From the moment Mismagius appeared and killed Derek to the death of Shiftry, everything happened in a moment—less than thirty seconds.
Erick, affected by the Sleep Powder used by Shiftry, had already fallen to the ground in slumber. Just before collapsing, he caught a glimpse of the mysterious figure standing behind Derek.
But the overwhelming drowsiness allowed him only enough strength to utter two words: "watch out."
"Kill him as well," the mysterious figure said.
And so, in his sleep, Erick lost his life.
All of this was witnessed by Manaphy, confined within the isolation box.
Seeing Derek lying dead in a pool of blood, Manaphy's expression turned sorrowful. Derek was the first person it had seen upon opening its eyes, and it could feel that he had genuinely wanted to save it at that moment.
Large tears streamed down from Manaphy's eyes.
Manaphy glared at the figure with anger. Despite its fear of this person, its inner rage would not allow it to show any sign of cowardice.
The mysterious figure said, nodding approvingly.
At the same time, a Pokémon resembling a chandelier floated through the wall. Blue flames burned on its head and arms, casting an eerie glow.
As it entered, the chamber grew even quieter and more sinister.
The Pokémon drifted to Derek's corpse and lightly touched it. A grayish-white mist rose from the body and was absorbed into the Pokémon.
It repeated the same process on the bodies of the fallen Shiftry and Erick.
Whether it was an illusion or not, the blue flames on the Pokémon seemed to burn brighter.
"The soul of an Elite-level Pokémon, combined with the three hundred members of the Miller family, but you still haven't progressed to the next stage," the mysterious figure said, his gaze fixed on the Chandelure.
"But it won't be long. The five million souls of Haitian City residents will surely be enough to push you to that step."
The man's voice was calm, yet it carried an undertone of endless madness and ambition.
Chandelure floated to his side, its blue flames flickering more intensely, as if it shared his anticipation and delight.
"Ten minutes left. But that old goat Duke should already be here," the man remarked.
There were only ten minutes remaining in the thirty-minute grace period Kyogre had given to locate Manaphy.
Thanks to Kyogre's decision of giving the half hour time limit, Duke, had just managed to arrive in Haitian City.
To the west, Wade, Oliver, and several other Elite-level trainers watched the seconds tick by with growing anxiety.
No news had yet come from behind about Manaphy being found.
Just then, with a ripple in the fabric of space, a man in his seventies appeared before them, accompanied by an Alakazam.
Upon seeing the arrival of the man, Wade and the others were overjoyed.
"President, you're finally here!"
The man who had arrived was none other than Duke, the President of Drakoria's Trainer Association and the strongest among the nation's five Champions.
Duke nodded faintly, though his complexion was far from good. To save time, he had relied on Alakazam to continuously use Teleport during the journey.
Had it not been for Alakazam protecting him during the spatial transfers, a human body would have been torn apart in such a traversal.
Even so, Duke's condition was clearly less than ideal.
"Kyogre, I will find Manaphy for you, but I need more time," Duke said solemnly.
"Human, I have already given you time."
While Champions cannot defeat first-class Legendary Pokémon, they can at least create some trouble for them when fighting at full strength.
Moreover, Duke wasn't alone—Drakoria's military forces were en route, and several long-range weapon systems had already locked onto Kyogre.
Duke replied, shaking his head. Half an hour was far too little to search the entirety of Haitian City.
Kyogre's eyes gleamed coldly. As a first-class Legendary Pokémon, it viewed all beings beneath it as mere ants. It had already granted these ants time, yet they dared to demand more.
In its fury, Kyogre unleashed Surf. A massive wave, towering hundreds of meters and stretching endlessly, began its descent.
It was as if the entire sky was crashing down.
Wade, Oliver, and the others were horrified. Under such a colossal wave, they could only hope to protect themselves. They had no chance to aid others, let alone defend the city behind them.
None of them had expected Kyogre to strike so decisively.
Humans had no right to bargain with it. The time it had granted earlier was merely out of caution toward a particular individual in the region. Even if that individual showed up, Kyogre was confident it wouldn't lose.
The overwhelming wave bore down, threatening to engulf the entire Haitian City beneath its fury.
"Alakazam, Mega Evolve—use Psychic!"
Duke acted decisively. With the opening of a Poké Ball, another Alakazam emerged. Unlike ordinary Alakazam, this one was entirely golden—a Shiny Pokémon.
Upon Mega Evolution, Mega Alakazam appeared, resembling an aged sage, with five spoons floating around its body.
An invisible, powerful aura erupted from Mega Alakazam as it emerged.
Under the force of its Psychic, the colossal wave, which had seemed unstoppable, was held back. The wave crashed into an invisible barrier, unable to advance further.
Seeing the massive wave so close yet unable to descend, all the Trainers along the shoreline wore expressions of relief, as though they had narrowly escaped death.
"Evacuate immediately!"
Duke's voice echoed in their minds, calm but commanding.
"You must leave as well"
He instructed Wade, Oliver, and the others.
Without hesitation, Wade and the group departed, taking the surviving students with them. The urgency in their steps was palpable.
It wasn't out of cowardice or fear of death that Wade, Oliver, and the others retreated. Facing a Legendary Pokémon like Kyogre, even Champions would struggle, and they were not even close to that level. Staying would only burden Duke.
Additionally, with the military potentially deploying heavy firepower, their presence near the battlefield could result in collateral damage.
With a gentle flick of Kyogre massive tail, the paused tidal wave seemed to surge with renewed vigor.
Mega Alakazam's form began to falter, its psychic barrier trembling as it was pushed back inch by inch. It was clear it couldn't hold for much longer.
Duke closed his eyes briefly, letting out a quiet sigh. "Hold back half of it"
The wave had grown too powerful for Mega Alakazam to block completely. However, it could still block half of it.
The other half would inevitably crash into Haitian City, but at least some of the city could be saved from total destruction.
As Mega Alakazam exerted all its strength to hold back half of the colossal wave, the remaining half surged forward, descending with a force that dwarfed even the most catastrophic dam break imaginable.
In Duke's mind, he could already envision the horrifying aftermath—hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, losing their lives.
The wave crashed down mercilessly. Some of the slower students and teachers were engulfed instantly, their lives snuffed out in the blink of an eye.
Buildings in its path crumbled like fragile paper models, offering no resistance against the sheer force of the wave.