In a Black World —
Ash looked at the three stupid birds tangled together in the sky in the distance
and knew in his heart that he had to get Mewtwo over here.
Without Mewtwo's Psychic power to pin them down, those three idiots could probably destroy the entire Orange Archipelago on their own.
And most importantly… they were fighting over Ice Island.
He still hadn't gotten the final Ice Treasure yet.
Without all three treasures, even playing the Sea God's Flute couldn't truly calm the Legendary Birds' rage—
at least, that's what the legend said.
Right now Lugia hadn't appeared yet, and there was no way Ash could stop all three birds on his own.
One-on-one was fine.
Three at once… even with his Aura, he couldn't handle that.
So he had no choice but to call Mewtwo.
But… what did Mewtwo mean just now???
If it's not important, don't bother me???
He hadn't provoked Mewtwo lately, right? They'd actually been in touch pretty often…
Huh? It's Ash? Sorry, I thought it was Mew, that annoying pest. Where are you now? I'll come right away. Did something big happen?
Just as Ash was confused, Mewtwo sent another telepathic message through the Poké Ball.
So he'd mistaken Ash for Mew…
No, his "voice" didn't sound anything like Mew at all, did it?
And what exactly had Mew done to annoy the whole world?
To get Mewtwo that worked up over him?
[Lance: I'm crying—Mewtwo thought Ash was Mew! No wonder he sounded so grumpy!]
[Cynthia: Now I really want to know what Mew did to make normally-composed Mewtwo like this.]
[Mewtwo: That thing… is extremely annoying. I don't know about the Black World, but in the White World, I traveled together with him for a while.]
[Mewtwo: And what does he do? He wants to play here, play there, steal people's food and toys, prank everyone all day long, and worst of all… he drags me into everything!!]
[Mewtwo: Who wants to play childish games with him? I split up with him and haven't really answered him since… Well, he still tries to contact me, but I unilaterally refuse to respond.]
Just thinking of Mew gave Mewtwo a headache.
He honestly wanted to fight Mew again.
That guy was basically a kid with insane power who never grew up.
Everything was "fun." Everywhere was a playground.
Even when they fought, if Mewtwo hadn't thrown a real serious Shadow Ball at him,
Mew would probably still have thought of the battle as a game.
That was Mew—a child who never grew up.
And humans still mythologized him…
[Professor Oak: Mew is mischievous… but I didn't expect this mischievous.]
[Bruno: Sounds like a superpowered problem child that never grew up.]
[Lillie: Ehhh~ I think that sounds kind of dreamy, actually! Doesn't he look like a child? Now I'm really looking forward to seeing him in the chat!]
As the livestream went on,
Lillie had gotten bolder and was speaking more and more.
Some teen trainers who realized she was close to their age were getting excited too.
Before, everyone talking had been big-shot adults.
Now young people were speaking up.
Maybe… they could join in, too.
In a Black World —
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Mewtwo began flying toward Ash at high speed.
He already knew the rough situation.
Three Legendary Birds were fighting where Ash was.
And these weren't your average regional trio—their combined power was enough that even Ash had to back off.
That immediately sparked Mewtwo's interest.
Recently he'd been beating up nothing but small fry.
Right now he was in the Johto region, supposedly searching for the three Legendary Beasts and even the Phoenix King (Ho-Oh).
He'd already fought the Kanto trio of "stupid birds" once.
He was bored of them.
As for why he had such a big problem with Mew…
Mew had simply worn out his patience.
In the past few days they'd been linked by telepathy, and Mew had been pestering him daily.
Ever since they split up, Mew had supposedly gone off to Hoenn to look for more of its kind,
while Mewtwo stayed in Kanto, wandering the world and challenging strong opponents.
As for "the meaning of his existence"? He'd already found that.
In short—
Mewtwo was basically roaming freely now,
and it'd take him about ten minutes to reach the Orange Islands.
That bit of good news finally let Ash sigh in relief.
With Mewtwo as backup, they should be able to handle things here… right?
Minutes passed.
The battle of the three stupid birds only grew fiercer.
Flames, blizzards, and thunder tangled in the sky.
Nature roared. The world cried.
Many wild Pokémon had gathered to watch this… possibly the last divine battle this world would ever see.
Gyarados, Pidgeot, Rhydon and other nearby Pokémon
all had the same sorrow in their eyes.
If this continued… the world really would end.
A deep humming thundered over the frozen sea.
A massive waterspout rose straight up into the sky!
The watery tornado exploded outward—
and a majestic figure soared high into the air.
White feathers covered its body, wide wings shadowed the sky.
It looked like a gigantic bird flying over the world.
The Guardian of the Sea—Lugia.
