Ange and Latios searched extensively without finding any trace of Red Butterfly Grass, so they decided to move to another location.
Suddenly, Ange sensed a powerful wave of aura rapidly approaching.
At the same time, Latios seemed to sense a dangerous presence and suddenly became alert.
Just then, a Pokémon completely enveloped in flames descended from the sky, riding a fire bird.
Upon landing, the fire bird transformed into a fireball and settled on the tip of the Pokémon's snout.
The Pokémon was entirely fiery red, covered in square scales, with hot flames surging inside its massive mouth.
Ange wore a look of surprise; it was actually a Skeledirge! This was a Pokémon naturally found in the Paldea region and served as one of the Paldea region's Fire-type starter Pokémon.
Skeledirge, the Singer Pokémon, possessed Fire and Ghost types, capable of singing powerful yet gentle songs. Its life-filled songs could heal the listener's heart and strip opponents of their fighting spirit.
It was said that the fireball on its snout housed a soul, possessed independent consciousness, and could even change its appearance through song.
Because of this fireball, the Fire-type Skeledirge gained its secondary Ghost type.
The fire bird that Skeledirge had just ridden upon must have been transformed from that fireball.
The moment he saw Skeledirge, Ange immediately realized it must be the king of the Allearth Forest. The powerful aura radiating from it was truly difficult to ignore.
Thinking this, Ange activated the Eye of Observation.
Skeledirge
Type: Fire, Ghost
Ability: Unaware
Gender: Female
Level: 95
Moves: Various
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 29
After checking, Ange could not hide his shock; its level was unexpectedly as high as 95, living up to its reputation as the king! It was hard to imagine that such a high-level Pokémon existed in the Allearth Forest.
Skeledirge glanced at Flabébé, Floette, and Lurantis collapsed among the flowers and immediately let out an angry roar.
Roar~~~
Realizing the situation had turned critical, Ange immediately explained, "Skeledirge, we..."
Before Ange could finish his sentence, however, Skeledirge launched an attack.
It sang a resounding song from its mouth, and in the next second, roaring flames surged like a sea of fire toward Ange and Latios.
This was Skeledirge's signature move, Torch Song, which dealt damage to the opponent while raising the user's Special Attack by one stage.
Seeing this, Latios flew forward without hesitation, erecting a Light Screen in front of itself to block all the incoming flames.
Although Latios and Ange were safe, the surrounding flower field suffered terribly; countless brightly blooming flowers were scorched and reduced to ash within the sea of fire.
Upon witnessing this, Skeledirge's gaze revealed a trace of sorrow, though anger quickly consumed her reason once more.
Wretched human!
She began singing a resonant song again, and rolling flames appeared in response.
Seeing this, Latios similarly unleashed its signature move, and a brilliant, sacred light erupted from its body, charging toward the menacing flames.
Boom!
Following a loud crash, the two moves collided and exploded in mid-air. Splattering flames fell into the flower field, destroying vast stretches of blossoms.
The temperature of Skeledirge's flames was exceptionally high, causing plants to turn to ash at the slightest touch.
Countless hours had gone into growing this flower field, yet destruction took mere moments.
Ange felt a pang of heartache watching.
Observing the ongoing battle, he pondered for a moment, then retrieved a Pokéball. With a flash of red light, Latias appeared outside.
"Latias, use Rain Dance!" Ange commanded.
Lati~as! Latias nodded, its eyes flashing with blue light as it controlled a blue orb to fly into the sky.
As the blue orb burst in the air, a loud rumble echoed across the sky, followed by thick dark clouds gathering, and shortly after, heavy rain poured down.
Latias's Rain Dance was exceptionally powerful this time, sending large raindrops plunging rapidly, stinging people's cheeks.
Thanks to the heavy rain, the flames in the flower field gradually extinguished, ultimately saving the remaining blossoms.
Unfortunately, due to the earlier intense fire, more than half of the flower field had been burned away.
Similarly, because of the heavy rain, Skeledirge, as a Fire-type Pokémon, suffered a massive penalty. Its efficiency in manipulating Fire-type energy plummeted, and the power of its Fire-type moves was significantly diminished.
