In Kanto, the people see their leaders as hurdles to overcome, a step towards being the greatest.
In Galar, their leaders are what they see themselves as in the future, role models for future trainers.
In Johto, their leaders are divine in the eyes of their people, servants of the sky gods.
In Alola, the people look to their leaders for guidance, acting as conduits for their four guardians.
In Kalos, the people distance themselves from their leaders, those lofty heavenly kings and the empress they serve.
In Hoenn, their leaders command nothing but respect, the only bulwark supporting a region threatening to explode.
In Unova, the people criticize their leaders, acknowledging their faults and tempering pride.
But in Sinnoh? They fear their leaders.
"Electivire, Thunder Punch!"
Ash clenched his fist, thinking back to the battle several hours ago.
"No! Pikachu!"
He had beaten Brandon's regice with Pikachu, didn't he?
"Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner is Electivire!"
How did he lose?
"Pika?" The voice jolted Ash out of his thoughts.
"Hey Pikachu." Ash scratched behind the Mouse Pokemon's ears, causing Pikachu to let out a satisfied "chaa." Seeing his partner in such a content state, Ash gave a small smile, before lying back on his bed.
"Pi?"
"How did we lose, Pikachu? We just got back from the Battle Frontier."
"Chu..."
Ash rubbed Pikachu's head. "It's not your fault, Pikachu. I'm your trainer, I should have been prepared for this. We've done this for three years now, there's no reason we should have been so surprised by a new Pokemon."
"Pika..."
"It's not your fault! I should have been more careful."
"Pi-kapi!"
After bickering with Pikachu for several more minutes, the two laid back, panting slightly.
"We'll be heading off to Sinnoh tomorrow."
"Pi."
"Are you excited?"
"Pi ka!"
"Oak, I need your help."
"Does this have to do with the notices that Steven and Lance sent earlier?"
"Probably. What did they say?"
"The legends of Hoenn have come back, and all help is appreciated."
"Not appreciated. Needed. They're different. Bigger. Stronger. And, somehow, Aqua and Magma are back - but Wallace has confirmed that Maxie and Archie are still in prison."
"...I'll be right there."
Ending the call, Oak sighed before storming out of his lab, surprising his assistants.
"Dragonite!" he bellowed. His voice echoed through the corral as the pokemon quieted down. For a moment, there was peace - only to be broken by the slow, heavy beating of wings heralding his pokemon's arrival.
"Hello, old friend." The dragon tilted its head in acknowledgement, descending slowly.
"It's been quite some time since I've asked for your help, hasn't it?" A nod.
"I need you to gather the others, for one last fight. Can you do that for me?" Another nod. Oak blinked, and his friend was already gone.
"Professor?" Oak looked towards the voice and saw Ash. "Is something wrong?"
"I need to go to Hoenn."
"Why, what's happening in Hoenn?"
"Something that needs my help," quipped the professor, causing Ash to groan. "Ah, it looks like the rest are here."
Sandslash. Seaking. Cradily. Magnezone. One by one, they showed up, until the final member arrived.
His first pokemon.
Oak's jaw clenched as he stared at his charizard, who regarded him with an equally stern look.
"Will you help or not?" The charizard growled, causing his other pokemon to stand between the two.
The charizard's eyes lit up at his next words, however. "I need your help to fight a god. Two of them. Just like old times."
Oak heard a low rumbling from his pokemon's throat, growing louder until it was a clear chuckle. The charizard let out a deafening roar, shaking even the trees in Viridian forest, before gesturing to Oak to give him something.
"Alright," sighed the professor. "I should have known." With that, he passed a mega stone to his pokemon, who stared at it with barely concealed desire.
Mega evolution. The ability to go beyond one's normal limits. To become a demigod amongst monsters, a herald of the sun.
He lusted that power.
Oak rolled his eyes at the charizard's glint and looked at Ash. "If you don't mind, can you wait on going to Sinnoh? I'd like all the help I can get, and Gary has long since left."
