Chapter 92: Dream? I Am Its Father!

The giant bird Pokémon had gradually flown closer, and an intangible yet intense pressure descended.

This crushing pressure, as if it could suffocate one, made the chest feel unbearably heavy and breathing began to falter.

Although that colorful figure had not yet fully approached, the air now seemed to have grown viscous.

However, as psychic energy overflowed from the armored Mewtwo, this intense pressure vanished.

The giant Ho-Oh had finally arrived above the three of them, looking down with majestic eyes from a high position.

"This is... the legendary Ho-Oh?!!"

Gloom stared at this bird Pokémon, her eyes widening in shock as she covered her mouth.

She recognized it! Wasn't this the Ho-Oh recorded in myths and legends?

Legends say its body shines with seven-colored light, forming rainbows wherever it flies, and that those who have seen Ho-Oh can possess eternal happiness.

Regarding Ho-Oh, this is what most people in Kanto have heard since childhood.

But Gloom never expected that one day Ho-Oh would truly appear before her! This really made Gloom very excited.

This is Ho-Oh! Although it is also a legendary Pokémon, Ho-Oh is a completely different concept from Suicune and the others!

It's just...

Gloom looked at this legendary Pokémon recorded in myths with clear eyes, but the more she looked, the stranger it felt.

From a distance, she only felt this Pokémon was full of divinity, beautiful and noble, but now seeing it up close... Ho-Oh's appearance felt a bit subtle.

Hmm...

Ho-Oh did not know the thoughts of these humans below; it had simply rushed over following the last location where Suicune and the others' auras vanished.

Now that it was close, it felt even more clearly that Suicune and the others were on that human boy.

Ho-Oh's eyes grew slightly cold; it sensed that this boy's heart was not pure, meaning Suicune and the others could not have voluntarily accepted this human.

Ho-Oh was very confident in its subordinates; after all, Suicune and the others revered it greatly, so their 'mate selection views' were similar to its own.

Moreover, to be honest, Ho-Oh felt that the way this human was looking at it right now was very impolite!!

Although it did not know where the problem lay, it was simply impolite.

"Nice to meet you, Ho-Oh; you are indeed as beautiful and charming as in the legends."

Mammon coughed twice, pretending to wave and smile at Ho-Oh as he spoke.

Yes, indeed, seeing Ho-Oh up close, its appearance really looked like a giant turkey, but Mammon certainly would not say such impolite words directly.

Ho-Oh remained expressionless; it sensed that this was not this person's true words.

Humans... are indeed still very hypocritical.

Ho-Oh sighed in its heart; it sincerely hoped that humans in this world could coexist with Pokémon, coexisting with mutual understanding.

Precisely for this reason, seven hundred years ago, after the people of Ecruteak City built the Burned Tower and the Bell Tower, Ho-Oh took up residence in the Bell Tower, because these two towers were built for the friendship between humans and Pokémon.

But one hundred and fifty years ago, lightning struck the Burned Tower, and Ho-Oh ultimately left on that day.

Because it saw that the barrier between humans and Pokémon still existed, so Ho-Oh left with disappointment.

Until now, Ho-Oh has still not found the human it favors.

"Human, did you capture Suicune and the others?"

With these thoughts, Ho-Oh suddenly felt disheartened and directly used a neutral telepathic voice to ask Mammon.

"That's right; I feel I have quite a fate with them," Mammon replied with a smile.

"Suicune and the others are members of my guard; I should not forcibly control their futures, yet I can sense it."

Ho-Oh's eyes stared tightly at Mammon.

"Human, you did not capture them because they accepted you, did you?"

"Does that matter?" Mammon raised an eyebrow.

"That is very important!"

Ho-Oh replied with conviction; it attached great importance to this point because it had once suffered a loss over it.

Merely the strength of power is insufficient to determine whether a trainer is compatible with oneself.

If ideals do not align, then contradictions will inevitably erupt.

"Truly domineering; so, Ho-Oh, what do you want to do?"

Mammon looked at Ho-Oh with interest; in fact, he did not know much about Ho-Oh, after all, the director's appearances in the anime were few and far between.

Only in "I Choose You!" did it appear at the very end for those two minutes, which counts as relatively frequent.

Although through the settings one could know Ho-Oh was a kind legendary Pokémon, no one knew its specific personality.

"Return Suicune and the others."

Ho-Oh paused for a moment and spoke to Mammon.

"Ho-Oh, do you not think your request is a bit impolite?" Mammon laughed.

"I captured Suicune and the others through a proper battle, without using despicable external means, yet now Ho-Oh you want me to release them with a light remark."

The smile on Mammon's corner of his mouth was half mocking, half sarcastic.

"You really have great authority, Ho-Oh."

"You merely used power stronger than theirs; the relationship between humans and Pokémon cannot be represented by power alone."

Ho-Oh replied in a deep voice; it felt this human's ideals were incorrect.

"Of course, I agree with that point; the bond between humans and Pokémon is maintained by emotion and connection," Mammon nodded.

Ho-Oh looked at Mammon with considerable surprise; it could hear that Mammon was indeed speaking the truth.

"But this bond does not necessarily exist from the start; right now, I indeed have no emotion with Suicune and the others, but I believe that through day-by-day interaction, they will understand me better, and I can understand them more deeply," Mammon shifted his tone.

If Ho-Oh had eyebrows, they would surely be deeply furrowed right now.

"Human, your compatibility with Suicune and the others is poor; you cannot become suitable friends," Ho-Oh said helplessly.

"Phoenix King, isn't that a bit too rash? Who can predict the future? I believe I can redeem them."

