Sootopolis City, located in the south-central region of Hoenn.
Centered around it, the western side of Hoenn was scorched by intense sunlight, the land nearly igniting from the heat.
On the eastern side, it was a torrential downpour, as though a hole had been torn in the sky, drowning the world in relentless rain.
At the center of this chaotic duality, Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre roared furiously, locked in a death glare.
Every region has its pair of conflicting deities: Sinnoh's Dialga and Palkia, Unova's Black and White dragons, and Kalos' Xerneas and Yveltal.
In Hoenn, it was Groudon and Kyogre.
Unlike the ideological clash between Reshiram and Zekrom, or the balance of creation and destruction between Xerneas and Yveltal, Groudon and Kyogre simply hated each other. No deeper reason—they just didn't get along.
Maybe that's why Rayquaza never felt guilty for punching them both.
"Are we... too late?"
Wallace leaped down from his Pelipper alongside Ruby, his expression grim.
His face was drenched, whether from rain or sweat, no one could tell.
Just then, Primal Groudon raised its massive arms, slamming them into the earth.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Crimson blades of molten rock erupted upward, racing toward the airborne Primal Kyogre.
Precipice Blades.
"Wooo~"
Primal Kyogre nimbly dodged using a spiraling water cyclone to hover in midair. It danced like a dragon, gliding past the magma blades.
On either side of its body, high-density Water-type energy orbs ford and launched like floating cannons.
Origin Pulse.
Just then, another Precipice Blade erupted beneath Kyogre.
Both legends took hits from their rival's signature moves.
They staggered back a few steps, locked eyes again—and charged.
All of Sootopolis City trembled.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Leon shouted, tossing out a Master Ball with all his strength.
The imnse energy release made both Primal Groudon and Kyogre pause.
The last ti they reacted like this... was for that flying green caterpillar.
"It's Leon's Eternatus! We're saved!" Gold exclaid.
"...But Groudon and Kyogre..."
Sapphire, standing beside Winona, didn't look as optimistic.
As a Hoenn native, she'd heard plenty of stories about these two gods brawling every few centuries—or even decades.
But the forms they were in now... looked nothing like the ones in the books.
Eternatus appeared, tail trailing poisonous violet mist.
At Leon's shout of "Cross Poison!" it struck horizontally at the divine pair.
ROAR!!
Primal Groudon didn't dodge. The Cross Poison carved into its chest—but in the next mont, it opened its arms and bear-hugged Eternatus.
Simultaneously, Primal Kyogre circled from the side, unleashing a silver beam of absolute cold.
Ice Beam!
The beam didn't hit the sea—it froze the air dozens of ters above it.
Eternatus tried to dodge—but its lower body was trapped in Groudon's grip.
It took the super-effective hit head-on.
"They're working together!?"
Leon gritted his teeth.
Although Eternatus wouldn't go down from a single hit, this was going to be rough.
Wait... weren't Groudon and Kyogre supposed to hate each other? What's with this teamwork?
"Eternamax is needed..."
Leon muttered, watching the two gods close in on Eternatus.
"Probably shouldn't~"
A new voice interrupted, turning heads.
"Sister Green!?"
Ash and Gary shouted.
Green stepped up. "Eternamax takes a ridiculous amount of energy. Even with Macro Cosmos backing you, Leon, this isn't sothing you can just throw around."
Eternamax Eternatus—its true form from 3,000 years ago.
The reason the sword-and-shield twins fought it? It nearly drained all of Galar's energy.
Only because Leon had Rose's support could he even afford to keep it.
"Team Rocket!?"
Unfamiliar with Green, Winona and the others instinctively reached for their Poké Balls.
"Whoa whoa whoa!"
Ash jumped in, trying to calm things down.
Green continued, "Aster and Zinnia are summoning Rayquaza. Let's buy them ti."
She released two Pokémon—Roaring Moon and Scream Tail, captured in Area Zero of Paldea.
"Marnie-chan, give a hand!"
Another Team Rocket girl appeared—cute, uniford, and very much not an enemy.
Marnie released her partners: Kingambit and Iron Jugulis.
"Salance and Hydreigon... but they feel different..."
Dragon Elite Darke was confused.
Seeing Green and Marnie stepping in, Winona bit her lip.
"You're from Team Rocket... why are you helping us?"
Green rolled her eyes. "Honestly, after what your League pulled, you should be at a spa."
"But," she continued, "civilians are innocent, right?"
Her words made several League elites lower their heads in sha.
"Look out!"
Leon called again.
Another magma spike sent Eternatus flying like a collapsing building.
Roaring Moon and Kingambit leaped into action, catching the massive poison dragon.
"Let's just hold on until Zinnia gets back!" Green shouted.
"Tail-chan! Wide-range firepower!"
(Tail-chan was Green's nickna for Scream Tail.)
...
Sky Pillar – A ruin on an island in Hoenn's southeast sea.
"I rember now..."
After recalling her Noivern and Salance, Aster said softly.
Since reuniting with Zinnia, her sealed mories had been returning bit by bit.
The murals here, chronicling 2,000 years of Draconid history, completed the puzzle.
"Cousin, go summon Rayquaza. It was always your Pokémon."
Zinnia was more excited than if she were the one inheriting the title.
Aster nodded. No matter what the League had done to her, Groudon and Kyogre were awake.
She had a duty to fulfill.
At the top of Sky Pillar: the Sacred Dragon Altar.
"Go ahead, Cousin!"
Zinnia stepped aside, watching her with eager eyes.