Ash, who had been starstruck looking at the imposing team, snapped out at Oak's voice. "Oh, uh, sure!"
He blinked before scratching his head. "Um, what should I bring?"
"Your strongest pokemon, and someone who can fly you to Hoenn. We've got twenty minutes."
"You mean he won't make it?" asked a crushed Ash at the screen.
Liza shook her head. "Ash, you're asking for a charizard to fly from johto to Kanto in less than half an hour. It's not reasonable."
Ash slumped in his chair, before an idea popped up in his head. "I've got it!" Seeing Liza wince at his voice, he laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ahaha, my bad."
"Uh huh." She nodded with a raised eyebrow, but a twinkle in her eyes suggested she wasn't too bothered by the outpost. "Well then, let's hear it."
"Send him to Hoenn." Liza blinked.
"You want to... send your charizard to Hoenn."
"Yup."
"From Johto."
"Yes."
"When it's even farther?"
"Uh huh. I'll find another way to go to Hoenn." Liza blinked again, before sighing and nodding wearily.
"I'll let him know."
"Great, thanks!" yelled Ash, dashing out of the lab. Liza snorted at the abrupt entry before ending the call.
"Charla! Tell that boyfriend of yours to go to Hoenn!"
"Where is she," he murmured, Pikachu running beside him.
"Pidgeot! Pidgeot!"
"Pika-pi! Pika-pi!"
Ash glanced at his pokedex nervously. There was only a couple minutes left before he'd have to go, and he was banking on reuniting with Pidgeot to fly him over.
His chest tightened as he thought of all the times he could have met with her again. After the Orange Islands. After Johto. After Hoenn. After the Battle Frontier.
After Gary.
He had had so many chances to meet up with her. And didn't.
Perhaps it was justice that he wouldn't see her again. Maybe she had left a year ago, maybe two.
He shouldn't have forgotten about her until he needed her the most.
"Maybe it's too late, Pikachu," he whispered, causing the mouse pokemon to look at him in worry. The two turned around to head back before a familiar cry rang out above them.
Ash didn't need to look up to see who it was.
"Pidgeot!" Ash ran towards his former pokemon with a wide smile, but was blown back by a gust of wind. As he pushed himself up, he saw Pidgeot hovering above the ground carefully, beak tilted upwards.
"Pidgeot?" Her eyes narrowed at him as she gradually descended, continuing to look down at him.
"How have you been?" he murmured, reaching out a hand. Pidgeot studied it for a second before finally lowering her head, allowing him to pet her. Ash blinked before tackling her in a hug. She cawed out in surprise and was prepared to bat at him for the sudden movement before pausing once she heard him sniffling.
A few minutes later, Ash made it back to Oak, who chuckled at the sight of the slightly-panting boy. "Looks like you made it just in time."
"Yeah!"
"Who are you bringing? I'm assuming you're taking Pikachu with you."
"Yup," agreed Ash. "Sceptile, Snorlax, Heracross, Tauros, and Kingler too."
Oak blinked. "Ash, none of those pokemon can fly."
"I know."
The professor realized what Ash was intending to do and sighed internally, though the crinkle in his eyes gave away his amusement. He decided to humor the teen. "What's your plan for going to Hoenn then?"
Ash's face broke into a grin as he tossed his pokeball in the air. "Just calling in an old friend."
"Hyper Beam!"
Three dragonite flew around the caped man, who was standing on the edge of a cliff watching as two colossal titans tore up Hoenn. Complying with the trainer's order, the three reared back their heads and fired their attacks, colliding with the changed Groudon, who stumbled slightly before swiping aimlessly at the trio, the force of which caused the ground to shake.
Lance clenched his teeth. No matter what he did, the attacks didn't stick. Water attacks, already weakened by the blazing sun surrounding Groundon, evaporated from just touching the beast's skin, and he couldn't risk letting either his garchomp or gyarados near the monster.
