"Zapdos, slow down a little. Pikachu can't keep up with the translation anymore."
Looking at the Zapdos in front of him, who had been rapidly chirping nonstop, Chen Mo couldn't help but interrupt.
"Chirp?"
Zapdos glanced at the Pikachu beside him, who was puffing up its cheeks in annoyance. Turning its head away, it pouted, its eyes clearly filled with disdain.
Its expression seemed to say:
Wasn't it you people who told me to talk faster just now?
Having more or less guessed what was going through Zapdos's mind, Chen Mo smiled helplessly.
"We did tell you to speed things up, but what we really meant was for you to focus on the important parts."
"Things like spotting an Ursaring acting arrogantly halfway through your journey, getting annoyed, and then beating it up—that kind of story doesn't need a detailed explanation."
"Of course, if you knew telepathy, I wouldn't mind listening to all your travel stories. But you don't, and acting as an interpreter is exhausting for Pikachu."
"Actually, Zapdos, I still want to ask this again. Are you really incapable of telepathy?"
"One of the Haxorus I know can use telepathy. And among all the Legendary Pokémon I've encountered so far, pretty much every one of them can."
"So if we count it up, you're actually the first Legendary Pokémon I've interacted with up close that can't use telepathy."
Zapdos: "..."
Telepathy, telepathy, telepathy!
What's wrong with not knowing telepathy? Can telepathy make me stronger?
Who decided that Legendary Pokémon have to learn some useless technique like telepathy anyway?
Watching Zapdos grow increasingly depressed, Chen Mo secretly found it amusing, though he knew better than to push it too far.
"Alright, alright. Keep going."
"I'm just teasing you. I'm not blaming you."
"Just pay a little attention to Pikachu's condition while you're talking. Slower is fine."
"We've got plenty of time."
Ten minutes later.
As Zapdos continued its account, Chen Mo nodded repeatedly.
By now, he had a rough understanding of both Zapdos's relationship with the wild Electric-type Pokémon and the culprit responsible for its injuries and collapsing source power.
"Wait a second."
Under Zapdos's puzzled gaze, Chen Mo took out his phone.
Using his Bureau authorization, he accessed the database and began searching.
"Found it."
A moment later—
The instant Zapdos saw the image on the screen, its pupils contracted sharply.
Then—
It practically exploded.
Electricity crackled wildly from its body as it let out shrill screeches, as though it were on the verge of completely losing control.
"Calm down, Zapdos!"
Seeing this, Chen Mo immediately shouted.
"Have you forgotten what you just told me?"
"You already drove it out of this world!"
"That's just a picture!"
"Calm down and think about Raichu and the others who are still waiting for you to recover!"
"Chirp..."
Whether it was because Zapdos finally realized it was only looking at a photograph, or because Chen Mo had reminded it of Raichu and the others, the violent electricity gradually subsided.
Its expression slowly settled down.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Urgent knocking sounded at the door.
Then Hu Chengliang's voice came from outside.
"Xiao Mo! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine!"
Realizing the commotion had likely attracted attention, Chen Mo hurried over and opened the door.
Hu Chengliang and Zhou Yichuan entered one after another.
After briefly checking on Zapdos, they turned toward Chen Mo.
"What happened?"
"Well…"
Chen Mo glanced at the downcast Zapdos.
"You could call it post-traumatic stress."
"PTSD?"
Zhou Yichuan frowned.
Chen Mo nodded and handed over his phone.
"This is the culprit."
"Hm?"
The two men looked down.
On the screen was a bizarre creature resembling a humanoid bundle of wires, with a glowing white star-shaped head.
Hu Chengliang's pupils shrank.
"This is…"
"That's right."
Chen Mo's expression became serious.
"This is one of the dangerous Pokémon I warned everyone about before."
"An Ultra Beast currently invading our world."
"And the one that fought Zapdos is called Xurkitree."
"A pure Electric-type Ultra Beast."
"Based on Zapdos's description, it's extremely difficult to deal with."
"It even enslaves weaker Pokémon and forces them to serve it."
"Can you explain in more detail?"
Hu Chengliang adjusted his glasses and instantly shifted into work mode.
Several minutes later, both men wore troubled expressions.
Zhou Yichuan rubbed his forehead.
"Seriously."
"Couldn't at least one of these Ultra Beasts be normal?"
"They're all obsessed with causing trouble."
"..."
Chen Mo opened his mouth, then decided against saying anything.
Judging from the behavior of Blacephalon and Xurkitree so far, these Ultra Beasts did seem even more dangerous than their original portrayals.
Still—
It wasn't fair to condemn all Ultra Beasts because of them.
After all, Pokémon like Poipole also existed.
"No."
"I need to report this to Professor Zhou immediately."
Unable to remain seated, Hu Chengliang left in a hurry.
Clearly—
The authorities would begin taking Ultra Beast threats far more seriously.
Which was a good thing.
After all—
If Blacephalon and Xurkitree were already causing this much trouble, there was an even worse monster among the Ultra Beasts.
The all-devouring Guzzlord.
Even if only for that creature's sake, increased vigilance was justified.
"Chirp…"
A cry interrupted Chen Mo's thoughts.
Turning around, he found Zapdos staring at him with a complicated expression.
"Chirp chirp."
(Humans... you seem to know an awful lot of incredible things.)
"We only know the basics."
Chen Mo smiled.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Zapdos."
"You're certain you encountered those Electric-type Pokémon and Xurkitree on a massive grassland?"
"Chirp!"
Zapdos nodded immediately.