Mamon wore an expression that was harmless to both man and beast.

"..."

Phoenix King looked deeply at Mamon.

"More words are useless, human. Since you agree with subduing through power, then my power is greater than yours, and I am also qualified to demand you return Suicune and the others to me."

Phoenix King decided to act as an impolite rogue this once; it did not believe Mamon would have a bright future with Suicune and the others.

Because undoubtedly, this human's sophistry actually subtly represented his character.

"Tsk~ In the end, you just want to force me to release Suicune and the others, so why bother spouting such high-sounding principles?"

Mamon sneered.

"I would also very much like to test your power, Phoenix King."

Mamon tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into a high arc.

"Mewtwo!"

Armored Mewtwo slowly raised its head; the restriction armor on its body began to detach automatically—helmet, shoulder guards, chest plate...

In the blink of an eye, all the armor on Dark Mewtwo's body fell to the ground, and a vast, oppressive psychic power began to subtly leak out.

Dark Mewtwo twisted its neck; the power that had been suppressed by the restriction armor now surged through its body.

The sensation of being filled with power that seemed endless throughout its entire body made Dark Mewtwo unable to resist letting out a moan.

Awesome!!

Phoenix King's eyes narrowed slightly as it gazed at Dark Mewtwo; its wings fluttered slowly, and colorful flames gradually ignited around its body.

"Huh? This armor can actually be removed?"

Leafeon was stunned; it had always thought that armor was part of Dark Mewtwo itself.

"That is power-restriction armor. Mamon said it was created to suppress the psychic power within Mewtwo that cannot be perfectly controlled," Caitlin whispered.

"???" Leafeon was dumbfounded.

Armored Mewtwo was already beyond her imagination in strength, yet now she was being told that the Armored Mewtwo form was still a version that restricted Mewtwo's power?

Holy crap!!

"Legendary Phoenix King, I wonder how your level is."

Deep purple flames ignited in Dark Mewtwo's eyes; its body slowly rose into the air to align with Phoenix King, and a low, hoarse telepathic voice rang out.

A dark purple aura with hints of black surrounded it; that was the uncontrolled psychic power overflowing from within Dark Mewtwo.

"There is the scent of Mew on you. What is your relationship with Mew?"

Phoenix King looked at this Pokémon with confusion; it had never seen Dark Mewtwo before, yet Dark Mewtwo carried a trace of Mew's scent, which was very strange.

Moreover, speaking of it, the two did share some similarities, but the difference in body color was simply too great.

"Mew? I am its father."

Dark Mewtwo replied calmly, silencing Phoenix King directly.

Although under Mamon's verbal sparring, Dark Mewtwo no longer held such deep obsession toward Mew, claiming to have any affection for it would be pure nonsense.

And this sentence was taught to it by Mamon, instructing Dark Mewtwo to say exactly this to Mew if it ever met it in the future.

Having followed Mamon for some time, Dark Mewtwo naturally understood the meaning of this phrase, so it silently memorized it.

Phoenix King remained silent, still slowly flapping its wings; holy colorful flames continued to accumulate on both sides of its body.

The temperature in the air began to rise wildly!

Those scorching flames seemed to form a sea of colorful fire, terrifying and astonishing.

"So hot..." Leafeon fanned its face with its palm; the temperature had risen to an absurd degree all at once.

And...

Looking at Phoenix King and Dark Mewtwo confronting each other in the sky, Leafeon still felt somewhat worried.

"Mamon, is Mewtwo a match for Phoenix King?"

Although it knew Dark Mewtwo was extremely powerful, the opponent was, after all, the legendary Phoenix King!

"Who knows?"

Mamon shrugged; this was his first battle against a high-tier legendary, so how could he know the strength of a legendary at Phoenix King's level?

The reason he wanted Phoenix King to come was to test the current limit of Dark Mewtwo and to see the strength of a legendary like Phoenix King.

Phoenix King was not like Lunala; although Lunala's power skyrocketed due to evolution from Cosmog, it was, after all, newly evolved.

The energy stored in that altar could only take Lunala to what level was unknown; of course, if following the game, the evolved Cosmog would only be level fifty-five...

Reality cannot simply use the game's level system, but Mamon still seriously suspected that Lunala's power was probably only comparable to Dark Mewtwo's current state, and might not even be as strong as Dark Mewtwo.

So bringing Lunala to let Dark Mewtwo practice on was not as good as bringing Phoenix King.

After all, among all high-tier legendaries, Phoenix King's strength was middling; it was not as powerful as Rayquaza, Kyurem, or the Sinnoh Trio, but it was certainly much stronger than newly evolved Lunala.

"Regardless, there is no need to worry about safety; Phoenix King will not hurt people. At worst, we just return Suicune and the others to it."

Mamon said carelessly; since Phoenix King was just practicing, there was absolutely no need to worry about safety.

Even if they couldn't win, it didn't matter; Phoenix King would not strike hard.

"Isn't that a pity?"

Caitlin's eyebrows furrowed; they had worked so hard to capture Suicune and the others!

This big fire turkey of a Phoenix King was truly shameless! Could it really force someone to release Pokémon they had just captured?

"What does it matter? Release them and release them; it's not like we can't recapture them later." Mamon was completely indifferent.

"Huh?" Leafeon was stunned.

Release them, then recapture them again? That could work too...

"Moreover, I have the Phoenix King's dark history; if it pushes me too far, I will morally blackmail it!"

Mammon's lips curled high; he did not feel he was being despicable.

The Phoenix King's dark history???

Both Lilia and Caitlin were immensely curious; could an existence like the Phoenix King even have a dark history?

(End of this chapter)