Mewtwo then waved his hand, using telekinesis to move the two Divine Birds to his side before teleporting back to Ash.
Ash hurriedly approached Moltres and Zapdos, placing his hands on each of the Divine Birds. The Power of Viridian surged forth, and moments later, Ash sighed in relief, "Fortunately, they're just a bit injured; otherwise, there's nothing wrong. Their consciousness has calmed down. As long as they have some time to heal, they'll return to normal."
Those two black boxes didn't cause any irreversible damage to Moltres and Zapdos, which is indeed a blessing amidst misfortune. As for the injuries on them now, that's naturally from the battle with Mewtwo...
After all, even when they return to normal, the injuries caused by Mewtwo won't just vanish!
To help them regain consciousness, Ash and Mewtwo could only use rather rough methods to deal with them. Now, the two Divine Birds have returned to normal. All that's left is for Mewtwo to take Ash to where Lorelei and the others are and capture that guy named Pluton, thus bringing this grand event of capturing gods to an end.
"Mars, you're truly useless. Not only did you get caught by Lorelei and that kid while relying on yourself, even with two Divine Domain-level Legendary Beasts allocated to you, how could you let the situation be handled like this? When we return, I must ask the Boss to strip you of your executive position," Pluton said disdainfully.
As Ash was about to leave, a cold voice came from above. Ash was taken aback and then abruptly changed his expression, looking up to see Pluton with grey-white hair descending from the sky on a dark purple large bird.
Beside him was a shadowy figure wrapped entirely in energy, preventing anyone from clearly seeing its form. Only the shape vaguely resembled a large bird.
"Pluton!!" Ash shouted towards the sky, "What did you do to Misty and the others?!!!"
Pluton should have been stopped by Cynthia. When Mars appeared from the submarine earlier, Ash already knew that Pluton had slipped from the ocean depths toward the last Divine Bird, Articuno.
And to prevent Articuno from being controlled by Pluton, Cynthia, Lorelei, and the others went to stop him.
Now that Pluton is appearing here, doesn't that mean Cynthia and the others...
"Them? Although I'd like to say they've been eliminated by me, those guys will probably be here soon. They're really like annoying little pests that won't let go, even though they've failed," Pluton scoffed, looking very annoyed with Cynthia and the others' persistence.
Forced by Cynthia, Pluton had to use the ultimate measure prepared for dealing with Lugia—a measure powerful but limited in time and strength. He swept Cynthia aside with one strike and swiftly took control of Articuno before stopping the energy output.
With the controlled Articuno, he could easily shake off Cynthia and the others.
If given a little more time, using Articuno to wipe out Cynthia and her group wouldn't have been impossible. Even if just controlled, a Divine Domain is a Divine Domain, essentially different from non-Divine Domain levels.
Cynthia's Garchomp is indeed formidable, but against a Divine Domain-level, it's somewhat outmatched. Yet Cynthia isn't just relying on Garchomp; against Team Galactic, she wouldn't hold back but rather overwhelm them.
Adding Lorelei to the mix, two full teams of Champion-level Pokemon, while Pluton only has an Articuno with barely Divine Domain-level power under forced control. In a real fight, who would win is uncertain.
Pluton could only fantasize about wiping out Cynthia's group. A real fight with Cynthia is impossible, hence his rushed return here.
If he could gather the Three Divine Birds, then even without using the power of the Divine Position, the strength of the Three Divine Birds would undergo a qualitative change.
By then, whether Ash or Cynthia, they'd all be like clay chickens and pottery dogs, and that Pokemon called Mewtwo would be nothing more than trash that could be easily swept aside!
Once Ash and Cynthia are dealt with, using the power of the Three Divine Birds to lure out Lugia, and finally capturing Lugia, they'd proceed with another of Team Galactic's plans.
Everything seemed so perfect—until Pluton saw that Moltres and Zapdos had already broken free from control.
Don't be fooled by the calmness on Pluton's face; only he knows how bewildered he felt inside. Holy crap, Zapdos and Moltres were defeated! How much time has even passed?
During his fusion with Mars just earlier, the two Divine Birds were merely on the defensive. How did they get resolved in less than five minutes?
Even without being able to utilize full strength at the Divine Domain level, they shouldn't be defeated like chickens!
Yet, the fact remains; in a matter of minutes, the Divine Domain-level Moltres and Zapdos were dealt with. It's hard to imagine a human accomplishing such a feat.
Giving her Divine Domain-level Pokemon was sheer waste; handling like Mars's, still part of Team Galactic's four big executives, is a joke—back to basic training! Even Mars, admonished by Pluton, turned away, too ashamed of the battle outcome.
After all, when you say lack of Pokemon, Pluton had left two strongest Divine Domain-level Pokemon with her.
And if you say the opponents are strong, Pluton faced Sinnoh's Champion and Kanto's Elite, and on this side, it was just a newbie Trainer with less than a year of experience.
In these circumstances, it was Pluton who rushed back to assist her. No matter how much Mars despised Pluton, at this moment, she's utterly ashamed of herself.
If Pluton wasn't there and only Mars was, this place would have crumbled long ago.
On the other side, Ash, hearing that Cynthia and the others were fine, also breathed a sigh of relief and focused on the Pokemon that Pluton stood upon, resembling Articuno.
This Pokemon, without surprise, is the last of the Three Divine Birds from the Orange Archipelago, Articuno.
The situation is clear: it's been converted and controlled by Pluton using the same methods. While Cynthia and the others are unharmed, Articuno is not.
In the Galar Region, Articuno lacks the ice attribute, replaced by the psychic attribute, a much trickier attribute. The good news is that this situation prevents Articuno from using its Divine Position's power.
Apart from Articuno, behind Pluton stood another Pokemon shrouded in energy, which Ash viewed with the Eye of Insight, only to find question marks flooding his mind.
This was Ash's first experience with such an occurrence.
If it isn't a Pokemon, even basic information wouldn't show. But if it is, why the barrage of question marks?
From that shadow, Ash sensed a familiar power—the Power of Death!
Indeed, it's the Power of Death sensed within Little Lugia, but now even more intense than that power.
"Is that Pokemon created using Yveltal's power? But why can't I see through it..." Ash murmured, just as Cynthia and the others returned, riding on Garchomp and Togekiss.
Cynthia and Serena rode on Garchomp, while Lorelei and Misty were on Togekiss.
Hearing the commotion behind, Ash turned to see and noticing the women were uninjured, albeit a bit dusty, finally let out a sigh of relief.