"Then that's strange."
"I'm not doubting you, but our province doesn't have a grassland anywhere near as large as the one you described."
Ever since arriving in this world, Chen Mo's activities had been confined mostly to the province.
Before deciding to visit Mount Cangqing, he had practically studied the entire regional map.
And he was certain—
There was no endless prairie like the one Zapdos described.
Rubbing his chin, Chen Mo frowned thoughtfully.
"So."
"You probably fought Xurkitree somewhere on a northern grassland."
"What I can't understand is this."
"What kind of motivation drove you to travel all the way south while dragging that group of Pokémon along?"
"Were you worried Xurkitree would reappear?"
"No."
"That doesn't make sense."
"If all you wanted was to get Raichu and the others away from Xurkitree's territory, you could have settled almost anywhere."
"There'd be no reason to keep them with you."
"Let me think."
"With the bond you share, you probably intended to escort them somewhere safe before leaving."
"But along the way, they noticed your condition deteriorating and refused to leave."
"They followed you instead."
"And despite your source power collapsing, you still insisted on heading south."
"Zapdos."
"Is there something important in the south?"
"Something so important that you wanted to see it one last time before dying?"
"Or perhaps…"
"Is there somewhere that could restore your collapsing source power if only you managed to reach it?"
When Chen Mo finished speaking, he slowly raised his head.
Zapdos stared back at him.
Its beak hung slightly open.
It looked completely stunned.
"Looks like I guessed correctly."
Chen Mo smiled.
Beside him, Zhou Yichuan, who had remained silent the whole time, also looked toward Zapdos.
Waiting for an answer.
"Chirp..."
Zapdos had never imagined such a thing was possible.
It hadn't said anything.
Hadn't even hinted at it.
Yet this human had reconstructed the entire story and even exposed the true purpose Zapdos had deliberately concealed.
This human...
He's terrifying.
Even after being heavily injured by Pikachu and Gengar, Zapdos had never feared Chen Mo.
But now—
Looking at the young man smiling faintly in front of it—
For the first time in its life, Zapdos felt intimidated by a human.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm not going to eat you."
"I just want to know whether my deduction is right."
Chen Mo sighed.
"And if you really don't want to talk about it, we won't force you."
"You can trust us on that."
Then he turned toward Zhou Yichuan.
"Right, Brother Chuan?"
"..."
Zhou Yichuan rolled his eyes.
"Relax."
"Zapdos is a Legendary Pokémon."
"Just like people online keep saying."
"If it doesn't want to cooperate, none of us can do anything about it."
"Except you."
Chen Mo laughed but said nothing.
After a long silence, Zapdos looked deeply at him and finally let out a clear cry.
"Pika pika."
Translator Pikachu immediately sprang into action.
"I see."
"So I really was right."
Chen Mo nodded repeatedly while listening.
Then—
As Zapdos approached the explanation of why it had insisted on heading south, it hesitated briefly before speaking through Pikachu.
The Trial of Lightning Island.
Chen Mo froze.
Looking up at Zapdos with complete seriousness, he asked:
"On that island…"
"Is there another Zapdos?"
"One powerful enough to be called the God of Lightning?"
Before Zapdos could respond—
Zhou Yichuan nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Wait!"
"What do you mean another Zapdos?"
"Aren't Legendary Pokémon supposed to be unique?"
"..."
Chen Mo slowly turned his head and stared at him.
Several seconds passed.
Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Zhou Yichuan snapped:
"What's with that look?"
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Chen Mo suddenly burst into laughter.
After a while, clutching his stomach, he finally managed to speak.
"Brother Chuan."
"I never expected you to think that too."
"But I suppose it's my fault."
"I haven't really explained this clearly enough."
"That misunderstanding is understandable."
"First of all."
"You need to understand one thing."
"Legendary Pokémon may vastly surpass ordinary Pokémon in strength."
"But that doesn't mean they stop being Pokémon."
"They experience emotions just like any other Pokémon."
"Suicune and Absol."
"Zapdos and those Electric-type Pokémon."
"All of them demonstrate the emotional side of Legendary Pokémon."
"And naturally…"
"Legendary Pokémon can fall in love."
"They can have offspring."
"It's just that most Legendary Pokémon possess incredibly long lifespans."
"Especially those born at the dawn of the world."
"After countless ages, many of them gradually lose interest in those feelings."
"But 'most' doesn't mean 'all.'"
"There are always exceptions."
"And the Zapdos species…"
"Is one of those exceptions."
"It belongs to a Legendary Pokémon lineage that actually exists as a population."
Zhou Yichuan's mouth dropped open.
His entire worldview trembled.
Back when Suicune first appeared, discussions about whether Legendary Pokémon were unique individuals had dominated online debates.
Without Chen Mo's explanations, even official researchers like Zhou Yichuan naturally assumed that all Legendary Pokémon were singular, irreplaceable beings.
The internet had reached the same conclusion after countless arguments.
Heh.
If Xiao Mo's explanation got released to the public...
There'd definitely be another storm of controversy.
Thinking this, Zhou Yichuan couldn't help glancing at Zapdos again.
To be honest—
He'd already had doubts before.
Compared to the Suicune from Evergreen Forest, Zapdos's performance felt considerably less impressive.
It had made him wonder how much weight the title of "Legendary Pokémon" actually carried.
But now—
Learning that Zapdos belonged to an entire species of Legendary Pokémon changed everything.
"CHIRP!"
Zapdos shot Zhou Yichuan a glare.
For some reason—
It felt like this human in white was thinking something extremely rude.
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