"Don't worry, I've brought enough power to handle this," Feng Che said, his voice steady despite the roaring wind.
"Come out, Gyarados! Greninja!"
"Since we're already here, we're going right through the eye of this maelstrom. Take these—underwater respirators. Bite down hard, and you'll be able to breathe freely beneath the surface." Feng Che pulled two sleek devices from his storage and handed them to a trembling Alivia and a grim Lewis.
Gyarados lunged forward, snagging Lewis in its massive jaws while Alivia gripped its dorsal fin. With a titanic splash, the Red Gyarados dived straight into the swirling maw of the Great Maelstrom.
"Greninja, it's our turn!"
Greninja grabbed Feng Che with one hand, its powerful legs churning as it sprinted across the surface of the violent waves. It leaped from the crest of one swell to another before diving headfirst into the vortex.
As they plunged into the deep, Feng Che's eyes widened. Beneath the surface, he saw a massive, ancient pyramid resting on the seabed. Surrounding the structure were dozens of shipwrecked vessels—rotting wooden hulls and rusted iron plates of ancient merchant ships.
So the ruins are down here. How did Sakaki Tsuna ever find a way into a place like this?
Mewtwo, can you Teleport me directly into that pyramid? Feng Che asked.
No, Mewtwo replied. The temple is protected by a powerful ancient ward. However, I sense a subterranean passage connecting this underwater site to the island above. You might find the entrance on the surface.
"Greninja, take us through the vortex to the island!"
Greninja's body was suddenly enveloped in a swirling aura of water as it tapped into a fragment of Kyogre's primal essence. The suction of the maelstrom was lethal; Feng Che watched a wild Cloyster get pulled into the center and crushed into fragments instantly. Only by relying on that divine aura did Greninja manage to resist the pull and reach calmer waters.
They breached the surface near the shore, only to find the area swarming with schools of Sharpedo locked in a brutal territorial war with a massive Tentacruel clan.
Gyarados erupted from the sea nearby, the massive spray of water drawing the immediate attention of the predators.
"Good grief... that's a lot of Sharpedo," the usually stoic Alivia muttered, her face pale.
"Gyarados, Dragon Rage!"
Gyarados whipped up a massive waterspout, scooping the nearest Sharpedo and hurling them into the sky. Taking advantage of the chaos, Gyarados twisted its body and took flight. Feng Che used Teleport to land on its back, and they circled the island from above.
Feng Che noted several more pyramid-like structures dotting the island's landscape.
"We'll scout the island first before we try to breach the ruins," he suggested. He found a clearing and signaled the landing.
Once they touched down, Feng Che used his Psychic power to instantly strip the moisture from Alivia and Lewis's clothes, leaving a puddle at their feet.
"Lewis, Alivia, deploy the scouts. I want a full breakdown of the local Pokémon species," Feng Che commanded.
The two experts quickly released dozens of fist-sized, hovering reconnaissance drones. As the machines buzzed away to map the terrain, Feng Che turned to them. "In your archaeological studies, have you seen pyramids like these before?"
"Yes," Alivia replied, typing rapidly on her laptop. "They resemble the Regi-Ruins found in Hoenn and Sinnoh. The ancients often used pyramid architecture to house the Regis. There are also similar structures in Galar associated with the ancient monarchy."
"If it's a Regi-shrine, the risk is manageable—they usually only attack if awakened," she continued seriously. "But I saw the underwater pyramid too. If these sites are linked, controlling them might be the key to securing a safe entry point to the island. This place could become the perfect fortress for Team Rocket."
"Let's clear the high-level predators first," Feng Che said. "And we need to contact Giovanni. He needs to know about the traitors on that freighter."
"I anticipated a communication blackout," Lewis said, pulling a specialized, backup satellite phone from a hidden compartment. He dialed Giovanni's private line.
The Purge
At Team Rocket HQ, Giovanni's face was like thunder as he listened to Feng Che's report.
"Excellently handled, Feng Che. I will give you an explanation for this lapse in security," Giovanni said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
He hung up and slammed a button on his desk. "Lyon! Get in here. Now."
Lyon, the leader of the Fire Wolf squad, entered the office with a heart full of dread. No one knew exactly what happened inside, but when he finally emerged, he looked broken and haggard. Giovanni's fury at the failure to purge Tsuna's loyalists had been absolute.
That night, the Rocket's internal affairs and Black Ops units moved. A brutal, organization-wide sweep was conducted. By dawn, every one of Tsuna's remaining "sleeper" agents had been dragged to the internal prisons.
The Dark Baptism
In a damp, lightless cavern somewhere in Johto...
An obsidian statue of Ho-Oh stood at the center, flickering with the cold, sickly light of Hellfire. High Priest Shaka stood over a bronze brazier filled with human remains. Blue-green flames licked the bones, and a faint, agonizing wail seemed to emanate from the smoke.
The Hellfire was slowly consuming the souls within the brazier, the flames twisting into the shapes of distorted, screaming faces. Shaka had lost most of his army at the Tin Tower; he was now forced to perform a mass conversion rite to replenish the ranks of the Pure Heaven Sect.
Sakaki Tsuna knelt on the cold stone floor before the brazier, his head bowed in prayer. He was the chosen candidate for this dark baptism.