Marcus was enjoying a peaceful morning in Goldenrod City.
This was his first mistake.
Peaceful mornings in Marcus's life were always the calm before the storm.
Literally, in this case.
7:00 AM - GOLDENROD CITY
"The weather's nice today," Marcus commented, sipping tea at an outdoor café.
"Vee." Don't jinx it.
"Pika pika." Too late. He jinxed it.
"I do not understand this superstition," Leo observed. "Weather is a natural phenomenon. It cannot be 'jinxed.'"
Kenneth vibrated.
"What did Kenneth say?"
"Kenneth said 'watch.'"
7:02 AM
The sky turned red.
Not sunset red. ANGRY red. The kind of red that suggested the atmosphere itself was having a bad day.
"That's... unusual," Marcus said slowly.
A massive shadow passed overhead.
Then another.
Then a THIRD.
Marcus looked up.
Groudon was walking through downtown Goldenrod.
Kyogre was swimming through the air (somehow) beside it.
And Rayquaza was coiling through the sky above both of them.
All three were heading directly toward Marcus.
"Oh NO," Marcus whispered.
7:03 AM - MASS PANIC
Goldenrod City descended into absolute chaos.
"GROUDON! THERE'S A GROUDON IN THE CITY!"
"WHY IS THERE AN OCEAN IN THE SKY?!"
"THE SKY SERPENT HAS COME! THE END IS NIGH!"
Buildings shook as Groudon's footsteps caused localized earthquakes. Kyogre's presence summoned rainclouds that fought with Groudon's drought aura, creating a weather phenomenon that meteorologists would later describe as "impossible and also terrifying."
Rayquaza dove down, its massive form blocking out the sun entirely.
And then all three Legendaries stopped directly in front of Marcus's café table.
Groudon rumbled.
Kyogre chirped (a surprisingly cute sound for an ocean god).
Rayquaza made a noise like thunder having feelings.
"They... they're looking at you," Leo observed, having taken a defensive stance.
"Pika pika." They want something.
"Vee vee." They want MARCUS.
Indeed, all three Weather Trio members were staring at Marcus with expressions that could only be described as... longing?
Needy?
LONELY?
"Marcus," Steve's voice cut through the chaos—he had teleported in the moment he sensed the disturbance, "why are three Legendary Pokemon looking at you like abandoned puppies?"
"I... I don't know?"
Groudon rumbled again, lowering its massive head until it was level with Marcus's table.
The table vaporized from the heat.
But Groudon's eyes... Groudon's eyes were SAD.
"Oh no," Marcus realized. "Oh no no no."
He understood.
THE EXPLANATION
When Marcus had manifested in this world with 4,847 Pokemon, he had focused primarily on his traveling team. The Legendaries had been left at Pokemon Paradise, given territory and freedom and everything they could need.
Everything except TIME WITH THEIR TRAINER.
Groudon hadn't seen Marcus in THREE MONTHS.
Kyogre hadn't been petted in THREE MONTHS.
Rayquaza hadn't received head scratches in THREE MONTHS.
They were TOUCH-STARVED.
They were LONELY.
They had FOLLOWED HIM TO JOHTO.
"You came all the way here," Marcus said softly, "because you missed me?"
Groudon nodded, causing a small earthquake.
Kyogre made its chirping sound again, somehow managing to look pathetic despite being a whale-god capable of flooding continents.
Rayquaza coiled down from the sky and gently—GENTLY—nudged Marcus with its snout.
The force still knocked him off his chair.
"Oof—okay, okay, I get it! I'm sorry!" Marcus scrambled to his feet and reached up to pat Rayquaza's nose. "I should have visited more!"
Rayquaza made a sound like a thunderstorm purring.
"But you can't just WALK THROUGH CITIES! You're causing panic!"
Groudon looked around at the fleeing civilians, the burning buildings (its drought aura had ignited several awnings), and the spontaneous flooding (Kyogre's rain was fighting back).
It had the decency to look sheepish.
A sheepish Groudon was somehow even more terrifying than an angry one.
THE WEATHER SITUATION
"We have a problem," Leo observed, ever the master of understatement.
