Chapter 417: Special Attack is Paramount

Su Hao counted on his fingers, and the more he spoke, the more he felt the crushing pressure: "In other words, we first have to wipe out this negative energy phantom, and we must scatter it so thoroughly that not a single particle remains."

"After that, we have to find a way to purify the blood-red mist of negative energy filling the space between heaven and earth, and perform a complete sterilization of this secret realm."

"Moreover, all of this must be done before the time limit when the outside world breaks in, otherwise, if the negative energy leaks out, it's GG."

"Correct. If we can't do it, we will temporarily retreat and stop those people from entering from the outside," Articuno said with certainty.

Diancie offered a suggestion: "If we need to purify this place, could we perhaps ask Xiao Mei's older brother and sister for help?"

"You mean Latios and Latias? Indeed... one can see from Milotic that they possess a certain power of purification." Su Hao sat cross-legged on Articuno's cool, comfortable feathers, pondering slightly.

At Latios and Latias's speed, should they be able to make it in time?

Should he call for backup?

Before Su Hao could seek Articuno's opinion, Articuno spoke directly, shattering his and Diancie's idea: "I'm afraid those two won't do."

"Huh? Why?"

"Their power of purification is not strong. It's fine for purifying toxins in water sources, but I'm afraid it won't have much effect on negative energy, and besides, this isn't their primary duty."

"In this situation, it would be best if Suicune, who inherited Ho-Oh's power of purification, or Ho-Oh themselves stepped in, but we don't know where they are. No chance."

"Alright then... what do we do now?"

Su Hao looked at Articuno, who was stretching its neck to meet his gaze, and asked for its opinion.

His understanding of negative energy was too superficial; in this situation, it was better to let Articuno, who had actually participated in that battle, take command.

Furthermore... the system's mission prompt said that even Articuno couldn't completely eliminate the negative energy, so the only one among the three of them who could break the deadlock was..........

"Diancie!?"

"Let little Diancie try."

Su Hao and Articuno spoke almost at the same time. They turned their gazes in unison toward Diancie, who was completely unaffected by the negative energy environment.

"?"

Diancie tilted her head, looking very confused. Why were they looking at her?

"The battle plan is set. First, we conduct a control group experiment!"

Su Hao nodded to show he understood, then turned to Diancie: "I'm counting on you, Diancie."

"Okay, I'll do my best!" Diancie clenched her small fists, cheering herself on.

Su Hao had finished coordinating with Articuno and Diancie; the plan was set, and success or failure hinged on this one move!

Diancie's eyes lit up with the glow of psychic power. Invisible ripples spread out, and the mysterious, wondrous psychic power lifted Su Hao, carrying him as he left Articuno's back to float quietly in the air.

Articuno tucked in its icy blue wings, beautiful tail feathers scattering specks of ice crystals, and canceled the floating airflow created by its flight energy, diving downward headfirst.

Bird's-eye viewing the entire Spiral Secret Realm, which was neither large nor small, Articuno chose the edge of the forest as its landing point, as it was less likely to trigger an attack from the negative energy phantom.

"It is truly wondrous. If I hadn't been using the power of my authority, the Power of Absolute Ice, to cover myself with a thin membrane of isolating energy, even I would have been affected by this blood-red mist formed from negative energy."

Articuno muttered to itself; this was the first time it had seen this form of negative energy.

Could it be that the Dark Matter was not only not completely killed, but had even evolved new abilities, invading the Spiral Secret Realm that existed dependent on the real world?

Was it just this one secret realm that had remnants of Dark Matter?

Or were there phantoms like this appearing silently in other parts of the world at this very moment?

The more Articuno thought, the less calm it could remain. The legendary Pokémon active in the outside world now were all group-based; the true gods were mostly hidden, and those who had experienced that battle were even rarer.

Latios and Latias were both new gods of the last hundred years. Celebi traveled through various timelines, and without the aid of the Viridian Forest and the Viridian Power, it was difficult for it to sense anything.

The God of Fire and the God of Thunder, who were on par with it, were holed up at home, with only their kin out in the world.

As a mere foot soldier at the time, Articuno itself didn't know many secrets. It was difficult.

With a thousand thoughts in its mind, Articuno didn't stop moving its wings. ***

With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, the Articuno did not stop the movement of its wings.