Seeing that Mesprit didn't respond right away, Gary continued, "Mesprit, do you agree? If you refuse, that's fine too."
The Lake Trio weren't like Shaymin, a Pokémon that joined out of gratitude. Whether they were willing to help depended entirely on their own decision.
"Mes."
Alright, I'll help you.
Mesprit agreed to Gary's request.
"Really?"
Gary was surprised. He hadn't expected Mesprit to be so easy to talk to.
It wasn't that Mesprit was simply agreeable. Rather, it was curious about how capturing it could possibly make Gary's Pokémon stronger.
Either way, being captured was nothing to a Pokémon like itself. It would just be placed inside a Poké Ball, and it could break free whenever it wanted.
"Mes."
Mesprit nodded. The Lake Pokémon never lied.
"Alright, then please come in." Gary took out an Ultra Ball.
Without any hesitation, Mesprit floated in front of Gary and reached out to touch the switch on the Ultra Ball.
Flash!
The Poké Ball opened, and a red light enveloped Mesprit, drawing it inside. Mesprit didn't struggle at all. The Ultra Ball shook a few times before going still.
[Ding! Mission Released: Capture the Legendary Lake Pokémon. Reward: For each one captured, Gold Bottle Cap ×1, Ability Enhancement Stone ×1, Ability Expansion Stone ×1; Capture all of them, Master Rare Candy ×10, Ability Enhancement Stone ×2, Ability Expansion Stone ×2, Divine Crown ×1!]
[Ding! Mesprit successfully captured. Reward distributed to space backpack.]
After capturing Mesprit, the system immediately released the mission and completed part of it at the same time.
"Is the Lake Trio considered Mythical Pokémon?"
Gary had originally thought the Lake Trio would be similar to the Legendary Birds, but he hadn't expected them to be classified alongside Mythical Pokémon.
Then again, the Lake Trio symbolized Emotion, Knowledge, and Willpower, all of which were forms of spiritual power. It made sense that they would be ranked higher than the Legendary Birds.
Flash!
After Gary finished checking Mesprit's data, the Ultra Ball switch pressed itself and opened. Mesprit floated out on its own.
"Mes."
Mesprit looked at Eevee, trying to see what changes had happened to it, but found that Eevee was exactly the same as before.
"Mesprit, can you call Uxie and Azelf here?" Gary asked.
Mesprit had agreed to be captured, but Uxie and Azelf were still missing.
"Mes?"
Mesprit wondered if Gary needed to capture all three of them in order to fully strengthen his Pokémon.
"Mes!"
Mesprit immediately summoned its companions.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures appeared beside Mesprit, one yellow and one blue.
The Lake Trio had hatched from the same Pokémon Egg. No matter how far apart they were, they could communicate spiritually.
"Uxie!"
"Azelf!"
When Uxie and Azelf saw Gary, they both greeted him.
"Hello to you both."
"Vui."
Gary and Eevee greeted them in return.
Then, Gary explained his request, and Mesprit helped speak on his behalf as well.
What Gary didn't realize was that his true intentions had already been read by Mesprit.
"Uxie?!"
Uxie was surprised to hear from Mesprit that Gary capturing them could make his Pokémon stronger.
Uxie was the Being of Knowledge. There was nothing in the world it did not know. It was aware that some humans were born with special abilities, and that when such people raised Pokémon, they could accelerate the growth of their strength.
However, even with rapid growth, there was an upper limit. That limit was determined by a Pokémon's potential. Once a Pokémon reached the peak of its potential, its strength could no longer increase.
Uxie looked at Gary with interest, though its eyes remained closed.
Gary looked back at Uxie as well.
Uxie was quite special among the Lake Trio. It was considered the brain of the three. Moreover, its eyes were always closed. If Uxie opened its eyes, anyone who looked into them would instantly lose their memories.
"Uxie, Azelf, are you willing to help me?" Gary asked.
"Uxie!"
Uxie nodded. Like Mesprit, it was curious about how Gary could improve his Pokémon's strength by capturing them.
"What about Azelf?"
Gary looked at Azelf, waiting for an answer.
Azelf appeared simple-minded, but it was the symbol of willpower. In the games, anyone who wanted to capture it had to show strong willpower to earn its recognition.
Gary was a little worried that Azelf would refuse. Being one capture short of completing the mission would be frustrating.
"Azelf!"
Azelf gave a slight nod in agreement.
"Thank you."
Seeing Azelf agree, Gary thanked it sincerely.
He had thought he might run into some difficulty with Azelf, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy.
Naturally, Azelf valued human willpower, and it could feel Gary's determination to make his own Pokémon stronger. That will was more than enough to meet its standards.
"Then please, come in."
Gary took out two Ultra Balls, holding one in each hand, and offered them to Uxie and Azelf.
Uxie and Azelf approached and reached out to touch the switches on the Ultra Balls.
Flash! Flash!
The two Ultra Balls opened, drawing Uxie and Azelf inside.
[Ding! Uxie captured. Reward distributed to space backpack.]
[Ding! Azelf captured. Reward distributed to space backpack.]
[Ding! All Legendary Lake Pokémon captured. Reward distributed to space backpack.]
After capturing Uxie and Azelf, the mission was completed, and a wave of generous rewards was distributed.
Flash! Flash!
Just like Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf didn't give Gary time to view their data. They came out of their Poké Balls on their own.
"Uxie!"
You've captured us. Isn't it time to strengthen your Pokémon and show us?
"My ability improves a Pokémon's potential. If you want to see it, you'll have to wait for them to grow slowly," Gary explained.
"Uxie!"
"Mes!"
"Azelf!"
The Lake Trio were all surprised. They hadn't expected that Gary could actually improve a Pokémon's potential.
"Also, I can teach moves to Pokémon. If you want, I can teach you skills too," Gary said.
"Azelf?!"
Azelf was shocked. Teaching moves was an extremely difficult thing to do. Since the dawn of humanity, there had never been a single human capable of such a thing.