What Aiden was referring to, of course, was Terastallization.
Utilizing Terastallization's ability to temporarily change a Pokémon's type, granting Groudon a Tera shell corresponding to the Flying type might actually provide a way to let it achieve its long-awaited flight.
However, while the idea was sound, the actual execution was quite troublesome.
First of all, with Groudon's massive size, just how many Tera Orbs would it take to make it Terastallize—
He felt that he might have to go back to Paldea and specially craft an "Ultra Tera Orb" capable of holding a sufficient dose of Tera Shards. Just this alone would require him to personally make a trip back to Paldea.
Then, even if it Terastallized into a Flying type, could it definitely take off?
That was actually hard to say. After all, some Flying-type Pokémon themselves didn't possess the ability to fly.
For example, Gliscor relied on its jumping power and gliding to achieve brief ascents. If Groudon wanted to imitate that—
It might just jump and crack the entire Hoenn continent.
But there were always more solutions than problems; at the very least, Aiden could come up with corresponding solutions for these issues in his head.
If all else failed, he would just use them all at once.
Time was tight and the task was heavy. With only one week left before the meteorite fell, he had to deal with Groudon and Kyogre within this timeframe, and he didn't have that much time to experiment slowly.
"Roar—"
Seeing Aiden agree, Groudon immediately let out a cheerful roar.
It was as happy as a tens-of-thousands-of-years-old big kid, almost clapping its hands and stomping its feet in excitement.
Seeing this, Aiden could only reveal a helpless smile.
Even if it was just to avoid disappointing it, he had to make this work!
"Go back inside Mt. Chimney and wait for two days. I need to make some preparations."
After Aiden finished speaking, Groudon immediately nodded repeatedly.
For it, a mere two days would pass in the blink of an eye.
Although it was highly anticipating Aiden's promise, it could still wait that long.
Anyway, it had already been mocked by that fathead fish for who knows how long; what were two more days!
Thus, under Aiden's watchful gaze, Groudon slowly walked back into Mt. Chimney, looking back with every step, and disappeared into the crevice it had smashed open when it burst out.
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
After using the Anywhere Door to return to Paldea and purchase a massive batch of supplies, the fully prepared Aiden naturally had a bit more confidence in the plan to make Groudon fly.
"Roar——!"
And when he opened the Anywhere Door, Groudon, poking its big head out of the Mt. Chimney tunnel like a husky, immediately noticed him and let out a low, almost fawning roar.
Clearly, it had taken Aiden's words to heart. It hadn't left Mt. Chimney for the past two days and had earnestly awaited his return.
Because there was no Rain Doll hanging up, Groudon's rule-based power from the land quietly took effect. Today, the sky above Mt. Chimney was cloudless and brightly sunlit.
"Sorry to keep you waiting~"
Aiden smiled and waved at it, signaling that it could come out now.
At the same time, Aiden looked behind him.
"Lucario, and Mewtwo, you guys can come over too!"
As he stepped out of the Anywhere Door, Lucario and Mewtwo who followed closely behind immediately caught Groudon's attention.
That Lucario was holding up a heavy iron ball with a diameter as tall as a person, barely squeezing out of the Anywhere Door with Mewtwo's telekinetic pushing from behind.
As for Mewtwo, it was using its psychic power to pull a large bunch of balloons, floating out behind Lucario.
"Lu!"
Lucario forcefully put down the round ball, which directly smashed the ground into a thirty-centimeter-deep crater.
Good thing he didn't have to carry this thing over himself—
Aiden secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But Groudon was dumbfounded——
A bunch of broken balloons, and a big black ball. Could just these two things make it fly?
Obviously not, right? Those balloons combined would probably struggle to lift its tail.
So it immediately turned its head to look at Aiden, hoping he could give a reassuring answer.
"Don't worry, I have a brilliant plan."
Aiden smiled and reassured the visibly doubtful Groudon.
As a "country bumpkin" who had stayed in Hoenn its whole life, it had never seen Terastallization, so it was normal for it to be skeptical.
If he didn't feel that Z-Moves were very likely to backfire, he would have even tried to see if the Flying-type Z-Move worked on Groudon.
Fun fact: Groudon could actually learn the Flying-type move "Aerial Ace."
Although Aerial Ace was just a technique and couldn't help it fly, being able to learn it meant it could use Z-Moves of the same type.
