Chapter 663: Luo Mu and Lugia VS the Sea and Land Twin Gods!

After a murmur filled with endless bewilderment.

The instant she realized the summoning of Rayquaza had failed, Xiang Xiang Jiana's face instantly turned deathly pale.

She did not understand.

She had clearly done everything to the utmost limit, so why had Lord Dragon God not responded to her summon?

He did not even seem inclined to intervene in the conflict between Groudon and Kyogre.

Had she somehow offended him?

Where exactly had things gone wrong? Was the intensity of the battle between Groudon and Kyogre not strong enough? Then what about Mossdeep City?

Or was it simply that the single Key Stone in her hand was insufficient to call forth his descent?

At this moment, Xiang Xiang Jiana fell into confusion.

Her entire body seemed to lose all strength; she collapsed to the ground with a thud, kneeling as she sank into painful self-doubt.

How long it would take her to emerge from this state remained to be seen.

Meanwhile.

In the Hoenn region, in the seas near Munce Island.

Accompanied by an ethereal whale cry as melodious as a song, rushing toward the chaotic battlefield was—

The legendary Pokémon Lugia, known by titles such as the Guardian of the Seas and the Guardian of the Winds.

And—

"Teacher Luo Mu!"

Hearing Hearing Nimo gazed at the black-haired youth on Lugia's back, her face brimming with excitement.

The hearts suspended in anxiety for Shinji and Shizuka finally settled completely back into place at this moment.

Since Teacher Luo Mu had arrived, the current crisis was no longer a crisis.

"That is... Lugia!?"

How could Lance, supported by his Dragonite, fail to recognize the name of that giant white bird currently carrying Luo Mu?

As a native of Johto, there was no one who did not know Lugia's reputation; that was a deity who, alongside Ho-Oh, once resided atop the two Gao Ta in Ecruteak City, accepting human worship!

Could it be that the incident in the Grandma Ju Zi archipelago established a connection between Luo Mu and Lugia, prompting him to invite the latter for support?

But regardless, the seemingly hopeless situation was about to welcome a ray of dawn.

Luo Mu, who could already shoot down Rayquaza, combined with the power of the Guardian of the Seas, Lugia... Lance dared not even think carefully about what might happen!

It was secure; this time it was finally secure!

But facts proved that Lance was rejoicing too early at this moment.

—Beyond the horizon, two massive figures ignored the swirling vortexes, enduring gales capable of blowing away most things as they advanced with firm steps in this direction.

A giant Dragonite and a giant Tentacruel!

When their hundred-meter-tall figures passed by the Wailord, Hearing Hearing Nimo's excitement reached an unprecedented peak.

Especially the giant Dragonite moving amidst thick fog; that was the big fellow she had once witnessed on the coast of Paldea.

It was reliability visible to the naked eye!

Luo Mu did not stop to exchange pleasantries with Hearing Hearing Nimo and the others, but instead fixed his gaze on the distance.

With Munce Island as the boundary, on one side the Tianhe overturned, and on the other the scorching sun blazed. Although he had sensed this beforehand while en route, combining it with the sight of those two approaching figures created a scene astonishingly consistent with the image he had imagined in his mind when first playing the Hoenn-generation games.

After observing the environment, Luo Mu immediately shifted his attention to the focal point of this operation.

Groudon and Kyogre!

"Damn fat fish and the one who can't fly..."

Luo Mu gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath.

These two super-ancient legendary Pokémon were the cause of the climatic abnormalities in the Hoenn region and the culprits responsible for forcing Luo Mu to rush back from the Kanto seas.

Since they couldn't hear him anyway, what was wrong with cursing them once? He had even lost his vacation!

Lugia: "..."

Never mind, let's just pretend I didn't hear that →_→.

However, why did it feel that this appellation was quite apt?

Must hold it back; absolutely cannot laugh out loud. Must maintain the dignity of the Guardian of the Seas and cannot lose composure under the gaze of so many eyes.

Inside the satchel on Luo Mu's chest, although Terapagos was quite curious about what Luo Mu was saying, it sensed an aura that filled turtles with fear yet felt familiar, so it wisely stayed shrunk up.

At this moment, amidst Groudon and Kyogre who had simultaneously halted their fighting, Kyogre, which had exposed half its head above the sea surface, made a move.

"Roar—"

Kyogre's pair of angry eyes glared at Lugia's figure; forget Wallace, at this moment Kyogre did not even pay attention to Groudon or the indigo orb on that side, instead unleashing an intimidating roar at Lugia.

As for the giant Dragonite and giant Tentacruel that had come to reinforce, they were directly ignored by Kyogre.

