Su Bai's Zeraora had the ability Volt Absorb.
Whenever it was hit by an Electric-type move, it wouldn't take any damage.
Instead…
It would recover its health!
The enormous pillar of lightning unleashed by Zapdos hadn't caused Zeraora even the slightest bit of harm.
If anything, it had given the Pokémon one hell of a satisfying recharge.
The catlike Pokémon even stretched lazily in midair.
Under normal circumstances, Volt Absorb couldn't change the target of an Electric-type move.
But Zeraora was, after all, a Mythical Pokémon.
Its Volt Absorb was naturally on an entirely different level from that of an ordinary Pokémon.
It was like a battery.
Not all batteries had the same capacity.
For an ordinary Pokémon, even one with Volt Absorb, absorbing such a massive amount of electricity could potentially overload it and cause it to burst.
But Zeraora was different.
When the electrical energy exceeded the normal amount its body could contain, the excess energy began attracting one another, producing an effect similar to a natural lightning rod.
The result was that the enormous bolt of lightning—far thicker than Zeraora itself—was drawn toward its body and absorbed completely!
Under Rock's dumbfounded gaze, Zeraora absorbed every last bit of the heavenly lightning without letting a single spark go to waste before gently landing on the ground.
"Zeraa~!"
Zeraora stretched comfortably, then stuck out its tongue and licked the corner of its mouth.
Electricity this delicious wasn't something it got to eat every day.
Even its golden fur seemed noticeably brighter than before.
"Nice work, Zeraora…"
Su Bai affectionately patted Zeraora's little head before turning toward Zapdos, which hovered in the air with its wings spread.
"Anyway, with Zeraora here, there's no way you're going to pose much of a threat to us."
"Why don't you disperse those storm clouds and give this place some peace and quiet?"
Zapdos fell silent.
It looked at Zeraora, who was staring back at it with bright, eager eyes.
Then…
"WOOOAAAH!"
Zapdos let out another dissatisfied cry.
This Pokémon was just like itself…
It wasn't an ordinary Pokémon!
As a Legendary Pokémon, Zapdos didn't have as detailed an understanding of abilities as Su Bai did.
But it knew that some Pokémon were naturally the nemeses of Electric-type creatures.
Normally, even if an ordinary Pokémon possessed this strange ability, Zapdos could simply keep striking it with lightning until it overloaded.
But this little fellow…
Was clearly different.
Although Zapdos was still unhappy, a large portion of the anger it had accumulated had actually been vented through that thunderstorm.
Picking a fight with a Pokémon like Zeraora was simply too troublesome for too little reward.
And unlike Articuno, Zapdos hadn't been driven mad by Death Energy.
It had already begun to calm down.
The thunderclouds in the sky gradually dispersed.
The lightning surrounding Zapdos's body also slowly faded away.
Zeraora watched the scene with some disappointment and smacked its lips.
Such high-quality electricity…
It hadn't even had its fill yet.
Still, dispersing the thunderclouds didn't mean Zapdos intended to let everything go just like that.
The abandoned power station had already been badly damaged after years of Death Beasts running rampant.
And now, after the battle between Su Bai and Amino, many of the facilities that had somehow managed to remain intact had been destroyed.
For Zapdos…
That was absolutely unacceptable.
"WOOOAAAH!"
Zapdos folded its wings and gently landed in front of Su Bai.
It looked toward the ruins behind him and let out an aggrieved cry.
There was even a hint of grievance in its eyes.
"Although Diancie isn't here…"
"I guess I don't need a translator anymore."
Seeing a Legendary Pokémon looking so wronged really was a rare sight.
Su Bai smiled and walked forward, patting Zapdos lightly on the leg.
It was only when he stood this close that he truly appreciated just how huge the bird was.
Corviknight was already considered fairly large among bird Pokémon.
But compared with this enormous creature, which Su Bai estimated to be over three meters tall…
Corviknight looked positively tiny.
An ordinary Zapdos was about the same size as Corviknight.
But a Legendary Zapdos was clearly on another level.
Facing Zapdos's aggrieved cries, Su Bai couldn't help but chuckle.
From Zapdos's perspective, it really had gotten the short end of the stick.
It had the natural disadvantage of fighting a Pokémon with Volt Absorb…
And to make matters worse, its home had been wrecked.
"You're making me sound like some kind of bully…"
Su Bai laughed.
"Don't worry. I'll pay for it!"
The amount of money in Su Bai's account was increasing at an astonishing rate every day.
He hadn't even bothered counting all those zeros in a long time.
Forget repairing this area.
Even rebuilding an entirely new power station for Zapdos to use as its home wouldn't be a problem.
A Legendary Pokémon possessed considerable intelligence.
Understanding human speech wasn't particularly difficult for it.
The moment it heard Su Bai's promise, Zapdos's eyes immediately lit up.
It glanced once more toward Zeraora, then flapped its wings and flew into the sky.
After circling around for a while, it entered the crooked, towering electrical structure.
"Sure enough…"
Su Bai watched Zapdos leave without hesitation and couldn't help shaking his head.
"Even a Legendary Pokémon can be ridiculously simple-minded…"
"It didn't even consider what would happen if I was lying to it."
For Pokémon this innocent, their powerful strength was practically a necessity.
Otherwise, when dealing with cunning humans, they would be the ones getting taken advantage of.
"This kind of powerful creature should be able to tell whether we're lying or not, right…?"
Rock climbed down from Charizard, still shaken from everything that had happened.
Even for a powerful member of the Twelve Zodiac, the events of this day had been far too intense.
His case was somewhat special because he relied on his shadow's extraordinary ability to qualify as one of the Twelve Zodiac.
The other members, whose strength came from their own bodies, could easily determine whether someone was lying by observing things like their heartbeat, pulse, and countless other subtle physical reactions.
"You're able to walk already?"
Su Bai glanced at Rock and shook his head.
"You recover pretty quickly."
"I feel like what you're talking about and what I said are probably two completely different things…"
Humans had all sorts of complicated schemes and hidden meanings.
Pokémon probably didn't understand that kind of thing very well.
The reason Zapdos had so readily decided to let the matter go was simple.
First, it couldn't beat them.
And second…
It genuinely believed Su Bai wasn't lying.
"Uh… My mental strength is different from ordinary people's."
Rock paused for a moment before pointing at his forehead.
"As long as the pool of mental energy in my head hasn't completely dried up…"
"It'll quickly fill back up again."
"By the way, Boss Su Bai…"
"How about I pay for the repairs to the power station?"
Rock scratched his head awkwardly.
This entire battle could technically be said to have been caused by him.
"You almost made me forget you're a filthy rich heir…"
Su Bai shook his head.
There was no question about the financial strength of the Rock family.
Even Su Bai was still a considerable distance away from that enormous family in terms of wealth.
"You don't have to pay for it. I can afford this much."
"But…"
Su Bai's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're going to have to tell me more about the Twelve Zodiac and the Apostles."
"I think I've proven my strength by now, haven't I?"
"Come on."
"Let's head back to Haicheng first!"
Su Bai reached out and grabbed Rock, who had just climbed down from Charizard, then leaped onto Charizard's back.
With the thunderous beat of Charizard's enormous wings, they left the devastated power station behind.