Hoenn Region.
Inside the joint secret base of Team Aqua and Team Magma.
"The so-called ocean is an irreplaceable place for all living creatures." On the high platform, Archie was giving his routine internal organization speech.
Calling it a "speech" was generous; for this rugged, barbaric sailor, it was more like just yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Pokémon, humans... all life cannot exist without the nurturing embrace of the ocean."
"But now, humans, driven by their own selfishness, are recklessly destroying and polluting the seas. Not only are countless innocent Pokémon being harmed, but they are also being forced to flee their territories and lose their homes."
"Listen well! As members of Team Aqua, expanding the ocean is our mission! Creating a beautiful world without conflict is the ultimate goal of our Team Aqua!"
Watching their leader raise his arms and shout, the Team Aqua members and admins below the stage were infected by his imposing roar. Their faces flushed with excitement as they clapped and erupted into passionate cheers.
However, after the loud applause completely died down, an untimely, cold sneer drifted over lightly.
"I didn't expect your eloquence and ideals to still be as garbage as ever, Archie~"
From the dim shadows, a middle-aged man slowly walked out. He had his dark red hair combed neatly back and wore a long red coat that covered most of his body, exuding an aura of serious, rigid formality.
He pushed up the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, a hint of mockery appearing on his stern face.
"It is precisely because people with foolish ideas like yours exist that human evolution is so slow. Abandon the ocean and endlessly expand the landmass! By increasing the habitable area for terrestrial creatures, the problem of fighting over territory will naturally be solved. For both Pokémon and humans, isn't this the exact ideal, conflict-free environment you're talking about?"
Visibly, the stubble-faced sailor, interrupted mid-speech and unable to think of a retort in time, turned red with anger.
Archie, whose style was always rough and aggressive, stepped forward, grabbed Maxie by the collar, and roared.
"Maxie, you bastard! Don't think that just because we've formed a temporary alliance, I acknowledge you! Whether the land or the ocean is more important can't be settled by just flapping your gums here! If you've got the guts, let's take this outside and settle it with a Pokémon battle!"
"Heh~"
A red-haired man standing over two meters tall crossed his arms, taking in the entire scene.
After receiving intelligence from Team Rocket, Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare, had traveled here from the Kalos region a few days ago. And the ones hosting him were these two leaders from Team Aqua and Team Magma.
One intends to use Groudon's power to turn the entire world into land, while the other intends to use Kyogre's power to turn the entire world into an ocean. They truly are two complete and utter lunatics...
Lysandre looked at the two men engaging in their daily argument as if he were looking at mental patients, shaking his head helplessly.
To be honest, he had previously wondered if some of his own ideas were a bit too extreme.
But after meeting these two, Lysandre actually felt he was being too conservative.
After all, in his plan to create a new world, he at least intended to leave a portion of elite Trainers he acknowledged alive. But if things actually went according to Maxie and Archie's plans, the end result would likely be the total extinction of everyone and everything.
Shaking his head after his silent evaluation, Lysandre couldn't help but recall that bright, sunny afternoon.
His secret laboratory, deliberately hidden inside a café in Lumiose City, had been forcefully broken into by a certain Trainer that day.
The mysterious intruder had not only flawlessly identified the correct entrance but had also commanded a Pokémon he had never seen before to effortlessly dispatch all the guards stationed outside.
"Crobat, use Air Slash!" "Pyroar, aim at it and use Flamethrower!"
Faced with an outsider breaking in, the Team Flare members stationed inside the lab naturally didn't just sit and wait to die.
Following the commands of the elite Team Flare grunts, Crobat forcefully folded its four wings into the shape of sharp blades, slashing down countless transparent blades of air toward the opponent. Meanwhile, Pyroar bared its fangs with a low growl, crouching down before unleashing a surging torrent of red flames from its mouth.
But in the next instant, both the chilling air blades and the surging flames were halted mid-air, controlled by psychic power. The unknown Pokémon's eyes glowed purple, and with a simple raise of its hand, it blasted all the blocking Pokémon and Trainers straight into the wall.
