"Entei, are you ready?" Yan Yang's voice rang out clearly through the freezing wind. During battle, it was better to call Pokémon by their original names. He hoped Entei would not mind.
Entei let out a low Roar, seemingly responding to Yan Yang's trust and expectations. He did not mind changing what Yan Yang called him during battle.
"Flare Blitz!" At Yan Yang's command, Entei transformed into a crimson bolt of lightning and charged rapidly toward Articuno.
Articuno was not flying very high right now. Combined with Entei's powerful jumping ability, Flare Blitz had a chance of hitting.
Besides, Entei had always been better at physical moves.
As for whether Yan Yang, riding on Entei's back, would get burned, that would not happen. Entei's control over flames had reached perfection, and Yan Yang himself had developed strong resistance to fire and heat from spending so much time with Entei. Naturally, he would not be burned.
However, Articuno was clearly no easy opponent. With a light beat of its wings, a powerful chill instantly formed an ice wall. Bolstered by the snowy weather, it actually blocked Entei's high-powered move.
"Flamethrower!" Yan Yang gave another command. Entei opened his mouth and spat out a blazing mass of fire, trying to melt the ice wall before him.
Yet the flames were swiftly extinguished the moment they touched the ice, leaving behind only a thin mist of water.
It looks like ordinary flames won't work, Yan Yang thought. Then let's try this fire instead.
"Entei, Sacred Fire!" Yan Yang shouted. The flames around Entei grew even fiercer, as though the fire of his soul had been ignited. Yan Yang himself felt much hotter than before, but it was still within what he could endure.
Entei gathered all his strength and unleashed an unprecedented surge of scorching energy. The energy condensed into a beautiful stream of white flame, instantly melting the ice wall before it and shooting straight at Articuno.
Bolstered by the Flame Scarf, this Sacred Fire was immensely powerful. That was right—although Entei was not wearing the Scarf, Yan Yang on his back was wearing it, and he could likewise draw upon the power from the Fire Gem within the Flame Scarf.
However, Entei's Sacred Fire did not hit. Articuno had shifted position after the ice wall melted, vanishing just as the Sacred Fire was about to strike before reappearing elsewhere.
"Snow Cloak." Yan Yang naturally knew why Articuno had been able to evade an almost guaranteed hit. Its hidden Ability, Snow Cloak, had taken effect.
In such a frozen, snow-covered environment, Articuno's moves were not only strengthened, but it also gained an evasion boost that made moves difficult to land.
Yan Yang understood all this. He did not panic and instead continued issuing commands to Entei.
"Entei, Extreme Speed!" Facing an Articuno like this, Yan Yang chose a faster priority move. Entei vanished from where he stood, and when he reappeared, he had already leaped into the air.
No matter how quickly Articuno reacted, it was too late. After taking an Extreme Speed head-on, it immediately flew to the other side, trying to widen the distance between itself and Entei.
But it was already too late. The instant it tried to pull away, Articuno had exposed a large enough opening.
The formula for victory had already been written. This was the best possible moment.
"Entei, Rock Slide!" As the command rang out, Entei, who had just landed on the ground, immediately began gathering power. The snow-covered earth suddenly cracked open, and several huge glowing rocks flew toward Articuno.
Rock Slide was relatively slow to use. Entei was not a Rock-type Pokémon, after all, so both its power and his proficiency with it were still inferior to his Fire-type moves. Still, it was enough.
Articuno sensed the strength of that power. If it got hit, it would be in serious trouble. There was no time to evade the move's range, so Articuno gave up on defending and directly unleashed its strongest move—Blizzard—preparing to meet the attack head-on.
The two forces collided in the air, creating a spectacular clash.
However, Rock Slide, which countered the Ice type, was clearly superior. Articuno had used Blizzard in haste and had not brought out its full power. Rock Slide hitting was inevitable.
The rocks swiftly tore through the Blizzard, carrying ice and snow that made them even harder. In the end, they struck Articuno in the sky—and more importantly, they hit one of its wings.
