"Everyone! Put down your weapons!"
Ye Li shouted those words with every ounce of strength he had.
Fear made his voice waver, but it rang out with extraordinary clarity in the empty cavern.
Apollo and the others, who had been preparing to fight to the death, froze.
"Put down our weapons? Are you insane?!"
Apollo turned and roared at Ye Li.
"If we don't fight now, are we supposed to wait here and die?!"
"If you don't want to die, listen to me!"
At that moment, Ye Li's gaze became utterly resolute.
"Trust me! One last time!"
Apollo looked into Ye Li's eyes, which brooked no doubt, then at Articuno hovering in midair, radiating an aura that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.
He hesitated.
In the end, he chose to trust this young man who had worked countless miracles along the way.
Gritting his teeth, he recalled his Houndoom.
Seeing Apollo's actions, the other team members recalled their Pokémon as well.
They put down their weapons and raised their hands, deliberately showing submission to the legendary Pokémon.
Articuno watched the strange humans below.
They had invaded its temple and touched its core.
Yet now, they had abandoned resistance.
A trace of confusion flashed through its icy eyes, and the cold gathered on its wings, enough to freeze the entire cavern solid, weakened slightly.
But it remained highly vigilant.
"Dr. Anya!"
Ye Li immediately gave the biologist beside him an order.
"Take out the highest-purity Pokéblocks you brought!"
Although Dr. Anya did not understand, she immediately took a specially made insulated case from her backpack.
Inside the case were more than a dozen top-grade Pokéblocks, glowing with pure energy.
"Treat them as an 'offering' and push them over from a distance."
Ye Li kept his voice very low.
Dr.