"Latias, use Dragon Ascent."
Following Hakuya's command, Latias's gaze suddenly sharpened, and she tucked her wings in.
Immediately after.
Her spiraling motion stiffened slightly, almost as if she was lagging. Then, a sudden burst of azure energy swirled around her body, the flowing energy carrying an unparalleled sense of beauty.
Latias subsequently leveled her streamlined body straight out, kicking up layer upon layer of air waves like a supersonic intercontinental ballistic missile, leaving a highly visible vapor trail in the sky.
[Dragon Ascent!]
"..."
Witnessing this scene with her own eyes, Zinnia—who had just been about to tell Hakuya not to waste his effort—opened her mouth wide in shock. She didn't even have the mind to care that the floor of the Sky Pillar's top level was being destroyed as a result.
The fact that Latias could learn the move [Dragon Ascent] brought a shock to this wild girl's heart that was in no way inferior to the news she had just received about Rayquaza completely disappearing and abandoning the Draconid people who worshipped it, as well as this planet.
Zinnia glanced at Latias—who could only be considered an ordinary Legendary Pokémon compared to Rayquaza—and then at the floor that had been smashed through by Dragon Ascent. She gulped, still finding it somewhat hard to believe.
She actually learned it...
Although in terms of power and presence, because she was a beginner and lacked the authority of suppression, this [Dragon Ascent] was absolutely miles away from Rayquaza's... the mere fact that she could learn it was already a world-shaking event.
"H-Hakuya, how exactly did you do that?!"
Unable to figure out the reason, the girl rushed in front of Hakuya, desperate to know the answer.
"It's probably because my Latias is relatively strong," Hakuya immediately threw the blame onto the little jet plane, who was still feeling smug about learning a new move. "After seeing the scroll, she said she could learn it. Maybe your Salamence can too?"
Naturally, he couldn't explicitly say that the Alpaca (Arceus) had secretly opened a backdoor for this item.
Whenever anything unexplainable happened, he just blamed it on the fact that the little jet plane was an illegal, hacked Pokémon.
"Ah..."
Zinnia fell silent.
To be honest, she didn't believe Hakuya's explanation at all.
Even if Latias's strength was indeed very high, and even though she possessed the Dragon typing just like Rayquaza... Hakuya wasn't a Draconid, nor was he a devout believer in the Lord Dragon God! Why, why, why...
Why can't my Salamence use Dragon Ascent?!
The girl tugged at her hair, then turned to look at Salamence beside her, who had no idea what was going on.
"Roar?"
Sensing its Trainer's gaze, Salamence pointed a claw at itself, revealing a blank, dopey expression.
...Can I learn it too?
At this moment, Floragato gently tugged at her Trainer's sleeve.
She also wanted to try learning it to prepare for elbowing Kyogre and Groudon.
While feeling his heart warm, Hakuya helplessly reached out and rubbed her cheeks.
"No, Floragato. You can't fly. No matter how many times you bump your head against it, you won't be able to learn it."
"Meowha~"
Unable to read the ancient symbols on the scroll, Floragato initially refused to believe it. Mimicking Latias, she bumped her head against the scroll, but after bumping it for a long time, she didn't feel any new knowledge flowing into her brain.
—Dammit! Why do you look down on Pokémon that can't fly?! Meowha~
Under her Trainer's helpless, amused expression, she ran to a corner on the edge of the top floor, squatted on the ground in self-isolation, and started drawing circles.
Seeing this, Alcremie not far away nodded gently, indicating she perfectly understood the large cat's feelings.
During her initial Milcery stage, she could still float and fly around in the air. However, after evolving into her Alcremie form, she lost the ability to float and fly.
Now, just like Floragato, she wanted to learn [Dragon Ascent] to share her Trainer's burdens, but there was absolutely nothing she could do.
"Nai~"
Rustboro City.
The top-floor conference room of the Devon Corporation.
On the large screen in the center of the wall, a scene taking place two hundred kilometers away from Rustboro City was being broadcast.
The calm horizon of the ocean was suddenly torn apart. A crimson behemoth, towering over dozens of meters tall, waded into the ocean with heavy, thunderous steps. Dazzling white light, resembling nuclear fission, surged across its entire body, and scorching magma flowed ceaselessly over its vermilion-patterned armor.
With every step it took, a roar that shook the heavens echoed across the ocean. The surging seawater instantly evaporated beneath its feet, forming a landmass of flowing, scorching magma.
"The Continent Pokémon, Groudon..."
Roxanne gazed at the massive crimson figure and muttered in a low voice.
As the image zoomed in, Groudon's terrifying appearance—its body seemingly flowing with magma—caused the Dark-type Elite Four member Sidney and the Ghost-type Elite Four member Phoebe, who were sitting in their seats, to exchange a glance. Both couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
"...Is this Primal Reversion?"
"Primal Reversion?"
The red-haired young man wearing a cape, who had already stood up, crossed his arms and asked in confusion.
Lance was currently a bit lost.
