Chapter 29: Let's Battle, Moltres!

Judging from various details and characteristics, Luo Mu could be certain that this large bird was the legendary Pokémon of the Kanto region—Moltres.

But why would Moltres appear in the Paldea region, and how did Luxray and the others manage to forcibly "invite" it back in a posture that should have made Moltres feel utterly humiliated?

Luo Mu had no time to voice any of his questions; seeing Luxray drawing closer while Bai Bai Pengpeng and the others had already anxiously hidden behind Serperior, he glanced at the lush green fields behind him, his expression changing drastically as he shouted, "Don't come over here, aaah!!"

Fortunately, Serperior proved reliable; at this critical moment, two tree trunks, each roughly thick enough for two people to embrace, burst forth from the earth under its control, surging straight toward the direction Luxray was charging.

Having spent so much time together, Luxray and Serperior needed no words to coordinate; with perfect synergy, they flung Moltres's neck upward, sending the legendary bird's body flying into the air carried by inertia.

At that moment, Serperior's Frenzy Plant seemed to have eyes of its own as it reached upward, wrapping Moltres tightly before hurling the legendary bird far away toward the lake district, which was still a wasteland.

Luo Mu instantly understood Serperior's intention; since Luxray and the others had brought Moltres back in such a manner, the legendary bird was surely furious, and they would likely need to fight a battle before they could sit down and talk calmly.

In that case, it was better to take this opportunity to dig out the large pit needed for establishing the lake district while they were at it.

Boom—!

A tremendous roar echoed from the lake district; Luo Mu shrank his neck, muttering to himself, "That fall must have hurt like hell."

Luxray skidded to a halt right in front of Luo Mu, with Cangyan Cangyan Rengui following closely behind; with a single leap, the blade ghost landed elegantly at Luo Mu's side.

Mimikyu slowly crawled out from the shadows, hopped into Luo Mu's arms, and acted coquettishly, seeking praise.

Luo Mu gently rubbed Mimikyu's head with his hand, making it squint its eyes in delight, before turning to look at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui and Luxray, speaking quickly and urgently, "You've worked hard; tell me, what exactly is the situation now?"

Luxray and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui exchanged a glance, and not only did they open their mouths to speak, but they also began gesturing wildly to express themselves.

After a brief exchange, through a mix of guessing and piecing things together, Luo Mu roughly figured out the current situation.

After leaving the ranch, Luxray and the others had been rushing through the Paldea wilderness, finding quite a few Pokémon with the Flame Body ability, but their strength was merely passable, not even comparable to the Gym Leaders they had fought before.

After searching for several days, they finally encountered this Moltres at a certain volcano, but its temper was somewhat irritable; upon seeing Luxray and the others approaching to negotiate, it immediately launched a ruthless attack without mercy.

Luxray and the others did not indulge Moltres either, immediately giving the legendary bird a sound beating.

As a result, it seemed Moltres could rapidly draw power from the magma within the volcano to recover its stamina, and coupled with Moltres's own terrifyingly profound endurance, Luxray and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui conferred and decided to forcibly abduct Moltres from the volcano and bring it back to the farm for Luo Mu to figure out a solution.

After all, even though their strength was considerably greater than Moltres's, dragging the fight out indefinitely was not a viable strategy.

Quickly digesting this influx of information, Luo Mu pondered for a moment before his expression suddenly changed, thinking inwardly that this was bad.

The stamina bars of legendary Pokémon were notoriously bottomless; just now, it was only because Luxray had been continuously paralyzing Moltres with electric current, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui had been absorbing flames with its Flash Fire ability, and Mimikyu had been weakening Moltres with Ghost-type energy from within the shadows.

Only then had Moltres been obediently brought back by Luxray and the others.

Now that Moltres had been given time to recover, then...

"Screee—!!"

As if carrying overwhelming fury, Moltres's high-pitched and sharp cry pierced the clouds; nearly golden-orange flames clung to its wings, sparks flashing with every beat, while a crown-like fire blazed fiercely atop Moltres's head, its brightly burning tail feathers so beautiful they stirred the soul.

Moltres flapped its wings in the sky, and a pillar of fire so intense it distorted the surrounding air shot forth from its beak, striking the wasteland of the lake district directly and forcibly burning out a massive pit.

Moltres was now furious beyond measure!

"Boo-wu!" "Numa-ao!"

Apparently noticing the commotion, Dragonite and Swampert, who had gone off to wander somewhere, also returned at this moment, looking seriously at Moltres as it vented its rage in the lake district.

With all six Pokémon now assembled, Luo Mu pondered for a moment: how should they resolve the current problem with Moltres?

There were two methods.

The first was for everyone to join forces and suppress Moltres instantly, but the downside was that Moltres would likely not submit.

The second was a one-on-one frontal battle; even for a legendary Pokémon as proud and arrogant as this one, if it lost in a one-on-one duel, it would not resist too much even if captured.

Based on Luxray and the others' descriptions and its current performance, this Moltres's level was probably only around fifty or sixty, which wasn't too strong.

Luo Mu had no interest in capturing Moltres; after all, once the matter of a mythical beast being on the farm was exposed, trouble would surely follow one after another, with all sorts of dubious characters showing up.

Therefore, it was better to thoroughly beat Moltres into submission first, and then negotiate.

Making a decision quickly, Luo Mu looked at the six Pokémon, pondered for a moment, and said, "Dragonite can fly, so fighting will be easier for it; the rest of you stay nearby to guard the area, making sure the aftermath doesn't cause damage to other parts of the farm."

"Boo-wu!"

The singled-out Dragonite clenched its claws, its simple-minded eyes instantly turning sharp as thick fighting spirit rose within it.

Although the other Pokémon regretted not being chosen, they obediently found positions to guard, both to prevent collateral damage from splashing into other areas and to intercept Moltres should it attempt to flee.

As for the possibility of Dragonite losing?

They had never even considered it!

The furious Moltres ceaselessly rained down its wrath upon the surroundings; ever since it gained consciousness, every detail around it had told it that it was nobler than ordinary Pokémon, that its power was greater than ordinary Pokémon, and that all existence outside itself was merely ants.

Moltres did not reject this notion, having lived proudly in this manner until now.

But not long ago, its pride had been shattered by that beast wreathed in Lei Ting, an ant in its eyes, and its noble and sacred flames had been easily absorbed by that humanoid shadow swordsman.

Even worse, it had been dragged by its vital points and forced to run for an entire day.

Destroy everything around, then make those ants pay the price—these were the only two thoughts currently existing in Moltres's mind.

Moltres poured flames onto the ground using the seemingly endless energy within its body, and then, a human voice rang out: "Let's battle, Moltres!"

Moltres's bloodshot, crimson eyes instantly locked onto the human male walking leisurely on the ground below.

Moltres flapped its wings, and heavenly fire descended from the sky!