Back at Mt. Chimney, the trio of Brock, Max, and Bonnie continued deeper into the cavern, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads as the temperature rose steadily. The presence of various equipment and structures indicated their proximity to the heart of the cavern.
"We must be getting close to the heart of the cavern..." Brock remarked, his experienced eye scanning the surroundings. Bonnie wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling the increasing heat.
"No kidding... it's starting to get hot in here as is..." Bonnie whined.
"At least we know we're on the right path... with all this equipment around, it has to be their base," Max observed.
"That said, we need to be ready for a fight." Brock reminded them, cautious and aware of the potential dangers ahead. Bonnie and Max both nodded in agreement. As they pressed forward, Max pointed out what seemed to be the main door at the end of the tunnel they were traversing.
"Up ahead. That's gotta be the main door." he realized.
"Good. Let's break it down!" Bonnie suggested busting in.
"Hold on Bonnie. We still have to know what they're planning. We should try to get in unnoticed." Brock advised against it, emphasizing the importance of gathering information before taking action.
"Let me handle it," Max announced, taking charge. He tossed up a pokeball and summoned his Shuppet.
"Shup!" the Ghost type cried happily.
"Wow, a Shuppet! What a cutie!" Bonnie squealed. Her compliment made Shuppet smile happily.
"Shuppet can you help us with the lock?" Max asked his Pokemon.
"Shup shuppet!" Shuppet nodded and used Psychic to almost silently pick the lock on the door.
"Nice work!" Max commended Shuppet as the door creaked open. He recalled the little Pokemon to his pokeball and the trio cautiously peered inside. At first, they couldn't see anything, but they could hear the distant murmur of voices nearby. Moving further inside carefully, they peeked into the main room of the chamber and saw two people inside engaged in a conversation. They both had drastically changed their appearances and outfits over the years, but there was no doubt they were Team Magma's leader, Maxie, and his admin Tabitha.
"You're certain?" Maxie inquired.
"Yes, sir. The Orb is almost completely reformed according to our scouts. We have to get to Mt. Pyre and obtain it right away," Tabitha reported.
"I knew it... they are trying to awaken Groudon again." Max's eyes widened in realization. Bonnie gasped silently, recognizing the gravity of the situation.
"We have to tell the others…!" she whispered. Brock, however, checking his Pokégear, noted the lack of signal, indicating their deep location.
"There's no signal... we're too deep in," Brock stated.
"And by the time we get out, they will be in a helicopter going to Mt. Pyre. We can't let them get out of this base." Max realized.
"Then we have to stop them here and now." Bonnie agreed. The trio took a moment to steel themselves for the imminent confrontation with Team Magma, determined to thwart their plans and prevent the awakening of Groudon. Max was the first to reveal himself from their hiding place. With a swift motion, he pulled out a pokéball and tossed it into the air.
"Gallade, let's go!" Max called out, and Gallade emerged with a determined stance.
"Gallade!" Brock followed suit, launching his own pokéball into the fray.
"Crobat, help us out!"
"Cro!" Crobat cried out as he fluttered into the scene, ready for action. Bonnie, not to be left out, released her Dedenne from her purse into the unfolding battle.
"Go, Dedenne!" she called.
"Dene!" The sudden appearance of their adversaries caught Team Magma's leaders off guard.
"What?!" Maxie exclaimed, his gaze locking onto the familiar faces of the trio.
"Unbelievable! It's those same kids from before!" Tabitha added in shock.
"We don't have time for this!" Maxie growled as he grabbed a pokeball of his own. He summoned his formidable Camerupt, and Tabitha unleashed a Mightyena alongside them.
"Dedenne, use Nuzzle!" Bonnie commanded, and Dedenne charged in, delivering a jolting attack on Mightyena. The Dark Type howled in pain as his body was frozen in place with the static electricity from Dedenne.
"Camerupt, use Earthquake!" Maxie ordered, prompting Camerupt to slam into the ground, creating powerful shockwaves.
"Dedenne!" Bonnie cried out as her Pokémon was knocked away by the force of the attack.
"Sand Attack, Mightyena!" Tabitha followed up, His Pokémon fought through the paralysis and managed to launch sand into the eyes of Gallade and Crobat, causing both Pokemon to recoil in pain.
