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If they climbed out through the crack above their heads, they could leave the cavern and get back to the surface immediately. But doing that would defeat the entire purpose of entering the cave in the first place.
Misty had clearly realized the same thing. She was just about to discuss it with Kai when he suddenly placed a finger against his lips, signaling her to stay quiet.
She blinked in confusion then Kai gently pulled her behind a boulder and pointed ahead.
Through the misty veil of the waterfall, about a hundred meters away, a group wearing blue-and-white uniforms was shoving a bespectacled man forward, dragging him toward another entrance deeper in the cave.
Misty's eyes widened.
It was a kidnapping.
She opened her mouth to ask what they should do, but when she turned toward Kai and saw his expression, his brows drawn tight, she changed her question.
"Kai… you know who they are?"
Kai nodded. "Team Aqua."
"Team Aqua?"
"They're the Hoenn Region's equivalent of Team Rocket but they're not thieves who steal other people's Pokémon."
"Huh?" Misty raised a brow. "That doesn't sound very villain-like…"
Kai shook his head. "They're extremists. Their goal is to restore the ocean Pokémon have lost because of human expansion. They believe the sea is the origin of all life, so they want to expand the ocean and create a home where Pokémon can live freely again."
"Ah…" Misty swallowed. "Meaning…"
"Exactly." Kai's voice turned cold. "They want to awaken Kyogre, one of the ancient super-Pokémon, and flood the continents."
Now Misty understood. Compared to Team Rocket's greed-driven schemes, Team Aqua's ambition struck at the balance of the ecosystem itself.
Before she could say more, another group appeared this time wearing red cloaks. They slipped into the cave quietly, entering right after Team Aqua.
Misty tensed. "Who are they now?"
"Team Magma," Kai said. He quickly recapped his previous run-in at Rustboro. "They're the other Hoenn group. Same goal controlling an ancient Pokémon. But unlike Aqua's Kyogre, Magma wants Groudon, ruler of the land."
"Let me guess…" Misty said dryly. "They want to expand the landmass?"
Kai gave her an approving thumbs-up. "Bingo. They believe human progress requires more land, and Pokémon get in the way. Their ideals clash with Aqua's completely, so the two groups fight constantly."
Misty rubbed her temples.
Honestly, dealing with Team Rocket felt simpler than this world-changing nonsense.
"That man they grabbed you know him?"
Kai shook his head. He hadn't been in Hoenn long. And what fragments he remembered from games and the anime were hazy.
But one thing was certain: in a remote cave like this, if both Aqua and Magma showed up, something huge was going on.
And whether to protect the world or simply himself, Kai couldn't ignore it.
After waiting a bit longer and seeing no more movement, Misty summoned Starmie. The two quietly slipped into the water, swimming beneath the waterfall to the opposite side.
The roaring water masked their little sounds perfectly.
When they reached the hidden entrance Team Aqua and Magma had gone through, both peered inside empty.
Aqua had no idea they were being followed.
And Magma thought they were the hunters… unaware that a new predator lurked behind them.
Kai recalled his other Pokémon, then released Gardevoir and brought out Gengar.
Keeping the flashlight off, they proceeded carefully, Gengar scouting through the shadows. Before long, they spotted the Magma squad hiding behind boulders up ahead.
Beyond them, Team Aqua.
The Aqua grunts were questioning the kidnapped scholar, but from this distance, Kai couldn't hear a word.
He sent Gengar a signal.
Gengar slipped into the ground, approaching silently…
But before it got close, chaos erupted.
The Magma grunts—apparently out of patience—rushed forward and ambushed Aqua.
Their surprise attack worked perfectly. Aqua didn't expect enemies behind them, and several members were knocked out immediately.
Kai and Misty used the distraction to creep into Magma's former hiding spot. From here, they could clearly hear every word of Aqua and Magma's shouting match.
And they saw the two commanders.
Team Aqua's commander was a tall woman in her late twenties with sun-tanned skin, long black wavy hair, sunglasses pushed up on her head, and a revealing combat outfit. Sharp, confident, intimidating.
Team Magma's commander was a young woman around eighteen or nineteen, wearing the red hood like her grunts. Under the hood: lavender hair, refined features, red skirt, long boots. Cute yet fierce.
They clearly knew each other.
But instead of fighting personally, they simply glared as their grunts clashed.
The Magma commander sneered, "Didn't expect us, did you? Our intel isn't useless. You're not the only ones who can track this place!"
Aqua's commander scoffed. "Don't flatter yourselves. We mapped this cave a week ago. Every tunnel, every exit. If we want to leave, you can't stop us."
"Leave? Not happening!" the Magma girl snapped. "Hand over the professor!"
The kidnapped man, now clearly a researcher in his forties, stood bound behind the Aqua commander. Round glasses, messy hair, vest, classic academic vibe. Completely overwhelmed.
Aqua's commander smirked. "Professor Solance is here because we invited him. You Magma people just want the meteorite to trigger a volcanic reaction and reshape Hoenn. Ridiculous."
"Ridiculous?" the Magma girl—called Firefin fumed. "What about you? Don't you want the meteorite for the exact same reason—to chase your own delusional dream!?"
"What did you say!?"
"You heard me!"
Their shouting gave Kai and Misty the full picture.
A meteorite with special properties.
A kidnapped expert.
Both groups are racing toward the same objective.
And both are willing to alter Hoenn's environment for their ideals.
The battle escalated. More Pokémon fell. Magma had the initial advantage, but Aqua was recovering and pulling back toward a side passage.
Misty whispered, "Kai… what now?"
Kai grinned quietly and pulled out a Master Ball.
Misty blinked. "…Wait. You're using a legendary already?"
Because she knew Kai so well, she recognized the ball instantly. His legendary Pokémon were all stored inside Master Balls.
Kai nodded. "Since we've already fought them before, a bit more chaos won't hurt. Let's give them a real surprise."
He opened the Master Ball.
A flash of blue light—
Raikou materialized.
The thunder beast shook its mane, adjusting to the dim cave.
Kai leaned close and murmured instructions.
Raikou's eyes sharpened.
Then, like a streak of lightning, it shot toward the battlefield.
Gold light exploded across the cavern, catching the commanders' attention instantly.
"Who's there!?"
They turned just in time to see Raikou rushing in.
"Is that… a Pokémon!?"
Neither recognized it naturally. They were from Hoenn. Raikou was a Johto legend. Rarely seen.
In that heartbeat of hesitation, Raikou unleashed a burst of electricity.
Crackling arcs blasted outward, striking Aqua and Magma grunts alike, along with their Pokémon.
No one expected this.
Both teams initially thought they'd discovered a rare wild Pokémon—
not that it would ATTACK them.
"Damn—did it just attack us!?"
Firefin and Aqua's commander searched for the source of the intrusion. Darkness. Nothing.
A wild Pokémon?
But no such creature was known to inhabit Meteor Falls…
Raikou continued its assault, forcing both teams to redirect their focus.
"Catch it!!" both commanders shouted at once.
Their grunts turned from fighting each other to fighting Raikou instead.
Naturally, they were hopelessly outmatched.
While the battlefield dissolved into total chaos, Kai and Misty slipped forward quietly.
No one noticed the two dark silhouettes approaching Professor Solance through the confusion.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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