Chapter 797 - 797 - The Hoenn Champion

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Will replied coldly. "And if those are your last words, I'll make sure your family hears them after I take off that mask."

He kept his eyes on Reiji, though his thoughts were far less composed than his expression suggested. The masked stranger had brought up Team Rocket twice now, and the confidence in his voice made it difficult to dismiss as a lucky guess.

Will couldn't afford to admit anything. If the League began investigating his connections, his position as an Elite Four member would be in serious trouble. His past wasn't exactly spotless, and there were plenty of things he would rather keep buried.

"Suit yourself," Reiji said with a grin. "If you want to play innocent, I don't mind having a little fun with a Team Rocket mole."

He snapped his fingers and flicked his cigarette butt into the sea.

Gengar rose from his shadow, its red eyes fixed on Will. The Pokémon chuckled as it sensed the psychic energy surrounding him, seemingly unimpressed by what it found.

After all, Gengar had encountered humans with psychic abilities before. Compared to the young girl it had faced during an earlier tournament, Will's powers weren't particularly impressive.

"Gengar, huh? That's troublesome," Will remarked, glancing toward the approaching coast guard vessel.

He wasn't especially eager to fight. Even if he managed to defeat Spider's leader, the man could expose his Team Rocket connections before the battle ended. But allowing himself to be threatened so openly by a masked pirate was equally infuriating.

"Someone give me a hand!"

Danny's shout came from the direction of the storm's eye. His battle with Amber was nearly over, and after briefly spotting Lugia near the cargo ship, he'd begun retreating toward it while calling for help.

Reiji had no intention of answering. Helping a Gym Leader wasn't exactly something Spider could afford to be seen doing, especially with League officers approaching.

Will, however, seized the opportunity.

He walked to the railing, released Xatu, and had the Pokémon carry him toward Danny's position. Within moments, he was flying away from the cargo ship, leaving Reiji and Gengar behind.

Reiji watched him go with an amused smile. Will had found a convenient excuse to avoid their confrontation, and Reiji was perfectly happy to let him take it. Neither wanted a battle that might end with Will's secret getting out.

The coast guard vessel was already close enough for Reiji to make out Officer Jenny and her team preparing to board. He recalled Gengar and released Golbat, grabbing its feet as it took flight.

By the time the League officers climbed aboard, Reiji had disappeared into the night.

Jenny found a cargo ship that looked as though it had survived a small war. The deck was riddled with holes, damaged crates lay scattered everywhere, and several sections of metal plating had been torn apart.

Unconscious sailors and Team Aqua grunts covered the deck, their Poké Balls confiscated and their injuries making it clear that a serious battle had taken place.

But there was nobody left to question. The Spider pirates Danny had reported were gone, along with Team Aqua's submarine, the cargo ship's captain, and even Danny himself.

Near the storm's eye, the sea had frozen into a broad sheet of ice. The Ice-type attacks exchanged during the fighting had turned the area into a makeshift battlefield, with broken ice scattered across its surface.

By the time Will arrived, Amber had already escaped. There were signs of a hasty retreat across the ice, but the Team Aqua Admin was nowhere to be seen.

Danny was the only Trainer remaining. He sat against a pillar of ice, breathing heavily, his clothes disheveled and his hair damp with sweat.

Will landed a short distance away and studied him.

He had chosen to come here partly because fighting Reiji was too risky. There was also the possibility that Danny and Team Aqua might weaken each other enough to give Will an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

Danny was no ordinary Gym Leader. He had finished second in the Orange League competition, losing only to Drake, a veteran Elite Four-tier Trainer. In terms of sheer strength, Will considered Danny a more dangerous opponent than Reiji.

Team Rocket's assessment was very different.

For reasons Will couldn't understand, his boss had placed Reiji above Danny and several other powerful Trainers on the organization's elimination list. The masked man hadn't seemed particularly threatening, aside from his irritating habit of saying things he shouldn't know.

Whatever Team Rocket's reasons, Will had no intention of risking his own position to find out.

For now, Danny was the easier target.

Scyther and Swampert stood protectively beside their Trainer, both injured but still capable of fighting. Farther away, Golem, Machamp, and Nidoqueen lay defeated on the ice.

Danny had committed five Elite Four-tier Pokémon to the battle and still failed to capture Amber. Golem and Nidoqueen had been at a disadvantage against Team Aqua's Water-types, and although Machamp and Swampert had held off Amber's final counterattack, the cost had been considerable.

Amber hadn't escaped unscathed either. He'd failed to secure Lugia, thanks largely to Spider's unexpected intervention, while Danny had failed to capture either the Admin or his submarine.

"You all right?" Will asked, keeping his distance.

Scyther shifted its scythes toward him, and Swampert gave a low warning growl. Neither Pokémon seemed comfortable letting a stranger approach their exhausted Trainer.

Will didn't miss their reaction. Without counting his injured Slowbro, he still had five Elite Four-tier Psychic-type Pokémon available. If he attacked with everything he had, there was a reasonable chance he could overwhelm Danny's battered team.

"I'm fine, Will," Danny managed between breaths. "Forget about me. Go after Team Aqua! They've captured Lugia!"

Despite Will's late arrival, Danny showed no resentment. He hadn't expected Spider to answer his call, and he'd only shouted for assistance in the hope of making Amber hesitate.

Having a member of the Elite Four show up was more than he'd dared hope for.

"Don't worry. Officer Jenny's coast guard vessel is already here, and Lorelei's coming by helicopter. Team Aqua won't get far."