"Do you two have a bad relationship?"

Luo Mu asked Lugia with a look of surprise.

Judging by Kyogre's appearance, its move was already condensing; it was just short of undergoing Primal Reversion, flying up, and delivering a heavy punch to Lugia.

"... It should be because I intruded upon its territory."

Lugia also felt somewhat helpless.

Besides the title of Creator of the Seas, Kyogre also possessed a title similar to Lugia's: Guardian of the Seas.

There were quite complex ancient reasons behind this; in short, other sea areas were fine to discuss, but if one entered the Hoenn seas, Kyogre would inevitably pick a fight.

This was also the reason it had not entered the Hoenn seas before, only lingering nearby.

Helpless though it was, Lugia was not so far as to be afraid.

—Even if Kyogre underwent Primal Reversion, it could still slip away under the other's pursuit, let alone that this fellow looked obviously underfed at a glance!

"In short, we'll act according to what we just discussed; as long as we prevent them from touching orbs of their own color, once they realize the cost outweighs the gain, those two will voluntarily flee home to sleep!"

Lugia let out a low cry, flapping its broad white wings to draw all the raging winds tormenting the skies above the sea under its psychic control.

Simultaneously activating a sturdy shell made of psychic power—oh no, a barrier—it charged directly into the battlefield, bracing against the tailwind while taking Kyogre's hastily released "Hydro Pump," born of shame turning to rage, head-on!

At this moment, Kyogre paid Wallace no further mind, diving straight into the sea to pursue Lugia!

It was almost as if Lugia had used some sort of "Look at Me" move.

"Cough, cough..."

Looking somewhat disheveled, Wallace coughed up several mouthfuls of seawater mixed with blood streaks; lying prone on the back of his Mantine, he and his Milotic gazed together at Luo Mu's figure standing atop Lugia's back.

After the initial surprise had passed, he could now only hope that Luo Mu would, just as in Mossdeep City, bring an end to the conflict between Groudon and Kyogre.

"... I leave the rest to you."

Murmuring these words, due to hypothermia and massive blood loss, Wallace's head lolled to one side, and amidst Milotic's worried cries, he fainted atop Mantine's back.

Meanwhile, on Mossdeep Island.

Since Groudon's attention had also been drawn away by Lugia and Luo Mu, he was finally able to catch his breath.

Steven had also noticed Wallace fainting over there, but with his Mantine and Milotic present, they would take good care of Wallace.

Even though he had just attacked while taking advantage of Groudon's attention being largely diverted.

Neither he, nor Metagross, nor Claydol had succeeded in approaching the opponent to seize the opportunity to attack Maxie and attempt to sever his fusion with the orb.

Since his side still retained some capacity for action, and he was unsure how much Luo Mu understood about the situation with Groudon and Kyogre, he absolutely had to convey this intelligence to him!

Countless cyan beams swept across the sky without pause, frantically chasing that single white figure.

In the distance, Lance, who had not rashly entered the battlefield, had to admit that if Kyogre treated him and Dragonite with the same attitude it showed toward Lugia, they probably wouldn't last even twenty minutes.

That was Kyogre's exclusive Water-type move, "Origin Pulse"; even if in the games it wasn't as strong as "Water Spout," the effect displayed in reality was one of complete domination.

Lugia's flying skills could be called art; in the movie stored in Luo Mu's memory, it relied precisely on those flying techniques and positioning to, under the siege of the three Legendary Birds, carry Ash to obtain all the treasures.

If not for that sneaky collector's surprise attack, the "Lugia's Explosive Birth" movie would have concluded much earlier.

And now, Lugia once again demonstrated similar flying skills: spreading its wings, ascending, diving, and even spinning to dodge...

When encountering beams that were truly unavoidable, the omnidirectional psychic barrier Lugia had maintained proved its worth.

Unless hit consecutively, a single beam of Origin Pulse was completely unable to penetrate Lugia's defense.

Not to mention that Lugia was, in fact, a special defensive tank built for endurance.

Just as Lugia and Kyogre enacted this game of chase and flight, above the dark, cloud-covered sea, streaks of sunlight forcefully broke through the dark clouds, squeezing their way in!

"Roar—!"

At the edge of the other end of Mossdeep Island, Groudon was declaring its presence through its roar.

Groudon itself had no particular conflict with Lugia.

Although watching Lugia's fancy flying made it somewhat annoyed, as long as it could make Kyogre suffer embarrassment and rage, Groudon would absolutely not hesitate to be the first to join in.

