Inside Team Magma's base, a brutally savage scene was unfolding—one that was almost too cruel to watch.
"Flying Body Press!"
Archie sprang forward in a huge leap, all bulging muscle as he came crashing down onto the "frail, delicate" Maxie.
"Arrgh!"
Maxie let out a miserable howl.
"Spinning Facebuster!"
Archie burst into wild laughter, yanking Maxie up and locking him in place as he spun at high speed, slapping him across the face again and again.
Smack smack smack smack!
Two of Maxie's teeth went flying. His eyes rolled back white.
"Double Hammer Smash!"
"Low Blow!"
"Full Mount—relentless ground‑and‑pound!"
About ten minutes later, drenched in sweat, Archie finally stood up and gave the completely KO'd Maxie a thumbs‑up.
"What a great wrestling match!"
Maxie might've been a scrawny twig with zero ability to fight back, but Archie still had to respect him.
He was weak, sure—but damn, he could really take a beating!
"You, don't go and actually break him."
Damian finally stopped recording, walking into the office and giving the black‑and‑blue Maxie a once‑over in open amazement.
Yep. Without Pokémon, muscleheads like Archie were honestly terrifying.
Maxie wasn't even in the same league.
He had tried to fight back a couple of times, but Archie had basically smacked the fight right out of him with a single slap each time.
Yeah, the scene had been… impressive.
"Heh～ relax, Lord Damian. I'm a professional. Worst case, this guy just lies in a hospital bed for three days, then he'll be bouncing around again."
Archie grinned, flashing a "pure and innocent" smile.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
After wrestling with Maxie, Archie felt light as air. Turned out, people's happiness really did have to be built on someone even more miserable than you.
"Good."
Damian nodded. It was a good sign that Archie was this self‑aware.
He picked up a file from the desk, raised a brow.
"Then I'll leave this place to you next. Try to swallow every last Team Magma member into us—our organization's still short on manpower."
Damian instructed Archie. This base hadn't had much real fight in it; taking it down had been easy.
After all, even if Archie was trash in Damian's eyes—against regular Team Magma grunts, he was straight‑up a higher‑dimensional monster.
"No problem! Leave it to me." Archie pounded his chest in promise.
"Leave the persuading to Shelly. If anyone's got a spine, throw 'em in a cell and use 'em as free labor."
Damian added. With Archie's brain, there was no way he'd manage any pretty speeches.
With that, Damian turned and headed out of the base with Caitlin.
With this, both Team Aqua and Team Magma were basically wrapped up. In Hoenn's underworld, Team Rocket was free to grow without restraint.
Outside the base, the sound of waves never stopped. The sky was a clear blue, reflected on the surface of the sea like a flawless mirror.
"Damian, what are you planning to do about Zinnia?"
Caitlin brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear and asked.
"Her situation's not actually that hard to solve." Damian shook his head.
The Draconid people's prophesied Meteorite? No rush on that yet. As for Devon Corporation, the House of Berlitz, and the Johto Pokémon Association—Damian honestly didn't take them that seriously.
Those forces were strong, sure—but they weren't the Pokémon League.
"It all depends on what she wants—whether she just wants to target the people involved back then, or wipe out their whole families."
Damian smiled. Based on what he'd seen of Zinnia so far, she didn't strike him as that extreme.
Her reactions the first time they'd met had already proved that.
"Zinnia's not the kind of person who'd let hatred completely take over her head." Caitlin had her own read on it.
"Exactly. So if she only wants revenge on the people who actually took part, it gets even easier." Damian shrugged.
"When we get a chance, we'll just go to Devon Corporation with her in person."
Devon's president, Joseph Stone—Steven's father—had been involved in the "Rayquaza incident" back then. In fact, Joseph had been there on‑site.
"Mhm～"
"For now, Caitlin, we're heading to Mt. Pyre."
Damian glanced down at the file in his hand, the corner of his mouth slowly curling upward.
Mt. Pyre sat on a small island southwest of Lilycove City.
Just like Kanto's Pokémon Tower, Sinnoh's Lost Tower, and Unova's Celestial Tower, Mt. Pyre was a burial ground—where dead Pokémon lay in slumber.
With Armored Mewtwo's psychic flight, Damian and Caitlin flew straight to Mt. Pyre's peak.
There was a small house there, home to an elderly couple.
By the time Damian and Caitlin arrived, the couple happened to be repairing a stool.
"Hello, Granny, Grandpa."
Damian stepped forward with an easy, warm smile, greeting the two old folks.
"Hello, and you are…?" the old woman asked, puzzled.
"I'm a friend of Hoenn League Champion Wallace. Champion Wallace heard you had two Orbs here, is that right?"
Damian casually dropped Wallace's name.
They'd already "worked together" once. He was pretty sure Wallace‑sensei wouldn't mind him borrowing his title.
"How do you know that? Child, are you really Champion Wallace's friend?"
The old woman was still cautious.
