To be honest, Athena was stunned too.
But what came next
was a fierce surge of jealousy!
Athena could tell
that Xu Mu had a great many Pokémon.
But she hadn't expected him to have even more with him now.
Thinking of that, Athena could only take a desperate gamble.
It wasn't anything else.
Xu Mu's presence alone
was enough to make her feel a flicker of fear.
And Xu Mu was in a foul mood.
For one simple reason:
the way Athena had spoken to him
had made him angry!
Xu Mu had summoned Arceus to his side.
Arceus didn't know why at first.
But when he saw Athena,
he understood at once.
He knew about Athena.
He knew
exactly what that madwoman was like.
As Arceus looked at Athena before him,
he felt a little helpless.
Why did Athena,
of all things,
have to pick a fight with him?
Did she really think Arceus was easy to mess with?
No!
Xu Mu wasn't easy to mess with either.
Athena looked at the crowd on the battlefield
and gave Xu Mu a contemptuous laugh.
She said to him,
"Don't think having more people makes you stronger!"
"Our power has been passed down for countless years!"
"How could your world possibly catch up in a few hundred?"
Xu Mu smiled faintly at her words.
Still smiling, he said to Athena,
"Normally, you'd have a point!"
"But this world has me!"
"And that changes everything!"
How could Athena not know how strong Xu Mu was?
Last time, his arrival alone
had caused their battle lines to collapse,
driving them back into their own world.
Yet Xu Mu looked delighted now.
Athena went on,
"I admit you're powerful!"
"But that doesn't matter!"
"I admit it!"
"You may be strong!"
"But I have