At the moment when the world was at the brink of destruction, the Sea God had finally appeared.
Ash and the others saw Lugia's true form for the first time.
Up until now, Lugia had only existed in legends and ancient texts.
It was said to be the silver god opposite the Phoenix King among the twin Gold and Silver deities.
Lugia's entrance was unbelievably cool, but…
in front of the Legendary Bird trio, it was still driven back.
From stepping onto the stage to getting suppressed… it took less than two minutes.
The reason was simple: Lugia refused to fight back.
Faced with the Birds' attacks, it only defended.
It even deliberately took hits in order to protect a shrine below.
If not for its Protect-like techniques and insane endurance,
Lugia wouldn't have lasted even this long.
The three priesthood-bearing Legendary Birds together could at best match Lugia's full power.
There was no way they could casually overpower it—
not unless Lugia refused to fight back.
If Lugia actually counterattacked seriously, the battle would be over in minutes.
But the kind-hearted Lugia didn't want to hurt them.
And if you only defend, then even Lugia… can't hold out forever.
Ash didn't waste the time Lugia was buying him.
He climbed onto Pidgeot, skimmed low over the sea, and rushed toward Ice Island at full speed.
Lugia's eyes followed Ash, and understanding flashed in their depths.
He needed to buy even more time.
…And then, seconds later—Lugia got triple-teamed, dropped its shields, and was smashed back into the ocean.
The humans and Pokémon watching: ???
We just got started, big guy… and you already got knocked out?
Without Lugia up there,
the three Legendary Birds went completely out of control,
attacking anything in sight.
Then they spotted Ash flying in on Pidgeot.
Zapdos's fury immediately spiked—new hatred piling on old grudges.
Who's the most vindictive? That's Zapdos.
A blazing Thunderbolt the size of a small building crashed toward them.
The other two birds didn't even bother to figure out what was going on.
If Zapdos was attacking, they'd attack too.
Ice, fire, and lightning—three overwhelming blasts of power—lashed out at Ash all at once.
"Tch. Just my luck…"
Ash's Aura flared blue around him.
Standing on Pidgeot's back, he stretched both hands outward.
A massive Aura barrier unfolded in front of him.
Even he wasn't sure he could block a combined strike from all three Legendary Birds.
But in the very next second—
a silver-white figure appeared at his side on Pidgeot's back.
At the same time, a transparent indigo shield layered itself over Ash's pale-blue Aura barrier.
The triple-element attack hit.
"BOOOOM—"
It sounded like a nuclear bomb going off.
All the ice on the sea surface shattered at once.
The surrounding icebergs cracked and crumbled.
Falling hail turned into glittering shards and scattered like stardust.
Even Misty and the others back on Lightning Island felt the earth tremble,
almost knocking them off their feet.
This was the power of the three Legendary Birds—the divine might of godlike Pokémon.
"Ash!!"
Sabrina and Misty couldn't help shouting in panic.
They knew Ash's strength,
and because they knew it,
they also understood—
even he might not be able to stand up to this.
Melody tightened her grip on the Sea God's Flute in her hands.
Her eyes were full of worry—but that worry gradually changed into determination.
She also had something she could do.
She closed her eyes, steadying her mind.
Melody raised the flute and began to play.
According to legend, only when all three Treasures of the Legendary Birds were gathered
and the flute was played could their anger be calmed.
But…
the sound of the Sea God's Flute was also said to match Lugia's own song.
Even if the three Treasures weren't yet assembled,
playing the flute might help Lugia recover and rally.
A beautiful melody drifted out over the raging sea.
At that moment, a figure burst out of the smoke in the distance.
It was Pidgeot.
On Pidgeot's back, Ash stood completely unharmed—
and beside him, a silver-white Pokémon floated in the air.
"Mewtwo!!"
Misty couldn't help exclaiming.
Among everyone present, she was probably the only one who really knew Mewtwo.
She knew Ash had reached out to him,
but still hadn't expected…
that he'd arrive at exactly this moment.
Well. "Again," actually.
[Lance: Mewtwo, how about you change your title? 'King of Dramatic Entrances' fits you perfectly.]
[Mewtwo: ?]
[Lance: Back then at New Island, and now again—every time, you arrive at the last possible second, block the attack, look insanely cool… I mean, it is cool, but the timing is way too theatrical!]
[Mewtwo: Flying-Type Champion, is there something wrong with your thought process?]
[Lance: …]
Flying-Type Champion??
He was the Dragon-type Champion! Dragon!!
Did Mewtwo pick up his habit of weird nicknames from Giovanni or what?
[Cynthia: Hehe, Lance is stunned~ Mewtwo didn't try to be dramatic. His timing just happens to land there.]
