Chapter 433:
"Roar!"
The immense form immediately made Salamence's heart jump with fear. It let out a loud roar, trying to use this method to intimidate the other party.
This was the first reaction of most wild Pokémon when encountering a strong enemy.
Although Salamence had been with Kaede for a while now, old habits weren't so easily discarded.
But even after its loud roar, Salamence didn't let its guard down in the slightest, because the Pokémon before it was simply too huge!
It emerged smoothly from the water. White, giant hand-like wings hovered in the air, its deep blue dorsal fin shimmering faintly under the sunlight.
No wonder Salamence was startled; one of the other's wings alone seemed larger than its entire body.
Lugia soared into the sky, looking at the Salamence before it, its curiosity unconcealed.
This was the Pokémon that had stirred up huge waves on the ocean last time and carried its own aura!
Originally, it had planned to secretly follow this Pokémon underwater to see where it went, but it didn't expect to be discovered even while hidden.
This, however, confirmed that the other indeed possessed some of its own understanding of the sea.
Since it was discovered, Lugia didn't bother hiding anymore and directly asked:
"Lugia?" (Why dost thou possess power of mine?)
Hovering in the air, just the movement of its enormous wings alone was an absolute pressure for most Pokémon.
But faced with its question, Salamence was also taken aback.
Its power?
What was it talking about?
Salamence truly didn't understand. When Kaede made its food, he never said whose power this came from; it only knew eating it made it stronger.
"Roar!"
Salamence didn't answer. Instead, it became even more wary.
The Pokémon before it was definitely beyond its imagination in strength, but since becoming stronger, Salamence had never actually fought a truly powerful Pokémon!
It just so happened this Pokémon before it seemed somewhat hostile.
"Roar!"
Salamence bared its claws, a sharp green light shimmering on them. This was a signal that Salamence was about to use Dragon Claw, and also a warning to Lugia: I'm showing my power, if you don't leave, I'm going to attack!
Lugia: "..."
It shook its head.
A psychic message appeared in Salamence's mind.
[Thou art not mine opponent.]
"Roar!"
That really provoked Salamence.
Its temper, though tempered a lot under Hayashi Kaede, was fundamentally that of a fierce Pokémon. How could it stand being talked down to like that?
It immediately gathered energy in its claws and charged at Lugia.
The sharp Dragon Claw sliced through the sky, bringing with it the sound of tearing wind, as if to rip the very air apart. But at a distance of less than an inch from Lugia, it couldn't advance any further, as if blocked by an invisible wall of air. The Dragon Claw was stuck.
Salamence was shocked. "Salamence?!"
This attack had used its full strength, yet it couldn't even get close to this Pokémon?
But it didn't give up. Instead, it gathered energy in its mouth—a point-blank Hyper Beam. Even though the two Pokémon were so close that this Hyper Beam could very likely injure itself, it unleashed it without hesitation.
At that moment, Lugia also began gathering white light in its mouth.
*Boom!*
Just like that, the two Pokémon, mid-air over the ocean, clashed their gathered energies together, stirring up massive waves in the surrounding sea.
Accompanied by a huge splash.
Clearly, in this beam clash, Salamence lost, thus falling into the water...
Then, it flew back into the sky. Seeing the other party nearly unscathed, it knew this battle would be incredibly difficult.
It needed to harness the power of the ocean currents!
Thus, in the sky and on the sea, as if following the rhythm of its wingbeats, a cataclysmic change began.
The sky darkened, wind whipped up surging water from the sea, forming inverted water spouts like tornadoes.
The energy within its body also surged violently at this moment.
This was Salamence's utilization of ocean currents over the sea.
The ocean's blessing allowed it to draw on the sea's power to heal injuries, restore energy, and even use the ocean's force to attack.
But seeing this scene, Lugia on the other side couldn't help but feel somewhat helpless.
Lugia: "..."
One had to admit, it was using it quite well.
But it seemed to have picked the wrong opponent.
The next moment, it also moved. Gently flapping its giant hand-like wings, the wind, the seawater, the darkened sky—it was as if a tug-of-war was happening with some force. One moment violent, the next calm... but ultimately, everything slowly settled down.
Clearly, in this contest over the control of wind, Salamence had lost.
Salamence: "???"
What?
Salamence was instantly baffled. But seeing how the other clearly overpowered it in every aspect, it knew it absolutely couldn't win this battle.
But...
Salamence roared again, gathering Dragon-type energy in its mouth. A scorching Dragon Pulse, carrying a blazing light, shot toward Lugia.
What surprised Lugia, after blocking this attack, was that using the light beam as cover, the previously furious Salamence was now rapidly flying backward. It looked like it was clearly running away.
'Strange... That's human territory. Is it a human's Pokémon?'
Watching the direction Salamence fled, Lugia fell into thought.
Its feelings toward humans were somewhat complicated.
Back at Shamouti Island, there were humans who, for their own collecting obsession, controlled the three Legendary Birds, ultimately causing their rage.
But there were also brave people like Ash, whom it didn't dislike.
Overall, its impression of humans was quite positive.
Should it go and look for it?
Lugia pondered.
...
Back home, after finishing the cooking and still not seeing Salamence return, Kaede grew impatient. He directly rode Dragonite toward the sea, bringing along a shrunken Serperior.
While Dragonite could also sense parts of the ocean, it wasn't as detailed as Serperior's Aura power.
This search didn't take long. Soon, he spotted Salamence not far from the coast, over the sea. It seemed lost, flying around aimlessly?
Kaede was taken aback, then had Dragonite fly over.
"You're injured?"
The moment he saw Salamence, Kaede quickly noticed something was wrong.