"Please excuse my rudeness, Mr. Lysandre. My name is Giovanni."
Removing the black fedora that concealed half his face, a middle-aged man walked through the doorway with confident, steady steps.
Lysandre's pupils contracted slightly, a look of surprise appearing on his face.
Giovanni, known as Giovanni of the Earth, the Gym Leader of Viridian City in the Kanto region.
Rumor had it he was a ruthless character whose strength was on par with the Kanto Elite Four, or even the Champion.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Giovanni. But tell me, did the Viridian City Gym Leader travel thousands of miles from Kanto to Kalos just to wreck my Lysandre Labs?"
With a cold hmph, Lysandre's gaze settled on the Pokémon standing silently beside Giovanni, its face completely devoid of expression.
He could sharply sense that this humanoid Pokémon, which no one had ever seen before, was likely a Psychic-type.
Although instantly one-shotting his subordinate's Pokémon army proved it possessed formidable strength, even if Giovanni suddenly attacked him now, Lysandre felt that with his Dark-type Mega Gyarados and Honchkrow, he wouldn't necessarily lose.
Seemingly noticing Lysandre's hand gripping his Poké Ball, Giovanni spoke with a calm expression.
"No, I believe you have misunderstood, Mr. Lysandre."
Even though he was significantly shorter than Lysandre, the powerful aura radiating from him steadily overpowered the latter.
"I am not here today in my capacity as a League Gym Leader, but rather as the leader of Team Rocket, to discuss cooperation with you."
"...Team Rocket."
Lysandre couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Although he was far away in the Kalos region, he had heard of this evil syndicate that dominated the Kanto and Johto regions.
He just hadn't expected the infamous leader of Team Rocket to actually be a League Gym Leader in secret. Playing both sides of the law—that was truly astonishing intelligence.
At this moment, the Team Rocket leader before him continued speaking slowly.
The contents of his words made the previously contemplative Lysandre suddenly widen his eyes.
"I know that you have recently been researching the Ultimate Weapon, Mr. Lysandre. Disappointed by people who constantly fight and consume resources for their own gain, you wish to eradicate those 'useless' Trainers and create a beautiful new world free of conflict. Hmm... truly an astonishing idea and plan."
"..."
Unlike Giovanni, who was sighing in admiration, Lysandre's expression turned rather ugly.
To realize his plan of creating a new world, he had invested massive amounts of manpower and resources. A significant portion of the commercial revenue generated by his labs had been poured into it like water. This was supposed to be a top-secret operation, yet now...
Even Team Rocket, based all the way in the Kanto region, knew about it?
"So what exactly is your purpose for making this special trip today, Mr. Giovanni?" Thinking about which link in his organization might have leaked the information, Lysandre gritted his teeth, completely losing his usual graceful demeanor.
Even though the Kalos League didn't have the authority to arrest an entrepreneur with immense influence in the Kalos region like him without concrete evidence and ignoring societal backlash... if the plan was leaked like this, the negative repercussions would be immeasurable.
"I simply came to specifically ask if you, Mr. Lysandre, would be interested in establishing a deep cooperation with our Team Rocket." Completely ignoring Lysandre's increasingly icy glare, Giovanni bluntly stated his intentions.
"Team Rocket is currently in a period of aggressive expansion. If we could have you and your Team Flare join us, that would naturally be ideal. In exchange, I will provide you with crucial intelligence."
"Please take a look at this first, Mr. Lysandre." As he spoke, Giovanni pulled a stack of important documents from his pocket.
"This is..."
Looking at the documents handed to him, Lysandre's initial coldness was instantly replaced by shock.
Although he couldn't read the text on them, it was precisely because they were so ancient and difficult to decipher that their precious value was highlighted.
"These are photographs of recently excavated ancient texts. They record the items necessary to awaken the two Legendary Pokémon crucial to your plan." Showing no surprise at Lysandre's loss of composure, the corners of Giovanni's mouth curled up slightly.
