Ash hadn't told anyone about Mewtwo being able to MEGA Evolution. On one hand, there was no need for him to run around bragging that Mewtwo could MEGA Evolution; on the other hand, it was just a habitual way of keeping an ace up his sleeve.
Just like Charizard's MEGA Evolution and the other hidden tactics used during battles, this was a good and excellent traditional habit learned from the experts in the group.
But in essence, the fact that Mewtwo could MEGA Evolution was something quite incredible. MEGA Evolution involved stimulating the ancient genes within a Pokémon, allowing it to achieve an evolution that was a step above, similar to a reversion to an ancestral state.
However, Mewtwo was an artificial Pokémon; how could such a Pokémon have anything like an ancestral reversion? If one were to talk about reversion, wouldn't that just be equivalent to becoming Mew?
This was also why Lorelei and Cynthia felt so shocked after seeing Mewtwo MEGA Evolution; on one hand, it was the surprise of seeing a Divine Realm Level Pokémon perform a MEGA Evolution, and on the other, the shock that Mewtwo could even MEGA Evolution at all.
Regardless, this was a good thing for them. The stronger Mewtwo's combat power, the greater the chance of victory against those two mutated Legendary Birds.
They would also have more time to find Lugia and locate the remaining Legendary Bird.
Currently, only two Legendary Birds appeared before Ash; the Team Galactic members, as well as Charon and Saturn, had not appeared. According to what Charon said earlier, they seemed to have set their target on the last Legendary Bird, Articuno.
Since they were able to convert Moltres and Zapdos and control them, they certainly had the means to convert and control Articuno. Mewtwo had a glimmer of hope for victory against two Legendary Birds, but if it had to face all three, the hope of winning could only be described as slim.
Furthermore, according to Cynthia's investigation, these three Legendary Birds were the Legendary Birds that held divine position. Their existence was inextricably linked to the natural world; once they were controlled, leading to a disorder in their divine position, the entire world would fall into chaos.
The storms currently sweeping around Shamouti Island were the best proof. Although Shamouti Island often experienced harsh weather, it would never have been like this, continuing without end.
The natural elements of the world had already become chaotic because Moltres and Zapdos had been converted into their Galar forms. Once something happened to Articuno, it would mean that all three Pokémon possessing divine position had fallen, and the world would inevitably be plunged into chaos.
At that time—Lugia would inevitably appear!
This was Team Galactic's ultimate goal; they wanted to force Lugia out by controlling the three Legendary Birds.
Not to mention whether they had the means to target Lugia, just knowing about their conspiracy meant Cynthia couldn't stand idly by. So, even though Ash had a heavy responsibility blocking two of the Legendary Birds in front, their mission was also quite heavy!
"I'll leave the rest to you, Ash!"
"Leave it to me!"
After receiving Ash's affirmative reply, Cynthia and Lorelei took the lead and ran toward the rear. Misty and Serena glanced at Ash with some reluctance and worry, then followed closely behind.
They didn't say anything about staying behind to join Ash, because if they stayed, they wouldn't be able to do anything except become a burden.
At a time like this, the wisest choice was to follow Cynthia and Lorelei to see if there was anything they could help with.
Especially Serena; even after the training Ash had provided during this period, Serena still only possessed a Braixen that had just evolved.
In such a high-end battle, she would probably be seriously injured if she were even grazed, so she couldn't stay behind.
As Cynthia and the others left, Zapdos and Moltres let out a cry in the air and then charged forward!
Moltres was wrapped in layers of dark red flames, the flames carrying a thick Aura of anger. On the other side, Zapdos's whole body crackled with a sound like thunder; it aimed its talons at Mewtwo, and its entire body plummeted like a meteor!
"Teleport!" At this moment, Ash and Mewtwo were in a state of mutual understanding; Mewtwo could feel his every thought.
Although Mewtwo really wanted to test its current power, since Ash had told it to dodge first, it decided to listen to Ash's command.
—The power of thunder and flame rushed forward, but it missed, passing through nothing. The air vibrated with shockwaves from the two moves, and an Aura barrier lit up in front of Ash, blocking the aftershocks that were strong enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.
Pikachu, on Ash's shoulder, watched the two Legendary Pokémon's movements intently, then suddenly shouted: "Pika Pika!"