However, Z-Moves consumed the Trainer's stamina after all. Steven commanding the three Regis had worked himself to death; facing Groudon, it was better not to try rashly—
Otherwise, before "Supersonic Skystrike" could even be unleashed, he himself would be drained dry, which wouldn't be good.
He hadn't lived his second life enough yet, so he temporarily wasn't considering going down to play a respawn match.
"Don't move later, just cooperate with my commands."
After a simple observation, Aiden said to Groudon.
Groudon nodded straightforwardly.
Anyway, it couldn't fly to begin with; even if its efforts yielded no results, it would accept it!
At worst, it would just vent all its resentment on that fathead fish and beat its big head into a pig's head!
Groudon stood straight and motionless.
Seeing this, Aiden immediately gave Lucario a look.
"Lucario!!!"
Lucario immediately understood. Planting its legs in a horse stance, it suddenly hugged the incredibly huge custom Tera Orb, summoning all its strength to hoist it above its head.
Then, it threw it with all its might towards the top of Groudon's head!
Although there was no "Huge Power" user at home, there was a "Power Dog" even more awesome than Huge Power.
Coupled with Mewtwo's psychic assistance, even a Groudon over 20 meters tall could easily have the orb sail over its head.
Under Mewtwo's telekinetic guidance, the Tera Orb slowly ascended to cover the last bit of distance, and then burst open with a *bang* as it passed over Groudon's forehead.
Tera Shards, so dense that they almost formed a colorful meteor shower, sprinkled down from above, quickly attaching to Groudon's body, gradually forming the outline of a Tera shell.
"Roar—"
Groudon only felt its head seem a bit itchy, subconsciously wanting to scratch it, but before extending its hand, it suddenly remembered Aiden's words, so it had to retract its hand and forcibly endure it.
Soon, when the massive amount of Tera Shards stored in the Tera Orb had all sprinkled down, Groudon's entire body was already coated with a layer of colorful, reflective armor.
The Tera Shards seemed to have a mind of their own as they gradually stuck together, becoming seamlessly integrated.
And on top of Groudon's head, the gathered massive Tera energy rapidly aggregated and took shape, ultimately forming a white cloud embedded with a Tera Jewel, with four balloons formed from Tera energy extending above it.
Groudon also seemed to sense the changes in its body, subconsciously observing its own body and limbs.
It felt so light—
It was like it had turned into a light bird!
Right now, it felt like it might be able to take off on the spot just by jumping!
"No, no, no—"
Just as Groudon was about to try, Aiden immediately spoke up to interrupt it.
The laws of physics still existed in the Pokémon world.
Even if it temporarily gained the Flying type using the Tera shell, not being able to fly still meant not being able to fly, and its weight hadn't changed at all.
If it jumped with all its might, even if it didn't affect the entire Hoenn region, Mt. Chimney and Lavaridge Town at the top would probably suffer a terrible disaster.
So, this was the time for Mewtwo to step in.
"I'll leave it to you, Mewtwo~"
Facing Aiden's almost playful behavior, Mewtwo could only shake its head helplessly.
Was making a Legendary Pokémon fly really that important?
If it really came down to it, why not let it learn from Regigigas and use the recoil from impact to take off from the spot?
But looking at Aiden's expectant eyes staring at it, the complaints in Mewtwo's heart suddenly felt too embarrassed to voice out loud.
In the end, it only amounted to: "I got it."
After sighing helplessly, Mewtwo began the most crucial step of the "Groudon Takeoff Plan."
As its telekinesis began to roam over the Tera shell on Groudon's body surface, the balloons it had brought from Paldea to Hoenn gradually covered Groudon's body.
At the same time, Groudon also felt its body become increasingly light, as if waving its arm would allow it to take off on the spot.
Seeing this, Aiden also breathed a sigh of relief.
It should work.
Although this trick essentially should be called "gliding" rather than taking off.
But Groudon just wanted to fulfill its dream of flying; being able to soar freely in the sky was already enough for it.
So, who cared about the details!
"3, 2, 1!"
"Mewtwo, ignition, prepare for takeoff!"
After the countdown ended, Aiden directly waved his hand grandly, full of momentum as he commanded Mewtwo to take the next step.
"Tch—"
Completely ignoring Aiden's unnecessary commentary, Mewtwo directly Mega Evolved on the spot, transforming into Mewtwo Y, which possessed even more powerful psychic abilities.
Then, the suddenly bursting psychic power completely surrounded Groudon's body, and a pushing force that wasn't too strong for it simultaneously exerted force from all over its body.
