Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

"What is that?!"

"It looks like... Rayquaza!"

"There's someone standing on it!"

The massive head of Rayquaza emerged from the clouds, descending onto the battlefield. The Hoenn League trainers, who had been closely watching Groudon and Kyogre's clash, immediately noticed its appearance.

Steven, still deliberating over their next move, heard the commotion and instinctively looked upward.

What he saw stunned him: Luo Yuan, standing atop Rayquaza's head, entering the battlefield between Groudon and Kyogre.

"The Tech Hunter!"

Steven recognized the figure instantly. Luo Yuan's signature outfit left no doubt in his mind.

This was the audacious figure who had raided his company for classified information multiple times and had just attacked the Pokémon Association's headquarters.

And now, he had Rayquaza under his control.

But...

"How did he manage to tame Rayquaza?!"

As a Champion who had studied Rayquaza extensively, Steven knew all too well the immense difficulty of taming it. The sheer improbability of the feat left him utterly bewildered.

The other trainers around him, however, paid little attention to Steven's expression.

They had only caught the words "Rayquaza" and "Tech Hunter."

The last of Hoenn's legendary trio had been captured by a fugitive wanted across the region.

The trainers, already unnerved, were now on the verge of despair.

Did Hoenn still stand a chance?

Meanwhile, Giovanni and Matori remained unshaken.

Luo Yuan, indifferent to the reactions below, focused entirely on the battlefield.

Unlike the League trainers, Groudon and Kyogre reacted immediately to Rayquaza's appearance.

The significance of Rayquaza was not lost on them. They had been "mediated" by it countless times before.

But this time, their battle wouldn't stop merely because of its arrival.

If anything, they were more determined to continue fighting.

This time, they had come prepared.

With a deafening roar, Groudon and Kyogre simultaneously shifted their attention away from each other and launched their attacks at Rayquaza.

Muddy Water!

Fire Blast!

The trainers below were dumbfounded.

No one had expected this twist.

For a moment, it almost seemed as though Groudon and Kyogre had been baiting Rayquaza all along.

Steven felt a surge of relief that he hadn't tried to intervene earlier.

The thought of being the target of both Groudon and Kyogre's attacks simultaneously was terrifying.

As for Luo Yuan, directly facing the combined assault, he remained completely unfazed.

He had anticipated this reaction.

Without the Red and Blue Orbs to suppress their aggression, any interference was bound to provoke Groudon and Kyogre.

But Luo Yuan wasn't worried.

Two-on-one?

He had faced worse.

Holding onto Rayquaza's horn with one hand, Luo Yuan reached for his belt with the other, releasing two Poké Balls.

Boom!

Two flashes of white light revealed Mewtwo and Deoxys, now standing beside Rayquaza.

The two Psychic Pokémon reacted instantly.

Mewtwo swung its spoon-like appendage, dispersing the torrent of water, while Deoxys countered the blazing Fire Blast with a perfectly timed Psycho Cut, reducing it to harmless embers.

The attacks dissipated as if they had never existed.

Rayquaza watched the scene unfold, a complex expression on its face.

Not long ago, it had fought Mewtwo and Deoxys simultaneously and lost. Now, it was standing alongside them as allies.

Though the shift was jarring, it couldn't deny a strange sense of satisfaction.

After countless battles where it had been outnumbered and ganged up on, it was gratifying to see its old rivals experiencing the same treatment.

With that thought in mind, Rayquaza wasted no time.

Slipping through the space between Mewtwo and Deoxys, it darted forward, confronting Groudon and Kyogre head-on.

The two titans, momentarily stunned by the unexpected interference, froze.

In that brief window, Rayquaza struck.

Dragon Claw!

Its claws extended, pressing down on Groudon and Kyogre's heads with immense force.

Caught off guard, both legendary Pokémon were slammed into the water, sending massive waves crashing in all directions.

But Groudon and Kyogre weren't about to back down.

Even as they were forced underwater, they retaliated.

Hammer Arm!

Groudon swung its massive arm at Rayquaza's head, while Kyogre whipped up a wave with its tail, using Aqua Tail to strike at Rayquaza's body.

Rayquaza, under Luo Yuan's command, anticipated the counterattack.

With a swift motion, it soared into the sky, evading both strikes.

Groudon's Hammer Arm smashed into a nearby cliff, sending a cascade of boulders tumbling down, crushing several buildings.

Kyogre's Aqua Tail triggered a tsunami, submerging another section of the city.

The destruction snapped Steven and the other League trainers back to reality.

Steven immediately realized that analyzing the Tech Hunter's motives wasn't the priority.

Whatever his ultimate goal, Luo Yuan was currently working to stop Groudon and Kyogre—a goal aligned with their own.

For now, old enmities had to be set aside.

"Everyone, focus on containing the fallout! Prevent the damage from spreading!"

Steven barked his orders, casting one last glance at the enthralled Maxie and Archie before shifting his full attention to damage control.

Giovanni and Matori were more than happy to take a backseat, letting Luo Yuan take center stage.

High above, Luo Yuan stood atop Rayquaza, flanked by Mewtwo and Deoxys. Seeing Steven rally his forces, a grin spread across his face.

"Finally," he muttered. "Time to go all out."

Three-on-two.

The five legendary Pokémon stared each other down, their tension palpable.

The battle for Sootopolis City was about to escalate into a full-scale war.