They simultaneously revealed their decisive moves.
The two Pokémon seemed to share a single mind as they both ceased their attacks at once. They began to store a massive amount of energy, and an extremely dangerous aura began to radiate from them, surging wildly through the air!
In that instant, everyone present felt a chill down their spine.
But before they could even process the danger, two pillars of colossal light—one red and one blue—flashed into existence, erupting from the center of the island!
BOOM—!
The red and blue energies intersected. The two energy masses, over a hundred meters high, collided and detonated. In a heartbeat, everything in the vicinity was swallowed by the blast.
The shockwave from the explosion sent people and Pokémon alike flying into the distance.
The island beneath their feet bore the brunt of the impact. Under such immense energy, the volcanic rock was incredibly fragile. Within seconds, it was completely disintegrated, leaving not even a fragment of rubble behind.
And that wasn't the end. As a secondary burst of energy exploded, the blast wave continued to ripple outward, threatening to cover the entire island!
Without a moment's hesitation, Natsui scrambled up from the ground. Seeing the impending disaster, his heart tightened. Shouting "Go!", he immediately recalled his other Pokémon and instantly released Dragonite. He flipped onto its back and, reaching out to his left and right, pulled Shelly and Courtney—who had just recalled their own Pokémon—onto Dragonite's back with him.
Dragonite flapped its wings, desperate to escape like an arrow shot from a bow. But despite its extreme speed, it had only just reached the edge of the island when the shockwave overtook them. The force flipped Dragonite over, sending Natsui and the others tumbling into the water.
SPLASH!
The seawater was bone-chillingly cold, but it served to instantly wash away the searing heat of the explosion.
Shelly emerged first, her long legs kicking like a mermaid as she broke the surface. Natsui was a step behind. As he prepared to swim up, he suddenly remembered that Courtney couldn't swim. He dove back down immediately, grabbed her, and hauled her to the surface.
Courtney had been holding her breath the entire time and let out a massive gasp the moment they broke the surface. Fortunately, she hadn't swallowed any water this time.
Behind Natsui, Dragonite's head popped out of the waves. The group looked toward the island, only to see that most of it had completely vanished. Only the jagged outer edges remained. In the center, the volcanic mountain was gone, replaced by a massive, gaping crater. Seawater was already roaring through the cracks, flooding the pit with a violent frenzy.
In the middle of the crater, Groudon and Kyogre were both covered in new wounds, panting heavily as they glared at one another.
Seeing this, Shelly whispered, "What was that?"
Team Aqua and Team Magma had pursued Groudon and Kyogre since their inception, but their knowledge of these two ancient legends was mostly derived from ancient texts and stone tablets; they lacked specific details. The moves those two Pokémon had just used were clearly beyond their understanding.
Natsui sighed. "Those were Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse. They are the signature moves unique to them."
"Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse?"
Shelly and Courtney were both stunned. Neither asked Natsui how he knew this; they simply stared at the island that had been leveled into a crater, their hearts filled with awe.
"The power... it's incredible..."
Were Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse powerful? Absolutely.
But to Natsui, it was "alright." While the power was immense, it wasn't enough to truly shock him. In terms of raw output, the combined damage of those two moves was roughly equivalent to a combined strike by his Legendary Birds.
Of course, that comparison only applied to the power of a single move.
After using their combined strike, his Legendary Birds would be exhausted, feeling as though their bodies had been emptied, and their strength would be greatly reduced for the rest of the battle. Yet Groudon and Kyogre, after unleashing Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse, still looked largely unfazed, as if it were business as usual. This showed just how massive the gap was between their individual base power levels.
It was clear that there are tiers even among Legendary Pokémon.
And this was just their power in their normal states. Once they underwent Primal Reversion, the power of those moves would skyrocket to terrifying levels. That would be the true horror.
After a long while, the aftershocks of the explosion finally began to fade.
Although some of the Team Aqua members who were further away had managed to jump into the sea in time, many others were not so lucky. As far as the eye could see, figures were floating in the water, motionless. It was impossible to tell if they were conscious or not.
Natsui scanned the area several times but couldn't find any sign of Maxie. His heart sank.
Where is he? Was he blown away? Or did he sink to the bottom?
Natsui's immediate thought of Maxie wasn't out of concern for the man's safety, but because the Blue Orb was still in his hands! Maxie going down would be no great loss—it would be one less pest in the world—but if the Blue Orb was destroyed, things would become much more complicated.
Aside from Maxie, Archie, Matt, and Tabitha were also nowhere to be seen.
However, Natsui didn't believe they would die so easily. These men were as tough as they come. Though they had been swept away by the blast, he was certain they would reappear before long.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Natsui was treading water, keeping Courtney afloat. To keep from sinking, Courtney had her arms wrapped tightly around Natsui's waist. But as she gripped him, she realized something was wrong. She felt an empty pocket.
"Wait... where is your other Orb?"
"What?"
Hearing Courtney's question, Natsui looked down. He saw that the bag tied to his waist had a large hole torn in the bottom!
The Red Orb that had been inside was gone!
This...
Natsui was stunned for a long moment before letting out a helpless sigh.
"When it rains, it pours..."
It didn't take a genius to figure out that the shockwave must have torn the bag, throwing the Orb out. He wanted to search for it, but they were in the middle of the ocean. Above them, the sky was thick with black clouds and pouring rain. Visibility was near zero. Where would he even start looking?
Shelly looked at the empty bag, her lips parting as if to speak, but she said nothing. It was simply rotten luck. She couldn't blame Natsui; if the bag had been on her, she wouldn't have escaped that fate either.
They had just gathered both Orbs, and before they could even appreciate the victory, they had lost both in such a short span of time. It was a series of unfortunate events.
The only good news was that neither Groudon nor Kyogre was being controlled. Although they had fought a brutal battle and destroyed an island, this was actually a relatively good outcome.
But for Natsui, this didn't feel like the end.
He shook his head helplessly and looked at the two women beside him. "I have a feeling this isn't over. Just watch. The Orbs are lost for now, but the next time we see Archie and Maxie, they'll have them back in their hands."
Shelly's brow furrowed immediately. "Why do you say that?"
"Just a hunch. Or maybe the law of villains," Natsui sighed. "And I can feel it... the next time we meet, we won't be facing Groudon and Kyogre in their normal forms. It will be their Primal Reversion states. We might even have to deal with Rayquaza."
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