The Weather Trio Recruitment was an early plot arc detailing the efforts by Team Liberty and Team Rocket to recruit Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza to the war.
Synopsis[]
Characters Involved[]
Team Liberty[]
- Scott Stone
- Michael Ray
- Jeremy Anton
- Scott Williams
- Sabba
Team Rocket[]
- Jessica Ortrune
- Team Rocket's Darkrai
- Team Rocket's Cresselia
Locations Involved[]
Results[]
- Sootopolis sustained surprisingly little damage from Weather Trio conflict
- Groudon injured by Rayquaza and returned to hiding
- Kyogre recruited to Team Liberty
- Rayquaza recruited to Team Rocket
History[]
The Sootopolis Conflict[]
After the announcement of Team Liberty's R.A.L.L.Y. initiative, a group of Team Liberty agents consisting of Scott Stone and others traveled to Sootopolis in order to attempt contact with Groudon. Taking a Liberty helicopter to the city, the group snuck into the Cave of Origin, where they discovered the Continent Pokémon after several hours of navigating the maze-like tunnels. The group managed to awaken Groudon from his hibernation, though after attempting to speak with the Legendary Pokémon, he fell into a rage and attacked, soon deciding to bring the fight to the surface.
The group followed the tunnel that Groudon had created, just in time to witness him begin to attack Sootopolis. His arrival on the surface also heralded a temporary increase in temperature around Hoenn, as well as low-level seismic activity. Though still under-leveled, the Liberty Agents joined the defense against Groudon, doing what they could to contain and slow him down. Soon enough, Kyogre emerged from the sea, bringing about her own weather effects, and joined in the attack on Groudon.
The battle continued to rage for some time, with Groudon gradually weakening from the combined forces set against him. It finally ended when Rayquaza, sensing the disturbances brought by Groudon and Kyogre's awakening, emerged from the heavens and attacked both of them, violently stopping their combat. Angered, though unable to do anything else, Groudon returned underground to heal, where it would remain until the first battle against the Ancient Darkrai in Lilycove City several months later.
As Rayquaza departed, Kyogre allowed the Liberty Agents to speak with her. Though unimpressed by their accidental releasing of Groudon, she nevertheless held her own grudge against Team Rocket, blaming them for pollution that had accumulated in the oceans of Hoenn. Thus Kyogre agreed to ally herself with Team Liberty, as well as ferrying the group back to The Alamo. Following this, she returned to the sea, awaiting further calls for help from Team Liberty.
Follow-Up with Rayquaza[]
Several weeks following Rayquaza's intervention in Sootopolis, Team Rocket Agent Jessica Ortrune led her squad to track down Rayquaza, taking their newly-recruited Darkrai and Cresselia along with them. After making their way up through Sky Pillar, the group managed to summon Rayquaza and convince it to speak with them. Because Rayquaza would not talk directly to Ortrune or any other human, they were forced to use their Darkrai to translate the conversation.
Rayquaza's immediate response was to question why it, of all Pokémon, should ally with Team Rocket. Ortrune managed to convince the Legendary Dragon by pointing out that Team Liberty had already recruited Kyogre, and thus another conflict between Kyogre and Groudon would become virtually inevitable once the former's power was actually put into use by Team Liberty. After assuring Rayquaza that her main intent was to prevent another global conflict between the others of the Weather Trio, Rayquaza agreed to keep an eye on things, as well as to respond in Team Rocket's favor should they ever need its power.
Trivia[]
- Rayquaza's needing a translator at the time of its recruitment was initially considered to be a lack of an ability to use personally telepathy on Rayquaza's part. Since then, however, it has been confirmed that all Legendary Pokémon possess the intelligence and power to speak using telepathy.
- Despite being one of the first Legendary Pokémon targeted for recruitment, Groudon remains one of the most notorious Legendaries to have avoided actually being recruited.