Elf: Start with small diamonds, then mutate into Diancie!

The sound of Articuno came from the Master Ball.

A flash of red light appeared, and Articuno, with an extremely serious expression, appeared beside Su Hao.

"W-what's wrong?"

Su Hao was startled; this was the first time he had ever seen Articuno's expression and tone so serious.

Articuno's aura grew ever stronger, surrounded by an icy blue glow, its overflowing divinity proclaiming its immense existence.

His ruby-like eyes gazed toward the dark, incomparably deep sky.

Whether it was this place that didn't quite match Mu Yulan's description of the spirit world, or the Articuno's unusual behavior, even if Su Hao was stupid, he would know that something was wrong.

"Articuno, what happened? Isn't this the Spirit Realm?" Su Hao asked cautiously in a low voice.

He wasn't quite sure what state Articuno was in, and whether speaking rashly would disturb it, so Su Hao chose to speak in the softest possible tone.

Since Su Hao's Aura Power cannot leave his body, he is fortunate to have the power of Viridian that allows him to understand Pokémon's words. This is also why Articuno, having gotten used to Su Hao's Aura Channel, was able to understand its meaning even without using its telepathic abilities.

He chose to heed Articuno's advice and, for the sake of stability, did not release Diancie and the others.

After a long pause, Articuno gently closed its eyes and sighed, "It really is here..."

Su Hao seized on the key point: "Here? Could this be the Spirit Realm you just mentioned... that has already been destroyed!?"

At first glance, this answer seemed utterly absurd, but Su Hao had a feeling that this place might actually be...

"That's right, this is the spirit world I was talking about, the one that was destroyed long ago."

Articuno's expression was full of reminiscence, recalling a period of history from countless years ago.

"There's a reason I didn't let you release Diancie and the others. To be honest, I'm quite surprised." For the first time, Articuno wasn't looking at Su Hao from a protector's perspective, but rather as the Ice God, he was seriously observing him.

He changed the subject and began to recount a piece of history from his memory: "This was once an ancient battlefield, a battlefield where we gods gathered countless Pokémon and humans to fight."

"Is the battlefield... a war between people, Pokémon and Pokémon, gods and gods?"

Su Hao was puzzled. This was a history he had never heard of before. The history recorded by the Alliance only included wars between people, not wars between gods...

"No."

Articuno slowly shook its head and then said, "That was the battle to protect the world."

"Back then, I was a rising genius in the Articuno clan, but now the Ice God's authority on me is held by the strongest member of the Articuno clan at that time."

"I was also fighting in the sky at that time, but I was just one of countless Elite Four Pokémon, and I was powerless."

"The opponent is a Pokémon from another world controlled by dark matter, wanting to use the Spirit World as a stepping stone to devour this world." Articuno paused slightly and turned its gaze to Su Hao.

It's like saying, "You can ask questions now."

Seizing the key points, Su Hao immediately asked, "What is dark matter? And what about Pokémon from another world?"

After all, he could vaguely sense that Articuno should have its own kind, but that wasn't important. What he wanted to know more about were these two things.

"I don't know the specifics either, because at the time I was just one of the countless Pokémon that participated in the battle, not a high-ranking member."

"All I know is the general information circulating in Pokémon: that dark matter devoured another world and used it as its base to invade other worlds, just like ours..."

"That war lasted a long time. The opposing side consisted entirely of dark Pokémon that were dominated by the negative energy released by dark matter and looked no different from many of our Pokémon species."

Articuno paused, then continued in a heavy tone, "Dark Pikachu, Dark Gardevoir, Dark Tyranitar, Dark... Articuno, and so on."

"Initially, only ordinary Pokémon began to invade from the deepest spatial passage of the spirit world. After encountering resistance, the strength and species of Pokémon grew stronger and stronger, including those pseudo-legendary Pokémon that you categorize, which appeared in large numbers."

"Suicune, who possesses the power of purification, also attempted to capture these dark Pokémon alive, hoping to see if she could awaken them..."

"Did it succeed?" Su Hao asked anxiously.

Judging from the current situation, the spirit world doesn't seem to have a large army. A lot of time must have passed, and the world is peaceful now. It must have been a success, right?

Articuno shook its head sadly and said, "It can be removed, it can be purified, but the inner world of these Pokémon... has long since become an empty shell. Only the body remains; the spirit has been completely devoured by the dark matter."

"The final battle intensified, and the gods who had made pacts with humans also joined the fray. As the forces deployed increased, a race similar to ours appeared in the enemy's ranks."

"Although the higher-ups had long anticipated this day, the battle still took an unpredictable turn with the appearance of legendary Pokémon such as Dark Articuno, Dark Latias, Dark Heatran, and... Dark Lugia in the enemy's forces."

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

Lugia + Legendary Birds

Chapter 175 This place is not safe to stay any longer, it's moist.

"The enemy's strength is growing stronger and stronger, and even the gods, who are high above, have no choice but to don their armor and go into battle in person." Articuno's eyes reflected the scenes of the past.

