Chapter 159: Groudon: I'd Say My Odds Against Primal Kyogre Are About Twenty-Eighty
"HUMAN!! Get me back in the Ball!! RIGHT NOW!! THIS INSTANT!!!"
Groudon was practically screaming at Giovanni through the telepathic link. It could feel it — Primal Kyogre was about to move.
There was a saying: retreat may be shameful, but it works. Besides, was this even retreat?
This was called a strategic withdrawal.
Once it found the Red Orb, it was going to blast this fat fish so hard it wouldn't know which way was up.
For now — let the fish have its moment.
It couldn't be helped. Primal Kyogre had Reverted, and Groudon was just in its base form. How was it supposed to fight?
It couldn't win. There was absolutely no winning this. Digging in and brawling a Primal Reversion with bare-form stats would just be stupid.
Groudon considered itself quite sharp. Retreat now, bide the time. It would make this fish regret everything eventually.
Giovanni's expression shifted oddly — but feeling Groudon's urgency, he raised the Ultra Ball and prepared to recall it.
"Running away? Not quite that simple."
Mammon's mouth curved.
"Kyogre — Block!"
Primal Kyogre's deep rumble resonated through the storm clouds. It spread its enormous arms wide and brought them sweeping down.
A massive spectral X sealed itself over Groudon. The red recall beam from Giovanni's Ball hit Groudon's body and was stopped cold.
Normal-type Block!
Similar in effect to Mean Look — the target could neither flee nor be recalled.
Silence.
Groudon felt something clamp down on it, took about two full seconds to process its situation, and then arrived at the full picture of what was happening to it.
"ROOAAR!! (You salty fish — have you NO shame?!)"
Groudon glared at Primal Kyogre with murder in its eyes.
Of all the absolute nerve—
It was trying to make a strategic withdrawal, and this fish was refusing to let it leave?
Primal Kyogre's enormous mouth opened in what was unmistakably a grin, its two great fins fanning slowly with an air of total leisure.
"You came all this way — no need to rush off. Stay and keep Kyogre company for a while."
Mammon smiled with cheerful innocence.
"So… what do we do now?"
Nemona had already sensed something was very wrong. Groudon didn't seem to actually be a match for Kyogre at all.
"The Red Orb is with Mammon. Without Primal Reversion, Groudon's gap against Kyogre seems… significant." Leon was frowning hard.
But they had assembled this entire operation. Were they supposed to just run?
Impossible. And Groudon was Blocked — it couldn't run either.
"We fight." Giovanni said quietly.
"Groudon — can you hold Primal Kyogre off? No matter what?"
He kept his voice low, but through the telepathic connection Groudon heard every word.
…
Groudon very much wanted to say several things that weren't polite.
"If you can hold Kyogre, we can go after Kyogre's Trainer in the meantime. Your Orb is probably on him."
"Or — if we take Mammon down, Kyogre might hold back for fear of hurting him. Either way, we're not without a chance."
Leon laid it out carefully. He was describing the best-case scenario, he knew that.
But it wasn't completely hopeless.
"Kyogre's Trainer?"
Groudon blinked, looking up at the two humans sitting on Primal Kyogre's head.
It had been asleep and apparently in the meantime this wretched fish had found itself a human Trainer. Strange. This fish had never been the type to acknowledge humans.
More importantly — its Orb was in Kyogre's Trainer's hands?
Oh that is RICH.
Evil fish and evil fish's equally evil Trainer.
Despicable. Absolutely despicable! He stole its Orb and locked it out of Primal Reversion!
Groudon raged internally. Shameless! Vile! Disgusting!!
"Right — as long as you can stall Primal Kyogre, Groudon. Can you do it?" Leon pressed quietly.
"…I don't have my Orb. This is a very bad situation."
Groudon had no particular confidence in this.
"If I could Primal Revert, I could take this fish apart. But in the current situation — I'd put my odds at about twenty-eighty against."
Feeling Primal Kyogre's eyes on it, Groudon felt its scalp prickle.
"That's enough — just hold it! We'll take Mammon down as fast as we can!"
Giovanni kept his voice quiet.
"Get me my Orb back and I'll give you the biggest sunny day you've ever seen."
Groudon emphasized the point about its Orb. It was absolutely drenched and it was furious about it. How many thousands of years had it gone without being humiliated in front of this fat fish like this?
"We'll do our best!"
Leon said it with conviction, even though he knew perfectly well that getting the Red Orb meant taking down Mammon first.
"Are you done deliberating?"
Mammon's voice was helpfully solicitous.
"I can give you more time if you need it~"
"The result will be the same regardless."
He tilted his head with that cheerful smile. He was in no hurry whatsoever.
"Mammon! You are so insufferably arrogant!"
Giovanni cracked slightly. Where had this kid learned to be like this? He certainly hadn't taught him.
"Arrogant? That's not quite right. If anything, you four are the arrogant ones, standing in front of me — just the four of you."
Mammon still had that pleasant smile.
"What exactly are you counting on? This Groudon that can't Primal Revert?"
He opened a Poké Ball. Dark Mewtwo materialized behind him.
"Then — Kyogre, go."
Dark Mewtwo's psychic power wrapped around Mammon and Caitlin, lifting them into the air. The ancient sovereign of the seas let out a low, resonant call that rolled across the sky.
Primal Kyogre's massive wings beat once. Its enormous body surged toward Groudon.
Uuunn~ (You land-locked smelly lizard — I'm going to drown you today!! Let you know who's on top!!)
