Chapter 511: A False Righteousness
At that moment, on the border of the Syndicate Alliance, a tall, middle-aged man in his forties was looking through a pair of binoculars, his gaze fixed on the Kommo-o's territory.
A short while later, two young men in military uniforms approached him. One of them reported, "Champion, sir. Groudon has awakened. Lord Kuisqi is provoking it according to the plan."
The middle-aged man, addressed as Champion, nodded calmly. "I see it."
For this operation, three of Sinnoh's current Elite Four were present, a testament to the importance they placed on it.
"Is the media in place?" the Sinnoh Champion asked, lowering his binoculars.
"They've all been deployed. The moment Groudon begins its attack on the city, they will start broadcasting. We can then righteously claim the moral high ground."
"Good. Are the troops in position?"
The other soldier replied, "The army is in position, Champion, sir. The navy's carrier strike group is currently conducting a mock patrol in the Maya Strait. They will advance at full speed the moment the media broadcast begins."
"Excellent." The Champion nodded, a cold smile on his lips. "History will remember us. This will be a great victory for humanity."
As he spoke of "greatness," he showed no concern for the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the border city behind him, who were going about their lives, completely oblivious. To secure the moral high ground, Sinnoh had not issued any warnings to their ally, the Syndicate Alliance, nor had they made any preparations to evacuate the civilians. The army was in ambush, but they were hiding behind the civilians.
All of this was to obtain raw, firsthand news footage, to justify their subsequent attack on Groudon. On one hand, they spoke of a great victory for humanity; on the other, they were inhumanely pushing their own kind into the abyss. Their actions were a far cry from the ideals of the original Champions of the pioneering era two hundred years ago.
It was disgustingly hypocritical.
But the two soldiers who had come to report could only bury their personal feelings deep inside, not daring to show them. As soldiers, their only duty was to obey.
But then, one of them spoke up again. "Sir, satellite monitoring shows that Groudon's advance is slower than expected. Could there have been an unforeseen complication in the desert?"
The Champion laughed as if he had heard a joke. "A complication? Hah! You're overthinking it. In this day and age, without an army, what could possibly stop an enraged major Legendary?"
...
One hour earlier, back in the desert, Arthur looked at Skarner with a grave expression. "We have to stop Groudon here. We can't let it reach the human world."
Skarner looked at him as if he were insane. "Friend! My friend! Are you out of your mind?! Do you really think we can stop that thing?!" he roared, pointing at the terrifying monster in front of them, which had now swelled to nearly a hundred feet tall.
Groudon had fully activated its battle form. Its body was even larger than a Dynamaxed Pokémon, and the heat it radiated was so intense it warped the air. With every breath, it seemed to set the air itself on fire. The ultimate Primal Reversion form, though it couldn't fly, was without a doubt the strongest on land.
But Arthur's eyes showed no hesitation or fear. Even setting aside the grand moral imperative of saving lives, from the perspective of the Alliance's interests, he had every reason to do this. If Sinnoh managed to get their hands on the next Groudon, they would gain control of the entire Ashen Desert, and the Kubfu Alliance's centuries-long influence in the region would be completely uprooted. Having fought in the proxy wars here in his past life, Arthur knew how important this region was to his homeland.
He didn't like to talk about grandiose, hypocritical ideals of saving humanity. He just calmly placed a hand on Skarner's shoulder. "When you chose to stay, you told me you couldn't run because your home was at your back. Well, now I'm fighting for my home too. And I can't back down either."
Skarner was still shouting, "But your home is so powerful! The Kubfu Alliance is so strong! Why do you have to be the one to do this? Let's just run, that's not—"
Arthur cut him off with a faint smile. "If everyone thought that way, then no matter how strong the Alliance is, no one would ever step up."
Skarner wanted to argue further, but Arthur was already giving orders.
"Old Flame, Mega Evolve, Dragon Dance! Specter, Mega Evolve, Nasty Plot! Greninja, Battle Forme, Double Team! Lina, fall back, Dragon Dance!"
All units, prepare for battle.
The Silph Co. camp in the ruins of the nest was in chaos, filled with cries, screams, and curses.
"What is that monster?!"
"Why is Groudon here?!"
"We're done for! We're all going to die!"
No one had the will to fight. Everyone was scrambling to escape.
Groudon stomped its foot, and a section of the camp's outer perimeter was crushed into dust. It then lowered its body and slammed its hands on the ground. After a brief delay, massive pillars of fire erupted from the earth in front of it, like a volcanic eruption. The ultimate Fire-type move: Eruption. The name was simple, but the power was world-ending. And coming from a Primal Groudon, it was breathtakingly powerful.
In an instant, more than half of the Silph Co. camp was engulfed in flames. The several hundred-strong team was vaporized in the blink of an eye. The power of a Legendary's move was on a completely different scale from an ordinary Pokémon's.
It was a good thing Arthur and Skarner had chosen a secluded spot far from the camp for their interrogation, or they would have been caught in the blast as well.
Skarner, who had been momentarily moved by Arthur's pre-battle speech, immediately shriveled back into a ball of fear. We can't win. There's no way we can win. Is that really a level of power a mortal can stand against?!
"Maybe we should reconsider?"
But the moment he said it, he saw Arthur mounting Lina and taking to the skies. "Now! Go!"
What the—?! What are you doing?! For a moment, Skarner was so scared he thought his soul was about to leave his body. You can't fight a Legendary that can create a sea of fire with a single move!
But Arthur saw something completely different. "Now, while it's on cooldown! We attack and draw its attention!"
When it came to fighting Legendaries, Arthur's experience was far greater than Skarner's. He had probably personally defeated more Legendaries than Skarner had even seen.
Even Legendaries had cooldowns. If you weren't intimidated by the sheer power of their attacks, this was the best time to strike.
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