Mesprit hovered in silence, its wide eyes studying Gary with the penetrating gaze of a being that had spent millennia reading the emotional landscapes of every creature it encountered. Gary could feel that gaze—not as a physical sensation, but as a subtle warmth in his chest, as though Mesprit's psychic awareness was gently brushing against the surface of his feelings.
He waited. Pushing a Legendary Pokémon for an answer was the fastest way to get rejected.
After several heartbeats of silence, Gary spoke again—keeping his voice calm, unhurried, and entirely free of pressure.
"Mesprit, will you agree? If you'd rather refuse, that's completely fine. I won't hold it against you."
He meant it. The Lake Trio weren't like other Pokémon he'd encountered—they weren't wild creatures motivated by the thrill of battle or the promise of growth. They were ancient spiritual beings, guardians of fundamental concepts that underpinned sentient life itself. Emotion. Knowledge. Willpower. Trying to force or trick beings like these into submission would be both futile and deeply disrespectful.
Unlike Shaymin—a Pokémon whose natural gratitude had made it willing to join Gary after being rescued—the Lake Guardians operated on an entirely different level. They owed him for freeing them from Team Galactic, certainly, but gratitude alone wouldn't drive beings of their stature to willingly enter a Poké Ball. This had to be their choice, freely made.
"Mes."
Mesprit's response was soft—a single, clear note that carried affirmation. It nodded, its four trailing tails swaying gently behind it.
It would agree.
"Really?" Gary couldn't fully suppress the surprise in his voice. He'd prepared himself for a lengthy negotiation, or even outright rejection. He hadn't expected Mesprit to consent so readily.
But Mesprit's reasoning was more nuanced than simple gratitude or obligation. As the Being of Emotion, it could read Gary's intentions with crystalline clarity—and what it found there wasn't greed, or a desire to weaponize a Legendary Pokémon, or hunger for status. The dominant emotion radiating from this human was curiosity, layered over a deep, genuine drive to strengthen the Pokémon already in his care.
Mesprit wanted to understand how. How could capturing it—a Legendary Pokémon—make Gary's existing team stronger? The Lake Trio were powerful, yes, but their power was psychic and spiritual. They couldn't directly enhance another Pokémon's base stats or break through species limits. Only God-tier beings—Arceus, Dialga, Palkia—possessed that kind of authority, and even then, the effect was modest.
And yet Gary's conviction was absolute. He genuinely believed that capturing Mesprit would benefit his team. The emotion behind that belief was rock-solid—no deception, no self-delusion.
It was a puzzle. And Mesprit, despite being tens of thousands of years old, still found puzzles irresistible.
Besides, being captured by a Poké Ball was hardly permanent for a Level 90 Legendary Pokémon. If it ever wanted to leave, it could break free with barely any effort. There was no real risk.
"Mes," Mesprit confirmed with another nod. Its expression was open and genuine—the Lake Guardians never lied. Deception was fundamentally incompatible with the being that embodied Emotion.
"Thank you," Gary said. He reached into his bag and produced an Ultra Ball—the black-and-yellow capsule gleaming faintly in the starlight reflected off the lake's surface. "Then please—come in."
Mesprit drifted forward without hesitation. It extended one small hand and touched the Ultra Ball's activation button with delicate precision.
The ball opened. A beam of red light enveloped Mesprit's form, converting its body to energy and drawing it inside. The Ultra Ball snapped shut and fell into Gary's palm.
It wobbled once. Twice. Three times.
Click.
No struggle. No resistance. Mesprit had entered willingly, and the capture registered cleanly.
[Ding! Mission Released: Capture the Legendary Lake Pokémon
— Per individual capture: Gold Bottle Cap ×1, Ability Enhancement Item ×1, Ability Expansion Stone ×1
— Complete set bonus (all three): Master Rare Candy ×10, Ability Enhancement Item ×2, Ability Expansion Stone ×2, Divine Crown ×1]
[Ding! Mesprit successfully captured. Individual rewards deposited into system storage.]
Gary stared at the system notification, processing the implications. The reward structure was extraordinary—far beyond what he'd received for capturing other Legendary Pokémon. And the complete set bonus was staggering: ten Master Rare Candies, multiple Ability Enhancement Items and Ability Expansion Stones, and something called a Divine Crown.