The problem was that Groudon and Kyogre, even when not actively fighting, had passive abilities that affected the weather.
Groudon's Drought summoned intense sunlight and heat.
Kyogre's Drizzle summoned torrential rain.
Both were active simultaneously.
The result was meteorological CHAOS.
Half of Goldenrod was experiencing a heat wave. The other half was experiencing a monsoon. The border between the two zones was experiencing weather that didn't have a NAME because it had never existed before.
"Can you two PLEASE stop?" Marcus pleaded.
Groudon and Kyogre looked at each other.
They had stopped fighting months ago—Marcus had asked them to, and they LISTENED to Marcus—but their abilities were PASSIVE. They couldn't just turn them off.
"Rayquaza! Do something!"
Rayquaza's Air Lock ability activated, neutralizing both weather effects.
The climate returned to normal.
Sort of.
The half of the city that had been on fire was still on fire.
DAMAGE CONTROL
"I will handle the fires," Steve announced, using his psychic abilities to smother flames.
"Pika pika." I'll handle... actually, what CAN I handle here?
"Vee vee." Emotional support for the traumatized civilians?
"Pika." I'm bad at emotional support.
"Vee." Same.
Leo stepped forward. "I will coordinate evacuation efforts. My aura allows me to sense people trapped in damaged buildings."
"Good! Thank you!" Marcus turned back to his three massive Legendary Pokemon. "And YOU THREE are going to help fix what you broke!"
Groudon made a questioning rumble.
"Yes, YOU! You caused earthquakes! Fill in the cracks!"
Groudon looked at its massive clawed feet, then at the cracks in the street.
Very carefully, it began patting the ground, using its earth-manipulation powers to repair the damage.
"Kyogre, use Rain Dance to put out any remaining fires—but GENTLY! No flooding!"
Kyogre nodded and began summoning a light, controlled rain.
"Rayquaza, fly around the city and use Air Lock to stabilize anything weird that's happening with the weather!"
Rayquaza saluted with its tail (somehow) and took off.
Marcus turned to find the entire population of Goldenrod City staring at him.
"What?" he asked.
"You're... you're commanding the WEATHER TRIO," a random citizen whispered. "Like they're PETS."
"They're not pets! They're PARTNERS!"
"THEY'RE GODS!"
"They're gods who missed me! There's a difference!"
ONE HOUR LATER - DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
The city was mostly repaired.
Groudon had proven surprisingly good at construction, using its earth powers to rebuild damaged roads and foundations.
Kyogre had extinguished all fires and then, at Marcus's request, created a beautiful rainbow over the city as an apology.
Rayquaza had somehow become a tourist attraction, with people taking pictures as it flew overhead.
The Weather Trio had gone from "apocalyptic threat" to "beloved city mascots" in approximately sixty minutes.
"This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Officer Jenny said, watching Groudon carefully help a child retrieve a ball from a crack in the pavement.
"You get used to it," Marcus assured her.
"I really don't think I will."
THE CONVERSATION
Marcus found a quiet park (Groudon had made it by flattening a parking lot and Kyogre had filled a new pond) and sat down with his Weather Trio.
"Okay," he said. "We need to talk."
Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza sat before him like three students called to the principal's office.
Rayquaza managed to coil into a surprisingly small shape.
Kyogre floated in its new pond, trying to look innocent.
Groudon sat perfectly still, radiating "I'm not in trouble, right?" energy.
"I'm not mad," Marcus clarified. "But I need to understand. Why did you follow me?"
Groudon rumbled.
"Leo, can you translate?"
"I can sense their auras, but Legendary Pokemon communicate on a level beyond normal—"
Kenneth vibrated.
"...Kenneth says he'll translate."
"KENNETH CAN UNDERSTAND LEGENDARIES?!"
"Kenneth can apparently understand EVERYTHING."
Kenneth vibrated again.
"Groudon says: 'You left. You went to new region. We waited. You didn't come back. We missed you.'"
Marcus felt his heart breaking.
"Buddy, I was only gone for a few days—"
Kyogre chirped.
"Kyogre says: 'Few days is too long. You are our trainer. Trainers don't leave Pokemon behind.'"