"Of course. Here's a picture of us together." Damian pulled out his phone. On it was a photo of him with Wallace‑sensei.
Yeah, Wallace in his normal outfit.
"It really is Champion Wallace."
The old woman and old man both leaned in for a better look, then nodded, convinced.
"We've just received word that the evil Team Magma and Team Aqua are searching for two mysterious Orbs. I'm guessing they're the very ones you're protecting."
Damian's tone turned a touch more serious.
"What? Then what should we do?"
The old woman clearly started to panic. She was just a normal old lady.
"Please don't worry. The Hoenn League absolutely won't allow evil organizations to run wild!" Damian soothed her, then pressed the advantage.
"That's why Champion Wallace sent me here—to escort you both to Ever Grande City, and bring the Orbs with us to keep you all safe."
"Ever Grande City… that's so far…"
The old woman hesitated, trading a look with her husband.
"But if you two stay here, it really isn't safe—" Damian sighed with just the right amount of hesitation and helplessness.
"Child, if their goal is the Orbs, then we can give them to you. You can take them back to Champion Wallace."
"Th‑that… wouldn't that be…?"
"It's fine. As long as the Orbs don't fall into the hands of an evil organization, that's all that matters."
"All right, then."
And so——
Just like that, Damian easily secured the two Orbs.
"Man, the League's name is really handy."
On their way back down the mountain, Damian looked at the wooden box in his hand and couldn't help sighing in satisfaction.
He'd tricked them that easily.
If he hadn't been using the League as a cover, there was no way this couple would've handed the Orbs over so readily.
He'd have had to do it like in the games—like Team Aqua and Team Magma, and just snatch them.
Even if tricking and stealing weren't all that different in essence, at least this way those two old folks whose feet were already halfway in the grave wouldn't be wracked with guilt over it, right?
"Blue Orb and Red Orb!"
At the foot of the mountain, Damian opened the wooden box. Two faint glows—one bright blue, one deep red—instantly filled his vision.
"So pretty～"
Caitlin couldn't help breathing out in admiration.
They really were beautiful.
Damian took out the blue Blue Orb. The whole thing gleamed crystal‑clear, like flawless carved glass, and inside the Orb was a distinct "α" symbol.
That mysterious Alpha symbol would likewise appear on Kyogre's body after Primal Reversion, matching the "Ω" that represented Primal Groudon.
"With this, even Kyogre can be controlled for a short time. But it's not exactly a long‑term solution."
Damian toyed with the beautiful Blue Orb.
The Orbs really could be used to temporarily control Groudon and Kyogre—as long as you didn't pull a brain‑dead Archie and toss the Orb to Kyogre.
But that kind of control would always be repaid in full by those two super‑ancient Legendaries.
And if you wanted them to undergo Primal Reversion and unleash their true power, you had to give the Orbs back—or have them absorb a mountain of natural energy.
But once they'd gone through Primal Reversion, even with the Orbs, you could forget about keeping a grip on them.
Which made things… a little awkward.
Damian wanted a Primal Kyogre that would fight for him—not just an ordinary fat‑headed fish.
"I'm sure you'll get Kyogre's acknowledgment eventually, Damian."
Caitlin's smile turned soft and ethereal, her voice gentle as she spoke.
"Heh～ hope so. But this fat‑headed fish really does sleep like the dead. It can't even sense the Orb's aura?"
Damian couldn't resist griping. He had Kyogre's Poké Ball on him, but clearly, the deeply sleeping Kyogre hadn't felt a thing from the Orb's aura outside.
He honestly had to hand it to Kyogre.
Fight Groudon, then sleep, then wake up and fight Groudon again. Rinse and repeat for thousands of years.
Caitlin covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
"Let's head back to Lilycove City for a meal, then have a good rest."
Damian slipped the Orb back into the wooden box and stowed it in his bag. He stretched, waking himself up a bit.
Once they'd eaten, he figured he'd upload the Archie versus Maxie wrestling video. He was curious if anyone would actually watch it.
Time slipped toward dusk.
Our Wallace‑sensei had returned to his beloved Lilycove City.
"It's been a while. Lilycove's breeze is still as gentle as ever. And this city's sunsets… still just as beautiful."
Wallace's pure‑white cloak fluttered lightly as he stood there, elegance and nobility in every line.
He'd often come to Lilycove City in the past for Pokémon Contests, so he knew this place like the back of his hand.
"Let's eat first."
Steven couldn't help smiling. The two of them headed for a restaurant nearby and booked a private room.
Then—
"Wallace."
Steven's expression turned extremely odd as he called out. He'd just seen another thread.
"Hot! Live‑Action Throwdown! Team Magma Leader VS Team Aqua Leader—Who Comes Out on Top?!"
Normally, Steven hated clickbait titles like that—but he still couldn't stop himself from tapping in.
And then…
The moment he opened it, he saw Archie beating the ever‑loving hell out of Maxie. Going all in.
~~~
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