A few days later, a pillar of deep blue light rose from a spot along the coast. This spectacle was quickly discovered by several Trainers. As they drew closer, they felt a powerful pressure and could even faintly see a phantom of the legendary Pokémon, Kyogre, emerging.
This anomaly immediately caught the attention of the Hoenn League, which dispatched Trainers to the scene at the highest speed. Naturally, this news could not be hidden from Team Aqua, who had been searching for Kyogre in an attempt to control it.
"The plan has begun. I just don't know who will end up being the final winner," Gu Yuan remarked slowly, hidden within the forest while watching the rising blue pillar.
Once Gu Yuan's plan was relayed to the senior officials of the Hoenn League by Dar, they quickly responded by agreeing to execute it. After their recent investigations, the Hoenn League realized it was impossible to lock down the locations of Archie or Maxie using current leads. Gu Yuan's suggestion provided an excellent breakthrough point.
Following discussions, the Hoenn League set Team Aqua and Archie as their primary targets. Previous operations against Team Aqua meant they had not yet fully recovered their strength. Under these circumstances, Team Aqua would naturally not pass up an opportunity to strengthen themselves, and the possibility of completely eradicating them was higher.
Once Team Aqua was wiped out, the Hoenn League—with all its forces freed up—would naturally find ways to deal with Team Magma, who specialized in land-based activities. After all, the reason Team Aqua and Team Magma had survived to this day was their mutual distraction across land and sea, preventing the Hoenn League from concentrating its full power.
Of course, while this plan was proposed by Gu Yuan, the Hoenn League would not let him be the protagonist of this show. Regardless of his potential, his strength remained at the Elite rank. While impressive for his age, it was still a bit weak for facing an organization like Team Aqua. Consequently, the Hoenn League had arranged its own personnel, waiting for Team Aqua to expose their tracks so they could dig out Archie's location based on their movements.
As for the anomaly, it was an artificial setup by the Hoenn League. Since Team Aqua would eventually find a matching orb to control Kyogre in the future, the more powerful Hoenn League naturally possessed similar assets. Thus, drawn by the blue pillar of light, the hidden Team Aqua finally lost their patience.
Following Archie's orders, submarines approached the location of the anomaly. As the leader, Archie did not stay behind to command from the rear; instead, he emerged from his lair. Whether this was a trap set by the Hoenn League or not, Archie had to see it with his own eyes for the sake of his lifelong ambition.
However, Archie was not unprepared. Only after his subordinates had scouted the way and confirmed the anomaly was truly related to Kyogre would he make his grand appearance as the final act.
While the Hoenn League and Team Aqua made their moves, Maxie of Team Magma was not idle either. Although Team Aqua and Team Magma shared a silent cooperation at times, they plotted against each other more often than not. With Groudon's tracks still hidden, if Kyogre suddenly appeared and was truly controlled by Archie, it was hard to say whether the Hoenn League or Team Magma would be the first to be eradicated.
As the three factions made their moves, no one noticed a hidden dark hand quietly baring its fangs.
Back at the site of the anomaly, after some time had passed, the nearest Rangers had arrived and taken control of the situation. Using the Hoenn League's prestige, both League Trainers and ordinary Trainers chose not to force their way in and instead left obediently. Even Pokémon Hunters or poaching groups that happened to be nearby dared not entertain any evil thoughts.
Surviving in the shadows, they knew very well that when something involved Kyogre, it wasn't just the Hoenn League involved; Team Aqua would also participate. While the Hoenn League might have difficulty finding them, Team Aqua certainly would not. For the sake of their own lives, these people fled even faster than the League Trainers.
Soon, the area where the light pillar originated was cleared by the League. Those who remained were either confident in their strength or had secret agendas.
In the sky, a group of small black dots grew larger—members of the Hoenn League arriving on Flying-type Pokémon. In the sea, a large number of submarines gathered.
Looking at the seawater ahead, which was now shrouded in blue light and manifesting phantoms of Kyogre along with that special pressure, the members of Team Aqua were certain: this anomaly was definitely related to Kyogre. If they could truly discover the treasure causing this, the possibility of summoning Kyogre was extremely high. At that time, they would become the pioneers of a new world and the top tier of people in this world.
This was the "big dream" Archie had painted for them. Otherwise, he could not have built such a massive organization on rhetoric alone. Only through dreams and immediate interests could today's success be achieved.
With both sides taking the stage, battle was inevitable. While a portion of personnel was split off to investigate the situation, the remaining Team Aqua members intercepted the Hoenn League forces.
The battle began, with a barrage of moves flying wildly, splashing seawater filled with blue fluorescence. Ice-type moves were unleashed, but they could not freeze the surface as they usually did, only forming scattered patches of drift ice. Consequently, the situation became more favorable for Team Aqua, giving them the feeling of being blessed by the heavens.
Little did they know, while environmental factors played a part, it was mostly due to the Hoenn League holding back. If they didn't give Team Aqua hope, how could they hook the big fish that was Archie? It must be said that the Hoenn League had refined Gu Yuan's general plan to perfection.
With their long-awaited goal seemingly within reach, the members of Team Aqua moved with exceptional speed. Not long after the fight started, they discovered a blue crystal floating in the sea, emitting a dazzling light. Clearly, all the anomalies were caused by this blue crystal. That pressure belonging uniquely to a legendary Pokémon made everyone believe firmly that this was a treasure related to Kyogre.
Unfortunately, their luck ended there. The Hoenn League's goal was to let them know the item was real to lure Archie into biting the hook; they certainly wouldn't hand over the bait easily. A large number of Water-type Pokémon emerged from the surroundings. To deal with Team Aqua, the Hoenn League had plenty of excellent Trainers specializing in Water types.