The system is classifying the Lake Trio as Mythical-tier Pokémon, Gary realized. Not just Legendary—Mythical. I originally assumed they'd be categorized similarly to the Legendary Birds, but the rewards say otherwise. Their connection to the spiritual aspects of existence—Emotion, Knowledge, Willpower—puts them in a class above standard Legendaries.
It made sense, the more he thought about it. Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno were powerful, but they were fundamentally elemental beings. The Lake Trio embodied abstract concepts that formed the foundation of sentient consciousness itself. In terms of cosmic significance, they were closer to Celebi or Jirachi than to the Legendary Birds.
A moment after the capture registered, the Ultra Ball's button depressed on its own. The ball popped open, and Mesprit rematerialized in a flash of light, hovering in front of Gary with an expectant expression.
"Mes!" Mesprit immediately turned to look at Eevee, studying the small Pokémon with keen psychic awareness. It was clearly checking to see if Eevee had changed—if the act of capturing Mesprit had somehow triggered an immediate enhancement.
Eevee blinked back, confused. Nothing felt different.
"Vui?" Eevee looked at Gary questioningly.
Mesprit tilted its head, finding no visible changes. Curious, but not disappointed—patience was something a ten-thousand-year-old being had in abundance.
"Mesprit," Gary said, moving to the next step before the moment could lose its momentum. "Would you be willing to call Uxie and Azelf here? I'd like to ask them as well."
"Mes?" Mesprit paused, considering. He needs all three of us?
The implications clicked into place. Whatever Gary's ability was, it apparently required—or at least benefited from—capturing all three members of the Lake Trio. The complete set bonus the system had displayed confirmed as much, though Mesprit obviously had no knowledge of the system itself.
"Mes!" Mesprit made its decision and closed its eyes. A pulse of psychic energy radiated outward—not an attack, but a call. A spiritual signal that transcended physical distance entirely.
The Lake Trio had hatched from the same Pokémon Egg at the dawn of creation. No matter how far apart they were—across oceans, across continents, across dimensions—they could always reach each other through their shared spiritual bond.
Two seconds passed.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two flashes of light materialized on either side of Mesprit—one golden, one blue. When the light faded, Uxie and Azelf hovered beside their sibling, having crossed the entirety of the Sinnoh region in the time it took to blink.
"Uxie!" Uxie—the Being of Knowledge—greeted Gary with a small, composed nod. Its yellow body was compact and serene, its eyes perpetually closed. Those sealed eyes were perhaps Uxie's most defining feature: anyone who gazed directly into them would have their memories erased entirely. It was a power Uxie kept carefully contained, its eyelids serving as both shield and warning.
"Azelf!" Azelf—the Being of Willpower—was more energetic in its greeting, its blue body practically vibrating with restless energy. Despite its small size, Azelf radiated an intensity that was almost palpable—the essence of determination and resolve compressed into a diminutive form.
"Vui!" Eevee chirped a greeting from Gary's shoulder, still slightly unnerved by having three Legendary Pokémon materialize out of thin air within arm's reach.
"Hello, both of you," Gary said, dipping his head respectfully.
Mesprit turned to its siblings and began communicating through their psychic link—a silent, instantaneous exchange of thoughts and emotions that was far more efficient than spoken language. Gary watched as the three Lake Guardians' expressions shifted and flickered through the conversation: surprise, curiosity, skepticism, and finally something that looked remarkably like intrigued amusement.
Gary didn't know it, but Mesprit had shared more than just his request. The Being of Emotion had also conveyed what it had felt from Gary—the genuine nature of his intentions, the absence of malice, and the puzzling conviction that capturing them would somehow strengthen his existing team. Mesprit's emotional reading was trusted absolutely by its siblings. If Mesprit vouched for Gary's sincerity, that was as good as proof.
"Uxie?" Uxie turned its closed-eyed face toward Gary. Despite being unable to see it, Gary could feel the weight of Uxie's attention—an intellect that encompassed the sum total of all knowledge in existence, now focused entirely on him.
As the Being of Knowledge, Uxie was aware that certain humans were born with extraordinary abilities that defied normal explanation. Throughout history, Aura Guardians, psychics, and other gifted individuals had demonstrated the capacity to accelerate their Pokémon's growth beyond normal limits. Uxie understood the principle: such abilities enhanced a Pokémon's development rate, but they couldn't exceed the ceiling imposed by the Pokémon's innate potential. Once a Pokémon reached the maximum of its species' capability, no amount of special power could push it further.
Still, the idea that this young human possessed such an ability—and that capturing Legendary Pokémon was somehow integral to it—was fascinating.