"You're saying Zapdos didn't use an electric-type move just now? Indeed, although I can hear the sound of thunder, I can't feel any Aura of electricity at all. The same goes for Moltres; even though it's wrapped in flames, I can only feel a deep malice, just like a dark-type move—"
Ash nodded, confirming Pikachu's thought.
If it were possible for him to misidentify it, Pikachu's sense for electrical energy could absolutely not be wrong. Since it said there was no electrical Aura on Zapdos, it meant that what Zapdos used just now was absolutely not an electric-type move, but another type of move that looked like an electric-type move.
The same was true for Moltres; although it appeared to be wrapped in a layer of raging flames, just like the dark red flames burning around Moltres at this moment, Ash couldn't feel a shred of fire-type power from it, but rather felt a thick sense of malice.
Combined with the information on the two Pokémon he saw using Eye of Insight, he could basically conclude that these two moves were the exclusive STAB moves of the two Legendary Birds' Galar forms.
After converting to their Galar forms, Moltres no longer had the fire-type, and Zapdos no longer had the electric-type; they were replaced by the dark-type and Fighting-type.
This was also why Ash didn't let Mewtwo use Psychic to take the two Pokémon's attacks head-on. Zapdos's might be manageable, but if Moltres used a dark-type move, Mewtwo's Psychic would be broken without any resistance, resulting in nothing but unnecessary injury.
The facts were as Ash had guessed; Moltres and Zapdos were using the exclusive moves they had learned after converting forms: Fiery Wrath and Thunderous Kick.
These two skills were a dark-type move and a Fighting-type move. The former concentrated extreme anger into a single point, allowing the anger to transform into the form of flames, but it didn't have the heat of flames; all it had was pure malice.
The other utilized extreme speed to burst out with the sound of thunder; its essence was a Fighting-type move, and it carried a special effect that could lower the opponent's defense upon hitting.
However, Ash didn't know much about the Galar forms of the two Legendary Birds, so he didn't know what the exclusive skills they were using were all about.
Now, all he could do was use the existing information and combine it with Eye of Insight to determine the opponent's skills and their overall situation.
"Moltres, use Taunt! Zapdos, Thunderous Kick!" A cold female voice came from afar. Ash was stunned for a moment, then looked toward the sound, discovering that Saturn had somehow already climbed onto the top of the Team Galactic submarine, and was holding a megaphone, loudly commanding the two Legendary Birds.
The two Legendary Birds, which had originally been relying on instinct to fight, now seemed to have found a backbone. Moltres stared wide-eyed at Mewtwo, and a phantom, gigantic palm appeared in front of it, making a taunting gesture toward Mewtwo.
Mewtwo instantly felt a surge of anger rise from the bottom of its heart, and at the same time, it felt unwilling to use any of its status moves.
On the other side, Zapdos took its stance and dove down again, its massive talons coming at Mewtwo with sharp energy!
Sealing Mewtwo's tricky status moves on one side, while attacking Mewtwo on the other?
As expected of one of Team Galactic's four executives, her commanding ability was still on point. If the gap in raw strength hadn't been so huge, she probably wouldn't have been so easily captured.
However—the phrase "gap in raw strength" was still applicable right now!
"So what if they sealed your status moves? Let them witness your terrifying Psychic that can churn the rivers and overturn the seas, Mewtwo! Use Psychic!" Ash waved his hand, commanding Mewtwo to counterattack.
The target of the counterattack was naturally that large orange bird descending from the sky. Within Mewtwo's petite body, a terrifying energy erupted suddenly. An azure light appeared in Mewtwo's eyes, and she raised her thin arm, gently pinching her palm toward the Zapdos that was about to reach her.
Zapdos, which had been falling like a meteor, unstoppable and as if moving through empty space, was suddenly frozen in mid-air.
The ferocious smile on Saturn's face instantly froze. What was going on? Zapdos was actually frozen in place by the opponent's Psychic?
If it had been frozen in its normal state, she could still understand it; after all, she had felt the unfathomable power like that of a legendary beast from the Pokémon named Mewtwo. Perhaps it was an existence on the same level as Zapdos and Moltres.
But even if it were on the same level as the two Legendary Birds, after Zapdos had charged up to use a skill and unleashed its power to the limit, it would be impossible to control Zapdos by relying on Psychic—at least, it would be impossible to control it if they were on the same level.