Speaking of monsters...
He gave a side glance at the mega gyarados, who was ramming against the changed Kyogre. While not under risk of getting burned, the downpour was obnoxious and risked downing anything unable to swim effectively. Kyogre scarcely noticed the mega pokemon hitting it, batting it aside with its tail.
He would have appreciated the help of the various regional elites, but the endless flood of Magma and Aqua grunts coming from Arceus-knows-where meants they were forced to split up their manpower to accommodate both threats. It didn't help that every gym leader was forced to remain at their own respective regions while their elites were clustered in Hoenn.
A slow, heavy beating signaled the return of another of his pokemon. He jumped off the cliff, landing on his hydreigon.
"They're arrived, aye?" The left head growled in acknowledgement. "Alright, bring me to Oak. The three of you, do what you can to tire these behemoths."
As he flew, he saw glimpses of the battle raging below - Steven's mega metagross pummling into Kyogre's fin, Wikstrom leading a small group of honedge against a new battalion of Aqua grunts, Lorelei and her lapras looking for any civilians that were trapped. Alder was riding through a forest on his bouffalant, looking for any pokemon that had yet to flee, and Cynthia, who Lance swore was becoming as batshit insane as the rest of the Sinnoh elite (really, how did Flint decide being a fire type specialist in the coldest region of all was a wise decision?), was charging against Groudon with a mega garchomp by her side.
Only someone as brave (or foolish, he still hadn't made up his mind) as a Sinnohvian could some out of such a battle alive, Lance conceded.
To his surprise, when he met up with Oak, the good professor had a familiar face next to him. "Ash?"
Ash looked up and saw the now-descending champion. "Lance!"
"You two know each other?" inquired Oak. The champion gave a slight nod, frowning.
"Oak, why did you bring a child here?" he demanded.
"He was the strongest trainer I could contact at such a brief notice."
"Ash, how long has it been since you started your journey."
"Three years, si-" "He's thirteen, Samuel," interrupted Lance, glaring at the professor. "And you want him to fight not one, but two gods, with us."
"Groudon and Kyogre?" asked Ash, "But we-" He stopped when Professor Oak raised a hand, silencing him.
"I'm aware, Lance," the professor quietly replied. "But I'd like to remind you that you of all people have no right telling someone they are too young to do something."
Lance clenched his teeth before sighing. "Fine. But I'd like to speak with Ash once you're done."
Ash watched as the champion walked off to confront some Magma grunts before turning back to the professor. "What did he do?"
"Decided it was a brilliant idea to fight a dragon-god by himself before he could even drink alcohol. If possible, I'd like for you to follow him before his mood sours further."
"Tell me, Ash," began the champion as the the two fought their way through the grunt infested city of Sootopolis. "What is - get down! - the first rule of fighting you must keep in mind?"
Ash heeded Lance's warning and the two ducked, avoiding a Hydro Pump from a walrein. Lance's garchomp jumped from behind them, snarling as it tackled the offending pokemon into a building.
"I have to stay alive." Lance had been trying to drill that into Ash's head for the past several minutes. It would have been pretty difficult to forget. His heracross flew up to intercept a golbat and hit it with Fury Attack, forcing it back.
"Correct," Lance nodded, grabbing a grunt and knocking him out with a solid blow. Ash winced at the sight. "More importantly, you must do whatever you can to survive. I will not allow for you or your pokemon to die in a foreign region."
A roar broke out out above them as they watched a mega charizard Y fly past them, flames spilling out of its mouth as cut through the dense rainclouds, allowing for a little bit of sunlight to penetrate whatever clouds Groudon could not disperse.
"Whoa..." muttered Ash, watching as the flames caused some wingulls to flee. "That charizard looks stronger than any I've ever seen but it's so... so different."
Lance scoffed internally. "If you think that's impressive, watch this." He released his own charizard, who roared upon finally being able to stretch its wings. Lance touched the mega stone around his wrist, allowing Ash to witness mega evolution for the first time.