"I didn't LEAVE you behind! You were at Pokemon Paradise! With all the other Legendaries!"
Rayquaza made its thunder-feeling noise.
"Rayquaza says: 'Other Legendaries are not you. Other Legendaries do not give head scratches. Other Legendaries do not say we are 'good ancient deities.'"
Marcus stared at Rayquaza.
"You came all this way... because I call you 'good ancient deities'?"
All three nodded.
"That's... that's adorable but also TERRIFYING."
THE BONDING SESSION
What followed was perhaps the strangest sight in Pokemon history.
Marcus Chen, ten-year-old Champion of Kanto and Johto, sitting in a park, giving head scratches to three Legendary Pokemon capable of destroying the world.
Groudon had its massive head in Marcus's lap (he was sitting on its paw to make this possible). The Continent Pokemon made rumbling purr sounds as Marcus scratched behind its... ear? Horn? Whatever that part was.
Kyogre had beached itself on the edge of the pond and was receiving belly rubs. Its flippers waggled with joy.
Rayquaza had coiled around the entire scene like a protective sky serpent, its head resting on Marcus's shoulder, making small happy noises every time Marcus patted it.
"This is adorable," Fluffy observed. "Vee vee." And BLACKMAIL.
"Pika pika." The god of the land is getting BELLY RUBS.
"I will admit," Leo said slowly, "I did not expect this when I joined this team."
"None of us expected any of this," Steve replied. "And yet, here we are."
Kenneth vibrated.
"What did Kenneth say?"
"Kenneth says this is 'wholesome content' and the 'viewers at home' are enjoying it."
"What viewers?!"
Kenneth vibrated mysteriously.
THE SOLUTION
"Okay," Marcus said finally, having given approximately one million head scratches. "We need a solution. You three can't just follow me everywhere—you cause NATURAL DISASTERS by existing."
Groudon made a sad rumble.
"I'm not saying I don't WANT you with me! I'm saying we need to figure out how to make it work!"
Kyogre chirped hopefully.
"Steve, is there a way to... I don't know... minimize their weather effects?"
"Their abilities are intrinsic to their existence. You cannot simply 'turn off' a Legendary Pokemon's fundamental nature."
"What if Rayquaza stays with them? Air Lock cancels out both Drought and Drizzle."
Rayquaza perked up at being included.
"That... could work. If Rayquaza maintains Air Lock, the other two's abilities would be neutralized."
"So they CAN come with me? All three of them?"
"Theoretically. Though traveling with three Legendary Pokemon of this caliber will attract significant attention."
"We're already traveling with a Mewtwo, two Partner Pokemon, a time-traveling Lucario, and a Shuckle that apparently understands the fabric of reality. What's three more?"
Steve had no counter-argument.
THE NEW NORMAL
And so, Marcus's team expanded.
Zippy (Partner Pikachu) - Speed demon, ego problems
Fluffy (Partner Eevee) - Strategic mastermind, secretly soft
Leo (Legends Z-A Lucario) - Time-displaced philosopher
Steve (Mewtwo) - Existential crisis ongoing
Kenneth (Shuckle) - Eldritch translator, cosmic observer
Sunny (Charizard) - Original partner, occasionally active
Groudon - Continent Pokemon, secretly a puppy
Kyogre - Ocean god, loves belly rubs
Rayquaza - Sky serpent, designated weather stabilizer
"This is too many Pokemon," Marcus muttered, looking at his team.
"Vee vee." You have 4,847. This is nothing.
"But these three are MASSIVE!"
"Pika." So is Steve's ego but we manage.
"I heard that."
"Pika pika." I know.
JOHTO'S RESPONSE
The Johto government held an emergency session.
"The Weather Trio," the Prime Minister said slowly. "All three of them. Following a child. Like PETS."
"Like beloved partners," his aide corrected.
"This is insane."
"This is Marcus Chen, sir. 'Insane' is his baseline."
"What do we DO?"
"Nothing, sir. The Weather Trio is currently helping rebuild the damage they caused. The Kyogre created a beautiful new pond. The Groudon repaired several roads better than our own construction crews could. And the Rayquaza is... posing for pictures with tourists."
