Chapter 113

Black World—

The three legendary birds started fighting again, launching indiscriminate attacks.

Gale winds, fire, lightning, and frost intertwined into a chaotic mess, spreading indiscriminately in all directions, as if seeking to swallow the entire island in a vortex of destruction.

At that moment, the sea surface suddenly churned, a massive waterspout shot straight up to the clouds, aiming directly at the three legendary birds locked in a fierce battle. The waterspout's momentum was astonishing, the waves surging.

They were all struck by the waterspout's irresistible force. Moltres' flames were extinguished under the waterspout's embrace, Zapdos' lightning lost its direction from the impact, and Articuno's frost gradually dissipated in the waterspout's gale.

For a moment, the previously chaotic sky seemed to show a hint of tranquility.

Shortly after, the three legendary birds resumed their battle with Lugia.

The whole sky seemed shrouded in a heavy haze, the battle atmosphere growing increasingly nervous and oppressive.

"Is this the power of a legendary beast?"

Ash gasped inwardly, quickly deploying an Aura barrier; this barrier, formed from condensed Aura, trembled slightly under the massive shockwave but stubbornly held back the battle's aftermath.

Gazing at the fierce battle in the sky, Ash felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness welling up inside him—he simply couldn't join in; if Lugia hadn't appeared, the three legendary birds would likely have destroyed everything around them.

Xiaoxia soothed Celebi, recalled it into her backpack, and gazed solemnly at the sky battle.

Now Lugia was at a disadvantage.

Fulula saw this, brows furrowed, secretly anxious, only one treasure away from finishing.

After a while, Lugia, with its back to Ash and his companions, spoke to them via telepathy: 'Hurry up and get the remaining treasure.'

"I'll go alone!"

Ash made the decision without hesitation, letting Xiaoxia and the others stay behind as support, while he quickly summoned Charizard, preparing to fly straight to the treasure's location.

Lugia held the three legendary birds at bay, buying Ash time.

Upon receiving the command, Charizard flapped its wings and soared; this time its speed reached an unprecedented extreme, leaving only blurred afterimages with each wingbeat.

However, Articuno was vigilant, spotting someone trying to fly into its territory; it immediately reversed course and charged. Although Lugia wanted to intercept, it was helplessly caught between Moltres and Zapdos, unable to cope, and could only warn Ash via telepathy.

"Pikachu, 100,000 Volts."

Ash hurriedly had Charizard dodge, then released Bulbasaur to catch Pikachu back,

Articuno took a hit of 100,000 Volts, which hardly affected it; Charizard dodged the ice beam, after which Articuno continued its assault on Charizard.

Faced with Articuno's unavoidable attack, Ash recalled Charizard and sent out Squirtle onto the sea below, successfully evading Articuno's assault.

Lugia seized the opportunity, gathering a brilliant burst of energy in its mouth, accurately striking Articuno, knocking it to the ground and rendering it unable to attack for a short time.

Zapdos noticed Lugia's attention diverted, flapped its wings into a bolt of lightning, and shot straight toward the airship and Ash's group below.

Squirtle carried Ash and Pikachu swimming over; this time it was Zapdos's turn to rush over.

Boom!

Two cannons blazed forth from the airship—the counterattack launched by the Team Rocket Trio after regaining control. Two powerful energy beams struck Zapdos squarely, blasting it from the sky and slamming it heavily onto the sea surface, kicking up a huge spray.

Team Rocket didn't stop attacking; they also fired a shot each at Moltres, battling Lugia, and the fallen Articuno. Though these attacks caused little damage, they were enough to distract them.

"Hey kid, hurry up!"

The Team Rocket Trio seized control of the airship and immediately came to Ash's aid.

Although they liked the airship, with the crisis at hand, even having the airship would be useless; they might as well use it to save the world!

"Good grief, only we can bully this kid, although we haven't really done so."

At this moment, Ash's impression of the Team Rocket Trio changed.

Ash quickly went to grab the last treasure, while Lugia broke free from Moltres's entanglement and swiftly moved to support Ash.

The Thunderbird resurfaced from the sea, its eyes flashing with angry light, and launched a fierce attack on the airship.

The Ice Bird also recovered, staring straight at the airship: "It's you, you lump, who hit me, right!"

The Fire Bird struck first, spewing a fierce flame directly at the airship.

For a moment, the airship was attacked from three sides.

Team Rocket drew the attention of the Three Sacred Birds, successfully letting Ash return safely to the temple.

"Thank you, Team Rocket!"

【Qibana: Is that really Team Rocket? It feels so unfamiliar!!!】

【Shuaige: The Black World's Team Rocket makes me reluctant to catch them.】

【Ash: Team Rocket's resolve is pretty good.】

【Xiaociaolang: Tch, we don't want this world to be destroyed; we're just doing our part.】

【Miss Junsha: Really not considering going straight?】