Less than a few dozen meters from Sato stood a small volcano. As the volcanic chain of Mt. Chimney began erupting one after another, this smaller volcano also became noticeably more active.
Molten lava was already overflowing from its crater and flowing down the rocky slopes. Before long, the surrounding ground would inevitably be covered in a layer of blazing crimson.
By then, any living creature unable to escape in time—and lacking the ability to fly—would undoubtedly perish beneath that deadly sea of molten rock.
"This won't do. I have to find a way to save myself as quickly as possible. With Vibrava's strength alone, it probably can't carry me out of danger in time."
Watching the river of lava rapidly advancing toward where he stood, Sato looked up at the sweat-soaked Vibrava laboring to keep him aloft, anxiety filling his heart.
Fortunately, fate had not completely abandoned him.
Just as panic was beginning to set in, a Pokémon flying rapidly toward him from behind caused his eyes to light up.
In fact, Sato had already reached Route 113, a place famous for being home to a rare Flying-type Pokémon.
That Pokémon was Skarmory.
The wild Pokémon approaching from behind was precisely a Skarmory fleeing from the disaster, apparently choosing to escape toward the northwest as well.
"Perfect timing. Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!"
The moment he spotted Skarmory, Sato realized fortune had smiled upon him. He immediately ordered the Pikachu hovering beside him with Magnet Rise to attack.
This Skarmory was two or three times larger than Vibrava carrying him. Its wingspan stretched nearly four meters across. Most importantly, its Ability was Weak Armor.
It was the ideal Pokémon to capture and use to escape this catastrophe.
Unfortunately, things rarely went exactly as planned.
Despite Sato's intentions, this level 43 Skarmory was no pushover.
Thanks to its exceptional eyesight, it had spotted Sato from far away and immediately sensed Pikachu's hostile intentions. Before Pikachu could attack, it violently beat its wings and effortlessly dodged the incoming Thunder Shock.
"Kraaah—!"
Though desperately fleeing for its life, Skarmory's violent temperament immediately flared after being attacked without provocation.
With an enraged cry, it thrust both wings forward.
In an instant, a fierce gale erupted, accompanied by countless white blades of compressed air.
The powerful wind struck almost immediately, throwing Sato and his Pokémon off balance. Vibrava nearly lost its grip on him.
But the danger was far from over.
The countless air blades created by Air Cutter followed immediately behind the gale, threatening to engulf all of them.
Faced with such a crisis, Sato reacted instantly.
Grabbing Pikachu with one hand, his eyes flashed with blue light.
Using Teleport, he instantly shifted over ten meters to the left, narrowly avoiding Skarmory's attack.
Seeing its target evade so mysteriously, Skarmory's expression immediately changed to one of surprise, caution appearing in its eyes.
Just then, volcanic rocks began raining down from the nearby erupting volcano.
Deciding Sato wasn't worth wasting time on, Skarmory immediately altered its course and resumed its escape.
How could Sato allow his potential lifeline to leave?
He immediately used Teleport again, appearing beside Skarmory by surprise.
"Pikachu, attack again!"
This time, thanks to Sato's sudden approach, Pikachu's Thunder Shock finally struck its target.
Although Thunder Shock wasn't as powerful as Thunderbolt or Thunder, it still packed considerable force.
Combined with the type advantage and Skarmory's mediocre Special Defense, the electric attack made Skarmory cry out in pain before plummeting toward the ground.
"Go! PokeBall!"
Before Skarmory even hit the ground, Sato threw a PokeBall, striking it cleanly.
At the same time, he used Telekinesis to suspend the PokeBall in midair.
A few seconds later...
The shaking stopped.
Sato had successfully captured Skarmory.
Without wasting a second, he used Telekinesis to pull the PokeBall back to himself. After catching it, he had Vibrava carry him onto the top of a nearby boulder before immediately releasing Skarmory and taking healing medicine from his dimensional backpack to treat its injuries.
At that very moment—
The earth suddenly shook violently.
Both Sato and the freshly released Skarmory were thrown from the boulder.
Below them, the ground had already become a sea of blazing lava.
Fortunately, Sato hadn't recalled Vibrava.
Vibrava immediately caught him, preventing him from falling. Skarmory, however, wasn't nearly so lucky.
Still badly injured by Pikachu's electric attack and suffering from paralysis, it continued falling helplessly toward the molten lava.
The most troublesome part was that, due to gravity, Sato's Telekinesis couldn't immediately stop Skarmory's downward momentum.
Just as Skarmory was about to plunge into the lava…. an idea suddenly flashed through Sato's mind.
He immediately aimed the PokeBall at Skarmory.
A red beam shot from the ball and recalled Skarmory just before it disappeared into the molten rock.
Just as Sato was finally about to breathe a sigh of relief….. a furious roar echoed across the land.
An unimaginably overwhelming pressure descended from afar.
His heart shook violently. He immediately turned toward Mt. Chimney's main crater.
There—
A colossal crimson beast had grasped the edge of the volcano with both claws.
Slowly… its gigantic head emerged from the crater, accompanied by earth-shaking roars.
"It's actually Groudon. No wonder volcanoes throughout Mt. Chimney have been erupting one after another."
"So this monster has awakened again. Who can stop it this time?"
"Will Rayquaza appear again?"
Seeing the crimson giant emerge, Sato's expression changed dramatically.
However, he quickly forced himself to calm down. He urged Vibrava back onto the boulder before releasing Skarmory again and continuing its treatment.
When the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up.
