Elf: Starts with small diamonds, then mutates into Diancie.

Articuno nodded slightly: "That's part of the reason."

Su Hao seemed thoughtful: "A part...?"

Articuno flapped its wings, and the icy blue tail feathers that Su Hao had put away floated slowly in front of them. Looking at its tail feathers, Articuno continued, "First of all, let me clarify something, Su Hao. When you participated in the first trial, it was Azelf who deliberately left me behind and then told me about the situation in this secret realm, so that I could find Moltres and Zapdos to enter the secret realm."

Su Hao: "......."

Hard! The fist is hard!

It was that blue mushroom-headed guy who was behind it all. Considering that they can summon the stone tablet spirits that have systems installed inside their bodies, they might actually be able to pull some strings and capture Articuno!

"After learning the details, I approached Latios and Latias. The reason I went to such lengths to ask them to hand over my tail feathers to you is because I was afraid they would tamper with them or simply cut them off."

"Then, I went back to the secret realm to check on the little ones, and then I found Moltres and Zapdos, and together we entered the secret realm."

In just a few words, Articuno revealed everything that Arknom had done.

Su Hao remembered that either Yuxie or Memrido had said that Azelf almost got beaten up by Giratina for illegally detaining Articuno.

I've decided. Once Giratina returns with Draco Balto and Draco Messia, I'm going to badmouth Azelm and get Giratina to beat it up!

However, personal grudges aside, since it was Azelf who told Articuno about this, the existence behind it becomes quite interesting...

Arceus would not do that; with its power, there is absolutely no need for it to do things through Articuno.

Therefore, the entity behind Azelf should be either Dialga or Palkia.

They were aware of Lugia's situation, but because they were on the edge of the universe, they couldn't intervene and had to rely on Arknom to guide Articuno to handle it.

Su Hao noticed that the messy lines were gradually becoming neat and clear...

"Then, there's the matter of the Sea God's condition. When Moltres, Zapdos, and I entered the secret realm, the Sea God still retained a small amount of his sanity."

"Su Hao, have you noticed anything about the environment of this secret realm?"

Articuno looked at Su Hao and suddenly asked a question.

After a moment of contemplation, Su Hao said without hesitation, "Based on what I've seen in the less than half a day I've been in this secret realm, it's incredibly vast, frighteningly so. But it's also frighteningly empty. I haven't seen a single wild Pokémon."

Articuno nodded approvingly: "Not bad, your observation skills are as good as ever. Well then, I'll be straightforward and not beat around the bush."

"This secret realm is a cage that Lugia used to confine himself, a prison he set up to prevent his mental strength from collapsing one day. There are few restrictions on entering, but you must meet certain conditions to leave."

"The most important thing is the purity of the body. For Lugia, he must maintain his essence as the god of the sea, the god of the monsoon, and the god of the ocean currents in order to leave the secret realm."

"That's why it's eyeing your Silver Wings; Dark Lugia wants to escape this place that's trapping it."

To escape the cage, they must rely on the feathers left behind when it was still intact, using the silver feathers to deceive the secret realm's detection system.

After a long silence, Reshiram spoke up: "So, its mental problems are because... it was corrupted by dark matter?"

"Yes and no." Articuno's expression turned serious, after all, it was also very surprised when it first heard about it. "Su Hao, do you remember the war I mentioned in the past to protect the world?"

Su Hao nodded. He still remembered that it was a fierce battle against the dark matter of the invaders. Many legendary elves were mobilized, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, and the place that was once called the Spirit Realm was banished from this world.

Articuno said, "Actually, we're not very familiar with Lugia. Shortly after I became the God of Ice, and Moltres and Zapdos became the Gods of Fire and Thunder, Lugia locked itself up. We haven't had much interaction."

"It wasn't until we entered the secret realm not long ago that we discovered it had some mental issues."

"Luggia said that their race seems to have an inherent possibility, and even though it was not corrupted or replaced by dark matter during the war, the soaring negative energy still affected it, pushing it to the other side of the scale."

"Originally, Lugia intended to use this cage, devoid of any intelligent life, to imprison itself and, through the passage of time and its own willpower, wear down its gradually emerging new personality."

"Lugia never expected that it would have a child. In order to protect the child from being distorted by the overwhelming negative energy within its body, Lugia gradually lost ground in the important battle for who was the dominant personality."

"After we entered the secret realm, Lugia entrusted Little Lugia to us. After that, she could no longer suppress the spirit of the dark side. Her very existence began to distort, and the control of her body was completely taken over by the tyrannical dark side."

"Then things became what they are now. Dark Lugia is trying every means to leave the secret realm, while we are relying on Lugia's backup plan: raising baby Lugia on these three islands that Dark Lugia cannot enter. We are in a stalemate."

After listening to Articuno's account, Su Hao and Reshiram fell into complete silence, while Diancie, as if recalling Xerneas and Lugia's remarkably similar actions, couldn't help but tear up.

Lugia's maternal love is truly great.

----------

Chapter 834 The Sealing Plan!

"However, there are limits to a stalemate."

Articuno raised its wings and pointed towards the other side of the sea.

"Look over there, do you see anything?"

Su Hao, Reshiram, and others looked up in the direction Articuno's wings were pointing, where Moltres and Zapdos were still fighting.

Above the clouds, a vast and surging thunderbolt descended, colliding with the overwhelming flames, displaying the boundless divine power of the gods of fire and thunder.

But they all knew that Articuno wasn't talking about those two guys.

In a more distant place, shrouded in dark clouds, an ominous aura filled the air, and dark vortexes and waterspouts destroyed everything around them, even causing the entire secret realm to tremble slightly.

