The moment Aiden finished speaking, Jessie, James, and Meowth burst into joy.
"Thank you, Boss!"
"Becoming squad leaders—this feels amazing!"
"That's right, nya! The Meowth Trio will dedicate our lives to Boss's grand ambition, nya!"
"Wobbuffet!"
Watching Wobbuffet suddenly appear and recalling its absurdly broken performance in critical moments, Aiden couldn't help but feel tempted to capture a Pokémon like it himself.
Counter, Mirror Coat, Destiny Bond, Encore—every one of them was practically a god-tier move.
"Keep up the good work. If you continue to make contributions, the position of special executives in the organization might belong to you in the future."
After dangling a promising future in front of Jessie, James, and Meowth, Aiden found himself genuinely looking forward to their future achievements.
Who knew—perhaps a significant portion of the Legendary Pokémon he would obtain in the future would be discovered by them.
Leaving the excited trio behind, Aiden mounted Pidgeot once more. Concealing his presence with psychic power, he flew toward the towering structure in the City of Water.
The moment Aiden took off, Jessie and James released Flygon as well, carrying Meowth as they followed closely behind him.
…
When Aiden arrived at the tower built in memory of Latios, he saw a blue statue standing tall before him.
If it wasn't Latios, then what was?
It seemed this was the guardian statue the people of the City of Water had erected in Latios's honor.
But why did it look so lifelike?
With a hint of curiosity, a purple glow flashed through Aiden's eyes.
In the next instant, his psychic power expanded, scanning the entire tower.
And at that very moment, the statue that had seemed nothing more than stone suddenly came to life.
Opening its mouth, it fired a Dragon Pulse straight at Aiden!
Seeing this, Jessie, James, and Meowth—who hadn't even landed yet—were instantly alarmed.
"Boss, watch out!"
But by the time they realized what was happening, a sphere of aura condensed by psychic power had already formed in Aiden's hand.
Boom!
The Aura Sphere collided head-on with Dragon Pulse, triggering a violent explosion in midair.
In the next moment, a blue-and-white Legendary Pokémon burst out from the smoke!
"Ding! The host has encountered Latios and Latias. The following choices have been issued:"
"Option One: Defeat Latios and Latias with overwhelming strength and capture them. Upon successful capture, you will obtain Latiosite and Latiasite!"
"Option Two: Capture either Latios or Latias and obtain a random Mega Evolution Stone ×1!"
"Option Three: Allow Latios and Latias to leave without capturing them. No reward!"
Seeing these options, Aiden chose Option One without hesitation.
A joke?
He had come to the City of Water precisely to capture Latios and Latias.
Now that he had finally found them, how could he possibly give up?
Not to mention, capturing them would also enhance their strength and grant their Mega Evolution Stones, unlocking an entirely new level of power.
Why wouldn't he take it?
But at the moment, Aiden could only see Latios.
Where was Latias?
"Roar!"
Perhaps sensing Aiden's thoughts, Latios looked visibly displeased.
A mere human outsider dared to dream of capturing a divine being?
How audacious.
"Ding! Current status of Latios:"
Pokémon: Latios
Divine Role: Guardian Deity of the City of Water
Level: 72
Ability: Levitate
Type: Dragon / Psychic
Potential: Red
Bond Evolution: Unlocked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Dragon Dance, Stored Power, Recover, Dragon Breath, Luster Purge, Heal Pulse…
Affinity: 0
Background: A guardian deity protecting the City of Water. After exhausting its power to shield the city from a catastrophic tsunami, it was healed by its kin and restored. Through the faith of the people of the City of Water, it acquired a divine role.
Hobby: Protecting the City of Water
After reading Latios's status, Aiden felt a hint of surprise.
So divine roles could be obtained through faith?
In other words, this Latios hadn't originally been a divine Pokémon.
It had only gained a divine role because it protected the City of Water from the tsunami and earned the people's faith.
That made sense.
If it had truly been a divine Pokémon from the beginning, how could a mere tsunami have drained all its power?
And compared to Aiden's Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre—the Hoenn trio—even Regirock, the Titan of Rock—
This Latios was clearly inferior.
Still, a Legendary Pokémon was a Legendary Pokémon.
It was worth capturing.
"Latios, I came here to capture you. Fight me!"
Hearing Aiden's challenge, Latios's expression filled with disgust.
And at that very moment—
Two soft cries echoed from the distance.
Then, Latias and another Latios appeared before Aiden.
Seeing this, Aiden naturally checked their status as well.
And the result surprised him.
Because neither of them possessed a divine role.
So not all Legendary Pokémon carried divine authority.
And not all Legendary Pokémon existed at their peak strength.
Even among Legendaries, there were massive differences in level and power.
Thinking about it this way, Darkrai from the Sinnoh League suddenly didn't seem so unbelievable anymore.
Unless—
Every Legendary Pokémon in his possession had a divine role.
That would truly be terrifying.
"Ding! Current status of Latias:"
Pokémon: Latias
Divine Role: None
Level: 70
Ability: Levitate
Type: Dragon / Psychic
Potential: Gold
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Dragon Dance, Stored Power, Recover, Dragon Breath, Mist Ball, Heal Pulse…
Affinity: 0
Background: The younger sister of Latios, guardian deity of the City of Water. Once believed she had lost her brother and fell into deep sorrow, which drove her desire to grow stronger.
Hobby: Playing, traveling, growing stronger
The other Latios was also level 70, slightly weaker than the divine Latios Aiden had first encountered.
"Why do you want to fight my brother? If you want to challenge him, then defeat me first!"
When Latias appeared, Aiden clearly heard her voice in his mind.
So—
He was being challenged instead?
Interesting.
…
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