Chapter 159

The massive Groudon slowly flapped its wings and approached, with azure light shimmering faintly upon its body, as if it were a deity.

And the four of Champion Diantha, along with the others, gazed solemnly at the approaching Groudon, and at Mamen and Caitlin riding upon its back.

Groudon slowly stopped in the air before the group, its eyes landing on Giovanni, or rather, on a certain spot upon Giovanni's person.

It could feel it! That certain aura that made it loathe!

Tangible, overwhelming pressure spread out, and the air seemed to grow heavy in that very moment.

"Mamen!"

Giovanni, with a Solemn Expression, looked up at the black-haired youth above Groudon.

"Yo~ folks, we meet again."

Mamen tilted his head slightly, his smile very brilliant.

"Really, I was having a perfectly good afternoon nap when suddenly I heard someone attacking our base."

Mamen yawned and lazily stretched his arms.

"As expected of you troublemakers. Speaking of which, where are Professor Steven and Professor Wallace?"

Mamen glanced into the distance; he hadn't expected the two most fun people to be absent, even though he had sent Cynthia ahead first.

But who would have thought Steven was actually lured away by Cynthia? Mamen was truly curious what had happened to make Steven actually 'leave him' to go solo with Cynthia.

"Mamen, there is still a chance. If you just quit the Rocket Team and turn back, it is not too late." Cynthia's expression was serious.

"Oh? Cynthia, I truly don't know where you get your confidence." Mamen raised an eyebrow: "And you dare say such things to me? Do you want to take another couple photo with me?"

Cynthia: "..."

Cynthia forced herself to maintain composure, but regardless, the fact that Mamen had actually brought up the couple photo incident in public made even her feel a bit of heat on her face at that moment.

Recently she had truly been deeply troubled; anyone who had her contact information was almost all asking her about the online couple photos.

Even her family came to ask who the boy in the photos was, and whether it was appropriate for her to have a boyfriend who looked like he had just come of age.

It made Cynthia really hard to hold it together.

She could only make up some excuses to brush them off; otherwise, was she supposed to tell her relatives that this boy was a member of an evil organization and that she was forced to take these couple photos under threat?

"That is a line I should be saying." Mamen grinned, looking down upon the four of Cynthia.

"Look at what this is?" Mamen patted the fat fish beneath him.

"You actually dare to come trouble me, who possesses Groudon? Do you think your days have been too comfortable?"

Mamen mocked them.

Groudon raised its head with great arrogance, its momentum even stronger.

"Mamen! Do you think that you, possessing Groudon, are invincible under heaven?" Giovanni said in a deep voice.

"Of course~ not." Mamen's tone was frivolous.

"I dare not say I am invincible under heaven, but dealing with you few is no problem at all. How about it?"

Mamen crossed his arms, looking down upon the group with a mocking tone.

"Do you want to challenge me? Challenge me, who possesses Groudon?"

Uuu~!

Groudon let out another low roar, and azure light shone forth.

Arrogant!

The arrogance rushing at them almost made Nemona's breath stop; looking at that youth sitting upon Groudon, her ears buzzed.

Holy crap!!!

How can there be such an arrogant person in this world?

Cynthia and Champion Diantha also frowned tightly.

"Mamen!" Giovanni took a deep breath.

"This world is vast! Do you think we have no way to deal with you?"

Giovanni took out the Ultra Ball that had been trembling slightly.

Groudon's eyes sharpened.

"Oh?"

Mamen felt a bit of interest.

"Come out!" Giovanni opened the Ultra Ball.

Bai Guang flashed, and a crimson beast crashed heavily into the sea, the seawater submerging its knees.

It was Groudon!

Seeming to sense a familiar aura, Groudon's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, and it immediately raised its head to look at Groudon.

It was that damn fish!

"ROAR!!"

Groudon let out a violent roar of anger, and crimson light flared upon its body.

Its body began to rise; no, rather, a patch of land beneath its feet began to rise, lifting its body up.

The sky began to shine with bright sun, scorching sunlight poured down, and the temperature began to rise rapidly.

Groudon's ability, Drought!

"Uuu~!"

But Groudon was clearly not afraid at all; it roared back at Groudon, and the sky on its side began to darken rapidly.

The moment it saw that stinking, non-flying lizard, it got a bit heated.

Dense rain clouds piled up layer upon layer; Groudon's ability, Drizzle!

Pitter-patter~

A torrential downpour fell, instantly shrouding the entire world in rain.

Groudon and Kyogre simultaneously activated their abilities, clashing head-on.

And the result was that the sky was strangely split into 'two halves'!

That's right! 'Two halves!' One half blazed with scorching sun, while the other half was drenched in pouring rain! (Adopting game settings; this is how the Groudon-Kyogre standoff works.)

"There's actually such a thing?"

Champion Leon gazed upward in astonishment; he could feel it very clearly on his side, the intense sunlight warming his skin.

But just a few meters away, the rain pattered steadily, the sound of the rain even audible with perfect clarity.

This was far too bizarre, completely shattering Leon's worldview.

"Is it due to the power of these two Legendary Pokémon?" Cynthia furrowed her brows.

Logically, the weather should be more favorably triggered by the latter; for instance, if one side sent out Pelipper to activate Drizzle, rain would fall.

And if the opponent then sent out Ninetales as a counter, Drought would activate, clearing the rain and leaving only sunny weather on the field.

Even if two weather-ability Pokémon appeared simultaneously and triggered their abilities at once, only one weather condition would remain: the one activated by the stronger Pokémon.

