Boom!!!
A tremendous explosion erupted, and a massive gray mushroom cloud, born from the blast, rose amidst the rain.
Moltres was directly beneath that colossal mushroom cloud.
Ninetales, who had been resting nearby, was now on her feet, her fur bristling. She felt an intense threat from the series of attacks launched by Aoki's Pokémon.
Even Ninetales began to worry for Moltres, as from her own perspective, she wouldn't be able to withstand such a frenzied combination of attacks.
Thud—
Aoki, drenched in sweat, collapsed onto the ground. He felt incredibly exhausted.
This was the first time since becoming a psychic that he felt his mind wasn't quite up to the task, finding it extremely difficult to issue commands.
At this moment, his mind was filled with a stinging pain, as if someone was pricking his head with needles one by one. He squeezed his eyes shut, biting his teeth tightly due to the pain, the friction between his teeth producing a "squeaking" sound from the exertion.
The sweat on his head hadn't disappeared; it had merely transformed from sweat due to exertion into cold sweat caused by the pain.
His flushed face had changed, transforming from a red, cooked-pig-like appearance to a pale, salted-pig-like one.
His face had instantly turned completely white, a sign of extreme anemia, where blood loss was too rapid, leading to insufficient oxygen to the brain and anemia.
His two nostrils constantly flared and contracted, with strong currents of air flowing in and out.
This was truly a case of extreme mental exertion, with his psychic abilities pushed to their absolute limit.
Aoki's Pokémon rushed over. Florges and Magearna immediately provided healing.
This barely alleviated Aoki's pain, allowing his clenched teeth to slowly loosen and his tightly shut eyes to gradually open.
He looked towards the direction of the explosion.
Although he had indeed seized the opportunity to deliver a severe blow to Moltres, Aoki didn't believe that the previous attack could directly defeat a Legendary Pokémon like Moltres.
This was a Legendary Pokémon, and one that had reached level 94, a true Legendary. How could it be so easily defeated?
"With such a massive commotion, haven't any of the old guys from the Alliance, or the troops stationed inside Silver Mountain, noticed what's happening here?" Aoki wondered.
To be honest, this was a very immature counterattack. Aoki shouldn't have responded to Moltres's provocation with such strong resistance, as the opponent was clearly the dominant party. The weak should quietly shut up and silently endure.
That was the correct way to survive in this world, in this wilderness environment.
But everyone has a weakness, or a sensitive spot in their heart.
And when Aoki saw Tyranitar being mercilessly blasted away, flying past his eyes, the chord he least wanted to be touched in his heart was struck. He thought of his previous life, when Honchkrow had taken the final attack for him, and the emotional knot within him, its impact on him was immense.
So... Aoki erupted in a furious rage, disregarding all consequences.
Now, that high and mighty Moltres had been successfully pinned to the ground by him, even if only temporarily, it was a successful act of revenge for Tyranitar.
As the anger in his heart dissipated, he realized upon reflection how foolish his actions had just been.
From the perspective of his own safety, it was foolish, simply... foolish.
But for all his Pokémon, including himself, it was satisfying, a feeling of clear understanding.
In one's life, how many times can one experience such a clear understanding?
Aoki was feeling good now, but a certain Pokémon was truly seething with rage.
If a tiger doesn't roar, do you think I'm critically ill?!
"Screech!!!"
An exceptionally loud bird cry echoed through half of the mountains within Silver Mountain, startling a large number of Pokémon.
A giant fire bird, covered in wet mud and looking somewhat disheveled, flapped its wings and shakily flew up from the ground.
The temperature throughout the valley suddenly soared, and the dark clouds above slowly dispersed. A beam of sunlight pierced through the gradually dissipating clouds, shining directly onto Moltres.
Boom—
A ball of crimson-gold flames erupted from its body, and all the mud and dust vanished into thin air.
Moltres looked even more majestic. The temperature in the valley continued to rise. Aoki, supported by Florges, slowly stood up from the ground.
He looked at Moltres as it was now.
This was the true Fire God Bird, this was what a Fire-type Pokémon in this world should look like.
But feeling Moltres's current state, Aoki's heart wasn't doing so well.
...
At this moment, the white-haired elder, who had been calmly sitting in the snow, was also somewhat surprised.
"I didn't expect that little fellow to truly infuriate it. Goodness, how long has it been since this Moltres truly got angry?" The white-haired elder's expression was peculiar.
"Forget it, I should go save that little fellow first. When this one gets angry, it's not so easy to appease."
Just as the elder finished speaking and was about to move, he froze in place again.
The surprise and astonishment in his eyes grew even stronger, and he stopped. "She actually appeared here too. Was she attracted by this little fellow?"
The elder's surprise grew even more intense, and he abandoned the idea of rushing towards Aoki.
"I just don't know what her purpose for appearing is. To save that little fellow?" The elder's brows gradually furrowed as he began to ponder the implications.
...
Aoki was unaware of what was happening on the snowy peaks of Silver Mountain.
He only knew that if no one appeared now, he would very likely meet his end here.
But after waiting for a long time, Moltres's attack did not come. In fact, Moltres wasn't even looking at him at this moment, but at an empty space where there was nothing.
His intuition told him that there must be something in that empty space, but with his currently depleted psychic abilities, he couldn't perceive that Pokémon or human.
"Kwe—"
Darkrai knew Aoki's current situation, so he pointed towards an empty spot in the air, indicating that the other party was there, but was maintaining an invisible state due to some special ability.
"Screech!!!"
Moltres let out a loud cry in that direction, which sounded very imposing, but Aoki saw a hint of fear and a hint of... reverence? in its eyes.
Something that could make a Legendary Pokémon like Moltres feel reverence could only be another Pokémon, and not just an ordinary one. It had to be a Legendary Pokémon, one whose strength, abilities, or divine role was superior to its own.
Aoki quickly eliminated many of the Legendary Pokémon he knew, finally narrowing it down to one!