"..."
Hearing Steven Stone's words, the Chairman's expression softened, but then he frowned again. They had been searching for any news of Rayquaza to no avail; how did the other party know about it?
At this moment, a seed of suspicion was planted.
Meanwhile, Ace and Zinnia, the two people the Chairman was discussing, were hiding on a small island minimally affected by the two Pokémon.
"Ace-sama, the League airship has arrived. When should we make our move?"
Zinnia looked at a small screen displaying the situation in Sootopolis City.
"No rush."
Ace looked at the screen and said calmly, "The moment they can't resist and make a move is when we should."
"They make a move?"
Zinnia asked, confused. "What other means do they have, besides Rayquaza forcibly dispersing Groudon and Kyogre?"
Ace didn't speak but turned to stare silently at Zinnia. Zinnia stared back at Ace, her expression gradually changing from initial confusion.
Contemplation, realization, shock, and finally, hatred.
"It seems you've figured it out."
Ace sighed and patted Zinnia's shoulder.
"That machine..."
Zinnia gritted her teeth. How could she forget that thing? It was because of that machine that Aster died right before her eyes!
"When they use that machine, that's when we make our grand entrance."
Ace said flatly, "If they truly don't use it, we'll give them two weeks at most before we intervene ourselves."
Zinnia was silent, then nodded. The Draconid people was her home, after all. No matter how much she hated the situation, she wouldn't gamble with her home.
However, the facts proved that once people have a shortcut, even those who try to maintain their integrity will, to some extent, succumb to temptation—especially when the situation is dire!
According to the original plot, Steven and the others held off Groudon and Kyogre for nearly a month, with Steven even exhausting himself to death after the battle due just to controlling the Regis(Regice, Regirock ve Registeel).
In the current situation, the machine was already aboard the airship, and there was still no news of Rayquaza. The Chairman and the others were starting to get restless.
Mr. Stone, after seeing the exhaustion on his son's face, once again urged the Chairman to activate the machine.
After agonizing for a full week, the Chairman finally gave up his struggle and his wait.
"Activate the machine! Capture Groudon and Kyogre!"
With the Chairman's command, the machine was installed beneath the airship. As the hangar door opened, a flower-like machine extended from the airship, and a long, stamen-like tube aimed at the nearest Kyogre.
The machine activated, and a ray instantly struck Kyogre, which was in the middle of battle.
In an instant, Kyogre felt its power waning, and a massive amount of its life force began to be absorbed by the machine. Its offensive momentum immediately dropped.
Ace, who had been waiting for a week, watched the scene and couldn't help but sneer, "It's only been a week. I thought the League would hold out longer. I didn't think they'd give in so quickly."
"That's not the point."
Zinnia glared hatefully at the machine on the screen—the machine that often haunted her nightmares. She said coldly, "The machine was on the airship. They had this plan ready all along!"
"That's to be expected."
Ace said calmly, "If I were them, I'd definitely have a contingency plan to avoid an awkward situation."
With that, Ace stood up and dusted himself off. "It's time for our entrance."
Zinnia nodded. She had been waiting for this day for a very long time!
The next moment, a serpentine, emerald dragon shot into the sky. Ace and Zinnia stood side-by-side on Rayquaza's head, their expressions serious as they flew toward Sootopolis City.
"Energy absorbed!"
"Change canister!"
"Target shifting to Groudon! We can't let the power gap between them get too wide!"
"Target locked!"
"Fire!"
"..."
The weakened Kyogre was being repeatedly beaten back by Groudon, but at that moment, the relentless ray struck Groudon. Groudon experienced the same debilitating feeling as Kyogre, its body rapidly weakening.
Mr. Stone stood in the control room, looking at the scene and nodding. "This should have been done long ago. How can the power of mere Pokémon ever compare to the power of science?"
Mr. Stone felt utterly self-satisfied, thinking that the great catastrophe of the Hoenn region would be resolved by his efforts. With this accomplishment, Steven's Champion position would be unshakeable, and his own company could use this as leverage to expand even further!
Just as Mr. Stone was envisioning a bright future, a loud, clear cry echoed across the entire world.
Hearing that somewhat familiar cry, Mr. Stone's self-satisfied expression froze.
The Chairman, meanwhile, was yelling with an ugly expression, "Quick! Stop the machine! Reel it in!"
The League personnel were completely baffled, not understanding what was happening, but they started to act on the Chairman's orders.
But it was too late.
Rayquaza emerged from the clouds with Ace and Zinnia, letting out a loud roar at the battling Groudon and Kyogre.
However, its gaze fell upon the machine slowly being reeled back into the airship. Seeing the familiar machine being retrieved, a killing intent, a profound anger, gradually rose in Rayquaza's eyes. That machine was its eternal pain, a stumbling block it could never overcome!
Rayquaza suddenly lifted its head, firing a purple-black Hyper Beam toward the airship.
"Emergency defense!"
An energy shield quickly enveloped the airship, barely managing to block Rayquaza's Hyper Beam. However, the force of Rayquaza's attack sent the entire airship reeling backward. Everyone inside was treated to a terrifying roller-coaster ride.
Once the airship stabilized, and before anyone could react, Rayquaza charged, arriving right in front of the airship. It gathered energy in its dragon claws and violently lashed out at the airship's balloon.
"Metagross, Bullet Punch!"
Steven arrived with Metagross. The two Metagrosses surged forward, blocking the Dragon Claw attack and saving the lives of everyone on the airship.
"Are you insane!"
Steven shouted at Ace and Zinnia, who stood on Rayquaza's head. "Do you know what you're doing?!"
"I know," Ace replied with a "bitter smile." "Do you really think we can control Rayquaza's actions?"
Looking at the bitter smile on Ace's face and the "stifled" expression on Zinnia's, Steven finally realized the truth. They had only awakened Rayquaza, but to expect Rayquaza to obey them was utterly preposterous!
"What in the world is going on?!"
Steven immediately turned to the airship. "Why is Rayquaza attacking you?!"
---------------------------------------------
I only share the most exquisite and beautiful novels. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon DaoistWujinzi