Hearing this explanation, the man—usually as steady as a Pyroar—couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.
Team Flare had been preparing and researching their plan to create a new world for a long time, naturally making significant progress.
—After extensive scouting and searching, they had successfully located the Ultimate Weapon built by the King of Kalos 3,000 years ago, hidden deep beneath Geosenge Town. As long as it could be successfully activated, it would wipe out all living creatures, including Pokémon, and create a beautiful new world free of conflict.
Of course, activating it was absolutely not an easy task.
The Ultimate Weapon was just a weapon; the method to drive it was held by the King of Kalos from 3,000 years ago.
Although that King, having gained eternal life due to the energy of the Ultimate Weapon at the time, was still alive in this world, Team Flare currently hadn't found any trace of him.
Furthermore, activating it required the power of the two Legendary Pokémon of the Kalos region.
—Xerneas, shaped like a magnificent deer, commanding the laws of life.
—Yveltal, shaped like a fierce bird, governing the principles of destruction.
Legend had it that after lending their power to the King to activate the Ultimate Weapon back then, they had both fallen into a deep slumber.
And this Team Rocket leader was just handing over such crucial intelligence to him so easily?
"Of course, in the end, this is nothing more than a transaction. You have your dream of creating a new world, and I have my own ambitions. The core essence of our goals will not conflict. As for whatever doubts you might still hold in your heart..."
With both hands in his pockets, Giovanni's sharp gaze seemed to pierce right through to Lysandre's innermost thoughts.
"Mr. Lysandre, you should understand that in all relationships between people, only mutual benefit is truly reliable. Therefore, I will provide you with the intelligence you desire, and when the time comes, I will need to borrow the strength of your Team Flare."
It was a bold proposal that would shock anyone who heard it.
"However, since you possess such exclusive intelligence, Mr. Giovanni, why not scheme for it yourself? I would think the leader of the most renowned evil syndicate in the Kanto region would also be interested in this..."
Lysandre dragged his burning gaze away from the documents, looking at the man across from him with a face full of confusion.
Though he didn't say it explicitly, the underlying meaning was obvious.
Although Kanto was far from Kalos, and Team Rocket's influence hadn't penetrated here yet, possessing such heavyweight intelligence, common sense dictated he should keep it a secret and plot for it himself. Why would he be so generous as to share it?
Those were Xerneas, revered as the God of Life, and Yveltal, feared as the God of Destruction.
"Heh~ I'm currently not interested in those so-called Legendary Pokémon of the Kalos region," Giovanni said, glancing at the Mewtwo standing silently beside him.
Then, shifting his tone, he rattled off a series of nouns that made even Lysandre's eyelids twitch violently.
"Ho-Oh, capable of resurrecting the dead. Celebi, capable of freely traveling through timelines. The massive army of Ultra Beasts from the Ultra Wormholes... Those are the things I'm more interested in right now. Furthermore, the vastness of the world far exceeds your imagination, Mr. Lysandre. Blindly fighting amongst ourselves and settling for a small corner of the map is not a wise choice."
"Besides, I'm not a narrow-minded man."
Giovanni looked at the tall man before him, who stood like a Pyroar, an intimidating light flashing in his eyes.
"To achieve my ultimate ambition—to hold all worlds in the palm of my hand—fighting alone as a single person is far from enough. Even the petty thugs wandering the back alleys should understand this logic."
"You are a Trainer who perfectly suits my tastes, Mr. Lysandre. If you are willing to sincerely join us, using a mere Xerneas and Yveltal as a welcoming gift is nothing at all."
Lysandre fell silent.
Even though he was passionate about all beautiful things in the world, and disliked Giovanni's ugly aura—filled with ambition and treating everything as a business transaction—at this moment, he had to admit that this man truly possessed a powerful charisma that made people want to follow him.
—An unparalleled presence, as if he were born to be a King who should rule all worlds.
As a descendant of Kalos royalty, this was the only adjective Lysandre could think of to describe this man.