Moltres Appears

"Roar!!!"

Hydreigon materialized in midair, its three savage heads and three pairs of wings radiating an imposing presence!

A yellow orb brimming with destructive energy shot from Hydreigon's central head. With a bang, it burst into hundreds of meteors that plummeted toward the magma!

As Draco Meteor rained down, the once-calm magma was blasted full of holes. But an attack of this caliber clearly wasn't enough. The Pokémon sleeping at the bottom of the magma showed no sign of stirring.

The smile on Yanlang's face grew wider. "Excellent. Release Mewtwo!"

At his command, the researchers working at the machines pressed their buttons in unison. A series of clicks and clanks came from inside the transport aircraft, and shortly afterward, a somewhat bewildered Mewtwo appeared out of thin air beside Yanlang.

"Who am I?"

Ye Qing noticed that Mewtwo seemed even more confused this time, hovering in midair and staring blankly down at its hands.

Was Mewtwo beginning to question its own existence?

Although this wasn't the Pokémon world, and Mewtwo's creation might have differed slightly from what happened in the anime from his previous life, the broad strokes wouldn't change.

That was why Ye Qing understood how Mewtwo felt right now, as well as the answer it wanted.

If the opportunity arose, maybe I could even lure Mewtwo away?

Ye Qing indulged in that fantasy, only to give himself quite a fright a moment later!

With Mewtwo's arrival, the aura unique to Legendary Pokémon spread throughout the area. At last, something changed within the magma.

"Chirp~"

An ethereal cry emerged from the bottom of the magma in a bizarre fashion. The next instant, the magma inside the volcano formed a massive whirlpool. Scorching currents of air rose into the sky, and even the entire volcano began to tremble!

At the sight, Yanlang's expression gradually twisted, his eyes blazing with fervor as he ordered Hydreigon to keep attacking.

The transformation continued. A huge bubble gradually swelled from the viscous magma, and then a massive, fiery-red silhouette burst out of it!

"Kree~"

The silhouette shot high into the sky in an instant. The tremendous gust sent everyone at the crater tumbling. Had Arcanine not grabbed Ye Qing in its jaws, that wind would surely have blown him away!

The other members of Team R fared little better. The unlucky ones fell straight down the mountainside, cracking their heads open and bleeding.

Ye Qing looked up. Fierce flames burned atop the Pokémon's head. It had a long, straight, pointed beak, a streamlined crest, and a tail that churned like fire. Most of its broad wings were shrouded in flames.

"A Level 2 Legendary Pokémon-Moltres?"

Once he got a clear look at the Pokémon, Ye Qing couldn't help murmuring its name.

"Whine~"

With Mewtwo and Moltres present, every Pokémon there felt an overwhelming pressure. Even Arcanine scarcely dared lift its head to look directly at them.

Looking at this outrageously cool Pokémon, Ye Qing felt a little disappointed. Moltres was too far away for him to inspect its information.

"Chirp~"

Fiery-red flames burned in Moltres's eyes. Looking down at the intruders who had disturbed its pleasant dreams, it wanted nothing more than to reduce them all to ashes with a blast of fire.

"Lord Mewtwo, please defeat it."

Yanlang bowed slightly and spoke to Mewtwo with utmost respect.

"Are you ordering me around?"

Mewtwo sneered, its eyes fixed on Moltres as it spoke without turning its head.

"W-well, I wouldn't dare..."

For the first time, Yanlang's expression changed, and he hurriedly denied it. This was no joke. Although they could restrain this creature, it would only take an instant for it to kill him. Besides, there was another deadly menace overhead, like a sword hanging above his head.

"Chirp~"

Moltres let out an angry cry. Not only had these people disturbed its slumber, but even worse, it had been out here for quite some time, and no one was paying it any attention! Wherever it went in the past, it had been worshipped by the masses. What was going on now? Since when did every nobody dare disturb it?

The more it thought about it, the angrier it became. Moltres formed a fireball in front of itself and abruptly fired it at Mewtwo, the greatest threat to it!

Although it had never seen this Pokémon before, it could sense that this would be a difficult opponent.

"A paltry trick."

Mewtwo waved its right hand, and the fireball instantly exploded in midair!

"Gasp~"

Mewtwo's casual move made everyone present draw a sharp breath. Although they had personally witnessed it defeat powerful opponents one after another along the way, they had never seen it battle another Legendary Pokémon.

The effortless way it neutralized its opponent's attack was truly astonishing. After all, its opponent was a Legendary Pokémon too!

So powerful. So incredibly powerful!

The Mad Scientist scratched his bird's-nest hair, his face flushed with excitement as his hands flew across the keyboard in a blur.

On the monitor before him, the device attached to Mewtwo relayed its internal energy readings and every physical response to the computer, missing nothing.

Ye Qing was too excited to speak. This was a battle between Legendary Pokémon! Such a thing was rare not only in this life, but even in the original story from his previous life. If he could post it online, it would surely cause a sensation!

Although Moltres was only a Level 2 Legendary Pokémon, Mewtwo had clearly only been born recently and hadn't yet fully mastered its power. Otherwise, a Legendary Pokémon of Moltres's caliber wouldn't last more than a few exchanges against it.

Moltres stared at Mewtwo in the distance. This enemy it had never encountered before actually made it feel a little afraid.

"You aren't worthy of fighting me."

Mewtwo remained as cool and arrogant as ever, its hands clasped behind its back as it utterly dismissed Moltres in the sky.

"Chirp!"

Since its birth, Moltres had never suffered such humiliation. Being treated with such contempt by Mewtwo truly enraged it!

It spewed a sea of fire from its mouth, which rapidly surged toward Mewtwo. As the flames appeared, the temperature at the crater rose sharply. The air visibly warped under the intense heat.

The pressure from the two Legendary Pokémon made it difficult for Arcanine to breathe. Glancing at Ye Qing, whose hair was about to catch fire, it still did everything it could to counter the scorching heat around them with its Flash Fire ability.

Drenched in sweat, Ye Qing looked around and discovered that everyone else had prepared long ago. They were now clinging to the Water-type or Ice-type Pokémon beside them, frantically trying to cool themselves down.

As Blood Hand enjoyed the icy wind and snow Glalie blew out, he kept an eye on his subordinates. When his gaze reached Ye Qing, he felt a little puzzled.

As far as he knew, Blood Bat had a Beartic. Why hadn't he released it, even under these conditions?

Moreover, from what he had observed, something about the kid had seemed off ever since he returned last time. Blood Hand couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what was wrong.

Blood Hand shook his head and dismissed those stray thoughts. He's one of my trusted men. What could possibly be wrong? After I lost my other trusted aide in Jinxi Forest, he's the only right-hand man I have left!