Ssshuaaa!
A grayish stone statue slowly emerged from the depths of the water, as if something mysterious were pushing it toward the surface.
Archie, completely out of his mind yet radiating fanatical devotion, held the Blue Orb tightly with both hands. Blue flashes burst from the sphere, casting their glow upon the submerged statue below him.
Moments later, the rocky surface of the statue began to crack. Ancient fragments fell away piece by piece, sinking to the bottom of the lake as the true form of the colossal being was revealed.
The blue light filling the cavern grew brighter and brighter.
Kyogre... had awakened!
Its body was a deep ocean blue, with two enormous pectoral fins. Along its jaw, eyes, fins, and torso ran glowing red lines that pulsed rhythmically with a strange, powerful energy.
Kyogre slowly opened its eyes. Its pupils were identical to Rayquaza's—the same ones Cain had seen before.
Black sclera, golden irises, and dark pupils—an emotionless gaze, cold and pitiless—fixed directly upon Cain and Drake, who stood before it.
Even so, Cain felt every pore on his body stand on end. It was the primal terror of being targeted by the most lethal predator in the world.
"HAHAHAHAHA—!"
Suddenly, Archie—standing on Kyogre's back—burst into deranged laughter.
"Kyogre! The true Kyogre! I'll be the ruler of this world! Kyogre, destroy my enemies!" he shouted, staring downward, completely consumed by euphoria.
Kyogre opened its enormous mouth, and a sphere of aquatic energy rapidly condensed within it. The power it contained was overwhelming—so much that all of Cain's and Drake's Pokémon immediately assumed defensive stances.
Drake's face hardened; he was about to issue an attack order when—
"Master, not here! We have to retreat! Slowking!" Cain stopped him firmly.
They were inside an underwater cavern; if Kyogre unleashed its power there, even they would be swallowed by the sea. The pressure of the ocean would crush them instantly, leaving no chance to escape.
Slowking understood Cain's command at once. It used Teleport, and Cain placed his hand on its back, amplifying the Pokémon's psychic power with his own.
In a flash, the move activated at full force, enveloping Cain, Drake, and all their Pokémon—vanishing from the spot.
Without fixed coordinates, Slowking could only transport them upward, toward the surface.
When they opened their eyes again, they were already in the air, surrounded by black clouds and deafening thunder.
Thankfully, Slowking's psychic field protected them from the lightning strikes.
Cain and Drake now stood atop the Alpha Salamence's back, while the rest of their Pokémon had returned to their Poké Balls.
Without wasting a moment, both looked down.
Beneath them, at the bottom of the ocean, a gigantic whirlpool had formed—and at its center glowed those red lines... and two enormous yellow eyes.
Kyogre!
"Let's go!" Drake ordered gravely.
The Alpha Salamence beat its wings with all its might, propelling them forward.
They had barely escaped when a colossal pillar of water burst from the sea, shattering the surface with a thunderous roar that echoed for miles. The force was devastating—Kyogre's direct attack.
Had Drake not reacted in time, both would have been annihilated on the spot.
Ssshuaaa!
Kyogre rose from the ocean to the surface. Archie still stood upon its back, gripping the Blue Orb tightly, his face twisted in madness.
Torrents of rain fell upon him, and lightning illuminated his distorted features. There was no trace of sanity left in his eyes.
Kyogre controlled him completely.
He believed he was mastering the power—but in truth, he had been consumed by it, turned into its puppet.
Kyogre's golden eyes gleamed brightly, and the rainfall grew even heavier, as if it would never cease.
The Alpha Salamence continued flying, but Kyogre charged energy through its body and launched itself after them like a massive blue spear, slicing through the waves in fury.
"We have no advantage at sea!" Drake shouted. "We need a large island to fight on. If Kyogre approaches Hoenn, it'll cause a catastrophic disaster!"
"It's still acting on pure destructive instinct; its consciousness hasn't fully awakened yet. That's exactly why we might still stop it... and take back the Blue Orb from Archie."
Cain nodded grimly. He understood perfectly what Drake meant.
Kyogre hadn't regained its full strength yet—and as long as that remained true, they still had a chance to fight.
After several minutes of flying at maximum speed, a large uninhabited island appeared ahead.
Splash, splash—
Both leapt from the Alpha Salamence onto the ground. The unending rain had turned the soil into slippery mud, but there was no time to care.
Before them approached a force capable of annihilating the entire Hoenn region. If they didn't act, the coastal cities would be wiped out by disaster.
Without hesitation, Drake threw several Poké Balls into the air—ready to fight with everything he had.
"Your power still isn't enough," he said. "Don't face Kyogre head-on. If you can distract it, do it; if not, retreat. And I don't mean just a few meters—fly straight to the League and warn Juan."
"If Kyogre has awakened, it's possible Team Magma has triggered their own calamity. This concerns the fate of the entire region, Cain. Don't act recklessly." His words sounded almost like a final command.
Cain met his gaze and saw in those eyes the resolve of a true son of Hoenn—someone ready to sacrifice everything for his homeland.
A knot formed in his chest, but he nodded firmly.
If nothing went wrong, Groudon would soon awaken as well. Those two ancient beasts—eternal rivals—rarely appeared separately.
If Kyogre and Groudon could be brought to confront each other, the situation might stabilize.
"It's coming! Brace for the first strike!" Drake roared.
Cain's scattered thoughts vanished instantly. All that remained was the battle.
Kyogre—the god of the Sea, one of the world's Legendary Pokémon—
It was time to see how powerful it truly was upon awakening.
Cain was no stranger to such battles; he had witnessed clashes between Ho-Oh and Giratina before. He knew perfectly well the scale of a god-tier Pokémon's power.
And Kyogre, though not yet at full strength, was their only chance.
(End of chapter)