"ROAR!"
The enormous figure instantly made Salamence's heart skip a beat.
It let out a thunderous roar, trying to intimidate the opponent and force it to back away.
That was the instinctive reaction of most wild Pokémon when faced with a powerful enemy.
Even though Salamence had spent a long time with Lin Feng, old habits were not something that could be erased overnight.
Yet even after roaring at the top of its lungs, Salamence remained completely on guard.
The Pokémon before it was simply too massive.
The creature rose from the sea, its white wings spread like gigantic hands suspended in the sky, while the dark blue fins along its back shimmered faintly beneath the sunlight.
It was no wonder Salamence felt nervous.
One of the opponent's wings looked larger than Salamence's entire body.
Lugia ascended into the sky and stared at Salamence with undisguised curiosity.
This was the Pokémon that had stirred enormous waves across the ocean before and possessed an aura similar to its own.
Originally, Lugia had intended to secretly follow it underwater.
Instead, it had been discovered while hiding beneath the sea.
Still, that only confirmed one thing.
This Pokémon truly possessed some connection to the ocean.
Since it had already been spotted, Lugia no longer bothered hiding.
It spoke directly.
(Why do you possess my power?)
The massive Legendary circled overhead.
The sound of its wings alone carried enough pressure to make ordinary Pokémon tremble.
Salamence froze.
Its power?
What power?
Why couldn't it understand what Lugia was talking about?
Thinking carefully, it actually made sense.
When Lin Feng prepared special dishes for it, he had never explained where those powers came from.
Salamence only knew one thing:
After eating, it became stronger.
"ROAR!"
Instead of answering, Salamence became even more vigilant.
The Pokémon before it possessed power far beyond its imagination.
Yet ever since growing stronger, Salamence had never fought an opponent like this.
And from its perspective, this giant Pokémon clearly had suspicious intentions.
"ROAR!"
Its claws flashed with brilliant green light.
Dragon Claw.
The gesture was also a warning.
I'm showing my strength.
Leave now, or I attack.
Lugia: "..."
The Legendary slowly shook its head.
A telepathic message appeared in Salamence's mind.
You are not my opponent.
"ROAR!"
Salamence exploded with anger.
Although its temper had mellowed considerably after staying with Lin Feng, it was still a naturally fierce Pokémon.
How could it possibly accept those words?
Energy gathered around its claws as it charged forward.
The sharp Dragon Claw tore through the air with a shriek, as though it intended to split the sky itself.
Yet when it came within inches of Lugia, it suddenly stopped.
It was as if an invisible wall blocked its path.
The Dragon Claw was trapped in midair, unable to advance another centimeter.
Salamence's eyes widened.
"ROAR?!"
That strike contained its full strength.
And yet it could not even touch its opponent?
But it refused to give up.
Energy rapidly gathered in its mouth.
At point-blank range, it unleashed a Hyper Beam.
Even though the explosion could easily injure itself from such close proximity, Salamence attacked without hesitation.
At the same moment, white light gathered inside Lugia's mouth.
BOOM!
The two beams collided above the ocean.
The impact sent towering waves crashing across the sea.
Water erupted skyward.
A huge splash followed.
Something had fallen into the water.
Clearly, Salamence had lost the exchange.
Moments later, it burst back out of the ocean and returned to the sky.
Seeing that Lugia was almost completely unharmed, Salamence realized just how difficult this battle would be.
So it decided to use the power of the ocean currents.
The world immediately changed.
As its wings beat through the air, dark clouds gathered overhead.
Violent winds swept across the sea.
Massive columns of water spiraled upward like giant tornadoes.
At the same time, the power within Salamence erupted.
This was the blessing it had gained while fighting over the ocean.
The sea could heal its wounds.
Restore its energy.
And lend its strength for battle.
But when Lugia saw the scene, it could not help feeling a little helpless.
Lugia: "..."
It had to admit.
Salamence used that power surprisingly well.
Unfortunately...
It had chosen the wrong opponent.
The next second, Lugia moved.
It merely flapped its enormous wings.
The wind.
The sea.
The darkening sky.
Everything seemed to enter a silent struggle against an overwhelming force.
The weather fluctuated.
Violent one moment.
Calm the next.
But eventually, everything settled down.
The skies cleared.
The sea quieted.
And Salamence's control over the winds was completely overwhelmed.
Salamence: "???"
Wait.
What?
The dragon was utterly confused.
Yet after witnessing its opponent suppress it in every aspect, Salamence knew it had no chance of winning.
But...
"ROAR!"
Dragon-type energy gathered in its mouth.
A blazing Dragon Pulse shot toward Lugia.
Behind the attack, however, was something that surprised even Lugia.
Hidden behind the beam, the previously aggressive Salamence was already flying away at maximum speed.
It was running.
(Interesting... that's human territory. Could it be a human's Pokémon?)
Watching Salamence disappear toward the coastline, Lugia fell into thought.
Its feelings toward humans were complicated.
Long ago, on Asia Island, some humans had manipulated the Legendary Birds simply to satisfy their own desires.
Their actions had ultimately enraged the three Legendary Pokémon.
Yet there were also people like Ash.
Brave individuals whom Lugia respected.
Overall, its impression of humanity was actually fairly positive.
Perhaps...
It should go take a look.
The thought crossed Lugia's mind.
...
Meanwhile, after finishing his cooking, Lin Feng decided he could not wait any longer for Salamence to return.
He immediately mounted Dragonite and headed toward the sea.
This time he even brought Serperior, who had shrunk down and wrapped around him.
Although Dragonite could sense portions of the ocean, Serperior's influence over nature was far more precise.
The search did not take long.
Soon, Lin Feng spotted Salamence flying aimlessly above the sea not far from shore.
It looked completely lost.