"Gallade!" Max exclaimed, concerned about the sudden disadvantage.
"Use Dig!" Tabitha continued the fight. Mightyena seized the opportunity while his opponents were blinded, diving underground with a Dig attack, leaving the trio's Pokémon vulnerable.
"Eruption, go!" Maxie commanded, and Camerupt unleashed a massive pillar of flames from the humps on his back, heading directly for their opponents.
"Crobat, use Air Slash!" Brock countered, attempting to counter the fiery assault. Crobat responded quickly and launched a sharp slice of air currents at the incoming Eruption, managing to nail his mark despite the lower accuracy he was suffering from. The clash between Eruption and Air Slash resulted in a spectacular explosion, leaving both sides reeling from the intensity. Max, determined to turn the tide, directed Gallade.
"Use Psycho Cut on the ground, Gallade!" Gallade responded swiftly, slamming Psycho Cut into the ground and surprising Mightyena as he emerged, causing him to howl in pain.
"Mightyena!" Tabitha gasped, surprised by Max's strategic thinking. Max knew that normally a Psychic attack wouldn't work on the Dark Type Mightyena, but the debris from the attack hitting the ground definitely would. His mentor was Ash Ketchum after all.
"Drain Punch now!" Max urged, and Gallade delivered a powerful blow, incapacitating Mightyena and causing him to faint.
"Mightyena, no!" Tabitha lamented. Maxie, frustrated, decided to escalate the situation.
"We don't have time for this!" He tapped the Mega Stone that was attached to his glasses, initiating Camerupt's Mega Evolution. Brock, Bonnie, and Max looked on in awe as Camerupt transformed before their eyes. The humps on his back transformed into one large and very active volcano. His fur expanded and grew to a point where only his hooves could be seen, and his ears and the tufts on his head grew thicker and longer, standing on end. The glow of the transformation faded and the new form of Camerupt roared out with newfound power.
"Camerupt can Mega Evolve?!" Bonnie gasped.
"Eruption once more!" Maxie seized the moment. Camerupt heeded the command and launched an even more powerful blast of fire into the air, this time battering all the other Pokémon when he left them no place to flee to. Both Crobat and Gallade were beaten backwards by the flames, but were able to stay standing in spite of it. Dedenne however was not as fortunate and was thrown backwards completely, fainting from the sheer power of Camerupt.
"Dedenne!" Bonnie cried out, picking up her unconscious partner from the ground.
"Earthquake now!" Maxie followed up.
"Erupt!" Camerupt announced as he reared up on his hind legs and slammed all his hooves into the ground, sending out an Earthquake across the field.
"Dodge it!" Max and Brock called at the same time. Crobat was able to get up from the previous attack quickly fly up, avoiding the attack while Gallade jumped with his powerful legs, able to achieve the same feat.
"Use Psycho Cut" Max called. Gallade descended quickly and struck Camerupt with Psycho Cut, causing the imposing Pokemon to stumble backwards and recoil in pain.
"Use Acrobatics!" Brock added. Crobat flew in and used Acrobatics on Camerupt, battering him to the point that he grunted in pain. But there wasn't a chance that Maxie was going to back down now.
"Eruption!" Maxie commanded again, pushing the limits of Camerupt's power. Camerupt launched yet another pillar of fire into the air, forcing both Gallade and Crobat to stop their attacks and flee, still taking more damage in the process. The battle was reaching a critical point, with Gallade and Crobat showing signs of fatigue. And Camerupt wasn't far behind them. "Rock Tomb now!"
"Cam!" Camerupt launched a volley of rocks at the weary Pokémon.
"Dodge that!" Max called out. Gallade managed to jump once more and avoid the incoming boulders, but Crobat accidentally flew directly into the path of one of them and was hit hard.
"Crobat!" Brock exclaimed as his Pokémon succumbed to the onslaught before fainting.
"We need to finish this! Eruption now!" Maxie called. The volcano on Camerupt's back once again began spouting flames and lava across the field in response to the command. But Max, undeterred, rallied his Pokemon with all the power the two of them had left.
