Kyogre's voice, anguished and furious, echoed through Lin Hao's mind one last time before the connection cut off completely.
Inside System Space, the band of light connecting him to Kyogre shattered. The backlash drove into Lin Hao's body along his spine. His vision darkened, and his knees buckled as he fell toward the ground.
Steven grabbed his collar and, with Metagross's Confusion, dragged him backward. A concrete slab crashed down from overhead beside their feet, splashing mud and sand mixed with seawater everywhere.
"Move. This place is coming down." The rush of air behind the blast door muffled Steven's words, leaving his voice dry and strained.
Lin Hao gritted his teeth and steadied himself, bracing his right hand against the cold, wet concrete wall. Its rough surface scraped a layer of skin off his palm.
They had barely rushed through the warehouse's iron doors when they saw that the night sky overhead had turned a sickly dark purple, with ragged clouds layered across the horizon.
Spray rose more than ten meters above the sea. Kyogre's body, swollen to several times its normal size, heaved among the waves, its blue markings glowing with a blinding, blood-red light.
"It can't hear any commands now. The system connection was forcibly severed." Lin Hao wiped the rain from his face and dug his nails into his palm, using the pain to stay conscious.
May clutched his arm. Rain streamed down her hair and into her collar, making her voice tremble with cold. "Worry about yourself first. You're as pale as a ghost."
Steven had already reached for the Poké Ball at his waist. His fingertips paused on the metal clasp. "I'll send Metagross up to block its routes."
"Don't throw your life away. It wants to tear even me apart right now." Lin Hao