Chapter 152: Finally Found Giratina!

"Zhu Lan? This is Champion Zhu Lan, right?!"

"Ahhhhh! Who is this man! Damn it! On what grounds is he hugging Young Lady Zhu Lan!"

"Boo hoo, Young Lady Zhu Lan actually has a boyfriend now, is my youth over just like that?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Damn it! I'm going to duel him! I'm going to shank him ahhhhh! How can Champion Zhu Lan kiss him!!"

Looking at the comments from these broken people on the forum, Mammon immediately felt wonderful.

So satisfying!!

As expected, it has to be a popular female champion like Zhu Lan, the goddess in the hearts of so many men in Sinnoh.

Wonder what kind of reaction these people will have when Zhu Lan gets pregnant?

Mammon curled his lips, thinking with great interest.

Probably the sky will fall, right?

Early the next morning, Mammon and the others returned to the villa in Hearthome City.

"Mammon!!"

Just as they had returned, Hikari immediately came up to greet them.

"Do you know where Rayquaza went?"

Hikari hurriedly said. She had been special-training her Pokémon yesterday afternoon and hadn't checked her phone, but when she came back she saw the trending news.

A legendary Pokémon battle in LaRousse City, causing LaRousse City to be destroyed in an instant.

The report also had a few accompanying photos. Although they were blurry due to the distance, Hikari still recognized them at a glance.

Among them were Rayquaza and Kyogre! And Kyogre had been captured by Mammon.

"How would I know that? It's your fault for not coming to play with us." Mammon shrugged.

"Also, Caitlin called you yesterday afternoon, no one picked up."

"Ahhhhh! I was special-training!"

Hikari wailed. The chance to meet Rayquaza was right before her eyes, yet she had missed it.

"It's fine, there's still a chance." Mammon soothed Hikari.

"Haven't you already prepared the Keystone?"

A Keystone was not a difficult thing for Mammon, so Hikari actually already had many Keystones on hand.

Summoning Rayquaza was not a problem.

"But I'm still a little worried."

Hikari grabbed her own hair, somewhat troubled. The closer this moment got, the more uneasy she became.

What if her prayer didn't cause Rayquaza to descend?

"If you don't even believe in yourself, how can you succeed?"

Mammon couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.

To be honest, he felt Hikari's prayer could not possibly fail. Not to mention that in the game Hikari had already succeeded.

In this world, Shizukana died in battle, and Rayquaza could not possibly have forgotten this.

With a new successor appearing to pray for its arrival, Rayquaza could not possibly ignore it; it would definitely descend.

"... If I fail..."

Yet at this moment, Hikari still had some hesitation and wavering. She didn't dare to imagine the scene of her failure.

She carried the heritage and mission of her clan. She inherited Shizukana's Pokémon and Mega Anklet, took on Shizukana's blood, and had reasons she could not afford to fail.

"We will all support you. Go ahead and try without worry." Mammon encouraged with a smile.

"You are the most outstanding Starry Sky people, Hikari."

Mammon's gentle voice clearly reached Hikari's ears.

"Even taking a step back, even if Rayquaza doesn't descend, those missions on your shoulders—just leave them to me, I'll resolve them for you."

"Don't carry any burden, Hikari. We are a community of shared destiny in the same organization. Since you were willing to trust me and join Team Rocket, then I can also shoulder your life."

Mammon patted Hikari's shoulder, signaling her to relax.

Although the black Rayquaza hadn't acknowledged him yet, at least there was a connection. Mammon believed that as long as he brought up this matter, the black Rayquaza wouldn't refuse to destroy a meteorite.

Besides...

A mere meteorite—even without Rayquaza, a powered-up Primal Kyogre could easily smash it just the same.

Hearing Mammon's sincere words, Hikari was stunned. She stared blankly at the boy before her, and a warm current surged in her heart, making her whole body feel warm and light.

"What's wrong?" Mammon noticed Hikari's oddity and asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing, you guy, you really do know how to say some sweet things."

Hikari came back to her senses and turned her head away, her tone seeming much lighter.