Lance's charizard screamed as mega evolution energy flowed through its body, shuddering as its muscles bulked up. Spikes began jutting out of its body and flames poured out of its mouth, the dragon unable to restrain them anymore. As the flames flickered, they got hotter and hotter, taking on a blue hue. As the flames bathed over its body, its skin gradually darkened, turning black in the process. Pushing the pain out of its mind, it gave out a triumphant roar, dispelling the energy around it.
"That," announced Lance, smirking at Ash's gobsmacked face. "Is mega evolution. This is Mega Charizard X. A true dragon."
He turned towards the surfacing Team Aqua grunts. "I don't know how long this will last, or how many of these idiots are there, but we need to hold them back at least until every single citizen has been secured. With any luck, Groudon and Kyogre will have tired each other out by then."
Lance cracked his knuckles, his charizard mirroring his actions. Pointing at the grunts, he ordered, "Dragon Rush!" and watched as his pokemon barreled through the opposing ranks.
He looked back at Ash. "Stay close to the others and no matter what, stay alive. Understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Snorlax, Hyper Beam!"
Snorlax bellowed, forming a large ball of orange energy near its mouth before firing it, sending a camerupt flying. To his left, Kingler grunted as it smashed its claw into a mightyena.
"Not bad, kid!" laughed Aaron, jumping to avoid a dugtrio. "Drapion, keep up!"
Aaron's drapion roared in response, hitting the dugtrio with a brutally powerful Cross Poison. It swung its arms around to intercept a crobat, slamming it into the ground.
Ash grinned in response before looking back at where the camerupt laid. Already, two grunts had come to take its place.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Pidgeot, Gust!"
Pidgeot squawked, beating her wings furiously as the winds she made blew a vibrava away. Pikachu leaped into the air before sending out a Thunderbolt, hitting several zubat.
In the corner of his eye, Ash saw someone take off on a salamence that looked different from the one he remembered Drake owning.
"Hey, what's that?" Aaron looked to where Ash was pointing and frowned.
"I don't know, but that's a mega salamence. Let's find out." Hopping onto his yanmega, Aaron chased after the hooded figure, followed closely by Ash and Pikachu on Pidgeot.
As the two neared the hooded the figure, it turned to look at the two before releasing a noivern, who fired a Dragon Pulse.
"Incoming!" yelled Aaron, veering off to the side. Pidgeot managed to get out of the way, but cried out as the energy of the blast singed her feathers.
"Air Slash!" yelled Aaron, balancing himself as he stood on his flying pokemon's back. "Kid, you go after the salamence, I'll take on the overgrown bat."
Before Ash could reply, Aaron jumped onto the noivern, causing it to lose its balance and get struck by his yanmega's attack. Both pokemon and elite four member went down, and the yanmega gave Ash a brief salute before diving after them.
Ash shook his head, snapping out of his stupor. "You heard him, girl. Let's go." Pidgeot cawed in response and sped after the mega salamence.
"Looks like yer wee minions are falling off."
"Don't be so sure, Archie. We have more than enough grunts ready to enter this world whenever necessary. I can't say the same for you. Perhaps covering the world in an ocean wasn't the greatest idea, hmm?"
"Ha ha! Ya won't be saying that when they pass out waiting from that trash sun of yers."
"Have you heard of seasonal affective disorder? It's a seasonal depressive mood that occurs from a lack of sunlight. Well, normal people at least. I can't imagine what kind of maniac would think covering the world in eternal water is a fantastic idea."
"Aye, yer one ta talk, Maxie. Shame you never went to school, hmm? Me crew and I know basic junk better than you: people need ta drink water."
"Your water is saltwater, nitwit."
"Aye? And that sun of yers sets people on fire."
"Better a quick death from conflagration than the agony of dehydration."
"Dear Manaphy, I'm arguing with a loon."