There were energy-blast scorch marks on its face, extending all the way to its back. It looked quite serious.
"Salamence..."
Seeing Kaede, Salamence finally relaxed.
"What happened?"
Kaede used his Psychic power to levitate, came to Salamence's side, and applied his Viridian Power. Watching Salamence's injuries visibly heal, he then looked into its eyes.
"Roar, roar..."
Salamence opened its mouth, roaring non-stop, explaining that on its way back, a very, very big Pokémon had secretly followed it. Then the two Pokémon fought, and it lost.
Kaede said in surprise, "You lost?"
A very big Pokémon. Lost.
The first part was fine; there were large Pokémon in the ocean.
Like Milotic, Gyarados—these could be considered quite large.
There was also Wailord; the big ones could be tens of meters long.
Of course, it was unlikely for such Pokémon to injure Salamence, especially to this extent.
So, that meant it was a Legendary Pokémon.
A Legendary Pokémon... Kyogre?
Thinking of ocean Legendaries, Kyogre came to mind first.
But as he placed his hand on Salamence, attempting to sense what exactly had injured it earlier, his expression froze.
It was Lugia?
After sensing the earlier conversation and battle between Salamence and Lugia, Kaede promptly withdrew his hand.
Looking at Salamence, which had fallen silent after its "complaint," he fell into thought.
Clearly, Salamence had attacked first.
And Lugia's purpose was to ask why Salamence possessed abilities similar to its own.
But Salamence, out of wariness and ignorance, attacked first.
And then, to prevent Lugia from following, it had been circling around here.
It was somewhat laughable, really.
In that battle, Salamence even used ocean current power.
Using that power in front of Lugia? Wasn't that like announcing its source?
Though, Salamence actually thought to circle around at sea for a while to prevent Lugia from following and causing trouble.
Even if it was futile.
At sea, how could Salamence possibly outpace Lugia?
The fact that Lugia hadn't followed to punish Salamence now could only mean Lugia had no ill intent toward Salamence from the start. It was only forced to retaliate because Salamence attacked first.
"Well... what it said is correct. the ingredients used in your Dual Current Pot, were actually one of its feathers."
Kaede told Salamence the truth. Seeing its dumbfounded expression, he smiled wryly. "It's fine. It probably just wanted to ask."
"Let's go home."
Elite Four Rosaline was still waiting over there. Although he was interested in exploring Lugia's existence and intentions, if the other wasn't willing to show itself, there was no way to find it.
These Legendary Pokémon would appear on their own if they wanted to.
"Roar..."
...
Returning home, he first delivered Blaziken's grilled skewers and the Dragon-type Pokémon's Berry wine, letting them find their own spots to eat. Then, Kaede brought the puddings to the Breeding House.
Although they had waited over an hour, it was clear the customers at the Breeding House were also very patiently waiting for Kaede to emerge, curious to see what reward he would bring for the final stage of the Sky Challenge.
"Sorry for the wait."
When Kaede came out, everyone's eyes focused on him.
"It's fine," Rosaline also replied, her gaze falling on the storage capsule in Hayashi Kaede's hand.
During the past hour or so, after receiving the Elegant Morning Glory Energy Cube from the older Indeedee brother and waiting a long time for Kaede without him emerging, she had gone outside. First, she applied a Full Heal to Mr. Rime, then let it try some of the best quality Elegant Morning Glory Energy Cube.
The feedback from Mr. Rime was indeed that its mind felt a bit clearer, but the effect was very slight.
As a Psychic-type Pokémon nearing Champion level, it was very sensitive to its own physical condition.
She initially thought it was a temporary effect after consumption, but even after thirty minutes, the effect remained on Mr. Rime.
This shocked Rosaline.
No wonder so many people wanted to pass this Sky Challenge. Even for her Psychic-type Pokémon, the reward Energy Cube had an effect. It was hard to imagine how significant the effect would be for ordinary Pokémon!
This was even comparable to products from some Masters.
Yet here, for Kaede, it was just a challenge reward.
And now, what she initially thought was an ordinary reward had raised her expectations.
If the reward for the ordinary stages of the Sky Challenge had such an effect, what about the final stage?
"Since most of Elite Four Rosaline's Pokémon are Ice-type, this reward dish is specifically effective for Ice-type and Psychic-type Pokémon."
Hayashi Kaede took out a plate of pudding from the storage capsule.
It was a milky-red, jelly-like dish. Fruit pulp impurities and milk color had been removed through straining, resulting in this appearance.
With so many people present, Kaede had no intention of hiding it.
But everyone was momentarily stunned upon seeing the pudding.
Previous rewards were Energy Cubes. Would the effect of this pudding be even better than Energy Cubes?
"Pudding?"
Rosaline was also taken aback.
"It's like this... Well, the effect is hard to describe. Everyone, please follow me first. Indeedee, come here too."
Having anticipated this reaction, Kaede wasn't surprised. Carrying a plate of pudding, he walked outside, calling along the older Indeedee brother from the shop.
Everyone was puzzled but followed.
Upon reaching an open area, Kaede had Indeedee brother stop. He himself placed several glass bottles at a distance of about ten meters.
He also took out his phone and gave the command, "Indeedee, in a moment I'll give the command for Psychic. What you need to do is use Psychic to knock down these glass bottles. Be fast, use full power, understand?"
"Indeedee?"
Although unsure why, Indeedee brother nodded. "Indeedee~" (Understood.)
He warned Indeedee brother in advance because Indeedee brother usually didn't engage in battles, to avoid delayed reaction affecting the test results.
Then, the moment Kaede pressed the timer on his phone, he gave the command: "Psychic!"