Danny relaxed a little at the news. If the League had brought in that much help, there was still a chance they could recover Lugia.

Almost as if to prove Will's point, a series of explosions erupted over the nearby ocean.

Team Aqua's submarine burst out of the water, dragged upward by an overwhelming force. Its metal hull buckled under the pressure, smoke pouring from damaged sections as the vessel hung above the waves.

The surviving grunts abandoned ship immediately.

They jumped into the sea and released their Water-type Pokémon, scattering in different directions beneath the cover of darkness and rain. Whoever had caught the submarine was alone, and chasing so many fleeing Trainers at once would be impossible.

Their attempt to split up appeared to be working.

"Good... as long as they don't get away," Danny murmured, watching the wrecked submarine.

He could finally see it clearly whenever lightning illuminated the sky. With the vessel disabled, Team Aqua would have a much harder time escaping with Lugia.

Then a familiar cry echoed over the water.

Lugia emerged from the darkness, its enormous silhouette briefly illuminated by a flash of lightning. But instead of fleeing, it charged straight toward the League Trainer who had pulled the submarine from the sea.

"What? Lugia?" Will tightened his grip on a Poké Ball, startled by the sudden attack.

Danny stared at the scene in confusion. Lugia had been freed, so why was it attacking the people trying to stop Team Aqua? Had the Legendary Pokémon decided that all humans involved were its enemies?

Will had more pressing concerns. Danny was exhausted, his team was badly injured, and the chaos surrounding Lugia provided an excellent opportunity to kill him and blame Team Aqua.

He was about to throw his Poké Ball when the sound of helicopter rotors reached them.

Will immediately returned it to his belt.

The helicopter descended toward the ice, and its doors opened as soon as it touched down. Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy hurried out, calling to Danny as they approached.

"Danny! Are you hurt?"

"I'm all right," he assured them, finally allowing himself to relax.

Nurse Joy began checking his injuries before turning her attention to his wounded Pokémon. Danny was too relieved to notice how quickly Will had put away his Poké Ball.

He had no idea how close he'd come to being murdered by the very Elite Four member who had supposedly arrived to rescue him.

A tall woman with long red hair stepped out of the helicopter behind Jenny and Joy. She approached the group, her attention settling on Will.

"What's the situation?"

"The fighting's over," Will replied. "Amber escaped, and we don't know where he went. No confirmed deaths, among the Trainers or their Pokémon."

He managed to sound relieved, though Lorelei's arrival had ruined his chance to deal with Danny. With Jenny and Joy already treating the injured Gym Leader, there was no way to attack him without exposing himself.

Danny had gotten extraordinarily lucky, and Will could do nothing but swallow his frustration.

Still, the battle offshore had caught his interest.

"What's happening over there?" he asked Lorelei. "Has Lugia gone berserk?"

He wasn't eager to face a Legendary Pokémon himself. If Lugia was attacking indiscriminately, even several Elite Four members might struggle to contain it.

"Don't worry. He'll handle Lugia," Lorelei answered, watching the distant flashes of battle with surprising confidence.

"He? Who's out there?"

"Steven Stone, the Champion of Hoenn. Team Aqua stole one of Devon Corporation's submarines, so he came personally to deal with them."

Will turned toward the ocean, wondering what kind of Trainer could confront Lugia without Lorelei feeling any need to intervene.

She was about to continue when a flash of rainbow-colored light appeared in the darkness.

"Look!" Lorelei said, her attention shifting immediately. "Steven's Metagross is Mega Evolving!"

Far across the water, Steven stood facing Lugia with his Shiny Metagross hovering nearby. As he activated his Key Stone, its power resonated with Metagross's Mega Stone, surrounding the Pokémon in a brilliant glow.

Metagross's body began changing within the light, growing larger as its limbs shifted into their new configuration. The transformation took only moments before Mega Metagross emerged, its silver body gleaming against the dark sky.

It surged toward Lugia, and the two Pokémon collided high above the ocean.

Mega Metagross moved at extraordinary speed, leaving a silver streak behind it as it attacked. Lugia answered with bursts of power and swift aerial maneuvers, the two trading blows so quickly that the watchers could barely follow their movements.

Each collision sent another shockwave through the air, raising huge waves beneath them. Their battle continued across the night sky, with neither giving the other much room to recover between exchanges.

Will watched with growing fascination. Even from this distance, the strength of Steven's Mega Metagross was unmistakable, and Lorelei seemed content to leave the battle in the Champion's hands.

More League Trainers began arriving as the fight continued. Coast guard vessels spread across the surrounding waters, their lights cutting through the rain while their Pokémon helped secure the area and pursue the scattered Team Aqua grunts.

With so many reinforcements present, the chaos that had engulfed the sea throughout the night gradually came under control.

As for Lugia, nobody knew where it ultimately went.

After a fierce exchange with Mega Metagross, the Legendary Pokémon was knocked into the ocean. It disappeared beneath the waves and never resurfaced, leaving Steven and the League forces with no way to determine where it had gone.

The sea gradually settled once Lugia was gone, and the last of the violent weather began to fade.

By dawn, the enormous storm that had raged throughout the night had vanished. The rain stopped, the wind died down, and the clouds slowly parted to reveal the first sunlight spreading across the ocean.

The calm water gave little indication of the battles that had taken place only hours earlier. Apart from the lingering damage and the League vessels still searching the area, it almost looked like an ordinary morning in the Orange Archipelago.

The long, stormy night had finally come to an end.

But the consequences of the cargo ship incident were only beginning to unfold.

[End of chapter]

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