Chapter 152: Let Me Be the One to Catch Groudon! For the League!
"Seems like attacking it won't wake it up either."
Cynthia stepped in with practiced tact at the sight of Wallace, who had gone red and looked approximately three seconds from detonating.
"True — Water does counter Ground. So what do we do? Keep attacking?" Leon was genuinely on board with this plan.
And Wallace had at least established a proof of concept. Under a full-power Hydro Pump from Milotic, Groudon had technically responded. Maybe something with more stopping power would actually do it.
"But if we do that, Groudon might wake up angry." Giovanni mused.
"Wallace's attack just demonstrated how deep its sleep is. If we keep pushing until it wakes up that way — it might go berserk."
That was his read.
"He's not wrong. That's a real possibility." Cynthia glanced at Giovanni.
"So what do we do? This is such a waste — we were so close, and we don't have the Orb."
Nemona sighed. Groudon was right there in front of them, and they were completely stuck.
Did this mean everything they'd done these past few days had been for nothing?
"There are two options."
Giovanni spoke with quiet deliberation. Every head turned.
"First — draw Team Rocket here. If battle breaks out nearby, the noise and Kyogre's presence might be enough to rouse it."
The group considered this.
"The idea has merit. The problem is how we draw Team Rocket here."
Steven frowned. Fighting near this location was theoretically viable — but getting Team Rocket to show up was the hard part.
Team Rocket was a criminal organization, but Mammon and his people weren't stupid. Convincing an evil organization to proactively seek out the Hoenn League and attack it was a remarkably tall order. Finding Team Rocket at all wasn't easy, let alone luring them somewhere specific.
Cynthia nodded in agreement. Drawing Team Rocket here was going to be extremely difficult.
"Then — option two. We catch Groudon right here."
Giovanni produced a Poké Ball and said it quietly.
"What?!"
"Excuse me?!"
"Please don't do anything rash!"
The group rounded on him immediately.
"Giovanni — Groudon is a legendary Pokémon. Even if we get it into a Ball right now, once it wakes up, the Ball won't be able to hold it." Steven said it carefully. Catching Groudon was far too dangerous an option.
Many powerful Pokémon simply weren't bound by Poké Balls. A primordial legendary like Groudon — to say nothing of what might happen if it woke up and found it had been captured in its sleep. It might fly into a rage and attack whoever had taken advantage of it.
"It's the only way. If we can get Groudon into a Ball, we can take it with us."
Giovanni's eyes were resolute. He had already made his decision.
"This is reckless, Giovanni." Cynthia's elegant brow furrowed.
"Agreed — and if anyone is going to attempt it, it should be me." Steven said it firmly. "Giovanni, you shouldn't—"
He was Hoenn's Champion. He was the one who had the right and the obligation to give everything for Hoenn.
Groudon — by any measure, he should be the one to catch it. And if Groudon woke mid-capture, the risk should fall on him and no one else.
"Mammon is my son. A father who fails to raise his son right bears the responsibility for what that son becomes."
Giovanni's voice dropped low, his expression heavy — sad and stubborn at once.
"No matter what it takes — I will defeat him. I will bring him back to who he was. Whatever the cost."
The conviction in his voice hit the group like a physical thing. What kind of resolve was that.
"So let me do this. I'll carry the risk alone."
"For the League. For justice."
His voice rang out.
Steven opened his mouth — and closed it again.
"…Then we're in your hands, Giovanni."
Wallace said it with complete sincerity. He thought back to when Giovanni had first arrived, when he — shamefully — had harbored doubts about the man.
After all, his son was a senior Team Rocket executive. It had been hard not to wonder.
But after all this time together, Wallace felt like slapping himself.
You should be ashamed. You doubted this man. What kind of person are you?
"Groudon…"
Giovanni stepped forward, eyes fixed on the crimson colossus sleeping in the magma.
The corners of his mouth curved — barely perceptibly.
The legendary creator of the land. Lord of the red earth. As a match for him personally, this one had real promise.
His back to the group, Giovanni let his expression shift into something that carried a quiet, deep satisfaction.
He threw the Ultra Ball directly at Groudon.
Per Mammon's intelligence, a sleeping Groudon had a very high probability of not resisting — which was precisely why he'd been waiting for this moment. This was the ideal window.
