"Who's behind this trickery?" Kyogre roared, a mix of anger and fear evident.
Groudon glanced around, wary and alert. Suddenly, a pink figure materialized before them.
"Mew!" Mew appeared with a playful smile.
"Is it you, Mew, causing all this trouble?" Groudon growled, its expression darkening, itching to launch an attack.
Mew breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to keep these two titans under control.
Kyogre shook its head, thinking it had been trapped in one of Mew's illusions.
Mew shook her head, indicating it wasn't her doing this time.
Who then? Kyogre remained skeptical.
Mew, using telepathy, projected Carl's image to them.
A human? Groudon snorted, incredulous, thinking Mew was jesting. It doubted anyone other than the creator could subdue them.
"She's not lying to you." Carl, with Lillie and the others, approached, his gaze evaluating the two legendary Pokémon with interest.
"Can't fly, huh? Didn't expect to see you both here."
Groudon and Kyogre were taken aback.
Can't fly? Was he referring to them?
Groudon erupted in anger, immediately summoning its devastating Cliff's Edge.
Massive stone pillars erupted from the water, charging towards Carl.
Kyogre looked on with a hint of schadenfreude.
Yet, the next moment, her expression froze.
The pillars halted abruptly, just ten centimeters from Carl.
Effortlessly, Carl and the girls leaped onto the stones, Carl testing the surface with a tap. "Pretty sturdy, huh."
With a casual wave, he added, "Time for you to cool off."
Groudon's body shrank rapidly, freezing at about three meters tall, unable to move.
Kyogre found itself free again, though also reduced in size.
The two legendary creatures exchanged a glance, shock mirrored in their eyes.
This human could control their powers at will?
Carl turned to Kyogre with a mischievous grin. "Now's your chance."
"Don't listen to him!" Groudon was desperate.
"I was just about to help you!" It tried to win Kyogre over.
Recalling earlier events, Kyogre's gaze turned dangerous.
Without hesitation, Kyogre unleashed a water cannon attack, followed by a water tail, then a pulse of origin, ending with a combination of water spout and water pulse.
The way Groudon had treated her earlier, she returned the favor with interest.
Groudon, unable to move, bore the brunt of the assault, feeling both physical pain and a loss of dignity.
"Enough already? I didn't use this many moves on you." Seeing Kyogre prepare an ice beam, Groudon finally spoke up.
But Kyogre ignored it, unleashing the ice beam at close range. The beam froze everything in its path, turning Groudon into a sparkling ice sculpture.
Though encased in ice, Groudon could still call upon its magma powers. Red-hot lava seeped from its body, rapidly melting the ice into a mist.
Kyogre prepared to attack again. "Really, enough!" Groudon pleaded. Though it could recover quickly from these attacks, the humiliation under so many watchful eyes was too much to bear.
"I don't want to either, but that human asked for it," Kyogre explained, claiming to be following orders.
"The mighty legendary beasts, obeying a human?" Groudon shot a disdainful look.
This remark infuriated Kyogre. She unleashed a blizzard, encasing all of Groudon's body except its head in ice.
"Flying or not, maybe you should learn your place," Kyogre taunted.
Groudon seethed at the nickname the human had given it. With a roar, its body emitted a blinding red light.
The ground shook violently, rocks erupting and circling around Groudon. This immense energy forced Rayquaza, flying high above, to slow down, displeased at having its journey interrupted.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Zygarde perked up, sensing an exciting spectacle. After all, two legendary Pokémon teaming up wasn't something you saw every day.
Near the World Tree, the ice quickly melted as Groudon's body became covered in scorching magma. Before Kyogre could react, a searing pillar of lava shot from the riverbed, hitting its chin.
Kyogre was thrown off balance by the sudden attack, tumbling through the air before steadying itself. It glanced around, bewildered, finally locking eyes on Carl nearby.
Kyogre let out a disgruntled cry, feeling wronged. This was blatant favoritism! Earlier, when she attempted to revert to her primal form, that mysterious power restrained her immediately. Yet Groudon could move freely. It was unfair!
"Sorry, forgot to restrict it earlier," Carl casually apologized, with a wave, instantly dissipating Groudon's energy surge and even sealing its godly domain.
This unexpected turn shocked Groudon. It finally understood why Kyogre obeyed this human, even tolerating the nickname "Can't Fly Fish." Such power was beyond its comprehension, something even the creator couldn't achieve.
High above, Rayquaza noticed something was off. It was about to confront Groudon and Kyogre, only to find their energy signatures vanished entirely. Feeling both confused and annoyed, it realized it had been played.
"I'll make them pay next time!" Rayquaza thought, deciding not to reveal itself. Just then, it sensed a meteor falling from the atmosphere, seemingly harboring life. As the guardian of this region, Rayquaza adjusted its course to investigate.
The unfamiliar life signal reminded Rayquaza of an event four years ago. Back then, its little sister had destroyed a mutated cosmic virus near the North Pole, known for its tricky shape-shifting abilities.
"Interesting, just the distraction I need!"
Rayquaza veered off, transforming into a streak of emerald light as it darted towards the distant region, anticipation written all over its face.
Meanwhile, in its dog-like form, Zygarde felt uneasy. With both Groudon's power and its domain disappearing, it was reminded of the uncertainty felt when Kyogre vanished. As the deity maintaining ecological balance, such a loss of control made it restless.
"They must be trapped."
"What dangers lurk here?"
"I can't just let this slide. I need to free them."
With resolve, Zygarde dispersed its cells across the world once more. Even in its complete form, it wasn't confident it could handle this strange barrier alone, so it needed allies.
"This time, I need someone good at escaping."
With that decision, it dashed off in a particular direction.