As Lucius's consciousness invaded Kyogre's mind, an unnatural translucence began to ripple through the once-pure sapphire expanse of the Ocean Emperor's domain.
Wherever the Mindworm Parasite—Veronica: Mindworm Form—had spread, the ocean of thoughts turned into a sticky, gelatinous transparency. At first, its scale was negligible. But when the Mindworm had infested over a third of the sea, the corruption became disturbingly apparent.
Thankfully, Kyogre was still dormant. Had it been awake, infiltration would have been impossible.
Lucius allowed himself a fleeting moment of relief—only for the sea to suddenly begin to boil with violent, primordial fury.
A consciousness older than the continents themselves surged from the depths.
It was ancient—perhaps as old as the world itself—feral in nature, capable of stirring cataclysmic storms on a mere whim. With but a thought, it could summon waves that would drown civilizations.
Kyogre had awakened.
The psychic ocean churned violently, its waters taking form—an embodiment of Kyogre, immense and godlike, large enough to devour the world in a single breath.
But its face showed pain. It thrashed, clearly distressed.
Lucius could see it: strange patches—viscous, transparent spots—had formed across its aquatic body. These resembled parasitic colonies, like bacteria infecting a host. And they were growing.
Because of the mental link they now shared, Lucius could feel Kyogre's confusion and discomfort. It was aware of something alien invading its mind—but lacking Psychic typing, it had no proper means of defense.
The ocean of consciousness was in constant flux. One moment it shaped into Kyogre, then morphed into storms, then a giant wave, then a water-world planet.
Yet no matter what form it took, the mental virus clung to it like a shadow.
Suddenly, the raging waters stilled.
The ocean turned eerily calm—still as the Dead Sea—devoid of any ripple.
Except for the infected areas, the rest of the psychic sea was suddenly enveloped in a faint glow.
The move: Calm Mind.
A technique that boosts Special Attack and Special Defense.
Kyogre had begun fortifying its mental ocean to resist the Mindworm's corruption.
With Calm Mind active, the spread of the virus clearly slowed.
But Lucius didn't rush. He remained calm and steady.
With viruses like this, speed wasn't the point—progression was. Better to let the infection fester slowly than trigger Kyogre's berserk fury with a full-frontal assault.
He could wait ten days, a month even. Anything was better than forcing the Ocean Emperor into a frenzied resistance.
But soon, Kyogre realized that Calm Mind alone wouldn't halt the infection. Its ocean of thought surged once more.
Elsewhere—in a cavern beneath the seafloor—Archie, Shelly, and others from Team Aqua stood in silence.
Volkner was crouched quietly atop Kyogre's head. Two full hours had passed. Neither he nor Kyogre had moved an inch.
Crack—Cra-cra-crack!
The sound of stone breaking echoed.
"…It's alive?"
"Kyogre's waking up…"
They watched in awe as the thick stone shell encasing Kyogre began to splinter and fall away, piece by piece.
The Sea Basin Pokémon unfurled its massive body: two enormous pectoral fins, each tipped with four white square digits. Its body was deep blue, jaw stark white with two protruding tusk-like growths.
Above its eyes were white oval markings; red stripes ran across its jaw, fins, back, and torso.
At last, after years of slumber, the Emperor of the Sea revealed its true form—majestic, terrifying, divine.
The very being Team Aqua had long pursued as their mythic goal.
Once, the wild-hearted Archie would've used the Blue Orb without hesitation to awaken and control it.
But now, without Lucius's order, he dared not act.
The last of the stone fell away.
Kyogre's eyes shot open—golden irises rimmed in crimson, locking instantly onto the figures before it. It focused especially on Archie—clad in his dark blue battle suit, a Keystone anchor hanging from his chest, the Blue Orb glowing in his hand.
With a roar, Kyogre opened its massive maw—unleashing a powerful vacuum.
Archie, Blue Orb and all, was swallowed whole.
A golden arc of energy erupted—a radiant corona of primal light that instantly vaporized the lake's moisture, enveloping Kyogre.
Bathed in shimmering gold, Kyogre absorbed the Blue Orb into its being.
Its body swelled—doubling in size—its red stripes transformed into brilliant gold, glowing like molten light. Its fin-like wings now bore Alpha-shaped golden markings.
As its full consciousness returned, the seabed shook like a magnitude-10 earthquake. Rock and reef alike trembled violently.
Kyogre had achieved Primal Reversion.
Lucius did not panic.
In fact—he was thrilled.
For in that moment, he realized he had just gained an unexpected prize.
When Kyogre devoured Archie, it should've destroyed the infection within him—the Veronica Virus—its immune system and digestive acids more than capable of neutralizing it.
But Primal Reversion had occurred before digestion could take place.
Instead of eliminating the virus, Kyogre absorbed it—alongside the Blue Orb.
Thus, the Veronica Virus fused perfectly with Kyogre's ancient body—melding virus and Pokémon into one during the primal transformation.
By sheer accident... Kyogre had been infected!
Sometimes, destiny takes shape from the most unexpected turns. Kyogre has become infected…
Primal Reversion—a phenomenon tied to the origin of creation—is a rare event. Only a select few Pokémon born of pure natural energy can return to this primal form, awakening their ancient might.
In the previous era, both Kyogre and Groudon separated fragments of their energy into two gems: the Blue Orb and the Red Orb. They entrusted these sacred relics to human tribes who worshiped them.
Those tribes used the orbs as conduits to communicate with the Mythical Pokémon, borrowing their power in times of need.
But with the fall of that ancient civilization, both Kyogre and Groudon slipped into a deep slumber. The Blue and Red Orbs were never reclaimed—they were scattered, lost to history.
Now, in this era, humanity—guided by fragmented ruins and misinterpreted texts—wrongly believes that the ancients controlled the Legendary Pokémon through these orbs, summoning rainstorms and droughts at will.
In truth, it was never humans who controlled the power—it was the Mythical Pokémon themselves who allowed the bond. Once they retrieve the energy sealed within the orbs, they undergo Primal Reversion, regaining their original, godlike strength.
And it was precisely this reversion that allowed Veronica, that had infected Archie, to be absorbed together with the orb's energy by Kyogre. In an instant, the energy surged through every cell of its body.
Within the crushing darkness of the seafloor cave, Kyogre's immense body twisted violently. With a powerful beat of its massive fins, it tore through the undersea mountains and erupted into the open ocean.
The Emperor of the Sea has returned.
An overwhelming aura, proud and absolute, radiated from its form—within a single heartbeat, it silenced the Seven Seas. Every powerful Trainer and Legendary Pokémon felt it.
"Kyogre has awakened."
From high in the atmosphere, Lugia cast its gaze toward the Hoenn region's vast oceans.
"And now, with Groudon and Yveltal, the stage is complete,"
Ho-Oh murmured beside Lugia, its eyes void of emotion—neither joy nor sorrow.
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