Chapter 144: Falling off the Cliff

"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash leaped up, his finger pointing straight at the golden Pokémon ahead.

Electricity surged around Pikachu, condensing into a rotating sphere in its palm. Accompanied by a sharp cry, the Electro Ball roared toward Raikou like a meteor.

"Salandit, Poison Fang!" Huo La's voice followed closely. Salandit's purple pupils flashed red, its sharp fangs gleaming with the purple-black light of deadly venom. It pushed off the ground, transforming into a dark red blur as it lunged at Raikou's flank, attempting to coordinate with the Electro Ball for a pincer attack.

Raikou let out a deafening roar, its golden mane fluttering without wind. The lightning surrounding its body surged several times over, and countless golden bolts descended from the void, weaving into an impenetrable lightning barrier in front of it.

"Boom!" The Electro Ball exploded upon hitting the barrier; the electricity splashed everywhere but failed to break through in the slightest.

Salandit's Poison Fang was violently repelled the moment it touched the lightning, causing it to stumble back a few steps, scorched electric marks remaining on its scales.

"Don't stop! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination.

Pikachu understood, its body turning into a yellow flash of lightning. It wove flexibly along the ground, dodging the sporadic arcs of electricity, and launched a surprise attack at Raikou's legs.

"Salandit, Smokescreen for cover!" Huo La quickly adjusted his tactics. Salandit spat out thick black smoke, instantly shrouding the battlefield.

Within the smoke, yellow electric arcs and dark red figures intertwined. The two trainers and their Pokémon coordinated tacitly, constantly searching for Raikou's openings.

Raikou's eyes remained sharp within the smoke. It sensed the energy fluctuations around it and suddenly raised its front paws, gathering all the lightning from its body.

"Roar—" With a long howl, golden lightning swept across the surroundings like a tsunami. The smoke was instantly torn apart by the electricity, and the dazzling light illuminated the entire battlefield.

Pikachu was about to launch an attack when it was hit head-on by the lightning. Its yellow body drew an arc in the air before crashing heavily to the ground, the electric glow on its body instantly dimming.

Salandit did not escape unscathed either. The lightning pierced its defenses, causing it to let out a painful hiss before collapsing to the ground, losing its ability to battle.

"Return, Salandit." Huo La flicked his finger, recalling Salandit into its Poké Ball.

On the other side, Ash hurried forward, pulling Pikachu into his arms.

Huo La had never expected to win from the start by choosing Salandit to challenge Raikou.

The mission on the system panel had appeared simultaneously the moment Raikou emerged.

Just like with Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, apart from their names and aptitudes, everything else remained a series of question marks.

Salandit's appearance was meant to let this newly born little life adapt to the rhythm of high-level battles ahead of time.

This was Huo La's expectation for it, as well as a special way of nurturing it.

Other Pokémon were polished step-by-step, but Salandit's debut was against a Divine Beast. At the very least, in terms of starting points, this pressure from a powerhouse would allow it to grow faster.

Raikou slowly retracted the sharp, leaping lightning bolts around its body. Its vertical pupils swept over Ash one last time before its figure vanished into the depths of the forest like a flash of lightning, leaving only the scent of electricity lingering in the air.

Not until Raikou had completely disappeared did Mr. Fan dare to poke his head out from behind a distant large tree. He brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, his eyes shining brilliantly: "It's Raikou! It really is Raikou! Adding the Entei and Suicune you encountered earlier, all three Sacred Beasts have appeared. Next, only the 'Guide' remains!"

"'Guide'..." Huo La muttered, his gaze falling on Ash's shadow.

"Alright, alright, let's eat first." Brock walked over carrying two boxes of hot bento.

Mr. Fan immediately took a bento, but his gaze remained glued to the mountain peak piercing the clouds in the distance. His tone was filled with incredulous anticipation: "Ahead is Mount Tensei... to be able to see Ho-Oh, whom I've been thinking about day and night, this feels like a dream."

"Mount Tensei! And Ho-Oh!" Ash leaned in, his eyes shining like they were glowing. Clenching Pikachu's paws, his fighting spirit and excitement were written all over his face.

Only Huo La remained silent. He lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the system interface only he could see—the three unfinished missions hung there quietly, like heavy stones.

In his memories, Ash would clash with Cross, leading to Marshadow's rampage; but now, Cross hadn't appeared at all. How would events on Mount Tensei change? Would Ho-Oh be affected? And how would the missions progress...