However, because it had used Torch Song multiple times, Skeledirge's Special Attack had been heavily boosted, compensating for some of the negative effects brought on by the rainy weather. As a result, Latios was unable to defeat it immediately.
Seeing this, Latias attempted to step forward and help, but Latios shook its head in refusal.
It wanted no interference in its battle with Skeledirge.
Since it was raining, Latios unhesitatingly used Thunder.
Thunder never misses in the rain.
Rumble! Golden lightning flashed across the sky.
By this time, Skeledirge had abandoned using Fire-type moves, and a massive black energy sphere condensed within its mouth.
When the golden lightning struck from the sky, she opened her mouth and spat out the black energy sphere, directly intercepting the lightning.
Thunder and Shadow Ball collided, and with a roaring explosion, both moves detonated.
Thanks to its boosted Special Attack and Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB), Skeledirge, despite being lower in level than Latios, fought to a standstill using a power 80 Shadow Ball against a power 110 Thunder.
At that moment, Latios's eyes flashed with a faint light, and a transparent energy sphere quietly rose into the sky without Skeledirge noticing.
Skeledirge then launched another attack at Latios, using Shadow Ball once again.
Latios moved nimbly, dodging the Shadow Ball with a quick sidestep.
However, nobody expected that the Shadow Ball would fly straight toward the unconscious Flabébé, Floette, and Lurantis.
Seeing this, Skeledirge, still consumed by anger, instantly sobered up, a look of shock crossing her face.
Ange never expected such a turn of events either, and immediately shouted, "Latias!"
Lati~as! Understanding instantly, Latios rushed toward Flabébé and the others at maximum speed.
Fortunately, Ange and Latios were very close to them. The moment the Shadow Ball landed, Latios arrived in time, shielding Flabébé and the others behind a Light Screen.
Seeing this, both Ange and Skeledirge breathed a collective sigh of relief.
At the same time, Skeledirge's gaze toward Ange carried a hint of surprise.
Humans are despicable and ungrateful creatures; why would one help an opponent?
Before Skeledirge could figure it out, two bursts of light flashed in the sky, followed by two rings of light descending and striking her one after another.
Skeledirge let out a miserable shriek before collapsing to the ground, losing consciousness entirely.
It turned out Latios had secretly used the Psychic-type ultimate move Future Sight earlier, and while Skeledirge was momentarily stunned, Future Sight had triggered right on cue.
Just as Skeledirge fell, the duration of Rain Dance expired. The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and golden sunlight pierced straight through the cloud layer, gilding the ruined flower field with a layer of gold.
Ange wiped the rainwater from his face, walking toward Skeledirge while completely soaked.
Because it had lost consciousness, the flames wrapping around Skeledirge had extinguished as well, leaving only the small fireball on its snout flickering gently.
Ange pried open Skeledirge's massive jaws, poured stamina-restoring Juice Milk into her mouth, instructed Latios to cast Healing Wish on her, and then stood up to walk toward Flabébé and the others.
After similarly feeding Juice Milk to Flabébé and the others, Ange found a concealed spot to change out of his wet clothes.
When he returned, Flabébé and the companions were just waking up.
Upon seeing Ange, they trembled in fear one by one, hastily gathering around the unconscious Skeledirge.
Labei~
Hula~
Lala~
The five Pokémon anxiously called out to the unconscious Skeledirge.
Ange sighed helplessly. "You guys attacked me first! If anyone should be scared, it's me!"
Hearing this, Lurantis hastily stepped in front of Floette and the three Flabébé, maintaining a wary expression.
Ange continued, "I really mean no harm. I came here simply to find Red Butterfly Grass to save my friend."
With that, he asked Lurantis, Floette, and Flabébé, "By the way, do you happen to know where I can find Red Butterfly Grass?"
Lurantis: Hmph, as if we'd tell you.
Floette and Flabébé: Exactly, exactly!
Seeing the five Pokémon display a resolute refusal to speak, Ange sighed deeply.
Since Flabébé and the others refused to talk, Ange planned to leave and search by himself.
Just then, a Flabébé whispered softly, Labei~ Labei~ You won't find it...
Ange had sharp ears and caught the whisper, asking with a puzzled tone, "Why?"
Startled by Ange suddenly turning around, Flabébé hurriedly hid behind Lurantis.