With Maxie's slightly manic laughter of "Expanding the Land" serving as background noise, Groudon slammed its right foot fiercely onto the earth.

The newly exposed land, formed by the confluence of lava and seawater, cracked in response; accompanied by seawater heaved up from the seabed, crimson blades like swords piercing the clouds tore through the scene.

The Precipice Blades struck ferociously against Kyogre's pristine white belly!

Amidst the violent explosion, Kyogre's painful shriek sent chills down Luo Mu's spine.

Holy crap! Groudon looks like such an honest and simple Pokémon, yet I didn't expect it would secretly backstab!

This is exactly the chance to—

Just as the thought of having Lugia kick Kyogre while it was down floated through Luo Mu's mind, Lugia showed no intention of stopping its high-speed flight, instead beginning to gain altitude.

The next second.

Even more Precipice Blades than those used to attack Kyogre cleanly pierced the exact spot where Lugia had been standing just one second prior.

How could Luo Mu not understand what had happened?

Compared to Rayquaza's straightforward nature and arrogant personality that disdained sneak attacks.

With nothing much in its brain, acting mostly on instinct most of the time, Groudon, in most circumstances, didn't understand the concept of teaming up.

Its attacks were released indiscriminately against everything within range; while backstabbing Kyogre, it also intended to instantly eliminate Luo Mu and Lugia, hoping to become the sole victor.

Hey, why is this Groudon so wicked!

Relying on experience to evade Groudon's indiscriminate assault, Lugia flew calmly at an altitude where the Precipice Blades could not reach.

One could only say that living a long life does have quite a few benefits.

Lugia had never once harbored the notion that Groudon would cooperate and form a team with it.

A very, very long time ago, it had frequently watched these two fools fight each other in the Kanto seas; it knew their modus operandi inside out.

In the past, that green Rayquaza was often sneak-attacked by them unexpectedly.

On Mossdeep Island.

Even though it failed to kill two birds with one stone, Groudon's expression showed not the slightest change.

For it, moves missing their mark was a common occurrence; in these endurance battles that easily lasted several months or even a year or two, a move could not possibly achieve its intended purpose every single time it was released.

Otherwise, let alone Kyogre, even that flying green caterpillar would have long been trampled beneath its, Groudon's, feet.

"Roar—!"

Groudon's deep roar echoed between the sea and sky, its golden beastly pupils reflecting two figures—

Although struck by the Precipice Blades, Kyogre floated to the surface as calmly as if nothing had happened, its deep blue scales reflecting the light spilling down near Mossdeep Island.

Meanwhile, Lugia hung high in the firmament, its pure white wings spread wide.

Scorching sunlight poured down, dancing upon Groudon's rugged spine, before being devoured by the surging energy within its body, transforming into a blinding emerald light that gathered in its ferocious giant maw into a miniature sun.

The air distorted from the intense heat, evaporating even the curtain of rain into white mist.

"Solar Beam!"

At the same time, Groudon slowly opened its massive mouth lined with sharp teeth. A forest-white chill condensed in its throat; ice crystals drifted around its body like stardust. The sea surface froze at a speed visible to the naked eye, emitting a teeth-grating "Crack!" sound.

"Ice Beam!"

"Here it comes—!" Lugia's psychic warning exploded in Luo Mu's mind like an alarm bell.

It flapped its wings fiercely, forming a vortex of air between its feathers. A deep-blue water sphere in its mouth was compressed to the extreme by psychic power, nearly solidifying into matter.

In the next instant, a thick column of water tore through the rain curtain like an angry dragon, plunging straight down with a force that swept away everything in its path!

"Hydro Pump!"

The emerald light beam in Groudon's mouth was like a sword of heavenly punishment. Wherever it passed, the air exploded with a roar; the sunlight-like scorching heat instantly vaporized the rain.

Groudon's ice-blue lightning was like a polar storm; frozen ice shards spread wildly across the sea surface, and the spreading frost mist was bone-chillingly cold.

And Lugia's Hydro Pump collided with the two with a thunderous crash at that very instant, the exploding energy immediately creating a vacuum zone!

Boom—!!!

Amidst the deafening roar, three-colored energies intertwined into a vortex of destruction. The seawater was whipped up by the shockwave into waves a hundred meters high; the rain curtain and dark clouds were torn into fragments, and even the sunlight dimmed because of it.

Protected by Lugia, Luo Mu remained unharmed, yet he could not help but whistle in awe at the power of the Legendary Pokémon.

Moves that were completely "unrelated" to their own attributes could, in the mouths of Lugia, Groudon, and Groudon, easily cause such a tremendous commotion.

(End of this chapter)