As a Trainer from the Kanto region who hadn't extensively studied myths and legends, aside from knowing that the Legendary Pokémon on the screen possessed world-destroying power, he currently didn't understand the meaning of the term "Primal Reversion."
"According to ancient legends passed down in Hoenn, Primal Reversion is considered a form that allows a Pokémon to reclaim its true, original appearance and the immense power it was meant to possess."
Nearby, Steven answered Lance's question at the perfect time, then looked at the image on the large screen with an equally grave expression.
Even though the current time was approaching sunset, a blazing sun resembling a raging inferno still hung high in the sky.
As the magma behemoth advanced, blocks of magma land filled the ocean along its path, seemingly about to connect into a small island. The legendary Pokémon capable of expanding the continents truly lived up to its name.
"Just Groudon's appearance alone is already this terrifying. Add the other super-ancient Pokémon, Kyogre, to the mix..."
Thinking of the message just sent over by the League's monitoring department, Steven couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
At the exact same time Groudon appeared, powerful energy fluctuations also erupted from the deep seabed in Lilycove City. Primal Kyogre, just like its destined rival, was relentlessly charging toward Rustboro City. It wouldn't take more than a few hours for them to officially meet.
Having to battle Legendary Pokémon of this caliber, the pressure on this Hoenn Champion was indescribably immense.
A single misstep, and the entire Hoenn region would collapse and be destroyed due to their failure in battle.
A moment later, snapping back to reality, Steven began formulating their upcoming battle plan.
"Based on Kyogre's route, it will highly likely pass through Lilycove City, Fortree City, and Slateport City along the way. If we let it advance unchecked, these cities will highly likely be swallowed by the torrential rain and floods it brings."
"Therefore, I've arranged for Wallace, Drake, and Glacia to intercept it at these three cities in advance, to try and minimize the impact of Kyogre's floods. Later, I will also have to ask Phoebe and Sidney to head to those three cities as quickly as possible to provide backup..."
"And due to Groudon's approach, Rustboro City is highly likely to be enveloped by extreme heat. The resulting massive fires will continue to spread until they reach the surrounding ocean. Gym Leader Roxanne, I leave the security and maintenance of Rustboro City to you and the Officer Jennys. You must absolutely minimize the possibility of urban fires."
"Understood."
Roxanne nodded, raising no objections to this arrangement.
Steven nodded slightly, then looked at Lance and said, "Lance, the two of us will be responsible for intercepting Groudon later. Your specialty in Dragon and Flying types is perfectly suited to counter Groudon, who can only walk on the ground. Our mission is to kite Groudon out to sea, preventing it from causing massive destruction to the surrounding towns."
"No problem." Lance crossed his arms, similarly expressing his agreement.
"As for the remaining seven Gym Leaders, you simply need to independently decide which battle to participate in based on the types you specialize in. Although the enemies this time are incredibly powerful, we have also gathered many of the top Trainers from the Hoenn region for this. Therefore, the probability of our interception succeeding is very high!"
As he finished speaking, Steven also revealed a smile to encourage everyone present.
"That's the general battle plan. Head to your designated locations based on the plan and make preparations. Stay safe during the battle. I still need to notify one more Trainer to come over..."
"Steven, are there actually other Trainers coming to join the battle?"
Noticing the Hoenn Champion's final sentence, Phoebe couldn't help but ask a question.
It wasn't surprising she was curious. The Hoenn region had already utilized every single top-tier Trainer resource available to them. The Gym Leaders of the League's eight strongest Gyms, the Elite Four, Contest Master Wallace (whose strength exceeded that of Elite Four Trainers), and Steven himself were all taking the field. They had even pulled in the Dragon Master who was stranded in Hoenn due to work.
Hmm...
Although, technically speaking, it was more like the Kanto Dragon-type Elite Four member and Johto Champion actively volunteered to stay and help.
At that time, as soon as Lance received Steven's message—besides his sense of justice as a G-Man acting up—upon learning that the specifics involved battling two Legendary Pokémon, his eyes instantly lit up. Beating his chest forcefully, he insisted that no matter what, he had to contribute his meager strength to the Hoenn region.
And now, for a Trainer to require the Hoenn Champion, Steven, to personally call and notify them... they were surely no ordinary Trainer.
Could it be Miss Cynthia, who has enjoyed extremely high renown among Trainers in recent years, praised as Sinnoh's Valkyrie and the League's first female Champion?
Or perhaps the older Unova Champion, Uncle Alder, who possesses rich Pokémon battling experience?
But immediately after, Steven's reply made her widen her beautiful eyes.
"That's right. There is indeed another Trainer who will be participating in this interception operation..."
"His strength is incredibly immense. Not only did he defeat Gym Leader Roxanne's full main team with just a single Pokémon, but a few days ago, I also had a 2-on-2 Pokémon battle with him. The result was that I was completely crushed from start to finish, utterly unable to fight back... Perhaps in the future, he might even take over my position and become the new Hoenn Champion. You never know."
Nodding toward the surprised, beautiful Ghost-type Trainer to confirm, Steven then dialed the phone in his hand.