But a scene where sunny weather and rain each occupy one side, like now, is truly a first; it's utterly absurd.

"ROAR!!"

Groudon roared at Kyogre; damn, what bad luck, opening its eyes to see that fish swaying right there.

And it's even flying; doesn't it know it hates people floating in front of it the most?

This fat-headed fish has already earned its death!

"Woo~!"

Kyogre glanced sideways at this creature that couldn't fly, its whine filled with smugness; it had already reacted.

That's right, it shouldn't have lost its composure like this creature that can't fly; it is Kyogre, the one who defeated the Black Rayquaza!

"??"

Hearing Kyogre's cry, Groudon was filled with a head full of question marks; what nonsense is this stinky salted fish bragging about? Is its brain broken?

It wants to fight Rayquaza? That's hilarious, truly.

Groudon thought this fish might have slept so long that it slept its brain right into ruin.

"I see, so you came prepared."

Mamen glanced at Groudon and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"It's truly impressive you found Groudon's slumbering place; you must have put in quite a bit of effort."

"It's none of your concern, Mamen. Groudon is fully capable of handling your Kyogre! With this, you'll have to face us on your own!"

Leon said in a deep voice.

"Is that really so?" Mamen chuckled.

"So that's how you see it, but have you considered that even Groudon might not be a match for my Kyogre?"

Mamen spoke with a beaming smile.

"Impossible!" Giovanni denied without hesitation.

"Groudon will never be weaker than Kyogre!"

Giovanni spoke with absolute conviction, his voice loud and clear.

Hearing this, Groudon glanced approvingly at this human; not bad, not bad; how could it be weaker than that fat-headed fish?

What a joke...

"ROAR!"

Groudon had no patience left to listen to these people bickering; its right claw glowed red as it slammed heavily onto the ground beneath.

The ground cracked open into numerous fissures, and fiery red magma flowed out.

Huge magma blades rose from the flat earth, rapidly spreading toward Kyogre's direction.

Precipice Blades!

"Woo~!"

Kyogre spread its wings heavily; four crystal water spheres condensed, and four intersecting blue water beams shot forth.

Origin Pulse!

Boom-boom-boom!

Origin Pulse and Precipice Blades collided heavily; the violent roar was deafening, and powerful air waves rippled outward like shockwaves.

The surging wind and waves spread everywhere, causing Leon and others to instinctively raise their arms to shield themselves, avoiding the wind and waves striking their faces directly, as the impact would be too painful.

"Impressive! Groudon can fight Kyogre!"

Nemona's expression brightened with joy; this exchange of moves already showed the truth.

Groudon's strength is absolutely not weaker than Kyogre's!

Groudon roared at Kyogre again, stepping forward one step at a time toward Kyogre's direction.

Today, it would beat the fish poop right out of this fish! Opening its eyes to see this fish swaying right before it, Groudon was in a very foul mood now!

"Kyogre."

Mamen's smile deepened at the corners of his mouth as he patted Kyogre's back.

"Woo~!"

Kyogre raised its head and whined; deep blue divine radiance instantly illuminated the dim rain curtain.

A 'α' shadow flashed; its form became even larger, its pupils transformed into ruthless beast-like eyes, and the Primal Kyogre, its whole body shimmering with Jin Guang and blue light, spread its wings.

Groudon's steps stopped instantly.

Looking up at the imposing and majestic Primal Kyogre, Groudon swallowed hard and instinctively stepped back; wait, buddy?

Primal Kyogre let out another wail.

Black clouds rolled across the sky, and the heavens darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"The sun… it's gone…" Nemo stared blankly upward. The weather, which had been evenly matched a moment ago, had now completely tilted in one direction.

That's right — the sky that Primal Groudon's sunlit rays had illuminated was now completely swallowed by the black rain clouds.

Even fiercer heavy rain enveloped the world. The sea began to churn violently, waves surging.

Primal Kyogre's Ability — Primordial Sea!

The pouring rain drenched Steven and the others, and drenched Groudon as well.

"Shall I introduce it to you? This is Primal Reversion — Kyogre's true form."

Mamon smiled as he looked at Giovanni and the others, his tone very light and breezy.

"I really have to give you two a compliment — you actually thought to bring Groudon to deal with my Kyogre."

"But you seem to have gotten one thing wrong. A Groudon without the Ruby Orb is no threat at all to Primal Kyogre."

Mamon's words left Giovanni and the others completely silent — and Groudon was silent along with them.

The rain-soaked, flightless creature glared at Giovanni and the others with a look that could kill. *I mean — are you people sick in the head? *

*You're willing to come find me to fight that fat fish — I'm happy, I'm glad to do it — but couldn't you at least get the Orb back for me first? *

*You sent me, without the Orb, to fight a fat fish that has the Orb. Are you trying to get me killed? *

"Um… Groudon, if you don't have the Orb, can you force a Primal Reversion?"

Nimo felt the atmosphere had gotten a little too stiff, so she decided to liven things up.

Besides, if Primal Reversion is Groudon's original form, then maybe if they pushed Groudon a little, it could pull off a miracle, right?

Groudon was so furious it was actually amused. It wanted to smack this human girl straight in the face with a Stone Edge!

But the moment Groudon turned its head, it saw the increasingly dangerous look in Primal Fat Fish's eyes, and the faintly glimmering blue water-light.

The flightless one panicked and hurriedly connected to Giovanni through telepathy.

"Humans! Put me back in the ball right now! Immediately! This instant!!!"

(End of this chapter)