Ash, burning with anger, was completely disregarded by Pluton, who merely voiced his true thoughts without concern.
To him, apart from the leader of Team Galactic and his experiments, nothing else mattered at all. Respecting the lives of Pokemon and their thoughts was utterly absent.
In fact, although many in the villainous organization aim to capture and sell Pokemon to complete missions, they deeply love and respect their own Pokemon. However, towards other Pokemon, they generally share the same attitude as Pluton.
Pluton is even more extreme, viewing both his own Pokemon and those outside merely as tools to fulfill the leader of Team Galactic's desires.
It was precisely this attitude towards Pokemon that enraged Ash so much.
"Kid, when you grow up, you'll realize that everything needed to achieve a goal, whether Pokemon or humans, is just a tool. Naive people like you should obediently leave Lugia behind and go back to playing your Trainer games." Pluton sneered at Ash.
"You…"
"Calm down, Ash, he's provoking you, don't go over there." Cynthia placed a gentle hand on Ash's shoulder, halting him from rushing forward.
Pluton's demeanor indeed matched his words, but typically, Pluton wasn't this verbose. He didn't need others to understand or respect him; he only needed to achieve his objectives.
Therefore, saying so much in front of Ash was surely to provoke him into action. Evidently, Pluton had investigated Ash, knowing where his weak spots were and how to make him lose his reason.
Cynthia's intervention caused a hint of disappointment to flicker in Pluton's eyes: "As expected of the Sinnoh Champion, I originally intended to deal with that troublesome kid first, but with you here, he likely won't charge recklessly. In that case... let's start the battle."
Pluton said, extending his palm and snapping his fingers.
The next moment, two overwhelming presences emanated from either side of Ash and the others, their terrifying pressure causing Cynthia's expression to change.
"Divine Domain Level? Two of them! Team Galactic, what exactly have you done?" Cynthia asked coldly.
"What have we done? Just slightly modified the two deities from the Orange Archipelago. The plan to capture the third was all set and would be completed today. However, Mars bungled even a small task, letting you invade this place and rescue her, so I have to implement the plan earlier now."
As Pluton's words fell, those two corporeal-like terrifying auras grew thicker, followed by two beams of light shooting skyward!
Orange and dark red pillars of light shone on either side of Ash and the others, with two silhouettes slowly emerging from within.
From the dark red pillar stepped a large bird engulfed in dark red flames, while from the other emerged a bird with orange feathers over a black base, looking like it had its feathers bristled.
"Moltres? Zapdos? No, their appearances aren't quite right?" Misty immediately connected the two large birds to the Three Divine Birds of the Kanto Region, Moltres and Zapdos.
The resemblance of these two birds to Moltres and Zapdos was uncanny. Misty had not seen those Divine Birds in person, but she'd been exposed to many of their legendary depictions over the years. If those Divine Birds appeared before her, she would recognize them immediately.
But what's going on with these two birds before her? From their appearance, they closely resemble the Three Divine Birds, but there are significant differences in detail.
For example, Moltres should be engulfed in pure orange-red flames, yet this bird resembling Moltres burns with dark red fire.
Moreover, from this Pokemon resembling Moltres, Misty couldn't feel any heat. The fire, which seemed to burn fiercely as if consuming everything, emitted no warmth.
This did not match the legendary depiction of Moltres at all!
The other Pokemon resembling Zapdos was similar. Ash couldn't sense any electrical ions from it. As a Legendary Pokemon filled with Thunder, its movements should embody its attributes at the Divine Domain Level. However, Ash couldn't feel Thunder from within it at all.
This bird resembling Zapdos didn't possess Electric attributes!
An Electric attribute-less Zapdos? A Fire attribute-less Moltres? It sounded like a Hellish joke.
"According to legend, the Galar Region has a trio of birds similar to the Kanto Region's Three Divine Birds, but due to regional differences, their forms differ, retaining Flying-type while their other attributes changed," Cynthia stated slowly after pondering for two seconds.
Among the present, perhaps Lorelei and Ash couldn't recognize these two birds. Legendary Pokemon were already rare, and those with regional forms were even scarcer.