After making a trip to the Sky Pillar, Aiden proceeded to slack off for several consecutive days.
After all, he had finished his share of the work. Moreover, the Hoenn Rayquaza that needed special training had been "captured" and taken into the sky by the black Rayquaza under his and Zinnia's watch, disappearing from sight.
Knowing that the black Rayquaza definitely wouldn't do anything bad, he was quite reassured, so he simply came back to wait for news from Steven and Wallace.
At the same time he went to the Sky Pillar, the two twin-star Champions of Hoenn had also led their respective teams out, heading to the lairs of Team Magma and Team Aqua, intending to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
With Steven and Wallace's strength, if they had just been a little serious to begin with, those two organizations' leaders couldn't possibly have developed in Hoenn for so long given their skill levels.
So, Aiden didn't plan to intervene this time, treating it as letting the two Champions do their actual jobs for once—
Living a holiday life in Slateport City and Mossdeep City for a few days, accompanied by sunshine, beaches, and sea Pokémon every day, really helped Aiden relax a lot.
When October 8th arrived, with only one week left before the meteorite fell, Steven finally came to find him.
"Teacher Azure, you really just came to Hoenn for a vacation, didn't you—"
When he found Aiden on the beach—who had already adapted to local customs, wearing floral shorts and comfortably lying flat under a sunshade—Steven's mouth corners immediately began to twitch wildly.
There were probably few strange men in the whole world like Aiden, who could comfortably enjoy life even when a devastating disaster was about to crash down on his head.
And he just so happened to actually possess the power to easily save the world!
It was just so infuriating—
"Yo, you're finally here?"
Aiden took off his sunglasses, and seeing Steven's dark expression, he immediately showed a brilliant smile.
"I have to say, your efficiency is really not great. Just two villain organizations, and it took you almost a week to wipe them out."
"I was almost bored to death waiting, so I had to find some entertainment for myself~"
After speaking, Aiden stood up and patted Steven's shoulder, only then noticing that his face seemed a bit pale and his eye sockets were full of dark circles.
"Well— the situation on our end was rather complicated."
Steven shook his head helplessly, not planning to dwell on this topic with Aiden for too long.
Team Magma and Team Aqua certainly weren't a big deal, but after wiping them out, their remnants scattered all over Hoenn, as well as the companies closely associated with them, all needed him, the Hoenn Champion, to handle personally.
Being able to finish the cleanup within a week was the result of him sacrificing a lot of his rest time.
But there was nothing he could do; who told him, the Hoenn Champion, to be too laid-back in the past? Many things that could have been avoided in advance had been piling up until now—
It was all the sins of his past self!
Now he could only consider it paying off his debts.
"Let's not talk about that. The two Orbs stored on Mt. Pyre, the League has already sent specialists to retrieve them."
"Before the meteorite falls, Groudon and Kyogre seem to have already sensed the energy from space and are beginning to stir."
"So, is our next action plan to deal with them first?"
Aiden nodded.
"Wiping out Team Magma and Team Aqua was also for this reason."
"If we left them alone, given Maxie and Archie's personalities, they would definitely come stick their noses in when the time comes."
"So rather than being disgusted by them then, it's better to wipe them out now. Besides, the crimes they've committed over the years are too numerous to count anyway."
The extreme ideologies of these two guys were mind-blowing even in the Pokémon world.
One only wanted land, the other only wanted sea.
Water/Ground-type Pokémon: Are you being polite?
He didn't know why anyone would believe such outrageous ideas—
Steven also generally agreed with Aiden's view.
So, he quickly added another sentence.
"They really did know the locations of Groudon and Kyogre very early on; they even built their bases very close to them."
"Groudon is currently sleeping deep inside Mt. Chimney, while Kyogre is dormant at the bottom of the sea, in a marine cavern near Sootopolis City."
"According to our scientists' speculation on the underground energy field, they will awaken in about three days, repeating their past battle on the sea route between Sootopolis City and Mossdeep City."
After speaking, Steven clearly showed a bit of worry on his face.
Battles between deities were not something that could be settled in a short while.
Once they started fighting, not only would the weather of the entire Hoenn region inevitably be affected by them and become extreme, but the League would also have to allocate a lot of manpower to deal with the dangers of droughts and tsunamis.
