The three legendary birds were very familiar with Riku's aura.
Even though the Orange Archipelago—including its vast sea area—was exceedingly large,
The three birds, acting separately, still managed to locate Riku's whereabouts within two hours.
Seeing that Riku wouldn't be returning to the island anytime soon, the trio discussed and decided to take the initiative: they would bring Metagross directly to Riku for capture.
"Chirp chirp—"
Faced with the boundless sea, Metagross suddenly hesitated and chirped awkwardly.
"What? You can't swim… yeah, you don't exactly look like you can float either,"
Zapdos said with understanding, then looked up and cried out:
"Gaa gaa—"
"Gaa gaa gaa—"
"Splash—"
Five minutes later, a massive Gyarados burst out of the water.
Upon seeing the three legendary birds, it bowed slightly in reverence.
"Go up."
"But Red Shrimp, no need for you to come over. You and your underling are too heavy. Gyarados can only carry one at most."
"You guys go ahead, don't worry about me," Groudon replied nonchalantly, sitting down and clutching its stomach.
"I just ate a Flying Law Berry—I need to digest it properly."
"Whether I can fly or not depends on this!"
The three legendary birds felt a wave of disdain but didn't comment.
Watching Metagross nimbly climb onto Gyarados's back, they quickly took off toward the nameless island where Riku was.
---
Three hours later.
Riku, who hadn't paused for even a moment, finally took out his water bottle, drank a little, and sat down to rest.
The closer the day of his battle with Bruno came, the more anxious he grew.
At the current pace, it was impossible to beat Bruno.
And with such intense battles, even if Riku wasn't exhausted, Gengar and Lapras needed time to rest and recover their strength.
Just as he was about to set up camp and spend the night on this island before continuing his search for wild Pokémon the next morning, a dark shadow suddenly appeared not far away, startling him.
"What is that!?"
"Lapras, get ready. We're about to battle!"
Riku immediately issued the command. As the black shadow drew nearer and became clearer, Riku couldn't help but exclaim:
"Holy crap!"
"What kind of Pokémon is this? Does the Orange Archipelago have such a Pokémon?"
"Handsome—so handsome!"
"Is it a Steel-type spider?"
"No... if a spider's abdomen had a human face, it would probably be a female face."
"Besides, this Pokémon only has four legs. It's not a spider!"
While Riku was in shock, Metagross—who had quietly been sent to the island—was equally stunned.
Metagross clearly knew how powerful its boss, Groudon, was.
To become Groudon's master, Metagross had imagined Riku as an overwhelmingly strong figure.
But now, looking at the real Riku, it realized even its wildest imagination had fallen short.
This wasn't about being strong or weak—Riku was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
"Lapras, do you know what this Pokémon is called?"
As a Pokémon newbie, Riku immediately turned to Lapras.
"Master, this is Metagross. It's a Steel/Psychic-type Pokémon, a second-stage evolution. It's very strong and powerful. Some Metagross even possess the strength of a pseudo-legendary."
Lapras had already communicated with the three legendary birds, So it did its best to hype up Metagross's strength to tempt Riku into capturing it.
However, Riku's first thought after hearing that was:
Can we even win?
Gengar didn't know either, but when Riku looked at it, Gengar thought for a moment and decisively shook its head.
"Master, I definitely can't beat Metagross."
"Even though my Dark-type moves have an advantage, the gap in base stats is too large to overcome."
"Master, I'll go," Lapras offered, knowing there wasn't time to coordinate with Gengar.
"I'm confident I can take on this Metagross."
"If I win, Master, make sure to catch it right away."
Riku had never seen Lapras this proactive before.
Even though he wasn't confident about their chances, he still nodded.
He hadn't expected Metagross to possess pseudo-legendary-level strength.
With "legendary" in the title—even if it was just pseudo—ordinary Pokémon didn't stand a chance.
"Lapras, be careful," Riku instructed.
"If you really can't win, I'll recall you into your Poké Ball right away."
"This Pokémon looks like a melee type, so if we need to escape, it shouldn't be able to catch up."
"No problem," Lapras nodded.
"Master, just get the Poké Ball ready to capture Metagross."
Lapras stepped forward, standing between Riku and Metagross.
Metagross's expression turned serious as it exchanged looks with Lapras.
"Lapras, test its strength first."
"Give it some salt water!"
"Waa—"
Lapras opened its mouth and shot out a stream of slightly murky salt water.
Riku didn't expect the salt water to deal much damage.
His plan was to soak Metagross first, then use Ice Beam to freeze the water and restrict its movement.
"Chirp—"
"What the heck is going on!?"
Just as Riku was about to give the next command, he watched as Metagross let out a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground.
He was completely stunned.
That's it!?
Even ordinary Elite-level Pokémon wouldn't go down this easily!
With strength like this, what was the point of capturing it?
PS: Metagross can actually float during battle.
-----------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter