Since the secret was mentioned, there was no reason to hide it anymore.
"That is right, there is an Articuno here. But it is not correct to say it belongs to me. I am just very good friends with it," Noland admitted openly. Then he asked, "How did you all know?"
Ash spoke quickly. He told Noland what happened in the forest just now.
"I see. I did not expect it to sneak out to play again..." Noland shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "I wanted to give you a surprise and shock you when the battle started. Now, it seems that plan is ruined."
Would they really be shocked?
After May heard Noland's words, she looked to her left and right.
To her right were Ash, Max, and Brock. To her left was Natsui.
Everyone there had seen Legendary Pokémon more than once.
Besides Natsui, who had Celebi and Deoxys, Ash had also met different Legendary Pokémon many times and even become friends with some of them.
Compared to normal Trainers, these people had seen many Legendary Pokémon. Even though they knew an Articuno was here, they were only a little surprised at first. They were not necessarily shocked.
But still, it was very impressive that an Articuno stayed here. It did not matter if Noland had caught it or not.
After all, Legendary Pokémon are very rare. Not every Elite Four member, Champion, Gym Leader, or Frontier Brain has one.
At this time, Natsui's group heard from Noland why Articuno stayed there.
It happened not long ago. One night, Noland was flying a plane he made himself in the night sky. He met an injured Articuno. After that, he and the Pokémon became good friends. Articuno visited from time to time.
This story did not sound special. It seemed like the kind of thing Noland would mention casually and move on from. But simple and honest things are often what lead to real friendship.
"So that is how it is..." Brock nodded while rubbing his chin. He was not a Gym Leader anymore. Now, he thought more like a Pokémon Breeder. So, he could understand this better. Then, he thought of something and quickly asked, "So, since it has not been caught, is that Articuno still a wild Pokémon?"
Sergio was standing nearby and knew what Brock was worried about. He said, "Do not worry. We kept Articuno a strict secret. We never show it to challengers. We only told you this secret today."
"I can vouch for that!" Scott laughed and said to Natsui and the others, "If you had not helped me, I would not have known about this Articuno until now!"
He was not angry or mean. He was just saying that Noland was good at keeping secrets.
"Do not worry," Natsui said for Ash and the others. "We will not tell anyone. We will not talk about it."
Noland laughed loudly. "Of course I trust you. After all, you are a Champion."
They talked for a while. Then the group followed Noland to the battlefield of the Battle Factory.
The battlefield was inside a large, empty factory building. The factory was very large. There were steel bars and iron pipes inside. The lights were not very bright. It smelled like metal. It matched the name "Factory" very well.
The Pokémon for this battle was Articuno.
Noland did not have other Pokémon as strong as Articuno. So, this match was one-on-one. The person who won would be the winner. It was simple and clear.
Before the battle started, Natsui and Ash used the machine to change their teams.
This was the first time Natsui would fight a Legendary Pokémon in a formal battle. In fact, it was not just him. Ash's face was also very serious.
Before the start, Natsui and Ash looked at each other.
Natsui did not wait this time. He signaled to Ash that he wanted to fight first.
Ash did not say anything. It did not matter who went first. They were like family. It was the same if he or Natsui fought first. Also, he wanted to see which Pokémon Natsui would use to fight Articuno!
Noland and Natsui stood in the Trainer areas. May, Ash, Max, Brock, and Scott went to the spectator area. Noland's student, Sergio, walked outside the field to be the referee.
Noland blew his whistle. A beautiful blue bird flew out from a tunnel. It circled above the field.
Many snowflakes fell from Articuno's body onto the battlefield.
This was the Legendary Pokémon Articuno. It was the same one they saw in the forest.
Articuno flapped its wings and landed on Noland's side of the field. At this time, May and Max saw Articuno clearly.
"It really is beautiful..." Max said with emotion. His eyes were wide open. He liked Articuno very much.
May was a Pokémon Coordinator. She thought of something else.
"It really is so beautiful. If it were in a Pokémon Contest, it would be the center of attention..."
May was a good Coordinator because her first thought went straight to Contests.
After that, everyone looked at Natsui.
What Pokémon would Natsui use against this Legendary Pokémon?
Everyone watched Natsui. He did not release a Pokémon yet. Instead, he took three Ultra Balls from his bag and held them in his hand
He looked at Noland. Noland was confused. Natsui smiled and said, "I have three Ultra Balls here. Please choose the opponent yourself, Noland."