And this was the lord of the land — a legendary Pokémon of this caliber. Given the pressure they were under, Steven might very well have arrived at the same idea and attempted to take Groudon himself.
Better to get in front of it. Better to be the one holding the Ball.
Because he had to admit — Steven, Cynthia, Leon. They were all genuinely exceptional. Under the right circumstances, one of them might actually earn Groudon's recognition.
So to be safe — he'd take on this "risk" himself.
The Ultra Ball traced a perfect arc and landed squarely on Groudon.
In an instant, the enormous red body dissolved into red light and was drawn inside.
It went in. Would it hold?
The group's collective tension spiked — especially Nemona, who had both fists clenched and was staring at the Ball floating in midair.
Click.
The Ball shook once.
Ding.
And then — with a single clean tone — it locked.
Caught.
The group stared. That was it?
With a swift hum, Beedrill swept past and retrieved the Ball, returning it to Giovanni.
Giovanni took it. The satisfied smile on his face was genuine — he couldn't suppress it even if he tried.
In his heart, he was very pleased — though knowing what Mammon had told him about Groudon and Kyogre's situation, he understood this was only step one.
"Success, everyone."
He turned to face the group with a calm smile.
"Congratulations, Giovanni."
Steven's feelings were complicated.
The three great ancient legendaries — the mythological Pokémon that were the very soul of Hoenn's history. Kyogre was already Mammon's. And now Groudon was Giovanni's, leaving only Rayquaza, the Sky Dragon.
"That was incredible! You actually caught Groudon!" Nemona was vibrating with excitement and could barely contain herself.
This was the first time she'd ever witnessed someone catch a legendary Pokémon with her own eyes!
She made a mental note — the moment she was back in Paldea, she was going to start looking for leads on legendary Pokémon. After what she'd seen at Larousse, she was absolutely hooked.
That battle had shown her viscerally, undeniably, the gap between ordinary Pokémon and legendaries. The beings at the apex of the world's ecosystem were terrifying — and at the same time, utterly captivating.
"It's only been put in a Ball. A Ball can't contain Groudon. Without its recognition, this isn't a true capture."
Giovanni shook his head, his composure completely intact.
"True. But the first step is done. As long as Groudon isn't too extreme in its response, you have a real chance of earning it, Giovanni."
Leon acknowledged it — and privately thought Giovanni's odds were decent.
Under different circumstances, he himself had been on the verge of throwing a Ball at it just now.
Though assuming Groudon wasn't completely unreasonable — he had a mental image of Giovanni sleeping peacefully in the middle of the night, the Groudon inside the Ball waking up, realizing where it was, erupting in fury, destroying the Ball, and Giovanni ceasing to exist in his sleep.
That would be very bad.
"Our next priority — find Mammon's location as quickly as possible."
Giovanni nodded, then looked at Steven and said it quietly.
"Agreed."
Steven nodded. He knew. Every hour that passed made it more dangerous for Giovanni.
Caitlin's villa in Mauville City.
Mammon looked at his phone with a smile.
"Good news?" Caitlin set a fruit plate on the coffee table in front of him, smoothed her skirt gracefully, and settled beside him with quiet curiosity.
"The old man caught Groudon. The Hoenn League is looking for our base."
Mammon said it pleasantly.
He'd just received Giovanni's message.
Caitlin's elegant brow arched slightly.
"They've been completely played — by you and your father both."
She picked up her cup and took a delicate sip, a faint smile at her lips.
The Hoenn League had no idea that the plan they'd come up with on their own was actually the product of quiet guidance — and that any hope of defeating Mammon had never existed to begin with.
Because at the end of the day, a Groudon without the Red Orb was simply no match for Primal Kyogre.
And if Giovanni suddenly turned on them mid-battle — the Hoenn League would be completely finished.
Not that Caitlin expected him to. Not now. Betraying them at this point would accomplish nothing beyond rattling the group's morale — and the Hoenn League had no real chance in this fight to begin with.
"It's not quite that dramatic. I genuinely didn't expect Steven to actually hand the opportunity over to him."
Mammon leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, mildly amused. It was a shame he hadn't been there in person.
He would have loved to see exactly how Giovanni had maneuvered the "right" to catch a sleeping Groudon out from under Hoenn's own Champion.
