Chapter 235: What?! You Know I Have Power Rivaling Lugia?
When Zapdos opened its eyes, it expected to see Rio or Charizard again. Instead, it found Articuno standing before it, wings folded, looking majestic and imposing.
"GRA-OOO!" — What are you doing?!
Out of old colleague courtesy, the hot-tempered Zapdos didn’t attack Articuno like it had Rio—it just questioned it.
"GRA-OOO!" — You’re serving a human and attacking me?!
"What?! You already know I have power rivaling Ho-Oh and Lugia? That I’m now the leader of the three legendary birds?" Articuno replied not with a cry, but with telepathy that even Rio could hear.
Zapdos: "..."
Rio: "..."
Charizard: "..."
"GRA-OOO!" — You’re not even calling them Lord Ho-Oh and Lord Lugia—just using their names outright! And claiming to be the leader of the three birds? Articuno, you’ve got some nerve!
"What?! You haven’t even seen the frozen sea behind you yet? Take a look—that’s my handiwork!"
Zapdos: "..."
What kind of nonsensical conversation is this? Rio watched Articuno’s little "praise me" expression and his mouth twitched. To be honest, Articuno was behaving like someone who’d finally gotten a taste of power after years of being overlooked—a small-time tyrant desperate to show off. It was a perfect example of the saying: Returning home in glory is like walking in fine clothes at night—pointless if no one sees it.
Hearing Articuno’s words, Zapdos turned its head and looked behind it. Its avian eyes went wide.
"GRA-OOO!" — You did this?!
Seeing Zapdos’s stunned expression, Articuno stood even taller, its satisfaction skyrocketing. Even its friendship toward Rio increased.
[Articuno’s friendship increased.]
[Friendship: 41 (from -20 to 41)]
"Of course—this is the true power of this legendary bird!" Articuno declared proudly, its expression practically begging for more praise.
But all it got was Zapdos’s skeptical look.
"GRA-OOO!" — You? This dumb bird? No way you have that kind of power.
Articuno wasn’t angry. Instead, it looked down at Zapdos with the air of a superior addressing a commoner.
"You doubt me? Fine—that just means you want to see how I did it."
Without waiting for a reply, it flapped its wings and took to the air. "Open your bird eyes wide and watch how I, the leader of the three legendary birds, demonstrate my power!"
Facing the other side of the island, Articuno unleashed a blast of bone-chilling wind. The sea froze solid before their eyes.
Zapdos: ╭(°A°`)╮
[Articuno’s friendship increased.]
[Friendship: 42 (from -20 to 42)]
Seeing Zapdos’s expression, Articuno’s feelings could only be summed up in one word: satisfying! Incredibly satisfying!
"Bow down to me now—call me Lord Articuno! From today on, I’ll take you along to punch Ho-Oh and kick Lugia!" Articuno looked down, playing the role of the arrogant overlord to perfection.
Zapdos didn’t speak—it just stared at Articuno in shock. After nearly a minute, it finally swallowed and replied: "GRA-OOO!" — How did you do that?
"Drop the ’you’—ask me: ’Lord Articuno, how did you do that?’ Then I’ll tell you," Articuno said haughtily.
Zapdos looked up at Articuno. Articuno looked down at Zapdos. Their eyes locked.
Finally, Zapdos turned to Rio. "Human—why has this dumb bird turned out like this? You’re its trainer—you must know the reason?"
Rio was about to answer when Articuno, from above, snapped: "Bull! You’re the dumb bird! From now on, call me Lord Articuno—or I’ll freeze you with Glaciate!"
But Zapdos ignored it, focusing on Rio. "Tell me, human."
Calling Articuno "Lord" would be worse than death.
"The reason is simple—I have the ability to grant power rivaling Ho-Oh’s and even Lugia’s," Rio said with a shrug, spreading his hands. Finally—my turn to show off.
"You? A human?" Zapdos looked Rio up and down.
"Of course." Rio shrugged and turned to Charizard. "Charizard—show it some Sacred Fire."
"Roaar~" Charizard unleashed a torrent of blazing purple flames, rapidly melting the frozen sea Articuno had created.
"Lord Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire! How can a Charizard use Lord Ho-Oh’s Sacred Fire?!" Zapdos was horrified. It had sensed something was off during its battle under Team Rocket’s command, but this was beyond anything it had imagined.
"Naturally—it’s my doing," Rio shrugged. "Do you want to have that kind of power too?"
Zapdos stared at him. Just then, Articuno landed beside Rio and glared at Zapdos.
"Dumb bird—call me Lord Articuno now, or I’ll Glaciate you to death!"
"Can you put this dumb bird back in its Poké Ball?" Zapdos said, annoyed.
"Dumb bird?! You dare call me a dumb bird?!" Articuno was furious, icy energy gathering in its beak. But the next second, with a flash of light, it was recalled.
"Alright—now we can have a proper conversation." Rio shrugged, also finding Articuno a bit too noisy. "Do you want power like theirs too?"
"If I say yes, will you give it to me right away?" Zapdos seemed intrigued.
"Of course not—gaining that power requires you to sincerely follow me and trust me, not just pretend. Otherwise, you’ll never get it. Charizard trusted me from the heart—he wanted to stand at the top of the world with me—so he received Sacred Fire." Rio patted Charizard, who nuzzled his hand affectionately.
Zapdos looked a little disgusted by the display, but pressed on: "That dumb bird Articuno too?"
"Of course."
"Then why didn’t it show that power during the battle?"
"Because it only fully trusted me after you woke up—that’s when I granted it the power." Rio pulled out two Poké Balls and released Annihilape and Greninja. "These two also gained divine power because they trusted me."
"Annihilape, Greninja—show Zapdos what you can do."
"Annih~"
"Gren~"
Annihilape launched itself a dozen meters into the air and punched another section of Articuno’s frozen sea. Greninja entered its Battle Bond form and activated Geomancy, drawing life energy from the earth into its body.