Primal Kyogre's eyes blazed with pure excitement. First Rayquaza, now Groudon — today was absolutely incredible!
"ROOAAR!!"
Groudon threw its head back and bellowed at Primal Kyogre in return — even though internally it had very little confidence.
But the situation left no choice!
And besides — the one thing it hated most in this world was being mocked to its face for not being able to fly!
Orb or no Orb, Groudon was not going to back down from this fish!
Primal Kyogre blazed with blue water-light, the aquatic torrent of Waterfall charging.
Groudon's own red light blazed fierce against the dark rainstorm as it brought its right claw crashing down onto the earth below.
Ground-type Precipice Blades!
Great blades of magma erupted from the earth one after another, sweeping toward the oncoming Primal Kyogre.
BOOM!
Primal Kyogre hit the blades of magma at full force, a deafening crash — and Precipice Blades detonated in a shockwave of heat and stone.
But from within the explosion, Primal Kyogre burst through and slammed directly into Groudon.
Groudon roared, arms thrown up in a block, trying to halt the momentum.
THUD!
The force was overwhelming. Groudon's entire body was shoved backward — it couldn't hold.
Groudon was giving everything it had. The one thing it absolutely refused to accept was losing on strength to this fish. Strength was its domain.
But it didn't matter. After Primal Reversion, Primal Kyogre's raw physical power had been boosted too. Groudon couldn't stop it.
Primal Kyogre's Waterfall crashed through Groudon's defense. A thunderous impact — and Groudon was launched bodily through the air and hammered into the ocean, sending a massive curtain of spray skyward.
Uuunn~ (HAHA~ I beat Rayquaza, you know! What did you think you were going to do against ME?!)
Primal Kyogre called out in pure delight and dove straight down after Groudon.
It wasn't even using its best move — special attacks. This was a rare opportunity to physically pummel Groudon, and it was going to enjoy every second.
"Seems like Kyogre's having a good time."
Mammon watched and let out a quiet laugh. Let it vent. Let it play.
Primal Reversion versus base-form Groudon — no chance of anything going wrong. With the type disadvantage on top of it, this was basically a parent disciplining a child.
"Now — you're still planning to fight me, I see."
Mammon looked at Giovanni and the others, floating in midair courtesy of Dark Mewtwo, and raised an eyebrow.
Giovanni, Cynthia, and Leon didn't speak. They each raised a Key Stone simultaneously.
Mega Evolution!
Beedrill, Charizard, and Garchomp blazed with rainbow evolutionary light.
Mega Beedrill. Mega Charizard X. Mega Garchomp. Three powerful Pokémon, standing ready.
"Mammon! Let's end this!"
Leon wiped the rain off his face. The downpour was genuinely punishing — he had never in his life seen rain this heavy.
And the scale of it was absurd. He looked in every direction and all he could see was black sky, no end to it.
"Interesting." Mammon's eyebrow went up.
"Caitlin — check on the base."
Caitlin nodded, released Metagross, and flew toward the island.
"Nemona!"
"On it."
Nemona mounted Talonflame and went after Caitlin. Mammon didn't stop her.
"Then let's find somewhere else to do this. I'll keep you company until Kyogre's had its fill."
Mammon rolled his fingers and glanced toward where Primal Kyogre and Groudon had disappeared.
Glug glug glug~
Groudon was being absolutely waterlogged, flailing frantically trying to drag itself up — but Primal Kyogre was in the water right behind it, clamped onto one of its legs and hauling it back down with great purpose.
Primal Kyogre had made a decision. Today, it was not stopping until Groudon looked like a drowned fish.
Elsewhere.
"What on earth is happening?!"
The Weather Institute — a research facility on the western edge of Slateport City, dedicated to studying Hoenn's climate patterns.
The director's face was ashen as he rounded on his staff.
"We're still investigating, sir. No cause identified yet." The subordinate was already sweating, fingers flying across the data displays.
"This rain came on impossibly fast. And it's not natural — it's like it appeared out of nowhere." He looked up. "Our forecast had today as completely clear."
Ten minutes ago, the sky had been fine. Then it had happened in an instant — massive storm clouds flooding in from the east. In what felt like a blink, torrential rain had descended over every area in range.
"I need the cause of this rain! Figure it out and do it NOW!"
The director raised his voice, jabbing at the map on the screen.
"It's still expanding! It's almost reached Slateport City!"
Slateport City was the hub of Hoenn's coastline. The rain had been spreading from the direction of Mauville — which meant —
Half of Hoenn was already under this storm.
And it showed absolutely no sign of stopping. At this rate, the entire region was going to be blanketed.
"Whatever it takes — stop this rain!"
The director said it grimly.
"Yes, sir!" The staff responded, grim-faced and scrambling.
The director walked to the window and looked out.
Every flying Pokémon in the area was fleeing west. Land Pokémon were running. All of them — like animals fleeing a disaster.
What was happening to the east?
Something cold settled in his chest. And making it worse — the moment the rain had begun, he'd sent staff to try driving it off with a Torkoal using Drought.
It had done nothing.
The Torkoal had nearly caught a chill in the downpour, that was all. The rain was too cold. Too heavy.
Drought was useless against it.
This made no scientific sense. Sunshine was supposed to override rain. That was how weather worked.
Where had this rain come from? How long was it going to last?
At this level of rainfall, if it continued —
The director felt the chill deepen.
This was going to be catastrophic.
(End of chapter)
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