Chapter 773: We Are Already Friends
Facing the gazes of her companions.
Dragonite offered a simple explanation: "This child once assisted the Indigo League in destroying Team Rocket. He had a good relationship with the children of our Dragon Clan and was frequently invited over to play. I thought..."
She thought Silver had died long ago.
After all, that was a very long time ago.
With Dragonite's explanation.
Lucario and the others immediately turned to look at Silver, strange looks in their eyes.
He actually personally destroyed the organization his own father founded?
Silver paid no mind to their stares.
And had no intention of explaining himself.
In this era, every minute and second was precious; he didn't want to waste time explaining things that were already in the past.
Even if he let these Pokémon know, so what?
It was meaningless.
It wouldn't provide any help in saving this world.
"Dragonite, this guy is no longer the little Silver you knew. Their goal is to take Mewtwo away; prepare for battle."
Kazuya spoke to the confused Dragonite beside him.
He didn't want Dragonite stepping forward to mediate at a time like this.
It was pointless.
The current Silver had become extremely obsessive.
He wouldn't stop his steps to save the world for anyone or anything.
Today's battle was unavoidable.
Moreover.
Among all the creatures present, excluding Silver himself, Kazuya was probably the one who understood him best.
He held no special feelings toward this character.
Simply put, Silver was the predecessor to Paul—the type who initially believed in "strength above all," and then, after being influenced by the protagonist, began to cherish Pokémon.
Not only that.
Silver was actually quite hypocritical in his early days.
He loathed Team Rocket's actions and swore to become stronger solely through his own power, yet he went and stole someone else's Pokémon.
Although he later put forth great effort in the operation to destroy Team Rocket, it couldn't be denied that this guy used to be the legitimate "Crown Prince" of Team Rocket.
Based on this "character setting".
Kazuya viewed Silver without any rose-tinted glasses; when it was time to strike, he wouldn't show any mercy.
"Why do you want to take Mewtwo away?"
Dragonite nodded after hearing Kazuya's words.
Like a protective mother dragon, she raised an arm, shielding Mewtwo behind her, and stared warily at Silver.
"To use His power to save the world, of course. And it's not just Him; our target this time includes you as well. Or rather, I wanted to capture you the last time we met, Darkrai."
Silver shifted his gaze, locking onto Kazuya.
"Heh, you've got quite the nerve, kid."
Kazuya grinned.
"..."
Even Silver, who had lost almost half his humanity, couldn't help but twitch slightly at being called a "kid."
"I don't know what you're planning, and I don't mind you targeting me. However..."
Kazuya took a few steps forward, raised his hand, and pointed a thumb at the Mewtwo behind him. "This child is already an important companion of ours. If you want to take Him away, then come with the resolve to die!"
The resonant and forceful words fell.
The four Pokémon completely shielded Mewtwo's figure.
"Is that so."
Silver looked at the Pokémon before him, a faint light passing through the depths of his eyes.
He raised his hand and waved it casually: "Finish this quickly."
Dozens of men in black threw out their Poké Balls simultaneously.
Dozens of Pokémon, all at least Elite-level, landed on the battlefield and launched a synchronized attack against Kazuya and the others.
"I'll go first."
Kazuya ripped his hands apart in front of his chest, as if tearing the air itself.
Dark Void.
A semi-transparent, pitch-black curtain exploded violently, instantly blanketing the entire area.
The next second.
All Pokémon below the Elite Four level collapsed to the ground, fast asleep.
And the Elite Four-level Pokémon suddenly felt their consciousness grow groggy, the commands from their Trainers fading away in their ears.
The only ones capable of temporarily resisting this intense drowsiness.
Were the Champion-level Pokémon.
Team Rocket possessed quite a number of Champion-level Pokémon.
Including that Mega Meganium, they actually had a full five!
It was hard to imagine.
Just how many life-and-death struggles these five Pokémon had endured to hone themselves to this level in such a dark era.
Fortunately.
Although the opponent had five Champion-level Pokémon.
Their overall quality wasn't that strong.
Aside from the Mega Meganium, which was at the high-tier Champion level, the other four were all low-tier Champions.
"Leave that Meganium to me. You handle the other four. Senior Dragonite and Master can rest in the back."
Scizor patted the Lucario beside him.
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from his spot, a Mach Punch already hurtling towards the Meganium.
"..."
You really think highly of me.
Cold sweat trickled down Lucario's forehead. He glanced at the four Champion-level opponents glaring fiercely at him, suddenly feeling an immense pressure.
Among these four Pokémon were a Blaze Breed Paldean Tauros and a Camerupt.
The former was a Fire and Fighting-type Pokémon, and the latter was a Fire and Ground-type Pokémon.
For Lucario.
He was completely crushed in terms of typing.