By then, there wouldn't be many hands free to deal with the meteorite.
If Aiden wasn't here, this crisis would definitely be exceptionally dangerous for Hoenn!
Even he himself would probably have to go all out, or even forcefully summon the three Regi-gods sleeping in Hoenn, just to temporarily stop the two deities from meeting—
However, with Aiden here, he immediately felt much more at ease.
"Do you need Wallace and me to help? Even if we can't help you defeat the Legendary Pokémon, at least we won't hold you back."
"No need for that. The fewer people in this operation, the better, otherwise I'm afraid Groudon and Kyogre will turn hostile."
Aiden shook his head, rejecting Steven's kindness.
To solve the problem of the Hoenn duo of idiots, relying solely on force was just treating the symptoms and not the root cause.
Even if they were temporarily beaten into submission like Rayquaza did, they would start another great war a thousand years later.
And the reason for their battle was also quite different from the Kalos region.
The battle between the God of Life and the God of Death was essentially a part of the natural cycle, so it had to run permanently.
But what about Groudon and Kyogre—
It was indeed necessary at the beginning of the world's creation, but ever since Regigigas moved the continents to various parts of the world, the boundaries between land and sea were now clearly defined.
At least from the perspective of humans and Pokémon, they probably wouldn't want another major reshuffle.
So, it was better to find a way to solve the problem from its roots.
"Then I'll set off first."
Aiden smiled at Steven and was just about to leave, when he suddenly remembered something, so he reminded him, "Tomorrow, whether it's raining or sunny near Mt. Chimney, it's a normal phenomenon. Don't worry too much about the weather changes."
Steven: ?
Steven immediately raised an eyebrow, his heart instantly becoming alert.
What kind of stunt was Aiden pulling this time?
Mt. Chimney was where Groudon slept; normally, it didn't even rain there a few times a year.
Was he planning to suppress Groudon on the weather level to create favorable conditions for battle?
But— that's Desolate Land!
One of the few Legendary Pokémon abilities confirmed by humans, a domain that automatically formed as long as one was near Groudon. Not only could it completely nullify Water-type moves, but even the weather would be affected and couldn't be overridden.
After struggling for a moment, Steven still didn't say it out loud, only watching Aiden summon Salamence and leave.
Since Aiden had said so today, he must have already figured out a way.
So, what he needed to do next was also very simple—just do as Aiden said!
The next day, when Aiden, who had arrived in Lavaridge Town in advance, woke up, it was indeed drizzling outside.
Of course, all this was within Aiden's expectations.
After all, he was the one who caused this rain.
After taking back the Rain Doll "Melancholy Prince" that had been hanging on the balcony all night and was now slightly damp, Aiden looked at the rainy scenery outside the window and nodded in satisfaction.
As expected, Arceus— ah no, the goods issued by the system are just too awesome. Even Groudon's priority isn't as high as this Rain Doll.
The conceptual god was still exerting its power.
Although he didn't know if Desolate Land would override this weather after Groudon appeared, there was no harm in trying.
If it really succeeded, Groudon would probably be scared jump.
With this thought in mind, Aiden set off on the road to find Groudon.
Mt. Chimney was a high mountain with an altitude of over 1,500 meters, and it would erupt from time to time, which was why so much volcanic ash clung to the mountain path.
However, due to the existence of the cable car, getting to the top wasn't too troublesome.
The power of technology is so great!
Of course, Aiden didn't need to go to the top of the mountain; after all, his goal was just to find Groudon.
So, following the route given by Steven, he quickly arrived at a narrow cave entrance. Just standing outside, he could feel the scorching airflow and the faint firelight emanating from inside.
It was indeed the place where Groudon slept.
Aiden nodded and walked in without hesitation.
A mere flightless one, today I, Aiden, will properly meet you!
As for Kyogre, it would probably have to wait a few more days.
Because although Aiden could swim, he really couldn't be like the protagonist in the games, who could stay underwater for as long as he wanted just by using the move Dive—
For safety's sake, it was better to wait until Kyogre revived and appeared before dealing with it.
Walking all the way inside along the narrow cave for a good while, until the front suddenly opened up, Aiden finally saw the scene inside.
