Chapter 140: I Choose You — Kyogre!
So. The fish dislikes my coloring.
The black Rayquaza's long tail swayed gently, as though it were idly testing which angle of motion would produce the most satisfying impact.
"It looks like this Rayquaza is going to show you some very personal attention, Kyogre. You're welcome."
"HUMAN, YOU ABSOLUTE—!!"
Mammon ignored the torrent of abuse flooding his mind, smiled pleasantly, and hurled Kyogre's Poké Ball into the air with considerable force.
"I choose you — Kyogre!"
The ball opened in midair. Kyogre emerged wearing the expression of a Pokémon that had made peace with its own death — wings spreading wide, blue bioluminescence flickering across its body with cold, beautiful light.
Beautiful. Imperious. Deeply, profoundly unhappy about being here.
The moment Kyogre appeared, thick black stormclouds began piling up across the sky at speed. Wind picked up. The pressure shifted.
Drizzle — Kyogre's ability, automatic on entry.
The rainclouds had barely started forming before a powerful gust swept through and scattered every last one.
The black Rayquaza's ability. Delta Stream — maintaining turbulent weather that eliminated Mega Rayquaza's Flying-type weakness entirely. It was this ability above all else that made Mega Rayquaza what it was. Without the four-times Ice weakness, the ceiling on what it could take was dramatically higher.
Rain gone before the first drop fell. Kyogre retreated slightly — maintaining the appearance of imperviousness while every scale beneath its surface registered the cold, dangerous weight of the black Rayquaza's gaze.
That absolute evil human. That EVIL human.
How does something like that exist? Arceus, are you paying attention to any of this?
But Kyogre had no options. If it turned to run, it had about half a second before Dragon Ascent was in its spine. It knew that.
Hard as it was to accept — the only direction available was forward.
It wasn't going to just absorb hits without fighting back. Kyogre had some dignity left.
On the ground below—
"That's—"
Nemona stared at the enormous blue whale that had appeared in the sky.
"Kyogre. One of Hoenn's super-ancient legends." Cynthia's voice was quiet, reading the situation.
The same category as Rayquaza itself — the other half of the super-ancient pair. Kyogre: the ocean. The sea's sovereign, the deep's king, a legend of Hoenn going back further than recorded history.
"But why is Kyogre — wait, that was Mammon's Poké Ball, wasn't it?" Nemona's voice jumped. They were at an angle where Mammon himself wasn't visible, but the throw was unmistakable.
Who else?
This is completely insane.
"Yes. It has to be Mammon." Cynthia's expression was difficult to read. Multiple layers of complicated were stacking.
"Team Rocket absorbed Team Aqua. It's likely that's how he found Kyogre and caught it."
She kept her voice measured.
Team Magma and Team Aqua, both Hoenn-local organizations, had been absorbed by Team Rocket. And it was well known that both organizations had been actively pursuing Groudon and Kyogre.
"…" Nemona inhaled sharply.
"Cynthia-senpai. I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the only person who can actually beat Mammon is you."
She said it with complete sincerity.
Dark Mewtwo and Kyogre. Who could beat that? Unless they could also catch something at the level of a legendary mythical Pokémon, defeating Mammon looked genuinely impossible by conventional means.
"..." Cynthia looked at Nemona for a long moment. The leaps that girl's mind made were something.
"Cynthia! Nemona!"
Metagross, Charizard, and a Beedrill came in fast from one direction. Steven, Wallace, and Leon landed and ran over to join them.
"What's the situation?" Steven's voice was taut.
"Oh — is that Kyogre? It's gorgeous!" Wallace's eyes lit up. As a Water-type specialist, he had feelings about Kyogre specifically.
"A battle between legends?" Leon studied the confrontation in the sky with cautious interest.
Giovanni looked up at the gathered legendary Pokémon and said nothing, eyes narrowed slightly.
"The first Rayquaza was defeated. Then a stronger Shiny one arrived." Cynthia gave the summary efficiently. She'd shared most of the information with Steven's group during the chaos.
"And opposing this Shiny Rayquaza is—"
Steven's expression was heavy. A battle between legendaries was devastating in its own right, but it was an innocent city absorbing the consequences.
"Mammon."
"..."
Silence from the entire group.
Mammon was the one trying to protect this city.
"Why would he do that?" Wallace couldn't make it fit. "That's not the Mammon I know."
It was the same question everyone was silently asking.
Cynthia said nothing. The arrangement she'd made with Mammon was not something she was going to explain out loud.
Nemona, reading Cynthia's silence, kept it equally quiet.
"For now — we watch," Giovanni said, his low voice settling the group. "We can't contribute meaningfully to what's happening up there regardless."
No one disagreed.
