With a defiant cry, Blaziken ignited its foot and kicked the ground, launching both of them back onto solid rock. It turned, chest heaving, and met May’s eyes.
The former leader of Team Aqua turned. He looked old. His pirate coat was tattered, his anchor tattoo faded. In his hands, he held the shattered halves of the Blue Orb.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the mountain woke up .
“Archie?” she breathed.
At the summit, the volcano’s caldera yawned like a wound. But there was no lava. Instead, a swirling pillar of ruby-red energy connected the earth to the tear in the sky.
“The ocean won’t answer me anymore,” he said, his voice hollow. “I drowned the world in my ignorance. Now the sky is eating what’s left.”