Mewtwo's psychic power provided it with the last bit of momentum for "flight". With the help of the lift generated by Terastallization and the balloons, it could finally safely leave the ground with both feet, feeling with its heart the gravity that was moving away from it.
"Roar—!!!"
Groudon cheered out loud on the spot, and imitating that fathead fish, it spread its arms, excitedly slapping the air like a fish entering the sea.
Since it was created by the God of Creation, this was perhaps the happiest moment of its life.
Aiden looked at its appearance and seemed to be infected as well, revealing a smile, feeling genuinely happy for this "big friend" from the bottom of his heart.
So, he made a decision on the spot—
"Let's go, Mewtwo!"
"Since Groudon can fly now, of course we have to take it to show off in front of Kyogre!"
Mewtwo: ???
Mossdeep City, Steven's hometown.
"Although Teacher Azure said he would solve the Groudon and Kyogre problems, but—"
"Do we really not need to worry at all?"
Lying under a beach umbrella on the Mossdeep City beach, wearing only swim trunks, Steven took off his sunglasses and looked worriedly at Wallace, who was enjoying a sunbath next to him.
"What's the panic? If even Aiden can't handle it, it's useless for us to go."
Wallace didn't move at all, crossing his hands behind his head, casually replying to Steven.
Because he had obtained some information from the People of Meteor, he was seeing things very clearly now, even more leisurely than Steven, the most derelict Champion.
"Teacher Azure is a god-like man who can freely command two Rayquazas right now. Mere Groudon and Kyogre are nothing to him."
"—But I always feel an indescribable panic."
After a moment of silence, Steven frowned again.
His intuition had always been very accurate, so it wasn't that he didn't believe Aiden, but his intuition was telling him that things might not be that simple.
"What's there to panic about? Teacher Azure has already temporarily dealt with Groudon, hasn't he?"
Wallace sat up, but his expression was completely relaxed.
"I heard from Flannery in Lavaridge Town that Groudon did indeed awaken, but for some reason, it didn't seem to leave Mt. Chimney."
"Doesn't this just prove that Aiden has already dealt with it?"
"Could it fly over from Mt. Chimney or something?"
After speaking, Wallace even laughed himself.
"So relax. It's enough for us to rely on the rockets to determine the meteorite's precise coordinates before it falls."
"..."
Steven nodded and didn't reply to Wallace anymore.
He understood the logic, but—
What was going on with that inexplicable unease in his heart?
Perhaps he really was overthinking it?
Forcing himself to calm down, Steven lay back on the beach chair, about to continue resting.
However, right at this moment—a massive shadow suddenly appeared, completely shielding the area where he and Wallace were.
"What's going on, did the weather change?"
Wallace scratched his head, subconsciously looking up at the sky.
With this one look, he froze on the spot.
???
What was going on?
Subconsciously wiping his eyes several times and confirming that his vision wasn't playing tricks on him, Wallace finally remembered to remind Steven.
"Wait, what?"
"Steven, wake up, there's really a Groudon flying in the sky!"
"Ah?"
Steven also opened his eyes and looked up.
Then he was also dumbfounded.
Arceus, God of Creation, whoever else is listening, what am I seeing?
It's really Groudon?
Although its body had for some reason turned silvery-white and reflected sunlight, making it hard to see its specific features.
But just its massive body alone, and the scorching sunlight that immediately became intensely hot upon its appearance and visibly caused a burning sensation on the skin, all verified its true identity.
The God of the Land of Hoenn, sleeping in Mt. Chimney, had actually flown over?
Steven subconsciously looked at Wallace, his expression full of resentment.
His meaning was very clear:
You jinx, you only say bad things!
"..." Wallace really wanted to say that this probably couldn't be blamed on him either.
What do you mean the God of the Land is flying?
Such a thing had never happened in Hoenn's history, okay!
However, when he saw the few black dots following behind it, and focusing his attention to barely make out a Salamence with blood-red wings spread out, Wallace suddenly felt relieved.
"So it was Teacher Azure's doing—"
"Then it's not surprising."
As expected of Aiden; he could even make the God of the Land leave the ground. He was simply Superman!
"Wait, no!"
Just as Wallace was feeling emotional, Steven suddenly realized something, and his face instantly turned ugly.
"Why is its direction of travel heading straight for the marine cavern where Kyogre is sleeping?"
Steven looked up at the figure tightly following Groudon in the sky, his expression incredibly complex for a moment.
"What exactly is Aiden thinking!"
"Does he want to proactively start a battle between the two deities???"
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