"That's your deity of choice? A floating bean bag?"
"Easy there. I don't mind a few jabs at me here and there, but I will not stand fer insulting the Prince of the Sea. Lest we call off the truce."
"As if a bunch of plumbers can do anything to Team Magma."
"Alright, you corpseshit dirt muncher. That's it."
"Any news?" asked Steven.
"Team Aqua and Team Magma have turned on one another," reported Juan. "We've split up the various Elite Fours to put some of them into dealing with Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre."
"Primal?"
"Earlier our archaeologists reviewed the various findings of the previous Team Magma and Team Aqua - the ones that are in prison, I mean - and compared it to the findings of our own researchers and Champion Cynthia's. It turns out that the orbs do indeed bring out the full power of both Groudon and Kyogre, but only when appropriately applied. The only reason it didn't work earlier this year was because, for whatever reason, they believed the red orb would go to Kyogre."
"Mhm."
"We've called it Primal Reversion - we have reason to believe that this was what Kyogre and Groudon once were, but their powers were sealed after that sort of cataclysmic strength was no longer necessary for the world."
"That... is troubling. Do we stand a chance at stopping them?
"I doubt it. If possible, we need to ask for the power of the sky-god again."
"Rayquaza? Fine, bring me Lance." Juan bowed, about to leave the tent.
"Oh, and Juan?" The gym leader paused and looked back at Steven.
"I will do everything in my power to save Sootopolis and its citizens." Juan said nothing, merely nodding, before leaving.
Steven sighed, sinking into his chair. On one hand, it was great that they no longer needed to worry about the endless horde of grunts. On the other hand, it was not comforting to know their chances for survival laid in the hands of Rayquaza.
"A dragon-god, huh," he muttered, studying the notes that Juan left behind. "A dragon meant to regulate the two of them." He crumpled up one of the papers in his hand.
"One that never shows up."
Eventually, Lance showed up, frowning. "What is it, Steven?"
"We need to get Rayquaza to fight these monsters. Of everyone here, only you've met the thing and lived."
Lance's eyes narrowed. "It is not a thing. It's a dragon-god. One that rules over your region."
"Lance," sighed Steven. "I am not going to show respect to a sham of a deity that is incapable of protecting its region. A god that makes its people do its job for it."
"Who are you to decide what it must do?"
"We all have our roles in the world, Lance," hissed Steven. "Protecting us from monsters that can raise both the land and the sea with a single step is that flying green snake's job. Where is it now?"
"Assez, gentlemen," a icy voice interjected. The two champions looked towards the source: Diantha, with her arms crossed. "You are champions, and you're squabbling like children while the world burns around you."
"You're not one to talk," shot back Steven. "When have your people ever interacted with you on a normal level? The difference between you and your subjects is almost as ridiculous as the one between Cynthia and hers."
"I'm not here to argue with you, boy," she stated. "I'm here to let you know that your researchers are panicking because the carnage has destabilized a volcano beneath Sootopolis and threatens to destroy most of Hoenn."
Upon seeing the horrified looks of both Lance and Steven, she scoffed before leaving. "The fact that you are still behind the front lines while this is happening is telling. Your cowardice disgust me. Pathétique."
Kyogre bellowed, growing increasingly agitated as it was continually attacked by the various pokemon around it. Giving a massive below, it fired one last Hydro Pump at an equally irritated Groudon before leaping into the air.
For a moment, there was peace. Everyone stopped attacking and watched as the colossal pokemon soared through the sky. Before their eyes, dozens and dozens of orbs appeared around it, glowing brighter and brighter with each second.
Groudon roared in defiance as it stomped on the ground, causing innuerable jagged blades of stone, all tipped with lava, to rise from above the sea.
The orbs flashed before firing one after another, each one taking out one of Groudon's manifestations. Eventually, it was clear that there were far more of Kyogre's orbs than there were of Groudon's blades. Soon, there was only one target left.