"Use Close Combat, Gallade!" Gallade responded with precision, cutting right through the barrage of flames and magma before delivering a punishing Close Combat on Mega Camerupt. "Now, use Psycho Cut!"
"Llade!" Gallade cried out as he landed Psycho Cut on Camerupt's head right between his eyes.
"Rupt!" Camperupt cried out as he fell backwards. Maxie, taken aback, gasped as Camerupt fell, devolving back to its normal state.
"Yes! Great job, Gallade!" Max cheered, unable to hide his satisfaction.
"Amazing!" Bonnie grinned.
"Great job Max." Brock chimed in, acknowledging the significance of their triumph against Team Magma. The trio then turned their attention to Maxie and Tabitha, both of whom had been forced to recall their defeated Pokemon to their pokeballs.
"It's over, Maxie! We won't let you try to destroy Hoenn again!" Max declared, his conviction ringing through the cavern. Maxie, caught off guard, retorted with denial.
"What? You fools! That's not—" Before he could finish his protest, a Salamence dramatically burst into the cavern, his imposing figure dominating the scene. A powerful Dragon Rage erupted from the Salamence, engulfing the crowd of people. Brock, quick to react, shouted a warning.
"Look out!" He swiftly jumped back to avoid the incoming attack. Max, acting on instinct, shielded Bonnie behind his body, protecting her from the onslaught of Dragon Rage.
"What the?!" Bonnie exclaimed, bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
"Maxie sir!" Tabitha, displaying an act of pure loyalty, pushed Maxie out of harm's way, sacrificing himself to the fiery assault. Maxie stumbled away from the blast, disoriented but spared from immediate danger as Tabitha gripped his own burned arm with great pain written on his face. Just as the chaos was reaching its peak, a mysterious figure made a grand entrance. Riding on Salamence's back, a woman with short dark hair and a tattered cloak around her neck addressed the bewildered group.
"Sorry to crash the party, everyone," she remarked casually, her intentions shrouded in mystery.
"What the?! Who are you?!" Max demanded.
"No one important. Just someone looking to provide a public service." she teased. Then, she effortlessly dismounted Salamence and approached Maxie, seizing the opportunity to snatch the Key Stone from his glasses while he was still stunned from the attack.
"Ack!" Maxie exclaimed, taken aback by the sudden theft.
"Thank you!" the woman laughed as she hopped back onto her Salamence's back.
"Hey! That's not yours!" Bonnie cried out. The woman, undeterred by Bonnie's objection, simply continued smiling at the game she seemed to be playing.
"Thank you all for doing the hard part for me. I won't trouble you and let myself out," she announced. With a swift command, Salamence soared back towards the exit. Max quickly got up and made an effort to follow her.
"Hey!" he yelled.
"Hyper Beam now!" the woman countered. Salamence flew through the exit to the cave before firing a Hyper Beam into the ceiling. The devastating attack tore through the cavern, causing the ceiling to collapse and initiating a cascade of rocks and debris.
"No!" Maxie cried out, witnessing the destruction unfold.
"We need to get out now!" Bonnie urged everyone to evacuate.
"There's no time! Everyone, move in close!" Brock, understanding the urgency, took charge of the situation and threw up another pokeball. "Blissey use Protect!"
"Bliss!" the pink Pokemon announced herself. She quickly used Protect, creating a protective barrier around everyone just as the rocks caved in around them completely. Outside the cave system, the woman, unfazed by the impending chaos, smirked as she watched the last of the cavern cave-in, seeing no signs of anyone that escaped.
"Let's keep moving, Salamence," Salamence grunted and took flight, carrying her away from the collapsing cavern, leaving destruction and uncertainty in its wake.
Across the region, the vibrant energy of Lilycove City surrounded May, Ash, and Serena as they set foot on its bustling streets. May, enthusiastic about her visit, expressed her excitement.
"Lilycove City! Shopping capital of Hoenn!" she exclaimed, hopping off the gangplank and stretching in the warm sunlight. Ash, equally pleased, descended from the ship.
"Yeah! Long time since I've been here!" he remarked.
"Me too. My work has kept me so busy I haven't gotten to make a trip out here in months." May agreed.