Problems involving Legendary Pokémon of this level were far beyond someone like him.
His priority now was simple: Heal Skarmory as quickly as possible and have it carry him away.
He knew that the longer Groudon remained awake, the more of its original power it would recover.
When that happened, the volcanic region around Mt. Chimney would only become increasingly catastrophic.
Before long… everything nearby would become a genuine living hell.
At the same time...
With Groudon's appearance, a fierce battle taking place east of Mt. Chimney abruptly came to a halt.
"Maxie!"
"Do you even understand what you've done? You're playing with fire."
"Throughout history, countless fools have dreamed of controlling Legendary Pokémon like Groudon."
"Not one of them ever succeeded. And none of them met a good end."
Looking up at the colossal beast above, even Phoebe, one of the Hoenn Elite Four, turned pale.
She glared hatefully at the delighted Maxie before her, gritting her teeth.
"Hahahaha! Stop deceiving yourself."
"The three Ancient Orbs created by the ancients are proof enough that they once successfully controlled the three Legendary Pokémon."
"And history has seen people capable of controlling Groudon."
"The League has always tried to stop both Team Magma and Team Aqua."
"Why?"
"Because you're afraid we'll use Legendary Pokémon to overthrow your rule over Hoenn."
"The victors write history. Anyone can make pretty speeches."
"Besides… I have no intention of controlling Groudon yet. Hoenn has too little land."
"Groudon is the God of the Land. I intend to use it to create new continents for Hoenn."
"If anything… Your Hoenn League should be thanking Team Magma for expanding your territory."
Rather than becoming angry, Team Magma's leader, Maxie, burst into laughter.
As someone obsessed with studying Groudon, he fully understood the consequences of awakening it.
But he simply didn't care.
In fact… he welcomed the destruction because his true objective had always been to overthrow the Hoenn League.
The more devastation Groudon caused… the weaker the League's foundations would become.
From the very beginning, Team Magma's ultimate ambition had been world domination.
Legendary Pokémon were merely tools to achieve that goal.
"You're beyond saving, Maxie!"
Phoebe's disgust deepened.
She finally realized that the man before her was utterly beyond redemption.
To fulfill his ambitions… he would sacrifice anything.
Killing intent surged within her. She no longer cared about preserving her reputation.
Even if it meant risking her own life… she intended to eliminate this dangerous fanatic today.
Unfortunately… she was already too late.
Just as Sato had predicted… the longer Groudon remained awake… the more power it recovered.
Suddenly—
Violent tremors spread from Mt. Chimney's main crater.
Massive fissures tore open across the earth. Scalding magma burst upward from the cracks.
The surrounding landscape rapidly transformed into a literal hell on earth.
At that point, both Maxie and Phoebe decisively abandoned the battle. Each immediately led their followers in retreat.
Meanwhile.. far away in Ever Grande City… on the top floor of the Hoenn League Headquarters… an emergency meeting was underway.
The topic was none other than the recently awakened Groudon.
The large screen displayed live footage of Groudon emerging from Mt. Chimney's crater and the surrounding region descending into a fiery inferno.
Every League executive present wore an extremely grim expression.
Suggestions flew across the room.
Most demanded severe punishment for Team Magma yet when it came to dealing with Groudon itself, no one volunteered an answer.
"Enough!"
The Chairman of the Hoenn League slammed the table.
"The priority is making Groudon return to its slumber! We can discuss punishing Team Magma afterward."
"So answer me this—"
"Who is willing to handle it?"
Silence instantly filled the conference room. The other directors awkwardly looked toward the furious Chairman.
The awakening of a Legendary Pokémon was undoubtedly a major crisis...
But it was also an extremely dangerous responsibility.
Everyone present understood exactly why nobody wanted to volunteer.
In truth… they all already knew there were only two possible solutions.
The first—
Wait for Rayquaza to appear.
Once Rayquaza thoroughly defeated Groudon, Groudon would naturally return to its slumber.
The second—
Retrieve the Red Orb from Mt. Pyre and use its power to calm Groudon back into hibernation.
However… the first option was uncontrollable. Rayquaza could not simply be summoned.
It usually only appeared when Groudon and Kyogre clashed.
The second option was equally dangerous.
Although the Red Orb could restrain Groudon… if its user possessed even the slightest evil intent… there was an extremely high chance that Groudon would instead dominate the user's mind.
"Sigh… Since none of you wish to claim this honor… then my Ryurei Clan will accept it."
Finally...
Under the expectant gaze of the Chairman and the matter-of-fact looks of the other directors… an elderly man with snow-white hair slowly stood up with a weary sigh.
"Very well. It's settled."
"Domir… Time is critical. Please dispatch your clan's experts to Mt. Pyre immediately."
"Retrieve the Red Orb and head to Mt. Chimney to calm Groudon."
The Chairman nodded with obvious relief.
After the meeting concluded… deep within the Shrine of Awakening in Ryurei City… a handsome man suddenly opened his eyes from meditation.
As he awoke… a Milotic, its body shimmering with an azure glow, had already arrived carrying a communicator in its mouth.
The man smiled warmly.
"Thank you."
He accepted the communicator before reading the newly received message.
"So… Groudon has awakened again. This year truly has been filled with disasters."
He sighed heavily.
Meanwhile… below the western cliffs of the island where Mt. Pyre stood a group of uninvited visitors quietly crossed the sea in small boats.
Hidden beneath thick sea mist, they quickly scaled the cliffs with the aid of their Pokémon before disappearing one after another into a cave hidden within the cliff face.