Because the kinetic energy Zapdos had accumulated had already exceeded the level that Psychic of the same level could control.
But now, the Pokémon named Mewtwo had just raised its arm, and it had controlled Zapdos easily, without any pressure. Who exactly was this guy?!
"Throw it into the sea!" As Ash's command was issued, Mewtwo gently waved its arm, and Zapdos, which had been firmly frozen in mid-air, plummeted down and entered the churning sea with a "splash."
The Fighting-type that Zapdos possessed after converting to its Galar form was completely countered by Mewtwo's psychic-type. Don't look at it as Mewtwo simply throwing Zapdos into the sea; in reality, the power of Psychic had been eroding Zapdos's body the whole time.
Combined with the explosive growth of special attack after Mewtwo's MEGA Evolution, Zapdos had already suffered significant damage from that attack just now.
"Moltres, use Dark Pulse!!" Saturn's expression tightened. She didn't pay attention to Zapdos, which had fallen into the sea, but instead ordered Moltres to launch an attack.
After the brief clash between Mewtwo and Zapdos just now, she had confirmed that this Pokémon named Mewtwo was definitely a psychic-type Pokémon, not just one that knew a few psychic-type moves.
If that was the case, Moltres, which possessed the dark-type, was a natural counter to Mewtwo!
Moltres let out a piercing cry high in the sky, and a dark red light condensed in front of it. The light did not have the scorching texture of flames, but instead surged like solidified ink, carrying with it a malice strong enough to distort the air; it was the dark-type move Dark Pulse.
The light swelled in an instant, turning into a dark red wave that blotted out the sky and sun, pressing down fiercely in the direction where Mewtwo was. Everywhere it passed, the air rippled with gray-black waves, as if even space itself was being eroded by this malice.
Saturn curled her lips into a confident smile. In her view, psychic-type Pokémon had no resistance against dark-type moves; this Dark Pulse was enough to pierce through Mewtwo's defense, and even if it couldn't inflict heavy damage, it would at least leave it severely injured. But the next second, her smile froze on her face.
"Dodge." Ash's calm voice sounded, and Mewtwo's figure instantly disappeared from where it stood. Its movements were light, like a ghost, leaving only a few afterimages of Mewtwo in place.
That heavy and powerful Dark Pulse brushed past her afterimage and slammed heavily onto the sea surface below. With a loud "boom," it kicked up black waves dozens of meters high, and scattered dark red light spots were mixed within the waves.
After MEGA Evolution, in addition to its Psychic power skyrocketing, Mewtwo's speed also received an epic boost. Even though Taunt had sealed its status moves, even relying solely on its own movement speed, Mewtwo was enough to reign supreme in the intermediate level of Divine Realm Level.
That speed of Dark Pulse, in Mewtwo's view, was like slow motion.
"Thunderbolt!" While dodging, Ash had already prepared for Mewtwo to counterattack.
Mewtwo's eyes flashed with a cold light, and golden electric currents began to coil around its body, crackling. Tiny electric sparks jumped across its body. As its arms were slightly raised, the current instantly swelled, turning into a golden thunder pillar as thick as a giant python, blasting toward Moltres!
Although Moltres had changed into its Galar form and possessed the dark-type, which absolutely countered the psychic-type, it still retained the Flying-type attribute. The electric-type was super effective against the Flying-type!
The golden thunder pillar, carrying a piercing whistle that tore through the air, instantly reached in front of Moltres.
Moltres had just finished releasing Dark Pulse; its old strength was gone and its new strength hadn't yet arisen, so it had no time to dodge. It could only instinctively spread its wings to block. But the speed of the lightning was far beyond its reaction; the golden thunder pillar instantly pierced through its wings and slammed heavily into its torso.
"Skree—!" Moltres let out a shrill, miserable cry, its whole body wrapped in golden lightning. The violent current constantly tore at its feathers and body; the dark red feathers fell off one after another in the lightning, and the Aura of malice surging around its body was also thrown into chaos by the impact of the lightning.
Thunderbolt, hit!
Watching Moltres fall, a dazed expression appeared on Saturn's face.
This script isn't right!
Two Divine Realm Level Pokémon attacking one, yet it ended up being beaten like a dog! Both are Divine Realm Level, is the gap really this big?!