Because by any reasonable logic, Steven should have been the one.
"Shall we respond?"
Caitlin peeled a grape with those long, elegant fingers and held it toward him.
"Naturally~"
Mammon leaned forward and took it.
She felt his lips brush her fingertips, and she blinked — her lovely eyes betraying just the faintest flicker.
"It's about time we showed them what real power looks like." The corner of Mammon's mouth climbed.
"And this is the perfect opportunity to settle Kagura's matter as well."
A clash of land and sea — and a Rayquaza summoning in the middle of it. Whether Kagura would come through was the only question.
"When are you thinking?"
Caitlin peeled another grape, watching him with quiet anticipation.
Watching him take it from her fingers, she felt warm all through. Happy.
"Tonight is when the thousand-year comet arrives. Let's see if our little friend wakes up."
Mammon looked at the purple crystal on the table. He was genuinely fond of this small creature.
"Mm." Caitlin tilted her head in a small nod.
If Mammon chose not to reveal his location, the Hoenn League would have a very difficult time finding him. They had time.
Evening fell.
Tonight was the thousand-year comet's arrival.
On a coastal hillside outside Mauville City, the three of them sat together — picnic mat spread, Jirachi's sleeping crystal placed carefully at the center.
"Legend says a beautiful song can wake Jirachi. Lillie, it's in your hands."
Mammon looked up at the white streak of light appearing in the night sky and smiled at her.
"Leave it to me~!"
Lillie said it with full confidence, drawing the Sun Flute from her bag and lifting it to her lips.
Beside her, Lunala's expression went quietly aggrieved.
Technically the Sun Flute and Moon Flute were its instruments. Just for the record.
Lillie, for her part, didn't notice.
She pressed the flute to her lips and began to play.
The melody that emerged was clear and unhurried — like clean water tumbling gently over smooth stones, washing away everything heavy and clouded.
The music floated through the night air as the thousand-year comet burned overhead like the brightest star in the sky. What no one could see was the soft white comet-energy falling like snowflakes — all of it drawn into the purple crystal and absorbed.
Brilliant white light began to pulse from the stone. The sleeping crystal slowly rose into the air.
"It's actually working!"
Lillie lowered the flute, watching the crystal with wide, delighted eyes.
Jirachi — the Wish Pokémon of legend, who could grant any wish!
The light grew until it was blinding. From within it, a small yellow-white figure took shape — and slowly, gently, opened two enormous bright eyes.
"So cute~!"
Lillie's face lit up.
It was genuinely extraordinary. Jirachi was tiny — about thirty centimeters tall — with a head shaped like a star, three green wish-tags hanging from its three points. Two ribbon-like streamers trailed behind it like wings. Its body was white, with a thin black line across its belly, and its little arms and legs were so short and round it barely seemed real.
"Mmm~ Mammon~!"
Jirachi blinked awake, swept a quick look around, and locked immediately onto Mammon. Its big eyes curved into happy crescents. It drifted toward him, slowly and lazily, and then —
Fwump.
It flung itself onto his neck, nuzzling against him with total shameless affection, exactly like a cat demanding attention.
Lillie and Caitlin both stared.
Was it always this soft and tiny?!
And it could grant wishes on top of that!
"Mammon, Mammon~ I woke up!"
Jirachi's bright, ageless little voice chimed in his head — impossible to place as either boy or girl, the voice of a child who had been sleeping for a thousand years.
It was fond of Mammon. He'd been the one keeping it company during its half-waking moments, feeding it energy, chatting away the quiet hours.
"Congratulations, Jirachi." Mammon smiled, reached up with both hands, got a grip under its arms, and carefully extracted it from his neck to hold it up.
Jirachi looked at him with wide, innocent eyes. Indescribably endearing.
Then the newly-awakened Wish Pokémon immediately delivered its very first waking wish.
"Mammon~ I want to ride the big fish."
"…Hm?"
Mammon blinked.
You were serious about that? Kyogre wasn't going to be enthusiastic.
"What's wrong? You promised, Mammon." Jirachi tilted its little star-head.
"I want to ride the big fish. Someone told me riding the big fish feels amazing." It said this with complete earnestness.
"…Who told you that." Mammon was genuinely thrown.
"Manaphy told me~"
(End of chapter)
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