"..."
Hearing Steven's words, the Chairman's expression relaxed, but then immediately furrowed again.
The League had been searching for news of Rayquaza to no avail. How did this person know about it?
At this moment, a seed of suspicion was planted.
Meanwhile, the two people the Chairman and others were discussing, Ace and Zinnia, were hiding on an island less affected by the two Pokémon.
"Ace-sama, the League's airship has arrived. When do we make our move?"
Zinnia looked at a small screen displaying the situation over Sootopolis City.
"No rush," Ace said calmly, looking at the image. "The moment they can't help but make their move is the moment we step in."
"They make a move?" Zinnia asked, confused. "Besides Rayquaza forcibly dispersing Groudon and Kyogre, what other means do they have?"
Ace didn't speak but turned his head, staring silently at Zinnia.
Zinnia also looked at Ace, her expression slowly transitioning from initial confusion.
Contemplation, sudden realization, shock, and finally, hatred.
"It seems you figured it out." Ace sighed and patted Zinnia's shoulder.
"That machine..." Zinnia gritted her teeth. How could she forget that thing? Shianna had died right before her eyes because of that very machine!
"We make our grand entrance the moment they use that machine," Ace said plainly. "If they truly don't use it, we'll intervene ourselves in at most half a month."
Zinnia remained silent, then nodded.
The Draconid Village was her home, after all. No matter how much hatred she harbored, she wouldn't gamble with her homeland.
However, history proves that once people have a shortcut, even those who adhere most strictly to their principles will, sooner or later, entertain crooked ideas.
Especially when the situation is severe!
According to the original plot, Steven and the others held off Groudon and Kyogre for nearly a month. Steven even died of exhaustion after the battle due to controlling the three Regis.
In the current situation, the machine is right there on the airship, and news of Rayquaza has been delayed. The Chairman and his associates are getting restless.
Mr. Stone, after seeing the exhaustion of his son, Steven, once again urged the Chairman to activate the machine.
After agonizing over the decision for a full week, the Chairman finally gave up his reservations and his waiting.
"Activate the machine! Capture Groudon and Kyogre!"
Following the Chairman's command, the machine was installed beneath the airship. As the bay doors opened, a device resembling a flower extended from the airship. A long, pistil-like tube aimed at the nearest Pokémon, Kyogre.
The machine activated, and a beam instantly struck the battling Kyogre.
In that instant, Kyogre felt its strength begin to wane. A massive amount of its life energy was being absorbed by the machine, and its aggressive momentum immediately faded.
Ace, who had been waiting for a week, watched the scene on the screen and couldn't help but sneer, "It's only been a week. I thought the League would hold out a bit longer. I didn't expect them to lose their nerve so quickly."
"That's not the main point."
Zinnia watched the machine, which frequently appeared in her nightmares, and said with gritted teeth, "The machine is right there on the airship—they were prepared for this all along!"
"That's normal," Ace said calmly. "If it were me, I'd definitely have a backup plan to avoid getting into an awkward situation."
With that, Ace stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes. "It's our time to enter."
Zinnia nodded. She had been waiting for this day for a long time!
The next moment, a jade green dragon soared into the sky. Ace and Zinnia stood side-by-side on Rayquaza's head, their expressions serious as they rushed toward Sootopolis City.
"Energy absorption complete!"
"Change storage tanks!"
"Shift target to Groudon! We can't let the power gap between them get too large!"
"Target locked!"
"Fire!"
"..."
The weakened Kyogre was being forced back by Groudon. But at that very moment, the beam, which had briefly stopped, struck Groudon. Groudon experienced the same debilitating effect as Kyogre, its body rapidly weakening.
Mr. Stone stood in the control room, watching the scene and nodding. "It should have been done this way long ago. How can the power of mere Pokémon compare to the power of science?"
Mr. Stone was full of self-satisfaction, thinking that the great disaster in the Hoenn region would be completely resolved by his hands.
With this merit, Steven's Champion position would be unshakable, and his own company could use this as leverage to develop even further!
Just as Mr. Stone was envisioning a bright future, a loud, clear roar suddenly resounded across the sky and earth.
Hearing that somewhat familiar roar, Mr. Stone's self-satisfied expression froze on his face.
The Chairman, meanwhile, roared with a terrible expression: "Quick! Stop the machine! Reel it back in!"
The League members were confused, not knowing what had happened, but they could only start acting according to the Chairman's frantic instructions.
But it was too late.
Rayquaza, carrying Ace and Zinnia, poked its head out from the clouds and let out a loud roar directed at the battling Groudon and Kyogre.
However, its gaze briefly fell upon the machine slowly being retracted into the airship.
Watching the familiar machine being recalled, a killing intent gradually flared in Rayquaza's eyes—that was its eternal pain, the hurdle it could never overcome!
Rayquaza sharply raised its head, opening its mouth to fire a purple-black Hyper Beam toward the airship.
"Emergency Evasion!"
An energy shield quickly enveloped the airship, forcibly blocking Rayquaza's Hyper Beam. However, due to the attack, the entire airship was violently knocked back. The people inside the airship experienced a turbulent rollercoaster ride.
After the airship stabilized, and before anyone could react, Rayquaza charged forward, its Dragon Claw gathering energy, and savagely swiped at the airship's bladders.
"Metagross, Bullet Punch!"
Steven arrived with his Metagross. The two Metagross surged forward, intercepting the Dragon Claw's attack and saving the personnel on the airship.
"Are you insane!" Steven yelled at Ace and Zinnia, who were standing atop Rayquaza's head. "Do you know what you're doing?!"
"I know."
Ace gave a "wry smile" and said, "Do you think we can control Rayquaza's actions?"
Looking at Ace's wry smile and Zinnia's "frustrated" expression, Steven finally realized the situation. They had merely awakened Rayquaza, but expecting Rayquaza to obey their commands was completely absurd!
"What in the world is going on?!" Steven immediately turned his head toward the airship. "Why is Rayquaza attacking you?!"
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Not: I accidentally uploaded the same chapter twice before, which caused the chapter numbers to overlap. To fix this, this chapter has been released as 262.1.