"Sounds like you're quite the workaholic…" Serena couldn't help but grumble under her breath, seemingly eager to find flaws with the brunette. May, catching Serena's comment, spoke cheerfully as if she hadn't heard the venom in the blonde's voice.
"Heh, I wish. Maybe then I'd have already finished setting up my company," May chuckled, making Serena's eyes widen in shock at the comment.
"C-Company…?"
"Yeah, May is in the process of making her own fashion company." Ash nodded. "Ever since she won the Sinnoh Grand Festival last year, she's been working on making lots of dress designs for Coordinators."
"I'm hoping to have my own line of dresses done by the end of the year." May added with a smile.
"Y-You... you own a fashion company...?" Serena stammered.
"A budding one anyway." the brunette shrugged. Serena clenched her fist, feeling a mix of frustration and envy at the apparent camaraderie between Ash and May, as well as the Coordinator's success in fields that Serena herself loved as well. "But we can talk about all that later. Right now, we have to find that base," May asserted, redirecting the conversation.
"Right. Let's start with the bay area," Ash agreed. With that decided, the group headed towards the beach area, Serena in particular still simmering with inner turmoil.
"Since we're on a time crunch, let's have some of the Pokémon help look around as well," May suggested. She tossed three Poké Balls, summoning her Pokemon. "Altaria, Blastoise, Beautifly! Help us out!"
"Tari!"
"Blast!"
"Beau!"
"Great idea May!" Ash joined in, tossing two of his own pokeballs. "Frogadier, Fletchinder! You help out as well!"
"Fro!"
"Fletch!"
"Everyone, we need your help to find a hidden door or something out of the ordinary somewhere in this area. If you find something, please let us know," May instructed. The Pokémon took off on their assigned tasks, Altaria, Beautifly, and Fletchinder soaring through the sky, while Blastoise and Frogadier dove into the water. Serena was feeling somewhat left out once again, having no Flying or Water-type Pokemon of her own to help out with, so all she could do was watch as the Pokémon dispersed on their mission. The tension between her and the duo seemed to reach its peak as May proposed the last piece of the plan. "And the three of us will look along the shoreline."
"Sounds good. I'll head up this way." Ash offered before jogging away to have a look with Pikachu. May gave him a smile before turning towards Serena.
"So shall we head the other way?" she offered. Serena, finally having enough of feeling sidelined and ignored, finally vented her frustrations.
"Oh. So now you notice I'm here. And here I believe that you two were going to ignore me the entire time." she growled, catching May off guard. May, puzzled by Serena's accusations, responded as best she could.
"What? What are you talking about, Serena? We haven't been ignoring you."
"Oh please. You two even ditched me back at the museum." Serena scoffed, expressing her sense of neglect.
"What are you talking about? It was your comment about their name that made me think about Lilycove City as a location." May said, genuinely surprised by Serena's accusation.
"And I got no recognition from either of you about my comment." the Kalos native continued.
"Serena, are you really this upset over someone not saying 'good idea'?" May asked, still visibly confused.
"More like I'm upset about being ignored all this time!" Serena stated, clarifying her feelings.
"Serena, this is hardly the time to complain about a forgotten compliment. My home could be destroyed, and you're complaining about a missed 'good idea'?" May asked, growing more exasperated by Serena's complaints.
"I'm not talking about a forgotten compliment! I'm talking about you and Ash!" Serena redirected the conversation, emphasizing her point.
"What? Me and Ash? What are you talking about?" May demanded, quickly losing patience.
"I know there's something going on between you two! I've known Ash a long time and he doesn't behave this way for just anyone! So tell me what's going on right now!" Serena growled.
"What?! Nothing is "going on" Serena! We're just good friends!" May insisted, surprised Serena's accusation.
"Too good! He hasn't wanted to spend any time with me at all since you showed up! There's no way he'd behave like this unless something else is going on!" Serena, retorted, still harboring her resentment.
"What?! Serena we're in the middle of a crisis! Several actually! Are you really so selfish that you're complaining about where Ash is putting his attention?!" May argued, unable to comprehend Serena's perspective.
"You're the one being selfish here!" Serena claimed, fuming with rage.
"How?! I'm working on saving my home and keeping the people I love safe! You're starting arguments about nothing!" May exclaimed, outraged by the accusation.
