Brendan stretched as he scanned the Aqua Submarine as it dove down. Archie had already gone down, which was bad according to Team Magma. A soft noise escaped him as May and Wally went over.

"That sounded disappointing." He scoffed.

"Team Aqua has a plan going. But what?" Wally hummed.

"We should break into their base."

~

Brendan, while having the inevitable weakness of the Water Type Users, was actually able to keep up with May and Wally. They had pokemon that had the upper hand advantage, yet he could keep up with Fire? Interesting. By the time they got to the back of the base, Shelly and Matt were discussing the plan.

"Boss went under to awaken Kyogre. You think he's got this?"

"Good question."

Alarms ran in Brendan's head. Maxie told him that it was almost impossible to fight Kyogre, mostly due to how it deals with its Electric and Grass weaknesses. While their fake goal of waking Groudon wasn't any brighter, it at least had a problem with moving fast, which would mean that people would be able to find a solution faster. Not with Kyogre. Hoenn would be underwater before people knew what to do.

"I know he said that we would all be safe... but how can he be so sure? I'm not doubting him, but-"

"No, I get it. He did say that Kyogre may be harder to handle. But at least we won't get a heat stroke."

"Fair."

Rude. Saying drowning was way better than dealing with extreme heats. Say that after you drown. Brendan gulped as the other two glanced at him.

"What now?"

"Charge. And then if we survive these two, we can get some real info."

~

Matt wasn't the problem. Shelly was. Brendan was lucky he understood typings and got his wits out. Otherwise Kyogre was going to be the least of his worries. They forced the two Admins back to Lilycove so that Steven could throw hands and the other gym leaders could assess the situation.

Brawly: "Kyogre won't go down without a fight."

Norman: "Name someone with the fighting power of a god."

Winona: "There's a champion over in Kanto-"

Steven: "Um-"

Roxanne: "Oh wait... haven't figured out how strong he is realistically."

Brendan: "If that hasn't been established, then just say we're fucked and start signing death certificates."

May: "Ok, Mr. Crybaby just doesn't want to fight the king of the ocean."

Brendan: "I'm sorry, but I was the one who fought Water with Fire. What's your excuse for getting defeated by Shelly when I won? Didn't you have the upper hand?"

May: "Hey-"

Norman: "Before you two fight (Like I know you will), can we figure out if there's a solution?"

That kinda halted the conversation. What the fuck was supposed to fight Kyogre? Brendan's mind raced in several directions before his phone hummed. He ignored it briefly to glance around, seeing the lost expressions. Wally finally spoke.

"There's no sign that Kyogre's awake yet. Do you think he's waiting for someone?"

Oh.

Brendan pulled out his phone, knowing from the lack of the continued humming that it was merely a text.

Maxie: "I intercepted Archie. I could use back up."

Brendan: "How long do I have?"

Maxie: "How long do you need?"

Brendan: "10 minutes minimum. I don't know exactly where you are, so I might get lost."

Maxie: "I'll send directions."

Brendan: "Make it 5."

~

After successfully slipping away from the group, Brendan was able to reunite with Maxie to try and stop Archie. If they could convince him not to awaken Kyogre, they could get out of getting murdered by the sea lord.

It wasn't happening.

Brendan challenged him to a fight and won, but Archie was unfazed. Maxie tried to use wits, but again, unfazed. Even trying to use Team Aqua was nothing but a broken record. Maxie finally threatened him.

"Alright, Archie. You wanna summon the most dangerous beast that resides here in Hoenn, then fine. But I'm warning you. If that thing comes out with a vengeance, I'm throwing everything in my disposal to stop you." Archie chuckled.

"Disposal, eh? And what's in that? Few sleep deprived grunts that are fighting for their life? Couple admins that are probably on their 9th cup of coffee? This kid that's built like a straw running on rage? Yourself? Please." Brendan was rather offended (not because he was called a straw running on rage, but the fact that Maxie wasn't insulted), but Maxie just narrowed his eyes.

"The insults are pathetic. Your team isn't doing any better. But I have been biding my time. The shift in threats has left Team Magma. So I have been using the peace from the rest of Hoenn to assemble a plan against you. So throw the ocean at me. I got more than you can even grasp." Archie scoffed.

"Oh yeah? Try me."