Sootopolis.
A roar, barely audible from the massive downpour, rang out as a green blitz shot through the sky, positioning itself between Sootopolis and Primal Kyogre. It roared again, forming a Protect barrier around the city as Kyogre pummeled the city with its Origin Pulse.
Once the dust settled, to the relief of many, it was clear Sootopolis was not destroyed. That relief quickly died down when everything went wrong,
Rayquaza let out a triumphant roar, firing off a Hyper Beam at Kyogre before charging towards it. However, Kyogre fired an Ice Beam in retaliation, pushing back against the dragon and slamming it towards Groudon. Before it could regain its bearings, Groudon grabbed it out of the air and slammed it down, causing it to roar in pain. Groudon growled in victory as it stomped its foot again, causing hundreds of rocks to slam against Rayquaza, forcing out the most pained roar any of the humans ever heard, and causing a massive explosion.
Before the dust settled, a Hyper Beam, far thinner and weaker hit Groudon, causing it to stumble slightly. Using this momentum, Rayquaza pried itself from the titan's grasp and flew off.
And so, the protector of Hoenn fled the battleground, leaving Sootopolis at the mercy of two gods.
"Leave me alone," hissed the hooded figure, dashing towards Sky Pillar. "Tyrantrum, Outrage! Goodra, Dragon Pulse! Salamence, Double Edge! Buy me time!"
Ash gritted his teeth as his pokemon faced off against the figure's pokemon. They had landed in front of some massive tower, and the figure clearly did not want him following them.
Tauros bellowed as he charged against Tyrantrum, grunting and huffing as he fought back against the dinosaur's rampage. Tauros reared back, before knocking it aside with a mighty Horn Attack. It charged once again, but jumped to the side to avoid Goodra's Dragon Pulse. He huffed at Sceptile, who leapt onto Tauro's back, using him as a jumping point to get airborne, readying a Leaf Blade as he began spinning around.
Ash, for his part, rolled away from the mega salamence, knowing he didn't stand a chance against the mighty dragon. Pikachu shot a few Thunderbolts at the beast, but it shrugged it aside and flew towards, Pidgeot, who was forced to dive away to avoid contact.
"Who are you?" yelled Ash, running towards the hooded figure. The figure didn't respond, choosing to continue running towards the tower.
Ash jumped onto Tauros's back, who reared back before charging at the hooded figure. Goodra tried to stop them, but was knocked off its balance by Sceptile, distracting both it and Tyrantrum at the same time using Leaf Blade and Bullet Seed sporadically.
The mega salamence, seeing Ash near its trainer, snarled, before charging towards Ash. Flames gathered around its maw as it edged closer and closer towards the unsuspecting trainer and Pikachu -
- only for Pidgeot to barrel into it, knocking it aside. Surprised, it was unprepared as she hit it with a barrage of Wing Attacks and Pecks, slowly driving it backwards.
Furious, it slashed at Pidgeot with Dragon Claw, causing her to stumble before gathering electricity around its mouth and biting down on her wing.
She squawked in pain, fighting back desperately with Gust, Wing Attack, Whirlwind, anything she had at her disposal to get out of the dragon's maw.
But nothing would cause the salamence to let go. And once she saw the Hyper Beam building up in its mouth, she knew she wasn't coming out of this fight conscious.
Ash yelled in surprise as he heard his Pidgeot scream in pain, looking back to see that the mega salamence had knocked out his pokemon and was charging back towards them. He knew with a sinking feeling that it would reach them before they caught up to the hooded figure. He closed his eyes and hugged pikachu tight as the dragon's shadow was cast over them and began to descend.
Then, a familiar roar. A flash of red and orange. A slam into the ground. The pokemon rose up from where it had pummeled the mega salamence into the ground and gave Ash a thumbs up.
Ash couldn't help but grin when he saw who had joined the fray. Perhaps not all hope was lost after all.
"Charizard!"