Articuno, four times weak to Rock-type attacks, naturally could not withstand such a powerful blow. With one wing injured, it could no longer maintain flight, lost its balance, fell, and passed out.
Entei walked over to Articuno and looked thoughtfully at the defeated Pokémon.
The clash between Legendary Pokémon had come to an end. The final victory belonged to Yan Yang and Entei.
"We did it, Dad. We really defeated the legendary Articuno." Yan Yang happily rubbed himself against Entei's mane, his heart brimming with excitement.
Just imagine it—if you commanded your beloved Pokémon to defeat a legendary and powerful Pokémon, anyone would feel an incredible sense of accomplishment.
Entei also found it somewhat amazing. He had not expected being commanded by someone to work so well. Perhaps it was because he trusted Yan Yang so much, and because he himself was strong enough, but Yan Yang's familiarity with his condition and his ability to make the right judgment at the right time were already extremely impressive.
Little Sun really did seem like a natural Trainer.
And Little Sun understood him far too well. He even knew which moves Entei could use, how proficient he was with them, the timing of his attacks, and more. As expected of his child.
As Entei thought this, he praised Yan Yang. "You did well. You'll definitely become an outstanding Trainer someday."
Any child would be delighted to receive praise from an adult, and Yan Yang was no exception. He held his head high and puffed out his chest with great pride. If he had a tail, it would probably have been sticking straight up.
Even with the memories from before, he still acted like a child in front of Entei, as though he wanted to make up for the regrets of his childhood.
"Oh, right, Dad—the control ring." Immersed in the joy of victory, Yan Yang had nearly forgotten the important matter.
Entei indicated that he understood, then gathered flames in his mouth and fired them at the silver ring around Articuno's tailbone.
Entei did not deliberately control these flames. After burning away the silver ring responsible for everything, they also charred the feathers on Articuno's rear and tail black.
Hmph. After causing so much trouble, it deserved a little punishment, Entei thought.
Seeing Articuno's blackened rear, Yan Yang could not hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Ha ha ha..."
After laughing, Yan Yang asked Entei what they should do with it. After all, leaving Articuno here seemed a little inappropriate.
Entei did not bother with such things. He directly let out a thunderous Roar beside Articuno's ear, startling it awake at once.
Looking at Entei and a human before it, Articuno did not understand what had happened. It only remembered being ambushed by some humans, forcibly imprisoned, and then finally breaking free of their control and escaping. Then... what happened after that? Articuno could not remember anything at all.
Seeing that Articuno could speak properly now, Entei began asking about the situation.
Articuno honestly recounted the things it still remembered. After all, it felt guilty upon hearing what it had done while out of control, and had no choice but to put aside its lofty attitude. Moreover, the one before it was a subordinate of Lord Ho-Oh. It was still somewhat afraid that Ho-Oh would learn of this matter.
Even if its own status was high enough, it was nowhere near Ho-Oh's.
Fortunately, this incident had not grown too serious. Otherwise, if those other two lousy birds found out, they would definitely mock it mercilessly.
As for the human before it, judging from the situation, he seemed to be the child Entei had adopted. Articuno was somewhat curious how a lofty Legendary Pokémon could adopt a human child.
Ignoring Articuno's expression of utter confusion, Entei said solemnly, "How do you intend to thank us for cleaning up this mess for you?"
Articuno said it had nothing, but it also felt that giving nothing would be inappropriate, so it plucked out a feather and gave it to Yan Yang. Only then did it notice why the area behind its rear was so blackened.
Damn it. Articuno naturally knew why, but it did not dare say anything. When it was in the wrong, that was simply how things were.
It quickly claimed that its injuries were severe and that it needed rest, then flew away. Before leaving, it even asked them to keep it secret.
Entei agreed. He still had to show the Ice God some respect, and so he watched Articuno leave.
Even with an injured wing, it flew so quickly. It really did not want to stay here for another moment.
Meanwhile, Yan Yang was carefully examining the icy blue feather in his hand.
Before you continue