"It's not nothing! I know Ash! I know something isn't right here! And you think I'm too stupid to see it! But I know something is going on between you two and you're going to tell me what it is right now!" Serena yelled.
"Are you kidding me right now?!" May responded, incredulous.
"No, I'm not! So stop gaslighting me and tell me the truth!" Serena screamed, fueled by her most volatile emotions.
"Is that all that matters to you?! Who Ash is paying attention to?! Are you really that shallow?!" May tried to reason, focusing on the imminent crisis.
"If you two would just stop being weird together I wouldn't have to!" Serena yelled, unable to contain her emotions. "Admit it! You have feelings for him don't you?!"
"What?! Are you insane?! He spends some time with someone he hasn't seen in months, and that offends you somehow?! To the point that that's more important than the crisis that's going on right now?! Heaven forbid he's happy to be around an old friend?! Are you kidding me?!" May exclaimed, losing patience rapidly.
"He could have spent time with you after all is done, but no! He's chosen to spend time with you during a crisis! And you eat it all up like some arrogant little attention seeker!" Serena fired back, emotionally charged as ever.
"You're unbelievable!" May asserted, frustrated. "My only concern is saving Ash, my home, and the world from anything that could hurt them! Including Team Aqua, Team Magma, and this meteor! And if seeing Ash around me bothers you this much, then maybe you shouldn't be here! This is life or death, and we can't afford any mistakes!"
"You would like that, leaving me behind just so you and Ash can be all alone together! But I won't allow you to take Ash away from me!" the blonde declared.
"What?!" May exclaimed, shocked by Serena's declaration.
"You heard me!" Serena, unapologetic, repeated.
"You're crazy!" May, bewildered, argued. Overwhelmed by the intensity of the argument, both girls glared at each other with rage in their eyes. As their emotions ran high, Beautifly suddenly intervened, flying over to May.
"Beau!" Beautifly cried, catching May's attention.
"Beautifly?" she wondered, looking towards her approaching Bug-type. Serena followed her gaze and they both noticed Ash returning as well.
"Beautifly found something!" he called out to them. May, still processing the heated exchange, took a deep breath and calmed herself down, knowing that now wasn't the time to deal with this. There were far more pressing issues at hand.
"Alright. Lead the way," May instructed Beautifly, definitively putting the argument on hold. Beautifly, responsive to May's command, took flight, leading the trio towards the newfound discovery. May followed with determination, and Ash, having rejoined the group, followed closely behind, unaware of the emotional turmoil that had unfolded in his absence. The tension lingered as they delved into the unknown, their focus shifting from personal grievances to the urgent mission at hand.
After a few minutes-long walk along the shore, Beautifly led the three trainers over to a cluster of rocks where all the other Pokémon were gathered as well.
"Beau beau!" she insisted.
"Taria." Altaria agreed, pointing her wing to a hidden metal door as Blastoise nodded in agreement.
"They must be behind here…" Ash realized.
"Then that's where we need to go," May announced, nodding to Blastoise. The larger Water type swam close to the shore, allowing May and Ash to hop onto her back. May turned and took a moment to address Serena, who had yet to cross onto Blastoise's back. "Serena, are you coming or not?"
"Like you care if I come or not." Serena retorted, still nursing her hurt feelings.
"Come or don't," May responded with a straightforward tone, unfazed by the tension.
"...I'll stay here. Less of us in there, the better. I'll watch out here for anything suspicious." she finally decided. May acknowledged Serena's decision and shifted her focus back to the imminent mission.
"Fine." With that, May recalled Beautifly and Altaria into their pokéballs, while Ash did the same with Frogadier and Fletchinder. The group, now reduced to just May and Ash, mounted onto Blastoise's back, approached the hidden metal door indicated by the Pokémon. "Let's go, Blastoise."
"Blast." Blastoise nodded and began to swim towards the metal door. The concealed entrance seemed to hold the key to the mystery that lay ahead, and May and Ash steeled themselves for the challenges that awaited on the other side. The rhythmic sound of water echoed their determination as they approached the hidden entrance, ready to confront whatever Team Aqua had in store for them.
To be Continued...