Thousands of meters above, Rayquaza faced the combined assault of the two primal forces. A colossal rock sword cut through the sky from Groudon, while countless white energy beams, comparable to a thousand laser cannons, erupted from Kyogre below.
Facing this joint attack, Rayquaza immediately displayed the legendary agility that defined its mastery of the skies!
Its nimble body deftly avoided the Origin Pulse in mid-air. Even energy blasts comparable to cruise missiles could hardly touch it.
Then Rayquaza deliberately took a direct hit from Precipice Blades.
Precipice Blades was a Ground-type move that had no effect on Flying-type Rayquaza, this was an unshakable rule of the Pokemon world, one that even Arceus couldn’t change.
"Seems like Groudon forgot about type effectiveness," John thought with an amused smile. "For ancient deities, they sometimes lack basic battle knowledge."
Rayquaza, now thoroughly irritated by the attacks from the two rivals, blazed with fury in its eyes.
The sky dragon suddenly transformed into a golden streak in mid-air, resembling the brilliant tail flame of a meteor streaking across the night sky!
The explosive impact created a thunderous sound wave that pushed back the sea water for hundreds of meters.
Groudon’s head took a direct hit, and its enormous body, hundreds of meters long, couldn’t maintain balance. The continent Pokemon stumbled backward. Maxie, who had been standing atop Groudon’s head, was thrown violently into the air.
He barely survived by plunging into the water, where he was quickly retrieved by a red assault boat manned by Team Magma members. They had been hiding nearby, expecting to witness their leader’s "moment of triumph" but instead became emergency rescuers.
Another deafening impact echoed as Rayquaza turned its attention to Kyogre.
The sea basin Pokemon fared slightly better than Groudon, but after defeating its land-based rival, Rayquaza delivered a powerful Dragon Tail that sent Archie flying from Kyogre’s head just as it had Maxie.
The rage-filled eyes of both Groudon and Kyogre soon returned to normal, the artificial fury induced by the orbs’ power under Maxie and Archie’s control now dissipating.
Looking at their angry elder sibling, the two ancient Pokemon appeared almost embarrassed. They wisely chose to retreat.
Kyogre lowered its massive body and dove into the depths of the sea, likely seeking a secluded corner in the ocean’s abyss to resume its interrupted rest.
Groudon turned away and began walking toward the mainland, each step leaving trails of magma and embers in its wake.
John couldn’t help but wonder: Groudon’s den was known to be near Mt. Chimney, quite far from Sootopolis City. How long would it take for the massive Pokemon to walk back to its resting place?
"Probably at least until the morning after tomorrow," John thought with amusement. "Because unlike Rayquaza, it can’t fly!"
Rayquaza, seeing that its younger siblings had obediently departed, decided its work was done. Its sleek form immediately soared back toward Sky Pillar, disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye.
All that remained in Sootopolis was the aftermath of war, broken ship fragments, smoldering magma trails, and two exhausted Champion Trainers who had nearly fallen trying to contain the ancient Pokemon.
Steven sat wearily atop his Metagross, which had lost its metallic sheen.
In the battle, all his Pokemon had been defeated by Kyogre, and even Metagross itself lacked the energy to perform MEGA evolution. He had exhausted his last reserves of strength.
Wallace lay directly on the water’s surface, his loyal Milotic coiled protectively beneath him while using Life Dew to restore his vitality. Like Steven, all his Pokemon had lost their ability to fight.
If not for Pokemon’s natural protective mechanisms, several would likely have perished in the conflict.
What was merely a skirmish in the eyes of the ancient Pokemon had been nothing short of a catastrophic disaster from the human perspective!
John landed in front of Steven.
"John, you succeeded!" Though exhausted, Steven managed to give John a thumbs-up. If Rayquaza had arrived any later, Steven would likely not have survived the day.
"I’ll document today’s events for the League and submit your name for a formal commendation!"
John remembered that Lance had made a similar promise after the events in Johto and Kanto, yet he had never received any official recognition from those regions.
"Perhaps making grand promises is just part of being a Champion," John thought wryly.
"John, I heard from Steven that you’re challenging the Hoenn League as well," Wallace called from his position on the water.
"I look forward to battling you when that time comes." The Sootopolis Gym Leader waved weakly to John.
As Wallace spoke, the scene before John’s eyes began to fade. His consciousness shifted back to reality as the story mode concluded.
There was no prompt on his device indicating any rewards, but that didn’t matter. The Jade Orb he had obtained during the adventure was reward enough.
John was eager to examine the Red Orb and Blue Orb more closely.
He immediately opened his backpack and inspected the Blue Orb first:
[Blue Orb: Created by ancient humans to control the legendary Pokemon. With it, you can awaken the god of the sea in special areas! Beings who possess it are able to understand Kyogre’s thoughts and even channel power from Kyogre!]
The description matched the Jade Orb’s! Checking the Red Orb confirmed it followed the same pattern.
"So... I could potentially channel Kyogre’s and Groudon’s power as well?" John wondered.
The moment this thought formed, John felt a strange sensation in his hands. Both orbs suddenly grew lighter, then seemed to melt into his skin, merging with his body.
In an instant, intricate blue lines appeared on his left arm, emanating a deep coldness, while fiery red patterns formed on his right arm, radiating restless heat.
Surprisingly, neither sensation was particularly uncomfortable.
"The power of possessing two orbs simultaneously..." John whispered in amazement. He snapped his fingers, and a ball of flames materialized in his right hand while a sphere of water formed in his left.
"If I can wield the power of two orbs at once, what about all three?" John took out the Jade Orb.
This time, the orb didn’t enter through his palm but seemed drawn directly to his chest, disappearing beneath his shirt.
John quickly removed his shirt to examine what was happening. A green sun-like pattern had formed on his chest, with countless green luminous lines extending toward his limbs. His arms remained marked, left arm covered in blue lines, right arm in red patterns.
"This looks incredible," John thought, admiring the glowing patterns. "But perhaps a bit too conspicuous for everyday life."
With that thought, the light emanating from the patterns faded. He discovered he could control their visibility, when not actively channeling the orbs’ power, the markings disappeared completely.
Looking at his reflection, John felt a new confidence surge through him. With these powers, he had transcended the role of a mere Trainer.
"Starting today," he declared to himself, "if my Pokemon can’t defeat a challenger... I, the Trainer, will step into battle myself!"