"The Ice God, Fire God, and Thunder God are fighting against that Dark Lugia that, despite lacking authority, is terrifyingly strong. Ho-Oh is fighting two against one, against Dark Groudon and Dark Kyogre..."

"Then, the first god was seriously injured and died. Unfortunately, that was the then Ice God of our Articuno clan."

“At that time, all my peers and elders who came to the battlefield with me also perished. Before leaving, He handed over this authority to me in advance.”

"It was then that I realized that even gods, who are high above and control the fundamental authority, can die."

After saying that, Articuno silently added in his mind, "This has also contributed to my current personality of pursuing power, not wanting to get involved in things, and staying home as much as possible."

After all, if I survive to the end, I'll have everything I need. I also need to follow the last will of the Ice God and take care of the young Articuno that hasn't fully grown up yet in the Secret Realm.

However... I sealed off all the secret realm passages before I settled on Ice Feather Mountain, so there shouldn't be any little brats running out, right?

Articuno was a little worried and decided to take Su Hao back to the secret realm to check on things after a while.

"So tragic..." Su Hao felt a chill run down his spine.

This place is so dangerous... Is this really a dungeon that a newbie trainer like me should be entering?

Su Hao trembled. He hadn't even had a chance to taste the baby cup before another high-difficulty challenge came along.

"What happened after that? You must have won, right? Otherwise, things wouldn't be so peaceful now..." Su Hao asked.

"It was indeed a victory, but we paid a heavy price," Articuno nodded in affirmation.

"The God of Ice, the God of Fire, the God of Thunder and the Dark Lugia perished together. Ho-Oh exhausted its power to defeat the two gods of the sea and land. Afterwards, Lugia, Rayquaza and other gods also joined the battle. It was truly a war of the gods."

"Just when it seemed that both sides were severely injured, those defeated dark Pokémon reappeared..." Articuno's tone was filled with undisguised fear as it said this.

"So... in the end..."

Su Hao hesitated for a moment. In his mind, there was only one person who could solve such a desperate situation.

"The great creator, Arceus, appeared. He used the nineteen stone tablets as a price to wipe out all these dark Pokémon. Then He turned the nineteen stone tablets into a seal, blocking the passage of dark matter to our world. Finally, having lost the stone tablets, He continued to use His great power to banish the shattered spirit world to the outside of the universe."

"This is all I know."

After finishing his story, Articuno breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, this is the spirit realm that Arceus banished?" Su Hao asked cautiously.

He was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information he received today, and it was giving him a real headache.

Such a ferocious thing, with only a human who can tear apart elite-level Pokémon with his bare hands, Diancie with professional-level, gym-level combat power but no authority, two elite-level Pokémon, and Dragapult just to make up the numbers.

The only one that can be considered a fighter is Articuno, how are we supposed to fight that?

According to Articuno's description, the Dark Matter can easily spawn a bunch of Champion-level units...

"Yes, I can't be mistaken. This is the Spirit Realm I know, the Spirit Realm banished by Arceus, not that fake secret realm."

Articuno was a little tired; it had too many bad memories on its mind.

"Then why can't I release Diancie and the others?"

This is a point that Articuno has never addressed in its narrative.

Articuno, lost in its sorrowful memories, snapped out of it and stared at Su Hao, saying, "You... don't you feel anything?"

"Negative emotions are everywhere in this sky, on this land, and in the air; negative energy left over from the war."

Articuno used to be able to resist these things only thanks to the daily protection of the higher deities. Now, it also needs to exercise its authority to keep these filthy things out.

"Huh? I don't feel anything..." Su Hao was dumbfounded.

Articuno: "???"

"You're... truly amazing."

[Buzzing...buzzing...weak signal...alien energy detected...activated...buzzing...]

Su Hao: "!!!"

To be honest, he hadn't realized that not only could he not open the system panel, but he also couldn't take anything out of his inventory!

What's going on? Is the system this slow?

However, he was still somewhat worried about the current state of the system...

"These ubiquitous alien energies are difficult for ordinary Pokémon to shake off once they get involved, and they can easily become puppets of dark matter if they are not careful."

"Even I, who was at the Heavenly King level at the time, needed the protection of the gods to be able to enter the battlefield, let alone Diancie who had no authority and Blazing Roar Tiger who was only at the elite level."

"So, you're completely unharmed, I'm really surprised."

Articuno stared intently at Su Hao, as if trying to see a flower bloom in his eyes.

He didn't dwell on it; this wasn't the place for pressing the issue. Articuno changed the subject: "In short, we shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's get to Run!!!"

Su Hao: "!!!"

Is this place suitable for moisturizing?

As expected of Articuno, he easily accomplished what we couldn't!

So cool and hot!!!

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

Arceus

Chapter 176 This is the battlefield I command!

"Is this... a place where I can get lubricated?" Su Hao asked hesitantly.

Wasn't this place banished from their universe by Arceus?

How did this thing manage to precisely create a hole under his feet...?