Because the Magma Team's hiding place for Kyogre was suspected to be Water Route 105, near Orange Flower City, Sir Thousand Miles from the Orange Flower Dojo also became one of the main forces in this operation. As everyone was talking, Sir Thousand Miles pushed the door and entered the conference room.
......
Meanwhile.
At one of the Magma Team's secret bases on Fireworks Island, Water Route 115.
Inside a base built within a cave, Lava Team Leader Red Flame Pine wore a somber expression.
Due to the hostile relationship between the Water Fleet and the Magma Team, both organizations had spies within each other.
Now, leveraging the intelligence returned by a spy, Red Flame Pine had learned that the Water Fleet captured Groudon.
Additionally, he knew that after that, the Water Fleet's main force was arrested by the Fangyuan Alliance, and Groudon had fallen into the hands of the Alliance as well.
If Groudon had fallen into the hands of the Water Fleet, it wouldn't have been so bad… They could have traded afterward… But falling into the Alliance's hands undoubtedly made it much harder for them to ultimately obtain Groudon.
"That fool Archie, to let the Alliance catch the worm, huh," Red Flame Pine thought to himself.
Magma Team executives Flame, Bonfire, and others stood calmly on both sides of the room, waiting for Red Flame Pine's decision.
"If only we had obtained the other part of the map during the initial struggle for it..." Red Flame Pine sighed after a while.
The map that marked the location of the Ancient Creatures was originally one piece, but it had been split into two during the scuffle between the Magma Team and the Water Fleet, each obtaining half.
Holding onto a stroke of luck, both sides began searching for the Ancient Creatures, but the outcome was indeed the most exasperating situation for them.
The Magma Team found the slumbering Kyogre, while the Water Fleet found the slumbering Groudon.
Reflecting on it now, Red Flame Pine thought that if they had received the correct part of the map in the beginning, perhaps they wouldn't be in such a dilemma now.
"Great Red Flame Pine, there's trouble..."
Just as Red Flame Pine considered whether to use Kyogre to threaten the Fangyuan Alliance and force them to hand over Groudon, suddenly, the expression of a woman standing beside him—who was petite, wearing the standard Magma Team uniform, a hood with two little devil horns—drastically changed.
Looking at the flickering device on her wrist, Bonfire immediately spoke, "Great Red Flame Pine, Kyogre is waking up on its own and trying to break free from the shackles I made."
"What did you say??"
The words of Bonfire, the Magma Team's chief scientist, made the faces of the executives in the room change at once, with Red Flame Pine staring at Bonfire and demanding, "What's going on? Didn't you say that under normal circumstances, as long as Kyogre is not stimulated, it won't wake up on its own for a couple of years??"
Bonfire nodded and replied, "Indeed, but there must have been some unexpected situation."
"Damn it!"
Upon hearing Bonfire's report, even the usually calm and composed Red Flame Pine got somewhat unsettled. He knew they were currently being monitored by the Alliance. The Alliance didn't dare make a move because they controlled Kyogre. If something were to happen to Kyogre, they would immediately be hit hard as well.
Outside.
In a spot on Fireworks Island resembling a swimming pool.
A Pokemon of deep blue with two massive pectoral fins, resembling a whale, slowly opened its eyes under the restraint of shackles.
This Pokemon had red stripes on its lower jaw, eyes, dorsal fins, and along its body, which were now faintly glowing.
"Roar!!!"
Upon awakening and feeling something binding it, Kyogre violently thrashed its tail, split into four strip-like sections, and in an instant, the restraining devices shattered, and Kyogre's body slowly floated upward.
At that moment, sensing its surroundings, Kyogre was full of confusion and, more so, anger.
It wasn't yet the time Kyogre had anticipated for awakening, but in its slumber, it suddenly felt lifeforms stealing Natural Energy from the Area of Fragrant Fate. The loss of Natural Energy prevented Kyogre from continuing its peaceful rest.
Although the eruption of Natural Energy had not yet occurred and there wasn't much to absorb forcibly, Kyogre was still annoyed by this stealthy theft while it was resting—what was this behavior?
And it knew that the only one with the power to forcibly absorb Natural Energy was Groudon, the foolish behemoth.
So, did Groudon awaken before it and was now sneakily stealing the Hoenn region's Natural Energy??
"Roar!!!"
After sorting out its thoughts, Kyogre was both angered and amused by the idea of Groudon having fallen so low as to even absorb such a trifling amount of Natural Energy.
No matter what, the loss of Natural Energy in the Hoenn region meant that Kyogre could not continue sleeping, and it couldn't allow Groudon's actions to succeed, no matter how little Natural Energy Groudon absorbed!!
This was the bottom line!
"Roar!!!!!"
Kyogre unleashed an Origin Pulse, blowing open the warehouse that trapped it.
.........
Just as Kyogre sensed, Groudon was indeed absorbing Natural Energy from the Hoenn region ahead of time.
However, it wasn't doing it for itself.
Before the planet's Natural Energy erupted, the small amount forcibly absorbed didn't appeal to it.
This Natural Energy was purely attracted during Groudon's concentration of power to form a crystalline structure.
"Roar!!!"
After much effort, Groudon finally condensed a jade-like red bead from the magma.