High above, the atmosphere was growing heavier by the second. The black Rayquaza was beginning to move.
"Human — give me the Orb! We can't fight it without the Orb!"
Kyogre had retreated another increment, sending the message in urgent bursts. It could feel the Blue Orb on Mammon — it needed it now. Without Primal Reversion, it had no business being in front of this Rayquaza.
"Here."
No time to waste. Mammon raised the Blue Orb.
The deep indigo sphere seemed to sense Kyogre's proximity — brilliant, crystalline blue energy blazed from its surface.
"WOOOOOH—"
A sound like something waking from a very long time ago rolled across the sky. Blue energy wrapped Kyogre entirely, saturating it.
Faintly, for just an instant — a vast inscription of α flared through the light. And then something larger, far larger, spread its wings from within.
Gold predator's eyes. Overwhelming, suffocating presence expanding outward. The entire body faintly gilded with light. Ancient. Sovereign.
Primal Kyogre.
The size alone was a statement. In Primal form, Kyogre's scale made its standard form look modest. The weight of its aura shifted everything around it.
The fat fish, Primal — genuinely powerful.
"Mmmm. Human — once this is done, you and I have a serious conversation coming."
Power restored. Primal Kyogre's telepathy came through at a lower, wider register than before.
"Of course. But the immediate matter is working out how to beat this Rayquaza. Isn't it, Kyogre."
"You actually think we can win?"
Primal Reversion had, apparently, also adjusted Kyogre's attitude somewhat.
Understandable. After not having access to this form for an extended period, having the full weight of it back — Primal Kyogre felt, momentarily, somewhat expansive about its own capabilities.
One on one against Mega Rayquaza — maybe 70-30 in Rayquaza's favor. Primal Kyogre was willing to admit that. Mega Rayquaza was strong.
"At least a chance. And there's one more useful asset still on the way."
Mammon didn't make promises. What that first hit of Dragon Ascent had demonstrated about the black Rayquaza's power left little room for confident guarantees.
"I don't know where you get this confidence. But there's no other option anyway."
Primal Kyogre's gold eyes hardened, locking onto the black Rayquaza.
This was the situation. No retreat available.
"WWWOOOH—"
Primal Kyogre's deep, ancient call resonated through the sky once more.
Vast black stormclouds billowed across the heavens. Thunder split the air in multiple places simultaneously. Wind screamed.
Primordial Sea. One of the apex weather abilities. Primal Kyogre's ability on activation — transforming the weather to heavy rain, under which Fire-type moves became entirely non-functional.
The black Rayquaza's eyes were utterly unimpressed. You want to compete with me for weather control?
The turbulent gale surged back out, powerful and contemptuous, scattering the accumulated stormclouds completely.
Even Primal Kyogre's Primordial Sea couldn't establish itself against the black Rayquaza's Delta Stream.
Primal Kyogre found this genuinely irritating. Against Primal Groudon, it could at least manage a partial standoff — maybe split the weather 50-50 even when Desolate Land was winning. Against this black Rayquaza, Primordial Sea couldn't get a single raindrop to fall.
"Don't bother. You're not as strong as it is. It won't give you the weather as long as it doesn't want to."
Mammon's voice settled it.
In game mechanics, Delta Stream, Desolate Land, and Primordial Sea could cancel each other out. Only those three, nothing else.
In reality, weather was directly tied to the Pokémon's underlying power. Primal Kyogre was strong. The black Rayquaza was stronger. Against this opponent, Primordial Sea wasn't going to establish fully — not in this fight, not with this opponent.
Primal Kyogre was displeased but had no argument.
"Kyogre — go up front. Take the pressure."
"????"
Primal Kyogre blinked. Hold on. There are three of us here. I'm not the main carry?
"If you want to win, do what I say." No explanation offered.
"Mewtwo — Deoxys — use Calm Mind!"
"Kyogre — charge it, Ice Beam!"
Dark Mewtwo and Deoxys both pulled back rapidly, soft light accumulating around them as Calm Mind took effect.
Against the black Rayquaza, neither of them had the raw power to stay in front of it right now. The only option was to build — close the gap as much as possible while the fight was ongoing.
And the one who could hold the line in the meantime was the hardest hitter available: Primal Kyogre.
Not ideal. The other option was still in transit. If it had been here already, it could have taken the pressure while Primal Kyogre buffed instead. But it wasn't here yet.
Primal Kyogre looked at the black Rayquaza across the gap — magnificently, infuriatingly present — and charged.
Black-coal-colored flying green caterpillar. Fine. It was doing this.
The black Rayquaza watched Primal Kyogre coming directly at it. The cold light in its eyes sharpened.
It's not running. It's attacking.
This fish has been sleeping a long time. Getting a little bold, is it.
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