"Oh?" Noland raised his eyebrows and laughed. "I have only heard of the defender letting the challenger choose a Pokémon. I have never heard of the challenger letting the defender choose. But since you said so, I assume these three Ultra Balls have very powerful Pokémon?"
"I suppose so." Natsui nodded a little. He did not say yes or no. "They are not the strongest, but they are on the same level as your Articuno."
Noland's eyes narrowed.
On the same level? What did that mean? Did it mean strength or something else?
Did the three Ultra Balls in his hand contain Legendary Pokémon?
He was surprised by his own thought. He thought it was impossible. But Natsui was a Champion in three regions. People would believe he had some special Pokémon.
Could it be...
May, Max, and Scott thought the same as Noland. They were surprised by what Natsui said.
Only Ash and Brock looked at each other. They understood what was happening.
"So that means..." Brock swallowed hard. "Is Natsui going to use an equal Pokémon to fight Articuno?"
"Probably." Ash frowned. "I have never seen Natsui use them in a formal battle!"
"What are you guys talking about?" Max and the others were confused. They asked, "What does Natsui mean? Does he also have Legendary Pokémon?"
Brock breathed out and gave a bitter smile. "You will know if you watch. The answer will be revealed soon!"
Max and Scott wanted to know what Natsui was doing. Only May knew a little about Natsui and had a thought.
Was Natsui going to use Deoxys? But there was only one Deoxys. What was in the other two Ultra Balls?
Noland thought for a moment and made a choice.
He pointed at the Ultra Ball on the right side of Natsui's hand.
"I cannot tell what is inside. But I will choose this one using my intuition!"
Natsui looked at the Ultra Ball. There was a snowflake pattern on it. Natsui was surprised Noland chose it.
He chose this one out of the three balls. It was like fate.
Natsui put the other two balls away. He threw the last ball into the sky.
A blue light flashed. A beautiful blue bird appeared above the field.
Everyone except Ash and Brock was shocked!
"What!?"
The bird had beautiful feathers and a large body. It was clearly an Articuno.
But why did Natsui have one too?
Everyone was stunned.
"Natsui... Natsui actually has an Articuno too!!?" Scott cried out.
It also scattered many snowflakes. Natsui's Articuno flew around and landed on his side. The two Articuno watched each other.
Everyone looked left and right. They rubbed their eyes. They finally believed Natsui had an Articuno.
But May, Max, and Scott still felt it was hard to believe.
Max asked Ash and Brock, "Did you know Natsui had an Articuno?"
"It is more than that." Brock smiled. "Did you see those three Ultra Balls? This one had Articuno. The other two..."
"The other two?" Max was surprised. "Are you saying...?"
Noland asked Natsui the same question.
"I did not expect that you would also have an Articuno. This is very surprising. But what was in the other two Ultra Balls?"
"Did I not just say it? They are equal to Articuno."
Natsui did not say the names, but the answer was clear.
In Kanto, the other two Pokémon equal to Articuno are obvious.
"So that is how it is..." Noland nodded with a bitter smile. "That is amazing. You are a Champion, so you collected all three at once!"
Max asked Brock, "Are those two Pokémon they mentioned...?"
"That is right." Brock nodded. "They are the other Legendary Birds in Kanto—Moltres and Zapdos!"
"Moltres and Zapdos..."
May, Max, and Scott looked at Natsui again.
They all understood more clearly how strong Natsui was now.
The two Articuno stood on the field and looked at each other carefully. They both wanted to fight.
They were the same size and had the same temperament. The only difference was that one had a clear collar and the other did not.
They were the same species, but they were not friendly. They were rivals because of their strength and pride. Both wanted to show who was better.
Sergio raised his flags to be the referee.
"Now, the Battle Frontier match between Natsui and Frontier Brain Noland will begin!"
Then, there was a sound of gears. The ceiling began to move. Then, the ceiling opened and showed the sky.
The group looked at the sky. Noland said proudly, "This is the clever part of this factory. The roof opens during air battles so both sides can show their skills. If they need a water battle, we pour in fresh water to make a pool. Every Pokémon can find a good battlefield here!"
Noland was very proud. These were his investments and his buildings. He liked it when challengers were surprised. This was the main reason why he built this Battle Frontier!