It had a karst cave-like internal structure, with a lot of blazing magma oozing from the surface, eroding the ground into many uneven pits.
And in the deepest part of the cave, a figure wrapped in red, platelike skin, curled up into a ball and bathing in the gurgling magma, immediately attracted Aiden's attention.
It's you, the flightless one!
Perhaps because it was in a deep slumber, Groudon at this time showed some characteristics of Primal Reversion, such as the patterns on its body becoming more rugged, and the white spikes on the sides of its body turning grayish-black.
But the iconic golden patterns had not yet appeared.
Aiden thought for a moment, then simply walked straight up and shouted, "Stop sleeping! Rayquaza is attacking!"
??!
As soon as these words came out, several consecutive explosions suddenly rang out from the depths of the originally calm cave.
Groudon hadn't even started moving yet, but the magma around its body immediately boiled over; the rumbling explosion sounds just now came from this.
After all, Groudon was the incarnation of the land, and magma was essentially a part of its body, representing that it was clearly not calm right now.
At the same time he shouted, Aiden had already summoned Mewtwo, and with its psychic power easily dodged Groudon's magma attack, continuing to watch this Legendary Pokémon that was about to awaken with great interest.
The curled-up Groudon had already stretched out its two thick arms, and its tail, wrapped in thick armor plates, was also pulled out from the magma, splashing countless golden sparks.
When Groudon awoke from its slumber, the first moment it opened its eyes, it only felt incomparable confusion.
It looked around, and when it found that it was still in the safe karst cave, it immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
But at the same time, a nameless fire also burned in its heart.
Who said Rayquaza was attacking!
Could it be that insignificant human in front of it?
What audacity you have, to even dare to deceive me!
Courting death!
"Roar——!"
Groudon immediately let out an angry roar, and along with its voice, the gradually activating golden patterns on its body surface also appeared.
After the meteorite fall two thousand years ago, even without the power of the Orbs, Groudon could briefly enter the Primal Reversion state.
And when it displayed this power, it meant its anger had reached its peak.
Eat my Precipice Blades!
Groudon violently swung its arm, and the magma automatically made way. The leyline energy hidden beneath the surface immediately erupted, turning into a continuously extending, progressively rising spike that attacked Aiden.
Aiden blinked and immediately signaled Mewtwo behind him.
So, under Mewtwo's psychic traction, he suddenly left the ground, bursting out with an extremely strong acceleration in an instant, flying into the air just before the Precipice Blades struck, and dodging the attack by turning sideways.
Seeing the human who disturbed his sleep suddenly take off from the spot, Groudon, who was already very annoyed, got even angrier— What are you doing, what are you doing!
Are you just like that fathead fish, waking up just to hover in front of me and show off that you can fly too, right!
You tiny human, who gave you the guts?
Even if Rayquaza comes today, it can't save you, I said it!
"Roar—!!!"
Groudon was already burning with rage.
So, with its reason completely melted down by anger, it immediately struck again, swinging several Precipice Blades in succession.
Its completely aimless attacks were easily dodged by Aiden and Mewtwo.
But affected by the attacks, the originally small karst cave suffered heavy blows one after another, and at this time it began to shake violently, with a faint risk of collapsing.
Seeing this, Aiden immediately made a decision: "Mewtwo, let's lure it out!"
Mewtwo glanced at him, and then immediately utilized its terrifying psychic power.
In the blink of an eye, their figures left the karst cave and arrived near the foot of Mt. Chimney.
Rumble—!
Coming out of the cave, Aiden realized that not only inside, but even the entire Mt. Chimney was trembling under Groudon's angry onslaught.
As expected of a Legendary Pokémon, the commotion it made was really huge—
About half a minute later, with another violent shake of the mountain, one of Groudon's arms was the first to tear through the rocks, forcibly smashing a path to the outside from inside Mt. Chimney.
But when it actually came outside, it suddenly became confused——
Why was it still raining outside even though it had woken up?
Could it be that the fathead fish had come over?
That shouldn't be; that bastard wouldn't dare leave the ocean to actively attack me, it doesn't have the guts—
The bewildered Groudon even forgot why it was angry just now, only caring to look up at the sky that was currently drizzling.
What's going on? Did I not absorb enough leyline energy, is there a problem with my Primal Reversion?
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