Chapter 355: Poor Groudon
"Fly~"
"It says it’s not scared, but it advises you not to be reckless. It saw this Groudon from afar a year ago, fighting the legendary Kyogre — almost destroyed the world." Gengar translated.
Rio laughed: "Destroy the world? Little Flygon, I have plenty of Pokémon that can do that."
"Fly~"
"It says you’re bluffing."
"Since that’s the case, little Flygon, let me show you whether I’m bluffing or not. Old Ghost, hit our Land God Groudon with a Shadow Ball — wake it up."
"Got it."
Gengar cackled and quickly formed a Shadow Ball, striking the sleeping Groudon in the magma.
Rumble.
The dormant magma violently churned, spewing from Mt. Chimney. Groudon’s eyes slowly opened — a piercing glare fixed on Rio and the Gengar that had hit it.
Rio’s vision displayed Groudon’s level information:
[Pokémon: Groudon]
[Level: 90 (21001 days until next level)
[Talent: Legendary]
[Friendship: 0]
[Ability 1: Drought]
[Gender: —]
[Moves: Scary Face (140%), Ancient Power (140%), Mud Shot (140%), Smokescreen (140%), Earth Power (140%), Bulk Up (140%), Earthquake (140%), Hammer Arm (140%), Fissure (140%), Rest (140%), Fire Blast (140%), Solar Beam (140%), Eruption (140%), Brick Break (140%), Crunch (140%), Dig (140%), Double-Edge (140%), Flamethrower (140%), Precipice Blades (140%), Heat Crash (140%), Hyper Beam (140%)...]
[Description: A legendary Pokémon that lives in magma. Along with Rayquaza and Kyogre, it has existed since ancient times. It possesses the power to create continents and is the embodiment of land. Its eternal rival is Kyogre, which holds the power to create oceans. ]
"The flightless Groudon — your daddy is here." Rio smiled at the level information.
"Staring at me, big guy? Got a problem? Want to fight?" Old Ghost taunted.
"Groudon~" — Gengar, you’re asking for death! Take this outside!
Groudon roared, and the magma beneath it surged, propelling it out of Mt. Chimney into the open air. This was the first time a Gengar had awakened and mocked it — utterly reckless.
The ground around Mt. Chimney shook violently. Smoke blanketed the area, darkening the already black night. Panicked civilians fled in terror.
The Hoenn League was alerted immediately. When Steven learned that Groudon had awakened, he was jolted from his drowsiness.
"What?! Say that again — Groudon woke up at Mt. Chimney? How is that possible? Aren’t Team Magma’s remnants under constant surveillance?" Steven demanded.
The answer left him bewildered — the remnants were under surveillance, but the officers stationed at Mt. Chimney had all gone silent. None could be reached.
Meanwhile, Rio followed Gengar outside Mt. Chimney, facing Groudon. Instead of having Gengar fight alone, he pulled out three stones — the ones given to him by Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. He had promised them they could act as enforcers when he captured Groudon. Now was the time.
"See, little Flygon? Do I have plenty of Pokémon like Groudon?" Rio smiled at Flygon, raising the three stones.
"Time God Dialga, Space God Palkia, Distortion World God Giratina — come forth, it’s your time to perform!" Rio called out.
As he spoke, Gengar and Groudon had already started fighting. Groudon showed no mercy, unleashing Precipice Blades aimed at Gengar from behind. Fortunately, Gengar had begun dissolving into mist — when the blades struck, time power slowed them down, saving Gengar’s hide.
"Gengar~" — Big brute, you fight dirty!
Having narrowly escaped, Gengar taunted, then gathered Roar of Time in its mouth.
"Groudon~" — Gengar, you’ve earned my respect — but you’re still going to die!
Groudon gathered Hyper Beam. Two seconds later, the moves collided midair — and Groudon’s Hyper Beam was pushed back by Roar of Time.
Groudon stared in disbelief at the floating Gengar. Then, two dimensional rifts tore open in the sky — a Pokémon radiating time power emerged from the left, and one radiating space power emerged from the right. They looked down at Groudon with wicked grins.
Nearby, in a hot spring at Lavaridge Town, Giratina burst from the water, startling elderly bathers. It arrived at the battlefield moments later.
Groudon, now facing Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and the Gengar that had matched its power, was bewildered.
"Groudon~" — What are you doing?! This is Hoenn!
Groudon was unnerved by the three Sinnoh gods’ malicious expressions. It could handle a Gengar — even one that had overpowered its Hyper Beam. It could handle any one of the Sinnoh gods alone. But all of them at once? That wasn’t a battle — that was a one-sided beating.