"This is the power of a first-class legendary god. Even in this secret realm where it is almost impossible to communicate with the main world, it can stir up such a terrifying storm. If it were to return to the main world, Dark Lugia could probably easily destroy a country with natural disasters by using its authority."

"Besides the Silver Feather method, it uses this method to influence the spatial stability of the secret realm, causing the secret realm to gradually move closer to the main world."

"There aren't many restrictions on entering the secret realm. Now, some of the weak points in the secret realm space are probably enough to allow Elite Four or Champion-level Pokémon that are good at spatial manipulation to force their way in."

"As long as humans enter, as long as the secret realm gradually overlaps with the main world until it completely descends, Dark Lugia will one day be able to break free from this cage that binds it and unleash its overflowing destructive desires."

Articuno's voice was heavy with worry. Time was running out for them. The three of them could manage to hold their own against the uncorrupted Lugia, but the Dark Lugia was no pushover. It was terrifying once it unleashed its destructive desires.

Fortunately, Su Hao brought Reshiram, who had recovered his full strength, into the secret realm with him.

With Reshiram's power, their original plans could be modified to some extent, and the sacrifices would not have to be so tragic.

Su Hao suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that he had entered the high seas secret realm early. Otherwise, when facing Dark Lugia, the Divine Continent Alliance and even the major alliances would likely suffer heavy casualties, and might even become the fuse for Dark Lugia's reappearance.

After a long silence, Diancie asked, "Is there anything I can do? I'll do my best!"

Diancie wanted to help Lugia as much as she could, hoping that Lugia would regain its sanity. It was too tragic that its pure and beautiful body had become an embodiment of darkness and destruction.

Diancie thought of Eyjafjalla, the friend of the first queen. She must not have wanted to cause destruction and annihilation. The original Lugia would have thought the same.

Sensing Diancie's unwavering conviction, Articuno paused for a moment, then felt a surge of relief.

It seems that little Diancie... no, it seems that Diancie has grown into a very reliable person.

Articuno nodded slightly and said, "At that time, Diancie's Radiant Power will be our main means. Although Lugia was not corrupted by the Void Shadow like Reshiram, the main reason for its deterioration is still the negative energy related to dark matter and the Void Shadow."

"Anything that is negative energy is merely a shadow of light in the face of Diancie's radiant power. With this trump card, we are confident that we can purify Dark Lugia!"

"Project Sealing," that's the name of this operation!

Su Hao frowned, noticing something amiss: "A seal? Shouldn't it be a purification plan?"

Articuno looked at him strangely: "You seem to have misunderstood something. No matter what, it is the negative energy that caused Lugia, the legendary god, to change. Even if Diancie's Radiant Power is a natural counter to negative energy, it still needs to have enough mass to completely eradicate it. The Elite Four level is just the most basic limit we set."

"The radiant power emitted by Diancie at this level is, as we expect, able to continuously purify the negative energy within Dark Lugia's body within the 'seal' we prepared for it."

"Don't worry, Lugia is an ancient god after all. As long as the negative energy and dark personality are suppressed, it will have a chance to regain the upper hand."

"Of course, such as

If Gutianci's strength were to increase several levels, she could also quickly purify the negative energy within Dark Lugia.

Su Hao, seemingly lost in thought, pointed to the Moltres and Zapdos locked in fierce combat and asked, "Is the plan to execute it once they've finished fighting?"

Articuno shook its head: "We still need to wait for the right time. I have a vague feeling that Skadi and the others have already brought the secret realm to the outside of the secret realm in the high seas, right?"

Su Hao nodded in agreement. Moreover, Skadi and the others not only came, but they also froze the high seas together, making quite a splash.

Articuno stated the exact timeframe directly: "That's right. When those two fighting guys' clans arrive with their secret realms, we can begin executing the plan."

As if she had grasped Articuno's thoughts, Reshiram asked, "You... do you intend to integrate the three realms and then use the authority of that shrine and your power to suppress Dark Lugia?"

Articuno did not deny Reshiram's conjecture, its voice tinged with apology: "Because it is a seal, even after everything is over, the three of us will still guard this place to ensure the seal of Dark Lugia remains secure."

"I'm sorry, Su Hao, but I may not be able to continue my journey with you until the complete purification of Dark Lugia is achieved."

Su Hao shook his head: "...It's okay. What you're doing now is the right thing to do, and Giratina will understand."

Although it's regrettable that Articuno can't stay with him any longer, he and Diancie will continue to grow stronger until they are strong enough to completely purify the negative energy within Dark Lugia in one go, at which point Articuno will be able to escape.

Articuno looked touched: "It's so good that you understand."

Reshiram paused suspiciously for a moment, then spoke with a determined look: "I will do everything in my power to help you suppress Dark Lugia to ensure the success of the plan. Leave the task of holding it off to me."

Reshiram's sudden burst of fighting spirit startled Su Hao and the others. Although Articuno felt that with Reshiram's promise, their plan would have a much higher success rate.

But... for some reason, Articuno felt like something was off?

Isn't Rashiram's attitude a bit too enthusiastic?

------------

Chapter 835 The tiger has wandered for half his life, only regretting that he has never met a wise teacher. If the bird does not abandon him, the tiger is willing to become his mentor.

After the plan was finalized, Moltres and Zapdos, who had been fighting for most of the day, seemed to have gotten tired. They landed on the ground and muttered something about how their muscles and bones had loosened up and they felt much better.

Moltres and Zapdos swaggered back to the frozen bay of Ice Island like roosters with their heads held high, heading straight for Lugia, who was tired of playing with Evil Pine and the others.

"Oh dear~ Little Lugia, come here and let Uncle and Aunt Zapdos give you a hug."

Zapdos, looking like a lecherous old man... or auntie?, spread its wings and embrace, beaming as it approached Lugia.