Orange Archipelago.
The sky was a clear, deep blue with not a cloud in sight, pure as jade.
Below the sky, the deep blue sea was tranquil, with only occasional rows of small waves crashing against the shore, a far cry from the ferocity of before.
"Wuhu~~~"
Xiaozhi shouted excitedly atop Lugia.
"Just keep pretending," Fang Yuan said seriously as he watched the three Legendary birds slowly coming back to their senses.
Lugia was in charge of calming the restless souls, while Ho-Oh handled the purification of the chaotic minds; now, the three birds were far from their former glory.
"Bwoo————"
The three Divine Birds all put on their most innocuous expressions, attempting to look as bewildered as possible in their eyes, pretending to know nothing, and not daring to make eye contact with Ho-Oh or Lugia.
Although they had been stuck in a state of chaos, by now they were mostly aware of what had just happened.
At the moment, the three Legendary birds trembled, quite worried they would be held accountable.
Despite their earlier bravado, even challenging Lugia, that was only because Lugia did not wish to escalate the situation.
Otherwise, given Lugia's incredible power, which could cause a storm lasting dozens of days with a mere flap of its wings, it would be enough to suppress them in battle.
Moreover.
For some unknown reason, Ho-Oh was there as well, and although it appeared benign, it was the fierce bird that would annihilate human nations in a fit of rage. It hadn't... caused any trouble for them, had it?
Among the three, probably only Moltres knew why Ho-Oh had appeared here, as it saw Fang Yuan on Ho-Oh's back, smiling at it.
Moltres swallowed hard, feeling a chill in its feathers under Fang Yuan's gaze.
"Ho-Oh, there shouldn't be any more trouble in the Orange Archipelago now, right?"
"Mm."
Ho-Oh flew through the rainbow, looking at the calm sea, the sky, and the three Legendary birds feigning innocence as they flew around in disarray, and nodded its head.
"Bimi!" Victini on Fang Yuan's shoulder started to chatter incessantly.
It was a good thing Auntie Phoenix King arrived; otherwise, relying only on that lackluster Poseidon, who knew what this place would have become.
"Bwoo!" Eevee nodded in agreement.
Auntie Phoenix King is the best, far superior to the underwhelming Poseidon!
On the other hand, Mewtwo in subspace spoke indifferently, "You all understand nothing."
In Mewtwo's view, given the right conditions, Lugia's battle capabilities surpassed even Ho-Oh's.
Lugia specialized in the Power of Nature, its strongest aspect being its ability to control ocean currents to change the weather and create powerful means of destruction. Such means were not used when calming the three Legendary birds, but if disregarding consequences, the birds would not stand a chance.
Ho-Oh, on the other hand, specialized in Life Power, excelling in unique abilities such as purification, healing, baptism, and revivification. In terms of destructive power, it was not necessarily stronger than Lugia. Of course, Mewtwo could not speculate on the outcome of a real battle between the two, but it guessed that the phoenix capable of rebirth from ashes would likely laugh last.
The path Mewtwo was currently exploring was somewhat similar to that of Ho-Oh, both honing Life Power, tapping into innate potential, and mastering miraculous techniques like resurrection.
Natural Energy was also quite powerful, but it was limited by the environment.
Even if Mewtwo thought Lugia had the upper hand in terms of Move power, if they were to battle on land without an ocean, the strength Lugia could exert would probably not match its own.
Compared to relying on external forces, Mewtwo believed that self-strength was most important. Even the dim-witted duo from the Hoenn region would be significantly weakened without Natural Energy.
"What Lugia, what Ho-Oh, Eevee is number one, Mewtwo is number one, Victini is number one!" Fang Yuan interrupted their debate.
Can you stop squabbling about battle strength? It's the topic most likely to spark a flame.
"Um, of course, Ho-Oh is also the best…"
Before Fang Yuan could finish, he was thrown down by Ho-Oh, but Dragonite caught him well, allowing Fang Yuan and his companions a smooth transfer.
Meanwhile.
On Lugia's side, Xiaozhi said, "Lugia, thank you, you protected me just now, didn't you? If it wasn't for your protection... you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Xiaozhi hadn't been injured despite the fierce attacks from the three birds; upon reflection, he immediately realized what had happened.
Poseidon might have been lackluster, but Xiaozhi now had a new respect for Lugia.
"That's what I should do," Lugia communicated through Mind Induction, "but in some aspects, I indeed still have shortcomings. I hope that next time, we can cooperate in even better forms."
"Yeah!" Xiaozhi, full of anticipation, adjusted his hat. Will there be such a day?
If Fang Yuan knew of their agreement, he would surely say, "That'll depend on Hoopa's mood…"
Moments later.
Xiaozhi was brought to Ice Island by Lugia, who then soared into the sky again.
At that time, not only had Xiaozhi climbed Ice Island, but the Little Orange TV Station helicopter, Mikkeli, Ke Na, and others also began heading towards Xiaozhi.
On Dragonite's back, Fang Yuan gazed down and pondered for a moment before shaking his head, deciding not to join in the commotion.
His Mind Induction reached out in all directions, addressing Ho-Oh, Lugia, and the three Legendary birds together, "Everyone... haven't you noticed that something seems to be missing from Ice Island, Fire Island, Thunder Island?"
Missing something?
The Three Foolish Birds were taken aback.