Aster approached the altar, lowered her body, and joined her cybernetic left hand with her normal right in prayer.
"Oh, sacred stone and noble spirit... grant your strength...
I offer my flesh and blood to comnce this holy ritual...
Descend to this world and save the innocent!
Rayquaza!!"
The keystone on her anklet flared with brilliant green light.
ROAR—!
A dragon's cry echoed from the heavens, and a green beam shot down from the stars, carving a path through the night.
BOOM!
Stone fragnts flew as a massive shockwave blasted through the altar.
As the light cleared, a majestic green dragon lood above them.
"He's here! Rayquaza!"
Zinnia shouted in joy, waving her arms.
Success!
After six long years—her cousin had summoned Rayquaza again!
Aster remained calm, eyes closed, connecting with Rayquaza through their shared bond.
"Do you rember ... Rayquaza?"
Rayquaza's eyes flickered in confusion.
That familiar aura... could it be...?
But... she should've been dead...
"A lot has happened since then."
Aster smiled, removing her cloak.
Rayquaza's expression turned dumbfounded. If it could speak, it'd be saying "WTF."
"Now... help fulfill my duty as a successor. Save this world."
Rayquaza didn't speak. He'd already sensed those two idiots' auras.
Let's go!
...
Back on the battlefield.
BOOM!
Molten blades burst from the ground.
Precipice Blades again!
Roaring Moon and Iron Jugulis danced between them.
"Now!"
"Dragon Pulse!"
BOOM!
The explosion struck Primal Groudon square in the chest.
"Did it work!?"
Flannery cried hopefully.
Wallace glanced sideways at the two underage girls.
Both are Champion-level already. Team Rocket did cultivate monsters.
As the smoke cleared, Groudon's furious face reappeared—unhard.
"He's too tanky!"
Green shouted, hands to her face.
CRACK!
From the other side ca a spatial shatter.
Splash!
A shiny ga tagross and ga Salance crashed into the sea.
Steven and Drake's aces—downed.
Even with the evolution stones Green returned, they were no match.
Marnie retrieved her fainted Kingambit and turned to Green. "Maybe we should let Joker-sama..."
Over with the League, the situation was equally bad. Trainer after trainer was dropping.
"If only we'd brought Brother Stephen..."
Gary muttered.
"Rayquaza! ga Evolve!!"
A cry cut through the air.
Everyone looked up.
A divine dragon bursts downward, wrapped in an overwhelming sacred light far beyond normal ga Evolution.
Groudon and Kyogre looked up together.
As the light faded, ga Rayquaza stood in the sky, centered between the two titans.
The three legendaries ford a triangle—a scene worthy of a world-famous painting.
"Rayquaza... it GA evolved!?"
All the Hoenn trainers gaped.
A legendary... ga evolving?!
Riding atop it, Aster now held the spotlight.
"Draco teor!!"
ga Rayquaza roared, charging its ultimate Dragon-type move.
It unleashed a blast into the sky.
BOOM!
The night sky was lit with flickering red streaks.
"What is that—?"
teors. With flaming tails, they crashed to earth, one after another, shaking the entire city.
"Wait, is she helping?!"
Sapphire shouted.
Though the move wrecked Groudon and Kyogre, Sootopolis was now full of craters.
Thankfully, civilians had already been evacuated.
"Rayquaza protects the planet—not humans. Don't forget that."
Zinnia smirked, landing from her Salance.
"Your Salance is—!"
Sapphire's pupils shrank.
"In any case... with ga Rayquaza, we should be able to end this."
Steven looked visibly shaken.
"Yeah... and after this, we're coming for you."
Zinnia grinned like Doflamingo.
Winona frowned. "What did you say?"
"Isn't it wonderful?" Zinnia grinned.
"Team Rocket now holds the most legends and champions—plus ga Rayquaza.
Against the corrupt League, it'll be the greatest war not just in League history...
But maybe since humanity began."
CRASH!
The battlefield cracked.
Rayquaza and the twin titans panted from exhaustion.
The earth and sea were scarred, and yet—
At the edge of the battlefield, unnoticed, a golden ring floated in the air.
...
On the other side, Stephen and his family watched like it was a drama.
"Incredible. Even against enhanced Groudon and Kyogre, they're holding their own."
Will stared unblinking.
"Are you blind?"
Karen scoffed.
"Rayquaza should've crushed them. Aster's rusty—six years asleep and it shows."
Will looked to Stephen for validation.
He nodded.
"Yeah. Probably the weakest of the three Rayquazas."
In canon, three different Rayquazas had appeared.
One was overwheld by two Deoxys—tough but unimpressive.
One crushed ga tagross, ga Blastoise, Groudon, and Kyogre.
And the third, a black Rayquaza, dominated the Kalos War of Gods.
This one?
Definitely the weakest.
That made sense—only Champions like Leon or Giovanni could sync with the strongest Rayquazas. Not even Lance was enough.
"Stephen, look!"
Nessa pointed.
Stephen looked up.
Beneath Aster, ga Rayquaza glowed with brilliant green light, its aura rising.
"Rayquaza... you've mastered that move?"
Aster looked down, shocked.
Six years ago, she needed a Keystone just to ga Evolve Rayquaza.
Now?
ga Rayquaza turned slightly and nodded.
"Alright! Let's go!"
Its glowing whiskers rose, forming a triangle with its body.
Suddenly, the world itself seed to crack beneath the pressure.
Golden-green dragon light shot down from the sky.
It was Rayquaza's ultimate technique—
"Dragon Ascent!"
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