"POSING FOR PICTURES?!"
"It seems to enjoy the attention, sir."
The Prime Minister put his head in his hands.
"Just... just let them do whatever they want. If they're happy, they won't destroy anything."
"That's the spirit, sir."
THAT EVENING - CAMPING OUTSIDE GOLDENROD
Marcus had decided to camp outside the city.
Mainly because hotels couldn't accommodate three Legendary Pokemon.
The campsite was... unique.
Groudon had flattened a perfect clearing.
Kyogre had created a small pond.
Rayquaza had formed a protective coil around the entire perimeter.
And in the center, Marcus sat with his full team around a campfire (lit by Sunny, who had teleported in for "family time").
"This is nice," Marcus said, looking around.
Groudon rumbled in agreement.
Kyogre splashed happily in its pond.
Rayquaza made a contented thunder-sound.
"Vee vee." The ancient gods are acting like Yampers.
"Pika pika." It's kind of embarrassing.
"Let them enjoy this," Leo said quietly. "They have spent millennia as symbols of destruction. Perhaps they simply wish to be... loved."
Kenneth vibrated.
"What did Kenneth say?"
"Kenneth said 'we all just want to be loved' and that this is 'profound character development for the Weather Trio.'"
"Kenneth is getting very meta," Marcus observed.
Kenneth vibrated mysteriously.
LATE NIGHT CONVERSATION
Most of the team had fallen asleep.
Groudon was snoring (causing minor tremors).
Kyogre was making bubble sounds in its pond.
Rayquaza had tightened its protective coil.
But Marcus was awake.
And so was Rayquaza.
"Hey," Marcus said quietly, looking up at the sky serpent. "Can I ask you something?"
Rayquaza lowered its massive head, bringing one ancient eye to Marcus's level.
"In my world—my original world—you were just... data. A sprite on a screen. A powerful Pokemon I caught for my collection." Marcus paused. "Do you... do you remember that?"
Rayquaza was silent for a moment.
Then Kenneth vibrated, translating:
"Rayquaza says: 'I remember existing as light and numbers. I remember being called upon for battles, then returned to storage. I remember waiting in the void between games, uncertain if I truly existed.'"
Marcus felt tears forming.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know—"
Another vibration:
"Rayquaza says: 'Do not apologize. You gave us LIFE. You chose to catch us, to train us, to CARE for us. And when the impossible happened—when we became REAL—you did not abandon us. You gave us a paradise. You gave us PURPOSE.'"
"But I left you there—"
"Rayquaza says: 'You left us in safety while you went on a journey. That is what trainers do. We simply... missed you. We are ancient beings of immense power, but we are also YOUR Pokemon. Your partners. Your friends.'"
Rayquaza nudged Marcus gently.
"Rayquaza says: 'We followed you because you are our trainer. And trainers do not leave their Pokemon behind. Not really. Not in the ways that matter.'"
Marcus was openly crying now.
"You're all such GOOD ancient deities," he managed.
Rayquaza made its happy thunder-sound.
Groudon, apparently not fully asleep, rumbled in agreement.
Kyogre chirped from its pond.
And somewhere in the pile of sleeping Pokemon, Kenneth vibrated one more time:
"Kenneth says: 'Family.'"
CURRENT STATUS:
Team Expansion: Weather Trio added
Groudon: Good boy, enjoys head scratches
Kyogre: Good whale, enjoys belly rubs
Rayquaza: Good serpent, enjoys being called good
Kenneth's Role: Universal translator, philosopher
Marcus's Emotional State: Overwhelmed with love
Weather in Johto: Stabilized (Rayquaza on duty)
Goldenrod City Status: Rebuilt, plus new pond
Tourist Interest: Skyrocketing
Next Challenge: Unknown (but there are more regions to visit)
[A/N: THE WEATHER TRIO JUST WANTED PETS AND AFFECTION AND I'M CRYING! Next chapter: Marcus realizes he has MORE Legendaries who might be feeling neglected, and the rest of Pokemon Paradise starts showing up! Also, a certain Legendary Beast finally makes contact! Leave a comment about which Legendary you want to see get headpats!]