Labei~ Labei~ We won't tell you!
Ange found himself in a dilemma. Should he leave or stay?
At that moment, Skeledirge slowly opened her eyes.
Kolei~ Human!
Skeledirge's attitude was far from friendly, prompting Ange to say quickly, "You can't beat us, so you shouldn't try anything rash again."
Wu~
Wu~
Latias and Latios floated on either side of Ange, gazing at Skeledirge with intimidating expressions.
Recalling how she had almost caught Flabébé and the others in the crossfire earlier, Skeledirge instantly calmed down.
She couldn't even beat Latios on her own, let alone with Latias present.
Continuing to fight was indeed unwise.
Labei~
Hula~
Lala~
Flabébé, Floette, and Lurantis crowded around Skeledirge, looking at her with concerned expressions.
It was clear that as the king of the jungle, Skeledirge was deeply loved by the Pokémon.
Kolei~ kolei~ Skeledirge indicated that she was fine, apologizing to the five Pokémon for almost hurting them and destroying the flower field.
She had been too furious seeing Flabébé and the others unconscious, causing her anger to override her reason.
The five Pokémon shook their heads to indicate it was fine. Skeledirge hadn't meant to do it; she acted to protect everyone in the jungle, and they understood.
As for the flower field, they could simply replant and cultivate it again.
Concluding her exchange with Flabébé and the others, Skeledirge looked at Ange and said, "Kolei~ kolei~ Human, don't even think about getting Red Butterfly Grass from us!"
In recent years, the population of Red Butterfly Grass in the Allearth Forest had dwindled, growing only sparsely in isolated locations outside of a single special area.
If Ange wanted to harvest enough Red Butterfly Grass, Skeledirge was the only one who could help him.
Ange asked, "What will it take for you to give me the Red Butterfly Grass?"
Skeledirge declared harshly, "Don't even dream about it. I won't give Red Butterfly Grass to any human. Humans are detestable! Despicable! Ungrateful!"
Hearing this, Ange grew exasperated. The lingering resentment was almost palpable!
"I know you resent humans because your child was stolen, but I wasn't the one who stole your child. My friend is waiting for Red Butterfly Grass to get treatment, can't you make an exception?"
Skeledirge shook her head with unwavering resolve. "Even if you beat me to death here today, I will not give you the Red Butterfly Grass!"
Ange scratched his wet hair and said irritably, "Don't push me. If you drive me to extremes, there's nothing I won't do!"
"What are you planning to do?" Skeledirge watched Ange warily, shielding Flabébé and the others behind her, terrified that Ange might snap and harm them.
Ange stated, "Are you really not going to give it up?" His gaze gradually turned dangerous.
Worried that Ange might go crazy and hurt other Pokémon in the forest, Skeledirge blurted out, "Unless you can find my child and bring them back!"
Ange was stunned. "Are you joking? Your child was stolen decades ago, where on earth am I supposed to find them for you?!"
Skeledirge insisted, "I don't care, if you don't agree, I won't give you the Red Butterfly Grass!"
Ange grew angry. "You..."
And so, the human and the Pokémon reached a stalemate.
After a long while, Skeledirge realized she was being somewhat unreasonable, so she took a step back on her own accord.
"I can give you the Red Butterfly Grass first, and then you can slowly help me search for my child. I won't set a deadline for you, as long as you gradually ask around in the human world."
Decades had passed, and Skeledirge knew full well that finding her child would be extremely difficult, with hope bordering on microscopic.
Yet, a shred of hope still lingered in her heart.
Fortunately, as Ghost-type Pokémon, their lifespans exceeded those of ordinary Pokémon. If her child had evolved to its final stage, it would definitely still be alive in the world today.
"Fine, I'll help you look for your child!" After pondering for a long time, Ange finally chose to agree. "However, I can only promise to do my best. As for whether I can find them, it will depend on fate."
Skeledirge nodded. "Alright, doing your best is enough."
Ange thought for a moment and said, "Then please tell me the details of how your child was stolen, along with any information about the thief, such as their appearance or name."
"Alright..." Skeledirge nodded at his words, her thoughts drifting back over fifty years as she began narrating the events of that year to Ange.