"What's going on?"
"Why did the Lord of the Land, Groudon, suddenly attack?"
"We went to explain the situation—how did we end up angering Groudon instead?"
"Careful!"
"Dodge quickly!"
——
The three Elite Four Trainers within Groudon's attack range were in a panic.
They had all been preparing to retreat, but who would have thought such an accident would happen?
"Slowbro, Cloyster, Mamoswine—return now!"
While dodging, Lorelei was constantly worried about her Pokémon.
Unlike Bruno, the Fighting-type Elite Four member whose Pokémon were fast and agile, only his Steelix could burrow underground to escape. As for Agatha's Ghost-types, they were also quick and evasive. But Lorelei's Pokémon, who specialized in standing their ground and attacking, were comparatively slow.
She understood this weakness.
She just hadn't expected to face such a desperate situation in her lifetime.
Boom—
Groudon's attack came suddenly. Despite their strength, the Elite Four could only barely react. Even though they escaped the center of the attack, their Pokémon were still affected.
Compared to Groudon's current size, ordinary Pokémon were like flies. The vibration and shockwave from its slam alone were overwhelming.
Watching her Dewgong and Jynx—who hadn't been recalled in time—nearly faint from the shock, Lorelei realized that if they weren't careful today, all four of them would meet their end on this uninhabited island.
"Damn, that Groudon is ruthless!"
Due to the bet, the three legendary birds weren't allowed to intervene.
So, for now, they simply watched from the sidelines.
Moreover, their pride as legendary Pokémon prevented them from teaming up with Groudon to deal with the Elite Four.
"Big size is really useful."
"Looks like our bet might turn dangerous."
"No choice. Physique is innate. But there aren't many Tier 1 legendary Pokémon that can grow this large."
"Hopefully, these humans are strong enough to force Groudon to use its powers."
——
Groudon heard the three legendary birds whispering and immediately snorted disdainfully.
Use its powers to deal with humans?
What face would it have as the Lord of the Land then?
Without a 100% chance of victory, why would Groudon risk its addictive canned food—let alone the Flying-type law berries it valued most?
This time, Groudon was certain of its victory against the three legendary birds!
"Groudon! What do you mean by this?!"
Lance roared angrily. "Can't we talk this out? Why resort to violence?"
"As the Lord of the Land, do you have any dignity befitting a legendary Pokémon?"
Lance was scolding, but the Dragonite he rode was trembling.
If it weren't so scared it couldn't speak, Dragonite would've told Lance to shut up immediately.
Groudon had already attacked once without warning. If it got truly angry and used its full power, who could stop it?
If not for its deep bond with Lance—and the fact that Lance was a great Trainer—Dragonite might've bolted without hesitation.
Humans fear death.
So do Pokémon.
And the hierarchy among Pokémon was far beyond human understanding.
For instance, while Dragonite was a Champion-level Pokémon, it never looked down on Elite-level Pokémon—let alone the towering Tier 1 legendary Pokémon at the top of the world.
"ROAR—"
A thunderous roar shook the air.
Being questioned by a human—even a Champion-level Trainer—deeply displeased Groudon.
In its eyes, only Riku was qualified to speak to it that way in the entire Pokémon world!
"Human, you're too arrogant."
"Is it the Dragonite you're riding that gives you confidence?"
With that, Groudon's gaze fixed on Dragonite.
Dragonite shuddered violently, nearly shaking Lance off its back.
Being stared at by the Lord of the Land—if Dragonite could survive and return home, it would brag about it for the rest of its life.
But at this moment, it felt only fear and unease—and a powerful instinct to flee.
It shook its head desperately, signaling that it was not the source of Lance's courage. Because it had no confidence at all!
"Or is it them?"
Dragonite's panicked head-shaking seemed to satisfy Groudon.
Then it lowered its head again, looking condescendingly at the rest of Lance's Pokémon.
Under Groudon's gaze, the dignity of Champion-level Pokémon was worthless.
Instantly, the rest of Lance's team began shaking their heads just like Dragonite.
Watching this, Lance's heart ached.
He had just mustered the courage to speak to Groudon—and now his spirit shattered completely.
"Then what do you want now?"
"Do you intend to trap us in the Orange Archipelago forever?"
"Not necessarily," Groudon replied, shaking its head. "You have some status in human society."
"Killing you might cause minor trouble later."
"But your Pokémon… that's a different story."
"ROAR—!"
Just as Lance felt a slight relief from Groudon's words—
Groudon attacked again!
This time, it even used a move!
"Everyone, be careful!"
"Run!!"
Lance's urgent cry made the other three Elite Four members' hearts clench.
The move Groudon used appeared to be Flamethrower—but it was far beyond anything they'd ever seen.
It looked powerful enough to incinerate the entire island.
"Jynx, return!"
"Cloyster! Slowbro! Try to use Water Gun to protect yourselves!"
"Retreat!!"
Lorelei reacted quickly this time—immediately recalling her non-Water-type Pokémon and fleeing without hesitation.
But if Groudon's move were that easy to dodge, it wouldn't be called the Lord of the Land.
BOOM—
Within a kilometer radius, the forest was instantly engulfed in flames.
Though Lorelei and her Pokémon had escaped hundreds of meters and were protected by water, the incoming heatwave was too intense.
Upon reaching the beach, Lorelei finally couldn't hold on any longer—and collapsed unconscious.
However, before blacking out, she tightly gripped Cloyster's shell spike...
---Support with power stones