Yes, she was no longer a lonely successor now, but had these few reliable companions.

This feeling... really wasn't bad.

"Anyway, just prepare well for now. Whenever you want to go to the Sky Pillar, just let us know."

"Okay!"

Hikari showed her signature energetic, fearless smile.

And seeing this scene, Caitlin curved her lips into a soft, faint smile. Mammon~

Over the next few days, Mammon accompanied Lillie sightseeing around Hearthome City.

And he was also certain of one thing.

"Looks like the Power of Evergreen really does let this little one stay conscious for a while."

Mamon looked at the purple crystal on the table; it was indeed Jirachi's Slumbering Stone.

"Yes, yes, that energy of yours feels so good to me."

Jirachi's crisp, melodious, and utterly adorable childlike voice rang in Mamon's ears.

"Can you input a bit more for me? My energy isn't enough to move," Jirachi asked with innocent expectation.

"Who told you to send all your energy to Ferns?" Mamon said helplessly.

Every time it woke up, Jirachi would absorb comet energy; and when Jirachi fell into slumber, its energy would unconsciously be transmitted to the entire land of Ferns.

That is why this region of Ferns is so teeming with life.

But because all the energy was given to the land of Ferns, Jirachi's own energy had become insufficient.

Its body had already turned to stone; now, with insufficient energy, it couldn't even fully awaken.

Only when the Millennium Comet arrives, and its energy shines down, can Jirachi's body revive.

"Because Ferns needs me!" Jirachi answered with utter innocence.

"Ferns has already grown very well; even without your energy, it would be like this." Mamon was speechless; he truly didn't know how to describe such selfless dedication from Jirachi.

But this is also one of the charms of Pokémon.

"My Natural Power is limited too. I'll input a bit more for you each day; you can sleep now."

Mamon once again sent some Natural Power into the stone that Jirachi had become.

Natural Power directly affects one's spiritual energy and isn't usable without limit; even for Little Huang, excessive consumption of Natural Power would cause dizziness or even unconsciousness.

Mamon's Natural Power energy wasn't low, but he couldn't supply the energy Jirachi needed in such a short time.

"Mmm~ Mamon is so cold." Jirachi looked pitiful; it had only just managed to "wake up" after all.

"Once you wake up, you can play whatever you want."

"Then can you let me ride Groudon? I've wanted to ride a big fish for so long!" Jirachi said with a tone of longing.

"?"

Mamon tilted his head; if the fat-headed fish knew, it would be very grateful to you.

On the other side.

On a small island in the sea, Steven and the others descended riding their Pokémon.

"The last location is right here."

Steven looked at the hand-drawn map in his hand; it was a very scribbled map, but at least the location could be confirmed.

"Mm, let's go in."

Diantha gazed at a cave ahead; if they couldn't find Groudon here either...

That would truly not be good news for them.

The group walked toward the cave; inside, it wasn't cool; in fact, in Steven's view, it was rather stuffy and hot.

Moreover, the deeper they went, the stronger that stuffy heat became.

The interior of the cave was intricate and complex; Steven and the others explored for about an hour before finally finding a path leading to the deepest part.

"It's too hot!"

Wallace wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the surrounding walls which were somewhat reddish; he even felt as if he had walked into a furnace.

For Wallace, who loves Water-type Pokémon, such a scorching environment was something he truly didn't like.

"It should be a dormant volcano; we are already very close to the volcano's core area," Sakaki said in a low voice.

"Everyone! Look ahead!"

Steven, who was walking at the very front, suddenly changed expression, quickly stepped out of the narrow path, and shouted to Cynthia and the others behind him.

Cynthia and the others hurriedly ran out of the narrow path; ahead, the view suddenly opened up, and right at the front was a scalding pool of lava emitting steam.

But that wasn't the main point; the main point was the Pokémon sitting in the lava pool!

It was a crimson-colored giant beast, its form resembling a huge monster; its eyes were tightly closed, two massive arms placed before it, and half its body was submerged in the lava.

Judging by its posture, it seemed to be sitting in the lava?

"Groudon!!"

