"Hey, Maxie, you finally made it."
As the aircraft landed on the ground, Maxie and the four Team Magma members behind him stepped out together.
Maxie's expression was grim. Team Aqua's deployment, which had Monsu Island surrounded on all sides, had already made him anticipate what was coming. But Team Magma had already reached the point of no return.
The turmoil caused by Team Magma and Team Aqua had sparked massive public outrage internationally. They were now trapped in this sea area, and if they could not break the deadlock in a short time, they would have no choice but to await sanctions from the League. And the ocean was Team Aqua's home field. Team Magma's ability to fight at sea was far inferior to Team Aqua's, which meant Team Magma was very likely to be the first target of the Hoenn League's concentrated attack.
"You b*stard, you actually dared to toy with us. What's the meaning of refusing to let our submarine come ashore?" Maxie snarled viciously.
"Heh, then what do you have to say about this?" As Archie finished speaking, two men wearing Team Aqua uniforms were escorted over.
"These two are spies your Team Magma planted inside our Team Aqua. I'm guessing you sent them to steal the Blue Orb, right? Too bad their skills fell just a little short. You were the ones who proposed this trade, yet you still sent spies to steal the orb. So no matter what we do, you have no right to complain."
"Hmph. I can hand over the Red Orb, but give me the Blue Orb first," Maxie snorted coldly.
Archie said nothing and took out the Blue Orb. Seeing this, Maxie also took out the Red Orb.
But in the next moment, Archie burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahahaha... Looks like you still haven't figured out your position. Coming to Monsu Island like this—do you really think you're still the leader of Team Magma? We've decided to take possession of both orbs and then seal Groudon away. From this moment on, Team Magma is disbanded. Just behave yourselves and watch as our Team Aqua changes the world!"
"Delusional." Maxie had long expected things to end up like this, but he had also prepared for it in advance. "Since we're on Monsu Island, I have no reason to fear your Team Aqua. Don't forget, there's still a dormant volcano on Monsu Island. As long as we activate it, do you really think your Team Aqua can defeat our Team Magma?"
In an instant, the atmosphere between the two organizations became tense.
Ash's group and Team Rocket's group, who had been pushed aside, silently watched everything unfold, powerless to do anything.
At the same time...
The explosions caused by the battle on Monsu Island became the signal for war. The Team Aqua forces and Team Magma forces stationed in the waters around Monsu Island instantly launched attacks on one another, throwing the island's coastal waters into chaos.
The drizzle had already stopped, but the fierce battle raging across the surrounding sea stirred up even more violent waves. They crashed high into the sky before turning into raindrops once again!
The moment the signal for battle rang out, the two organizations began fighting fiercely to seize the other side's orb. Both organizations chose to trust in their own current strength, and so they began battling each other, intending to eliminate the other major threat before the League noticed.
"Now's our chance!"
On Monsu Island, as the two sides erupted into battle, James, Jessie, and Meowth somehow managed to destroy the special restraints Team Aqua had used to bind them and escaped.
Ash's group was still trapped, watching the aftermath of the battle in fear. Just as Team Rocket was debating whether to rescue Ash and the others and then conveniently steal Pikachu while they were at it, the sight of a Team Magma figure suddenly made them freeze and quickly hide themselves.
"Are you all right?" The red-haired young man dressed in a Team Magma uniform made a "shh" gesture and asked quietly.
Seeing part of his face, coupled with that familiar voice, Ash and Brock were shocked.
"Mr. Lance?"
"It's me. Don't worry about anything else right now. Let's get out of here first." Lance was puzzled. The last time he had met this Trainer named Ash, it had been in a Team Rocket prison cell. How had he run into them beside Team Aqua this time...?
Because they had become embroiled in battle, Archie and the Team Aqua members no longer had any attention to spare for Ash and the others. Lance successfully led Ash's group away in secret to a safe location.
"Mr. Lance, what exactly is going on?"
"I infiltrated Team Magma to stop them and Team Aqua from using the Super-ancient Pokémon to do evil. This place is going to be very dangerous from here on out, so listen carefully—"
"The Red Orb and Blue Orb contain the power to control the Super-ancient Pokémon, so no matter what, we cannot let them successfully obtain the corresponding orbs. I can't contact the outside world right now, so the only people we can rely on here are ourselves." At a critical moment like this, Lance could only ask Ash and the others for help. There was strength in numbers, and he simply did not have the capacity to handle too many things by himself.
"What can we do?" Ash quickly asked.
"In a moment, I'll lend you my Gyarados—the red Gyarados. Use it to dive into the sea, find the place where Team Magma and Team Aqua are jamming the signals, destroy it, and then activate this device."
"What about you, Mr. Lance?"
"I'm staying here to wait for an opportunity and try to seize back the Red Orb and Blue Orb," Lance said seriously.
He only had two of his main Pokémon with him, Dragonite and Gyarados. The former was his primary combat force and his ace as a Champion, while the latter was a Pokémon he had specifically brought to make naval battles easier. But at this point, he could not divide his attention between two tasks at once. Ash and the others had appeared at just the right time. Back when they had confronted the Team Rocket executives in the Johto region, Ash and the others had performed fairly well. Lance could only place his trust in them now.
"We understand!" Ash, Brock, May, and Max nodded seriously.
After Ash and the others left, Lance took a deep breath and continued waiting for his chance.
However, amid such a massive battle, something no one had expected was that the Team Rocket trio, having split into two groups, had already beaten everyone else to the places where the two organizations were holding the Super-ancient Pokémon.
James was currently dressed in a Team Aqua uniform. Looking at Kyogre trapped in the pool on the monitor, he briefly familiarized himself with Team Aqua's base control system, then began waiting for news from Meowth and Jessie's side.
Meanwhile, Meowth and Jessie, disguised as Team Magma members, had also found the enormous warehouse where Groudon was shackled. They then infiltrated Team Magma's base control system room. After randomly pressing several buttons, Meowth said in confusion, "I've never seen a system like this before, meow..."
"Just try everything first!" Jessie urged.
"That works too, meow." Planning to take away the places where Team Aqua and Team Magma were holding the two Super-ancient Pokémon along with the Pokémon themselves, James and Meowth began operating the complicated systems according to their own ideas.
Before long, the two Super-ancient Pokémon opened their eyes at the same time...
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