Just then, the video paused.
Everyone around the world blinked, then realized—
this meant new characters were joining the live chat.
[Ding. Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, Lugia, and Mew have joined the livestream.]
Late, but here at last.
At this point, every Legendary Pokémon who had appeared on-screen had joined the chat.
[Mew: Huh!! I can talk! Nice!]
[Zapdos: I've wanted to complain for ages—what is with this broken livestream? Why is it broadcasting my black history?!]
[Articuno: What do you mean your black history? You're the one being brain-dead. If it weren't for you, the three of us wouldn't have gone to war!]
[Moltres: I literally freed you first and you roasted me with Thunderbolt the instant you got out. That's what set us off. Articuno's right, you kicked all this off.]
[Zapdos: And somehow that's all my fault? Why don't you blame the guy who captured us?]
[Lugia: Okay, okay… let's not fight, alright? Isn't it better to just watch quietly? Besides, all of our destructive powers are sealed right now anyway.]
[Mew: Yeah, yeah! Anything related to destroying things is blocked. All I've got left is stuff like teleporting around! I was almost caught when I was, uh… 'testing' toys in a toy store!]
[Mewtwo: You went out stealing again, didn't you?]
Once the Legendaries got their own accounts,
the chat got much noisier.
Especially Zapdos, the main culprit behind the war of the birds.
He was just as temperamental online as he was in person, yelling at everyone in the room.
…and then he got muted for ten minutes.
Moltres and Articuno spent those ten minutes laughing at him.
Soon, the video resumed.
In a Black World —
Ash let out a long breath and glanced at the Mewtwo beside him.
"Mewtwo, you always show up exactly on time to save me, but could you not cut it that close next time? It's really scary, okay?"
If Mewtwo had come any later,
Ash himself probably wouldn't have died—
but Pidgeot definitely would've been badly injured, and Ash would likely have fallen into the sea.
His Aura shield alone wasn't enough to block a full combined attack from the three Legendary Birds.
What did they think he was—Lugia with Protect?
Mewtwo's mental voice sounded a bit embarrassed in his mind.
Next time. I'll do better.
A soft cry echoed across the sea.
A waterspout reached for the sky again,
and an intact Lugia burst out of the waves.
"Huh? Lugia's back?"
"Lugia? So that's him?"
Mewtwo looked up at Lugia's heroic form,
and a strange light flashed in his eyes.
You even know Lugia? Ash asked.
Somewhat, Mewtwo replied. I read about him while traveling Johto. He's one of the twin Gold and Silver gods of this world—and one of the strongest beings alive. I've always wanted to fight him.
Ash: …
"Hey, hey, this is not the time for you two to fight."
I know. We deal with the three Legendary Birds first, right?
Mewtwo's purple eyes turned toward the three raging, tiger-eyed birds, and he practically twitched with anticipation.
After reviving, Lugia first used a column of water to ferry Melody and the others safely back to Shamouti Island.
Then he turned to move in on the Legendary Birds again—
only to see a silver-white figure shoot past him into the sky.
Mewtwo soared into the air,
placing himself squarely between all three birds.
Before they could react,
an overwhelming Psychic force slammed into them,
flinging all three back like rag dolls.
Immediately afterward, three pitch-black Shadow Balls formed in his hands,
and streaked toward each Legendary Bird in turn.
Three anguished cries rang out across the sky.
Lugia stared, stunned.
What kind of violent creature had appeared after his revival?
He'd never seen or even heard of this Pokémon.
Its Psychic power was so intense that even if it wasn't quite at Tier-One Legendary level, it was extremely close.
Was it… Mew?
The other did look a bit like Mew, but there were far too many differences.
And Mew wasn't usually this aggressive.
Lugia, his name is Mewtwo. He's my partner. He'll hold the three birds for now. Let's get the Ice Treasure. As long as we gather all three Treasures, we can calm the Legendary Birds' anger, right?
A telepathic voice sounded in Lugia's mind.
Lugia froze for a moment, then realized—
this must be the Aura-wielding human with the Phoenix King's blessing he'd sensed earlier.
After a brief hesitation, Lugia spread his mighty wings
and flew toward Ash.
At the same time, he replied by heart.
Gathering the three Treasures is not enough. They must be placed on the altar on Shamouti Island and soothed with the Sea God's Flute to truly calm the birds' rage.
But calming them isn't even the most important part.
The real key is restoring the world's climate back to normal.
That can only be done with the power of the three Treasures and the Sea God's Flute together.
PS :
Ho-Oh (Phoenix King)
Mentioned again as one of the "Gold and Silver Gods," equal in status to Lugia.
Mewtwo is actively searching for Ho-Oh and the three Legendary Beasts.
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