Lin Feng blinked.
Then he ordered Dragonite to fly closer.
The moment he saw Salamence, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
Burn marks covered its face.
The injuries extended all the way down its back.
It had clearly suffered serious damage.
"Roar..."
The instant Salamence saw Lin Feng, it finally relaxed.
"What happened?"
Using his psychic power to float beside it, Lin Feng activated his Viridian Power and began healing its wounds.
The burns visibly faded before their eyes.
Then he looked directly into Salamence's eyes.
"Roar, roar..."
Salamence opened its mouth and began explaining.
It told Lin Feng that while returning home, an enormous Pokémon had secretly followed it.
The two of them had fought.
And it lost.
Lin Feng was surprised.
"You lost?"
A gigantic Pokémon.
That part was normal.
The ocean was full of huge Pokémon.
Milotic.
Gyarados.
Even Wailord.
Some Wailord could grow dozens of meters long.
But none of those Pokémon should have been capable of injuring Salamence this badly.
Especially not a Salamence empowered by special cuisine.
Which meant only one thing.
A Legendary Pokémon.
Kyogre?
The first Legendary associated with the ocean that came to mind was Kyogre.
But when Lin Feng placed his hand on Salamence and carefully sensed the lingering energy from the battle...
His expression immediately changed.
Lugia?
After experiencing fragments of the conversation and battle through Salamence's memories, Lin Feng slowly withdrew his hand.
Then he looked at the dragon, who had finally finished venting its complaints.
A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
The truth was obvious.
Salamence had attacked first.
Lugia's original purpose had only been to ask why Salamence possessed a power similar to its own.
But because Salamence was cautious and didn't understand the situation, it launched an attack immediately.
Afterward, fearing Lugia would follow it home, Salamence had spent all this time wandering around the sea.
The more Lin Feng thought about it, the funnier it became.
Salamence had actually tried using the power of ocean currents...
Against Lugia.
Wasn't that basically asking for trouble?
Still, Salamence's attempt to keep Lugia away from home by circling around the ocean wasn't entirely foolish.
Even if it was ultimately pointless.
On the sea, how could Salamence possibly compare to Lugia's speed?
The fact that Lugia never pursued it proved something important.
Lugia held no hostility toward Salamence.
It had simply defended itself after being attacked first.
"Well... that's right. The ingredient used in the Twin-Wing Ocean Current Hotpot was actually one of Lugia's feathers."
Lin Feng finally explained the truth.
Seeing Salamence's bewildered expression, he laughed helplessly.
"It's fine. It probably just wanted to ask about that."
"Let's go home."
Luo Bingxue was still waiting back at the ranch.
As much as Lin Feng wanted to investigate Lugia further, searching for a Legendary Pokémon that didn't wish to be found was pointless.
If Lugia wanted to appear, it would do so on its own.
"Roar..."
...
After returning home, Lin Feng first delivered the barbecue he had prepared for Blaziken and the fruit wine meant for the Dragon-type Pokémon.
Then he headed toward the breeding house carrying the pudding.
Although everyone had been waiting for over an hour, none of the customers seemed impatient.
In fact, they were eagerly waiting to see what reward Lin Feng had prepared for the final stage of the Sky Challenge.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting."
The moment Lin Feng appeared, every pair of eyes turned toward him.
"No problem."
Luo Bingxue spoke as well, her gaze fixed firmly on the storage Poké Ball in his hand.
Earlier, she had received one of the premium Pokéblocks from Indeedee.
After waiting for a while, she had taken Mr. Rime outside, treated its injuries with medicine, and let it sample a tiny piece of the reward.
The feedback she received shocked her.
Mr. Rime felt that its thoughts had become slightly clearer.
The effect was subtle.
Yet it remained even thirty minutes later.
As a Psychic-type Pokémon nearing Champion level, Mr. Rime was extremely sensitive to changes within its own body.
At first, Luo Bingxue assumed it was merely a temporary effect.
But it never disappeared.
That realization had stunned her.
No wonder so many people were obsessed with the Sky Challenge.
Even the ordinary rewards possessed effects powerful enough to influence a Pokémon like Mr. Rime.
She could hardly imagine how much impact they would have on average Pokémon.
And those rewards were simply challenge prizes.
Because of that, her expectations for the final reward had risen dramatically.
If the standard rewards were this impressive...
What about the final stage?
"Since most of Luo Bingxue's Pokémon are Ice-types, this reward was designed specifically for Ice-type and Psychic-type Pokémon."
Lin Feng removed a tray of pudding from the storage ball.
The pudding was a pale pink jelly-like dessert.
After filtering away impurities from both the fruit and milk, it had become smooth and crystal clear.
Everyone stared in surprise.
Previous rewards had all been Pokéblocks.
Could this pudding really be even better?
"Pudding?"
Even Luo Bingxue looked surprised.
"Something like that. Honestly, it's difficult to explain the effect directly."
Lin Feng smiled.
"Let's do a quick demonstration. Indeedee, come over here too."
He had anticipated this reaction.
Carrying the pudding, he led everyone outside.
The crowd exchanged confused looks but followed.
Upon reaching an open area, Lin Feng placed several glass bottles roughly ten meters away from Indeedee.
Then he took out his phone and instructed it.
"Indeedee, when I give the telepathic command, your job is simple."
"Use Psychic and knock down those bottles."
"Do it as quickly as possible."
"Use your full power, understand?"
"Indeedee?"
Though confused, Indeedee nodded obediently.
"Indeedee~"
Before starting, Lin Feng had already warned it in advance.
Normally, Indeedee never participated in battles.
Without preparation, its reaction speed might affect the test.
Then Lin Feng pressed the timer on his phone.
The instant the countdown began, he shouted:
"Psychic!"
------------------------------
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