(A/N: Hello there! It's been a while, sorry for going ghost on you all. A lot came up on my end, but here I am! And I'm bringing plenty of chapters with me. Enjoy!)
But whether Volo could truly defeat Arceus was hard to say.
It depended on how many Plates Arceus possessed.
If it had all the Plates... No wait, the Spooky Plate and Pixie Plate were both in his own hands.
John looked at the item that had appeared in his hand.
It was a sharp claw.
[Uxie's Claw: Legendary item, contains special power within, allowing living beings to comprehend wisdom that is normally difficult to perceive.]
Although it was a legendary item, it had no specific attributes.
It seemed to be purely a quest item.
'Based on their plan, they must also be making moves against the other two," Uxie said to itself. "They're not very smart. They may need your help.' Then without waiting for John's response, it directly used Teleport to send him back to Lake Verity.
Around John lay a group of Ginkgo Guild members and Pokemon, all sleeping soundly.
John had barely emerged when Zisu arrived leading Galaxy Team members. She looked at the Ginkgo Guild members and Pokemon scattered everywhere, stunned.
"What happened?" Zisu came to ask John.
John had already removed Zoroark's Illusion.
"The Ginkgo Guild attacked Uxie, but ended up caught by Uxie's Imprison and Yawn. They're all asleep now." John answered honestly, then instructed, "You came at the right time. Take these Ginkgo Guild members back to Jubilife Village for Captain Kamado to handle."
Zisu nodded. Legendary Pokemon were indeed powerful, easily defeating so many people. "Um, where's Uxie?"
"It already left." John said, then turned and leaped onto Lugia's back. "I'm heading to the other two lakes. Azelf and Mesprit might also be in danger!"
Zisu and Akari stood in place, only able to silently watch as John and Lugia rapidly turned into a black shadow and departed. They couldn't even say a word to stop him.
"Truly comes and goes like the wind..." Zisu sighed, though this fit her impression of John very well.
The strong should be like this.
In the sky, Lugia was rapidly flying north.
The three lakes representing the Lake Guardian Pokemon were distributed in the Obsidian Fieldlands, Alabaster Icelands, and Crimson Mirelands respectively. These three regions were located in the western, northern, and eastern parts of the Sinnoh region. Connecting the three lakes formed a perfect equilateral triangle, so no matter which lake you went to, the distance was the same, there was no issue of near or far.
John headed toward the Alabaster Icelands first.
According to Uxie's memories, Azelf had escaped, which meant it was the most vulnerable right now.
He needed to find it before Volo's forces did.
Temple of Sinnoh.
Volo carried his backpack up the mountain, no different from an ordinary Ginkgo Guild member, strolling through the temple.
However, his current appearance was completely different from when John had seen him before. His yellow eyes overflowed with deep purple radiance, as if gazing into the underworld. The corners of his mouth slightly upturned, carrying a somewhat eerie smile.
A person saw Volo and hurriedly reported with respect: "Leader, the team sent to Lake Verity has completely lost contact."
"As planned, we successfully captured Mesprit, but Azelf was on guard, so it escaped."
Volo didn't answer, but directly set down the mirror in his hand.
Facing the empty altar, he asked.
"How about Uxie?"
"It's more cunning than we imagined. Last time when we attacked Lake Acuity, it escaped. This time at Lake Verity, eighty percent chance it set a trap with all its strength."
As Volo's voice fell, pitch-black mist immediately appeared behind him. Through the mist, one could vaguely see a pair of crimson, massive eyes, along with the noble golden dots on its body.
After just a few brief seconds, the crimson eyes disappeared, and the mist vanished as well, as if it had given Volo an answer.
"Then this matter is quite simple~"
Volo's smile widened.
"Since Uxie used so much power to set a trap and escaped afterward, and Azelf is fleeing, both must be weakened now."
"Only Mesprit, which we've already captured, is at full strength."
He turned to face the subordinate.
"Send word to all teams. Forget Uxie for now, focus everything on hunting down Azelf. A weakened legendary Pokemon fleeing in panic is much easier prey than one that's prepared."
"Yes, Leader!"
The subordinate hurried away.
Volo looked toward Mt. Coronet's peak.
"Soon, very soon."
The mist appeared behind him again, and within it, those crimson eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Patience, Giratina. Our time is coming."
The God of the Distortion World remained silent, but its presence radiated hunger for revenge.
Volo pulled out two items from his backpack.
One was a glowing red chain, still incomplete, missing the power of the Lake Guardians.
The other was a strange flute, ancient and covered in mysterious engravings.
The Celestial Flute.
"Once we have Azelf's power, the Red Chain will be complete. Then we summon Dialga and Palkia here, force them to battle until the space-time rift opens..."
He caressed the flute lovingly.
"And then, we call forth the Creator itself."
His eyes blazed with mad ambition.
"Arceus will answer. And when it does, we'll show the so-called god that its time has ended."