All three types he was weak against were present and accounted for.
Despite having a level advantage, taking on these four simultaneously was somewhat absurdly difficult.
"I'll help you. Leave those two to me."
The gentle Dragonite stepped forward, patted Lucario's head, and pointed at the two Fire-type Pokémon.
That's right.
It was quite coincidental.
The three types Lucario found troublesome.
Happened to be the three types Dragonite resisted.
Taking on those two Fire-type Pokémon would be a breeze for her.
"Thank you, Senior."
Lucario instantly let out a sigh of relief.
"It's nothing, we're friends after all."
Dragonite smiled casually, then turned to look at Kazuya behind her. "Leave the rest to you, no problem, right?"
Excluding the five Champions and the dozens of fallen Elite-level Pokémon.
There were still over a dozen Elite Four-level Pokémon on the field.
There was a bit of pressure.
But truly, just a bit.
So.
"Ah, leave it to me with peace of mind."
Kazuya lifted his chin, signaling them not to worry about his side.
"Then, I'll go first, Seniors."
Lucario glanced at them, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curving upward.
In the blink of an eye.
He disappeared from his spot.
Simultaneously, an Aura Sphere abruptly materialized above the head of one of the Champion-level Pokémon.
"I'm off too."
Dragonite gently flapped her wings, turned to look at the Mewtwo behind Kazuya, and gave Him a reassuring gesture.
Immediately after, Dragonite moved at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, slamming a water-infused Aqua Tail backed by Extreme Speed into the flank of the lumbering Camerupt.
"..."
Kazuya watched his companions fighting ahead.
Feeling the complex Aura radiating from behind him.
He lowered his head and smiled softly.
This kind of Aura.
He understood it well.
In his sixth life.
When Kazuya thought he would meet his end alone, he saw all the members of the Dragon Clan appear by his side.
At that moment.
This exact kind of Aura bloomed in Kazuya's heart.
Incredibly intense, scorching, making endless strength continuously surge from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't waste time, come at me together, let's avoid attracting any nearby magical beasts."
Kazuya pursed his lips.
He swept a glance over the Elite Four-level Pokémon surrounding them, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalance.
The next second.
Black fog permeated the battlefield, enveloping all the dozen or so Pokémon within.
The Iron Thorn forest, originally so dim it was hard to see, was now pitch black; one couldn't see their own fingers in front of them.
"Honchkrow, use Gust!"
"Pidgeot, Tailwind!"
Two Flying-type moves were executed simultaneously.
The black fog was dispersed in an instant, and the speed of the other Pokémon was boosted.
But it was already a bit late.
The moment the black fog dispersed.
They saw dozens of Darkrai figures surrounding them.
"Don't panic! It's Double Team! Pidgeot, use Hurricane!"
One of them calmly issued a command.
But immediately after, he realized he seemed to have entered another world!
There were no Pidgeots or Darkrais in front of him, only a Giratina radiating black aura from head to toe.
"...Gira...tina."
The person instantly slumped to the ground, staring vacantly at the Giratina before him, having lost all will to resist.
Outside the dream.
Kazuya sat atop the shrine, looking at the figures lying in the black fog, and couldn't help but grin: "When did you get the illusion that you weren't hypnotized?"
He had already said it earlier.
Only Champion-level Pokémon could temporarily resist the hypnotic effect of Dark Void.
Right now, those Elite Four-level Pokémon were already teetering in the black fog.
Let alone their human Trainers.
They had collapsed right at the start alongside the batch of Elite-level Pokémon.
Darkrai.
Was the god of team battles.
Of course.
What was slightly troublesome was that Dark Void was indiscriminate; any Pokémon within its range would be affected.
While Kazuya was hypnotizing the enemies, he was also hypnotizing his own teammates.
Thank goodness his teammates were strong enough, all being Champion-level.
Otherwise, a few of them would probably be sleeping on the ground right now too.
"Well then, it's time to end this battle."
Kazuya cracked his knuckles.
An invisible wave of Psyshock blasted out instantly.
The consciousness of the Pokémon taking heavy hits within the black fog immediately crumbled.
Actually, managing to hold out until now was already quite impressive.
After all...
Dark Void wasn't purely a hypnotic move.
It dealt damage!
And with the boost from Kazuya's two Dread Plates, this damage was not low.
The fact that this group of Pokémon didn't fall immediately meant they could be considered individuals with firm resolve.
Concluding the battle on his end.
Kazuya floated back to Mewtwo's side, looked at Him, and asked, "How does it feel? Not fighting alone, but being protected by companions."
"Very... reassuring... But, why?"
Mewtwo pressed a hand to His chest, honestly expressing His feelings.
At the same time, He didn't suppress His confusion.
"Because we are already friends."
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