Diantha and the others' eyes lit up; although it was their first time seeing the legendary Groudon, there could be no mistake!

This was the legendary "Lord of the Fiery Earth," Groudon!

"Finally found it!"

Wallace was also very excited; these past few days they had indeed run to many places and drilled through all sorts of caves.

But at least the result was good; they had finally found Groudon.

This legendary Pokémon, said to be the embodiment of the earth.

"So, what do we do now? It seems to still be asleep."

Sakaki regarded this Ground-type legendary Pokémon with keen interest; he was truly quite interested in it.

"And it seems to be sleeping quite soundly." Nemone glanced at Groudon, which had not the slightest awareness of outsiders entering its home.

They chatted freely here, yet Groudon didn't wake up at all.

"According to the Fire Village, if there is a Jewel, the Jewel's power should be able to stimulate Groudon and make it wake up." Steven fell into deep thought.

"But we don't have a Jewel." Diantha looked helplessly at Wallace.

"Damn it! That inherently evil Team Rocket actually used my name to steal and deceive!"

Wallace's face turned red with anger; just mentioning this made him furious; who didn't know that he, Wallace, was noble, elegant, pure, and immaculate?

Using his name to deceive an elderly couple out of their Jewel—was this something a human could do?

If this got out, that he, Wallace, had tricked two elderly people out of their belongings, how could he, Wallace, continue to survive in Hoenn?

Can't we just use Steven's name?

"Groudon, we want to ask you for a favor! Groudon?"

Steven thought for a moment and called out to Groudon for quite a while, but Groudon still slept like a dead pig, showing no reaction.

Steven's throat was getting dry, mainly because this place was really too hot.

"What do we do now? We can't wake him up." Nimo took a sip of water and asked.

Steven felt his head was as big as a cow's — after all the trouble of finally finding Groudon, this guy was now sleeping like a log and couldn't be woken.

"Let me try?"

Wallace wiped away more sweat; his white cloak was now completely soaked through with sweat.

At this rate, he was really going to become a "Water Prince" in name and in fact.

"Since shouting won't wake him, we'll have to try a physical approach."

Wallace's expression turned Solemn as he took out a Poké Ball and released Milotic.

"Huh?" Nimo was stunned.

"Is this really okay? What if Groudon mistakes us for enemies?" Cynthia frowned slightly, her brows knitting.

"Don't worry, everyone. I can definitely control my Milotic's force well. We have to wake Groudon up."

Teacher Wallace waved his hand confidently.

"It is indeed worth a try. If we can't wake Groudon, all our effort will be wasted." Giovanni thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, I'm counting on you, Wallace." Steven pondered for a moment and agreed as well.

"Of course, Steven — you can always trust me!"

Wallace spoke with complete composure. No matter how deeply Groudon was sleeping, Wallace refused to believe it could keep sleeping after getting a face full of water.

Steven: "..."

"Milotic! Use Water Gun!" Teacher Wallace waved his arm with a flourish.

Milotic opened its mouth and fired a thin Water Gun straight at Groudon, hitting Groudon right in the face.

However, the moment the Water Gun touched Groudon's body, the scorching heat instantly vaporized Milotic's Water Gun, and white steam rose up in wisps.

Groudon: zzzZ～

Steven and the others: "..."

Wallace: "Huh?"

Teacher Wallace was dumbfounded — bro, how insanely high is the temperature on your body?

Teacher Wallace refused to believe it.

"Milotic! Use a more powerful Water Gun!"

"zzzZ～"

"Milotic! Use Hydro Pump!"

"zzzZ～"

"Milotic! Use Hydro Pump at full power!"

Milotic's full-power Hydro Pump slammed heavily into Groudon's face, and a great cloud of water vapor billowed up.

Groudon finally showed a little reaction — unconsciously lifting a claw to scratch its face, then shifting to lie on its side and going back to sleep.

It probably thought some mosquito had bitten it?

zzzZ~

"This is too much!!!"

Feeling the strange looks from Cynthia and the others, Teacher Wallace flushed red with embarrassment! How could this be!!

He felt Groudon's reaction was somewhat insulting to him.

(End of chapter)