"Dialga~" — Nothing much — just feel like beating you up.
Dialga grinned at Groudon. Finally, it could stretch its limbs.
"Palkia~" — Hoenn, Sinnoh — doesn’t matter. We’re not afraid. Little Groudon, get ready to fall!
Palkia also grinned.
"Giratina!!!" — Brothers — CHARGE!
Giratina wasted no words, opening with Shadow Force — vanishing and reappearing behind Groudon in an instant, slamming it to the ground. Before Groudon could recover, Dialga and Palkia each hurled Aura Spheres, while Gengar threw a Shadow Ball. The three attacks left Groudon’s head spinning.
"Groudon~" — This is Hoenn! This is Hoenn!
But no one listened — the beating only intensified.
"Now do you believe me? I have plenty of world-destroying Pokémon." Rio said to Flygon from atop Mt. Chimney. Flygon was dumbfounded, unable to speak.
News of the Sinnoh gods appearing in Hoenn reached Steven immediately. He was just preparing to head to the scene when he received the call.
"What?! Say that again — all three Sinnoh legendary gods appeared in Hoenn and are currently beating up Groudon, with what looks like a Gengar helping?!" Steven shouted. After receiving confirmation, he stood frozen.
"Why? What did Groudon do to deserve a three-on-one from Sinnoh’s gods?" He muttered, unable to process the most shocking event he’d ever heard.
High above Hoenn, Rayquaza sensed the turmoil below and assumed Groudon and Kyogre were fighting again. It descended — and when it arrived over Mt. Chimney, it was stunned to see Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Gengar all beating up Groudon.
Wait — this is Hoenn! What are the Sinnoh three doing here? Are they trying to start a world-ending war?
"Groudon~" — Rayquaza, save me!
Groudon, nearly beaten to death, spotted Rayquaza and cried out. The Sinnoh three turned and grinned at Rayquaza. One more made no difference — beating up Hoenn’s strongest would be even more satisfying. They had the numbers advantage. Rio hadn’t even released that ridiculously strong Charizard or the human-made Mewtwo yet.
Feeling the hostility, Rayquaza’s body went cold — this really was about to become a world-ending war.
"Wait, wait — Rayquaza is our ally!" Rio flew up on Flygon, calling out to Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.
"Ally?" Their enthusiasm faded. No fun — they could only turn back and continue beating Groudon.
"Rio?" Rayquaza was surprised to see him. Noticing Gengar helping the Sinnoh three beat up Groudon, it understood. "You’re going to capture Groudon?" Rayquaza’s voice echoed in Rio’s mind.
"That’s right. The Sinnoh three are my muscle." Rio smiled — a grin so bright it sent a chill down Rayquaza’s spine. If the Sinnoh gods were his muscle, that meant he had captured all three. Rayquaza was suddenly grateful it had been captured earlier — otherwise, it would be the one getting jumped right now.
"Groudon~" — Rayquaza, save me!
Groudon was still crying out. Rayquaza looked at Rio’s radiant smile, then at Groudon being pummeled by the Sinnoh three. It made a decision.
"Rayquaza~" — Count me in!
Rayquaza dove down and joined the beatdown crew. Since it was here, might as well participate — and better to be the one doing the beating than the one getting beaten. Sorry, Groudon — you’re about to be captured anyway.
And so, Groudon was doomed. It endured attacks from Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, its own senior Rayquaza, and Gengar — all of whom had agreed to hold back and only use small moves so they could beat on it longer.
This scene was reported to Steven, who became even more bewildered. What had Groudon done to anger everyone? The Sinnoh gods were one thing — but even Rayquaza joined in?
I need to get to the scene and find out the truth.
Shortly after Rayquaza joined the fight, Groudon surrendered. But Dialga and the others ignored it, continuing their assault. So Groudon turned its attention to Rio — the one the others seemed to listen to.
"I surrender! I surrender!" Groudon’s deep voice echoed in Rio’s ears.
"Surrender? Finally decided to surrender, huh?" Rio raised an eyebrow at the battered Groudon on the ground.
"Alright, stop — it says it surrenders." Rio flew down on Flygon before Groudon. Reluctantly, the others stopped.
"Groudon, do you know what surrendering to me means?" Rio smiled.
"What does it mean?" Groudon didn’t understand.
"It means you’re going to be captured by me."
Rio pulled out a Luxury Ball. "Now you have two choices. One — become my Pokémon. Two — keep getting beaten."