"Uxie, Azelf," Gary said, addressing them both directly. "I'd like to ask the same thing I asked Mesprit. Will you allow me to capture you?"
"Uxie." Uxie's nod was immediate and decisive. Like Mesprit, its motivation was primarily curiosity. It wanted to observe what would happen—to add this experience to its infinite library of knowledge.
Gary felt a wave of relief, but the harder conversation was still ahead. He turned to Azelf.
The Being of Willpower floated with arms crossed, its blue eyes fixed on Gary with an intensity that made the air feel heavier. Azelf was different from its siblings. Where Mesprit responded to emotion and Uxie to knowledge, Azelf valued will—the strength of a person's resolve, the clarity of their determination, the depth of their commitment.
In the games, trainers could only capture Azelf after demonstrating unwavering willpower. If Gary's resolve wavered, if his determination faltered even slightly, Azelf would sense it instantly and refuse.
Gary met Azelf's gaze without flinching. He didn't try to project false confidence or manufacture bravado. He simply let his true feelings speak for themselves—his drive to grow stronger, his commitment to his Pokémon, his refusal to accept limitations, his relentless forward momentum.
Azelf studied him for what felt like a very long time.
"Azelf!" The nod was sharp, crisp, and absolute—the approval of a being that had spent eons evaluating the willpower of every sentient creature it encountered. Gary's resolve had been weighed and found sufficient.
"Thank you," Gary said, and he meant it deeply. "All three of you."
He produced two more Ultra Balls—one in each hand—and held them out toward Uxie and Azelf. The two Lake Guardians drifted forward simultaneously, each extending a small hand to touch the activation button on their respective ball.
Click! Click!
Both Ultra Balls opened in unison. Red light engulfed both Legendary Pokémon, drawing them inside. The balls closed, wobbled briefly—more out of formality than resistance—and clicked shut.
[Ding! Uxie successfully captured. Individual rewards deposited into system storage.]
[Ding! Azelf successfully captured. Individual rewards deposited into system storage.]
[Ding! All Legendary Lake Pokémon captured. Complete set bonus deposited into system storage.]
The cascade of notifications filled Gary's mind, each one confirming another wave of extraordinary rewards. Master Rare Candies. Ability Enhancement Items. Ability Expansion Stones. And the crown jewel—the Divine Crown, an item whose description Gary hadn't even had time to examine yet.
Both Ultra Balls popped open almost immediately. Just like Mesprit before them, Uxie and Azelf had no intention of staying inside the Poké Balls any longer than necessary. They rematerialized beside Mesprit, all three Lake Guardians now hovering in a loose semicircle in front of Gary, their expressions expectant.
"Uxie!" Uxie's tone carried a clear question: You've captured us. Now show us what happens. How do your Pokémon become stronger?
All three Lake Guardians leaned forward slightly, waiting.
Gary paused, considering how to explain something that was fundamentally tied to a system only he could perceive.
"The way I strengthen my Pokémon isn't instantaneous," he said carefully. "My ability allows me to improve their potential—to raise the ceiling of what they can become. But the actual growth still takes time. It's not a switch I flip; it's a foundation I lay. They'll grow stronger gradually, the same way any Pokémon does—through training, experience, and battle. The difference is that their limits will be higher than they otherwise would be."
It was the truth, carefully phrased. The system's Ability Enhancement Items and Rare Candies worked in exactly this way—expanding a Pokémon's potential and accelerating its development, but not granting instantaneous power.
"Uxie!"
"Mes!"
"Azelf!"
The three Lake Guardians exchanged glances—golden, pink, and blue light flickering between them as they communicated silently. Their expressions shifted through surprise, fascination, and what appeared to be genuine admiration.
Improving a Pokémon's potential—its fundamental species ceiling—was something that even the Lake Trio, with their Legendary-tier power, could not do. It was a capability reserved for beings of far higher cosmic authority. That a human could achieve even a limited version of this was genuinely remarkable.
"There's something else," Gary added, seizing the moment. "I can also teach new moves to Pokémon directly. If any of you would like to learn techniques outside your natural movepool, I can do that."
"AZELF?!" Azelf's reaction was the most dramatic—the Being of Willpower's eyes went wide, its small body jolting as if struck by a Thunderbolt. Teaching moves directly to Pokémon—bypassing the normal process of training, repetition, and TM compatibility—was something that had never been documented in the history of human-Pokémon interaction. The very concept bordered on impossible.