"Huo La, why did you choose Salandit to challenge Raikou?" Ash's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Huo La came back to his senses, looking at the curious Ash, and smiled lightly: "Nothing special, it's just that the little guy hatched not long ago and happened to run into Raikou. Come to think of it, being able to have Raikou as its first opponent can be considered its destiny."

"So that's it! But Raikou's Electric-type moves are too strong; my Pikachu is still far off," Ash sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Pika! Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu immediately jumped out of his arms, stood with its hands on its hips, and cried out, its little face full of defiance.

"Heh-heh-heh, interesting!" Gengar's voice suddenly sounded in Huo La's mind, carrying a playful tone. "This Pikachu is saying that it isn't weak at all! The one who's weak is clearly that guy Ash, hahaha!"

Hearing Gengar speak suddenly, Huo La shoveled a few mouthfuls of the bento Brock had handed him before finding an excuse about "checking for water sources nearby." He walked away from the three people by the campfire, the sound of Ash and Pikachu's playful laughter still faintly audible behind him.

Huo La ducked into a dense thicket nearby, the withered branches rustling against his sleeves. He lowered his voice and asked, "Old Ghost, can you sense any hostility nearby?"

Gengar's semi-transparent body floated beside him, its pale purple mist rising and falling with its breath.

It scanned the surroundings leisurely, its gaze sweeping over the golden-tinted treetops: "I don't have that ability. However, when you encountered Suicune earlier, the man, woman, and Meowth following behind you—I can't even smell their scent anymore."

"Team Rocket trio..." Huo La muttered to himself. A branch above his head suddenly shook, and a few withered leaves swirled down onto his shoulder, making his unease even heavier.

"Old Ghost, I really don't feel right." He looked up toward Mount Tensei. The mountain peak was now completely exposed to the scorching sun, and the clouds that had originally wrapped around it had been evaporated by the sunlight.

"The further we go toward Mount Tensei, the stronger this feeling of panic gets!"

"Hmm? A sixth sense?" Gengar circled him twice, its eyes within the mist full of teasing. "You don't have psychic powers, what could you possibly sense? Maybe it's just that the mountain wind is too cold, making you feel uncomfortable."

Shadow Ball and Ominous Wind collided in the air and dissipated, but it was in this short pause that Delibird's Giga Impact had already crashed fiercely into Ho-Oh!

Ho-Oh let out a shrill cry of sorrow, its golden body like a kite with a broken string, falling straight toward the bottom of the mountain cliff.

Just at this moment, Marshadow's figure suddenly flashed in front of Delibird—its gray-mist body wrapped in a layer of green light, "Soul-Stealing 7-Star Leg" kicked out again, kicking this Pokémon flying backward.

The Masked Man's gaze swept over Ho-Oh, who was falling toward the cliff, and then glanced at the figures of Entei, Suicune, and Raikou that had already appeared at the edge of the mountain top. His eyes hardened, and he opened his mouth to shout in a low voice: "Go!"

Before the words fell, the Masked Man's figure drifted off the cliff like a falling leaf, the hem of his black robe lifted by the mountain wind, and he fell straight toward the bottom of the cliff shrouded in clouds—without even half a buffer.

Ariados and Houndoom followed closely, jumping off one after another, rushing straight toward the direction of the Masked Man.

Just as the Masked Man was about to fall into the thick clouds below, Articuno suddenly rushed from the diagonal rear, its ice-blue wings spread to the maximum, steadily supporting his body.

The Masked Man took the opportunity to grab Articuno's feathers and turned over to sit firmly, his cold gaze still locked on Ho-Oh's figure below, ordering in a low voice: "Accelerate! Absolutely don't let it run away!"

Articuno let out a sharp cry, the frequency of its wing flapping suddenly accelerated, carrying the Masked Man through the clouds, like an ice-blue lightning bolt, galloping toward the direction where Ho-Oh fell.

By the time Huo La, Ash, and the others ran to the edge of the cliff, they looked down.

In the mountain peaks shrouded in clouds and mist, faintly, they could see the Masked Man riding on Articuno's back, seemingly clutching a Poké Ball tightly in his hand, while Ho-Oh's figure could no longer be seen.

Only Entei, Suicune, and Raikou stood at the edge of the cliff, raising their heads and wailing!