Chapter 152: Battle of Legends (Part 3)
It wasn’t just Giovanni who froze—Rio froze too.
"Lugia..." Rio’s pupils widened, his mouth slightly agape, his shock barely concealed.
He had never expected to see Lugia—one of the most powerful legendary Pokémon in this world—in today’s battle. At the same time, he saw Lugia’s level stats:
[Pokémon: Lugia]
[Level: 90 (Time until next level: 15220 days.)]
[Talent: Legendary]
[Friendship: 0]
[Ability 1: Pressure]
[Ability 2: Multiscale]
[Gender: Genderless]
[Moves: Dragon Rush (140%), Gust (140%), Whirlwind (140%), Ancient Power (140%), Weather Ball (140%), Mist (140%), Safeguard (140%), Calm Mind (140%), Zen Headbutt (140%), Recover (140%), Rain Dance (140%), Hydro Pump (140%), Future Sight (140%), Sky Attack (140%), Air Slash (140%), Blizzard (140%), Brave Bird (140%), Aeroblast (140%), Liquidation (140%), Hyper Beam (140%), and more...]
[Description: This is a legendary Pokémon, often grouped with Ho-Oh as a legendary large bird Pokémon. It symbolizes the ocean, storms, silver, and a soul as pure as the sea. A single flap of its wings can cause storms that last forty days. In folklore, it is called the Sea God!]
Rio swallowed hard at the sight of those stats. His intuition told him they were in serious trouble.
"GRA-OOO!"
If anyone was excited, it was Moltres. Seeing Lugia appear, it immediately abandoned its fight with Zapdos and flew to Lugia’s side.
"Not good..." Rio’s pupils contracted—he noticed Moltres’s status had changed. "Enraged" now appeared on its info, and its friendship had plummeted from 0 to -10.
"PHI-AAAH!!!"
Two seconds later, Lugia let out an enraged cry, a sun-like energy sphere forming in its mouth.
"Aeroblast! Everyone—dodge!" Rio shouted frantically to his Pokémon.
Giovanni below was shouting the same to his subordinates. Both sides instinctively refrained from using the chaos to attack each other.
"BOOM!!!"
A blinding energy beam erupted from Lugia’s mouth, accompanied by fierce winds. In the dark, rain-soaked night, it was like the only light. The attack leveled Mt. Ember in a single strike. The sheer power shook both Rio and Giovanni to their cores—they were incredibly grateful they had reacted in time.
"PHI-AAAH!!!"
After Aeroblast, Lugia called out to Zapdos and Raikou. Zapdos, with the black iron rod still embedded in its head, showed no response. But Raikou immediately relayed a message to Rio through telepathy:
"Lord Lugia wants me to help it destroy you."
Rio frowned. He knew the "you" meant both him and Team Rocket. He looked at Giovanni, who was clinging to a Crobat about ten meters away. Giovanni looked back at him.
"Let’s cooperate."
"Let’s cooperate."
They spoke at the same time. Then they exchanged a knowing smile and turned their attention to Lugia over the sea.
Lugia, annoyed that Zapdos wasn’t responding, used Gust on it. Athena commanded Zapdos to counter with Zap Cannon—but Moltres intercepted it with Blast Burn, and Lugia’s Gust sent Zapdos crashing into the sea.
"Beedrill—Poison Jab!"
"Munchlax—Metronome!"
"Charizard—Sacred Fire!"
"Raikou—Zap Cannon!"
Rio and Giovanni issued their commands simultaneously.
"Bzzz!"
"Ka~"
"Roaar~"
"ROAR!!!"
Beedrill was the fastest to charge. Munchlax rode on Charizard’s back, following close behind. Raikou rode its thunderclouds. Lugia, hovering higher above, looked down at them.
"PHI-AAAH!!!"
With a roar, Lugia used Dragon Rush. A terrifying killing intent radiated from its body as a blue draconic aura enveloped it. Beedrill, leading the charge, was the first to suffer. Its previously dazzling speed faltered under Lugia’s killing intent, slowing it down—and then Lugia’s Dragon Rush sent it crashing into the sea.
Next was Charizard. Purple Sacred Fire erupted from its mouth—Lugia paused, then charged straight through the flames, sending both Charizard and Munchlax into the water.
Last was Raikou. After watching its three allies get sent into the sea by Lord Lugia, it fired a Zap Cannon—which Lugia sidestepped—and immediately tried to flee. But its thunderclouds were no match for Lugia’s speed. Predictably, Lugia struck it down.
Giovanni and Rio stood frozen in disbelief. They had expected a gap in power—but not one this vast.
Just then, Munchlax—falling toward the sea alongside Charizard—completed its Metronome. It hovered in midair, divine, its body shining in sync with the moon above. The light bathed Charizard and Raikou—their wounds healed at a visible rate, and the poison from Beedrill’s stings evaporated. They recovered just before hitting the water and rose back into the sky.
Giovanni frowned at Rio. "You call this cooperation?"
All four of his Pokémon had been struck, and only his Beedrill had taken real damage and fallen into the sea. Yet Rio’s three Pokémon were in better shape than ever—and had even had their status conditions cured.
Rio coughed awkwardly: "I didn’t mean to leave your Beedrill out—it fell into the sea as fast as it attacks. Munchlax couldn’t reach it in time."