"Mega Salamence, finish off Shelly first. Matt is all yours after that."
Words that sounded like they came from a bandit rang out, and Mega Salamence stopped toying with the opponents before it. A massive dragon coalesced as a draconic roar echoed, instantly drawing the attention of the entire battlefield.
Facing Mega Salamence's Dragon Rush, Shelly's Pokémon were simply unable to resist. In an unstoppable charge, Mega Salamence closed in on Shelly and the Mega Sharpedo by her side.
"Mega Sharpedo, Hyper Beam!"
Seeing Shelly in danger, Matt immediately had his own Sharpedo Mega Evolve and attempted to clear the way for her. Having anticipated Matt's move, almost the exact moment Mega Sharpedo launched its attack, Drake had Flygon retaliate with a Hyper Beam of its own.
In the sea, Kingdra tied up Mega Sharpedo's movements, making it unable to dodge Mega Salamence's assault or launch a counterattack in time.
"Roar!"
An ear-splitting draconic roar sounded as Mega Salamence swallowed Mega Sharpedo whole, kicking up a massive pillar of water. Even though Mega Salamence had controlled its power, the resulting shockwaves caused Shelly to lose consciousness instantly. Kingdra dove to the bottom and carried the unconscious Shelly away.
Surfacing from the water, Mega Salamence headed straight for Matt. The Hoenn League Trainers who had finished off their own opponents also immediately closed in, surrounding Matt and his Team Aqua unit. At the same time, numerous black dots appeared in the sky, rapidly growing larger.
Clearly, the Hoenn League's reinforcements had arrived. In fact, the Hoenn League had long since placed a large number of troops in ambush within the forest near the coast. This was done to handle various contingencies, such as the sudden appearance of Team Magma or the Hunter's Guild.
Based on Gu Yuan's intelligence, the Hoenn League had already begun to take the initiative, searching for the Hunter's Guild members lurking in the shadows. Despite suffering significant losses, the Hunter's Guild still hadn't given up. They had no choice; Team Aqua and Team Magma were so driven that the Hunter's Guild also believed this blue crystal could summon Kyogre—or perhaps, it was a signal that would lure Kyogre here.
"Damn it! Just how many people did the Hoenn League mobilize!?"
"And those bastards from Team Magma... don't they know to draw the League's attention elsewhere!?"
Standing atop a submarine, Matt couldn't help but curse out loud. Unlike Shelly, Matt hadn't chosen to split up his subordinates. Instead, he concentrated all his power to advance slowly. He had no other option; Elite Four Drake's Mega Salamence was simply too strong.
If they split up, they would end up just like Shelly—their forces crushed by Mega Salamence before being dealt with personally. But soon, Matt understood why Shelly had collapsed so quickly; it was because the strength of this Mega Salamence was utterly staggering.
Almost single-handedly, it halted their momentum, giving the Hoenn League Trainers time to form a perimeter and trap them within. If this continued, the people led by Matt would be gradually picked apart. This kind of war, which relied on raw power, was exactly what Matt hated most.
All Matt could do now was wait for Archie's reinforcements, but this was merely a "piecemeal" tactic; whether it would be effective in the end was uncertain. However, Matt—or rather, Team Aqua—no longer had a choice. Once Archie decided to bet all his strength, there were only two paths left: success or failure.
Within the forest, the members of the Hunter's Guild were no longer acting alone, which would have given the Hoenn League the chance to defeat them one by one. Instead, they joined together to form squads. As the two sides made contact and the League discovered this change in the Guild's tactics, a steady voice rang out across the public channel.
"Attention. We will now jam all electromagnetic signals. All Hoenn League Trainers are to move in teams and launch attacks based on the current distribution of the Hunter's Guild and Team Magma."
"If you discover any important intelligence, contact us immediately using the special channel. To request reinforcements, fire a signal flare."
"As per previous orders, fire different colored flares depending on the opponent's strength."
"Now, begin the operation!"
After the announcement, the communication channel was jammed and could no longer be used normally. However, before the interference, this person had already notified Elite Four Drake, ensuring he knew how to direct the reinforcements when necessary.
"Careful! The Hoenn League has blocked communication signals. Proceed according to the previous plan and try to rendezvous with the others as soon as possible!"
After noticing the abnormality in the communication channel, one of the Hunter's Guild captains immediately issued orders and quickened his pace. Poké Balls opened one after another as more and more Pokémon appeared by their side. Unfortunately, in the shadows, pairs of eyes had already locked onto them.
"Do it!"
Suddenly, a soft voice whispered, and the detonator was triggered.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions erupted, instantly engulfing the entire squad. The Hoenn League members, of course, didn't think this would solve everything. Before the smoke had even cleared, the League members commanded their Pokémon to charge.
The sound of explosions spread, putting the other Hunter's Guild squads on high alert. However, despite their vigilance, the lack of relevant tools in such a tense situation meant the Hunter's Guild simply could not detect the bombs planted by the Hoenn League.
This highlighted the Hoenn League's strategic choice of the battlefield. This location was not only near the coast, providing a reasonable explanation for the blue crystal, but also possessed a vast forest that allowed the League to hide large numbers of troops and divide the battlefield into several sections.
For example, Team Magma was currently being held at the outskirts of the forest. Even though Team Magma kept sending reinforcements, they could only get tangled up with the arriving League forces. Meanwhile, although the Hunter's Guild had ventured deep into the forest, they were intercepted by the alerted League members. Furthermore, some reinforcements remained hidden in the shadows, ensuring the Guild members could not reach the seaside to affect the battlefield while remaining ready to support the naval front.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Subsequently, the sound of explosions continued to ring out. More and more Hunter's Guild squads were discovered and forced into combat with the League Trainers. In these various chaotic battles, the Hoenn League easily took the lead through the advantage of surprise attacks. However, the Hunter's Guild members were also strong; once they adapted to the rhythm, they began to fight back, causing significant losses to the League as well.
In the sea, another fleet of submarines was approaching. This was the final strength of Team Aqua, led by none other than the leader himself, Archie! Gripping a blue orb in his hand, Archie couldn't help but feel nervous, but more than that, he felt a desperate sense of determination!